Events in History
- Jan 9 1st hot-air balloon flight in the US lifts off in Philadelphia, piloted by Jean Pierre Blanchard
- Jan 9 Dutch Prince Willem V establishes 2 brigades Drive Artillery
Event of Interest
Jan 16 French King Louis XVI sentenced to death by the National Convention during the French Revolution
Louis XVI
Georges Danton
Marquis de Condorcet
- Jan 21 Prussia & Russia sign partition treaty, dividing Poland.
- Jan 21 Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine in Paris, following his conviction for "high treason" by the newly created French Parliament (Convention nationale), during the French Revolution
- Jan 23 2nd Partition of Poland, between Prussia & Russia
- Jan 23 Humane Society of Philadelphia (1st aid society) organized
- Feb 1 France declares war on Great Britain and Netherlands
- Feb 1 Patent granted Ralph Hodgson, NY, for oiled silk & linen
- Feb 11 Prussian troops occupy Venlo, Netherlands
- Feb 12 1st US fugitive slave law passed; requires return of escaped slaves
- Feb 24 French troops conquer Breda
- Mar 4 French troops conquer Geertruidenberg, Netherlands
- Mar 4 Washington's 2nd inauguration as US President, shortest speech (133 words)
- Mar 5 French troops are defeated by Austrian forces and Liège is recaptured
- Mar 18 Second Battle at Neerwinden: Austria army beats France
- Mar 18 The first republican state in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann
- Mar 26 Pro-royalist uprising in Vendée region of France
- Apr 15 Bank of England issues first £5 note
- Apr 22 President Washington attends opening of Rickett's, 1st circus in US
Event of Interest
Apr 24 French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is acquitted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of charges brought by the Girondin in Paris
Jean-Paul Marat
- Apr 29 Cornerstone laid for Groningen's new town hall in the Netherlands
- May 9 Explorer Alexander Mackenzie sets out on his second expedition to the Pacific from Fort Fork (arrives at Pacific 22nd July)
- May 15 Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 metres", at a height of 5-6 metres, one of the first attempted flights
- May 19 Netherlands captures French island of St Maarten (held until 1795)
- May 21 Curacao Island Council forbids criticism of House of Orange
- May 25 Father Stephen Theodore Badin is 1st US Roman Catholic priest ordained
- May 30 Georges Couthon chosen member of French Committee the Salut Public
- Jun 10 1st public zoo opens in Paris
- Jun 11 1st American stove patent is granted to Robert Haeterick
- Jun 24 1st republican constitution in France adopted
- Jul 20 Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie completes the first European east-to-west crossing of America north of Mexico
- Jul 22 Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada
- Jul 23 The Prussians conquer Mainz
- Jul 24 France passes 1st copyright law
- Jul 29 John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay
- Aug 1 France becomes 1st country to use the metric system
- Aug 8 The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
- Aug 10 Louvre palace officially opens in Paris as The Museum Central des Arts
- Aug 12 The Rhône départment is created when the former département of Rhône-et-Loire was split into two: Rhône and Loire (Lêre).
- Aug 19 Yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, then the US capital has its 1st fatality. Lasts till November killing around 5,000 people
Event of Interest
Aug 23 French Revolution: The National Convention adopts the levée en masse, conscripting all able-bodied men between 18 and 25 for military service during the French Revolutionary Wars
Georges Danton
Marquis de Condorcet
- Aug 29 Slaves in French colony of St Domingue (Haiti) freed
- Sep 5 French Revolution: the "Reign of Terror" begins
Event of Interest
Sep 18 US President George Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
George Washington
- Sep 20 British troops under Major-general Williamson lands on (French) Haiti
Event of Interest
Oct 3 A warrant is issued for the arrest of French mathematician and philosopher Marquis de Condorcet forcing him into hiding
Marquis de Condorcet
- Oct 5 French Revolution: Christianity is disestablished in France.
- Oct 16 Battle of Wattignies: French defeat Allied forces and lift siege of Maubeuge
Historic Invention
Oct 28 Eli Whitney applies for a patent on cotton gin
Eli Whitney
- Oct 31 Execution of Girondins in Paris during Reign of Terror
Event of Interest
Nov 3 French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined
Olympe de Gouges
Gregory Conquers Julius Caesar
Nov 26 Republican calendar replaces Gregorian calendar in France
Read Article
Event of Interest
Dec 9 Noah Webster establishes New York's 1st daily newspaper, the "American Minerva"
Noah Webster
Event of Interest
Dec 23 Thomas Jefferson warns of slave revolts in the West Indies
Thomas Jefferson
- Dec 26 Battle of Geisberg: French defeat Austrians.
Birthdays in History
Sam Houston
Mar 2 Sam Houston, American born 1st President of Republic of Texas (1836-38, 1841-44) who helped bring Texas into the United States as a constituent state, born in Rockbridge County, Virginia (d. 1863)
Sam Houston
- Mar 3 Charles Sealsfield [Carl Anton Postl], Austrian-American writer, born in Popice u Znojma, Moravia (d. 1864)
- Mar 4 Karl Lachmann, German philologist (d. 1851)
- Mar 11 Jan F Willems, Flemish writer/philologist
- Mar 28 Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer and geologist, born in Guilderland, New York (d. 1864)
- Apr 11 Nicolaas Christiaan Kist, Dutch Reformed theologian and church historian, born in Woerden, Netherlands (d. 1859)
- Apr 15 Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German-Russian astronomer, born in Altona, Hamburg (d. 1864)
- Apr 19 Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria (1835-48), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1875)
- May 9 Johannes Cornelis de Jonge, Dutch historian and archivist, born in Zierikzee, Netherlands (d. 1853)
- Jul 5 Pavel Ivanovich Pestel, Russian officer, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1826)
- Jul 6 Jacob de Kempenaer, Dutch lawyer and Minister of Internal Affairs (1848-49), born in Amsterdam (d. 1870)
- Jul 13 John Clare, English poet (Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery), born in Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England (d. 1864)
- Sep 4 Edward Bates, American lawyer (26th U.S. Attorney General), born in Goochland County, Virginia (d. 1869)
- Sep 25 Felicia Dorothea Hemans, English poet, born in Liverpool, England (d. 1835)
- Sep 28 Denis-Auguste Affre, Archbishop of Paris (1840-48) and opponent of King Louis-Philippe, born in Saint-Rome-de-Tarn, Aveyron, France (d. 1848)
- Oct 28 Eliphalet Remington, American firearms manufacturer (Remington Arms Co., L.L.C.), born in Suffield, Connecticut (d. 1861)
Stephen F. Austin
Nov 3 Stephen F. Austin, Founded and helped colonize the US state of Texas, born in Austinville, Virginia (d. 1836)
Stephen F. Austin
- Nov 10 Jared Kirtland, American physician, naturalist and reformed penitentiaries, born in Wallingford, Connecticut (d. 1877)
- Nov 15 Michel Chasles, French mathematician (geometry), born in Épernon, France (d. 1880)
- Nov 16 Francis Danby, Irish painter, born in County Wexford, Ireland (d. 1861)
- Dec 15 Henry Charles Carey, American economist (Principles of Poli Economy), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1879)
Weddings in History
- Dec 26 The wedding of Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz takes place.
Deaths in History
- Feb 1 William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman, dies at 76
- Feb 2 William Aiton, English botanist (Kew Gardens), dies at 61
- Feb 6 Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and librettist (Belisario, Servant of Two Masters), dies at 85
- Mar 2 Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-born artist
- Mar 4 Isaac Ouwater, Amsterdam painter/cartoonist, dies at 44
- Mar 20 William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (b. 1705)
- Mar 26 John Mudge, English physician (telescope mirrors) (b. 1721)
- Apr 13 Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French revolutionary, dies at 30
- Apr 15 Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary & geographer, dies at 74
- Apr 21 John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724)
- Apr 29 Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi and Talmudist, dies at 79
- Apr 29 John Michell, English scientist and polymath, first to propose existence of black holes (b. 1724)
- May 7 Johan A Zoutman, Dutch lt admiral (battle of Doggersbank), dies at 68
- May 20 Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist and writer, dies at 73
- Jun 4 Jan Ekels de Young, Dutch painter, dies at 34
- Jun 16 Louis A count d'Affry, general/French ambassador in Netherland, dies
- Jun 26 Gilbert White, English naturalist (Natural History and Antiquities of Selborn), dies at 72
Jean-Paul Marat
Jul 13 Jean-Paul Marat, French journalist and revolutionary (Friend of the People periodical), is murdered by Charlotte Corday in a bath at 50
Jean-Paul Marat
Roger Sherman
Jul 23 Roger Sherman, American lawyer and Founding Father of the United States (Declaration of Independence), dies of typhoid fever at 72
Roger Sherman
John Hancock
Oct 8 John Hancock, American merchant and statesman who was 1st to sign the Declaration of Independence, dies at 56
John Hancock
- Oct 9 Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, French missionary (b. 1718)
Marie Antoinette
Oct 16 Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (1774-92) who allegedly uttered the phrase "let them eat cake", beheaded at 37
Marie Antoinette
Olympe de Gouges
Nov 3 Olympe de Gouges [Marie Gouze], French playwright and revolutionary (Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen), executed by guillotine at 45
Olympe de Gouges
- Nov 6 Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, dies at 46
- Nov 8 Madame Roland [Marie-Jeanne Phlippon], French revolutionary (member of the Girondist faction), executed by guillotine at 39
- Nov 12 Jean-Sylvain Bailly, French astronomer noted for his computation of an orbit for Halley’s Comet (1759) and author of History of Ancient Astronomy from Its Origin to the Establishment of the School of Alexandria, guillotined during the Reign of Terror at 57
- Nov 24 Clément Charles François de Laverdy, French statesman (b. 1723)
- Dec 6 Marie Jeanne Becu, Comtesse du Barry, last mistress of Louis XV, beheaded at 50
- Dec 7 Joseph Bara, French revolutionary (b. 1780)
- Dec 9 Yolande de Polastron, Duchess de Polignac, French aristocrat, dies at 44
- Dec 23 Antoine François Prévost, French author and novelist (b. 1697)
- Dec 28 Louis earl of Bylandt, Dutch admiral, dies at about 75