Part 56

46 B. C. JULIUS CÆSAR, arrived at Rome from Utica, celebrated the fourfold triumph in a quadriga of white horses, for the victories over the Gauls, over Ptolemy in Egypt, over Pharnaces in Pontus, and over Juba in Africa; entertained the people with naumachian and pentachlic or circensian games during 40 days; rewarded and feasted them at 22,000 tables; was declared consul the fourth time, and dictator for ten years; and to place him on the summit of human glory, his statue was erected in the capitol opposite to that of Jupiter, with the globe at his feet. He commenced in this year his reformation of the calendar, called, from the long intercalation, the year of confusion.

40. PETRONIUS, in his account of Trimalchio, has preserved a _Roman newspaper_, (diurna acta) for this day. "On the 26th July 30 boys and 40 girls were born at Trimalchio's estate at Cuma. At the same time a slave was put to death for uttering disrespectful words of his master. The same day a fire broke out in Pompey's gardens, which began in the night, in the steward's apartments."

1346. The English under Edward III, captured the opulent city of Caen, in France, and pillaged the country around.

1469. Battle of Banbury (or Hedgecote), in which the royalists under Pembroke were defeated by the Yorkshire rebels. Pembroke was taken and put to death, and earl Rivers beheaded.

1470. Post office first established in Paris.

1471. PAUL II (PETER BARBO), pope of Rome, died. He was a Venetian noble, and on coming to the throne gratified the cardinals with the purple habit, the red silk cap, and the mitre, which had hitherto been worn only by the sovereign pontiff.

1546. Emperor CHARLES V and pope PAUL III secretly leagued against the protestants.

1560. JAMES BONFADIUS, a polite writer of Italy, executed. He incurred the enmity of some powerful families at Geneva by the freedom of his remarks in his writings, who wrought his ruin.

1581. PHILIP excluded by edict from all sovereignty over the united provinces of the Netherlands.

1592. ARMAND GONRAULT DE BIRON, marechal of France, killed. From the humble rank of a page he rose through all the gradations of the army, to the highest dignity under the sovereign. He distinguished himself in the service, and was killed by a cannon ball at the siege of Epernai.

1630. CHARLES EMANUEL (_the Great_), duke of Savoy, died; an ambitious prince and brave warrior.

1653. "This day," says Dugdalo, "the fair bell called _Jesus's bell_, at Litchfield, was knocked in pieces by a presbyterian _pewterer_, who was the chief officer for demolishing the Cathedral."

1659. The island of Montreal invaded by 1200 Indians, who burned all the plantations, and made a terrible massacre of men, women and children, upon whom they committed every barbarity. "Ils ouvrirent le sein des femmes enceintes," says Charlevoix, "pour en arracher le fruit qu'elles portoient, ils mirent des enfans tout vivants à la broche, et contraignirent les mères de les tourner pour les faire rôtir." They killed 1000 and took 26, who were afterwards burnt.

1680. JOHN WILMOT, earl of Rochester, died; a dissolute English nobleman of the reign of Charles II, and the favorite companion of the king. He was a poet, and one of the greatest wits of the day.

1687. A party of French built fort Niagara.

1691. RICHARD INGOLSBY, captain of an independent company, was sworn into the office of president of the council of New York, or as lieutenant-governor, on the decease of Sloughter, instead of the administration coming to Dudley, as of right it should.

1738. WILLIAM THOMAS, an English divine, died; distinguished as a man of letters and an antiquary.

1758. Louisbourg, which had been restored to the French by treaty, was again taken by the British under admiral Boscawen and lieutenant-general Amherst, and its fortifications have since been demolished.

1759. Ticonderoga abandoned by the French, and occupied by the British under general Amherst.

1766. WALLIS, the navigator, sailed on his great voyage.

1772. JOHN GRÆME died; a Scottish poet and miscellaneous writer of considerable merit.

1775. Maryland convention met at Annapolis, and resolved to support the measures of Congress. They also ordered $266,666 in bills of credit to be struck, and that 40 companies of minute men should be raised.

1775. Congress first established a post office: the route extended from Falmouth, New England, to Savannah, Georgia, and Franklin was appointed post master.

1788. The printing office of Thomas Greenleaf, in New York, was much damaged and his types taken away by a mob. When the two great political parties were forming, subsequent to the organization of the government, that which opposed the administration attacked the measures of Washington with a great degree of virulence in Greenleaf's paper. He was opposed to the federal constitution.

1788. New York adopted the constitution of the United States, recommending amendments. Ten states had already given their assent to it, nine being required before it could be adopted by congress.

1789. Lafayette added to his cockade the white of the royal arms, declaring at the same time that the tri-color should go round the world.

1793. STANISLAUS CLERMONT TONNERE, a French nobleman, massacred at Paris for his opposition to the Jacobin club.

1798. A remarkable mirage was seen at Hastings, England. The French coast distant 50 miles was at 5 P. M. brought close to the feet of the observers.

1803. An iron railway from Wandsworth to Croydon, in England, was opened to the public for the conveyance of goods.

1803. British ship Thunderer, captain Bedford, captured the French privateer Venus, of Bordeaux, pierced for 28 guns, but mounting only 16.

1806. British frigate Greyhound and sloop Harrier captured off Macassar the Dutch frigate Pallas, 36 guns, and two large East Indiamen, laden with spices.

1812. Battle of Kobrine; the Saxons under general Klingel, defeated by the Russians, and himself, together with 70 officers, 2500 men, &c., captured; Russian loss 1000.

1814. The Americans under general Ripley and P. B. Porter burnt Bridgewater mills and bridge, and the British barracks there.

1830. CHARLES X, of France, issued three ordinances, dissolving the newly elected chamber of deputies, suppressing the liberty of the press, and altering the law of election. This gave rise to a revolution which terminated in his dethronement, and the elevation of Louis Philippe.

1838. The Bolivian troops under Moran having left Lima on the previous day, Nieto and Orbegozo entered the city with about 2000 men and declared the constitution of 1835, Orbegozo being named provisional dictator.

1847. JOB DURFEE, a jurist of Rhode Island, and author of _What cheer; or Roger Williams in exile, &c._, died at Tiverton.

1848. FRANCIS R. SHUNK, governor of Pennsylvania, died, aged 60.

1848. After several days of hard fighting, the Piedmontese under Charles Albert were totally defeated by the Austrians under Radetsky, and retreated to Milan.

1852. The Irishmen in New York made an unsuccessful attempt to rescue Thomas Kaine, in the custody of the United States marshal, and claimed by the British government, under the treaty, as a fugitive from justice.

1855. The pope declared the laws which had been enacted in Piedmont, to the detriment of religion and the power and liberty of the church, to be void and of no effect; and that all who supported them incurred the greater excommunication; also that the recent laws in Spain concerning the church property to be null and void.

1856. The boiler of the steam boat Empire State, exploded on the passage from Fall river to New York, killing and wounding several passengers.

JULY 27.

1139. The country of Portugal erected into a monarchy.

1276. JAMES I (_the Warrior_), of Arragon, died. He conquered several Moorish kingdoms, and added them to his dominions, and supported himself against the encroachments of the papal power.

1586. Sir FRANCIS DRAKE arrived in England from a western expedition, accompanied by Lane, the commander of Raleigh's Virginian colony, who now first brought from his settlement, tobacco into England: that which sir John Hawkins brought home in 1565 was considered a medicinal drug merely, and as Stow observes, _all men wondered what it meant_.

1597. JACOB HUYCK, translator of the first authorized version of the catholic Bible, printed in Cracow, died there, aged 57.

1627. THOMAS GOFF, an English divine, died. He wrote among various other things, four tragedies.

1661. Schenectady purchased from the Indians.

1663. A bill for the better observation of the Sabbath, was stolen from the clerk's table in the English house of commons, ere it had received the assent of the king.

1675. HENRY DE LA TOUR D'AUVERGNE, viscomte de Turenne, the renowned French general, killed by a cannon shot at the village of Saltzbach, in Germany. He was preparing for a great battle with the Austrians under Montecuculli.

1694. The charter of the bank of England for 12 years, determinable upon one year's notice, signed by the dynarchs, William and Mary.

1704. STANISLAUS LECZINSKI elected king of Poland.

1706. The legislative union of England and Scotland completed; one of the most important events of the reign of queen Anne.

1712. A disgraceful quarrel between the French and Dutch plenipotentiaries at Utrecht.

1755. A party of Indians prowling about Hinsdale, N. H., ambushed three men, Caleb Howe, Hilkiah Grout and Benjamin Garfield, as they were returning from the field, only one of whom escaped. The Indians went directly to Bridgman's fort, where their families resided, and who had heard the report of guns. By the sounds of feet without, they concluded their friends had returned, and hastily opened the gate, when to their inexpressible surprise they admitted the savages and were all made captives. An interesting account of this affair is familiar to many.

1759. The English under general Amherst took Ticonderoga without firing a gun, the French having abandoned it on the approach of the former.

1759. PIERRE-LOUIS MAREAU DE MAUPERTUIS died at Basle. He was successful in many trigonometrical surveys, and was instrumental in determining the latitude and longitude of several places with much more accuracy.

1773. Captain C. J. PHIPPS, lord Mulgrave, reached nearly the 81° north latitude.

1774. SAMUEL THEOPHILUS GMELIN, a German botanist, died. He was professor of botany at St. Petersburg, and employed on a mission of discovery in the provinces bordering on the Caspian sea; was detained a prisoner by a Tartar chief, in which situation he died.

1775. Congress established a hospital for 20,000 men, and appointed Benjamin Church director and physician-general.

1778. Action off Ushant between the French and British fleets, each of 30 sail; the British claimed the victory. British loss 133: 373. French loss 165: 529.

1794. Overthrow of ROBESPIERRE and the Mountain party, which put an end to the reign of terror.

1799. Mantua with a garrison of 10,000 men dishonorably surrendered to the Austrians.

1806. The United States exploring expedition under captain Lewis, had their guns seized while asleep, by a party of Minnetarre Indians. One of the Indians was stabbed to the heart, and Lewis shot another in the body, who fell on his knees and elbow, raised himself and fired; the ball grazed Lewis's head. The remainder of the Indians fled, leaving the explorers in possession of their baggage, provisions, and four horses.

1807. PETER AUGUSTUS MARIA BROUSSONET, a French naturalist, died. He introduced Merino sheep and Angora goats into France.

1809. First day's battle of Talavera; Wellington made a stand against the French army of double his number of men, under Jourdan, Victor and Mortier.

1828. RADAMA, king of Madagascar, died. He was an extraordinary character, and his reign constitutes the most important era in the history of the island; the slave trade was suppressed, Christianity and the art of printing, as well as other arts and sciences were introduced.

1830. The second French revolution began in Paris by a resistance of the decrees of Charles X. It burst forth on the following day, and continued three days, when the people were left undisputed masters of the capital. About 3000 victims fell in this glorious struggle.

1833. WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE, an American commodore, died, aged 60. He was a distinguished commander in the navy for a long series of years.

1840. CHARLOTTE OUELLET, a Canadian heroine, died, aged 100. She was one of a number of young women of St. Anne de la Pocatiere, who put on men's apparel and armed themselves to drive out the British regulars who were amusing themselves by firing the houses and barns of the village, during the siege of Quebec. She and the rest of her company fired upon the English, who fled, making temporary barrows in their flight, to rescue those who fell under the fire of these brave Canadian girls. A few days previous to her death she indulged in merriment at the thought that she was one who had made the best shots.

1843. FREDERIC HALL, of Washington, one of the most successful American geologists, died at Peru, Illinois.

1844. JOHN DALTON, an eminent English chemist, died, aged 79. He had devoted his whole life to laborious study. A public funeral was given him in Manchester, his native town. He worshipped with the Friends. He could distinguish but two colors, yellow and blue; red and green had the same appearance to his eye.

1849. The grand duke of Tuscany reentered his capital and resumed his authority.

1854. The cholera made its appearance in the Massachusetts state prison at Charlestown, over 70 convicts being attacked; but one died.

1856. The steam boat John Jay, running on Lake George, took fire on her passage from the landing near Ticonderoga to Caldwell, and was consumed, by which several of the passengers and crew perished.

JULY 28.

2348 B. C. NOAH, the Xisuthrus of Berosus, opened the windows of the ark and sent forth a dove and a raven, 40 days after the appearance of the mountains.

388. MAGNUS MAXIMUS, emperor of Rome, beheaded. He was a Spaniard, proclaimed emperor by his troops in Britain. On arriving at Aquelia, on his way to Rome, he was defeated by Theodosius I, and beheaded.

450. THEODOSIUS (_the younger_), emperor of Rome, died. He was successful in war against the Persians, who were defeated near their own dominions; but the Huns compelled him to sue for peace on terms not the most advantageous to the Romans. He was succeeded by his sister Pulcheria, and the empire for the first time submitted to a female reign.

1402. Battle of Angora near Constantinople, between the Tartars under Tamerlane and the Turks under Bajazet. It was an obstinate engagement, and continued three days. The Turks were defeated and Bajazet taken prisoner.

1492. INNOCENT VIII (_John Baptist Cibo_), pope, died. He was a Genoese nobleman of Greek descent; employed his influence to reconcile the quarrels of the Christian princes with one another, and left behind him the character of a high minded and benevolent man.

1540. THOMAS CROMWELL, earl of Essex, beheaded. He rose from the purlieus of a blacksmith's shop to those of the palace; from the pursuit of a humble calling to the dignity of lord chamberlain of England. But he fell a victim to the caprice of Henry VIII.

1541. The diet of Ratisbone closed its sittings.

1592. WILLIAM HACKET, an English fanatic of the reign of Elizabeth, hung and quartered for blasphemy.

1609. Sir GEORGE SOMERS, governor of Virginia, with his crew, who were wrecked on the 24th, landed on Bermudas. They found "a huge and curious sort of fish," and having remained there about nine months, and built two cedar barks they quitted the _isle of Devils_ on the 10th May following. (See May 23.)

1629. JOHN SPEED died; an English chronologist, historian and antiquary.

1635. RICHARD CORBET, an English bishop, died. He also wrote a volume of ingenious poems, which were published under the title of _Poetica Stromata_.

1667. ABRAHAM COWLEY, an eminent English poet, died. Addison observed of him, that no author ever abounded so much in wit, according to Locke's definition of it.

1718. STEPHEN BALUZE, a French writer, died, aged 87. He wrote the lives of the popes of Avignon, and was an indefatigable collector of curious manuscripts, &c.

1750. CONYERS MIDDLETON, a celebrated English divine and critical author, died. His writings are numerous, and display profound learning and extensive information.

1750. THOMAS GORDON, who in company with John Trenchard, for some time managed the _Independent Whig_, died at London. His knowledge of the classics was respectable and he translated Tacitus.

1789. The _Pittsburg Gazette_ was printed, the first newspaper west of the Allegany mountains.

1790. The Forth and Clyde canal opened from the British to the Atlantic ocean, in Scotland.

1793. French general SEMONVILLE arrested on his route to Constantinople to bribe the divan; 64,000 louis d'ors and a great quantity of jewels were found on him.

1794. MAXIMILIAN ISIDORE ROBESPIERRE, the sanguinary demagogue of the French revolution, guillotined, aged 35. He rose from obscurity by his talents, but the demon of destruction seemed to sway his mind and urge him on to the most inhuman deeds that ever disgraced even a political demagogue. Twenty others perished at the same time by the same means.

1802. JOSEPH SARTI, an Italian music composer, died. He resided at the court of Catharine of Russia, where he was master of the chapel. He composed a _Te Deum_ for the taking of Oczakow, the bass of which was accompanied by cannon of different calibre.

1804. POMPEY, a negro man, died at Dover, Delaware, aged 120.

1806. Buenos Ayres taken by the British.

1809. Second battle of Talavera, between the British and Portuguese under Wellington, and the French under Victor, in which the latter were defeated. Loss of the allies 8,167; French supposed to have lost more.

1813. Fourth battle of the Pyrenees; the French under Soult defeated the British under Wellington.

1813. ANDOCHE JUNOT, duke of Abrantes, died. He entered the army as a volunteer 1791, afterwards distinguished himself under Bonaparte in the Italian and Egyptian campaigns, and commanded in the campaign in Russia.

1817. VADAMME, a celebrated French general, a voluntary exile, arrived at Philadelphia.

1818. GASPARD MONGE died at Paris. He was preceptor to Lacroix and other distinguished mathematicians, and was the first to reduce the art of fortifications, &c., to geometrical rules. His _Géométrie descriptive_ is much used.

1820. JOSEPH ZAJONCZECK, viceroy of Poland, died. He entered the army at an early age, espoused the cause of freedom, and fought bravely for his country. He afterwards served in the armies of Bonaparte; and was finally appointed by Russia viceroy of Poland.

1833. WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, a celebrated philanthropist, died at London, aged 74. He was a member of parliament and the intimate friend of Pitt. He began his efforts for the abolition of the slave trade as early as 1787.

1835. EDWARD ADOLPHE CASIMIR JOSEPH MORTIER, duke of Treviso, killed by the explosion of an infernal machine, intended to assassinate Louis Philippe. He joined the army 1791, and from that time his life was marked by combats, exploits and promotion during a term of nearly 30 years. "He is among a small number of Napoleon's generals, whose reputation for private worth has remained unquestioned through life." It was to him that Napoleon entrusted the hazardous undertaking of blowing up the Kremlin at Moscow.

1836. NATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD, a celebrated London banker, died. He was a Jew, whose financial operations pervaded the whole continent of Europe. His transactions were carried on in conjunction with his brothers in Paris, Vienna, Frankfort and Naples, all of whom possessed colossal fortunes of their own.

1840. JOHN GEORGE LAMBTON, earl of Durham, died, aged 48. He was made governor-general of Canada in 1838, but returned the same year, and published a valuable work on Canada. He was regarded as the leader of the reform movement which agitated the country and his talents and merits were very differently estimated by different parties.

1849. The late king of Sardinia, CHARLES ALBERT, died at Lisbon.

1851. HORACE SEBASTIANI, a French marshal, died at Paris, aged 80. He was born in Corsica, and bore a part in most of the great battles during Bonaparte's career. He was in the ministry under Louis Philippe, and ambassador both at Naples and London.

1852. The steam boat Henry Clay, on her passage from Albany to New York, took fire about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, near Yonkers, and was consumed to the water's edge; 56 persons lost their lives, so sudden and rapid was the destruction of the boat. She had been racing with the Armenia.

JULY 29.

1108. PHILIP I, king of France, died. He came to the throne at the age of 8 years; was ambitious and unscrupulous in his acts; engaged in war with England and Flanders, and was defeated by both.

1218. LOUIS VAN LOON died; the husband of Ada, the expatriated queen of Holland.

1540. A statute was made confirming the seizures of the abbeys by Henry VIII.

1567. Prince JAMES, less than 14 months old, was crowned king of Scotland at Stirling.

1578. SEBASTIAN, king of Portugal, killed. He was unfortunate in his wars, and lost his life at Tangiers, in battle with the Moors. Camoens dedicated his _Lusiad_ to this king, but he had the stupidity to treat the intended honor with contempt.

1603. BARTHOLOMEW GILBERT, in search of the lost English colony, having landed in a bay about the 40th degree of latitude, in a boat with four men, was attacked by the natives and every one killed. The rest of the crew immediately weighed anchor and returned to England.

1653. Admiral VAN TROMP killed and his fleet destroyed by the English fleet under Monk and Blake.

1644. URBAN VIII (Maffeo Barberini), pope, died. He was an excellent poet, and was called the _Attic Bee_.

1653. GABRIEL NAUDÆUS, a learned French author, died. He was patronized by Richelieu and Mazarin, and Christina of Sweden.

1654. THOMAS GATAKER, an English divine, died, aged 80. He was one of the most noted men of the age; who united to extensive erudition, great moderation and benevolence.

1678. ANDREW MARVELL, an English poet, politician and critic, died (_Penny Cyclopedia_ says August 16th). He supported the civil and religious liberties of his country, against the encroachments of the court, by his writings and parliamentary interest; and though poor, declined the bribes of the king.

1693. Battle of Neerwinden (or Landon), in Belgium; the allies under William III, defeated by the French, with the loss of 60 cannon, 9 mortars and about 7,000 men. The king had his clothes penetrated by three bullets.

1714. MARTIN POLI, an Italian chemist, died at Paris. It is said that he communicated to the king some powerful agent of destruction for military use; but the king, at the same time that he commended and rewarded his ingenuity with a pension and an office, insisted that the secret should die with him.

1747. Dr. BLACKWELL, a Scotch physician and for some time a corrector of the press to Mr. Wilkins in London, beheaded at Stockholm. Being informed that his head was not properly laid on the block he replied as it was his first experiment no wonder he needed some instruction.

1759. Crown point abandoned by the French on the approach of the British and provincials under general Amherst.

1760. At Lidden near Canterbury in grubbing down an enormous ash tree two human skeletons were found in the centre.

1773. The city of Guatemala laid in ruins by an earthquake and the eruption of a volcano.

1794. Seventy-one members of the municipality of Paris guillotined.