MAY 5.
1421. A holy convocation at Canterbury decreed that a bishop's barber should not receive a fee from any one on whom the bishop had conferred holy orders.
1432. Francesco Bussone di Carmagnola, count de Castlenuovo, executed. He was a celebrated Italian general, first in the service of the duke of Milan, afterwards led the Venetian army to repeated victories. His fortune at length turned, when the senate suspecting him of treachery, he was tortured and condemned to death.
1526. Frederick (the wise), elector of Savoy, died. He was one of the first and most zealous friends of Luther.
1529. Paulus Æmilius, a learned Italian, died. He was invited to France, where he employed a great number of years in writing a history of the French kings, but did not live to finish it.
1556. The company of London stationers received their first charter from Philip and Mary, under the title of "The master and keepers or wardens, and commonalty, of the mystery or art of the stationers of the city of London."
1586. Henry Sidney, an English statesman, died. He was the favorite of Edward VI, and afterwards employed by Mary and Elizabeth.
1618. One Williams, a barrister, arraigned for libeling the king, was executed.
1643. Parliament of England ordered the Book of Sports to be burned by the common hangman.
1670. Francis Annibal d'Estrees, a French statesman, died, aged 98. He distinguished himself by several military exploits, and wrote some valuable historical works.
1682. William Penn, published in England his frame of government for the colony of Pennsylvania.
1687. A proclamation was issued by government to establish a manufactory for white paper in England.
1700. Stephen Morin, a French protestant divine, died at Amsterdam. He was professor of oriental languages; his dissertations on various subjects of criticism and antiquity were highly esteemed.
1705. Leopold I, emperor of Germany, died. He was long engaged in sanguinary war with the Turks and the French, who pillaged and destroyed his frontier towns.
1706. Lateral eruption of the peak of Teneriffe. A volcano opened at the south side, towards the port of Garachico, and in a few hours not an edifice of that populous city was left standing.
1710. Nicholas Joseph Poisson, a French priest, died. He was the friend of Descartes, and a philosopher; distinguished for his eloquence and as an author.
1751. John Pichon died; a French Jesuit and an author.
1757. Battle of Prague, between the Prussians under Frederick the great and the Austrians. The Prussians were victorious, after a bloody contest, in which the distinguished general, count Schwerin, was killed. Austrian loss 24,000; Prussian loss 18,000.
1760. Lawrence Shirley, earl of Feraro, executed at Tyburn for the murder of his steward. He was a man of no mean mental acquirements, but passionate and often inflamed by inebriety.
1776. Congress declared the authority of England over the thirteen colonies abolished.
1785. Thomas Davies (alias Honest Tom Davies), an English author, died. He was educated at the university of Edinburgh, became an actor, afterwards a bookseller, turned strolling player, married Miss Yarrow, an actress of great beauty, returned to bookselling, became bankrupt, was relieved by the assistance of Dr. Johnson, wrote the Life of Garrick, several other biographies and innumerable miscellanies, and was entrusted with the publication of Granger's Biographical History of England.
1789. Joseph Baretti, an Italian lexicographer, died. He emigrated to England, where he published an Italian and English dictionary, and assisted Dr. Johnson in compiling his dictionary.
1789. Assembly of the states general of France, at Versailles. This may be called the first day of the revolution, although the object of the meeting was to prevent such a catastrophe.
1795. The law went into operation in England imposing a tax on wearing hair powder.
1802. Cleopatra's coffin, head of the Theban ram, and other Egyptian curiosities, arrived in England.
1804. France formed into an empire.
1808. Peter John George Cabanis, a French physician, died. He was the friend of Mirabeau, sat in the council of 500, and in the senate of Napoleon acquired great reputation for talent, learning and benevolence. His works are published in 7 volumes.
1811. Battle of Fuentes d'Onor, in Portugal; the French repulsed with great loss, by the British under Wellington.
1813. Battle at Fort Meigs; Gen. Clay arrived with 1,000 Kentucky militia and volunteers, attacked the British, carried their batteries and spiked their cannon; but having pressed too far in pursuit, were met by a reinforcement of Indians, and in turn defeated, so that only 150 escaped. The British had fired 143 cannon shot into the fort before the arrival of Gen. Clay. American loss, 64 killed, 124 wounded, exclusive of Clay's loss. British stated their loss at 103, killed, wounded and missing, and that they had taken 495 American prisoners.
1814. Napoleon landed at Elba at an early hour in disguise, with a sergeant's company of marines. He made a formal landing at 2 in the afternoon, and was welcomed by the people with acclamation.
1821. Napoleon Bonaparte died at St. Helena, in the 52d year of his age, and the
6th of his exile, to the great relief of the British nation. He commenced in 1795 that unparalleled career of military achievements, which continued to agitate Europe for 20 years, and terminated with the battle of Waterloo, 1815.
1822. Thomas Truxton, an American naval officer, died. He distinguished himself in the revolutionary war, and also in the war with France of 1799, after which he retired from the navy, and died in Philadelphia.
1827. Frederick Augustus I, king of Saxony, died, aged 77; a wise and benevolent monarch, who devoted the energy of his mind to promote the welfare of his subjects.
1846. John Pickering, an eminent American philologist, died at Boston, aged 60. He commenced the practice of the law, and distinguished himself as a jurist; but his reputation rests chiefly on his attainments as a scholar, and on his literary and scientific labors, which were of great service to the cause of learning in this country. He published a vocabulary of Americanisms, and a Greek and English lexicon.
1848. Opening of the national assembly of France, after the abdication of Louis Philippe.
1853. His other demands having been conceded, prince Menschikoff sent in an ultimatum to the Turkish divan, demanding for the emperor of Russia the protectorate of the Greek church Christians in Turkey.
1853. A new planet was discovered at the observatory of Bilk, at Dusseldorf, by Prof. Luther.