1708. William Beveridge, an English divine, and bishop of St. Asaph, died, leaving many learned and valuable works.
1710. John Holt died. He had been for more than 20 years lord chief justice of the king's bench court in England.
1737. The servants called footmen occasioned a riot at Drury lane theatre, London, alleging that they had been shut out of the gallery, to which they were entitled.
1744. At Huddersfield, Yorkshire, a Roman temple was discovered and an altar inscribed to Antonius Modestus of the sixth conquering legion.
1770. Boston massacre. This occurrence, which is variously stated, is supposed to have arisen as follows: a crowd surrounded a corporal's guard in the evening, and commenced pelting them with snow balls, which exasperated his majesty's legions to such a pitch of valor, that they turned their muskets upon the citizens. The leaden balls of the soldiers were more than a match for those of the people, and five men fell mortally wounded. Their names were Mattucks, Gray, Caldwell, Maverick, and Carr.
1773. Philip Francis died at Bath, England; distinguished as a translator of Horace and Demosthenes.
1775. Peter Laurence Buyrette du Belloi died; a French comedian and tragedian, who by his own pieces became extremely popular in his day.
1775. The citizens of New York held a town meeting, in which it is said the question of congress or no congress was carried in the affirmative by the aid of hoop poles obtained from a neighboring cooper's yard.
1778. Thomas Augustus Arne died; an English musician and opera writer. He received the degree of doctor of music.
1785. Joseph Reed died at Philadelphia, aged 43. He was one of Washington's aids in the revolutionary war, and subsequently an adjutant-general, member of congress, and governor of Pennsylvania.