SEPTEMBER 23.
67. Gamala, supposed impregnable, fell before Vespasian on the 23d Hyperbereteus (Tisri), nor age nor sex was spared.
768. Pepin (the Short), king of France, died. He maintained respect at home and abroad by the valor and heroic firmness of his conduct.
1459. Battle of Bloreheath, in England. The Yorkists, under the earl of Salisbury, defeated lord Audley, who was slain.
1519. Cortez entered the Indian city of Tlascala; having in the short space of twenty-four days subdued a powerful nation.
1571. John Jewel, bishop of Salisbury, died; one of the most learned and prominent divines under Elizabeth.
1641. Irish rebellion and massacre. The number of protestants slain is variously estimated, probably, however, not less than 150,000. O'Niel was the instigator.
1641. The Merchant Royall, a fine ship,
"having in her a world of treasure," was wrecked near Land's end.
1642. Battle of Worcester; the parliament forces under Sandys defeated by the royalists under Rupert.
1657. Joachim Junge died; a German philosopher of great ability, who arrayed himself against the Aristotelian philosophy.
1675. Valentin Conrart died; to whose influence, taste and love for literature, the French ascribe the origin of their academy, of which he is styled the father.
1709. Newburgh on the west side of the Hudson river settled.
1727. James Abbaddie, a learned French protestant minister, died. He was an elegant preacher, and his works were unusually popular.
1737. The Hebrews disfranchised by a vote of the New York legislature.
1738. Herman Boerhaave, an eminent Dutch physician, died. From his multifarious knowledge he has been styled the Voltaire of science.
1746. Namur, in Belgium, taken by the French, and with it 7,000 Austrians surrendered.
1777. The British army under general Howe crossed the Schuylkill.
1779. American frigate Bon Homme Richard, 40 guns, 375 men, captain Paul Jones, engaged and captured the British frigate Serapis, captain Pearson, 44 guns. While engaged, the American frigate Alliance, 36 guns, frequently sailed round the Serapis and poured in a raking fire, both fore and aft, but as they were close alongside of each other, her fire frequently did execution on board Jones's ship, 11 of whose men and an officer were killed by one broadside. The loss on both sides was very great. At the same time, in company, the British ship Countess of Scarborough engaged the French frigate Pallas, and after an action of two hours struck her colors and was made prize of.
1780. John Andre, the British spy, intercepted near Tarrytown, about 25 miles above New York, and taken into custody.
1784. Some Americans in Savannah, not to be behind the age, fitted up a balloon in which 6 men with 600 bushels of corn and necessaries for the trip, started from that city for Jamaica.
1792. Dr. Priestly and Thomas Paine were elected to the national convention of France.
1794. French national convention decreed the formation of a company of ærostats to superintend the military balloons.
1795. The Dutch colony at the cape of Good Hope taken possession of by the English.
1803. Battle of Assaye, in Hindostan, between the British, 4500 men, under Wellesley, and Scindea's army consisting of 38,500 cavalry, 10,500 regular infantry, 500 matchlocks, and 500 rocket men—total, 50,000 men, with a train of 90 cannon. The latter were defeated.
1806. The American exploring party under captains Lewis and Clarke, returned to St. Lewis, having lost but one of their party.
1807. The British withdrew their troops from Egypt, after having sustained a loss of more than one half by climate and combat.
1813. American frigate President, Com. Rodgers, took the British schooner Highflyer, 5 guns, without any action.
1823. Matthew Baillie died; an eminent English physician, author of a superior work on the morbid anatomy of the human body.
1824. Major Cartwright, an enthusiastic English reformer, died, aged 84. So early as 1775 he published a tract entitled American Independence the Glory and Interest of Great Britain.
1835. Bellini, a celebrated Italian musical composer, died at Paris, aged 29.
1836. Maria Felicitas Malibran de Beritas, a celebrated vocal actress, died. She possessed extraordinary endowments, and a remarkable combination of fine qualities rendered her the admiration of all who saw or heard her. She was heard to sing in one evening in six different languages, and with unqualified admiration in all.
1842. A great fire took place in Liverpool, England; 500,000 pounds sterling worth of property destroyed and 20 persons killed.
1846. The new planet predicted by M. Leverrier was discovered at Berlin by Dr. Galle. On the 29th it was seen in London; 21st Oct. at Cambridge, Mass.; 23d Oct. at Washington.
1846. Last day's battle of Monterey, in which the arms of the United States troops were gloriously victorious.
1852. The barque Cornelia, having cleared at Havana, was brought to and boarded at the mouth of the harbor, and the mail bags rifled in the expectation of detecting a conspiracy.
1854. The Russians closed the passage to the harbor of Sebastopol by sinking in the entrance five ships of the line and two frigates.
1855. The island of Guam visited by a terrific tornado, nearly every house on the island was destroyed, and 8,000 persons left houseless.