Читать книгу The Every Day Book of History and Chronology - Joel Munsell - Страница 41

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211. Lucius Septimus Severus, emperor of Rome, died at York, England. His sons, Geta and Caracalla, were by this event recalled from Scotland, where they were debating with Fingal over heath and mountain, her ancient stubborn independence.

836. Egbert, the last king of the Saxon heptarchy, and the first of England, died.

856. Magnentius Maurus Rabanus, a learned German divine, died. His works on theology are numerous.

1194. Richard, Coeur de Lion, released from his imprisonment.

1536. The parliament of England abolished every thing relative to the pope's power in their realm.

1555. John Rogers, prebendary of St. Paul's, and the protomartyr, burned at Smithfield.

1607. James Menochius died; a civilian of Pavia, of distinguished abilities.

1644. A very large comet which had terrified the straight-bodied folks of New England with its prodigious length of tail, disappeared on this day, to their great relief.

1648. George Abbot, an English statesman and religious author, died. He was one of the judges who sat at the trial of Charles I, and signed his death warrant.

1660. Gen. Monk, famous as the restorer of Charles II, marched into London and recommended a government moderately presbyterian.

1665. The first number of the London Gazette appeared, published by Sir Roger l'Estrange.

1687. Francis de Crequi, marshal of France, died. He was distinguished for his military enterprises and heroic courage.

1692. Goree taken from the French by the English under Gen. Booker.

1693. Earthquake of Sicily, which swallowed up Catania and 1800 citizens.

1746. Robert Blair, a Scottish clergyman and poet, died. The only production of his, which we possess, is The Grave, a poem, striking and vigorous.

1749. John James Heidegger died at London. He was born in Switzerland, and came to England, where by his taste and judgment in operatic amusements, he was appointed to the management of the opera house and the masquerades. He was the ugliest featured man in the kingdom, but good-humored, benevolent and charitable.

1756. A mummy disinterred near Auvergne in France.

1762. Samuel Davies, an American divine, died, aged 36. He labored some years as a presbyterian pastor in Virginia, where the act of uniformity was enforced with great rigor, and was the founder of the first presbytery in that state. His sermons have passed through many editions on both sides of the Atlantic.

1774. Charles Marie de la Condamine died. He was possessed of a daring spirit, which led him to enter the army. But the restoration of peace cut off his hopes of promotion, and he traveled in Turkey and Asia. On his return to Paris, the academy were making arrangements to send a deputation to the equator for scientific purposes. The very desire of being connected with so perilous an undertaking made him an astronomer. The fatigues and hardships which he encountered in South-America, were heightened by the discord and jealousy which arose among his companions. He died while undergoing an operation for the removal of a malady contracted in Peru. He bore an excellent character, and left many valuable works.

1779. John Hamilton Mortimer, an eminent English historical painter, died.

1783. Cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, and final conclusion of the seven years' war of the revolution, which freed the American colonies from the claims of the mother country, and gave a new nation to the world.

1787. Jacob Wismer died, aged 103. He was a German by birth, came to America in Queen Anne's reign, and settled in Pennsylvania; here he married his third wife, with whom he lived 67 years, and left 170 descendants.

1790. Louis XVI took the oath to maintain the new constitution.

1793. An embargo laid on all French vessels in Great-Britain.

1794. The legislature of Massachusetts having repealed the law against theatrical amusements, the Federal street theatre was opened as a regular, lawful theatre, with Gustavus Vasa and Modern Antiques.

1796. British ship Aurora, one of Admiral Christian's fleet, having 160 men on board, who had kept her afloat three weeks by manual labor, was rescued by Capt. Hodges of the American ship Sedgley. The troops were principally Germans and offered Capt. Hodges 1000 guineas for his exertions in saving their lives, which he nobly refused.

1797. Earthquake at Quito, which threw down many valuable edifices, and destroyed several neighboring towns and plantations. A great number of persons were swallowed up.

1800. William Tasker died, aged 60. He was 30 years rector of a church, but deprived of its income by unmerited persecutions and litigations, until near the close of his life. The works which he published added to his reputation with the learned, but contributed nothing to his support, and he continued to struggle against poverty and oppression.

1804. Christian Joseph Jagemann, librarian to the duchess Amalia of Weimar, died. He was destined for the cloister, but escaped from the monastery, and became a distinguished writer on the fine arts and literature of Italy.

1804. The boats of the British ship Centaur cut out of Martinique the French corvette Le Curieux.

1805. The British sloop of war Arrow, 28 guns, and bomb vessel Acheron, 8 guns, having a fleet of merchantmen in convoy, were captured by two French frigates, but most of the convoy escaped.

1806. Gen. Philemon Dickinson, who was in the battle of Monmouth, died at Trenton, New Jersey, aged 69.

1808. First legislative proceedings in relation to the New York canals.

1811. Jonathan Lambert, of Salem, Massachusetts, took possession of the uninhabited island of Tristan d'Acunha, south of St. Helena. The British took possession of it in 1817, and fortified it.

1812. Peniscola, in Valencia, surrendered to the French under Suchet.

1813. The United States frigate Constellation chased into Norfolk, Virginia, by a British squadron.

1814. The ice formed on the Thames at London, above the bridges, and a fair was held upon it during eight days.

1817. Lewis Pennock died at West Marlborough, Pennsylvania, aged 92; 11 of his survivors, within a mile, arrived at 83½ years.

1834. John O'Keefe, a British dramatic author, died at Southampton, England, aged 68.

1835. Wade Hampton died at Columbia, S. C., aged 81. He distinguished himself in the war of the revolution under Sumpter and Marion; and during the last war commanded a brigade on the northern frontier. He was reputed the most extensive planter in the United States; one of the wealthiest men in the whole southern country; and perhaps no other man in this country ever amassed so large a fortune by agriculture.

1836. William Gell died at Naples. He was a classical antiquary, the illustrator of the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and author of various works on classical antiquity. He was admired alike for the depth and versatility of his erudition, the benevolence of his heart, and the suavity of his manners.

1850. Seventy-five persons killed by a steam explosion in Hague street, New York.

1854. Eight steamboats destroyed by fire at New Orleans, and 37 persons perished in the flames.

1856. Fort Nicholas at Sebastopol blown up by the allies, with the aid of 106,000 pounds of powder.

This day in the calendar of Hesiod, is auspicious for marriages and the repairing of ships; but a day of troubles.