Part 64

1800. ELIZABETH MONTAGUE died; an English lady of considerable literary celebrity.

1803. TATE WILKINSON died; an English comedian and manager, often noticed by the writers of his day.

1804. Fifth attack on Tripoli by the Americans under commodore Preble.

1805. JOHN SKEY EUSTACE, a distinguished officer of the revolution, died, aged 45. In 1794 he went to France, and commanded a division of the French army in Flanders.

1806. JOHN PHILIP PALM, a Nuremberg bookseller, shot for a publication against Bonaparte.

1807. EDWARD PREBLE died; the brave and intrepid commodore of the American fleet, which in 1804 subdued Tripoli.

1808. Action between the British and Swedish squadron under admiral Hood, and the Russian squadron, in which the latter was defeated.

1810. The solemn inauguration of the column to the glory of the _grande armée_ in the place Vendôme, Paris, took place on the 15th.

1812. The French raised the siege of Cadiz, which had long resisted their efforts. Among the artillery abandoned, was a large mortar, which had been employed in throwing shells the immense distance of three miles.

1814. Washington city evacuated by the British under major general Robert Ross and admiral Cockburn.

1819. JAMES WATT, an eminent Scottish natural philosopher, died; celebrated for his improvements in the steam engine.

1822. WILLIAM HERSCHEL, the English astronomer, died. He discovered the planet Georgium Sidus, which sometimes bears his name.

1830. Insurrection of the Belgians commenced at Brussels. The populace attacked and destroyed several houses belonging to the most obnoxious individuals, and skirmishes followed between the inhabitants and the troops.

1834. MORRIS EVANS died at Raleigh, N. C., aged 105.

1835. Earthquake in Natolia, by which 2,000 houses were destroyed in the city of Kaisarieh.

1836. CHRISTIAN WILLIAM HUFELAND, an eminent Prussian physician and medical writer, died, aged 75. He was a popular lecturer, distinguished for his profound and extensive learning, and ingenious application of his theory to practice.

1837. The cholera raged at Rome, and was fatal to 300; the greatest number of deaths that occurred in any one day.

1849. The French admiral, de Tromelin, took possession of and dismantled the fortifications at Honolulu, Sandwich islands, the government having refused to comply with the demands of the admiral. He relinquished the possession three days after.

1854. The city of Troy, N. Y., visited by a destructive fire, which consumed more than a hundred houses and manufactories.

AUGUST 26.

331 B. C. Battle of Arbela, the modern Irbil, on the Lycus, between the Macedonians under Alexander, and the Persians under Darius (26th Boedromion). The Persians were defeated and the fate of Darius sealed.

55 B. C. JULIUS CÆSAR made a landing on British ground, at a point eight miles north of Dover.

55. A surprisingly great comet was seen by the inhabitants of China.

1278. Battle of Marchfeld, in Austria, between Ottocar and Rodolph of Hapsburg, in which Ottocar fell. This day laid the foundation of the house of Hapsburg, which is still seated on the throne of Austria.

1346. Battle of Crecy, in France; the English, less than 30,000 under Edward III, defeated the French, 90,000, under Philip VI, who received two wounds, and was one of the last who fled. It is estimated that of the French upwards of 30,000 soldiers, 1,200 knights, 80 bannerets and 9 princes fell in the battle and pursuit.

1595. ANTONIO, a pretender to the throne of Portugal, died. He was assisted in the struggle for the crown by several of the European powers, but was driven out, and died in exile.

1635. LOPEZ FELIX DE LA VEGA died; a Spanish divine, poet and a dramatic writer of great fertility of genius. His works form upwards of 70 volumes.

1693. PETER BARRIERE, a French soldier, who attempted to assassinate Henry IV, of France, broken on the wheel.

1723. ANTHONY VAN LEEUWENHOEK, a celebrated Dutch physician, died. He became famous throughout Europe by his experiments and discoveries with the microscope.

1762. Valentia de Alcantara, in Spain, taken by assault by the British, under Gen. Burgoyne.

1765. Riot in Boston occasioned by the stamp act; several private houses destroyed, and among them that of the lieutenant governor Hutchinson, one of the best in the province; his books and papers, which he had been 30 years in gathering, were destroyed, together with his plate, furniture, &c., and £1,000 in money.

1766. THOMAS WINSLOW, an English military officer, died, aged 146.

1775. The Americans opened their entrenchments on Plowed hill, near Boston. The British threw about 300 shells at them.

1775. JAMES BURGH, an ingenious English moral and political writer, died at Islington.

1776. GERMAIN FRANCIS POULLAIN DE ST. FOIX, a French historical tourist, died. He retired from the army to devote himself to literature, at Paris, and was appointed historiographer.

1777. FRANCIS FAWKES, an English poet, died. He translated several of the Greek poets, and wrote many miscellaneous poems, in a pleasing and elegant style.

1785. GEORGE SACKVILLE, an English nobleman, died. He was an officer under Marlborough, and present at several important engagements.

1794. Sluys, in Dutch Flanders, surrendered to the French under Moreau, 22 days after the opening of the trenches. The sudden capture of this fortress, exceedingly strong by nature and art, and defended by the brave general Vanderduyn, so intimidated the remainder of the Dutch and Hanoverian garrisons, that they thought only how to escape the fate of Sluys, and evacuated several fortresses equally strong; besides nearly 30 less important forts, and all Dutch Flanders.

1795. Trincomalee, a Dutch colony in the island of Ceylon, taken by the British under admiral Rainer.

1795. British squadron under Nelson, captured in the bay of Alaeso, 11 French vessels.

1806. EDWARD THURLOW, an eminent English lawyer, died. He became attorney and solicitor-general to the king, a member of parliament and lord high chancellor of England. He possessed a vigorous and active mind, which added to close application, gave him a high rank among the professional men of his day.

1813. Battle of Katzbach, in Silesia; the French defeated by the Russians and Prussians under Blucher. The day was so rainy that fire arms could not be used, and the battle was fought hand to hand. The French were driven into the river and perished in great numbers.

1813. Battle of Dresden. The citizens beheld a spectacle of an army of 60,000 troops marching through the streets to the field of battle, under Napoleon. An army of 120,000 allies were drawn up around the city.

1813. THEODORE KORNER, a German poet, killed in battle. Many of his pieces have been set to music, and become national.

1832. ADAM CLARKE, an eminent English divine, died of cholera, aged 72. He commenced his career as a methodist preacher at the age of 18, and became so popular that few men have ever drawn so large congregations. He was a man of great talents and extensive learning, particularly in the oriental languages and Biblical literature, and author of a well known and learned commentary on the scriptures, and various other publications.

1836. Buffalo and Niagara rail road opened.

1838. CALEB STARK, an officer of the revolutionary war, died. He entered the army at the age of 15, and commenced his career at the battle of Bunker hill as an ensign in his father's regiment. He remained in the army till the close of the war, at which time he was a brigadier-general.

1848. A battle took place at the cape of Good Hope, between the British and Boors. The former were victorious, with the loss of 54 men killed and wounded; the Boors lost 199.

1849. The senate of Hayti, having concurred in the bill of the chamber of representatives, Faustin Soulouque submitted to the wishes of the people, and was crowned emperor of Hayti, under the title of Faustin I.

1849. J. A. YATES, an eloquent divine and learned professor of Union college, died, aged 49.

1850. LOUIS PHILIPPE, the exiled king of the French, died at Claremont, England, aged 77.

AUGUST 27.

413 B. C. The Athenian army under Nicias lost on account of the general's fright at an eclipse of the moon.

524. FLAVIUS SEVERINUS BŒTHIUS, a celebrated Roman philosopher, died in prison, probably executed by order of Theodoric.

1556. CHARLES V, emperor of Germany, resigned the government to his brother Ferdinand, and set out for Spain.

1565. WILLIAM RASTAL died; an eminent English judge of the sixteenth century, and author of a work on the statutes of England.

1587. At the urgent solicitation of the colony of Roanoke, Gov. White returned to England for supplies; but of his countrymen whom he left behind nothing was ever afterwards known. Thus, says Holmes, terminated the exertions of Raleigh for colonizing Virginia.

1590. SIXTUS V (_Felix Peretti_), died; distinguished for the energy with which he extirpated the outlaws, and opposed the overgrown power of Spain. He embellished Rome with numerous and useful structures, among which is the present Vatican.

1630. The first church founded at Charlestown and Boston; their pastor was to receive a salary of £40.

1664. Articles of capitulation signed, by which the Dutch colony at New Amsterdam became subjects of England, with the privilege of continuing free denizens; to possess their estates undiminished; to enjoy their ancient customs with regard to inheritance, to their modes of worship and church discipline, and were allowed a free trade to Holland. The doughty governor, Stuyvesant, could not be prevailed upon to ratify it with his signature till two days afterwards.

1683. THOMAS DONGAN arrived as governor of the province of New York. He was a man of integrity, moderation, and genteel manners, and may be classed among the best of the provincial governors of New York.

1748. JAMES THOMSON, an eminent English poet, died; author of the _Seasons_.

1758. Fort Frontenac surrendered at discretion, to the English and provincials under Col. Bradstreet, after a siege of two days. They found in the fort 60 pieces of cannon, 16 mortars, a large number of small arms, a vast quantity of provisions, military stores and merchandise, together with 9 armed vessels in the harbor.

1770. JOHN JORTIN, an eminent divine of the English church, and writer on ecclesiastical history, died, aged 72.

1776. Battle of Flatbush, or Long Island; the Americans surprised by the British and Hessians, and defeated with the loss of about 500 killed and 1,100 taken prisoners; British loss about 70 killed, 350 wounded.

1791. PLACIDUS FIXMILNER died; an Austrian ecclesiastic, and writer on astronomy and the canon law.

1793. ADAM PHILIP DE CUSTINES, a French nobleman and general, guillotined. He served in the seven years' war and in the American revolutionary war.

1794. Valenciennes, after Lisle the strongest place of the famous northern barrier of France, surrendered to the republicans at the first summons.

1813. Second day's battle of Dresden. The allies were defeated and forced to retreat, with the loss of 30,000. The French had 10,000 wounded; the number of killed not known. Moreau had both legs shot away by a cannon ball.

1816. Algiers bombarded by the British and Dutch fleets, under lord Exmouth. The dey's fleet and defences were utterly destroyed, and he was compelled to submit to a treaty on his enemy's terms.

1825. LUCRETIA MARIA DAVIDSON, an American poetess, died before completing her 17th year. Her pieces amount to 278, of which _Amir Khan_ is the principal; some of them written at the age of 9 years.

1834. GEORGE CLYMER, inventor and manufacturer of the Columbian printing press, died in London. He was instrumental in improving many other mechanical improvements.

1847. SILAS WRIGHT, an eminent American statesman, died at Canton, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., aged 52.

1849. GABRIEL H. FORD, an American jurist, died at Morristown, N. J., aged 85. He was one of the most eloquent and efficient lawyers of New Jersey, and held the office of judge of the supreme court twenty-one years. His residence was the head quarters of Washington in 1777.

1850. BENJAMIN CHAMBERS, died, aged 86. He was a native of Pennsylvania, who entered the revolutionary army at the age of 16, and afterwards settled in Indiana. He held various important civil and military appointments under the early presidents.

1854. The city of Louisville, Ky., was visited by a tornado, which blew down and unroofed a large number of buildings; a church fell upon the congregation while at worship; 25 were killed and 67 seriously injured.

1857. RUFUS W. GRISWOLD, a voluminous American author, died, aged 42. He wrote for numerous periodicals, and left several unfinished works.

AUGUST 28.

430. AURELIUS AUGUSTINUS (or St. Augustin), one of the fathers of the Christian church, died at Hippo, in Africa.

876. LOUIS I, of Germany, died. He acquired the title of the pious, at the same time rendered himself powerful and formidable to his neighbors.

1443. JOHN V, duke of Britanny, died, and was succeeded by his son Francis.

1595. DRAKE and HAWKINS sailed from England with six of the queen's ships and twenty-one private ships and barks, on an expedition against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies.

1608. FRANCIS VERE, died; an English general, who distinguished himself in the expedition to Holland, 1585.

1609. HUDSON, having retreated his steps from Chesapeake bay, discovered another great bay, which has since acquired the name of Delaware. He anchored the Half Moon in eight fathom water, and took possession of the country.

1645. HUGO GROTIUS, an eminent Dutch philosopher, died. He was a man of great talent and laborious study, and notwithstanding he passed a stormy life, his works are very numerous.

1654. AXEL OXENSTIERN, a Swedish statesman, died. He was placed at the head of affairs on the death of Gustavus Adolphus, and owed his elevation to his merit and abilities.

1686. CASSINI, an Italian astronomer, discovered the satellite of Venus.

1710. JOSEPH KEBLE, an English law writer, died. Besides his published works, which were few, he left 100 large folio, and 50 thick quarto volumes in manuscript.

1722. Port Royal in Jamaica, destroyed by a hurricane; 26 ships and many lives lost.

1731. CHARLES BOYLE, earl of Orrery, died, aged 56. He made a figure from the age of 19 up, in literary, military, and almost every other kind of warfare.

1737. JOHN HUTCHINSON, an English author, died: founder of a well-known philosophical sect, which opposed Newton's doctrine of gravitation. His theories are curious, but no longer in repute.

1754. An irruption of the French and Indians upon Hoosick and Schaghticoke, by which those settlements were broken up, two persons scalped, and the houses fired.

1775. GEORGE FAULKNER, a celebrated Irish printer, died. He was the first to carry the art to a high degree of perfection in that country, and appears to have been a worthy and useful citizen.

1788. ELIZABETH CHUDLEIGH, duchess of Kingston, died at Paris; celebrated for her matrimonial speculations.

1792. DUMOURIER took his post at the head of 20,000 men, undisciplined and unorganized. Yet with these materials he arrested the progress of 80,000 Prussians and Hessians, and forced them to retreat with the loss of half their army.

1794. Battle of Powassin, between the Prussians and the Poles, in which the former lost their batteries and cannon, after a bloody engagement.

1798. JAMES WILSON died, one of the signers of the declaration of independence. He was eminent for his talents and integrity, and continued in the discharge of some public office till his death.

1804. MARGARET, widow of Benedict Arnold, died in London, aged 44. She was the daughter of Edward Shippen, of Philadelphia. It was said of her, that with a superiority and strength of mind seldom equaled, she possessed such polished and fascinating manners, as to convert every acquaintance into a friend.

1811. JOHN LEYDEN, a distinguished linguist, died on the island of Java, in his 36th year. He was ordained as a minister, but never attained any popularity as a preacher.

1814. Bombardment of fort Erie continued by the British; a shell entered the roof of Gen. Gaines's quarters, and burst at his feet, by which he was so severely wounded as to be obliged to resign the command of the fort.

1816. Treaty signed between Algiers and England, by which Christian slavery was to be abolished, and all slaves, of whatever nation, to be delivered up. The number released was 1,033.

1839. WILLIAM SMITH, an eminent English geologist, died, aged 70. In his employment as a land surveyor and engineer, he turned his attention to the geology of England, and published upwards of 20 geological maps of the counties. He is styled the _Father of English Geology_.

1839. A grand tournament appointed at Eglintoun castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. The day was very stormy, and the multitude from all parts of Great Britain who had assembled to witness the feats, estimated at 80,000, suffered greatly from the inclemency of the weather, and the impossibility of procuring shelter, food, or vehicles. An immense sum had been expended by the romantic nobleman in getting up the festival, which proved a total failure.

1851. The yacht America beat the iron yacht Titania, on a race of forty miles out and back, and left her eight miles astern.

1854. MARIA CHRISTINA, queen mother of Spain, left Madrid for Portugal, under escort of a body of government troops, but against the will of the people; she was indebted to the state 71,000,000 reals.

1855. SPENCER H. CONE, a Baptist minister, died in New York, aged 70. He was an actor, and on the stage for the last time when the Richmond theatre was burnt. He afterwards edited a newspaper, and finally became one of the most distinguished of the Baptist ministers.

1855. The vessel engaged to lay the submarine cable between cape Ray in Newfoundland and cape North in cape Breton, 55½ miles, began to pay it out. The cable afterwards broke, and a gale coming on, it was found necessary to let it go.

1856. The Dudley observatory was inaugurated at Albany.

AUGUST 29.

30 B. C. Conquest of Alexandria by Augustus; exactly three lustra or fifteen years preceding the great victory of Drusus over the Rhœtians and Vindelici, which concluded the Barbaric war.

30. St. JOHN (_the Baptist_) beheaded. The decollation of the Baptist determines the birthday of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, called Antipas, who for his ambition was banished by Caligula to Spain or Lyons, with Herodias, in the year 38.

410. Alaric evacuated Rome and ravaged the provinces of Italy.

284. Era of Diocletian (or the martyrs), commenced, still used by the Copts and Abyssinians. It receives its name from the persecution of the Christians in the reign of Diocletian, and was much used by the Christian writers until the introduction of the Christian era, in the sixth century.

1350. Great naval battle in the English channel, off Winchelsea, between the English under Edward III and the mariners of Biscay. Fourteen Castilian ships were carried triumphantly into port.

1353. Action between the Genoese fleet under Antonio Grimaldi, and the combined Venitian and Catalonian fleets, under Pisani, in which the former suffered so great a defeat that only 17 vessels escaped.

1445. PAUL, of Burgos, a learned Jew, died. He was converted to Christianity, and was baptized at the same time with his three sons, who all distinguished themselves.

1527. Battle of Mohatz, between the Turks under Solyman, and the Hungarians under Louis II, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of 20,000 killed. The Turks carried nearly 200,000 persons into captivity.

1583. STEPHEN PARMENIUS BUDEIUS, a learned Hungarian, shipwrecked on the coast of Newfoundland. He accompanied sir Humphrey Gilbert's squadron of discovery, for the purpose of recording their discoveries and exploits in Latin. He was on board the Delight, which carried down more than 100 persons with her.

1657. JOHN LILBURNE, a famous English enthusiast, died. He was the ringleader of a party called the levelers.

1660. The act of indemnity signed by Charles II, out of which most of those called regicides were excepted.

1692. Col. BENJAMIN FLETCHER arrived at the port of New York, with a commission as governor of the province, which he published the next day.

1708. Haverhill, on the Merrimack, surprised by the French and Indians, who burnt part of the town, killed about 40, and carried away 100 prisoners.

1749. MATHIAS BEL, died at Presburg; a Hungarian ecclesiastic, ennobled for his literacy.

1750. LETITIA PILKINGTON, a lady of great wit and literary celebrity, died at Dublin.

1764. JOHN BERNARD, a distinguished London merchant, died. He represented the city in parliament forty years, and was so highly esteemed by the public that his statue was placed in the Royal Exchange during his life time.

1769. EDMUND HOYLE died; author of a celebrated treatise on whist and other games.

1776. Americans retreated from Long Island. Gen. Mifflin commanded the rear guard, with whom Washington remained until the retreat was effected. The army amounted to 9,000.

1778. The rear of the American army under Gen. Sullivan attacked by the British, who were repulsed. British loss 260; American loss 206.

1779. The Indians defeated by Sullivan at Elmira.

1780. JAMES GERMAIN SOUFFLOT, an eminent French architect, died.

1782. British ship Royal George, 108 guns, sunk while careening. Admiral Kempenfelt and about 1,000 persons were lost, of whom 300 were women and children. (This is put down by other authorities on the 19th, and differently stated.)

1799. PIUS VI (_John Angela Braschi_), pope, died. He rendered his name famous by draining the Pontine marshes. Bonaparte entered his state twice, making him a prisoner the second time, and carried him over the Alps to Valentia, where he died of excessive fatigue, aged 82.

1804. Com. PREBLE'S fifth attack on Tripoli. The Constitution fired upwards of 300 rounds, besides grape and canister: sunk a large Tunisian galliot, and silenced two of the batteries and the castle. American loss 3 killed, 1 wounded.

1816. SCHETA, the celebrated astronomer of Liliennthal, died.

1833. Great fire at Constantinople, in which a circuit of three miles, said to comprise 12,000 houses and 50,000 inhabitants, was devastated, and many lives lost.

1843. A treaty of peace between Great Britain and China concluded. The Chinese to pay twenty-one millions of dollars, open 5 of their principal ports and cede the island of Hong-Kong to the British.

1849. The fortress of Achulga, the residence of Schamyl, a celebrated Circassian chief, was carried by assault by the Russians, after a siege of four months.

1851. LOPEZ, who had invaded Cuba with American volunteers, after sixteen days of reverses, and having lost nearly all his followers, was captured in the mountains by the aid of bloodhounds.

1851. A convention of twenty-five delegates assembled in Lewis county, Oregon, and appointed a committee to prepare a memorial to congress, to procure a division of the territory, and the organization of a separate territorial government.

1853. The Austrian minister, M. Hulsemann, addressed a note to the American government, complaining of the conduct of Capt. Ingraham in the Koszta affair.

1854. Petropaulowski, a Russian town, attacked and bombarded by the allied English and French fleet. The town was defended by 1,200 men and 120 guns.

1854. A new asteroid, named Euphrosyne, was discovered at the Washington observatory, by James Ferguson, assistant astronomer.

AUGUST 30.

30 B. C. CLEOPATRA, queen of Egypt, destroyed herself by the bite of an asp, to save herself from the disgrace of captivity.

526. THEODORIC, first king of the Goths in Italy, died. He advanced commerce and the arts, and patronized literature, but committed great acts of cruelty.

1181. ALEXANDER III, pope, died. He was an able pontiff, beloved by his subjects and respected by the world.

1483. LOUIS XI, of France, died. His ambition led him to the commission of the greatest crimes, by which he acquired the title of the Tiberius of France.