Part 75

1840. WILLIAM I, king of the Netherlands, published a proclamation announcing his voluntary abdication of the throne in favor of his son William II. He is said to have retired with a private fortune of nearly forty-three millions of dollars, and abdicated in consequence of his determination to marry the countess d'Oultremont, a lady of the Roman catholic faith.

1841. FREDERICK JOHN, lord Monson, died, aged 32; a patron and amateur of art, a lover of literature and science, and a truly benevolent and public spirited man. A journal of his _Tour in Germany_ was privately printed in 1839, and some beautiful views of the passes of the Tyrol were drawn on stone from his sketches.

1841. Revolutionary movement in Spain in favor of Christina and absolute government. By the prompt movement of the regent Espartero the insurrection was entirely quelled, and general Diego Leon was executed.

1849. EDGAR A. POE, favorably known as an American poet and magazine writer, died at Baltimore, aged 37.

1849. LOUIS BATTHYANYI, prime minister of Hungary, was shot at Pesth, at the sole urgency of general Haynau.

1850. Disunion meetings were held at Natchez and Yazoo city, at both of which the disorganizing resolutions were opposed and voted down.

1854. CALEB BUTLER died, aged 78; principally known by his history of the town of Groton, Mass.

OCTOBER 8.

66. CESTIUS, the Syrian prefect, in his fatal retreat, was defeated by the Jews at the pass of Bethhoron. Nero received this disastrous news at Achaia, and called in Vespasian.

451. Fourth œcumenical council assembled at Chalcedon, where the heretic Eutyches was finally condemned.

622. MAHOMET made his public entry into Medina. He was mounted on a she camel, and an umbrella shaded his reverend shoulders.

1200. JOHN, king of England, and his _new_ queen, Isabella, were inaugurated. The devil was to be released at that year's close, said the _lipticians_ on the canon.

1202. The Venetian crusade sailed, under Boniface, of Montferrat.

1635. JOHN WINTHROP, son of the governor of Massachusetts, arrived from England with a commission from the patentees as "governor of the river Connecticut, and places thereto adjoining," bringing men, ordnance, ammunition, and £2000 sterling for the erection of a fort.

1636. JOHN EVERARD, better known by his bibliographical name, Johannes Secundus, a Dutch _Latin_ poet, died. His works have gone through many editions, and the _Kisses of Johannes Secundus_ have been translated into various languages. He also distinguished himself by his skill in painting, sculpture, and engraving.

1684. GERAUD DE CORDEMOI died; a French academician, and a great partisan of Descartes' systems.

1729. RICHARD BLACKMORE, an English physician, died. He was an indefatigable writer, and has left a great number of works, theological, poetical, and medical.

1744. JOHN BALCHEN, a celebrated English admiral, perished at sea, in the Victory man-of-war, 110 guns, and 1100 seamen, all of whom were lost.

1754. HENRY FIELDING, an eminent English novelist, died, aged 48.

1755. The remains of Braddock's army, in 33 transports, passed the city of New York on their way to winter quarters at Albany.

1767. BURCHARD CHRISTOPHER DE MUNICH died; a German who learned the art of war under Eugene and Marlborough, and distinguished himself in the service of Peter I of Russia.

1774. Congress resolved to support Massachusetts, if the acts of parliament were attempted to be carried into execution by force. The general court of Massachusetts met at Salem on the same day, although general Gage had ordered them not to assemble, resolved themselves into a provincial congress, and chose John Hancock president.

1785. L'EVESQUE DE BURIGNY, a French author, died, aged 94. He wrote a work on the authority of the pope, a learned history of pagan philosophy, and several other works, historical and biographical.

1785. _The Lounger_ appeared at Edinburgh, conducted principally by Henry Mackenzie.

1791. A jury at Sudberry, England, not being able to agree, oppressed by hunger, broke open the doors and went home.

1792. PIETRO ANTONIO CREVENNA, an Italian bibliographer, died. He collected a choice library, which he sold by auction in 1790. The learned catalogues of his books, prepared by himself and others, have given to the works which belonged to him, great value, in the eyes of amateurs, and the catalogues themselves have bibliographical authority.

1793. JOHN HANCOCK, the master spirit of the American revolution, died. He was president of the congress which issued the declaration of independence, and his name stands out in bold relief on that document.

1793. Lyons, in France, surrendered to the republicans, and a most terrible massacre of the inhabitants ensued. The convention decreed that the walls should be razed, and Lyons called La ville affranchie.

1795. ANDREW KIPPIS, a very celebrated English biographer, died. His connection with the publication of the _Biographia Britannica_, will carry down his name with distinguished reputation to posterity.

1809. JAMES ELPHINSTONE, a Scottish grammarian, died. He undertook the reformation of English orthography by spelling words as they are pronounced.

1820. HENRY CHRISTOPHE, king of Hayti, shot. He was a slave, and served in the American war. His activity in the revolution of the slaves in the island of St. Domingo, led to his elevation.

1822. Eruption of mount Galongoon, in the island of Java. It commenced at 2 o'clock in the afternoon of a fine day, by a loud explosion, which was followed by a thick cloud, that wrapped the whole country in darkness, while immense columns of mud, boiling hot, and mixed with burning brimstone, were projected from the mountain like a water spout, with such prodigious violence, that large quantities fell at the distance of 40 miles. The destruction was at its height at 4 o'clock, and had ceased at 5, having in the short space of three hours, laid a fruitful and thickly peopled country under a crust of boiling mud, in some places to the depth of sixty feet. Five millions coffee trees were destroyed, 87 canals, numerous rice fields, 114 villages, and upwards of 4000 inhabitants. The scene presented a bluish, half-liquid waste, where bodies of men, women and children, partly boiled and partly burned, were strewed about in every variety of death. It was followed by a rain storm of four days' duration, which inundated the country, when another eruption took place, more violent than the first.

1822. The first boats passed from the west and the north, through the Erie and Champlain canals, into the tide waters of the Hudson at Albany, amidst the acclamations of thousands of spectators.

1831. Great earthquake in South America. The town of Arica was utterly ruined, and the shock was felt along the coast, including seven degrees of latitude, shaking to its centre the immense breadth of the main Cordillera. It was attended by a violent vertical movement of the earth, during about 70 seconds, which threw down or shattered the houses, and in some cases pieces were detached from the middle of walls, leaving the rest of the edifice uninjured.

1832. OTHO proclaimed and installed king of restored Greece, at the palace of Preysing, in Bavaria.

1837. CHARLES FOURIER, founder of the system of social and industrial reform which bears his name, died at Paris.

1841. JOHANN HEINRICH DANNECKER, the Nestor of German sculptors, died at Stuttgardt, aged 82.

1848. The populace of Vienna, which had been in a state of insubordination two days, became calm, and the emperor was invited to return.

1851. The Hudson river rail road was opened throughout, from New York to Albany.

1853. THOMAS CHILDS, one of the bravest and most distinguished officers in the United States army, died at Tampa bay.

1854. GIDEON TOMLINSON, a Connecticut statesman, died, aged 74.

1854. The steam boat E. K. Collins, from Sault St. Marie to Cleveland, took fire on the lake and was burned, by which 23 persons lost their lives.

1855. SAMUEL DICKINSON HUBBARD, sometime post master general of the United States, died at Middletown, Ct., aged 55.

1855. The grand jury in New York city returned indictments against several city officers, for corruption and malversation in office.

OCTOBER 9.

1047. CLEMENT II, pope, died. He was a Saxon, elected the year previous, and distinguished for his zeal against Simony.

1192. King RICHARD of England embarked from Palestine in a single ship for Europe.

1253. ROBERT GREATHEAD, bishop of Lincoln, and a learned and voluminous writer, died.

1326. HUGH SPENCER, a favorite of Edward II, hanged at Bristol, which city he defended against the forces of queen Isabella.

1555. JUSTUS JONAS died; a learned coadjutor of Luther and the other reformers, and author of a _Defence of the Marriage of the Priests_, and other works.

1563. GABRIEL FALLOPIUS, a celebrated Italian physician and anatomist, died at Padua. He possessed great powers of mind, which he cultivated by intense application.

1642. The first commencement was held at Harvard college, when nine candidates took the degree of A. B.

1646. The whole order of English bishops abolished by an ordinance of parliament.

1665. GOV. STUYVESANT submitted to the states general his report in relation to the surrender of New York to the English.

1682. HENRY BLOUNT died; an English traveler, who made the tour of Europe and part of Asia, and published an account of his travels on his return.

1688. CLAUDE PERRAULT, a distinguished French physician and architect, died.

1690. JOHN MAYNARD, an eminent English lawyer, died; celebrated for his eloquence, integrity and public spirit.

1705. JOHN CHRISTOPHER WAGENSEIL died; a learned German polemical writer, and professor of history and oriental languages at Altorf.

1707. A fleet of English merchantmen attacked off the Lizard point; the Devonshire man-of-war blown up.

1711. The British fleet returning from its unsuccessful expedition against Canada, arrived at Portsmouth, N. H., when in addition to their other misfortunes, the Edgar 70 gun ship blew up, having on board 400 men besides many persons who came to visit their friends.

1718. RICHARD CUMBERLAND, a learned English divine and mathematician, died.

1733. Seven hundred British troops withdrawn from Gibraltar to defend the planters of Jamaica from their runaway slaves.

1745. Ath surrendered to the French after a severe and destructive bombardment. This gave France the command of Flanders.

1747. DAVID BRINARD, an eminent American missionary among the Indians, died at Northampton, a victim to his extreme mortification and inextinguishable zeal for the success of his mission. He rode about 4,000 miles in 1744, on pastoral duties.

1747. JONAS SURRINGTON died near Bergen in Norway, aged 159, retaining the perfect use of his faculties to the last.

1759. The architect SMEATON finished the Eddystone light house; not an accident occurred to sadden the joy.

1760. Berlin in Prussia, taken and sacked by the Russians and Austrians.

1772. CHRISTIAN JACOBSON DRACKENBURG died at Aarhus, Denmark, aged 146; "a celebrated and well-known character."

1779. The people of Manchester rioted on account of Arkwright's machinery for spinning.

1779. The French and Americans, about 4,500 men under count d'Estaing and Gen. Lincoln, made an unsuccessful assault upon Savannah, and were compelled to retreat with considerable loss. The brave count Pulaski was mortally wounded in this affair. (Holmes says Oct. 11.)

1781. The French and Americans opened their batteries upon the British at Yorktown.

1791. ABRAHAM J. LANSING, the original proprietor of Lansingburgh, N. Y., died, aged 72, at his seat in that town.

1803. Deluge in the island of Madeira; the city of Funchal, with all its inhabitants, was swept into the ocean, leaving the rocky basis of the island bare. But one human being escaped, which was an infant. The event is supposed to have been occasioned by a water spout, which had burst against the side of a mountain, and discharged itself down the declivities upon the city.

1805. Battle of Guntzburg; the Austrians under prince Ferdinand, defeated by the French under Bonaparte, with the loss of 2,000 prisoners, besides killed and wounded.

1806. Battle of Schleitz in Saxony; 10,000 Prussians defeated by Bernadotte; being the recommencement of hostilities between the French and Prussians.

1809. Great storm at Boston and vicinity, by which a vast number of vessels were lost.

1812. Lieut. ELLIOTT, of the United States navy, with 50 volunteers, attacked and carried two British vessels, the Caledonia and Detroit, on lake Erie. One of these was burnt, with a cargo valued at $200,000.

1813. British broke up their cantonments before fort George, and marched rapidly for Burlington bay.

1822. RICHARD EARLOM, an English engraver of great skill, died. His flower pieces are highly valued.

1826. CHARLES MILLS, an eminent English historian, died. His histories of the crusades, of chivalry and of Muhammedanism, are valuable acquisitions to literature.

1831. CAPO D'ISTRIAS, president of Greece, assassinated by one of his own countrymen.

1836. JAMES SAUMAREZ, an English admiral, died; distinguished in the naval history of his country, and eminent for his private virtues.

1842. JOSHUA STOW, sometime chief judge in Middlesex county court, Conn., died at Middletown.

1845. DAVID BAILLIE WARDEN died at Paris, aged 67. He was a native of Ireland, was sometime consul of the United States at Paris, where he collected a valuable library of American history, was a member of the French academy, and a man of letters and varied learning.

1847. Sweden abolished slavery in the island of St. Bartholomew and all her dependencies.

1849. TIMOTHY DWIGHT SPRAGUE, editor of the _American Literary Magazine_, died at Andover, Mass., aged 30.

1849. A riot in Philadelphia, between a set of whites called killers, and some negroes. It was continued the next day, until put down. Four houses were burned, 4 persons killed, and 11 wounded.

1854. WILLIAM DARBY, an eminent American geographer and statistician, died at Washington, aged 79.

1855. A treaty was ratified between Japan and Great Britain, by admiral sir James Stirling.

OCTOBER 10.

432 B. C. Battle of Potidæa, on its revolt from the Athenians, in which Socrates and Alcibiades were nobly distinguished for their prowess and friendship. In that year Anaxagoras, Phidias and Aspasia were prosecuted, the first for his impiety.

324. CONSTANTIUS, the second and favorite son of Constantine, was installed by his father _cæsar_ of the Gallic provinces.

1571. "The field of Tulliangus was stricken" between Adam Gordon and Arthur Forbes, brother of lord Forbes, where the said Arthur was slain, with sundry others of his kin; on the other side John Gordon of Buckie, with divers hurt on both sides. A Scottish foray.

1582. The new style adopted in France, this day being made the 20th.

1615. Battle between Champlain and the Iroquois, in western New York.

1632. THOMAS ALLEN died; an Englishman illustrious for his knowledge of mathematics and philosophy. He published, among other works, the second and third books of Ptolemy on the judgment of the stars.

1706. PAUL PEZRON, a learned Frenchman, died. He occupied himself with the study of the Greek and Latin historians, and in tracing the origin of the language of the Goths, and made up a new system of chronology.

1710. DAVID GREGORY, an eminent Scottish mathematician, died. He displayed great powers in the elements of optics, and physical and geometrical astronomy, improving the discoveries of others by new and elegant demonstrations. He proposed to publish all the works of the ancient mathematicians, but did not live to finish the series.

1742. Sixty persons killed by the falling of the roof of the church in Fearn Russhire, in the time of worship.

1744. JOHN HENRY SCHULZE, a German physician, died; professor of medicine at Halle, and author of a history of medicine from the creation to the year of Rome 535.

1747. JOHN POTTER, primate of England, died. Besides theological and other works he wrote _Antiquities of Greece_, two vols., which have passed through several editions.

1747. British fleet of 14 ships, admiral Hawke, engaged the French fleet under M. de Letender, and captured 7 ships of the line, and a 50 gun ship.

1772. WILLIAM WILKIE died; a Scottish divine and poet, and professor of philosophy at St. Andrews.

1774. Battle between the Americans, 1400 men, from Virginia, under colonel Lewis, and about 600 Ohio Indians. The Indians made the attack; 400 of the Virginians were killed and 100 wounded.

1775. British general GAGE sailed from Boston for Great Britain, and the command of the army devolved upon general Howe.

1775. LOUIS NICHOLAS VICTOR MUYS, minister of war and marshal of France, died. He signalized himself at several important engagements, which led to his promotion.

1780. Hurricane in the West Indies, which continued about 48 hours. Several towns were leveled with the dust, and many thousand persons lost their lives. Several hundred vessels in the different ports were driven to sea or dashed to pieces.

1783. HENRY BROOKE, an eminent Irish writer, died. His tragedy of Gustavus Vasa, though forbidden the stage for its tone of freedom and liberty, met with a rapid sale.

1787. The Prussians under the duke of Brunswick took the city of Amsterdam by capitulation. It is said that before the surrender water sold for an English shilling a quart.

1792. Lord MULGRAVE died at Liege, aged 48. He was captain Phipps in the British service, and was celebrated for his voyage towards the North pole.

1794. Battle of Fersen, or Mackowieze, between the Russians and the Poles under Kosciusko. The contest was bloody and fatal to the patriots. The victory was wavering, and the expected reinforcements not appearing, Kosciusko at the head of his principal officers, made a furious charge and plunged into the midst of the Russians. He had three horses killed under him, and finally fell covered with wounds, and was captured.

1797. CARTER BRAXTON died; a signer of the declaration of independence from Virginia.

1800. Explosion of an infernal machine intended to have destroyed Bonaparte, then first consul, as he proceeded to the opera. The coachman being intoxicated, drove faster than was his custom, and the engine exploded half a minute after the carriage had passed, killed 20 persons, and wounded 53, and shattered the windows on both sides of the street.

1806. JEREMIAH JAMES OBERLIN, an eminent archæologist of Strasburg, died. He was an accurate and industrious scholar, and besides various original works, published good editions of several of the Latin classics.

1806. Sanguinary battle at the bridge of Saalfeld in Saxony; the French under Suchet defeated the Prussians, and their general, prince Ferdinand Louis, was killed.

1812. Veraya, in Russia, garrisoned by the French, taken by the Russians under Dorochoff; 500 French were killed and 400 captured. The standard of Westphalia and 500 muskets were taken, and the place having been made a depot for provisions, great quantities fell into the hands of the Russians.

1824. FRANCIS BALTHAZAR SOLVYNS, a celebrated Dutch painter and engraver, died. He spent 15 years in Hindostan, studying the languages, manners and customs of the east, on which he published a work in folio.

1832. JAMES STEPHEN, an English statesman and philanthropist, died. He suggested and arranged the whole system of continental blockade, which for a long time occasioned great embarrassment to Bonaparte.

1834. THOMAS SAY, an eminent naturalist, died at New Harmony. He early abandoned his mercantile pursuits to devote himself to the study of nature. Perhaps no man has done more to make known the zoology of this country than he.

1836. MARTHA RANDOLPH, last surviving daughter of Thomas Jefferson, a lady of distinguished talents and virtues, died in Albemarle county, Va., aged 70.

1840. The Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pacha and Soliman Pacha defeated near Beyrout, in Syria, by the allied British and Turkish troops under Selim Pacha, com. Napier and colonel Hodges, with the loss of 7000 men.

1841. JOHN BAYLEY, a noted justice of the King's bench and baron of the exchequer, died in England, aged 78.

1841. CARL FREDERICH SCHINKEL, the most eminent architect in Prussia, died at Berlin, aged 61.

1849. A memorial for the annexation of Canada to the United States, received in five hours the signatures of 300 merchants, land owners, and professional men, at Montreal.

1849. The _initial point_ of the boundary line between the United States and Mexico settled, and a monument with inscriptions erected in north latitude 32° 31´ 59´´.58, and in longitude 119° 35´ 0´´.15 west from Greenwich.

1854. GORDON DRUMMOND, a British officer who saw much service in the war with the United States in 1812, died in London, aged 82. He commanded the British troops at the battle of Niagara.

OCTOBER 11.

1347. LOUIS V, emperor of Germany, killed by a fall from his horse. This event prevented a new civil war, which threatened the happiness of Germany.

1441. The government of Venice prohibited the printing and vending of playing cards by foreigners in those dominions.

1492. COLUMBUS discovered the Bahama islands, his first discovery of land.

1521. LEO X issued a decree, conferring upon Henry VIII of England the title of Defender of the Faith.

1531. ULRICUS ZUINGLIUS, an able and zealous Swiss reformer, killed in a skirmish with his popish opponents.

1611. JOHN COWELL, an English lawyer and antiquary, died; author of some works on the law.

1612. The remains of MARY, queen of Scots, removed to a vault in Henry VIII's chapel, where a most magnificent monument was erected to her memory.

1614. Charter granted to "the United New Netherland company," giving it the exclusive right to visit and trade with the countries in America, lying between the 40th and 45th degrees of north latitude. This country was now for the first time called New Netherland.

1643. JOHN DU VERGER DE HAURANE died; an eminent French ecclesiastic, who formed a new system of faith, which becoming popular, drew upon him the resentment of Richelieu.

1698. Treaty between England, France and Holland, for the partition of Spain.

1698. WILLIAM MOLYNEUX, an eminent Irish mathematician, died. He was ardently devoted to science, founded the philosophical society of Ireland, and invented a telescope dial.

1702. Battle of Vigo; the British admiral Rooke attacked the French fleet and Spanish batteries. The French destroyed 8 ships, and the British burnt 6 galleons richly laden with goods and plate, valued at 14,000,000 pieces of eight; they also razed the fortifications, and brought off 10 ships of war and 11 galleons, with 7,000,000 pieces of eight.

1705. WILLIAM AMONTONS, an eminent French mechanic, died. He suggested some improvements in barometers and thermometers, and invented a method of communicating intelligence, which has since been adopted under the name of telegraph.

1709. Mons taken by the allies.

1727. EDWARD COLSTON, an English philanthropist, died. He acquired wealth by commerce with Spain, with which he endowed numerous charitable institutions.

1736. Great storm on the river Ganges; 300,000 lives are supposed to have been lost.

1750. JOHN BAPTIST JOSEPH LANGUET died; the celebrated vicar of St. Sulpice at Paris, who refused all preferments, and devoted the revenues which he collected to the institution and support of judiciously planned charitable establishments.

1752. THOMAS STACKHOUSE, a learned, pious but necessituous divine, died.

1776. The Americans under general Arnold attacked on lake Champlain by the British under captain Pringle. Arnold lost two gondolas taken and one blown up, and was forced to retreat, owing to the inferiority of his force.