JUNE 21.
545 B. C. Thales, a Grecian philosopher, died. He was the chief of the seven sages of Greece, and founder of the Ionic sect of philosophers. He divided the Grecian zodiac into seasons, and the year into 365 days.
1339. Battle of Laupen; the citizens of Bern, in Switzerland, defeated an army of 18,000 from its rival cities, headed by 700 of its own nobility and 1,200 knights, who were totally vanquished.
1377. Edward III, of England, died, aged 65, having reigned 51 years.
1529. Trial of Catharine, first queen of Henry VIII of England.
1529. John Skelton, an English poet, died. He wrote sonnets and satires, and was invested with the laureate.
1585. Henry Percy, the 8th earl of Northumberland (exclusive of Dudley), was found in the tower, dead, his breast pierced with three pistol bullets—alleged suicide, but supposed violence.
1596. Naval victory of the English over the Spaniards, at Cadiz, when the earl of Essex, in a fit of delight, threw his hat into the sea!
1611. Henry Hudson, having wintered in the bay which bears his name, and pursuing the object of his voyage, a north-west passage, a conspiracy broke out on this day among the ship's crew, when Hudson, his son, and five others, most of whom were sick and lame, were forced into the shallop, with a small quantity of meal, one gun and ammunition, two or three spars and an iron pot, and with the most savage inhumanity turned adrift. This is the last account of Hudson.
1631. John Smith, one of the early settlers of Virginia, died. He was a brave and daring man, and it was mainly owing to him that the colony was made permanent.
1652. Inigo Jones, a celebrated English architect, died. He surpassed most of the great men of his age in learning and ability.
1675. Foundation laid of the cathedral of St. Paul's, London. It stands upon upwards of two acres of ground, and its height is 404 feet.
1738. George William Frederick, the young English prince, re-baptized by the bishop of Oxford, with great pomp. Private baptism at his birth was first administered, fearing his immediate death.
1747. British fleet under commodore Fox captured 48 sail of French West-Indiamen.
1759. Fort George erected at the head of lake George.
1764. British commodore Byron sailed from the Downs in the Dolphin, on his voyage round the world.
1768. John Lindsay died; a learned English divine, and a historical and theological writer.
1770. Fete on account of the marriage of Louis XVI of France, when 15,000 persons were trampled to death.
1770. William Beckford, one of the most popular mayors of London, died.
1773. George Juan, a Spanish knight of Malta, and an able mathematician, died. His writings have been translated into various languages.
1782. The British government sent Mr.
Woodyear in the Tiger man-of-war, to the West Indies to determine the longitude.
1783. About 300 American troops with fixed bayonets, surrounded the house in which congress was sitting, and demanded a redress of grievances.
1788. New Hampshire adopted the federal constitution, recommending amendments, being the ninth state to do so; votes 57 to 46.
1791. A flood near the Havanna, swept away 3,000 persons.
1792. An immense body, headed by Santerre, forced their way into the Tuilleries, and compelled Louis XVI to wear the red cap.
1797. Andrew Peter Bernstorff died; a German who settled in Denmark, became a distinguished statesman, and a great favorite with the people.
1797. Peter Thellusson, a rich London merchant, died. His will, devising lands to the amount of £4,500 per annum and £600,000 personal property to be funded to aid in liquidation of the national debt, gave rise to the act regulating devises.
1798. Battle of Vinegar hill, at which the Irish rebels were completely routed and the insurrection crushed.
1809. Daniel Lambert, an English giant, died at Stamford, aged 36. His weight was 739 lbs. when last weighed, but at the time of his death, it was supposed to have been full 800. His coffin contained 112 superficial feet of Elm timber.
1813. Battle of Vittoria, in Spain, between the French under Joseph Bonaparte and Jourdan, and the allies under Wellington. French met with a disastrous defeat, losing 15,000 killed and wounded, and 3,000 prisoners, 150 cannon, 400 wagons of ammunition, 14,000 cattle, and the military chest, containing 42,000,000 reals. Loss of the allies 4,645.
1814. John Martin Miller, a professor of oriental languages, and poet of some note, died at Ulm.
1816. The king of the Netherlands acceded to the holy alliance.
1828. Leandro Fernandez Moratin died at Paris. He was a dramatic writer of much merit.
1832. Simon Waronzow, a Russian statesman, died in London. He had been for 30 years Russian ambassador to Great Britain.
1832. Anna Maria Porter, an English novelist, died. Her works, together with those of her sister Jane, had gained a great degree of popularity, which was in a measure swept away, with every thing else, before that splendid series, the Waverly novels.
1848. About 3,000 houses destroyed by fire in Constantinople; damage estimated at $100,000,000.
1850. Matthew L. Davis, a distinguished citizen and printer in New York, died.
1850. Jacob Hayes, long a leading police officer of New York, died. His notoriety was very great.
1852. Mary Ann Clarke died at Boulogne, in France, aged 74; the notorious mistress of the duke of York, to whose name, for a time, much consequence was given, in parliament and in London society, by the charges against the duke in 1809.
1853. A boat's crew from the Austrian brig-of-war Huzzar, lying in the harbor of Smyrna, seized in that port a Hungarian refugee, named Martin Koszta, and carried him to the ship. The populace, excited by the outrage attacked three Austrian officers, of whom two were slain. Koszta having protection, in virtue of his primary declaration of an intention of becoming an American citizen, captain Ingraham, of the American sloop-of-war St. Louis demanded his release. The affair caused a good deal of excitement throughout the civilized world. (See [July 2].)