1796 Louis XVIII. compelled to leave the army of the emigrants, and place himself in the hands of the Austrians.
1812 A Treaty of Peace between England and Sweden was signed at Ærebo.
FRIDAY, 19th.
365 B. C. Rome was taken and pillaged by the Gauls, who put to the sword the senators and old men, who alone remained in the city.
64 Nero, for his amusement, caused Rome to be set on fire in various places. This conflagration was attributed by him to the Christians, and all who could not escape or conceal themselves, were put to death with the most cruel torments, among others, St. Peter and St. Paul suffered martyrdom.
1333 The Battle of Halidown Hill, in which the Scots were defeated by Edward III.
1588 The Spanish Armada arrived in the British Channel. This formidable fleet consisted of 130 vessels, carrying 2630 pieces of brass cannon. It was fitted out by Philip II. of Spain, and blessed by a special nuncio from the Pope. Its approach spread terror and dismay; but Elizabeth took advantage of the panic to excite her subjects to defend their country without draining her exchequer, and while nobles and citizens fitted out ships at their own charge, the lower orders flocked to man the vessels and defend the coasts. The armada, however was dispersed by a tempest, and, while still in disorder, attacked by the English under Lord Effingham, and compelled to seek safety in flight.
SATURDAY, 20th.
1620 A massacre of the Protestants in the Valteline, a fertile valley of Switzerland.
1819 Died, at Edinburgh, John Playfair, a celebrated mathematician and geographer.