Battle of Princeton
Jan 3 General George Washington's revolutionary army defeats British forces at Battle of Princeton, New Jersey
- Jan 12 Franciscan Order establishes La Misió La Misión Santa Clara de Thamien in California
- Jan 15 People of New Connecticut (Vermont) declare independence from England
- Jan 16 Vermont declares independence from New York
- Jan 25 Americans drag a cannon up a hill of Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx, New York to fight the British, giving added significance to the area's historic name of Greate Gunn Hill; the name of the road was changed to Gun Hill Road in 1875
Cook in Van Diemen's Land
Jan 26 Captain James Cook stops in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) with Resolution, for supplies, on his 3rd trip to Pacific Ocean
- Feb 5 American British Colony of Georgia becomes 1st US territory to abolish both entail and primogeniture land and estate inheritance practices
- Feb 12 Captain James Cook arrives at Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, aboard HMS Resolution, on his 3rd trip to the Pacific
Marquis de Sade Arrested
Feb 13 Marquis de Sade arrested without charge, imprisoned in Vincennes fortress
General Benjamin Lincoln
Feb 14 US Congress commissions Benjamin Lincoln a major general in the Continental Army
Astronomy
Feb 16 French astronomer Charles Messier adds M53 to his catalog (globular cluster in Coma Berenice)
- Feb 21 British ambassador Joseph Yorke demands dismissal of Governor John de Graaff for saluting US flag
- Mar 8 Regiments from Ansbach and Bayreuth, sent to support Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, mutiny in the town of Ochsenfurt
- Apr 20 New York adopts new constitution as an independent state
- Apr 26 Sybil Ludington aged 16, rides 40 miles in New York to warn her father's militia of the approach of the British
- May 8 Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy play "School for Scandal" premieres in London
- May 12 1st ice cream advertisement (Philip Lenzi in the NY Gazette)
- May 13 University library at Vienna opens
- May 16 Button Gwinnett, Georgia delegate to US Continental Congress, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, wounded in a duel with political rival Lachlan McIntosh
- Jun 13 Leonard Norcross patents a submarine diving suit
Lafayette Arrives in US
Jun 13 Marquis de Lafayette lands in the US
Stars & Stripes Flag Adopted
Jun 14 US Continental Congress adopts the Stars & Stripes flag, designed by Francis Hopkinson, replacing the Grand Union flag
Casimir Pulaski Volunteers
Jul 23 Polish military leader Casimir Pulaski arrives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to volunteer in the Continental Army cavalry
- Jul 31 Marquis de Lafayette, aged just 19, is made a major-general of Continental Army
- Aug 4 Retired British cavalry officer Philip Astley establishes his riding school with performances in London, precursor of the circus
- Aug 16 American militiamen defeat British forces at the Battle of Bennington near Vermont, during the American Revolutionary War
- Aug 28 American Revolutionary War - Battle of Cooch's Bridge takes place near Newark, Delaware.
- Sep 3 Flag of the United States flown in battle for the 1st time at Cooch's Bridge, Delaware, a skirmish during American Revolutionary War
- Sep 11 Battle of Brandywine, Pennysylvania; Americans lose to the British, Polish soldier Casimir Pulaski saves life of George Washington
- Sep 15 George Washington, on authorization of Congress, appoints Casimir Pulaski as brigadier general in Continental Army cavalry
- Sep 19 Battle of Freeman's Farm (Bemis Heights) or 1st Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Paoli
Sep 20 Battle of Paoli; British forces under Major General Charles Grey attacks Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's encampment. Claims the British gave no quarter leads to engagement becoming known as the "Paoli Massacre"
British Occupation of Philadelphia
Sep 26 British General William Howe occupies Philadelphia during American Revolution
- Sep 30 Continental Congress, flees to York, Pennsylvania, as British forces advance
- Oct 4 Battle of Germantown: Gen George Washington's troops attack and are defeated by the British at Germantown, Pennsylvania
- Oct 7 Americans beat British in Second Battle of Saratoga & Battle of Bemis Heights
- Oct 15 Mjr James Graves Simcoe appointed commandant of Queen's Rangers (Penn)
- Oct 17 British General John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War
Articles of Confederation
Nov 15 Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, is approved by the Continental Congress
- Nov 29 Spanish expeditionary soldier José Joaquín Moraga establishes El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (The Town of Saint Joseph of Guadalupe) in California
- Dec 2 British General Howe plots attack on Washington's army for Dec 4
- Dec 8 Captain James Cook leaves the Society Islands
- Dec 16 Virginia becomes 1st state to ratify Articles of Confederation (US 1st constitution)
- Dec 17 France recognizes independence of British colonies in America
- Dec 17 George Washington's army returns to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
- Dec 18 1st US national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating British General Burgoyne's surrender
- Dec 19 Washington settles his troops at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for the winter
- Dec 24 James Cook is first European to visit Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island
Authors
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