1775. The great tunnel at Norwood hill, through which the Chesterfield and Trent canal was to pass, was opened; its length nearly 1¾ miles.
1779. Charles Hardy, an English admiral, died. He was two years governor of New York, and was appointed commander in chief of the western squadron, 1779.
1782. Sebastian Joseph Carvallo de Pombal, a Portuguese statesman, died. He displayed great wisdom and abilities in the offices to which he was promoted; and under his munificence and patriotism the city of Lisbon rose from her ruins by the earthquake, in new splendor and increased magnificence.
1793. Battle of Vicogne, the French defeated by the Austrians under Clairfait, after an obstinate action and great carnage.
1793. Jas. Ridgway and H. D. Symonds,
booksellers in London, severely fined and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for selling the books of Thomas Payne.
1794. Anthony Lawrence Lavoisier, a French chemist, guillotined. His philosophical researches were of great service to science, and of practical utility to his country; he was condemned on the most frivolous pretexts.
1799. Bonaparte made an unsuccessful attempt to carry St. Jean d'Acre by assault.
1806. Robert Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, died. He was one of the most extensive merchants in America, and in 1781 was appointed to the control of the government finances, where the services he rendered the country were of the utmost importance. The army was frequently supplied by his own personal credit. It is painful to add, that the latter years of his life were passed in prison, where he was confined for debt.
1813. The Americans evacuated York, Upper Canada, after burning the blockhouses, barracks and king's stores.