JULY 8.
17. The isle of Thia, one of the scattered cluster called the Sporades, in the Grecian archipelago, rose brightly from the sea.
1117. Adam de St. Victoire, a French ecclesiastic and writer, died.
1174. Henry II of England performed severe penance before the shrine of Thomas a Becket in the cathedral of Canterbury.
1497. The Indian expedition of Emanuel, king of Portugal, sailed from the Tagus. It consisted of three vessels, under Vasco de Gama.
1520. The retreating and almost annihilated army of Cortez entered the dominions of their faithful allies, the Tlascalans. Here the Spaniards rested to repair their fortunes, and the Mexicans meanwhile employed themselves in restoring their devastated capital.
1524. James Verrazzanus, the Florentine discoverer, dated his letter to the king
of France from Dieppe, giving an account of his voyage along the coast of the United States, in which he is supposed to have visited the outer harbor of New York.
1533. Ludovico Ariosto, the Italian poet, is by some authorities said to have died on this day. (See [June 6].)
1550. The king of Denmark entered into a written contract to bind the Danish Bible in whole leather with clasps, for two marks Danish a copy and lodging; and to complete 2,000 copies in a year and a day. It was a middle sized folio, of 1,090 pages and sold for three rix dollars a copy.
1560. A peace between England, France and Scotland concluded.
1623. Gregory XV (Alexander Ludovisio), pope, died. He erected the see of Paris into an archbishopric, and assisted the emperor and the king of Poland in their wars.
1639. Bernard, duke of Weimar, a German officer in the 30 years' war, died, supposed to have been poisoned by Richelieu. With him fell one of the chief supports of the protestants.
1709. Battle of Pultowa, in Russia, between the Swedes under Charles XII, and the Russians under Peter the Great. The Swedes were entirely routed, and forced to take refuge within the dominions of the sultan of Turkey. The czar had his hat pierced by a ball, and prince Menzikoff had three horses killed under him.
1716. Robert South, a celebrated English divine, died, aged 83, and was buried with great honors to his memory. He shone as a polite scholar and a wit, and is famous for his controversy with Dr. Sherlock on the subject of the trinity. His sermons were published in 11 vols. octavo.
1721. Elihu Yale, the benefactor of Yale college, died. He was descended from an ancient and wealthy family in Wales; born in New Haven 1748; acquired an estate in the East Indies, and on his return was chosen governor of the East India company.
1738. John Peter Niceron, a popular French preacher, died; also author of Memoirs of Men illustrious in the Republic of Letters, of which the 39th volume was finished in the year of his death. He addicted himself to laborious studies and had an extensive knowledge of ancient and modern languages.
1747. Unsuccessful attempt of the French and Spaniards to force the pass aux Exiles in Dauphiny; the chevalier Belleisle and 5,000 men were left dead on the field of battle.
1758. Battle of Ticonderoga, in which the British and provincial troops of 16,000 men under Abercrombie, were repulsed in attempting to storm the fort, then under the command of Montcalm. The British general was induced to this rash attack by the favorable report of the engineer, and from having learned that a reinforcement was expected from Canada. The French had felled a breastwork of trees in front of the fort with their branches pointing outward and sharpened, so as to form an almost impenetrable abatis: in this the assailants became entangled, and were exposed to a murderous fire. Abercrombie, finding the attack fruitless, ordered a retreat after a contest of near four hours. Nearly 2,000 of the British were killed or wounded. Of the Highland regiment nearly half were either killed or desperately wounded. The loss of the enemy, who were covered by their works, was inconsiderable.
1760. Action in the bay of Chaleur, between the British and French fleets, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of 3 large ships of war and 20 sail of schooners, sloops and small privateers.
1768. Thirty men boarded a schooner at Boston that had been seized by the officers of the customs, for having 30 hogsheads of molasses on board; they confined the officers and carried off the molasses.
1775. Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, with his family, took refuge on board the Fowey, British man-of-war, at Yorktown.
1776. The Declaration of Independence of the United States proclaimed from the steps of the state house at Philadelphia, and read to the army in the city of New York.
1777. Battle of fort Ann; the British defeated the Americans under colonel Livingston, who retreated to fort Edward. The Americans lost 128 cannon and considerable stores.
1778. The French fleet under count d'Estaing arrived off the Delaware, having been at sea 87 days.
1779. The British under governor Tryon plundered and burnt Norwalk, Conn. Two churches, 80 dwellings, 87 barns, 22 stores, 4 mills and 5 vessels were destroyed.
1784. Torbern Bergman, a Swedish chemist and natural philosopher, died. He was the friend of Linnæus, and an able and successful investigator of the secrets of nature.
1790. Renwick Williams, known in London as the Monster, was convicted of cutting the garments of Miss Porter. The judge reserved the case till he could determine whether the crime was felony or only a misdemeanor. Williams was a dancing master and for years a great nuisance in London.
1793. The dauphin, Louis XVII, taken from his mother and placed in the care of
the sans culotte cobbler, Simon, under whose tender mercies he soon yielded up his life.
1797. Edmund Burke, a British writer, orator and statesman of great eminence, died. His complete works have been published in 16 vols. octavo.
1813. Outposts of the American encampment at fort George attacked by the British and Indians. A company under lieutenant Eldridge was sent to support the posts, but fell into an ambush, and after an obstinate struggle 13 were killed, 5 escaped; the remainder, including lieutenant Eldridge, were taken prisoners and put to death by the Indians with great barbarity. In consequence of this event and similar outrages, general Brown received into the service of the United States a party of Seneca and Tuscarora Indians, under young Cornplanter.
1814. The Americans under Gen. Scott succeeded in throwing a bridge over the Chippewa, and compelled general Riall to retreat to Ten-mile creek. General Brown occupied the British works the same evening.
1822. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton, bishop of Calcutta, died. He was the first to hold that office, and was distinguished for talents and acquirements, zeal and fidelity.
1838. Treaty of peace concluded between Russia and Turkey.
1847. The canal from the Durance to Marseilles in France completed. More than one-fifth of its length is through the Alps in tunnels.
1848. To test the effect of an eclipse upon animals five healthy linnets were put in a cage together and fed; at the end of it three of them were found dead; a dog which had long been kept fasting, and which was eating hungrily when the eclipse commenced, left his food as soon as the darkness set in; a colony of ants which had been working actively, suddenly ceased from their labors at the same moment.
1850. The Alabama historical society was organized at Tuskaloosa.
1852. A destructive fire at Montreal laid waste a considerable portion of the city.
1853. The American expedition under commodore Perry arrived at Japan.
1856. Preston S. Brooks, indicted at Washington for an assault upon senator Sumner, was sentenced to pay a fine of $300.