The Every Day Book of History and Chronology. Joel Munsell
and conciliatory conduct he was enabled to effect a great deal of good as a mediator between the contending parties. On the breaking out of disturbances he was sent to the first congress, and continued to fill some office till his death, when he was lieutenant governor.
1790. Marquis De Favras executed. His judges were intimidated by the mob shouting during the trial, a la lanterne.
1792. Matthew Tait died at Auchinleck, aged 123.
1793. Lieuts. Gibbs and Mountesy with 21 men of the Lowestoffe frigate seized the tower of Martelli in Corsica, and hoisted the British flag for the first time in that island.
1794. French frigate La Fortunee burnt to prevent her falling into the hands of Lord Hood.
1797. James Dodsley the renowned and rich London bookseller died. He sold 18,000 copies of Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution.
1798. The Irish rebellion, as the discontents were called, commenced.
1799. Jean Charles Borda, a French mathematician, died. He made many improvements in hydraulics, and his experiments for the advancement of science were numerous and successful.
1801. Action off Gibraltar between the British frigate Phebe 36 guns, and the French frigate L'Africaine, 44 guns and 715 men. The Frenchman lost 200 men killed and 143 wounded, and was captured. British loss 1 killed and 12 wounded.
1802. Nicholas Joseph Selis, a distinguished French poet, died.
1806. Elizabeth Carter, an English poetess, died, aged 89. She acquired nine foreign languages; but the reputation of this learned lady was established by a complete translation from the Greek of the works of Epictetus, with notes.
1807. Admiral Duckworth, with 8 ships of the line and 4 frigates, together with fire ships and gun boats, effected the daring pass of the Dardanelles, without loss, and appeared before Constantinople, which until then had never seen an enemy's fleet. The Turks fired stone shot from their batteries upon the fleet, some of them weighing upwards of 800 pounds. The Turkish squadron, consisting of a 64 gun ship, 4 frigates, 3 corvettes, a brig and 2 gun boats, were burnt.
1811. Duke of Albuquerque, ambassador to England from the regency of Spain, died at London.
1816. Wm. Reese died in Dublin district, Md., aged 108.
1816. A bridge of wire, 400 feet in length, for foot passengers having been constructed over the Schuylkill, was passed for the first time.
1821. Florida ceded to the United States by Spain.
1837. Thomas Burgess, bishop of Salisbury, died. He was the son of a grocer, and rose by his own merits. He was a man of extensive learning, and a voluminous author; was instrumental in founding the royal society of literature; and St. David's college founded by him for the education of Welsh ministers, is an enduring monument of his benevolence. To this institution, he bequeathed the whole of his extensive library.
1843. Michael J. Quinn, well known to general readers as the author of A Visit to Spain, &c., died at Boulogne-sur-mer, France.
1844. Gilbert, a servant of Washington at the great battle of the Monongahela, died at Stanton, Va., aged 112. He was also with the general at the surrender of Cornwallis, and was accustomed on holidays to appear in regimentals during his life, to the great edification of the boys.
1852. William Ware, an eminent unitarian scholar and divine, died at Cambridge, Mass., aged 54.
1856. The ship John Rutledge from Liverpool to New York encountered an iceberg and sunk. Of five boats which left the ship, only one was picked up, with but one living man on board, the survivor of thirteen who had died one by one of cold and starvation.
FEBRUARY 20.
1413. Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, died. He was consecrated bishop of Ely at the age of 21, and became infamous by the severity of his conduct towards the reformers.
1437. James I, of Scotland, murdered, at the age of 44. He fell a martyr to his attempts to abolish the anarchy and disorder which prevailed throughout his kingdom. He was the first of the Stuarts, and stands on the catalogue of royal authors. (Is also dated 21st.)
1494. Matteo Marie Boiardo, count of Scandiano, died. In his Orlando Innamorato he immortalized his own peasants and the charms of the scenery at Scandiano in the persons of his heroes and the beauties of nature.
1571. Lewis Castelvetro, an Italian critic, died. He was famous for his parts, but more famous for spleen and ill nature. He distinguished himself chiefly by his Commentary upon Aristotle's Poetics, where, Rapin assures us, he always made it a rule to find something to except against in the text.
1579. Nicholas Bacon, an English statesman, died. He was appointed lord keeper of the great seal on the accession of Elizabeth, and was an able and judicious counsellor of that queen during 20 years.
1579. Drake, after many profitable captures in the Pacific, arrived at Lima, where he plundered all the ships in the harbor, in one of which was found a chest full of reals of silver, and a good store of silks and linen cloth.
1648. Thomas Damme buried at Minshull, England, "being of the age of seven score and fourteen" (154 years).
1725. A party of 40 New Hampshire volunteers on an excursion for hunting Indians, discovered a party of ten encamped for the night round a fire. Advancing cautiously at midnight, the enemy were found asleep and the whole shot. They were marching from Canada well furnished with new guns and ammunition, and a number of spare blankets, moccasins and snow shoes, for the accommodation of the prisoners they expected to take, and were within two miles of the frontiers. The party entered Dover in triumph, with the ten scalps stretched on hoops and elevated on poles; and received a bounty of £100 for each scalp, at Boston, out of the public treasury.
1736. A bill was introduced into the British parliament, placing a duty of 20 shillings a gallon on spirituous liquors, and £50 license for selling them, in order to prevent their excessive use; but was defeated so far as to tolerate punch at a low rate, the merchants of Bristol and Liverpool fearing the lessening of consumption on rum and other things distilled from molasses.
1737. Elizabeth Rowe died; an English lady distinguished for her piety and literary talents.
1745. British ship Chester, Capt. Geary, captured the French ship Elephant with $24,000 on board.
1749. Usher Gahagan, executed at Tyburn. He was a gentleman by birth, and a scholar; he edited a beautiful edition of the classics, and translated Pope's Messiah and Temple of Fame into Latin verse. His crime was that of clipping coin!
1762. Tobias Mayer, a distinguished mathematician, died at Gottingen. His lunar and solar tables, as well as his original suggestions on the repeating circle are of much value.
1771. John James de Mairan, a French philosopher, died. He succeeded Fontenelle as secretary to the academy of sciences, and is the author of a Treatise on Phosphoric Light, &c.
1772. The royal marriage act of England was passed. This was another of those attempts to perpetuate regal domination.
1778. Laura Bassi died; she was honored with the degree of doctor of philosophy, for the great mental acquirements displayed in her lectures on that subject, and was distinguished as possessing every amiable virtue.
1780. British under General Clinton invaded South Carolina.
1781. Robert Morris appointed by congress