JULY 13.
325. The first œcumenical council, that is, council of the whole habitable earth, assembled at Nice, now Isnick, in Bythinia, where 318 fathers of the church subscribed the ordinances regulating the festival of Easter, and establishing the Godhead, in opposition to the dogmas of Arius.
573. Pope John III died.
1024. Henry II, emperor of Germany, died. He was successful in arms against the Greeks and Saracens, whom he drove from Calabria, restored peace and tranquility in Italy and Germany, and increased his popularity by various deeds of benevolence and kindness wherever he went.
1377. Isle of Wight taken by the French and plundered.
1568. Elizabeth committed Mary queen of Scots to the castle of Bolton, a prisoner.
1571. George Fabricius, a learned German poet and historian, died, aged 55.
1621. Thomas Hariot, an English mathematician, died. He accompanied sir Walter Raleigh to America, and wrote an account of Virginia. It is said that Descartes drew from his works many of his improvements in algebra.
1629. Gaspard Bertholin, a Swedish physician and divine, died. He is said to have learned to read perfectly in 14 days at the age of 3, and to compose with correctness Greek and Latin orations at the age of 13. His works are on anatomy, metaphysics, logic and rhetoric.
1637. Battle with the Pequods, in which the last body of that formidable tribe was exterminated. They had secreted themselves in a swamp near where Fairfield now stands, in Connecticut; when some of the rangers who were in pursuit of them discovering their lurking place, rushed in upon them, in defiance of their arrows, and the hazard of being swallowed in the miry bogs. After a fruitless parley, the Indians refusing to come to terms, the soldiers were ordered to cut through the swamp with their swords, in order to hem them in, till they were begirt in a narrow space and remained all night sorely galled by the fire of their besiegers. Taking advantage of a dense fog, some of the stoutest made their escape, leaving the rest to the mercy of their conquerors. They were discovered in the morning sitting in crowds, sullenly refusing to ask for their lives, and were shot by dozens or cut in pieces. The male children which were taken were sent to the Bermudas, and the females distributed to the English towns. This overthrow of a great and powerful nation, cast a terror upon the arms of the colonists, which brought other tribes to a lasting peace.
1650. Dr. Levins, a civilian, was hanged for having in his possession blank commissions from Charles II, against the commonwealth.
1677. William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, died in England, after having administered the office nearly 40 years. His measures were generally bigoted and revengeful.
1730. Elijah Fenton, an English poet and divine, died. He assisted Pope in the translation of the Odyssey.
1750. The excessive heat of the weather at this time caused the fish in the Thames to assemble in shoals under the bank, where they were readily caught.
1759. Battle of Zullechan, in which the Prussians were defeated by the Russians.
1762. James Bradley, an English astronomer, died. He made some important discoveries, and greatly improved the instruments which enrich the celebrated observatory at Greenwich.
1772. Captain James Cook sailed on his second voyage round the world.
1774. Charles Frey de Neuville, a French Jesuit, died, aged 81. He was long known as an eloquent preacher; but on the suppression of his order he retired into privacy.
1774. William Johnson, Indian agent, died at his seat near Johnstown, during the sitting of a convention at his place. He was a man of stern and determined purpose, but urbane and conciliatory when necessary, and held a greater controlling influence over the Indians than any other individual since the settlement of the province.
1785. Stephen Hopkins, a signer from Rhode Island, died. He was a man of learning and a powerful speaker. His signature to the declaration is indicative of a tremulous hand, owing to a nervous affection, which compelled him, when he wrote, to guide his right arm with his left.
1788. An extraordinary and destructive hail storm happened in France, converting many of the richest autumnal prospects into arctic desolations.
1793. Jean Paul Marat, a notorious leader of the French revolution, assassinated. He was a humble physician in Paris when the storm of anarchy burst forth, and became the most insatiable advocate of human slaughter of all the blood-thirsty demons by whom he was surrounded. He endeavored to get up a general massacre, and publicly demanded 270,000 executions.
1795. Action between the British fleet, admiral Hotham, and the French fleet. French ship Alcide struck, but took fire and blew up with several hundred of her crew on board, who perished.
1807. James Bernouilli 3d, a Swiss astronomer, died. He was one of an illustrious family of scientific men.
1809. Senegal, in Africa, taken by the British.
1810. Francis James Jackson, British minister, burnt in effigy before the door of his lodgings in Albany.
1813. A British fleet of 11 ships, captured and plundered Portsmouth and Ocracoke, in North Carolina, and took the privateers Anaconda of New York, and Atlas of Philadelphia, then lying in port.
1831. James Northcote, an English artist of some celebrity, died in Argyle st. London.
1843. John Rowan, an eminent statesman and jurist, of Kentucky, died at Louisville.
1851. John Lingard, the well known catholic historian of England, died at Hornby, aged 82.
1854. San Juan bombarded by the United States sloop of war Cyane, captain Hollins; and a party landing from the sloop burnt the entire town, with the exception of two small buildings. A demand had previously been made upon the authorities, by Capt. Hollins, for satisfaction for alleged injuries, but without effect. A considerable portion of the property destroyed belonged to Americans. One British vessel of war in the harbor protested against the act.
1854. Battle of Gaymas, between some Frenchmen under count Raousset de Boulbon, and the Mexicans under Col. Yanez. The former were defeated, the count taken prisoner, and shot on the 12th August.
1854. A riot occurred at Buffalo growing out of street preaching.