JULY 7.
715 B. C. Romulus, founder and first king of Rome, disappeared on the nones, during the quirinalia, in a chariot of fire, patriis equis, as he was reviewing his people. There seems to be no other way of explaining this account, than that he was a victim of some of the elements.
587 B. C. The city of Jerusalem, with the temple, palaces and walls, razed to the ground, the inhabitants carried into captivity, and the entire Israelitish monarchy terminated (after it had stood 468 years from the accession of David), in the 11th year of Zedekiah, on the seventh day of the Hebrew month Ab. It is still observed as a day of lamentation.
1307. Edward I, ninth king of England, died in the 35th year of his reign, aged 69. He was distinguished for his wisdom and the equity of his laws, as well as for his military abilities. (See [Jan. 2, 1774].)
1415. John Huss, a celebrated German reformer, burnt by the council of Constance. He was the first opposer of the doctrine of transubstantiation, and the defender of Wickliffe.
1520. Battle of Otumba; the retreating army of Cortez being hotly pursued by the Mexicans, that general resolved to halt and risk a battle. The Tlascalan allies were of incalculable service to the maimed and wretched band of soldiers, who now faced about to resist the whole Mexican force, determined not to leave a trace of the Spaniards upon the earth. This battle lasted four hours; the Spaniards performed prodigies of valor, and were victorious. The cavalry penetrated the masses of Mexicans and struck down the chiefs when they began to give way, and the Tlascalans mowed down all before them with the arms which were thrown away by the fugitives.
1572. Sigismund II, king of Poland, died, and with him the Jaghellon race became extinct.
1573. James Borazzio Vignola died; an eminent Italian architect.
1607. The national anthem, God save the King, written by Ben Jonson, and composed by Dr. Bull, first vocalized in Merchant Taylor's hall, by the choir of the royal chapel, the king being present.
1640. The inhabitants of Providence, 40 in number, united in forming a civil government, after their own model.
1647. Revolt in Naples against the Spanish authorities, headed by the famous Thomas Aniello (Massaniello) a fisherman.
1647. Thomas Hooker, an English dissenting divine, died. He emigrated to Holland to escape persecution, and thence to America, and settled in Connecticut. In 1647 he removed with his whole congregation to the banks of the river, and may be considered the founder of the town of Hartford. He was a rigid puritan, and a man of learning and talent.
1648. Battle of St. Neots in England.
1667. The British admiral sir John Harman destroyed the entire French fleet, 33 sail, at Martinique, and left the vessels to rot on the strand.
1696. A party of French and Indians under count Frontenac left the island of Montreal to invade the country of the Five Nations with a great army. The expedition was unsuccessful.
1708. Conrad Samuel Schurtzfleisch died; professor of history, poetry and Greek at Wittenberg, and counselor and librarian to the duke of Saxe-Weimar.
1713. William Compton, bishop of Oxford, died. He was a dissenter, and took a conspicuous part in the politics of the day, particularly in the cause of William of Orange, whom he crowned.
1721. Sir William Keith, governor of Pennsylvania, held a council with the Indians at Connestogo.
1725. Treaty of Vienna between the emperor Charles VI and Philip V of Spain concluded by the baron de Ripperda, of Pragmatic sanction memory.
1776. Jeremiah Markland died; a very learned and acute English critic.
1777. Action between the United States frigate Hancock, 32 guns, captain Manley, and three British ships, under sir George Collier. The Hancock was captured; she wanted upwards of 60 of her complement, they being on board her prize, the British frigate Fox, which was soon after recaptured.
1779. British under governor Tryon plundered and burnt at Fairfield, Conn., 2 churches, 82 dwellings, 55 barns, 15 stores and 15 shops; and at Green Farms 1 church, 15 dwellings, 11 barns, and several stores; and sailed thence to Norwalk.
1784. Fort Dauphin, St. Domingo, entered by a negro, Jean Francois, a lieut. general in the Spanish service, with several hundred men, who massacred the white French, about 771 in number. The town had been delivered to the Spaniards for protection, conditioned that the negroes should not be permitted to enter it.
1791. Thomas Blacklock, an eminent Scottish poet and divine, died. His talents and acquirements were the more extraordinary, when it is considered that he lost his eye sight at the age of six months, by small pox.
1797. Congress declared the existing treaties with France no longer obligatory.
1798. Washington appointed lieutenant general of the armies of the United States.
1799. William Curtis, a distinguished English botanist, died. His great work, the Flora Londinensis, gave him an enduring reputation.
1799. The Kennet and Avon canal in England was opened.
1808. Desperate action, at night, between the British ship Sea Horse and Turkish frigate Badere Zaffer, 52 guns and 500 men, and another Turkish ship of 24 guns. At daylight the Badere struck, having 165 killed and 195 wounded; the other escaped. Sea Horse had 5 killed, 9 wounded.
1809. Cuxhaven, a fortified town of Hanover, taken by storm, by the boats of a British squadron.
1809. St. Domingo surrendered to the British and Spaniards.
1814. The three estates of the British realm offer public thanksgiving at St. Paul's for the peace of Europe.
1814. The United States troops under major general Brown, attacked the British at Chippewa; the latter retreated, and in the evening the Americans occupied their works.
1816. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an English dramatist, wit and orator, died. His dramas were undertaken for a subsistence; afterwards, for thirty-two years, he pursued a splendid parliamentary career, but died in great poverty.
1820. Pierre Louis Louvel executed for the murder of the duke de Berri.
1843. John Holmes died at Portland, Me. He was the first United States senator sent from that state.
1844. The disgraceful riots of Philadelphia again commenced; many were killed.
1848. Julia Rush, widow of Dr. Rush, died, aged 90.
1848. Oliver W. P. Peabody died; an accomplished scholar, and able contributor to the North American Review.
1849. During the week closing with this day, 21,297 immigrants arrived at the port of Quebec, Lower Canada.
1853. A plot to assassinate the emperor of France while on his way to the opera, was discovered. Many armed conspirators were seized near the theatre, of whom 21 were convicted on trial.
1854. Battle of Giurgevo; the Turks defeated the Russians, and drove them from their position, with a loss in the conflict of 1,700 killed and wounded.
1855. William Edward Parry, the noted Arctic explorer, died at Ems, aged 64. He succeeded in extending his expeditions beyond those of his predecessors, for which he received the parliamentary reward, and was knighted in 1829.