MAY 4.
1471. Battle of Tewkesbury, between the York partisans and the Lancastrians, in which the latter were defeated, and queen Margaret and her son Edward taken prisoners. The young prince was basely murdered on the spot, by the dukes of Gloucester and Clarence.
1605. Ulysses Aldrovand, a Bolognese philosopher, died. He was the most celebrated naturalist of the 16th century, and spent his life and exhausted his resources in the pursuit of science. He lost his sight, and ended his days in a hospital at the age of 80.
1643. Louis XIII (the just), king of France, died. He was guided in his conduct by the celebrated cardinal Richelieu, who, from motives of ambition, kept him at war during most of his reign.
1655. Giovanni Francesca Abela, a historian and ecclesiastic of Malta, died.
1668. A riot in London under pretence of destroying brothels. Four of the leaders taken and executed for treason. In the reign of some of the English kings the demolition of such houses would not have been adjudged treason.
1673. Richard Brathwaite, an English poet and miscellaneous writer, died. His works are numerous.
1677. Isaac Barrow, an eminent English mathematician and divine, died. His writings are numerous and valuable, and chiefly on mathematical subjects; his sermons are highly esteemed, and have been frequently edited.
1702. War declared against France and Spain, by England, Germany and Holland.
1729. Lewis Anthony de Noailles, a French cardinal, died. Though by birth duke of St. Cloud, he preferred the ecclesiastical state to political distinction.
1734. James Thornhill died; an English historical painter.
1737. Eustace Budgell, the friend of Addison, drowned in the Thames. He turned his attention to polite literature, contributed to the Spectator, Tatler, Guardian and Craftsman, and published two volumes of biography.
1768. Charles Stephen Louis Camus died, a learned French mathematician.
1786. George Gordon, an English nobleman, who it is said submitted to circumcision, avowed Judaism, and was excommunicated from the church of Mary le Bone.
1791. The pope burnt in effigy at Paris.
1799. Seringapatam, a city of Hindostan, taken by storm by the British, under Gen. Harris. Tippoo Saib was slain, with 8,000 of his men. The treasure found in the city amounted to £3,000,000; 2,200 cannon, and an immense booty, fell into the hands of the conquerors, and the once powerful kingdom of Mysore was extinguished.
1804. The conservative senate sent a deputation to Bonaparte, expressing their desire that he would accept the title of emperor.
1813. Heavy rain retarded the firing on fort Meigs; 220 cannon shot were fired; 2 killed, several wounded. The rifle was more used this day than on any other.
1831. Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt, employed upwards of 70,000 men in excavating, cleansing and lining canals in his territories.
1842. Great fire at Hamburg, in Germany, destroyed 2,000 houses.
1843. James P. Preston, formerly governor of Virginia, died at Smithfield, aged 69. He commanded a regiment in the war of 1812, and was maimed for life in the battle of Chrystler's fields.
1854. Alexander Witherspoon, a New York physician, died at Washington, aged 37; a medical writer remarkable for the exactness of his observations and the clearness of his statements.
1854. John Matthews died, aged 70. He served with distinction as a general officer in the war of 1812-15; and for a period of fifteen years was a representative in the state legislature of Maryland.
1856. John Collins Warren, a distinguished Boston physician, died, aged 77. He was the first successful competitor for the Franklin medal. He had a long and brilliant career as a physician, and during the latter years of his life devoted much time to the study of the natural sciences, and collected a valuable museum, among which was the most perfect skeleton of the mastodon known to exist.