SEPTEMBER 25.
275. The emperor Tacitus elected, after an interregnum of eight months. He ordered that ten copies of his kinsman's history should be placed in the libraries. The MS. was discovered in Westphalia.
1066. Battle of Stamford Bridge, between the English under Harold, and the Norwegians under Hafalgar and Tostig. The latter were defeated, and Hafalgar and Tostig slain. The Norwegian fleet also fell into the hands of the English. Judith, the wife of Tostig, afterwards married Guelph I, and became the lineal progenitor of the present royal family of England.
1154. King Stephen of England, died, and his adopted son Henry Fitzempress reigned in his stead.
1493. Columbus sailed from Cadiz with a fleet of seventeen ships, great and small, well furnished with all the necessaries for the voyage, and having on board 1,500 people, with horses, cattle, and implements to establish plantations.
1506. Philip I of Spain, died. He obtained the crown by marriage with Jane, the heiress of Ferdinand and Isabella, was a man of very moderate abilities, but regarded as the fairest man of his age.
1513. Nunez de Balboa, the Spaniard, discovered the sea, over Darien, and in his transport took corporal possession of the ocean in the name of his master.
1555. The famous recess, or peace of religion, established at Augsburg, the bond of union between the German states.
1586. The attainder of Gerald Fitzgerald, 16th earl of Desmond, and forfeiture of 574,628 acres. His head was fixed on London bridge.
1600. Anthony du Verdier died; historiographer of France, and author of a Biography of French Authors.
1602. Gaspard Peucer, an eminent German physician and mathematician, died. He was imprisoned ten years for his religious opinions, during which he committed his thoughts on the margins of old books, with an ink which he made of burnt crusts infused in wine.
1621. Mary Sidney, countess of Pembroke, an eminent poetess and patron of literature, died.
1626. Lancelot Andrews, bishop of Winchester, died; an eminent English prelate.
1638. De Vries sailed from Holland on his third expedition to America, with colonists, to settle Staten Island, which he had secured two years before.
1666. Schah Abas, king of Persia, died. He came to the throne at the age of 13; was valiant and enlightened, and promised by deeds of benevolence and liberality to rival the greatest heroes of antiquity, when he was cut off at the age of 37. He died of lues Veneris.
1689. Count Frontenac arrived at Canada to reassume the government of the province.
1732. Michael Ernest Ettmuller died; a German professor of anatomy at Leipsic, and author of several learned and curious treatises on medical subjects.
1758. Robert Clayton, a learned English prelate and antiquary, died.
1764. Robert Dodsley, an eminent English bookseller and author, died. He commenced life as a footman, but his natural abilities brought him into notice, and recommended him to assistance.
1765. Richard Pococke, bishop of Meath, died; a celebrated traveler, and author of the Description of the East, with observations on Palestine.
1777. John Henry Lambert, a German mathematician, died. He was the son of a poor tailor, but became one of the most learned men of his time by his own unaided exertions.
1777. The American colonel, Ethan Allen, captured near Montreal by the British. He had 15 men killed, and surrendered 38, of whom 7 were put to death.
1786. Edward Ives, a celebrated English traveler, died. The account which he published of his travels through Europe and Asia contains much information.
1791. William Bradford died; an eminent printer of Philadelphia, and an officer in the revolutionary war.
1792. James Cazotte, mayor of Pierry, in France, guillotined. He had previously been saved from the mob by the heroic conduct of his daughter, a girl of 17, who shared his misfortunes.
1804. Joseph Willard, president of Harvard college, died; whose attainments in Greek learning have been equaled by few in America.
1806. Bonaparte left Paris, to open the campaign against Prussia.
1806. Action between the British squadron, admiral Hood, and a French squadron. Several French frigates were captured; Hood lost his right arm.
1808. Richard Porson, an eminent English professor, died. He possessed great reputation as a Greek scholar and
critic, and yet his learning scarcely produced him a living.
1814. The pope issued a bull prohibiting all secret societies, particularly those of freemasons.
1815. John Singleton Copley, a distinguished American painter, died in London.
1815. First daily paper printed at Albany, N. Y.
1839. Treaty between France and Texas signed at Paris.
1840. Marshal McDonald, one of Bonaparte's distinguished generals, died at his chateau near Guise, in France. He was a kinsman of the celebrated Flora McDonald who was instrumental in aiding the escape of the pretender from the Isle of Skye.
1842. Richard Colley Wellesly, marquis of Wellesly, and eldest son of the earl of Mornington, died, aged 82.
1854. William Henry Partlett, an English artist, died at sea, aged 44; author of Views in Switzerland, and other similar works of merit.
1855. John Gifford, a British admiral, died at Southampton, aged 90. He had been in the service more than 75 years, was present at the relief of Gibraltar in 1781, and distinguished himself in many important engagements.