1660. Francis Albano, an eminent Italian painter, died at Bologna, aged 82. He particularly excelled in expressing the delineations of female and infantine beauty; his pieces are dispersed in the cabinets of Europe, and highly esteemed.
1691. Louis Abelly died; a French ecclesiastic, who devoted himself principally to literature, and left numerous works behind him.
1692. Charles Fleetwood, lord deputy under Cromwell, died, aged 74. He married the widow of the gloomy Ireton; hesitating to declare at once for the king, he was allowed to end his days in obscurity.
1693. Battle near Marseilles, in France, between the French under Catinat, and the allies under Victor Amadeus and Eugene of Savoy. The allies were defeated, with the loss of all their artillery, and 8,000 men; the duke of Schomberg was mortally wounded.
1704. Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish mariner, put ashore on the desert island of Juan Fernandez, by orders of captain Pradling, with whom he had a quarrel. He was allowed a fowling piece and ammunition, and a very few necessaries. In this desolate situation he continued three years, subsisting on goats, fish and fruits.
1743. John Baptist du Halde, a learned French Jesuit, died. He is the author of a description of China and Tartary, a valuable work, compiled from the curious and interesting observations of the missionaries of his fraternity.
1744. Henry Carey, an English dramatic poet, and music composer, died by suicide. Besides his poems, he wrote Chrononhotonthologos, to ridicule the style of tragedy then in vogue, and produced the Dragon of Wantley, as a burlesque on Italian opera.
1777. Battle of Germantown, in which the Americans were defeated, with the loss of 200 killed, 600 wounded, and 400 taken. British loss, killed and wounded, 600. The disastrous termination of this affair, was owing to the darkness of the
day, which embarrassed the operations of the Americans.
1780. The ships Resolution and Discovery, the circumnavigating ships which sailed under Cook and Clerke, returned, but without either of their original commanders. Both were dead.