Explore 315 historical events from 1780–1789.
George Washington was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot forces…
George Washington (pictured) took the oath of office as the first president of the United States at Federal Hall in New
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London, England, was the first stage of a three-part project initiated in November 1786 by engraver and publisher John Boydell in an effort to fo…
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery, part of a cultural project initiated by engraver John Boydell, opened in London
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: Jacques Necker was dismissed as Director-General of Finances of France, sparking public…
The Bastille was a medieval fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was …
The Bastille, a fortress and prison in Paris, was stormed by a crowd during the flashpoint of the French Revolution.
The national colours of Italy are green, white, and red, collectively known in Italian as il Tricolore. The three Italian national colours appeared for the first time in Genoa on 2…
The national colours of Italy first appeared on a tricolour cockade in Genoa.
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: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (pictured), defining a set of individual…
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…
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…
With the first use of his 1.2-metre (3.9 ft) telescope, then the largest in the world, William Herschel discovered a…
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government depart…
The United States Department of the Treasury was founded following financial concerns in the new nation.
Alexander Hamilton was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 under the presidency of…
Alexander Hamilton (pictured), co-writer of The Federalist Papers, became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
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.
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
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
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.
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)
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
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from …
The Congress of the Confederation sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York…
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)
Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages.
Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (died 1866)