Part 33

1745. Battle of Fontenoy, in Belgium, between the British and Hanoverians, under the duke of Cumberland, and the French under count de Saxe. The allies were defeated with great loss.

1758. German Flats in the colony of New York attacked by French Indians.

1762. The celebrated JOHN WILKES committed to the tower as the author of the _North Briton_, the 45th number of which was burnt by the common hangman.

1769. Battle of Choczine between the Russians and Turks.

1776. The eccentric EDWARD WORTLEY MONTAGUE died. He was the son of Lady Mary the author of the celebrated letters.

1781. ARNOLD, the traitor, made war upon 1,200 hogsheads of tobacco at Manchester, Va., and on his return to Petersburg conflagrated a large range of rope walks, a magazine of flour, all the vessels on the stocks, a number of warehouses, &c., and several fine mills. His progress was like that of the cannibal!

1789. WASHINGTON inaugurated first president of the United States.

1795. JEAN JACQUES BARTHELEMI, "the Nestor of French literature," died, aged 80. His principal work is _Travels of Anacharsis in Greece_.

1796. GEORGE ANDERSON, an English self-taught mathematician, died. His parents were peasants and he wrought as a day laborer till he attracted attention. He translated Archimedes' treatise on measuring the sands, and wrote a general view of the variations which have taken place in the affairs of the East India company. His intense application proved fatal to him at the age of 36, after which his widow received a pension, as a reward due to the merits of her husband.

1802. Lotea, in Spain, destroyed by the bursting of a reservoir, which inundated more than twenty leagues of the surrounding country, and "upwards of 1,000 _persons_ perished, _exclusive of cattle, &c._"

1810. The prince regent of Portugal prohibited the exportation of wine.

1812. Eruption of the Souffriere mountain, in St. Vincent, one of the Caribee islands. It was preceded by repeated earthquakes for 11 months. No flames had been emitted since 1718.

1812. SAMUEL ABBOT, a Boston merchant, died. He was one of the founders of Andover theological seminary, and contributed altogether about $125,000 to that institution.

1812. HENRY LEMOINE died. He was a bookseller, but better known as a translator of the German contributor to the _Gentleman's Magazine, &c._

1816. A spot on the sun visible with the naked eye at Philadelphia. It was seen for several days.

1840. GEORGE BRUMMELL, the celebrated _Beau Brummell_, died at Caen, in France, aged 62. He was the associate of George IV when prince of Wales, and was for a long time at the head of fashion and manners in England. He passed the latter part of his life in poverty, and towards the close of it, was confined in a madhouse.

1843. JACOB RIDGWAY, a wealthy mechanic, died at Philadelphia. He was in early life a shipcarpenter, and subsequently American consul at Antwerp. His property was estimated at $6,000,000. He was noted for liberality to mechanics and tenants.

1854. The first rail road opened in Brazil, the emperor and empress being present at the inauguration.

1854. JAMES MONTGOMERY, the poet and journalist, of Sheffield, died, aged 82.

1855. HENRY ROWLEY BISHOP, a noted English music composer, died, aged 68. He was the most distinguished representative of the English school of composition, and was knighted in 1842.

1857. W. B. BUCHANAN, an American poet, died, aged 63. He was long a correspondent of the _National Intelligencer_ and other papers, residing in Virginia.

MAY.

MAY 1.

305. DIOCLETIAN, the Roman emperor, abdicated the throne in the presence of the soldiery and a multitude of people, at Nicomedia, in the 21st year of his reign. When afterwards solicited by a friend to resume the purple, he calmly replied, that if he could show the _cabbages_ which he had planted at Salona with his own hands, he should no longer be urged to relinquish the enjoyment of happiness for the pursuit of power.

475. HENGHIST, the Saxon, caused 300 English noblemen to be murdered.

1119. HENRY I of England obtained a great victory over the Normans at Brenville.

1291. All the Italian merchants in the realm of France, called money lenders, seized by order of Philip the fair, for their ransoms.

1308. ALBERT I, emperor of Germany, assassinated by his nephew, John, duke of Swabia. The Swiss were led by his oppressions to assert their liberty.

1515. HENRY VIII and queen attended by nobles went a maying and were entertained by the noted forester Robin Hood.

1517. A riot among the London apprentices, against foreign artisans, which resulted in the death and mutilation of many of the latter, principally Frenchmen. It commenced at 9 o'clock in the evening, and continued till 3 in the morning. The exertions of the city authorities, who had notice of the meditated riot, were unable to prevent or quell it. The next morning, several hundred youths, from 13 years upwards, were arrested, and ten gallows, constructed to move from street to street, prepared for their execution. The ring leaders were drawn, hanged and quartered; when an order came from the king to suspend the execution, and the remainder were pardoned.

1557. England made her first commercial treaty with Russia.

1607. HENRY HUDSON sailed from Gravesend on his first voyage for the discovery of a northwest passage to India. In this voyage he discovered the island of Spitzbergen.

1619. The famous Calvinistic convocation, the synod of Dort, caused their decrees to be publicly read, and dissolved the council. (May 9? 29?)

1637. A court was summoned at Hartford, Conn., to take measures to secure the colony against the depredations of the Pequot Indians. They determined that an offensive war should be carried on against them, and voted to raise 90 men! The Pequots then numbered 5000 fighting men.

1660. The convention parliament having heard Charles's letters read by sir John Granville, voted that the government of England should be by king, lords, and commons.

1683. ROBERT FITZGERALD received a patent in England for making salt water fresh.

1701. JOHN DRYDEN, an illustrious English poet, died. "What he has done in any one species or distinct kind of writing would have been sufficient to have acquired him a great name."

1703. Battle of Pultusk, in Poland, in which the Swedes under Charles XII defeated 10,000 Poles.

1707. Union of England and Scotland consummated.

1708. CLAUDE DE VERT died; he devoted much attention to the ceremonies of the church of Rome, of which he wrote a history.

1727. FRANCIS PARIS, a French ecclesiastic, died. He retired from office, bestowing his property upon his brother, in order to devote himself to the austerities of a religious life. After his death crowds flocked to his grave to touch his holy monument, till the authorities caused the church yard to be shut.

1737. JOHN ALPHONSUS TURRETINI died; professor of ecclesiastical history at Geneva, distinguished for his learning.

1755. JOHN BAPTIST OUDRI died; an admired French painter.

1760. WILLIAM DUNCAN died; an ingenious Scottish critic, professor of philosophy at Aberdeen, and translator of _Cæsar's Commentaries_.

1771. LOUIS PETIT DE BACHAUMON died; a native of Paris, known as the author of several literary works.

1772. GOTTFRIED ACHENWALL, an eminent German lecturer on statistics, history and the laws of nature, died at Göttingen.

1774. WILLIAM HEWSON died; an eminent English anatomist, and medical author.

1775. ISRAEL LYONS died; a celebrated English mathematician.

1776. Dr. ADAM WEISHAUPT, professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, founded the secret society of the illuminati.

1785. MILES COOPER died; a learned English divine and poet.

1786. GIBBON concluded the fourth volume of his _History_, immortal as its subject.

1789. The states general of France met at Paris, convened by the king to calm the troubles of the state, which he had not power to quell, and which had now assumed a menacing appearance towards royalty itself.

1790. Indian war commenced between the British and Tippo Saib, sultan of Mysore.

1807. Slave trade in the West Indies proscribed in the British parliament.

1808. A volcano broke out in the island of St. George, one of the Azores. A crater was formed in the centre of the island, amidst fertile pastures, 3,500 feet in height, and this beautiful island, before rich in cattle, corn and wine, became a scene of ruin and devastation.

1809. GOTTLIEB CONRAD PFEFFEL, one of the best poets of Germany, died. He became blind at the age of 21, a misfortune which he bore more than 80 years, and rendered himself a useful citizen by conducting a school where many excellent scholars were educated.

1813. British and Indians opened their fire upon fort Meigs, from a 24, a 12 and a 6 pounder, and a howitzer. They fired 260 shot, and wounded 8 men, 1 mortally.

1813. JOHN BAPTIST BESSIERS, duke of Istria, killed. He distinguished himself under Napoleon, by whom he was greatly lamented. He was killed in the combat that preceded the battle of Lutzen.

1813. JAMES DELILLE, one of the most celebrated of modern French poets, died.

1814. PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT, a distinguished revolutionary patriot, died at his seat at Croton river, aged 94. He was a member of the first provincial congress, and eighteen years lieutenant governor of the state of New York.

1823. The skeleton, entire, of a mammoth, was discovered at Ilford, in Essex, England.

1830. The Comet started on her first trip up the Arkansas, being the first steam boat that ascended that river.

1837. An official return stated that there were 70,000 English residents in France, and over 24,000 in Paris alone.

1838. Battle of Rio Pardo, in Rio Grande, between the troops of the emperor of Brazil, about 1,800 in number, and the republican forces; the former were completely routed.

1839. HERBERT MARSH, professor of divinity in the university of Cambridge, England, died. He was the author of many learned theological works and controversial publications.

1848. Insurrectionary movements at Rome in consequence of the pope's refusal to declare war against Austria.

1854. Great flood in the Connecticut valley; the water was 29½ feet above low water mark, and 2½ feet higher than during the great flood of 1801. Hundreds of persons were driven from their dwellings and drowned.

1855. The French under Gen. Pelissier carried the Russian works at Sebastopol, in front of the central bastion, and held them against vigorous sorties, taking eight small mortars, and 200 prisoners.

1855. An extraordinary eruption of mount Vesuvius commenced, which in ten days had advanced ten miles from its original source.

1856. OGDEN HOFFMAN, a distinguished member of the New York bar, died, aged 62. He served as a midshipman in the last war with Great Britain, after which he studied law, and took the front rank in his profession, and showed an eminent fitness for the public offices which he filled.

1856. GEORGE JAMES GUTHRIE, an eminent British surgeon, died in London, aged 71. He published several valuable works on surgery.

MAY 2.

373. ATHANASIUS, patriarch of Alexandria, died. His parents were pagans; he became a Christian, and distinguished himself by his learning, and the zeal with which he opposed the Arian heresy.

1450. The duke of Suffolk, prime minister to Henry VI of England, beheaded in a boat at Calais. During his ministry England lost most of her possessions in France. Yet his murder was resented by the formidable rebellion of _Jack Cade_.

1487. LAMBERT SIMNEL, an impostor, crowned at Dublin, by the title of Edward VI.

1494. COLUMBUS discovered the island of Jamaica.

1519. LEONARDO DA VINCI, a celebrated Italian painter, died. He distinguished himself in early youth by the variety of studies which he accomplished. He afterwards became the head of the Florentine school of painting.

1520. SEBASTIAN BRANDT died; counsellor of Strassburg, a lawyer, and author of a curious poem.

1550. JOAN BOCHER, of Kent, England, burnt for heresy.

1568. MARY, queen of Scots, aided by the gallant George Douglass, escaped from the castle of Lochleven, where she was confined after the murder of Darnley.

1595. ANTHONY, titular king of Portugal, died at Paris, a fugitive from the victorious arms of the Spaniards.

1606. FERNAND DE QUIROS discovered the New Hebrides islands.

1611. The Half Moon, in which HUDSON made his memorable voyage of discovery, sailed in company with another vessel to the East Indies, under captain Laurens Redel, and was lost. (March 6.)

1635. HORACE VERE, an English general, died. He was created baron Tilbury by Charles I for meritorious services.

1667. GEORGE WITHERS, an English pastoral poet, died. He was so zealous a partisan of democracy, and of Cromwell, that the authorities frequently placed him in a straight jacket. His poems were numerous and quaint.

1679. JAMES SHARP, archbishop of St. Andrews, assassinated for his zeal in the cause of the episcopacy in Scotland.

1691. GEORGE MACKENZIE, a Scottish lawyer, died. He figured conspicuously in trials of witchcraft, which puzzled the best heads in those days, and it is probable that he dealt with that sin most thoroughly, for he received the appellation of "the blood thirsty advocate." He was a literary character, however, of no small note, and was among the first Scotchmen who wrote the English language in a style approaching to purity.

1711. LAWRENCE HYDE, earl of Rochester, died; deservedly respected as an able statesman.

1753. LEONOR JEAN CHRISTINE SOULAS D'ALLAINVAL died; a native of Chartres, in France, and author of several comedies of merit.

1774. Permission was given to the society of antiquaries to open the stone coffin of Edward I, and it was found that the body was in a perfect state of preservation, and measured 6 feet 2 inches. It had been placed in wax.

1777. DAVID WOOSTER, a revolutionary officer, died of a wound received in pursuing the British from Danbury (April 27). He graduated at Yale college, and at the commencement of hostilities was appointed to the chief command of the Connecticut troops.

1785. JOHN LEWIS MOREAU DE BEAUMONT, a French political author, died. His works are much and deservedly admired.

1795. The number of prisoners confined in the 12 prisons of Paris amounted to 2338.

1802. BONAPARTE constituted first consul for a second term of ten years.

1808. Embargo laid on American shipping in France.

1808. The royal family of Spain sent prisoners to France. At the sight of this procedure, there was a general insurrection of the inhabitants of Madrid, who attacked the French soldiers with knives, and a bloody contest took place, which was only quelled by scouring the streets with grape shot. The Spaniards finally desisted on seeing their resistance fruitless. It is estimated that 4,000 French and 6,000 Spaniards lost their lives.

1808. JOHN COLLINS died; author of _The Evening Brush_, an oral entertainment of story, song and sentiment, which he delivered many years with great success, in all the principal towns in Great Britain. In this sort of entertainment he has had many followers, among whom the most noted was Charles Matthews.

1809. Battle of Amaranta, in Portugal, in which the Portuguese were defeated by the French under Soult.

1813. Battle of Lutzen, between the French army under Bonaparte, and the allies, under the kings of Russia and Prussia. The attack was commenced by the allies under Blucher upon the French centre, with a fury irresistible. The battle was for a long time maintained by both armies with obstinate energy. It was the more desperate and deplorable, says sir Walter Scott, that on the one side fought the flower of the Russian youth, which had left their universities to support the cause of national honor and freedom; and on the other, the young men of Paris, many of them of the best rank, who bravely endeavored to sustain their country's long pre-eminent claim to victory. Both combatted under the eyes of their respective sovereigns, maintained the honor of their country, and paid an ample tribute to the carnage of the day. The victory finally resulted to the arms of the French, by the superior generalship of their great leader, and the determined bravery of his troops. The allies sustained a loss of 20,000, and among them several experienced officers. The French loss was severe.

1817. CATHARINE RUSH died at Philadelphia, aged 110 years, 11 months.

1821. HESTER LYNCH PIOZZI, an English authoress, died. She is known as Mrs. Thrale, the friend of Dr. Johnson.

1825. ADAM SEYBERT, an American statistical writer, died at Paris. He was a member of congress from Philadelphia, and a man of science.

1836. JEREMIAH HOLME WHIFFEN, an English poet, died. He belonged to the society of friends, published a variety of miscellaneous poems, a translation of the Spanish poet Garcilasso de la Vega, and of Tasso.

1840. THOMAS MANNING, an eminent English linguist, died, aged 67. Having made several ineffectual attempts to penetrate China, his services were solicited by the British government, to accompany lord Amherst in his embassy to that country. He made himself one of the first Chinese scholars in Europe, and collected one of the finest Chinese libraries to be found in that quarter of the world.

1844. WILLIAM BECKFORD, author of the Arabian tale entitled _Vathek_, with many other works, died at Fonthill, England.

1855. GEORGE HEAD, a British commissariat, died, aged 73. He published several valuable works, relating to different parts of the world, where his duties called him, and was knighted in 1831.

1856. JAMES GATES PERCIVAL, an eminent American poet and philosopher, died in Wisconsin, aged 60. He was a native of Connecticut, graduated at Yale college, and studied medicine, but devoted himself to the cultivation of poetry, and the pursuit of science. He assisted in preparing _Webster's Dictionary_ for the press, and superintended the publication of _Malte Brun's Geography_. He afterwards made a geological survey of Connecticut, and in 1854 was appointed state geologist of Wisconsin, in which service he died. Although distinguished for his attainments in philology and general science, he will be chiefly remembered as one of the eminent American poets.

MAY 3.

1324. A poetic festival at Toulouse called _jeux floraux_, to which all the poets of the _Langue d'Oc_ were invited, where the composer of the best poem was to receive a violet of fine gold. The celebrated troubadour, Arnaud Vidal, won the prize.

1381. JOHN BALL, a priest and compeer of the notorious Wat Tyler, preached to Tyler's army from the proverbial rhyme:

"When Adam dalfe and Eve span, Who was then a gentleman?"

1410. ALEXANDER V, pope, died. He was originally a beggar, but found means to cultivate his mind, and rose by degrees in the church till he reached the pontifical chair. He is distinguished as a man of great firmness, liberal and munificent.

1481. MAHOMET II, sultan of Turkey, died. He took Constantinople from the Christians, thereby driving many learned men into the West, which was a great cause of the restoration of learning in Europe.

1493. The pope issued a _great bull_, by which the infidel world was divided between Ferdinand and Isabella on the one hand, and the Portuguese on the other. That is, the Spanish were granted the full right to all countries inhabited by infidels which they should discover west of an imaginary line drawn from pole to pole, at a distance of 100 leagues westward of the Azores, while the Portuguese were to have all east of that line.

1568. DOMINIQUE DE GOURGES, having destroyed the Spanish settlements in Florida, embarked for France. The Spaniards had seized the French settlements in the same places, and murdered the inhabitants. Gourges fitted out three vessels and 150 soldiers at his own expense to revenge their death, and repair the honor of his nation. The Spaniards were well fortified to the number of 400 in their forts; but de Gourges resolutely pressed forward, and after a desperate assault carried the forts. Those who escaped the massacre were hung upon the same trees on which the Frenchmen had previously been hung. The Spaniards had placed over their victims a label, signifying, "_I do not this as to Frenchmen, but as to Lutherans_." De Gourges replaced it with a tablet of fir wood, on which was graven the following: "_I do not this as to Spaniards, nor as to mariners, but as to traitors, robbers and murderers_."

1573. A border feud at Reedsquair, between the English and Scottish marchmen, in which the former were completely beaten. This skirmish was the last of any note between the two nations.

1621. Sentence of fine and imprisonment passed upon lord Bacon in the house of peers for bribery.

1649. ISAAC DORISLAUS assassinated; a Dutchman who went from Leyden to England and read lectures on history at Cambridge. He was alternately royalist and republican during the civil wars; and was stabbed to the heart by some enthusiastic royalist while on an embassy to Holland.

1655. The English took the island of Jamaica from the Spanish.

1664. The earl of Tiviot, governor of Tangier, surprised and defeated by the Moors.

1697. KALDAN, khan of the Eleuts, who had for several years eluded the formidable armies sent against him annually from China, accompanied by the emperor himself, being finally reduced to the last extremity, and abandoned by his best subjects, put an end to his life by poison.

1702. Lord CORNBURY commenced his administration of the government of New York.

1711. RICHARD CHISWELL, a noted English printer and an extensive publisher, died.

1733. RICHARD COX, lord chancellor of Ireland, died. He published a history of that kingdom.

1747. Naval battle between the English fleet under Anson and Warren, and the French fleet under M. de la Jonquiere, which was convoying six East India ships and a number of transports and merchantmen to Canada. After a regular and well fought battle, the French struck their colors. The loss of the French killed and wounded was 700; that of the British 500. The trophies of the victory were six men of war and all of their East India ships, and between four and five thousand prisoners. The treasure taken on board these vessels was afterwards conveyed to the bank of England in 20 wagons. The French loss by this defeat was estimated at one million and a half.

1759. A young woman in England who had laid a considerable wager that she could ride 1000 miles in 1000 hours, finished her match in a little more than two-thirds of that time. At her coming in the country people strewed flowers in her way.

1763. GEORGE PSALMANAZAR, a literary impostor, died. He was a native of France, and obtained a thorough education. After various adventures he arrived at London under the character of a Japanese converted to Christianity, was patronized by the great, and undertook to translate the catechism into Japanese, and wrote a history of the country. Some absurdities were detected, when he confessed himself an impostor, and afterwards subsisted by turning his pen to better employment.

1765. Sujah ul DOWLAH defeated at Calpy, in India, by the British.

1776. Sir PETER PARKER'S squadron of 20 sail arrived at Cape Fear river, with lord Cornwallis.

1784. ANTHONY BANEZET, a philanthropist of Philadelphia, died. He was a native of France, and early engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he abandoned to devote his attention to objects of benevolence and philanthropy, in which he continued during a long life.

1793. Battle of Famars, in which the allies drove the French from their camp with great loss.

1794. JAMES WILLIAM THOURET guillotined; he was president of the national assembly when Louis XVI accepted the constitution of 1791.

1797. The first commencement of Union College for conferring degrees in the arts and sciences.