APRIL 27.
1124. Alexander I of Scotland, son of Malcom Canmore, died. He ascended the throne on the death of his brother Edgar, 1107, and from the energy and impetuosity of his character he was called the fierce. There were several rebellions and insurrections against his reign, which he put down with vigor. A conspiracy was formed against his life, and the traitors got
admission into his bed chamber at night. He cut his way through them, and after killing six made his escape.
1192. Conrad de Montferrat assassinated at Tyre.
1296. Battle of Dunbar, in which Edward I, of England, defeated the Scots under the king, John Baliol, who lost 20,000 slain. Baliol was taken prisoner to England, and confined in the tower.
1404. Philip (the bold), duke of Burgundy, died. He was a just and brave prince, but so profuse in his expenses, that his body was seized after death by his creditors, and it was with difficulty that his duchess could redeem it.
1573. The army or the States General seized Flushing, and hanged the Spanish commander.
1603. King James I, on his way to take possession of the English crown, was magnificently entertained at Winchinbrook by Sir Oliver Cromwell.
1610. Patent for Newfoundland granted to the earl of Northampton and 44 other persons, by the name of the treasurer and company of adventurers and planters of the cities of Bristol and London, for the colony or plantation of Newfoundland, from lat. 46 to 52 deg., together with the seas and islands lying within ten leagues of the coast.
1667. Milton disposed of the copy right of the Paradise Lost for £5! It was with much difficulty that he could find any one to undertake the publication of it.
1702. John Barth died; who by his bravery and skill rose to a high rank in the French navy.
1717. The Dissenters received £5,000 for damages done their meeting houses during the rebellion on account of the pretender to the English throne.
1742. Nicholas Amherst, an English political writer, died. He for a considerable time published the Craftsman, a paper conducted with unusual spirit and success, which guided the public taste and awed the administration.
1762. The Irish levelers suppressed by Lord Halifax.
1775. The Bostonians delivered up a large quantity of guns, &c., to the British general Gage.
1782. Edward Chamberlayne, an English statesman, died. He was one of the best scholars of his age.
1785. Prince Leopold of Brunswick, son of the reigning duke, having gone to the relief of the inhabitants of an inundated village on the Oder, near Frankfort, was upset in his boat and drowned. Thus dying as he had lived, in the highest exercise of humanity.
1792. John James Ankerstroom, a Swedish officer, executed for the murder of Gustavus, king of Sweden.
1794. William Jones died, a man who rose by the superiority of his genius, from a low station to a high judicial office in Bengal. By his unwearied industry and skill in the Asiatic languages, he successfully explored the hidden sources of oriental science and literature, and to whose translations we are indebted for many beautiful effusions of the Persian muse. As a linguist he has seldom if ever been surpassed. He was master of almost every language of Europe and Asia.
1794. James Bruce, the celebrated Scottish traveler, died. Being consul at Algiers, he found leisure to study the oriental languages, and formed the project of exploring the interior of Africa. He discovered the sources of the Nile.
1796. Charles Townsend, an English nobleman, was found dead in a post chaise on his return from Great Yarmouth, for which borough his brother Frederick had been elected to parliament. They both had exhibited marks of insanity, and in one of these paroxysms Charles shot himself.
1799. Battle of Cassano, in Italy; the French under Moreau totally defeated by the Russians and Austrians under Suwarrow.
1803. Toussaint l'Overture, a mulatto chieftain of St. Domingo, died. He possessed unbounded influence over the blacks of that island, and became the head of all power, civil and military, among them. He was treacherously betrayed by the French, and thrown into prison where he died.
1804. Jonathan Boucher, an English archæologist, died. He was an episcopal preacher in America, till the revolution drove him back to England. He prepared a glossary of provincial and archæological words, intended for a supplement to Johnson's Dictionary.
1806. The squadron under Miranda, intended to begin a revolution in South America, engaged two Spanish guardacostas. The Spaniards captured two schooners, having on board 22 officers and 30 men, all of whom were hanged or sent to the mines.
1813. The American army under Gen. Pike took York, the capital of Upper Canada. The British blew up the works, by which Gen. Pike was killed, as well as about 50 of the British, and 200 American soldiers killed or wounded.
1830. City of Guatemala nearly destroyed by an earthquake.
1834. Thomas Stothard died; celebrated for his illustrations to the Canterbury Tales, Rogers' Italy, Pilgrims' Progress and Robinson Crusoe.
1836. John Hart, an American physician, died. He joined the army at the outbreak of the revolution, and continued in it until it was disbanded. He was afterwards a member of the Massachusetts senate, and much esteemed as a physician and a patriot.
1836. Battle near Fort Brook, Florida, between the United States volunteer troops and the Indians. The Indians were defeated with the loss of 200 killed. Loss of the U. S. troops, 2 killed, 24 wounded.
1836. The celebrated Bible presented by Alcuin to Charlemagne, was sold at auction in London for £1,500 ($6,666). See [Dec. 1, 801].
1838. Baroness Schopenhauer died at Jena; a woman of talent and celebrity, and author of various works, which were collected in 24 vols.
1838. Great fire at Charlestown, S. C., "which laid waste 145 acres of the most populous part of the city."
1849. William B. Cooper, ex-governor, and a highly respected citizen of the state of Delaware, died at his residence, Laurel hill.
1850. The Atlantic, first steamer of the Collins line, sailed from Liverpool.
1855. Col. Kinney arrested in New York on a bench warrant, for beginning a military enterprise against Nicaragua.
1856. Ratification of the treaty of peace between England, France and Turkey, and Russia, which terminated the Crimean war.
1856. Robert Kelly, a New York merchant, died, aged 47. Having acquired a fortune and a high reputation as a merchant, he devoted his attention to science, acquired eight languages, and filled many important offices. His superior talents and untiring industry were under the direction of philanthropic and Christian impulses.