Part 75

1744. JOHN HENRY SCHULZE, a German physician, died; professor of medicine at Halle, and author of a history of medicine from the creation to the year of Rome 535.

1747. JOHN POTTER, primate of England, died. Besides theological and other works he wrote _Antiquities of Greece_, two vols., which have passed through several editions.

1747. British fleet of 14 ships, admiral Hawke, engaged the French fleet under M. de Letender, and captured 7 ships of the line, and a 50 gun ship.

1772. WILLIAM WILKIE died; a Scottish divine and poet, and professor of philosophy at St. Andrews.

1774. Battle between the Americans, 1400 men, from Virginia, under colonel Lewis, and about 600 Ohio Indians. The Indians made the attack; 400 of the Virginians were killed and 100 wounded.

1775. British general GAGE sailed from Boston for Great Britain, and the command of the army devolved upon general Howe.

1775. LOUIS NICHOLAS VICTOR MUYS, minister of war and marshal of France, died. He signalized himself at several important engagements, which led to his promotion.

1780. Hurricane in the West Indies, which continued about 48 hours. Several towns were leveled with the dust, and many thousand persons lost their lives. Several hundred vessels in the different ports were driven to sea or dashed to pieces.

1783. HENRY BROOKE, an eminent Irish writer, died. His tragedy of Gustavus Vasa, though forbidden the stage for its tone of freedom and liberty, met with a rapid sale.

1787. The Prussians under the duke of Brunswick took the city of Amsterdam by capitulation. It is said that before the surrender water sold for an English shilling a quart.

1792. Lord MULGRAVE died at Liege, aged 48. He was captain Phipps in the British service, and was celebrated for his voyage towards the North pole.

1794. Battle of Fersen, or Mackowieze, between the Russians and the Poles under Kosciusko. The contest was bloody and fatal to the patriots. The victory was wavering, and the expected reinforcements not appearing, Kosciusko at the head of his principal officers, made a furious charge and plunged into the midst of the Russians. He had three horses killed under him, and finally fell covered with wounds, and was captured.

1797. CARTER BRAXTON died; a signer of the declaration of independence from Virginia.

1800. Explosion of an infernal machine intended to have destroyed Bonaparte, then first consul, as he proceeded to the opera. The coachman being intoxicated, drove faster than was his custom, and the engine exploded half a minute after the carriage had passed, killed 20 persons, and wounded 53, and shattered the windows on both sides of the street.

1806. JEREMIAH JAMES OBERLIN, an eminent archæologist of Strasburg, died. He was an accurate and industrious scholar, and besides various original works, published good editions of several of the Latin classics.

1806. Sanguinary battle at the bridge of Saalfeld in Saxony; the French under Suchet defeated the Prussians, and their general, prince Ferdinand Louis, was killed.

1812. Veraya, in Russia, garrisoned by the French, taken by the Russians under Dorochoff; 500 French were killed and 400 captured. The standard of Westphalia and 500 muskets were taken, and the place having been made a depot for provisions, great quantities fell into the hands of the Russians.

1824. FRANCIS BALTHAZAR SOLVYNS, a celebrated Dutch painter and engraver, died. He spent 15 years in Hindostan, studying the languages, manners and customs of the east, on which he published a work in folio.

1832. JAMES STEPHEN, an English statesman and philanthropist, died. He suggested and arranged the whole system of continental blockade, which for a long time occasioned great embarrassment to Bonaparte.

1834. THOMAS SAY, an eminent naturalist, died at New Harmony. He early abandoned his mercantile pursuits to devote himself to the study of nature. Perhaps no man has done more to make known the zoology of this country than he.

1836. MARTHA RANDOLPH, last surviving daughter of Thomas Jefferson, a lady of distinguished talents and virtues, died in Albemarle county, Va., aged 70.

1840. The Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pacha and Soliman Pacha defeated near Beyrout, in Syria, by the allied British and Turkish troops under Selim Pacha, com. Napier and colonel Hodges, with the loss of 7000 men.

1841. JOHN BAYLEY, a noted justice of the King's bench and baron of the exchequer, died in England, aged 78.

1841. CARL FREDERICH SCHINKEL, the most eminent architect in Prussia, died at Berlin, aged 61.

1849. A memorial for the annexation of Canada to the United States, received in five hours the signatures of 300 merchants, land owners, and professional men, at Montreal.

1849. The _initial point_ of the boundary line between the United States and Mexico settled, and a monument with inscriptions erected in north latitude 32° 31´ 59´´.58, and in longitude 119° 35´ 0´´.15 west from Greenwich.

1854. GORDON DRUMMOND, a British officer who saw much service in the war with the United States in 1812, died in London, aged 82. He commanded the British troops at the battle of Niagara.

OCTOBER 11.

1347. LOUIS V, emperor of Germany, killed by a fall from his horse. This event prevented a new civil war, which threatened the happiness of Germany.

1441. The government of Venice prohibited the printing and vending of playing cards by foreigners in those dominions.

1492. COLUMBUS discovered the Bahama islands, his first discovery of land.

1521. LEO X issued a decree, conferring upon Henry VIII of England the title of Defender of the Faith.

1531. ULRICUS ZUINGLIUS, an able and zealous Swiss reformer, killed in a skirmish with his popish opponents.

1611. JOHN COWELL, an English lawyer and antiquary, died; author of some works on the law.

1612. The remains of MARY, queen of Scots, removed to a vault in Henry VIII's chapel, where a most magnificent monument was erected to her memory.

1614. Charter granted to "the United New Netherland company," giving it the exclusive right to visit and trade with the countries in America, lying between the 40th and 45th degrees of north latitude. This country was now for the first time called New Netherland.

1643. JOHN DU VERGER DE HAURANE died; an eminent French ecclesiastic, who formed a new system of faith, which becoming popular, drew upon him the resentment of Richelieu.

1698. Treaty between England, France and Holland, for the partition of Spain.

1698. WILLIAM MOLYNEUX, an eminent Irish mathematician, died. He was ardently devoted to science, founded the philosophical society of Ireland, and invented a telescope dial.

1702. Battle of Vigo; the British admiral Rooke attacked the French fleet and Spanish batteries. The French destroyed 8 ships, and the British burnt 6 galleons richly laden with goods and plate, valued at 14,000,000 pieces of eight; they also razed the fortifications, and brought off 10 ships of war and 11 galleons, with 7,000,000 pieces of eight.

1705. WILLIAM AMONTONS, an eminent French mechanic, died. He suggested some improvements in barometers and thermometers, and invented a method of communicating intelligence, which has since been adopted under the name of telegraph.

1709. Mons taken by the allies.

1727. EDWARD COLSTON, an English philanthropist, died. He acquired wealth by commerce with Spain, with which he endowed numerous charitable institutions.

1736. Great storm on the river Ganges; 300,000 lives are supposed to have been lost.

1750. JOHN BAPTIST JOSEPH LANGUET died; the celebrated vicar of St. Sulpice at Paris, who refused all preferments, and devoted the revenues which he collected to the institution and support of judiciously planned charitable establishments.

1752. THOMAS STACKHOUSE, a learned, pious but necessituous divine, died.

1776. The Americans under general Arnold attacked on lake Champlain by the British under captain Pringle. Arnold lost two gondolas taken and one blown up, and was forced to retreat, owing to the inferiority of his force.

1779. Several individuals who had voluntarily remained in King's bench prison, London, for the purpose of letting their rooms, were turned out.

1790. HENRY CULLEN, an eminent physician of Edinburgh, died.

1791. The bank of Providence, the first bank in Rhode Island, began to discount.

1797. Battle off Camperdown, between the British fleet, 17 vessels, admiral Duncan, and Dutch fleet, 23, admiral Winter. The Dutch were defeated with the loss of 9 ships.

1808. JOHN PAGE, governor of Virginia, died; a patriot, statesman and philosopher.

1817. ANDREW PICKENS, a distinguished revolutionary officer, died, aged 78. He commenced his military career in the French war which terminated in 1763. He was one of those who indefatigably kept up the spirit of resistance in South Carolina, till the enemy was expelled.

1820. The printers of London went in grand procession to Brandenburgh house to present an address to queen Caroline. It was printed on white satin, and was a superior specimen of typographical skill.

1837. SAMUEL WESLEY, a distinguished English musician, died. "His compositions are grand and masterly; his melodies sweet, varied and novel; his harmonies bold, imposing, unexpected and sublime; his resources boundless."

1841. WILLIAM LIDDIARD, an admired and popular English writer in prose and verse, died at Clifton, aged 68.

1841. GEORGE MAIRS, an eminent preacher of the Associate reformed presbyterian church, died at Argyle, N. Y., aged 81.

1846. Great hurricane in Havana, which began on the previous evening, wrecked or severely injured nearly 100 vessels, destroyed 1275 houses, and injured as many more.

1848. The Hungarian army advanced to within six miles of Vienna; their videttes being visible from the city towers.

1855. The propeller Arctic and the barque Release, under command of Lieut. Hartstene, forming the arctic expedition in search of Dr. Kane and his companions, arrived in New York, bringing with them the objects of their search.

OCTOBER 12.

638. HONORIUS I, pope, died. He presided over the church with great zeal and wisdom.

1303. BONIFACE III (_Benedict Cajetan_), pope, died. His ambition and insolence were unbounded, and he hurled the thunders of the Vatican against the kings of France and Denmark; but the former despising his threats, had him seized.

1307. All the knights templars in France ordered to be arrested, and on the following day the grand master, the templars and all their possessions were seized.

1424. JOHN DE TROEZNOU ZISCA, a famous Bohemian patriot, died. He was the formidable general of the Hussites, who undertook to avenge the death of their leader; he also defended his country against the emperor Sigismund, and performed prodigies of valor after he had lost both his eyes.

1428. The siege of Orleans commenced, memorable as one of the most extraordinary incidents in history.

1492. COLUMBUS landed on the island of Guanahani, of which he had seen the first twinkling on the previous night; thus in the space of 36 days completing a voyage which he had been 20 years in projecting, which opened to Europeans a new world, which enlarged the empire of Spain, and stamped with immortality the name of Columbus.

1573. Great naval victory of the Dutch over the Spaniards.

1576. MAXIMILIAN II died. He was elected king of the Romans 1562, and afterwards succeeded his father as king of Hungary and Bohemia, and emperor of Germany.

1621. PETER MATTHIEU, a French historian, died. He was historiographer to the king, and wrote the history of France, and of several of the French kings.

1646. FRANCIS BASSOMPIERRE, marshal of France, died; a distinguished statesman, whom Richelieu confined 10 years in the Bastile, during which he wrote his own memoirs.

1649. The fall and massacre of Wexford under Oliver Cromwell.

1653. HUMPHREY CHETHAM, a great patron of learning and libraries, died, aged 73, at Manchester, England, endowing the city with munificent bequests.

1711. KING CHARLES III, of Spain, elected emperor of Germany at Frankfort, by the name of Charles IV.

1716. LUDOLF KUSTER, a learned German critic, died.

1753. Sir DANVERS OSBORNE, who had arrived at New York on the 7th to succeed Clinton as governor of the province, was found in the morning suspended by the neck in the garden, and dead.

1764. RENE MICHAEL SLODTZ, an eminent French sculptor, died.

1793. St. Domingo ceded by its inhabitants to the British.

1798. British fleet, admiral Warren, intercepted the French fleet and captured several ships laden with troops and stores destined for Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founder of the united Irishmen, was on board, and taken.

1822. The independence of Brazil, under don John, was proclaimed.

1834. THOS. S. GRIMKE, of South Carolina, died of an attack of cholera. He distinguished himself in a speech against the test oath of his native state.

1842. BARTLETT BENNETT, one of the early pioneers of Kentucky, and a baptist preacher, died at Cincinnati, aged 99.

1851. LEWIS WASHINGTON, an American commodore, died, aged 69. His services in the Tripoli war and the war of 1812 made his name familiar to the American people, as a brave, energetic and skillful captain.

1851. SAMUEL BEAZLEY, a distinguished English architect died, aged 66. He was not only the designer of more theatres than any other modern architect, but also a dramatic compiler.

1855. General WALKER took possession of Grenada, with a loss to the enemy of 15 killed and several wounded.

OCTOBER 13.

49. TIBERIUS DRUSUS CLAUDIUS, emperor of Rome, died of poison administered by his wife. He succeeded Caligula, and became contemptible for his vices and weakness.

409. Irruption of the Vandals into Spain, who, dividing her prolific territories, turned their swords into ploughshares.

643. OSWY, of Northumberland, and 10th king of Britain, ascended the throne. The great controversy for the celebration of Easter, was decided by him.

1164. The great council opened at Northampton, England, for the trial of Thomas Becket, by whose sentence he was placed at the king's mercy.

1269. The bones of Edward the Confessor enshrined in gold.

1417. GREGORY XII (_Angelo Corario_), pope, died, aged 92. He was elected during the schism of the west, while the opposite party supported Benedict XIII. They were both deposed, and another elected.

1503. THEODORE BEZA, a learned French protestant, died. He was professor of Greek at Lausanne, in Switzerland.

1515. Battle of Marignon, in Italy; the Swiss defeated by the French under Francis I.

1698. The French missionary GERBILLON, returned to Pekin from his eighth and last journey, from thence into Tartary, journals of all which are published in Du Halde's _History of China_.

1705. The parliament of Scotland convened for the last time.

1754. JACOB POWELL died at Stebbing, England. He weighed five hundred and sixty pounds. His body was five yards in circumference, and his limbs were in proportion. He had sixteen men to carry him to his grave.

1771. JOHN GILL, an eminent English Calvinistic divine, died. He was a learned orientalist and voluminous writer on theological subjects; his greatest work is a commentary on the Bible.

1777. Esopus, on the Hudson river, burnt by the British under general Vaughan; not a house escaped.

1782. Battle in Persia for the sovereignty, between Abdul Fatcan and Murat Kan, the lord regent. The latter and his three sons were slain, and Abdul caused himself to be proclaimed king.

1793. The allies under Wurmzer invested Landau, and carried the lines of Weissembourg; the French retreated with loss.

1797. BENJAMIN HAMMETT fined £1,000 sterling, for refusing the office of lord mayor of London.

1812. Battle of Queenston, in Canada; the Americans, under colonel Van Rensselaer, attacked and carried the heights and fort; but owing to the refusal of 1,200 militia to cross over to their support, and the arrival of British regulars and Indians from fort George, the Americans, to the number of 764, were obliged to surrender. General Brock was killed in this affair, and Van Rensselaer was wounded by four balls. American loss, 90 killed, 82 wounded.

1815. JOACHIM MURAT, king of Naples, shot. He was a soldier of fortune, who emerged from obscurity during the French revolution, became a distinguished general in the armies of France, married a sister of Napoleon, and was placed upon the throne of Naples.

1815. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE landed at St. Helena, a perpetual exile.

1822. ANTONIO CANOVA died; the most eminent sculptor of the age. His statues are in possession of the noble and the rich throughout Europe.

1828. VINCENT MONTI died; one of the most celebrated poets of modern Italy.

1836. JACOB SPENCER, a revolutionary pensioner, died at Washington, N. J., aged nearly 100. He had had seven wives, and left but one child living.

1845. DOUGLAS HOUGHTON, state geologist of Michigan, died, aged 36. He was prosecuting a combined geological and linear survey of the region near lake Superior, on a plan suggested by himself.

1845. W. K. ARMISTEAD, a general officer in the United States service, died at Upperville, Va., aged about 60. He had served long in the engineer department, and in 1840-41 had chief command in the campaign against the Florida Indians.

1846. Right honorable HENRY STEPHEN FOX, late her Britannic majesty's minister plenipotentiary to the United States, died at Washington, D. C. He was much respected as well for his prudence and urbane manners, as for his decision and diplomatic talent.

1847. A body of 200 German catholics met at the Tabernacle, in New York, and made a public and formal secession from the Romish church.

1853. TRISTRAM BURGESS, a Rhode Island statesman, died, aged 83. He stood in the front rank of the public men of his day.

1853. THOMAS KEMPER DAVIS died at Boston. He stood high in his profession as a lawyer, and having acquired a fortune, devoted himself to and became learned in English and classical literature.

1854. Howard college, at Marion, Ala., destroyed by fire.

OCTOBER 14.

1066. Battle of Hastings, and defeat of Harold by William of Normandy, which placed the latter upon the throne of England. The battle lasted from morning till sunset. William had three horses killed under him, and there fell about 15,000 Normans; but on the side of the vanquished, the loss was much greater, and included Harold and his two brothers, who were slain.

1066. The first earl created in England. Alfred in 920 used this word as king is now used.

1292. EDWARD I, of England, declared John Baliol king of Scotland.

1519. The Spaniards under Cortez entered without opposition the strong and populous city of Cholula, where a plot was laid for their destruction, but which resulted in a terrible massacre of the inhabitants.

1529. A placard appeared at Brussels, whereby all such as had any prohibited books in their custody, not brought forth to be burnt, should be put to death.

1537. JANE SEYMOUR, third queen of Henry VIII, died.

1644. Birthday of WILLIAM PENN, the first proprietor of Pennsylvania, son of admiral sir William Penn.

1645. Battle of Basing, in which Cromwell at the head of the parliamentary forces stormed and took, after an action of only three-quarters of an hour, the fortress of Basing house, which the royalists considered almost impregnable. There was immense booty taken with the place, of every kind. The plunder of treasure and furniture amounted to more than $1,000,000; in one room was found a bed which cost nearly $6,000. The mansion was set fire to and destroyed, with most of the valuable paintings, papers, &c., by the roundheads, who acted up to the scripture, "cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently."

1656. Act of the Massachusetts authorities, prohibiting the immigration of quakers, and subjecting such as should arrive to 20 lashes, and imprisonment at hard labor until transported, and if they returned to suffer death.

1660. PAUL SCARRON died; an eminent French comic writer and satirist.

1660. HUGH PETERS, chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, hanged at London. His death was the result of the most infamous trial on record. He was 7 years in New England as minister, first at Salem then in the Great church at Boston.

1734. Birthday of FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE, a distinguished statesman and signer of the declaration of independence. The day of his death is not known.

1736. GEORGE CLARKE delivered his first speech to the assembly, as governor of the province of New York; and consented to introduce the practice which has ever since prevailed, of absenting himself from the council while they sit as a branch of the legislature.

1747. Six ships of war taken by admiral Hawke off the isle of Aix.

1756. JOHN HENLEY, an eccentric English writer, died. He acquired the appellation of _orator Henley_, and entertained the public by theological orations on Sundays, and political and miscellaneous subjects on Wednesdays; also by a weekly paper called _The Hyp Doctor_.

1758. Battle of Hochkirchen; the Prussians under their king Frederick II, defeated by the Austrians under marshal Daun, with the loss of 7,000 men, all their tents, and baggage, &c. James Keith, a brave and experienced Scottish general, who had distinguished himself in the memorable wars of the king of Prussia, was killed, and general Geist mortally wounded.

1761. Volcanic phenomenon seen at Great Malvern in Worcestershire, Eng.

1781. Two British redoubts at Yorktown taken, and included in the second parallel, which greatly facilitated the subsequent operations of the besiegers.

1783. ANTONIO NUNES RIBEIRO SANCHEZ, an eminent Portuguese physician and writer, died.

1791. GREGORY ALEXANDER POTEMPKIN, a Russian statesman, died. He was descended from a Polish family, was the favorite of Catharine, and her minister of war.

1805. Battle of Ulm; the French under Bonaparte captured the bridge and the Austrian position of Elchingen.

1806. Battle of Jena, or Auerstadt, in Saxony, between the French under Bonaparte and the Prussians under king Frederick William. The Prussian line extended 18 miles, and numbered 150,000 strong; the total number of men engaged on both sides was over 250,000, and the number of cannon employed over 700. The Prussians were defeated with the loss of 20,000 killed and wounded, and 40,000 taken prisoners; together with 300 cannon, and immense magazines of stores. The French admitted a loss of only 1,200 killed and 3,000 wounded.

1813. BONAPARTE arrived at Leipsic, in Germany, having in the course of four days assembled there an army whose numbers are variously stated at from 150 to 400,000 men, with 600 cannon, and commanded by the ablest generals of the age.

1831. LOUIS PONS, an eminent Italian astronomer, died at Florence.

1836. JAMES WILD, an English geographer, died; distinguished for his numerous maps and charts.

1841. HEYER embarked at Boston for India, as the first missionary of the Lutheran church in the United States. He established a mission at Guntoor.

1842. Grand celebration in New York of the completion of the Croton water works; more than 15,000 persons joined in the procession.

1843. A check was put on the progress of Irish agitation by the arrest of Daniel O'Connell and his son on a charge of conspiracy and other misdemeanors.

1845. WILLIAM PRIDGEN died, in Bladen county, N. C., aged 123. He was a volunteer in the revolutionary army, although even then exempt from service by his age. His grand children were aged people at the time of his death.

1850. The convention for amending the constitution of Virginia assembled at Richmond.

1854. HUGH A. GARLAND, an eminent lawyer of St. Louis, died; author of a life of John Randolph.

1854. SAMUEL PHILLIPS died at Brighton, England, aged 39. He was some time the literary reviewer for _The Times_ and author of _Readings on the Rail_.

OCTOBER 15.

55 B. C. TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS, one of the best of the Latin poets, died.

1564. ANDREAS VESALIUS, a celebrated Dutch anatomist, died. He revived the study of anatomy in Europe, which had been neglected, and impeded by the prejudices of ignorance.

1608. Birthday of EVANGELISTE TORRICELLI, the Italian mathematician, and inventor of the barometer.