Читать книгу The Every Day Book of History and Chronology - Joel Munsell - Страница 23

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1472. Birthday of Copernicus, at Thorn in Prussia.

1514. Vasco Nunez de Balboa returned to his colony at Darien, after having made the discovery of the Pacific ocean. His expedition occupied four months and a half; his triumph was complete. The whole population poured down to the shore to meet him, to hail him as the author of their fortunes, as less a man than a gift of heaven, to guide them into the possession of glories and riches incalculable. The expedition had been undertaken in consequence of the extravagant representations by the Indians, of a people who lived on the borders of that ocean, six suns distant, who owned large ships, and whose eating and drinking vessels were of pure gold. They referred to the Peruvians.

1535. Date of the probate of the will of the famed early English printer, Wynkyn de Worde.

1547. Henry Howard, earl of Surrey, a soldier, scholar and poet, beheaded on Tower hill for treason. In his youth he made the tour of Europe, and at Florence signalized his courage and romantic spirit, by publishing, in the style of a knight-errant, a challenge to all comers, Christians, Jews, Saracens, Turks and Cannibals, in defence of the surpassing beauty of his mistress, the fair Geraldine; and was victorious at the tournament instituted by the grand duke on the occasion. He served in the army sent against Scotland in 1542, and in 1544 accompanied the troops with which the king invaded France. For his services he was promoted, but being defeated in an attempt to seize a convoy, he was superseded. This unmerited disgrace was the beginning of his ruin. He is said to have aspired to the hand of the Princess Mary, and on some frivolous charges was tried by a common jury, by whom he was obsequiously found guilty of treason. Thus perished a man "no less valiant than learned, and of excellent hopes," aged 27.

1565. James Laynez, one of the founders of the Society of Jesus, died. He was born in Castile, 1512. His intimacy with Loyola was formed in Paris, where they matured the plan of the society. Loyola was chosen the first general, and in 1558 was succeeded by Laynez.

1576. Hans Sachs, the famous German master-singer, died. He was born at Nuremberg 1494; his occupation that of a shoemaker. At the age of 14 he began to write poetry, and made verses and shoes, plays and pumps, with equal assiduity, to the age of 77, when he took an inventory of his literary stock in trade. It consisted of 4200 songs, 508 comedies, and other pieces, in all 6048, making 32 folio volumes written by his own hand. From these a selection was published in 5 volumes folio. His poems are distinguished for naïveté, feeling, and striking description.

1643. Battle of Liscard, in Cornwall, England.

1657. Miles Syndercombe and others convicted of plotting the death of Oliver Cromwell.

1706. Charles Sackville, earl of Dorset and Middlesex, died. He was an accomplished scholar and a good speaker, but declined all public employment, being wholly engrossed in gallantry and pleasure. He was the patron of poets and men of wit: his own productions are those of a man of wit, vigorous, gay and airy. He served in the Dutch war of 1665 as a volunteer, and on the night before an engagement, composed the celebrated song, beginning, "To all you ladies now at hand."

1728. William Congreve, the English dramatist, died. He was educated for the bar, but like many others similarly situated, gave up the law for the pursuit of polite literature, in which he was eminently successful. His first work, The Incognita, was written at a very early age, and he produced his first comedy at the age of 21.

1730. Peter II of Russia died of the small pox. He was the grandson of Peter the Great, and ascended the throne by the will of Catharine, when but 13 years old.

1757. Thomas Ruddiman, a celebrated Scottish printer and grammarian, and who excelled in many learned treatises, died.

1776. Great eruption of mount Vesuvius.

1777. Hugh Mercer, an officer of the revolution, died. He was a Scotchman by birth, and was in the memorable battle of Culloden. Soon after, he emigrated to America, and was engaged with Washington in the Indian wars of 1755. He joined the patriots of the revolution, and distinguished himself at Trenton and Princeton; was wounded in the latter engagement, of which he died. His funeral was attended by 30,000 people.

1778. Francis Furgler, the New Jersey recluse, died. During 25 years, without fire, he lived in a cell in the form of an oven, about four miles from Burlington.

1782. The emperor Joseph pardoned all those who kept out of his dominions on account of religion, provided they returned within a year; he also abolished several religious orders, and absolved the monks and nuns from their vows, and at the same time disclaimed all subordination to the pope in secular affairs.

1795. Insurrection in the island of Granada.

1795. The French under Devinther took Amersfoort in Holland, and the advance of the French army entered Amsterdam.

1796. The brass coffin, containing the bones of Columbus and the chains with which he had been loaded at Cuba, were removed from St. Domingo to Havana, by the direction of his descendants. They are now preserved in a silver urn on the left of the altar of the cathedral.

1806. James Jackson, an officer of the revolution, died. He came from England only two years before the war, and although but 19 years of age in 1776, he displayed great intrepidity at the attack upon Savannah. He continued in the service throughout the war, and in 1782 was presented by the legislature with a house and lot in Savannah. He held various civil offices in the state, and at the time of his death was a senator in congress.

1809. The French entered Corunna.

1812. Ciudad Rodrigo, a town and fortress in Spain, eight miles from the Portuguese line, garrisoned by 1700 Frenchmen, taken by storm by the British under Wellington, after a siege of 11 days.

1817. Riot and rebellion of the students of Princeton college.

1819. Charles IV, king of Spain, died. He was born at Naples 1740, and came to the throne of Spain 1788. Too imbecile to govern, he was always ruled by his wife and ministers. He was dethroned by Napoleon 1808, and died a pensioner at Naples of a relapse of the gout.

1836. John Butler, "the celebrated huntsman," died, in Wake county, N. C. He was supposed to be at least 110 years of age, and left a wife surviving equally as old.

1840. The United States exploring expedition under Lieut. Wilkes reported the discovery of a new antarctic continent on this day. A subsequent British expedition sailed over its site without being able to discern any vestige of it. It is supposed to have been a series of icebergs.

1843. Thos. W. White, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, died at Richmond.

1847. Peter R. Livingston, a prominent man in the counsels and politics of the state of New York, died at Rhinebeck.

1848. Isaac D'Israeli, author of the Curiosities of Literature, died aged 82.