- May 19
- About midday, near-total darkness descends on much of New England, its cause is unexplained. [1]
- June 2
- In England, the Earl of Derby originates first horse racing event on sweepstakes basis, the Epsom Derby. Charles Bunbury on Diomed is first winner. [1] [241.9] [806.185]
- August 11
- Barbados hurricane begins. [1]
- August 16
- British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, South Carolina. [1]
- September 21
- Benedict Arnold gives British Major André plans to West Point. [1]
- September 23
- British Major John Andre is apprehended as a spy, near Tarrytown, New York. [1]
- October 2
- John Andre, British major, hanged by Americans at age 30 (spied with Benedict Arnold). [1] [515.40]
- October 7
- British defeated by American militia near Kings Mountain, South Carolina. [1]
- October 10
- Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000 to 30,000 in Caribbean. [1]
- December 20
- England declares war on Netherlands. [1]
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1781
- January 5
- British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond, Virginia, USA. [1]
- February 3
- Dutch West Indies island of Saint Eustatia taken by the British. [1]
- March 1
- The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, on the ratification by the 13 colonies of North America. [1] [450.70] [603.56] (March 13 [432.94])
- March 15
- Battle of Guilford Court House, South Carolina (British suffer heavy losses). [1]
- April 8
- Premiere of Mozart's violin sonata K379. [1]
- April 24
- Danish merchant vessel Grev Ernst Schimmelmann sinks off the Cape Verde Islands while en route from Denmark to China. [408.70]
- April 29
- French fleet occupies Tobago. [1]
- French fleet stops Britain from seizing the Cape of Good Hope. [1]
- May 1
- Emperor Jozef II decrees protection of population. [1]
- June 3
- Jack Jouett rides to warn Thomas Jefferson of British attack. [1]
- August 20
- US General George Washington begins to move his troops south to fight Cornwallis. [1]
- September 4
- Los Angeles founded in Bahia de las Fumas by 44 settlers, (Valley of Smokes). [1]
- September 5
- A British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves fails to break French naval superiority at the Battle of Virginia Capes. [1] [129]
- September 28
- American and French forces complete the encirclement of Yorktown. [129]
- October 6
- Americans and French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of the Revolutionary War. [1]
- October 16
- General George Washington takes Yorktown. [1]
- October 17
- British General Lord Cornwallis is defeated at Yorktown. [1]
- October 19
- At Yorktown, Virginia, British General Lord Cornwallis surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing an end to the American Revolution. [1] [129]
- November 5
- John Hanson elected first "President of the US in Congress assembled". [1]
1782
- January 7
- First US commercial bank, Bank of North America, opens in Philadelphia. [1]
- February 5
- Spanish take Minorca (western Mediterranean) from the English. [1]
- February 13
- French fleet occupies Saint Christopher. [1]
- March 8
- Gnadenhutten Massacre: Ohio militia kills 90 Indians. [1]
- March 27
- Lord John Cavendish becomes British chancellor of the exchequer. [711.34]
- April 12
- Battle at Les Saintes, West-Indies: British fleet beats French. [1]
- April 19
- Netherlands recognizes US. [1]
- June 20
- US Congress approves a written description of the Great Seal of the USA and the eagle as its symbol. [1] [5] [414.72] [439.38] [767.22]
- July 10
- William Pitt becomes British chancellor of the exchequer. [512.36]
- July 16
- At the Congress of Wilhelmsbad, an alliance between Illuminism and Freemasonry is sealed. [916.55]
- November 30
- Britain signs agreement recognizing US independence. [1]
- December 14
- Charleston, South Carolina, evacuated by British. [1]
- The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon lifts on its very first test flight. [5]
- December 29
- First nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston. [1]
1783
- January 20
- Hostilities cease in US Revolutionary War. [1]
- February 3
- Spain recognizes US independence. [1]
- February 4
- In Calabria, Italy, one of the world's most destructive earthquakes occurs, responsible for 50,000 deaths and enormous property loss. This is the first earthquake to be investigated scientifically. [1] [53]
- February 5
- Sweden recognizes US independence. [1]
- March 5
- King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski grants rights to Jews of Kovno. [1]
- April 3
- Sweden and US sign a treaty of Amity and Commerce. [1]
- April 8
- Catharina II of Russia annexes the Krim. [1]
- April 9
- Tippu Sahib drives out English from Bednore India. [1]
- June 5
- Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier make first public unmanned hot-air balloon flight. [1]
- June 8
- Laki Volcano in southern Iceland begins 18-month eruption, pumping more ash into the atmosphere than any previous volcano in recorded history, 15 cubic kilometres. [1] [135.132]
- June 22
- A poisonous cloud from Laki volcanic eruption in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France. [5]
- July 10
- Danish East India Company merchant vessel Nicobar sinks in a storm off the coast of False Bay, South Africa. [408.70]
- July 24
- Georgia becomes a protectorate of tsarist Russia. [1]
- August 27
- First hydrogen balloon flight (unmanned); reaches 900m altitude. [1]
- September 3
- The Treaty of Paris is signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation. [1] [5] [129]
- September 19
- First successful launch of a hot air baloon, carrying a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. [1144.238]
- October 15
- Jean Pilâtre de Rozier makes captive-balloon ascent. [1]
- November 3
- Washington orders the Continental Army disbanded. [1]
- November 21
- In Paris, France, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes make first untethered hot air balloon flight, in the Aerostat Reveillon, travelling 5.5 miles from the center of Paris to a local vineyard. [1] [1144.238]
- November 25
- British evacuate from New York, their last military position in USA. [1]
- November 30
- In New Jersey, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurs. The largest historical earthquake in New Jersey. [53]
- December 1
- Charles and M N Roberts ascend 2,000 feet in a hydrogen balloon. [1]
- December 4
- General Washington bids officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, New York City, New York. [1] [5]
- December 7
- Theatre Royal opens in Covent Garden, London. [1]
- William Pitt Junior (age 24) becomes British premier. [1]
- December 18
- English king George III fires government of Portland. [1]
- December 19
- English government of Pitt Junior forms. [1]
- December 29
- William Pitt becomes Prime Minister of England. [621.15]
- December 31
- Import to America of African slaves banned by all of the Northern states. [1]
1784
- January 6
- Turkey and Russia sign treaty in Constantinople. [1]
- January 14
- Revolutionary War ends; US Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris. [1]
- February 22
- First US ship to trade with China, Empress of China, sails from New York. [1]
- February 28
- John Wesley charters Methodist Church. [1]
- February 29
- Marquis de Sade transferred from Vincennes fortress to the Bastille. [1]
- March 1
- E Kidner opens first cooking school, in Great Britain. [1]
- April 15
- First balloon flight in Ireland. [1]
- May 8
- Only known deaths by hailstones in US (Winnsborough, South Carolina). [1]
- May 11
- England and Tippu Sahib van Mysore sign peace treaty. [1]
- May 20
- England and Netherlands signs peace treaty (Peace of Paris). [1]
- May 22
- Ceylonese student leader Pieter Quint Ondaatje demands democracy. [1]
- May 25
- Jews are expelled from Warsaw by Marshall Mniszek. [1]
- September 21
- First daily newspaper in America (Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser). [1]
- September 22
- Russian trappers establish a colony on Kodiak Island, Alaska. [1]
- November 1
- Maryland grants citizenship to Lafayette and his descendants. [1]
- December 21
- John Jay becomes first US Secretary of State (foreign affairs). [1]
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