MAY 6.
356. B. C. Marcius Rutilus, the first dictator elected from the plebeians, entered Rome in triumph from his victories over the Etrurians.
1527. The imperialists under the duke of Bourbon, took Rome by assault and plundered it. The duke was killed by a musket ball. He had been disgraced at the French court, and was now in the service of Charles V of Germany.
1540. John Lewis Vives, a learned Spaniard, died. He resided some time at the court of Henry VIII of England, where he was imprisoned for opposing the divorce of Catharine of Arragon.
1562. Paul de la Barthe, lord of Thermes, a French general, died, aged 80. He was distinguished in the wars of his country by several important victories.
1569. The first English lottery, which commenced drawing on the 11th January (q. v.), and had been continued day and night, finished on this day. It consisted of 400,000 lots of 10s. each. The prizes were plate, and the profits were to be expended in repairing the havens of the kingdom.
1631. Robert Bruce Cotton, an eminent English antiquary, died. His writings are numerous and valuable, and he did great service to learning by leaving his valuable library to the use of posterity, in the British museum.
1643. Battle of Stratton, in which the parliamentary army under the earl of Stamford was attacked by the Cornish royalists, who, although far inferior in numbers, gained a complete victory, taking the camp of the enemy, all their artillery, baggage and provisions, and many prisoners.
1667. Samuel Bochart, a learned French protestant divine, died. He was distinguished as an oriental scholar, and died while delivering an oration at the academy of Caen.
1673. The island of St. Helena retaken by the English.
1712. Garien de sieur de Sandras Courtlitz, a French author, died. His works were numerous, and some of them political, for which he was confined in the bastile nine years.
1739. Kouli Khan, after pillaging the capital of Hindostan, and slaughtering 150,000 of its inhabitants, departed from the city, leaving his son Mohammed Schah on the throne.
1743. Andrew Michael Ramsay, a Scottish historian and philosopher, died. He spent much of his time in France, with Fenelon and Turenne, where he died.
1763. John Wilkes released from the tower by the memorable sentence of chief justice Pratt. (See [April 30]).
1766. Samuel Squire, bishop of St. David's died; a poetical, historical and antiquarian writer of note.
1766. Lord Howe and Gen. Howe appointed commissioners for restoring peace to the British colonies.
1766. Thomas Arthur Lally, an Irish officer in the service of France, executed. He fought against the British in the East Indies with great bravery, but had become so unpopular, that on being defeated he was imprisoned and condemned for treason.
1780. Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's island, surrendered to the British, who bombarded Charleston at the same time.
1782. Stephen Mignol de Montigni died at Paris; eminent as a mechanic and a man of science, who introduced several useful manufactures into France.
1790. John James Gesner died; professor in the university at Zurich, and a noted Swiss author.
1796. Adolphus F. F. L. Knigge, a German author, died. His works were various, and his novels once popular. He
was a member of the illuminati, and implicated in some of the disputes relating to that order.
1801. Action of Barcelona, between British ship Speedy, 14 guns 54 men, lord Cochrane, and Spanish frigate El Gamo, 32 guns 319 men. British loss, killed and wounded 11, Spanish loss, 55.
1802. Samuel McDonald died, aged 40. He served under the British with the Sutherland fencibles, and afterwards as fugleman in the royals. He was six feet ten inches in height, and his strength is represented to have been prodigious. He continued active till his 35th year, when he began to decline, and died of water in the chest.
1811. William Boscawen, an English poet and miscellaneous writer, died. His translation of Horace is preferred by some critics to that of Dr. Francis.
1814. Battle of Oswego. The town was attacked the second time by the British, 1,600 soldiers and sailors, and two companies of Glengarians, under Gen. Drummond. The Americans, about 300, under Col. Mitchell, gallantly defended the place, till they were compelled to retreat before an overwhelming force, after securing their stores. American loss, killed 6, wounded 38, missing 25; British, 94.
1839. William Lenoir, an officer of the revolution, died. He bore a distinguished part in the war in South Carolina, and was closely identified with the early history of the state. He held various civil offices, was a justice of the peace about 60 years, and for many years a member of the state legislature. He was distinguished for integrity, firmness and patriotism.
1840. Demetrius Augustine Galitzin, son of prince de Galitzin, one of the first nobility of Russia, died in poverty at Loretto, Pa., aged 70. He left the princely halls of his ancestors, and spent thirty years in a rude log cabin in America, almost denying himself the comforts of life, that he might devote his days to religion, and assist the poor and distressed. Few have left behind them such examples of charity and benevolence.
1840. Francisco Paula de Santander, formerly president of the republic of New Granada, died at Bogota, aged 48. When the revolution began to agitate the country he embarked in the cause of independence, and soon rose to distinction as an officer in the army.
1844. Fearful rioting in Philadelphia between the native Americans and Irish.
1848. Engagement between the Austrians and Piedmontese before Verona; great loss on both sides.
1848. Gen. Folque, a veteran officer, died at Lisbon, Portugal, aged 102.
1853. The drawbridge of the New York and New Haven rail road having been carelessly left open at Norwalk, the cars were thrown into the water; forty-five persons were killed, and many severely injured.
1856. An accident occurred on the Panama rail road, recently put in operation, by which 43 persons were killed, and 60 wounded.
1856. William Hamilton, a distinguished Scottish metaphysician, died at Edinburgh, where he was professor of logic and metaphysics, and became more widely known by his volume of Essays.