OCTOBER 14.
1066. Battle of Hastings, and defeat of Harold by William of Normandy, which placed the latter upon the throne of England. The battle lasted from morning till sunset. William had three horses killed under him, and there fell about 15,000 Normans; but on the side of the vanquished, the loss was much greater, and included Harold and his two brothers, who were slain.
1066. The first earl created in England. Alfred in 920 used this word as king is now used.
1292. Edward I, of England, declared John Baliol king of Scotland.
1519. The Spaniards under Cortez entered without opposition the strong and
populous city of Cholula, where a plot was laid for their destruction, but which resulted in a terrible massacre of the inhabitants.
1529. A placard appeared at Brussels, whereby all such as had any prohibited books in their custody, not brought forth to be burnt, should be put to death.
1537. Jane Seymour, third queen of Henry VIII, died.
1644. Birthday of William Penn, the first proprietor of Pennsylvania, son of admiral sir William Penn.
1645. Battle of Basing, in which Cromwell at the head of the parliamentary forces stormed and took, after an action of only three-quarters of an hour, the fortress of Basing house, which the royalists considered almost impregnable. There was immense booty taken with the place, of every kind. The plunder of treasure and furniture amounted to more than $1,000,000; in one room was found a bed which cost nearly $6,000. The mansion was set fire to and destroyed, with most of the valuable paintings, papers, &c., by the roundheads, who acted up to the scripture, "cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently."
1656. Act of the Massachusetts authorities, prohibiting the immigration of quakers, and subjecting such as should arrive to 20 lashes, and imprisonment at hard labor until transported, and if they returned to suffer death.
1660. Paul Scarron died; an eminent French comic writer and satirist.
1660. Hugh Peters, chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, hanged at London. His death was the result of the most infamous trial on record. He was 7 years in New England as minister, first at Salem then in the Great church at Boston.
1734. Birthday of Francis Lightfoot Lee, a distinguished statesman and signer of the declaration of independence. The day of his death is not known.
1736. George Clarke delivered his first speech to the assembly, as governor of the province of New York; and consented to introduce the practice which has ever since prevailed, of absenting himself from the council while they sit as a branch of the legislature.
1747. Six ships of war taken by admiral Hawke off the isle of Aix.
1756. John Henley, an eccentric English writer, died. He acquired the appellation of orator Henley, and entertained the public by theological orations on Sundays, and political and miscellaneous subjects on Wednesdays; also by a weekly paper called The Hyp Doctor.
1758. Battle of Hochkirchen; the Prussians under their king Frederick II, defeated by the Austrians under marshal Daun, with the loss of 7,000 men, all their tents, and baggage, &c. James Keith, a brave and experienced Scottish general, who had distinguished himself in the memorable wars of the king of Prussia, was killed, and general Geist mortally wounded.
1761. Volcanic phenomenon seen at Great Malvern in Worcestershire, Eng.
1781. Two British redoubts at Yorktown taken, and included in the second parallel, which greatly facilitated the subsequent operations of the besiegers.
1783. Antonio Nunes Ribeiro Sanchez, an eminent Portuguese physician and writer, died.
1791. Gregory Alexander Potempkin, a Russian statesman, died. He was descended from a Polish family, was the favorite of Catharine, and her minister of war.
1805. Battle of Ulm; the French under Bonaparte captured the bridge and the Austrian position of Elchingen.
1806. Battle of Jena, or Auerstadt, in Saxony, between the French under Bonaparte and the Prussians under king Frederick William. The Prussian line extended 18 miles, and numbered 150,000 strong; the total number of men engaged on both sides was over 250,000, and the number of cannon employed over 700. The Prussians were defeated with the loss of 20,000 killed and wounded, and 40,000 taken prisoners; together with 300 cannon, and immense magazines of stores. The French admitted a loss of only 1,200 killed and 3,000 wounded.
1813. Bonaparte arrived at Leipsic, in Germany, having in the course of four days assembled there an army whose numbers are variously stated at from 150 to 400,000 men, with 600 cannon, and commanded by the ablest generals of the age.
1831. Louis Pons, an eminent Italian astronomer, died at Florence.
1836. James Wild, an English geographer, died; distinguished for his numerous maps and charts.
1841. Heyer embarked at Boston for India, as the first missionary of the Lutheran church in the United States. He established a mission at Guntoor.
1842. Grand celebration in New York of the completion of the Croton water works; more than 15,000 persons joined in the procession.
1843. A check was put on the progress of Irish agitation by the arrest of Daniel O'Connell and his son on a charge of conspiracy and other misdemeanors.
1845. William Pridgen died, in Bladen county, N. C., aged 123. He was a volunteer in the revolutionary army, although even then exempt from service by his age.
His grand children were aged people at the time of his death.
1850. The convention for amending the constitution of Virginia assembled at Richmond.
1854. Hugh A. Garland, an eminent lawyer of St. Louis, died; author of a life of John Randolph.
1854. Samuel Phillips died at Brighton, England, aged 39. He was some time the literary reviewer for The Times and author of Readings on the Rail.