Part 70

1824. LOUIS XVIII, of France, died. During the reign of Napoleon he lived in England. He is represented as a mild and amiable prince, who consulted the wishes and happiness of his people.

1833. CALVIN EDSON, the _living skeleton_, died. His weight was about 40 pounds.

1833. The boundary line between New York and New Jersey settled.

1834. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD died in Edinburgh; eminent as a bookseller, and publisher of the well known periodical, _Blackwood's Magazine_.

1838. The entire rail way from London to Birmingham opened; when the passage including stoppages of 34 minutes, was performed in 4 hours, 48 minutes.

1839. The expedition under Dease and Simpson regained the Coppermine river after the longest voyage that had ever been performed by boats in the Polar sea--1631 statute miles. On the return of the party from the Red river settlement to England, Simpson perished by violence; but was more fortunate than Parke or Hudson, in leaving behind him his own record of his own achievements.

1848. JOHN P. CUSHMAN, an American jurist, died at Troy, N. Y., aged 64. He was born in Connecticut, graduated at Yale, and commenced the practice of law in Troy. He held various offices of trust, and was eminent in his profession.

1848. The populace of Frankfort attempted an insurrection, but were quelled. Prince Lichnowski and major von Auerswald were barbarously murdered by insurgents outside of the walls.

1851. HENRY WHITING, an American general, died at St. Louis. He began his military career in 1808, and was among the oldest officers of the army. He served with reputation on the Niagara frontier, and in the war with Mexico, sharing in the glory of the field of Buena Vista. He was a contributor to the _North Am. Review_.

1852. Earthquake in Manilla and places adjacent, which continued until 18th October, doing great damage.

1854. LUZERNE RAE, an American poet, died at Hartford, Ct., aged 43. After graduating at Yale, he became a teacher in the deaf and dumb institution at Hartford, where he found time to edit the _Religious Herald_, and the first six volumes of _Annals_ of the deaf and dumb, to write poetry, and collect materials for a history of New England.

1855. BENEDETTO PISTRUCCI, medalist to the queen of England, died at Windsor, aged 73. He was a member of various learned European institutions.

SEPTEMBER 17.

1575. HENRY BULLINGER, one of the early reformers, died. He was one of the authors of the _Helvetic Confession_, and assisted Calvin in drawing up the _Formulary_. His works form 10 vols. folio.

1614. THOMAS OVERBURY poisoned in the Tower with an envenomed clyster contrived by the earl of Somerset and his countess. (See Sept. 15.)

1621. ROBERT BELLARMIN died; an Italian cardinal, and one of the most celebrated controversial writers of his time.

1651. CONSTANTINE CAIETAN (_Thomas de Vio_), an Italian cardinal, died. He made a literal translation of the Bible from the original.

1665. PHILIP IV, of Spain, died. He was unsuccessful in his wars with Holland and France; and the Portuguese also rebelled, and compelled him to acknowledge their independence.

1673. JAMES BARRELIER, a celebrated French ecclesiastic and naturalist, died. He traversed the south of France, Spain and Italy, and during a residence of 25 years at Rome, collected plants and other objects of natural history, with a view to their publication. Dying before the work was completed, he bequeathed his manuscripts to the library of a convent; but soon after his death all his collections were dispersed, and some were burnt, except the copperplates, which were collected and published by Jussieu.

1683. Controversy between lord Baltimore and William Penn. Lord Baltimore appointed Col. Talbot to demand of Penn all the lands lying on the west side of the river Delaware and south of the 40th degree, as a part of Maryland.

1690. A fire in Boston destroyed the printing office of Bartholomew Green, which was the best furnished in America.

1703. Gelders, a Prussian city, surrendered to the duke of Marlborough, after having been long blockaded, bombarded and reduced to a heap of ashes.

1720. WILLIAM BURNET, son of the English bishop, took upon him the government of New York.

1753. The first theatre in New York opened in Nassau street by Lewis Hallam; the third stage on which the productions of the dramatic muse were exhibited to the inhabitants of the new world. The days of performance were Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and so continued for near half a century.

1759. Quebec taken.

1762. FRANCISCO GEMINIANI, died; an extraordinary performer on the violin, and composer for that instrument.

1767. FRANCES SHERIDAN died; an ingenious novelist and dramatic writer, and mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

1771. The Prussians under Gen. Platten, destroyed the Russian magazines on the frontiers of Poland.

1775. Americans under Gen. Montgomery laid siege to St. John's Canada.

1782. Permacoli, in Hindostan, surrendered by the British to Hyder Ally and the French.

1785. ANTHONY LEONARD THOMAS, a French poet and prose writer, died.

1787. The constitution of the United States adopted by the federal convention at Philadelphia, and referred to the conventions of the separate states for concurrence.

1795. The French national assembly directed that a copy of the _Dictionary_ of the academy, with the notes and additions in the margin, deposited in the library of the committee of public instruction, should be delivered to the booksellers, and that after a new one should be completed that it be returned; 15,000 copies to be printed.

1796. Battle of Altenkirchen, in which the celebrated French general Merceau was killed.

1802. RICHARD OWEN CAMBRIDGE died; an elegant English poet, critic and miscellaneous writer.

1811. A beautiful annular eclipse of the sun was observed at Richmond in Virginia and other places adjacent.

1814. Sortie and battle of Fort Erie. The British _sine qua non_, totally defeated, and compelled to break up the camp and retire. British loss, killed, wounded and prisoners, 578; American loss, 82 killed, 216 wounded, 215 missing--513.

1837. HENRY BROWN, a soldier of the revolution, died at Boston, Ohio, aged 104. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill, and other engagements.

1839. MATTHEW CAREY, a celebrated printer and bookseller of Philadelphia, died. He was a native of Ireland, and a man of great activity and benevolence. His writings are numerous and well known.

1840. EMMA ROBERTS, an English authoress of considerable note, died at Poonah, in India.

1842. HENRY FLOYD, a bricklayer of Romsey, England, died, aged 47. He was remarkable for his great bulk, being the largest man in England. His weight was about 500 lbs. Notwithstanding the unwieldiness of his frame he was in constant attendance upon his business, was shrewd, intelligent and good natured, and much respected. His coffin contained nearly 200 feet of inch board.

1851. JOHN KIDD, librarian to the Radcliffe library, died at Oxford, England, aged 76. He wrote upon medicine, mineralogy and geology, and furnished one of the best of the Bridgewater treatises.

1854. The steamer City of Philadelphia, seven days out from Liverpool, with 540 passengers, struck upon cape Race and became a total loss. The passengers were saved.

1855. The corner stone of the public library laid in Boston with appropriate ceremonies.

SEPTEMBER 18.

96. TITUS FLAVIUS DOMITIANUS, emperor of Rome, died. He was the last of the Cæsars. Juvenal has shown him a buffoon, and history fixed his infamy.

1014. A violent storm caused the inundation of a large portion of Flanders.

1069. The city of New York burned by the Norman garrison.

1180. LOUIS VII, king of France, died. He made a crusade, with an army of 80,000 men, to Palestine, but was defeated by the Saracens.

1609. HUDSON, ascending the river which bears his name, observing the water to become shoal, cast anchor in the neighborhood of the present town of Castleton, where he went on shore at the invitation of an old man, who appeared to be the governor of the country; who was chief over 40 men and 17 women; and who occupied a house made of the bark of trees, exceedingly smooth, and well finished, within and without. Here he found large quantities of Indian corn and beans, enough to load three ships, besides what were still growing in the fields.

1621. The Plymouth colonists sent an expedition consisting of ten men in a shallop, accompanied by Squanto and two other Indians, to the Massachusetts, to discover the bay, see the country, make peace, and trade with the natives.

1674. GABRIEL COSSART died; a French writer, who assisted Labbe in his grand collection of councils, which extended to 28 vols. folio.

1675. Battle of Deerfield, Mass., with the Indians. A company of 96 men under captain Lathrop were escorting 3,000 bushels of corn to a place of security, when they were so suddenly set upon by about 800 Indians, that only 8 escaped. This was a choice company of young men culled from the towns of Essex county. Another company, coming, though too late to their rescue, marched through and through that great body of Indians, and after a fight of five or six hours, came off with a loss of only two, and eight wounded. It is thought that had Lathrop followed the same mode of fighting, he might have escaped with a smaller loss; but his mode was to fight the savages in their own way, by skulking behind trees, and picking off single persons, which enabled five or six of the enemy, which were so greatly superior in numbers, to surround a single man, and deliberately fire at him at once. The Indians afterwards acknowledged a loss of 96 that day.

1684. JOHN ANTONIDES (_Vander Goes_), an excellent Dutch poet, died.

1721. MATTHEW PRIOR died; an eminent English poet and statesman.

1722. ANDREW DACIER, a very celebrated French critic and philosopher, died. He translated many of the classics.

1759. The city of Quebec surrendered to the English under brigadier general Townshend, and was garrisoned by 5,000 men under general Murray.

1773. The Polish diet finally ratified the treaty of the partition of their country between Russia, Austria and Prussia.

1773. JOHN CUNNINGHAM died; an ingenious pastoral poet and dramatic writer.

1777. Americans under colonel BROWN attacked and defeated the British on the north end of lake George and Ticonderoga, took 293 prisoners, released 100 Americans, and retook the continental standard left there on its evacuation in July.

1777. Congress at Philadelphia adjourned to meet at Lancaster, on account of the approach of the British.

1790. HENRY FREDERICK, brother to George III, and duke of Cumberland, died. His marriage with Mrs. Horton gave rise to the famed _Marriage Act of England_.

1792. The south-east corner stone of the north wing of the Capitol at Washington, was laid by general Washington.

1794. Bellegarde, a strong and important fortress, commanding the road from France into Spain, surrendered at discretion to the French under Dugommier, although abundantly supplied with every thing required to hold out a siege of many months.

1798. NELSON being applied to for assistance by the Malthese, sent a Portuguese squadron, consisting of 4 ships of the line and 2 frigates, which appeared before Valetta on this day.

1800. The treaty between Bonaparte and the pope, called the _Concordat_, ratified. This was dictated by the first consul and in every article infringed on the pretensions of the papal dignitary.

1811. Dutch surrendered the island of Java to the British.

1811. Battle of Ximena, in Spain, and defeat of the French under Soult.

1816. BERNARD M'MAHON, an eminent botanist from Ireland, died at his botanic garden, near Philadelphia.

1819. JOHN LANGDON died; an active and powerful advocate of the American revolution. He was a member of the congress of 1775, and of the convention which framed the constitution; a senator in congress, and governor of New Hampshire.

1821. JOHN NICHOLAS CORVISART, a distinguished French physician, died. He was physician to Napoleon, and greatly promoted the progress of experimental medicine and pathological anatomy in France.

1830. WILLIAM HAZLITT, an elegant English writer, died. He is also known as an artist.

1834. KEATING SIMONS died, aged 82; aid-de-camp in the revolutionary war to general Marion.

1838. Great eclipse of the sun over the United States.

1840. C. S. RAFINESQUE, an eminent botanist, died at Philadelphia, where he had been for several years professor of botany and natural history in Transylvania university, and author of several works on various scientific subjects.

1842. JOHN C. COLT under sentence of death in New York for the murder of Mr. Adams, killed himself on the day appointed for his execution.

1853. ANDREWS NORTON, an American theologian, died, aged 68. He wrote several theological works, was a profound and accurate scholar, and for talent, acquirements and influence, one of the most remarkable men of New England.

1854. The British consul at the Sandwich islands presented his protest to the king, against the annexation of those islands to the United States.

1854. WILLIAM PLUMER, a New Hampshire statesman, died, aged 65. He graduated at Harvard, and while in congress opposed the Missouri compromise. He was a man of taste, had an attachment to historical researches, and collected a fine library. He published two small volumes of poems.

1855. JOHN F. W. JOHNSTON, an eminent English chemist and mineralogist, died at Durham, aged 59. He published several valuable works on agricultural chemistry and geology, and was a contributor to the reviews.

SEPTEMBER 19.

880. ABBATEGNIA decided the obliquity of the ecliptic to be 23° 25´.

1356. Battle of Poictiers, between the English army of 12,000 men, under Edward, the _Black Prince_, and the French, 60,000 under king John. The battle ended in the utter rout of the French army and the capture of their king, who was afterwards led in triumph through the streets of London.

1471. The first book known to have been printed in the English tongue bears this date, and is entitled _The Recuyell of the History of Troy_, translated from the French, and printed by William Caxton, at Cologne. (See Oct. 4.)

1524. The imperialists under Pescara raised the siege of Marseilles and retired with precipitation towards Italy.

1587. JAMES PAMELIUS, a learned Flemish writer, died.

1650. STUYVESANT, the Dutch governor of New-Netherland, arrived at Hartford and demanded of the commissioners for the united colonies, a full surrender of the lands on Connecticut river. After an altercation of several days, articles of agreement in relation to boundaries were settled.

1665. The number of deaths by plague in London for the week ending on this day was reported to be 10,000; the greatest weekly mortality reported during the scourge.

1678. BERNARD VAN GALEN, a Westphalian bishop and general died. His ecclesiastical office was of minor importance with him, and he contrived to keep up a perpetual war with one state or another; so that when he died, his loss was little regretted.

1681. Desperate engagement between a Moorish vessel, the Half Moon, 32 guns, from Angier, and the English galleys James and Sapphire. Of the Turks and Moors 93 were killed; English loss 95 killed and wounded.

1693. At St. Malo three hundred houses were unroofed by the blowing up of a fire vessel sent in by captain Benbow.

1710. OLAUS RŒMER, a Danish astronomer, died.

1736. Mrs. MAPP, the famous bone setter, of Epsom, having set up a fine equipage, came to Kensington and waited on the queen.

1737. Gottingen university opened.

1745. The celebrated JONATHAN SWIFT died, aged 78.

1761. PETER VAN MUSSCHENBROEK, a distinguished Dutch philosopher, died.

1777. Battle of Stillwater, between the British under Burgoyne and the Americans under general Gates. The action was continued with great valor on both sides during 4 hours. The Americans retired to their camp at night, with the loss of 319 killed, wounded and missing. British loss over 500.

1778. Action between American privateer Hancock and British frigate Levant, 32 guns. The Levant blew up, and only 18 of her crew were saved.

1793. The new French calendar commenced. It divided the year into 12 months of 30 days each with 5 intercallary days, called _Sansculotides_.

1798. ELIHU H. SMITH, a physician and poet, died in New York.

1803. Dutch colonies of Demerara and Essequibo surrendered to the British.

1804. GEORGE ZABIRA, a learned Greek, died.

1810. JAMES CHEETHAM, a noted political editor, died in New York, aged 37. He was the biographer of Thomas Paine, and published the _American Citizen_.

1814. The boats of the British ship Forth, under the direction of lieutenant Neville, carried by boarding and destroyed the American letter of marque brig Regent, 5 guns and 35 men, at the mouth of Little Egg harbor.

1851. Battle of Camargo, between the forces of the Mexican government and those of Carvajal, in which the latter were victorious.

1851. FREDERICK WHITTLESEY, a New York jurist, died at Rochester, aged 54.

1852. Great inundation in the valleys of the Rhine and the Rhone.

1854. The allied forces which had landed at Old Fort, to operate against Sebastopol, commenced their march to that fortress. They consisted of 25,000 British, 25,000 French, and 8,000 Turkish troops.

1855. A terrible gale swept lake Borgne and the Gulf coast, causing loss of life and great destruction of property at Pass Christian, Mississippi city, Biloxi, and other points in the vicinity.

SEPTEMBER 20.

377 B. C. On this day was fought the famous naval battle of Naxus, in which the Lacedemonians were totally defeated.

331 B. C. ALEXANDER crossed the Tigris and entered Assyria. The army encountered great difficulties in the passage, both from the depth and force of the current, and the slippery nature of its bed. The cavalry formed a double line, within which the infantry marched with their shields over their heads, and their arms interlinked. In this manner they crossed without loss of lives. Their entrance into Assyria was signalized by an almost total eclipse of the moon, by which the date of the event is determined.

92 B. C. LUCIUS LUCINIUS CRASSUS died; a Roman orator, greatly commended by Cicero.

692. ABDULLAH IBN ZOBEYR, khalif of Mecca, having been besieged nine months in his capital until he was deserted by his friends and family, put himself at the head of five faithful followers, and rushed upon the besiegers, by whom he was slain, at the age of 72.

1142. MAUD, queen of England, besieged in Oxford by the forces of Stephen, but escaped on foot.

1384. LOUIS I, duke of Anjou, died at Paris, of a broken heart, in consequence of the ill success of his measures.

1415. OWEN GLENDOWER, a celebrated Welch warrior, died; he opposed the sovereignty of Henry IV of England more than fourteen years, by force of arms, declaring him to be an usurper and the murderer of Richard II.

1527. JANUS GRUTERIUS, an eminent Dutch philologer, died. He was an able critic, a man of extensive erudition, and a very voluminous and respectable writer.

1581. HUBERT LANGUET, an eminent French statesman, died. He was a man of great political knowledge, and deservedly esteemed by the wisest and most eminent men of his age.

1586. ANTHONY BABINGTON with others cruelly executed in St. Giles's fields for a conspiracy against queen Elizabeth.

1639. JOHN MEURSIUS, a learned Dutch scholar, died. His works were printed at Florence in 12 vols. folio.

1643. Battle of Newbury, between the royalists under prince Rupert, and the parliamentary forces under the earl of Essex. Night put an end to the action, and left the victory undecided. Lucius Carey, lord Falkland, and the earls of Sunderland and Carnaervon, were killed.

1653. The New England colonies declared war against Ninigret, sachem of the Niantick Indians, and voted that 250 foot soldiers should be immediately raised in the four colonies: Massachusetts to send 166, Plymouth 30, Connecticut 33, New-Haven 21.

1662. JOHN GAUDEN, an English prelate, died. He published the _Icon Basilike_ of Charles I, and had the good fortune to escape the search of the parliament for the publisher of that popular book.

1668. VINCENT WING died; a famous English astronomer and astrologer, who published _The Celestial Harmony of the Visible World_, and other works.

1736. JOHN BERNARDI died in Newgate prison, England, aged 79. He had been confined there 40 years on a false charge of plotting the assassination of William III.

1740. CHARLES VI died; sixteenth and last emperor of Germany of the house of Austria, in the male line; he was succeeded by his daughter Maria Theresa.

1746. The _Young Pretender_, CHARLES EDWARD, having been completely defeated at Culloden, embarked for France at Lochmannoch, in a privateer of St. Malo, and arrived safe. His followers were less fortunate.

1759. JULIAN LE ROY, a distinguished French mechanic, died. His watches acquired great celebrity.

1761. Auto-da-fé at Lisbon; there were 54 criminals, 3 of them in effigy.

1770. Captain PHIPPS returned to London from his voyage to the polar seas, being stopped by ice, latitude 81° 30´ north.

1783. Captain TURNER, the traveler, was received at Jikadze, the capital of the lama of Thibet.

1791. LOUIS XVI, for the first time after his return from Varennes, repaired to the hall of the national assembly, in order to give his adhesion, viva voce, to the new constitution.

1792. Battle of Valmy, between the French and allies. It is stated that although more than 40,000 cannon shot were fired in this engagement, not more than 400 men were killed.

1805. PIERRE FRANÇOIS ANDRE MECHAIN died at Castillon, in Spain. His theory of eclipses and other astronomical phenomena has much merit.

1814. The British under general DRUMMOND, in consequence of the losses sustained on the 17th, raised the siege of fort Erie.

1814. AUGUSTUS WILLIAM IFLAND, a German actor and dramatic writer, died at Berlin, and was interred with great pomp.

1815. WILLIAM HUTTON died; the historian of Birmingham, and author of various other works.

1831. JOHN HENRY HOBART, bishop of the protestant episcopal diocese of New York, died; a man of vigorous intellect and great decision of character.

1840. FRANCIA, dictator of Paraguay, died at Paraguay, at a very advanced age.

1842. WILLIAM MAGINN died in England. He was a contributor to the London _Literary Gazette_, and in 1818-20 to _Blackwood's Magazine_ under the signature of O'Doherty.

1849. JONATHAN H. HUBBARD, a distinguished American statesman, of Vermont, died, aged 81.

1852. PHILANDER CHASE, bishop of Illinois, died at Peoria, aged 76. He was a native of New Hampshire; was bishop of Ohio 12 years, of Illinois 17 years; laid the foundation of Kenyon college, and was president of Jubilee college.

1854. The allies attacked the Russians under Menschikoff, who 40,000 in number, were strongly entrenched upon the heights of Alma, and after a contest of four hours drove them from the ground with great loss. The allies had about 500 killed and 2,500 wounded; the Russian loss said to have been more than 7,000.

SEPTEMBER 21.

60. Saint MATTHEW, the apostle, died at Heliopolis, in Parthia.

1327. EDWARD II, 10th king of England, barbarously murdered at Berkley castle. Less wise and firm than his father, he forfeited the confidence of his people, and his wife Isabella joined the rebellion against him.

1520. SELIM I, sultan of Turkey, died. He came to the throne by causing the death of his father and two brothers. He conquered Egypt and crushed the power of the Mamelukes, which for 260 years had governed that country.

1534. ALCAZABA sailed from Cadiz on a voyage of discovery. He was murdered in the straits of Magellan by his crew, and the ship was wrecked at Brazil.