Part 55

1763. JOHN DALTON, an English divine, died. He prepared Milton's masque of _Comus_ for the stage; sought out the poet's grand-daughter, then overwhelmed with age and poverty, and procured her a benefit which produced £120. His works consist of sermons, poems, &c.

1776. The foundation stone of the far-famed observatory on Calton hill, near Edinburgh, Scotland, was laid.

1779. Battle of Minisink.

1793. The city of Mentz surrendered to the Prussians.

1794. JOHN BENJAMIN DE LA BORDE, a French writer, guillotined. He was valet to Louis XV, upon whose death he was appointed farmer-general.

1802. Action between the United States frigate Constellation, captain Murray, and 9 Tripolitan gun boats. Four of them were driven on shore, and the remainder took shelter in Tripoli.

1802. MARIE FRANCIS XAVIER BICHAT, an eminent French physician and author, died, aged 31.

1805. Action off Feroll, between the British fleet, 11 sail, and the French and Spanish fleets, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of two large ships captured.

1807. Battle of Novoleski; the advance of the Russians under prince Bagration defeated a strong body of French chasseurs with great slaughter, taking only 150 prisoners. Bagration rushed on, and near Mohiloff a sanguinary action took place. French loss 4,000; Russians lost 3,000.

1812. Battle of Salamanca, in Spain; the British under Wellington defeated the French under Marmont, who lost an arm. Of the French, 7,000 were taken prisoners, and it was owing to the night and Clausel's skill and science that the army was saved from destruction. British loss 5,220.

1813. GEORGE SHAW died; an eminent English naturalist and writer on zoology, and principal keeper of natural history in the British museum.

1823. WILLIAM BERTRAM, a distinguished American botanist died, aged 82. His father was the first American who conceived and carried into effect the design of a botanical garden, for the cultivation of American plants as well as exotics.

1826. JOSEPH PIAZZI, a celebrated astronomer, died at Palermo. He made a new catalogue of the stars, consisting of 7,646, and in 1801 discovered an eighth planet, which he named Ceres Ferdinandia. He is the author of several scientific works.

1832. FRANCIS CHARLES JOSEPH BONAPARTE, duke of Reichstadt, died, aged 21. He was the only son of Napoleon Bonaparte and Maria Louisa; is said to have possessed distinguished talents, united with great kindness of disposition, and early gave indications that his ruling passion was military ambition.

1833. WILLIAM THOMPSON died at Hickory hill, Baltimore county, Md., aged 112.

1836. ARMAND CARREL, a French republican, killed in a duel. He was principal editor of the _Nationel_ of Paris. A monument by David is over his grave.

1839. Ghuznee, one of the strongest places in Asia, defended by a garrison of 3,500 Afghans, under a son of the ex-king of Cabul, was taken by the British under general Keane; 500 of the garrison being killed and the rest taken. British loss about 200.

1850. SARAH MARGARET FULLER D'OSSOLI, a distinguished American authoress, with her husband and child, perished near Fire island, on their homeward passage to New York.

1852. EXCELMANS, a noted French general, died at Paris, aged 77. He first gained distinction under Oudinot, in 1799; commanded a part of the cavalry at Waterloo, and was raised to the dignity of marshal of France.

1854. A new planet was discovered by the astronomer Hind, from the observatory at Regents park, London.

JULY 23.

1401. The city of Bagdad sacked by the Tartars under Tamerlane (_Timour the Lame_,) who erected on her ruins a pyramid of 90,000 heads.

1531. Treaty of Nuremberg between Charles V and the reformers, and soon after solemnly ratified by the diet of Ratisbon.

1562. GŒTZ VON BERLICHINGEN (_with the iron hand_), a bold, restless and warlike German knight, died. He placed himself at the head of the rebellious peasantry in the war which they waged against their oppressors, but was soon taken prisoner.

1584. ELIZABETH RUSSEL died; an English lady, distinguished for a well cultivated mind and a taste for literature.

1584. JOHN DAY, an eminent English printer, died. He was the first who printed in Greek and Saxon characters in England, and is deserving of remembrance for his enterprise in the publication of many extensive works, the effect of which was to facilitate the progress of the reformation.

1588. Date of the oldest preserved newspaper in England, the _English Mercurie_, by queen Elizabeth. It had been printed at intervals before, as this was the fiftieth number, and is still preserved in the British museum. It is printed in the Roman character. (May 28.)

1602. The _lacteals_ discovered by Caspar Asselli, while dissecting a dog. The discovery was accidental.

1627. ROBERT SHIRLEY, a native of England, died in Persia. He made a visit to Persia, and was induced to settle there; became a favorite with the emperor, who gave him his niece in marriage, and sent him as his ambassador to Poland and England.

1637. The _cuttie_ stool thrown by a woman at the head of the bishop, in St. Giles's church, Edinburgh.

1691. HENRY SLOUGHTER, governor of the province of New York, died, after a short, weak and turbulent administration, and was buried in Stuyvesant's vault, next to the old Dutch governor.

1692. GILES MENAGE, a learned French author, died. He acquired the title of the Varro of his time, and became so popular that Mazarin even was jealous of him. He left numerous valuable works.

1712. ACHILLE DE HARLEY died; first president of the parliament of Paris, and an upright magistrate.

1741. Battle of Williamstadt, in Sweden, between the Russians and Swedes.

1752. ALEXANDER POLITI, an Italian professor of great learning, died at Pisa. He published an edition of Eustathius's _Commentary on Homer_, with a Latin translation, and notes, 5 vols. folio; a labor of great value.

1757. Zittau, in Saxony, bombarded, taken and destroyed by the Austrians; the inhabitants, as well as the Prussian troops who defended it were put to the sword.

1758. Battle of Sangershausen; the Hessians defeated by the French under Soubise; who, although victorious, lost 2,000 men.

1765. In Lapland, 120 reindeer were struck dead by lightning.

1773. GEORGE EDWARDS, styled the father of ornithologists, died, aged 81. He was apprenticed to a trade, but as soon as his indentures expired he began to travel, and extended his researches into various countries of Europe. The first volume of his work appeared in 1743, and the whole was completed in 1764, in 7 vols. 4to, containing engravings and descriptions of upwards of 600 subjects in natural history never before delineated.

1779. The Minisink settlements in Orange co., N. Y., attacked by the Indians under Brant, by whom it was also plundered and burnt, and the inhabitants either killed or carried away.

1780. Battle in North Carolina, between 300 militia under colonel Lock, and the British and tories under Moore. The latter proposed a cessation of hostilities for one hour, which being agreed to, he decamped with his party.

1785. The Germanic union concluded; the last act of importance of the life of Frederick II.

1793. ROGER SHERMAN, one of the signers, died.

1794. ALEXANDER BEAUHARNAIS, a French general, guillotined. He served in the American war under Rochambeau, was some time president of the national assembly of France, afterwards commanded the army of the Rhine, and in 1793 was minister of war. He was condemned on a false accusation, and perished at the age of 34. His widow, Josephine, was the first wife of Bonaparte.

1800. JOHN FRANCIS VAUVILLIERS, a learned Greek scholar, died. He was for 20 years professor of Greek at Paris, but finally driven out by the revolution, and invited to St. Petersburg by the emperor, where he died.

1816. ELIZABETH HAMILTON died; an English lady of great talents and acquirements, who left several excellent works on various subjects.

1816. The Enterprise arrived at Charleston from Savannah; being the first steam boat ever seen in that city it excited a great deal of curiosity.

1832. Battle near Coimbra, Portugal, between the forces of Don Pedro, 8,000 men, and those of Don Miguel, 12,500, in which the latter were defeated.

1836. HUGH SHAW died, aged 113.

1838. FREDERICK CUVIER, the well known French naturalist, died at Strasburg.

1855. JOSEPH C. HART, American consul, died at Santa Cruz, Canary islands. He was a man of literary taste and an author.

1855. The insurgent Mexicans under general Vidauri, at Saltillo, defeated the government forces under generals Cruz and Guitian, and drove them from the city.

JULY 24.

634. ABUBEKIR, father-in-law of Mohammed, the Arabian prophet, died. He was elected caliph, and supported with energy the fabric already erected by the founder of the new religion. He subdued the disaffected tribes at home, and turned his arms successfully against foreign invaders.

1313. RALPH DE BALDOCK, bishop of London, died. He wrote a history of British affairs, now lost, and was a virtuous and charitable prelate, and a man of learning and judgment.

1322. BRUCE, after ravaging the western marches in England during 24 days, returned home with his wagons filled with plunder.

1411. Battle between the Gaelic and Lowland Scottish factions, led by the earl of Mar, and Donald of the Isles. This battle was of the highest importance, since it decided the superiority of the more civilized regions of Scotland over those inhabited by the Celtic tribes, who remained almost as savage as their forefathers, the Dulriads.

1520. HENRY STEPHENS, a celebrated French printer, the founder of the family of that name, died at Lyons.

1527. FRANCISCO ALVAREZ, a Spanish traveler, returned from an expedition to Africa. He accompanied an embassy from the king of Portugal to David, king of Abyssinia, in 1515. The expedition met with many obstacles, and did not arrive till 1520. He published an account of his travels at Lisbon, 1540, a work of great fidelity and merit.

1567. Queen MARY, a prisoner in Lochleven castle, subscribed the instrument by which she resigned the Scottish crown in favor of her son, James VI, afterwards king of England.

1590. STEPHEN TABOUROT (_sieur des accords_), a French writer, died.

1595. ANDREW DE BRANCAS DE VILLARS, a French general, murdered. He espoused the interests of the league against Henry IV, but afterwards abandoned it, was taken prisoner and despatched.

1595. CHARLES DE LORAINE D'AUMALE, a French nobleman, broken on the wheel at Paris, _in effigy_. After the assassination of the duke of Guise, he became the head of the league against the Calvinists, and secretly aimed at the throne. He even took possession of Paris, sent the members of the parliament to the Bastile, and compelled the king to fly. But meeting with reverses, he joined the Spaniards, was outlawed, and the parliament being unable to take him, executed their sentence upon his effigy. He resided principally in Flanders, till his death, which took place at Brussels, 1631, at the age of 77.

1609. The expedition under Somers, (see June 2,) overtaken by a tremendous tempest. The admiral ship was severed from the rest "by the _tail_ of a mighty hurricane," but at length after having _drank to one another_, "as taking their last leaves, intending to commit themselves to the mercy of the sea, most luckily the ship was driven and _jammed between two rocks_."

1712. Battle of Denain; the French under Villars defeated the allies under Albemarle, who was taken, together with four German princes, and many other prisoners.

1722. The wearing of broadswords prohibited in Edinburgh.

1744. ALPHONSO DE VIGNOLES, a French protestant, died. He retired to Prussia on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, where he was patronized by the king, and wrote several learned works.

1755. ELISHA WILLIAMS, president of Yale college, died; esteemed for his learning and great moral worth.

1756. GEORGE VERTUE, an English engraver and antiquary, died.

1758. JOHN DYER, an English poet, died. In 1727 he published the poem of _Grongar Hill_, and soon after he went to Italy to delineate the antiquities of that country, under the title of the _Ruins of Rome_, a poem which places him high on the scale of merit as a writer.

1759. Battle of Niagara. The English under sir William Johnson defeated the French and Indians with great slaughter, and took fort Niagara. The loss of this fortress effectually cut off all communication between Canada and Louisiana.

1768. NATHANIEL LARDNER, an eminent English divine, died. His literary labors, which have been published in 11 vols., were translated into various languages abroad, and procured him great distinction at home.

1779. An expedition fitted out by Massachusetts to take a British post at Penobscot, totally defeated by the unexpected arrival of the British fleet. The troops were dispersed in all directions, and found their way home with difficulty; 19 vessels were taken or destroyed, and 24 transports burnt.

1797. Unsuccessful attack of the British upon Santa Cruz, Teneriffe. Lord Nelson lost his right arm.

1804. ADOLPHUS CHARLES ADAM, afterwards a distinguished musical performer, born at Paris.

1813. An attempt made by several United States officers to blow up the British ship Plantagenet, in Lynnhaven bay, with a torpedo. It exploded without effecting their purpose, though so near the vessel as to injure it.

1817. About mid-day, after a loud detonation, the lake Canterno, or Porciano, in Italy, totally disappeared. A large opening was discovered in the bottom, through which the waters were supposed to have escaped into the sinuosities of the neighboring mountains.

1822. ERNEST THEODORE WILLIAM HOFFMAN, a Prussian novelist, died. He possessed much imagination and talent, but was an irregular and unhappy man.

1830. The thermometer at noon in Boston stood at 95°, at sundown at 50°, and fires were made.

1833. Lisbon surrendered to the army of don Pedro, under the duke of Terceira.

1848. An intended insurrection at Cuba; the government becoming apprised of it, general Lopez, the head conspirator, escaped to the United States.

1849. JOHN L. LAWRENCE died, aged about 67. He was one of the secretaries who assisted at the treaty of Ghent; well known in the councils and commerce of the state, and at the time of his death comptroller of the city of New York.

1853. HEZEKIAH C. SEYMOUR, engineer in chief of the state of New York, died at Piermont, aged 42. His name is prominently associated with the New York and Erie rail road, and with the Ontario, Huron, and lake Simcoe rail road in Canada.

1854. HENRY KING, a British general, died, aged 77. He had been a soldier for sixty years, serving in the West Indies, Egypt, Walcheren, and the Peninsula. In Egypt he lost a leg, but that did not prevent him from subsequently taking part in the war.

1854. The American fishing vessel Ellen Morrill, was captured by the British cruisers, and carried into the port of Bathurst, causing much excitement among the fishermen.

1855. Violent and repeated shocks of an earthquake destroyed the Swiss villages of St. Nicholas and Viege, during this and the preceding day.

JULY 25.

306. CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS, emperor of Rome, died at York palace, and was succeeded the same day by his son Constantine the Great.

811. NICEPHORUS I, emperor of Rome, died. He was chancellor of the eastern empire, and seized the throne 807, banishing the empress Irene to Mitylene. He overcame all opposition from his own subjects, but was vanquished by the Bulgarians, and fell in battle.

1139. Battle of Aurique, in Portugal; Alphonse I vanquished five Moorish kings and their barbaric heads were emblazoned in the arms of the monarchy.

1214. Battle of Bouvines, in France, in which the forces of Otho were overthrown by Philip Augustus, and peace restored.

1261. The Greek emperor, MICHAEL PALÆOLOGUS, expelled the Latins from Constantinople, who had taken possession of it nearly 60 years previous.

1441. ROGER BOLINGBROKE, chaplain to the duke of Gloucester, having been convicted of necromancy, was exposed, with his instruments, to the public finger, at St. Paul's, in London.

1471. THOMAS A KEMPIS (_Thomas Hammerken of Kempen_), a famous German theologian, died, aged 92. He displayed great piety and devotion, and instead of confining himself to transcribing books of devotion, like the rest of his brethren, composed works of divinity himself, one of which, _De Imitatione Christi_, has been translated into nearly all languages in the world.

1505. PHILIP BEROLDUS, a French professor of belles-letters, died. He was extremely dissipated in youth, but reformed after marriage, and produced several works, in prose and verse. He was a man of great learning for that age, and is noted for his valuable edition of the classics.

1535. CHARLES V, emperor of Germany, having assembled a powerful fleet, landed at Tunis, and carried by assault the fortress of Goletta. This gave him possession of Barbarossa's fleet of 87 galleys and 300 cannon. Having reinstated Muley Hassan and liberated more than 20,000 slaves, he returned to Europe.

1554. Queen MARY of England married to Philip of Spain at Winchester.

1564. FERDINAND I, emperor of Germany, died. He became king of Hungary and Bohemia 1527, and was elected king of the Romans 1531. On the abdication of his brother, Charles V, he succeeded to the empire, and governed with great moderation and prudence.

1593. HENRY IV, of France, formally renounced the protestant faith at St. Denys, rather than perish by the hand of an assassin.

1603. King JAMES and his queen crowned at Westminster by archbishop Whitgift.

1653. The assembly of the Scottish church being met at Edinburgh were dismissed by Cotterel for not having the authority of the parliament of England, and commanded that not three of them should be seen together.

1659. The pope, ALEXANDER VII, acknowledged by a papal brief, the king of France sovereign of the conquests and colonies which his subjects had made in the American isles. Hitherto the court of Rome had preserved inviolate the _universal grant_ of that infamous man, pope Alexander VI, in 1493, to his catholic majesty, the king of Spain. (See May 3.)

1666. Engagement at the mouth of the Thames, between the English fleet under Rupert and Albemarle, and the Dutch under Van Tromp and De Ruyter. Each fleet consisted of about 80 sail. Three Dutch admirals were killed.

1722. New England declared war against the Indians. The small pox at that time was waging a war with both.

1724. A violent persecution of the protestants began in France.

1757. The duke of Cumberland defeated by d'Estrees at Hastenbeck.

1759. General JOHNSON took fort Niagara in America.

1790. WILLIAM LIVINGSTON, governor of New Jersey, died. He was a member of the New York bar, and a warm advocate of the rights of the colonies. He removed to New Jersey, and on the deposition of the royal governor, Franklin, he was elected to fill his place, which he held till the time of his death.

1790. JOHN BERNARD BASEDOW died; at one time professor of moral philosophy and belles-lettres, at Soroe in Denmark, from which he was expelled for some irreverent remarks on religion. He was the son of a barber at Hamburg, and acquired a reputation for learning and ability.

1794. FREDERICK VON DER TRENCK, a Prussian baron, guillotined at Paris. For some imprudent conduct he excited the indignation of the authorities, and was imprisoned a long time at Magdeburg. He finally escaped to France, where he became obnoxious to the guardians of the state, and suffered death at the age of 70. The account of his imprisonment and adventures, written by himself, and highly spiced with romance, is translated into English.

1795. WILLIAM ROMAINE, an eminent English divine, died; author of many valuable theological works.

1799. Battle of Aboukir, in Egypt, between the French under Bonaparte, and the Turks, Arabs and Mamelukes, under Mustapha. The Egyptians were defeated, with the loss of their general and 200 taken prisoners, with all their equipage and 20 cannon; 2,000 dead on the field, and about 10,000 driven into the sea and drowned.

1804. GEORGES and 11 of his companions guillotined at Paris for a conspiracy against Bonaparte.

1804. The American squadron, consisting of the Constitution frigate, 3 brigs, 3 schooners, 2 bomb and 6 gun boats, arrived in sight of Tripoli.

1812. Battle of Ostrovna; the Russians under Ostermann Tolstoy defeated by the French. The battle continued two days; the loss was about 4,000 on each side.

1814. Battle of Bridgewater, (alias Lundy's Lane,) near Niagara falls, between the British under Riall, and the Americans under Brown. It was a sanguinary action, and for the numbers engaged, perhaps unequaled in modern warfare; in which both the senior generals were wounded. British loss 878 killed and wounded and missing; American loss 860 do. The battle commenced at 5 P. M., and ended at 12 in the defeat of the British, 2,700 veteran regulars, exclusive of a large body of Indians.

1814. CHARLES DIBDIN, a celebrated English song writer and dramatist, died. His songs amount to upwards of 1,200; he has scarcely an equal in the number and merit of this species of composition.

1824. WILLIAM SHARP, an eminent English engraver, died. He rose to distinction in his art by his own unassisted exertions, but was in other respects a very simple character. His works are numerous and held in high estimation.

1830. CHARLES X of France ordained that the liberty of the periodical press was suspended, and five days after was himself suspended from the throne.

1833. JAMES MARTIN, a soldier of the revolution, died at Knoxville, Tenn., aged 106.

1834. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, an eminent English poet, metaphysician and theologian, died. As a poet and author he was popular, but his conversational powers captivated the most learned men of his time, who visited him to enjoy his conversation. Two volumes of his _Table Talk_ were published after his death.

1840. A couple of officers belonging to the United States exploring expedition having gone on shore at Malolo, one of the Fejee islands, were murdered by the natives. Lieut. Wilkes immediately attacked and burnt the town and fort, killed upwards of 70 of the natives, destroyed the plantations and laid the island waste.

1840. ANDREW LAUGHLIN died at Devrock, Ireland, aged 110. He saw five sovereigns successively ascend the British throne. The faculties of his mind were unimpaired until the last few months of his life.

1852. Baron GOURGAUD, a distinguished French general, died at Paris, aged 69. He entered the French service in 1801, was engaged in most of the great battles of Napoleon, including Waterloo; attended the emperor to St. Helena, and was afterwards near being involved in a duel with Walter Scott, through his fervid zeal for his master.

1852. WILLIAM SCROOP, an eminent English naturalist, died at London, aged 81.

1852. JAMES SPENCER CANNON, a talented minister of the Dutch reformed church, died at New Brunswick, N. J., aged 60. He was 26 years professor of metaphysics in Rutgers college, and of pastoral theology and ecclesiastical history in the Theological seminary at that place, and was distinguished for strong and original powers of mind, urbanity of manners, and fervent piety.

JULY 26.