1699. Jean Racine, a French tragic poet, died. His pieces were received with great applause, and he came to be generally preferred to his contemporary Corneille, who had been previously looked upon as inimitable.
1702. Francis Charpentier, a Frenchman of learning and abilities, died. He greatly contributed to the noble series of medals struck in the reign of Louis XIV.
1715. Total eclipse of the sun in England. It occurred at 9 in the morning, when the stars appeared, and the birds sunk within their nests.
1730. A public library founded in New York.
1741. Matthew Elias, a painter, died; who, under the patronage of Corbeen, rose to great eminence in his profession.
1751. One, Osborne, and his wife accused by a publican at Tring, in Hertfordshire, England, of witchcraft, were brutally murdered by the populace.
1758. Anthony de Jussieu, an eminent French botanist, died. He traveled over several countries of Europe in the pursuit of his favorite science, which he greatly improved.
1764. Edward Cobelen, an eminent English divine and theological writer, died. Although he enjoyed several clerical offices, he restricted himself to a small income, on which he lived with simplicity and contentment.
1792. Isaac Rene Guy de Chapellier, a native of Rennes, in France, and a zealous advocate of liberty, died.
1794. Christian William de Lamoignon Malesherbes, an able French advocate and author, beheaded. After serving his country 25 years he retired; but was recalled by Louis XVI to be minister of the interior. When the unfortunate king was dragged before the revolutionary tribunal, Malesherbes boldly appeared to defend him. He was himself condemned by the same tribunal, and ascended the scaffold with his daughter and a grandchild.