138. Publius Ælius Adrian, emperor of Rome, died. He was a renowned general and great traveler; and on a visit to Britain built the British wall, extending from Newcastle to Carlisle, 80 miles in length.
983. Pope Benedict VII died.
1024. Benedict VIII, pope, died. To the arts of the politician he added the valor of the warrior, and exterminated the Saracens who invaded Italy. He also defeated the Greeks, who were ravaging Apulia.
1212. Burning of London bridge, when 3000 persons inhabiting that borough perished in the flames.
1440. An anniversary was held in Haarlem for two days, commemorating the invention of printing on movable wooden types in this year, by Lawrence Coster. The emblems on his monument are a
branch of beech, a winged A, a wreathed snake and a lamp. It was also celebrated by the printers of Dortrecht and Rotterdam.
1460. Battle of Northampton, England; the forces of Henry VI defeated by earls Warwick, Salisbury and March, with great slaughter among the gentry and nobility on both sides, and Henry was taken prisoner.
1472. The siege of Beauvais, France, raised by Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, who had invested it with an army of 80,000 men. An anniversary is still held on this day in memory of the heroine Jeane Hachette, and her regiment of women, who signalized themselves at this famous siege.
1559. Henry II, of France, died. He was a persecutor of the protestants, and during the thirteen years of his reign, much embroiled in war. He recovered Calais from the English, and was wounded at a tournament, of which he died. (See [June 26, 1574]; [29, 1559].)
1579. William Whittingham, dean of Durham, died. He was one of the translators of the Genevan or German Bible, usually called the Breeches Bible.