JULY 20.
1322 B. C. The great Canicular cycle of the Egyptians, consisting of 1460 years, began with the sun in Cancer, 15 days after the summer solstice. Its first revolution was just completed with the reign of Adrian, 138 A. D.; its second in the time of Shakspeare, 1598. The famous expedition of the Argonauts, and the foundation of the Pythian games, are events which chronologists have placed sixty years afterwards.
44 B. C. The customary games in memory of Cæsar's victories were exhibited by Octavius upon this day, dedicated to Venus Mater, when he produced the hero's golden spectatorial chair. The anniversary is interesting from the fact of a comet having appeared near the Great Bear, which was visible for seven days.
1031. Robert (the Wise), king of France, died. He refused the crown of the empire and of Italy, satisfied to rule his own subjects, for whose happiness he labored earnestly.
1164. Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris, died; called Master of the Sentences, from a work of his by that name, which has been ably commented on by succeeding divines.
1546. The emperor Charles V placed the protestant confederates under the ban of the empire; whereupon they declared war upon him. (See [July 15].)
1553. Lady Jane Grey's nine days' usurpation terminated.
1620. Massacre of the protestants in the Valteline in Switzerland. It began on this day and extended to all the towns of the district; it was a labor of three days.
1650. John Prideaux, an English prelate, died. He rose from the ranks of poverty and dependence to be bishop of Worcester; and sunk back again to his original level rather than compromise with the republicans.
1655. Robert Brooke died; he was the first settler in Patuxent, Maryland.
1691. Adrian Augustin de Bussy Delamet, a French ecclesiastic, died. He was of a noble family, and wrote among other things a Dictionary of Cases of Conscience, 2 volumes folio.
1704. Peregrine White, the first-born of Plymouth colony, died at Marshfield, aged nearly 84.
1752. John Christopher Pepusch, an eminent Prussian musician, died in England. His abilities were so early displayed, that at the age of 14 he was employed to teach music to the prince royal at Berlin.
1759. The English general, Prideaux, commanding the enterprise against Niagara, while directing the operations of the siege, was killed by the bursting of a cohorn.
1779. Dougal Graham (the Rhymer), chronicler of the events of the rebellion of 1741, died.
1788. Action off Hoogland between the Russian fleet of 17 ships, and Swedish fleet of 15. It continued from 5 P. M. till near midnight, and ended in the defeat of the Russians, who had one ship sunk and one of 74 guns and 780 men captured. The Swedish fleet was inferior to the Russian in the size of the vessels as well as in number.
1794. A revolutionary tribunal established at Geneva, in Switzerland; about 2,000 persons arrested; 200 on the proscription list escaped.
1814. General Brown moved his whole force upon fort George, but not being supported by the fleet on account of Com. Chauncey's illness, fell back on the 22d to Queenstown.
1814. The British fort St. Joseph taken possession of by colonel Croghan.
1814. Privateer general Armstrong arrived at New York, having captured 11 vessels.
1819. John Playfair, a celebrated Scottish mathematician, died. He was also eminent as a geologist and geographer. His largest work is a system of geography in 5 volumes.
1825. William Brown, a celebrated gem engraver, died. He was first patronized by Catharine of Russia, and subsequently by the king of France; but the storm of the revolution drove him from Paris to London, where he executed many excellent works.
1843. The Chinese city Chin-keang-foo was captured by the British forces under sir H. Pottinger.
1844. John Halsam, a British author on insanity, died in London.
1852. The obsequies of Henry Clay celebrated with the greatest pomp and magnificence in New York. The city was shrouded in mourning, business was suspended, and the shipping wore their colors at half-mast.
1854. Caroline Bowles, widow of Southey, died at Buckland, England; a poetess of some merit.
1855. A great portion of the village of Chamouni, in Savoy, destroyed by fire.
1857. Thomas Dick, a Scottish astronomer, died near Dundee, aged 83. His Christian Philosopher and some other works are popular in both continents.