AUGUST 20.
480 B. C. Battle of Salamis, in Greece, and defeat of the Persians under Xerxes. This great achievement occurred on that day of the mysteries devoted to the solemnities of Bacchus.
332 B. C. Tyre taken by Alexander, which with the subsequent conquest of Gaza, gave to him Egypt.
984. John XIV, pope, died. He was imprisoned in the castle of St. Angelo, by Boniface VIII, where he died, either of poison or grief.
1153. St. Bernard, of Clairvaux, died, and was cannonized on this day. He was an extraordinary character, who obtained great influence over the ecclesiastical affairs of Europe, by the mere force of personal character, without any adventitious advantages, and is styled the last of the fathers.
1485. The earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII, halted with his army at Atherstone, two nights previous to the decisive battle of Bosworth field. The troops encamped in a meadow to the north of the church, which now bears the name of the Royal meadow. During the night, Henry held a conference in the town with the two Stanleys, when the measures were agreed upon which resulted in the defeat and death of Richard III.
1513. Norham castle taken by the Scots; its ruins yet remain about eight miles west from Berwick.
1580. Jerome Osorio, an able Portuguese divine and author, died.
1639. Martin Opitius, an elegant German poet, died of the plague at Dantzic.
1648. Edward Herbert died; an eminent English statesman, and writer on history, philosophy and criticism.
1648. Battle of Lens; the French under
Conde defeated the Spaniards and imperialists, under the archduke Leopold, of whom 3000 were killed, and general Beck and 5000 taken prisoners.
1660. John Lugo died; a Spanish Jesuit, professor of theology at Rome. He introduced Jesuit's bark into France, was created cardinal, and wrote 7 vols. folio.
1677. Peter Petit died; a learned Frenchman, celebrated for his mathematical and philosophical writings. (Penny Cyc. says 1667; other authorities 1687.)
1680. William Bedloe, the famous witness in the Titus Oates plot, died, charging the queen and the duke of York with being concerned in the plot, except the assassination of the king.
1694. William Penn was reinstated in his province of Pennsylvania, which had been taken from him and annexed to New York.
1701. Charles Sedley, an English poet, died. He flourished at the court of Charles II. (1703?)
1704. Battle of Narva; the town taken by assault by Peter the Great, who on the occasion killed several of his soldiers with his own sword, for disobedience in committing excesses upon the inhabitants. He had been defeated here four years previous by Charles XII.
1724. Louis I, king of Spain, died of small pox; in consequence his father, the abdicated monarch, resumed the throne.
1746. Fort Massachusetts, situated in the town of Adams, surrendered to the French and Indians. It was garrisoned with 22 men under captain Hawks, when attacked by 900 French and Indians. The little band kept the horde at bay while their ammunition lasted, and then capitulated on promise of protection—to be humanely treated, and none delivered to the Indians. In violation of the terms, Vaudreuil delivered one half to the irritated savages. Hawks lost but one man in the siege; while the loss of the enemy was afterwards ascertained to have been 47.
1756. Thomas Winslow, a native of Ireland, died, aged 146.
1760. James M'Donald, died at Cork, Ireland, aged 117, and 7 feet 6 inches in stature.
1768. Joseph Spence, an eminent English poet and critic, drowned in a canal in his garden.
1783. John Demeste died; chaplain and chief surgeon in the army of the prince of Liege, and known as the author of Letters on Chymistry.
1785. John Baptist Pigalle, a eminent sculptor, died at Paris.
1794. Battle of Miami, in Ohio, between the United States troops under general Wayne, and the British and Indians; the latter were defeated and driven out of the United States. The most hostile tribes were the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees and Miamis. The number of Indians engaged in this battle was 2000; that of our troops did not amount to 900.
1799. Surinam surrendered to the British under admiral Seymour.
1801. The French garrison at fort Mirabou, at Alexandria, Egypt, surrendered to the British under general Coote.
1815. Richard Alzop, an American poet, died at Middletown, Ct., aged 56.
1829. Adrianople captured by 28,000 Russians under general Diebitsch. The garrison of the city, amounting to 100,000 regular troops, laid down their arms immediately on the approach of the Russians, abandoning all their artillery, camp equipage, and munitions of war.
1840. Michael Walsh died, aged 77; author of the Mercantile Arithmetic, formerly in extensive use in this country. He was a native of Ireland, and settled in America in early life.
1841. Dreadful explosion at Syracuse; 26 lives destroyed.
1847. The Mexican works at Contreras near the city of Mexico were carried by general Smith's command. Falling back on Cherubusco a severe battle was fought and the Mexicans completely routed. Many were slain on both sides.
1849. Major Emory, in the United States service, gave information that a river forty feet wide and more than waist deep, with good drinkable water, broke forth from the desert about this time, between the river Gila and the mountains.
1852. The steam boat Atlantic came in collision on lake Erie with the propeller Ogdensburgh, and sunk in half an hour. Of 500 passengers, 250 were lost.
1854. Frederick William Joseph von Schelling, one of the most prominent among the philosophers of modern Germany, died in Switzerland, aged 79.