JULY 18.
390 B. C. Battle of Allia, a river in Italy; the Romans defeated by the Gauls under Brennus, who destroyed the city, except the capitol.
1009. John XVIII, pope, died. He was a Roman; after him the right of election passed from the Roman people to the clergy. He resigned the dignity some time before his death, and died in the obscurity of a monastry.
1100. Godfrey de Bouillion, one of the heroes of the crusades, died. He was the son of a French count, defeated the armies of the sultan with great slaughter, and made himself master of all Palestine. He was elected king of Jerusalem, as a reward for his activity and heroism, which he declined for the humbler appellation of the duke of the holy sepulchre.
1390. On this and the two following days the parish clerks of London played interludes before Richard II and his queen, at Skinnerswells.
1566. William Rondelet, a French anatomist, died. He wrote a Latin treatise on fishes, 2 vols. folio, and various tracts on medicine, afterwards collected into a volume. His death was occasioned by eating figs to excess.
1639. Bernard, duke of Saxe-Weimar, died. He waged an active war with Austria, in which he was successful, till death stopped his career.
1656. Battle of Warsaw, which continued three days.
1675. The Narragansets, posted in a swamp were attacked by the colonists and defeated. They retreated to their recesses, where they remained till they discovered that it was determined to surround and starve them out, when they found means of escape.
1694. A body of 250 Indians under the sieur de Villieu fell with great fury on a village at Oyster river, in New Hampshire, and killed and captivated about a hundred persons, and burnt 20 houses.
1683. Battle under the walls of Vienna; the Turks defeated by the combined armies under John Sobieski of Poland. The vanquished fled with precipitation, leaving behind them the standard of Mahomet.
1705. The duke of Marlborough defeated the French near Tirelemont, for which victory a thanksgiving was ordered in England.
1761. Thomas Sherlock, an eminent English prelate, died. His controversial works and sermons are well known. His private virtues were adorned with the purest acts of benevolence and humanity.
1775. A party of Americans under col. Ashe entered fort Johnson, on cape Fear river, in the dead of night, and burnt it, with the houses and other buildings. The governor, Martin, retired on board the king's ship Cruzier.
1782. Gabriel Francis Coyer, a French writer, died. He was originally a Jesuit, but abandoned the society for literature. He wrote bagatelles, morals, history, biography, travels, &c., all in a popular style, and translated Blackstone.
1786. John Baseillac de St. Cosme, an eminent lithotomist, died at Paris. His instruments were much used formerly.
1790. Adam Smith, a celebrated Scottish philosopher, died. His Wealth of Nations procured him immediate fame and emolument. His Life of Hume marks him a deist.
1792. Kosciusko at the head of 5,000 Poles, gave battle to the Russians, 14,000 in number, and was defeated with the loss of 1,100.
1792. John Paul Jones died in Paris. He was distinguished as a seaman. Yet though both in the United States and Russian service, he died in neglected poverty.
1794. The French under Moreau took Nieuwpoort, in Belgium; 300 emigrant prisoners taken were shot.
1802. Dumaresq, a British admiral, died, aged 73. He boasted that he had never employed a physician or a lawyer.
1806. Sale of the Leverian museum concluded. It was pronounced by those who had visited the most celebrated museums of Europe to be superior to any of them. The sale occupied 65 days. It was founded by sir Ashton Lever.
1806. The strong fortress of Gaeta surrendered to the armies of France, after a desperate resistance.
1814. Akim Nicholaevitch Makhimov, a Russian poet, died. His poem called the Speaking Monkeys, composed in derision of Napoleon's attempt to take Moscow, is much admired.
1817. Jane Austen, an English authoress, died. Her writings were principally novels, which have lately been republished.
1820. The first chain bridge in England thrown over the Tweed, captain Brown architect. The river 437 feet wide.
1835. William Cobbett, a powerful and original English writer, died. He was editor of the Register more than thirty years, during which time he made himself sufficiently conspicuous as a violent and somewhat fickle politician. He was an extraordinary man, and the oracle of a multitude of his countrymen.
1839. Rev. William White, bishop of Pennsylvania, died. He was one of the first elected as chaplain to the United States congress.
1844. Jesse Bushyhead, a person of great distinction among his tribe, and chief justice of the supreme court of the Cherokees, died. He was a correct translator.
1848. The Mexican agitator, Paredes, defeated by Bustamente at Guanajanto, and totally routed. The belligerent priest, padre Jurauta was captured and immediately shot.
1848. The Indians, in Yucatan, repulsed at all points, and the towns in their possession retaken by the whites. The Indians at this time were waging a war of extermination against the whites.
1853. The Atlantic and St. Lawrence rail road, from Portland to Montreal, was opened throughout its whole length of two hundred and ninety miles.
1854. A tremendous hurricane prevailed at Davenport, Ill., causing great destruction of life and property.
1854. A negro woman died in Virginia, aged 140.
1855. W. R. Henry, a late captain of the Texas volunteers, issued a proclamation to the people of Texas and the Mexicans, that he and his companions intended to cross the Rio Grande, to aid in overthrowing Santa Anna, and in establishing a government more favorable to the interests of Texas.