Explore 263 historical events from 1780–1789.
Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and galante style even while he matured somewhat apart from the maj…
Classical composer Luigi Boccherini receives a pay rise of 12,000 reals from his employer, the Infante Luis, Count of…
North Carolina is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Caroli…
Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is…
Honora "Nano" Nagle was an Irish Catholic religious sister who served as a pioneer of Catholic education in Ireland despite legal prohibitions. She founded the Sisters of the Prese…
Nano Nagle, Irish nun and educator, founded the Presentation Sisters (born 1718)
Abraham Trembley was a Genevan naturalist. He is best known for being the first to study freshwater polyps or hydra and for being among the first to develop experimental zoology. H…
Abraham Trembley, Swiss zoologist and academic (born 1710)
Henry Middleton was an American politician and planter from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the First Continental C…
Henry Middleton, American farmer and politician, 2nd President of the Continental Congress (born 1717)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his ackn…
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German composer (born 1710)
Torbern Olof Bergman (KVO) was a Swedish chemist and mineralogist noted for his 1775 Dissertation on Elective Attractions, containing the largest chemical affinity tables ever publ…
Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (born 1735)
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Al…
Denis Diderot, French philosopher and critic (born 1713)
Caesar Rodney was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during …
Caesar Rodney, American lawyer and politician, 4th Governor of Delaware (born 1728)
Allan Ramsay was a Scottish painter who specialised in portrait painting.
Allan Ramsay, Scottish-English painter (born 1713)
Nathaniel Hone was an Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish-born English painter and academic (born 1718)
Junípero Serra Ferrer, popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francisc…
Junípero Serra, Spanish priest and missionary (born 1713)
Élisabeth Thible, or Elizabeth Tible, was the first woman to make a flight in an untethered hot air balloon. She was born in Lyon, France, on 8 March 1757. On 4 June 1784, eight mo…
Élisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon, covering a distance of 4 km (2
A volcanic eruption occurs when material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. Several types of volcanic eruptions have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often…
A poisonous cloud caused by the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France
Mount Asama is an active stratovolcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asam…
Mount Asama erupts in Japan, killing about 1,400 people (Tenmei eruption). The eruption causes a famine, which results…
The 1783 Great Meteor was a meteor procession observed on 18 August 1783 from the British Isles, at a time when such phenomena were not well understood. The meteor was the subject …
A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast.
Reginald Heber was an English Anglican bishop, a man of letters, and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of …
Reginald Heber, English priest (died 1821)
David Cox was an English landscape painter, one of the most important members of the Birmingham School of landscape artists and an early precursor of Impressionism.
David Cox, English landscape painter (died 1859)
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader Amer…
American Revolutionary War: Colbert's Raid: A Spanish garrison under Captain Jacobo du Breuil defeat British irregulars
The Three-fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusio…
Three-Fifths Compromise: The first instance of black slaves in the United States of America being counted as three-fifth
Phoebe Hinsdale Brown was one of the first notable American woman hymnwriters. She was a frequent contributor to the periodical press. Brown was the first American woman to write a…
Phoebe Hinsdale Brown, American hymnwriter (died 1861)
William Sturgeon was an English electrical engineer and inventor who made the first electromagnet and the first practical electric motor.
William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor, invented the electromagnet and electric motor (died 1850)
United Empire Loyalist is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who…
First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United
A Great Jubilee Day, first held on Monday, May 26, 1783, in North Stratford, now Trumbull, Connecticut, commemorated the end of fighting in the American Revolutionary War. This cel…
A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut, celebrates the end of fighting in the American Revolutionary W