1588 (1580?). Bombs first used at the siege of Wachtendonk in Holland. The invention of bombs is disputed among several countries, and there are good reasons for believing that some contrivance of the kind had been made use of long before this event. Galen, bishop of Munster, is said to have been the inventor of bombs; while Strada in his account of the wars of the Low Countries, attributes the invention a few days before this siege to an inhabitant of the town of Venloo, and that the people of the city, wishing to exhibit it in presence of the duke of Cleves, discharged a bomb, which falling on one of the houses, set fire to it, and three-fourths of the town were destroyed before the flames could be extinguished.
1603. Elizabeth, queen of England,
died, aged 70. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. On the death of Mary, 1558, she was proclaimed queen, at the age of twenty-five, and held the sceptre forty-five years with uncommon ability. Her reign was a period of great prosperity for England. Her treatment of the queen of Scots can never be defended, and some other foibles tarnish her fame; but the splendor of her reign and the strength of mind displayed in the conduct of the government overbalance those weaknesses which few crowned heads are devoid of.
1638. Canonicus and Miantonimoh gave Roger Williams a deed of Providence.
1645. The parliament voted that the clause for the preservation of his majesty's person should be left out of Sir Thos. Fairfax's commission. This was a bad omen for King Charles.
1674. Jonathan Goddard, an English physician and chemist, died. He was a favorite with Cromwell; but on the restoration his abilities were not in sufficient estimation to preserve him from being disgraced. He was an able writer and a liberal patron of learned men, and one of the promoters of the royal society.
1698. John Evelyn, distinguished as a poet and translator, died, aged 45. At the age of 15 he wrote the elegant Greek poem which accompanies the second edition of the Sylva, written by his father.
1718. On the island of Lithy, India, there fell a ball of fire, containing gelatinous matter.
1720. John Peringskioll, a Swedish antiquary and historian, died. He was professor of antiquities at Upsala, and secretary and councilor to the king. His works amount to 17 vols. folio.
1726. Daniel Whitby, an English prelate, died. He was, like many of his profession, totally unqualified for the common pursuits of business; but was engrossed with matters of religion and learning. His publications are more than 40 in number; one of which gave offence to the clergy and was publicly burnt.