Historical Events in 1797

'Terrifying' Top Hat Causes Sensation

Jan 15 1st top hat worn by John Etherington of London

Queen Victoria looks uncertainly at her husband as Prince Albert tries out his new top hat

Jan 26 Russia, Prussia and Austria sign treaty
Jan 30 US Congress refuses to accept 1st petition from African American
Feb 4 Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 41,000

Music History

Feb 12 Joseph Haydn's song "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" (God Save Emperor Francis) premieres in Vienna

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)

Feb 14 Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats larger Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. Captain Horatio Nelson distinguishes himself.

British ships with captured Spanish vessels in the foreground and the rest of the British fleet in pursuit of the fleeing Spanish

Feb 18 Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby

Treaty of Tolentino

Feb 19 The Peace of Tolentino : Pope Pius VI cedes Papal territories of Avignon, Venaissin, Ferrara, Bologna, and the Romagna to France

Feb 21 Trinidad, West Indies, a Spanish colony, surrenders to the British

Last Invasion of Britain

Feb 22 The Last Invasion of Britain, launched by the French during the Revolutionary Wars, begins near Fishguard, Wales

French troops surrendering to British forces at Goodwick Sands near Fishguard in Wales. Drawing by James Baker.

Feb 24 Colonel William Tate and his force of 1,000-1,500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain (according to legend, to Welsh women in tall black hats, mistaken for elite guards regiment)
Feb 26 Bank of England issues first £1 note

President Inaugurated

Mar 4 John Adams inaugurated as 2nd President of The United States, Thomas Jefferson 2nd Vice President

Mar 13 Luigi Cherubini's opéra-comique "Médée" premieres at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris, France
Mar 28 Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patents a washing machine
Apr 16 Spithead Mutiny begins: British Royal Navy sailors protest over living and working conditions and pay near Portsmouth
Apr 17 Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the largest invasions of Spanish territories in America
Apr 18 France & Austria sign ceasefire
May 10 1st US Navy ship, the "United States," is launched

Napoleon Conquers Venice

May 12 First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice

May 12 Nore Mutiny: British Royal Navy sailors mutiny on the Thames, England and blockade London
Jun 2 Surveyor Charles Brodhead achieves the 1st ascent of Giant Mountain (4,626 feet) in Adirondack, New York, the 1st of any Adirondack High Peak [1]
Jun 11 Spanish Mission San José founded by Franciscan Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen at the Ohlone Village of Oroysom in Alta California (now Freemont, California)
Jun 14 Napoleon forms Ligurian Republic
Jun 26 Charles Newbold patents 1st cast-iron plow, though farmers fear effects of iron on soil
Jul 8 1st US senator (William Blount of Tennessee) expelled by impeachment

Event of Interest

Jul 25 Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain)

Aug 3 Emperor Francis I permits Jews who served in military in "Countries of Bohemian Crown" to marry non Jews
Aug 16 Comet C/1797 P1 (Bouvard-Herschel) approaches 0.0879 AUs of Earth
Sep 1 2nd National Meeting in Hague
Oct 11 Battle of Camperdown (Kamperduin): British navy defeats Dutch fleet
Oct 17 Peace of Campo Formio: Austrian Dutch possessions & France
Oct 21 The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is launched in Boston
Oct 22 Andre-Jacques Garnerin makes 1st parachute descent from a balloon in Paris

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