Explore 263 historical events from 1780–1789.
Frederick William Herschel was a German–British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Ele…
William Herschel discovered Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, during the first use of his new telescope which was then the…
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States. It borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and D…
Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution
Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne was a French clergyman, bishop, cardinal, politician and finance minister of King Louis XVI.
King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parle
Gerasim Grigoryevich Izmaylov was a Russian navigator involved in the Russian colonization of the Americas and in the establishment of the colonies of Russian America in Alaska. He…
Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a Classical composer and musician. He completed more than 800 works in his life—including outstanding examples of most of the genres of his time: sympho…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, …
New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
The Anjala League of 1788 was a scheme by disgruntled Swedish officers to end Gustav III's Russian War of 1788–1790. Declaring Finland an independent state was not a part of the or…
The Anjala conspiracy is signed.
South Carolina is a state in the Southeastern, South Atlantic and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean …
South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution
The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the Coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799.…
French Revolution: Day of the Tiles: Civilians in Grenoble toss roof tiles and various objects down upon royal troops
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the…
New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mount…
Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution
Charles Robert Cockerell was an English architect, archaeologist and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke and embarked on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years,…
Charles Robert Cockerell, English architect, archaeologist, and writer (died 1863)
Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages.
Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (died 1866)
Charles Anderson Wickliffe was an American politician who was the 11th U.S. postmaster general from 1841 to 1845. He served as the 14th governor of Kentucky from 1839 to 1840 and a…
Charles A
Thomas Blanchard was an American inventor who lived much of his life in Springfield, Massachusetts, where in 1819, he pioneered the assembly line style of mass production in Americ…
Thomas Blanchard, American inventor (died 1864)
Jean-Victor Poncelet was a French engineer and mathematician who served most notably as the Commanding General of the École Polytechnique. He is considered a reviver of projective …
Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (died 1867)
Augustin-Jean Fresnel was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, fully supplanting Newto…
Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (died 1827)
Leopold Gmelin was a German chemist. Gmelin was a professor at the University of Heidelberg. He worked on the red prussiate and created Gmelin's test, and wrote his Handbook of Che…
Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (died 1853)
Adoniram Judson was an American Particular Baptist missionary who worked in Burma for almost 40 years. At the age of 25, Judson was sent from North America to preach in Burma. His…
Adoniram Judson, American missionary and lexicographer (died 1850)
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, and cosmologist. He held the position of intendant (director) at the Jardin du Roi, now called the Ja…
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French mathematician, cosmologist, and author (born 1707)
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli was an Italian medical doctor and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Austrian Empire"…
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and botanist (born 1723)
Adam Gib was a Scottish religious leader, head of the Antiburgher section of the Scottish Secession Church. He reportedly wrote his first covenant with God in the blood of his own …
Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (born 1714)
Thomas Gainsborough was an English painter, draughtsman and printmaker who specialised in portrait and landscape painting. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he was one of t…
Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (born 1727)
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the…
New Hampshire ratified the U