Part 30

1791. RICHARD PRICE, an eminent English divine, died; celebrated for his great abilities in arithmetical calculations, and for very numerous and valuable writings, theological, political and scientific.

1797. Battle of Diersheim, between the Austrians under the veteran Gen. Kray, and the French under Hoche, &c. The former were defeated with the loss of 4000 prisoners, and all their cannon, baggage, ammunition, &c.

1797. The French under Moreau defeated the Austrians and entered Kehl. The Austrians fled, abandoning everything to the enemy.

1813. BENJAMIN RUSH, a distinguished American physician and statesman, died. He was a member of Congress in 1776, and a signer of the declaration of independence. Few men have been greater ornaments to the country, and very few have acquired greater reputation both at home and abroad.

1824. GEORGE GORDON, lord Byron, died aged 36. At the age of 19 he published a volume of his juvenile poems, which were the precursors of some of the rarest productions which the language affords. His career was marked by singularities and dissipation. Having embarked in the struggle of the Greeks for liberty, he was attacked by fever and died at Missolonghi.

1833. JAMES GAMBIER, a British admiral died. He commanded the fleet which took possession of the Danish navy in 1807. He was characterized by great piety and benevolence.

1837. M. ANCILLON, a Prussian minister, died at Berlin, aged 70; eminent as a statesman, philosopher and publicist.

1839. AARON OGDEN, an American statesman and patriot, died. He served as an officer during the whole of the revolutionary war; after which he practiced law for many years with great reputation, and held important civil offices.

1854. JOHN DAVIS, a Massachusetts statesman of great ability, died, aged 67.

1856. THOMAS ROGERS, a noted manufacturer of cotton machinery, died in New York, aged 64. He early turned his attention to the construction of iron work and machinery for rail roads, and in 1835 began the manufacture of locomotives, in the construction of which he became greatly distinguished.

APRIL 20.

69. MARCUS SALVIUS OTHO, emperor of Rome, died. He ascended the throne after the murder of Galba and Piso, and three months after, being defeated by Vitellus, killed himself, rather than fall into the hands of the conqueror.

332. Battle of Mæsia, in which Constantine defeated the Goths under Alaric, and compelled them to recross the Danube.

1314. CLEMENT V (Bertrand de Goth), pope of Rome, died. He was a Frenchman, bishop of Bordeaux, elected pope, 1305; was accused of licentiousness and extravagance.

1534. ELIZABETH BARTON (_the Holy Maid of Kent_), and several other persons, hanged at Tyburn, and their heads set up in several parts of London, for practicing an imposture.

1558 (or 9). JOHN BUGENHAGEN, a learned coadjutor of Martin Luther in translating the scriptures, and author of commentaries thereon, died.

1566. JOHN MASON, an English statesman, died. He rose from obscurity to places of honor under Henry VIII, and maintained his influence at court under Edward, Mary and Elizabeth.

1579. A man named Hammond was burnt in a ditch at Norwich, England, for the crime of obstinate heresy, as charged by the bishop of Norwich.

1626. St. Salvadore, capital of Brazil, surrendered by the Dutch to the Portuguese.

1657. Naval battle in the harbor of St. Cruz, Teneriffe, in which Admiral Blake attacked and destroyed the Spanish fleet of 16 ships, under the protection of the batteries on shore. This was his last and greatest achievement.

1708. DAMARIS MASHAM, a learned English lady, died. She was an authoress, and deservedly respected, not only for her learning, but for every virtue.

1718. JAMES PETIVER, an English botanist, died. He collected a valuable museum, and wrote several works on botany.

1743. French seigniories on Lake Champlain.

1750. JOHN LEWIS PETIT, a celebrated French surgeon, died. He was invited to visit the king of Poland, and afterwards went to Spain to attend on Ferdinand. He invented some valuable surgical instruments, and published several works on surgery.

1775. General PUTNAM joined the patriot band at Concord, having rode his horse about 100 miles in 18 hours.

1777. First constitution of New York state adopted.

1792. French declared war against Francis I, as king of Hungary and Bohemia.

1795. Treaty between the French convention and the Chouans.

1798. JENKINS, known in London as the _tall clerk_, died. His outer coffin measured 8 feet. He was buried under the floors of the banking house which covered a part of St. Christopher's burying ground. £200 had been offered for his body.

1798. Engagement between the British ship Mars, 74 guns, Capt. A. Hood, and French ship L'Hercule, 74 guns, and 700 men. The British captured the Frenchman, but with the loss of Capt. Hood killed.

1809. Battle of Abensburgh; the Austrian army defeated by Napoleon, who took about 10,000 prisoners and 40 cannon. This defeat broke the lines of the Austrians, and exposed them to farther misfortunes.

1810. Great fire at Constantinople, 8,000 houses burnt.

1812. GEORGE CLINTON, vice-president of the United States, died. He was a member of the colonial assembly at the breaking out of the revolution, when he received the appointment of brigadier-general. He was selected governor of New York five times.

1813. The advance of the British and Indians appeared before Fort Meigs.

1821. FREDERICK CHARLES ACHARD, a Prussian naturalist and chemist, died. He is principally known as the inventor of a process of manufacturing sugar from beets, which has since been brought to great perfection.

1835. SAMUEL SLATER, "father of the cotton manufacturing business in the United States," died. The first cotton manufactory in this country was built by him at Pawtucket, R. I.; it was standing and in operation at the time of his death.

1838. A meteoric shower observed at Knoxville, Tenn.; 154 meteors being counted by two observers between the hours of 10 at night and 4 in the morning.

GEORGE NUGENT, general and field-marshal, died in England at the age of ninety-two. He was the oldest field officer in service, having entered it in 1773. He served throughout the American revolutionary war, and was employed in the expedition up the Hudson for the relief of Burgoyne's army. He was also present at the capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery.

1842. BERTRAND CASSEL, who for a time was a resident of the United States, and during that period was sentenced to death by the French government, died at Toulouse.

1845. WILLIAM READ, a member of Gen. Washington's staff, died at Charleston, S. C., aged 91.

1847. Battle of Cherubusco.

1854. An offensive and defensive alliance was signed between Austria and Prussia.

1854. The bill of Miss Dix, the philanthropist, granting ten millions of acres of the public lands to be distributed among the states, to ameliorate the condition of the indigent insane, was vetoed by the president.

1856. ROBERT L. STEVENS died at Hoboken, N. J., aged 68. He devoted much time to the improvement of steam machinery and steam boat models; was one of the projectors of the Camden and Amboy rail road, and at the time of his death was engaged by government in building an immense steam battery for harbor defence.

APRIL 21.

753 B. C. Anniversary of the foundation of Rome, in the 3d year of the 6th olympiad, 431 years after the destruction of Troy, and 116 years from the building of Carthage. Romulus was in his 17th year when he received the regal title, and his subjects consisted of a legion of 3,000 foot and 300 horse.

753 B. C. REMUS, the brother of Romulus, slain by the workmen who were building Rome, for ridiculing the weakness of the walls. Thus marked with blood at the outset, the city became the sanctuary of refugees and criminals, and to increase the population, neighboring females were dragged within its boundaries.

323 B. C. DIOGENES, _the cynic_, died at Corinth, aged 90. He was expelled from his native city, Synope, for coining false money. His smart sayings and repartees were taken for wisdom, and his misanthropy and residence in a tub for philosophy! He _snarled_ at the follies of men--wherein he differed from two other _great philosophers_, one of whom laughed at, the other wept for, the foibles of the world.

248. The thousandth anniversary of the foundation of Rome celebrated, in the reign of the emperor Philip, when Pompey's famous theatre was burnt.

1073. ALEXANDER II, pope, died. He possessed _one_ Christian virtue, that was charity for the Jews, whom he protected from murder and rapine.

1109. ANSELM, archbishop of Canterbury, died. He was no sooner invested with the robes, than he began a quarrel with the king, in which he was worsted. He was a haughty prelate, and the first who insisted on the celibacy of his clergy in England. He was canonized under Henry VII.

1143. PETER ABELARD, a learned Frenchman, died. His love and misfortunes have saved his memory from oblivion; and the man whom his own century have admired as a profound divine, is now celebrated as the martyr of love. The letters of Abelard and Heloise are frequently republished, and there is a voluminous life of the lovers by Berington.

1284. ALFONZO X (_the wise_), king of Castile and Leon, died. He was a man of great learning, and was the first king who had the public documents written in Spanish, which he did with a view to polish and enrich the language. His son usurped the throne, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he got it back again, by calling in the troops of the Moors; and the excommunication of the pope.

1480. WILLIAM CAXTON, the first English printer, finished the translation of _Ovid's Metamorphoses_, as we learn from his own memorandum, as follows: "_Ouyde his booke of Metamorphose Translated and fynnysshed by me William Caxton at Westmestre the xxii day of Apryll, the yere of our lord m.iiijc.iiijxx. And the xx yere of the Regne Kynge Edward the fourthe._" This work is not known to have been printed, but there are several fragments of the work preserved in manuscript.

1519. The armament under Cortez arrived on the coast of Chalchiucuechan, a part of the Mexican empire.

1526. Battle of Paniput, in Hindostan, between Ibrahim Lodi, sultan of Delhi, and the Tartar prince Raber. Ibrahim was defeated and killed, which decided the conquest of Hindostan by the Tartars.

1545. The mines of Potosi opened. They were discovered by an Indian peasant, while hunting. A shrub which he had laid hold of to support himself, was torn up by the roots, and disclosed to the hunter a rich mass of silver. The population of the city increased so rapidly that in 1611, a little more than half a century afterwards, there were 160,000 inhabitants, but in 1826 they had decreased to 12,000. There are at present less than 100 mines worked, and these conducted with great ignorance and disadvantage.

1671. ANTHONY GODEAU, a French divine, died. He was one of the first and brightest ornaments of the academy of belles-lettres, an active and attentive prelate, and exemplary in every part of his conduct. He wrote a valuable _Ecclesiastical History_, 3 vols. folio.

1679. The council of 30 constituted by Charles II. They consisted of 15 whigs and 15 tories--chosen by their property to balance the commons, the former valued at £300,000, that of the latter at £400,000.

1696. Brigadier AMBROSE ROCKWOOD with two others, convicted at Tyburn for high treason and executed on the 29th. They were the first prisoners having the benefit of council, &c.

1718. PHILIP DE LA HIRE, a French mathematician, died, aged 78. He is characterized as a great and good man whose days were employed in study, and his nights frequently in astronomical observations. His scientific pursuits were various, and his works numerous and valuable.

1757. Battle of Reichenberg, in Bohemia; the Prussians under Schwerin defeated the Austrians under Count Konigseg. Austrian loss 1,000 killed, 400 prisoners; Prussian loss, 100 killed and wounded.

1765. DAVID MALLET, a Scotch poet, died. His name is familiar as an author, although his place is not very high on the roll of fame; there is no species of composition in which he was eminent.

1770. Marriage of Louis XVI and Maria Antoinette, archduchess of Austria; when 4,000 persons perished in the crowd that assembled to witness the procession.

1773. ALI BEY, governor of Egypt, died. He was the son of a Greek sold by a band of robbers to the Janisaries, who raised him to power; and was finally enabled to throw off his obedience to the Porte. He was humane and generous, and possessed an elevated mind.

1794. Guadaloupe and its dependencies, Marigalante and Deseada, surrendered to the British.

1809. Battle of Landshut, in Bavaria, when Napoleon following up his victory of the previous day, attacked the Austrian army and defeated it. The Austrians lost 30 pieces of cannon, 9,000 prisoners, baggage, &c., and retreated to concentrate their forces at Eckmuhl.

1818. New York state library established.

1836. Battle of San Jacinto, in Texas, between the Mexicans, 1,500, under Santa Anna, and the Texans, 783, under Gen. Houston. The Mexicans were defeated, with the loss of 630 killed, 208 wounded, and 730 prisoners, among whom were Santa Anna and Gen. Cos; also 600 muskets, 390 sabres, 260 pistols, several hundred horses, and $12,000 in specie, fell into the hands of the victors, who lost 2 killed, 23 wounded.

1843. AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, duke of Sussex, died in London. He was an untiring patron of the deserving aspirants in any art.

1844. HENRY BALDWIN, one of the judges of the United States supreme court, died at Philadelphia.

1853. LEWIS C. BECK, noted for his attainments in natural science, died at Albany, aged 53. He published works on botany and chemistry, and one on the mineralogy of New York.

1855. A riot broke out at Chicago, occasioned by the license question; the military were called out.

APRIL 22.

1369. Corner stone of the bastile, (a name used to denote a fortress or prison,) laid at Paris, by Hugues d'Aubriot, provost des marchands, and the founder of the Huguenots. It was not completed till 1383. It was demolished 1789.

1509. HENRY VII of England died. The victory of Bosworth field and the death of Richard III left him in peaceable possession of the throne. He was an able and wise king, but insatiably covetous.

1519. Cortez arrived at San Juan Ulloa, in Mexico, where he received ambassadors from Montezuma, with rich presents, offering his services to the Spaniards, but declining to receive their visits at his court; and finally, after mutual messages and presents, refused to consent that foreign troops should appear nearer his capital, or remain longer in his dominions. "Truly this is a great monarch, and rich," said Cortez to his attendants; "with the permission of God we must see him."

1522. Battle of Villalar; count de Haro defeated Padillo, chief of the holy junta. Padillo was taken and executed next day, with John Bravo and Francis Maldonado, two of his chiefs.

1555. Sienna, in Tuscany, reduced by famine, surrendered to the Florentines, after a siege of 10 months.

1608. HUDSON sailed from England on his second voyage of discovery; but returned after spending about four months in the search of a northwest passage to England.

1638. WOUTER VAN TWILLER, having been superseded in the government of New Netherland, leased the farm or bouwery No. 1, belonging to the West India company, for three years, at an annual rent of 250 guilders ($100).

1697. Birthday of BELINDA CRAUFORD, who died in the beginning of June, 1812, aged 115, at Richmond, Galway county, Ireland. It is said that at the time of her death she could read and sew without spectacles, and what was more remarkable, looked as youthful as a girl of eighteen years, had a blooming complexion, her eyes animated and lively, and walked occasionally a distance of two miles to church.

1699. HANS ASSMAN VON ABSCHATZ, a German statesman and poet, died.

1699. JEAN RACINE, a French tragic poet, died. His pieces were received with great applause, and he came to be generally preferred to his contemporary Corneille, who had been previously looked upon as inimitable.

1702. FRANCIS CHARPENTIER, a Frenchman of learning and abilities, died. He greatly contributed to the noble series of medals struck in the reign of Louis XIV.

1715. Total eclipse of the sun in England. It occurred at 9 in the morning, when the stars appeared, and the birds sunk within their nests.

1730. A public library founded in New York.

1741. MATTHEW ELIAS, a painter, died; who, under the patronage of Corbeen, rose to great eminence in his profession.

1751. One, OSBORNE, and his wife accused by a publican at Tring, in Hertfordshire, England, of witchcraft, were brutally murdered by the populace.

1758. ANTHONY DE JUSSIEU, an eminent French botanist, died. He traveled over several countries of Europe in the pursuit of his favorite science, which he greatly improved.

1764. EDWARD COBELEN, an eminent English divine and theological writer, died. Although he enjoyed several clerical offices, he restricted himself to a small income, on which he lived with simplicity and contentment.

1792. ISAAC RENE GUY DE CHAPELLIER, a native of Rennes, in France, and a zealous advocate of liberty, died.

1794. CHRISTIAN WILLIAM DE LAMOIGNON MALESHERBES, an able French advocate and author, beheaded. After serving his country 25 years he retired; but was recalled by Louis XVI to be minister of the interior. When the unfortunate king was dragged before the revolutionary tribunal, Malesherbes boldly appeared to defend him. He was himself condemned by the same tribunal, and ascended the scaffold with his daughter and a grandchild.

1796. Demerara and its dependencies in Guiana, surrendered to the British.

1801. MURAD BEY, the celebrated Mameluke chief, died of the plague, while descending the Nile to join the English. He was succeeded by Tambourji, so named from having been a drummer.

1809. Battle of Eckmuhl, in which Bonaparte, having routed one division of the Austrian army two days in succession, executed a variety of movements, considered as among the most admirable displays of his science, by which he brought the whole of his force upon the army of the archduke Charles, which he had concentrated at Eckmuhl. The battle is said to have been one of the most splendid which the art of war could display. The Austrian army, of upwards of 100,000 men, were dispossessed of all their positions, by the combined attack of the French, whose divisions appeared on the field, each in its due place and order, as regularly as the movements of the various pieces in the game of chess. The battle commenced at two in the afternoon and continued till nightfall. It resulted in the complete overthrow of the Austrians; all their wounded, a great part of their artillery, fifteen stands of colors, and 20,000 prisoners, remained in the power of the French to which their loss in the field may be added. Their retreat was also attended with corresponding loss.

1826. Missolonghi taken by the Turks. It had been besieged several months, and was reduced to a heap of ruins by continued bombardments. The heroic garrison forced a passage through the besiegers, leaving the sick, aged and wounded in a mill containing a quantity of powder. An old wounded soldier took his seat on the mine, and fired it as soon as the Turks entered.

1829. Lepanto surrendered by capitulation to the Greeks.

1839. THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY, an English lyric poet, died. He is the author of about 30 plays, and many beautiful and popular songs.

1846. The Chilian ship Maria Helena arrived at Edgartown, Mass., from Valparaiso Dec. 7th; said to have been the first Chilian ship that ever visited the United States.

1850. The last publication of the bans of marriage in Massachusetts. It was the case of a black man who declared his intention to marry a white woman.

1853. An insurrection attempted at Freiburg, in Switzerland, by the Jesuit party; but was soon suppressed, with some loss of life.

1854. Odessa was bombarded by the allied fleets, and in ten hours a large part of the city was laid in ruins.

APRIL 23.

997. ADALBERT, the apostle of Prussia, murdered. He was archbishop of Prague, preached the gospel among the Bohemians, and afterwards among the Poles, where he was killed.

1016. ETHELRED II, king of England, died. To deliver himself from the heavy tribute which he paid the Danes, called _Danegelt_, he caused them to be put to death; whereupon England was invaded by Sweyn, and Ethelred obliged to fly to Normandy, where he remained till Sweyn's death.

1349. The order of the Garter instituted by Edward III.

1408. The heroic earl of Warwick, RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, on his way to the Holy Land, is challenged at Verona by Pandulph Malet, whose shoulder the English knight cleaved with his battleaxe.

1500. Brazil discovered by PEDRO ALVAREZ CABRAL, a Portuguese adventurer; who immediately sent home a ship with the intelligence, and the king took possession of it. But as the pope had given all the western infidels to the Spaniards, it is probable a great deal of trouble would have arisen out of the case, had not the two monarchs been kinsmen and friends.

1547. Battle of Mulhausen, in which the emperor Charles V defeated the Saxons, who lost 1200 killed, and the elector was wounded and taken prisoner.

1557. PETER DANES, professor of Greek at Paris, died. He was a prelate of great eloquence and extensive learning.

1616. WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, the English dramatist, died, aged 52. His history is shrouded in obscurity; but the success of his dramas, with the sobriety and moderation of his views, enabled him to retire early with a competence. The writings of this great poet of nature are found in the libraries of the greatest foes of the drama. This is also the anniversary of his birthday, 1564.

1616. MICHAEL DE CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, the Spanish novelist, died, aged 67. His life was attended with poverty and misfortune. The immortal _Don Quixote_, which wrought so great a change in the fashionable literature of the day, is still read and admired in almost every language.

1625. MAURICE of Nassau, prince of Orange, died. He succeeded his father in the government of the Low Countries, added to his dominions by conquest, and was considered the ablest general of his time.

1662. Charter of Connecticut granted, with ample privileges, by Charles II. John Winthrop was appointed governor until a new election should be made. The colony of New Haven was included in the charter, but did not consent to be united with the other colonies under one government. The fact was, they considered their civil and religious code rather superior to any thing else of the kind in the world, and were exceedingly jealous of contamination.

1676. Engagement off Aosta, in Sicily, between the French fleet under admiral du Quesne, and the Dutch fleet under De Ruyter, who was mortally wounded.

1709. The first number of the _Tatler_ was published by Steele, Addison and Swift.

1729. JEAN BARBEYRAC, an eminent French jurist, died. He has distinguished himself by many learned works, which show a high degree of erudition and a liberal spirit.

1740. THOMAS TICKELL, an English poet, died. He was the friend of Addison whose works he published, and translated the Iliad in opposition to Pope.

1750. ANDREW BAXTER, a Scottish metaphysician, died. His writings are highly lauded by Warburton. By one of them we learn that dreams are caused by the agency of separate immaterial beings.