Events January–March January 11 – 1693 Sicily earthquake: Mount Etna erupts, causing a devastating earthquake that affects parts of Sicily and Malta. January 22 – A total lunar eclipse is visible across North and South America. February 8 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a Royal charter. February 27 – The publication of the first women's magazine, titled The Ladies' Mercury, takes place in London. It is published by the Athenian Society. March 27 – Bozoklu Mustafa Pasha becomes the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, after Sultan Ahmed II appoints him as the successor of Çalık Ali Pasha. April–June April 4 – Anne Palles becomes the last accused witch to be executed for witchcraft in Denmark, after having been convicted of using powers of sorcery. King Christian V accepts her plea not to be burned alive, and she is beheaded before her body is set afire. April 5 – The Order of Saint Louis, the first medal to be awarded in France to military personnel who are not members of nobility, is created by order of King Louis XIV, and named after his ancestor, King Louis IX. April 28 – The 90-gun English Royal Navy warship HMS Windsor Castle is wrecked beyond repair on the Goodwin Sands. April – Tituba, a slave who had been convicted at the Salem witch trials of practicing witchcraft after making a confession, is released from jail in Boston after 13 months when an unknown purchaser pays her jail fees. May 18 – Forces of Louis XIV of France attack Heidelberg, capital of the Electorate of the Palatinate. May 22 – Heidelberg is taken by the invading French forces; on May 23 Heidelberg Castle is surrendered, after which the French blow up its towers using mines. June 5 – The first performance of the opera Didon by French composer Henri Desmarets takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris. June 27 – Nine Years' War – Battle of Lagos off Portugal: The French fleet defeats the joint Dutch and English fleet. July–September July 17 – A total lunar eclipse is visible in New Zealand and across the Pacific Ocean. July 29 – Nine Years' War – Battle of Landen: William III of England is defeated by the French (with Irish Jacobite mercenaries). August 21 – The Indian Ocean port of Pondicherry, capital of French India is