OCTOBER 31.
1448. John Palæologus, emperor of Constantinople, died. He reigned 29 years, and resisted the invasion of the Turkish foe, who pressed upon his borders.
1517. Commencement of the reformation by Martin Luther, who on this day published his 95 theses against the papal indulgences, &c.
1579. John Stadius, a German historian and mathematician, died at Paris. He tarnished his scientific knowledge with astrological calculations.
1659. John Bradshaw died; celebrated as president of the tribunal which tried and condemned the king, Charles I. He was afterwards deprived of his office by Cromwell, to whose usurpations he was opposed; at the restoration his bones were dug up and hanged at Tyburn.
1665. An act called the "five mile act," passed by the English parliament, prohibiting nonconforming ministers from going within 5 miles of a town sending a member to parliament. This was to prevent them entering the pulpits of episcopalians vacated on account of the plague.
1678. From the evidence of Oates and others, the commons of England passed a resolution that there existed a hellish plot of the papists to assassinate king Charles.
1732. Victor Amadeus, king of Sardinia and duke of Savoy, died.
1735. General Oglethorpe re-embarked
for America, accompanied by John Wesley and other missionaries, with several families of settlers.
1751. James Logan, governor of Pennsylvania after the death of the proprietor, died. He was a native of Ireland, distinguished for his talents and learning, and came to America with Penn.
1760. The foundation stone of Blackfriars bridge over the Thames was laid.
1765. William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, died. He was the second son of George II of England, and commanded at many important battles in the German wars.
1782. Louis Elizabeth de la Vergne, a celebrated French general, died. He was the friend of learned men, and the author of numerous works.
1793. Jean Pierre Brissot de Warville, and 20 others, Girondists, condemned on the previous day, were guillotined at Paris. They were generally opposed to the death of the king and the violent and bloody measures pursued by Marat and Robespierre.
1803. The United States frigate Philadelphia, captain Bainbridge, grounded on a rock three and a half miles from Tripoli, and was taken after an action of 4 hours, having thrown over all her guns in the vain hope of getting off.
1806. Battle of Strelitz; the French general Savery with 600 horse took the place, and captured the hereditary prince of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
1806. Battle of Anklan; the Bavarians defeated the Prussians under general Bila, and took him and 4,000 men prisoners.
1806. About this time a revolution took place at St. Domingo; the black king of Hayti, Dessalines, was killed, and succeeded by Christophe.
1812. The Cossacks under Platoff defeated the French rear guard near Kolotsk with terrible slaughter.
1812. The French defeated by Witgenstein at Tchasniki, with the loss of 900 killed and 800 taken.
1832. Antonio Scarpa, professor of anatomy at Pavia, died, aged 86. He stood, for nearly half a century, by the common consent of his countrymen, at the head of anatomy and surgery in Italy.
1838. Noah Worcester, an eminent philanthropist and founder of the Massachusetts Peace society, died. He was an extraordinary man, and entirely self-taught. In 1815 he published A Solemn View of the Custom of War, which produced a strong impression, and has been circulated in different languages in Europe.
1842. Solomon Herschell, chief rabbi of the German and Polish Jews in London, died, aged 82, and was buried with great solemnity. He was a majestic figure, with a look of one of the old fathers, and an object of considerable mark in the streets of London.
1847. A quarrel took place between the police in Rio de Janeiro and some sailors belonging to the United States vessels of war lying in the harbor. The sailors and an officer were imprisoned, which led to a serious difficulty between the two governments.
1848. Stephen Watts Kearney, the conqueror of New Mexico, died at St. Louis, aged 54. He had been in the army since 1812, and his character and bearing as an officer were unsurpassed.
1849. The French cabinet, on being informed that they were wanting in dignity, resigned their commissions to their president.
1849. A remarkable meteoric stone fell at Charlotte, North Carolina.
1850. Queen Isabella opened the Cortez at Madrid in the new palace on the Plaza de Cervantes.
1855. Rivas sworn into office as president of Nicaragua, Walker declining in his favor at Grenada.