AUGUST 28.
430. Aurelius Augustinus (or St. Augustin), one of the fathers of the Christian church, died at Hippo, in Africa.
876. Louis I, of Germany, died. He acquired the title of the pious, at the same time rendered himself powerful and formidable to his neighbors.
1443. John V, duke of Britanny, died, and was succeeded by his son Francis.
1595. Drake and Hawkins sailed from England with six of the queen's ships and twenty-one private ships and barks, on an expedition against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies.
1608. Francis Vere, died; an English general, who distinguished himself in the expedition to Holland, 1585.
1609. Hudson, having retreated his steps from Chesapeake bay, discovered another great bay, which has since acquired the name of Delaware. He anchored the Half Moon in eight fathom water, and took possession of the country.
1645. Hugo Grotius, an eminent Dutch philosopher, died. He was a man of great talent and laborious study, and notwithstanding he passed a stormy life, his works are very numerous.
1654. Axel Oxenstiern, a Swedish statesman, died. He was placed at the head of affairs on the death of Gustavus Adolphus, and owed his elevation to his merit and abilities.
1686. Cassini, an Italian astronomer, discovered the satellite of Venus.
1710. Joseph Keble, an English law writer, died. Besides his published works, which were few, he left 100 large folio, and 50 thick quarto volumes in manuscript.
1722. Port Royal in Jamaica, destroyed by a hurricane; 26 ships and many lives lost.
1731. Charles Boyle, earl of Orrery, died, aged 56. He made a figure from the age of 19 up, in literary, military, and almost every other kind of warfare.
1737. John Hutchinson, an English author, died: founder of a well-known philosophical sect, which opposed Newton's doctrine of gravitation. His theories are curious, but no longer in repute.
1754. An irruption of the French and Indians upon Hoosick and Schaghticoke, by which those settlements were broken up, two persons scalped, and the houses fired.
1775. George Faulkner, a celebrated Irish printer, died. He was the first to carry the art to a high degree of perfection in that country, and appears to have been a worthy and useful citizen.
1788. Elizabeth Chudleigh, duchess of Kingston, died at Paris; celebrated for her matrimonial speculations.
1792. Dumourier took his post at the head of 20,000 men, undisciplined and unorganized. Yet with these materials he arrested the progress of 80,000 Prussians and Hessians, and forced them to retreat with the loss of half their army.
1794. Battle of Powassin, between the Prussians and the Poles, in which the former lost their batteries and cannon, after a bloody engagement.
1798. James Wilson died, one of the signers of the declaration of independence. He was eminent for his talents and integrity, and continued in the discharge of some public office till his death.
1804. Margaret, widow of Benedict Arnold, died in London, aged 44. She was the daughter of Edward Shippen, of Philadelphia. It was said of her, that with a superiority and strength of mind seldom equaled, she possessed such polished and fascinating manners, as to convert every acquaintance into a friend.
1811. John Leyden, a distinguished linguist, died on the island of Java, in his 36th year. He was ordained as a minister, but never attained any popularity as a preacher.
1814. Bombardment of fort Erie continued by the British; a shell entered the roof of Gen. Gaines's quarters, and burst at his feet, by which he was so severely wounded as to be obliged to resign the command of the fort.
1816. Treaty signed between Algiers and England, by which Christian slavery was to be abolished, and all slaves, of whatever nation, to be delivered up. The number released was 1,033.
1839. William Smith, an eminent English geologist, died, aged 70. In his employment as a land surveyor and engineer, he turned his attention to the geology of England, and published upwards of 20 geological maps of the counties. He is styled the Father of English Geology.
1839. A grand tournament appointed at Eglintoun castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. The day was very stormy, and the multitude from all parts of Great Britain who had assembled to witness the feats, estimated at 80,000, suffered greatly from the inclemency of the weather, and the impossibility of procuring shelter, food, or vehicles. An immense sum had been expended by the romantic nobleman in getting up the festival, which proved a total failure.
1851. The yacht America beat the iron yacht Titania, on a race of forty miles out and back, and left her eight miles astern.
1854. Maria Christina, queen mother of Spain, left Madrid for Portugal, under escort of a body of government troops, but against the will of the people; she was indebted to the state 71,000,000 reals.
1855. Spencer H. Cone, a Baptist minister, died in New York, aged 70. He was an actor, and on the stage for the last time when the Richmond theatre was burnt. He afterwards edited a newspaper, and finally became one of the most distinguished of the Baptist ministers.
1855. The vessel engaged to lay the submarine cable between cape Ray in Newfoundland and cape North in cape Breton, 55½ miles, began to pay it out. The cable afterwards broke, and a gale coming on, it was found necessary to let it go.
1856. The Dudley observatory was inaugurated at Albany.