APRIL 5.
2348 B. C. The ark of Noah rested on mount Ararat.
347 B. C. Plato, the Athenian philosopher, died. He was the pupil of Socrates, and on the death of his master went into foreign countries in search of knowledge. His works have come down to us, and confirm the opinions of his contemporaries by whom his talents and learning were highly appreciated.
33. The day of our Savior's resurrection called Easter.
1242. Battle of lake Peipus, in Russia; the Russians under Alexander Jaroslawitz gained a decisive victory over the Swedes under Eric XI. The battle was fought on the ice; 400 Teutonic knights were slain, and 50 made prisoners. The German knights were pardoned, but the Esthonians were ordered to be hung as Russian rebels.
1470. An instrument similar to a warranty deed given to William Tourneville, bishop of Angers, with a copy of Faust and Schoeffer's Bible for the sum of 40 crowns, bears this date.
1605. John Stow, an English antiquary and historian, died, aged 80. He was born in London, 1525, and initiated by his father into all the mysteries of tailoring as practiced at that period. But he discovered a penchant for musty relics and antiquarian lumber, and finally quitted his business to compose a history of England. He at length got together such a medley of antique and diabolical books and parchments, that he became suspected of some heretical designs against religion, so that the bishop of London ordered an investigation of his library. He published A Summarie of the Englyshe Chronicles, and in 1598 a Survey of London, on which he was long employed, and which has been often reprinted. He was reduced to live by charity, and at length fell a victim to poverty and disease. His labors formed a rich legacy to future historians.
1621. John Carver, first governor of Massachusetts, died. He conducted the colonists over from Leyden, and managed the affairs of the settlement with great prudence and address.
1676. John Winthrop, first governor of Connecticut, died. He was the eldest son of the governor of Massachusetts, and a man of great learning and talents. He was one of the founders of the Royal society, distinguished as one of the greatest chemists and physicians of the day, and one of the most noted men in New England. In 1635 he came over to settle a plantation on Connecticut river, and began the town of Saybrook at the mouth of that river.
1677. Cambray, a fortified city of France, surrendered to Louis XIV, who commanded in person.
1684. William Brouncker, an English mathematician, died. He is celebrated for his attachment to the royal cause during the civil wars. On the institution of the Royal society, he was the first president, and adorned the office by his polite manners and extensive erudition.
1707. Battle of Almanza, in Spain; the allied British, Dutch, and Portuguese army defeated with the loss of 1000, attributed to the bad conduct of the Portuguese troops.
1725. Benjamin Ibbot, an eloquent English divine, died. A selection of his sermons was published after his death by his friend Dr. Samuel Clarke.
1735. William Derham, an able English philosopher and divine, died. He accomplished much in the advancement of science by a long life of industry; his publications amounting to not less than 40, mostly on philosophical subjects.
1746. Thomas Hanmer, an English statesman, died. He was for 30 years a distinguished member of Parliament, from which he retired to devote himself to literary pursuits.
1748. Unsuccessful attempt by the British under admiral Knowles on St. Jago de Cuba.
1753. Parliament passed an act to raise £20,000 by lottery to purchase the library of Sir Hanse Sloane, of his daughters, for the public use. It formed the basis of the British museum.
1758. The first number of Johnson's Idler appeared.
1762. Granada surrendered to the British.
1776. Grainger, vicar of Shiplake and author of the Biographical History of England, died suddenly while administering the sacrament.
1779. The refugees plundered Nantucket and carried off with them two loaded brigs, and several other vessels.
1780. Alexis Hubert Jaillot, a French geographer, and sculptor to the king, died.
1790. Elizabeth Welsh died at New York, aged 104.
1794. George James Danton, a French Revolutionary Leader, guillotined. Robespierre, dreading the dauntless intrepidity of Danton, Fabre d'Eglantine, Bazire, Chabot, and others of the most noted of his fellow desperadoes in the convention, caused them to be arrested as conspirators against the republic, and after a summary trial, they were executed by the guillotine
on this day. The government of France was now almost entirely vested in one man, under whose sanguinary administration the prisons of Paris contained at one time more than seven thousand persons, and a day seldom passed without sixty or eighty executions by the revolutionary axe.
1794. Marie Jean Herault de Sechelles, a French statesman, guillotined. He conducted before the revolution as an able and upright officer; but as the scene progressed he became identified with the terrorists, and went to the scaffold with Danton, Desmoulins, (q. v.) and others. The two conducted with as much levity in their last moments as if they had been going to a party of pleasure.
1794. Benedict Camille Desmoulins, one of the founders of the Jacobin club in France, guillotined. He was the friend of Danton, and one of the most bloody and reckless of the revolutionists. When arraigned by order of Robespierre, he was asked his age, to which he replied "33 ans, l'age du sans culotte Jesus Christ." His wife, whom he adored, a beautiful, courageous and spirited woman, desired to share her husband's fate, which Robespierre seems not to have been slow to grant.
1795. Treaty of peace concluded at Basle, Switzerland, between France and Prussia.
1795. County of Schoharie, in New York, erected.
1797. The first Turkish ships arrived at London.
1799. The British forces under Gen. Harris, called the Madras army, arrived at Seringapatam, within Tippoo Saib had retreated after the defeat of Seedasere.
1799. Battle of Villingen and Rothweil in Germany; the French under Joubert defeated by the Austrians under the archduke Charles.
1800. British captured Goeree; admiral Duckworth's squadron on the same day, fell in with and captured two Spanish frigates and eleven merchantmen from Lima. The admiral's share of the spoil amounted to £75,000.
1804. Robert Raikes, an English printer and philanthropist, died. He succeeded his father in the printing business and having realized a good property, he employed it, with his pen and his influence, in relieving such objects as stood in need of his benevolent assistance. He is however best known as the originator of sabbath schools.
1811. Henry I (Christophe), king of Hayti, created an hereditary nobility, consisting of 4 princes, 7 dukes, 21 counts, 9 barons and chevaliers, and appointed persons to those ranks.
1811. James Traquair died; the first man in America who procured busts to be carved in American marble. They were likenesses of Washington and Penn, and executed by an Italian.
1814. Bonaparte accepted the island of Elba as his residence, and renounced for himself and heirs the throne of France.
1815. Continued eruption of Tomboro, which began April 3. (See [April 12].)
1817. Battle of Maypu, which sealed the independence of Chili. The patriots under San Martin and Las Heras defeated the royalists, 5000, under Osorio; 2000 were killed and 2500 taken.
1830. The bill to remove the civil disabilities of the Jews introduced into the British parliament.
1832. Ratification of the treaties of commerce, navigation and limits, between the United States and Mexico, exchanged at Washington.
1837. Henry Bathurst, bishop of Norwich, died in London, aged 93. He was distinguished for the liberality of his principles, and was exemplary in the exercise of his duties—the father of 36 children, 22 by his first wife, 14 by his second.
1842. Patrick Kelly died at Brighton, England. He is well known for his valuable writings on science, but his great work the Universal Cambist entitles him to lasting distinction.
1843. Valnier, a native of St. Domingo, died at Merida, Yucatan, aged 117. He retained his sight until the age of 105, and his intellect was unimpaired till the time of his death.
1844. John Sanderson of Philadelphia, who wrote an account of the lives of the signers of the declaration of American independence, died. He had some reputation for wit.
1852. Felix von Schwartzenberg died at Vienna, aged 52. He represented the Austrian empire at various courts, at different periods, the earliest being at the age of 15. In a military capacity he took the field in 1843 against Charles Albert of Sardinia, and half a year later succeeded prince Metternich, on his fall, as prime minister of the empire.
1853. A new planet was discovered by Prof. de Gasparis, at Naples.