- February 6
- In Northwest Florida, one of the largest historical earthquakes in Florida occurs, Intensity VI. [53]
- February 14
- William Blackstone English lawyer, dies at age 56. [1]
- March 1
- Pennsylvania becomes first US state to abolish slavery (for new-borns only). [1]
- March 26
- First British Sunday newspaper appears (British Gazette and Sunday Monitor). [1]
- April 21
- Ferdinand Zellbell composer, dies at age 60. [1]
- May 2
- William Herschel discovers first binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris. [1]
- May 4
- American Academy of Arts and Science founded. [1]
- May 5
- Second oldest learned society in US (American Academy of Arts and Sciences) forms (Boston). [1]
- May 12
- Charleston South Carolina falls to the British (Revolutionary War). [1]
- May 19
- About midday, near-total darkness descends on much of New England to this day its cause is still unexplained. [1]
- June 2
- In England, the first Derby horse race held. [241.9]
- 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]
- November 20
- Britain declares war on Holland. [1]
- November 29
- Maria Theresa leader of Austria, dies at age 63. [1]
- December 20
- England declares war on Netherlands. [1]
1781
- January 4
- André Méchain discovers M80 (globular cluster in Scorpio). [1]
- January 5
- British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond Virginia. [1]
- January 6
- French Colonel Baron Phillipe de Rullecourt and army troops invade the British-held island of Jersey, landing at the capital, Saint Helier. During the battle, Baron de Rullecourt is mortally wounded, and British Major Francis Peirson is killed. 600 defeated French soldiers are taken prisoner. [1] [434.148] [642.22]
- January 17
- Marie de Negre Dables marquess, dies. [1]
- January 20
- First edition of Pieter It Hoens "Post of Neder-Rhijn" published. [1]
- January 22
- Johann Siebenkas composer, dies at age 66. [1]
- January 29
- Mozart's opera "Idomeneo" premieres in Munich. [1] [5]
- January 30
- Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland. [1]
- February 3
- Dutch West Indies island of Saint Eustatia taken by the British. [1]
- February 4
- Josef Myslivecek composer, dies at age 43. [1]
- Willem Crul Admiral (West-Indies), dies in battle at age 59. [1]
- February 15
- G E Lessing writer, dies at age 52. [1]
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Saxon playwright/critic, dies. [1]
- February 28
- Richard Stockton US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at age 50. [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 13
- Sir William Herschel sees "comet" (really discovered Uranus). [1]
- 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 Jefferson of British attack. [1]
- July 11
- Thomas Hutchins designated Geographer of the US. [1]
- August 20
- 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
- Washington takes Yorktown. [1]
- October 17
- Cornwallis 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]
- December 16
- Georg Simon Lohlein composer, dies at age 56. [1]
1782
- January 1
- Death of Johann Christian Bach in London at age 46 (born in Leipzig, Germany); son of J. S. Bach, composer at the King's Theater; tutor of Mozart. [1] [37]
- January 4
- Ange-Jacques Gabriel French architect (Ecole Military), dies at age 83. [1]
- January 7
- First US commercial bank, Bank of North America, opens in Philadelphia. [1]
- January 28
- Jean-Baptiste-Bourguignon d'Anville French geographer, dies at age 84. [1]
- February 4
- British garrison surrenders to French and Spanish fleet. [1]
- February 5
- Spanish take Minorca (western Mediterranean) from the English. [1]
- February 13
- French fleet occupies Saint Christopher. [1]
- February 21
- US congress resolves the establishment of a US mint. [1]
- March 8
- Gnadenhutten Massacre: Ohio militia kills 90 Indians. [1]
- March 19
- Adrien Trudo Sale composer, dies at age 59. [1]
- Louis-Henry Paisible composer, dies at age 33. [1]
- March 27
- Lord John Cavendish becomes British chancellor of the exchequer. [711.34]
- April 6
- Rynoldus Popma van Oevering composer, dies at age 90. [1]
- April 12
- Battle at Les Saintes West-Indies British fleet beats French. [1]
- April 19
- Netherlands recognizes US. [1]
- April 22
- Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger composer, dies at age 66. [1]
- May 16
- Daniuel Charles Solander botanist, dies. [1]
- May 20
- Carlo Giovanni Testori composer, dies at age 68. [1]
- Christoph Gottlieb Schroter composer, dies at age 82. [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]
- July 10
- William Pitt becomes British chancellor of the exchequer. [512.36]
- 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 1
- Jacobus Enschedé Haarlems printer, dies at age 39. [1]
- January 2
- Death of Johann Bodmer near Zürich, Switzerland; historian, literary critic. [37]
- January 5
- Friedrich Wilhelm Reidt composer, dies on 73rd birthday. [1]
- January 14
- US Congress ratifies peace treaty between US and England. [1]
- January 20
- Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War. [1]
- February 1
- William Herschel announces star Lambda Herculis as apex. [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]
- February 6
- Lancelot "Capability" Brown English architect (Kew), dies at about age 67. [1]
- February 10
- James Nares composer, dies at age 67. [1]
- March 5
- King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski grants rights to Jews of Kovno. [1]
- March 23
- Gaspard Fritz composer, dies at age 67. [1]
- April 3
- Sweden and US sign a treaty of Amity and Commerce. [1]
- April 7
- Ignaz Jakob Holzbauer composer, dies at age 71. [1]
- April 8
- Catharina II of Russia annexes the Krim. [1]
- April 9
- Tippu Sahib drives out English from Bednore India. [1]
- April 11
- Nikita I Panin Russian earl/ambassador in Denmark, dies at age 64. [1]
- May 3
- Pieter Valck(x) South Netherlands sculptor, dies at age 49. [1]
- May 4
- Herschel reports seeing a red glow near lunar crater Aristarchus. [1]
- May 23
- James Otis American lawyer, dies. [1]
- May 30
- Benjamin Tower of Philadelphia publishes first daily newspaper in US. [1]
- June 4
- Montgolfier brothers launch first hot-air balloon (unmanned). [1]
- June 5
- Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier make first public 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 900 m altitude. [1]
- September 3
- The Treaty of Paris is signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation. [1] [5] [129]
- October 15
- Jean Pilâtre de Rozier makes captive-balloon ascent. [1]
- November 2
- General Washington bids farewell to his army. [1]
- November 3
- Washington orders the Continental Army disbanded. [1]
- November 21
- Pilstre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes make first free balloon flight. [1]
- November 25
- Britain evacuates New York, their last military position in US. [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' in a hydrogen balloon. [1]
- J van North launches unmanned 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 Jr (24) becomes British premier. [1]
- December 9
- First execution at English Newgate-jail. [1]
- December 16
- Johann Adolf Hasse Dutch operatic composer (Sesostrate), dies at age 84. [1]
- December 18
- English king George III fires government of Portland. [1]
- December 19
- English government of Pitt Jr forms. [1]
- December 20
- Antonio Francisco Jawer Jose Soler Sp composer (Fandango), dies at age 54. [1]
- December 29
- William Pitt becomes Prime Minister of England. [621.15]
- December 31
- Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern states. [1]
1784
- January 1
- Patrice F Earl de Nény South Netherlands Secret Council chairman, dies at age 67. [1]
- January 6
- Turkey and Russia sign treaty in Constantinople. [1]
- January 7
- First US seed business established by David Landreth, Philadelphia. [1]
- January 11
- Ferdinand Philipp Joseph Lobkowitz composer, dies at age 59. [1]
- January 14
- Revolutionary War ends; US Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris. [1]
- January 26
- Ben Franklin expresses unhappiness over the eagle as America's symbol. [1]
- February 13
- Charles Gravier French earl of Vergennes/Minister of Foreign Affairs, dies. [1]
- February 22
- First US ship to trade with China, "Empress of China", sails from New York. [1]
- February 24
- Anton Laube composer, dies at age 65. [1]
- February 28
- John Wesley charters Methodist Church. [1]
- Phillis Wheatly poetess, dies. [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 2
- Pierre Leclair composer, dies at age 74. [1]
- April 4
- Mary Mead wife of English journalist John Wilkes, dies. [1]
- April 10
- Simon Fokke book illustrator, dies at age 71. [1]
- April 15
- First balloon flight in Ireland. [1]
- April 29
- Premiere of Mozart's Sonata in B flat, K454 (Vienna). [1]
- April 30
- Franz K earl von Velbruck German free mason, dies. [1]
- May 8
- Only known deaths by hailstones in US (Winnsborough South Carolina). [1]
- May 10
- Antoine Court de Gébelin French vicar/writer, dies at age 56. [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]
- June 9
- John Carroll appointed supervisor of US Catholic Missions. [1]
- June 23
- First US balloon flight (13-year-old Edward Warren). [1]
- September 21
- First daily newspaper in America (Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser). [1]
- September 22
- Russian trappers established a colony on Kodiak Island, Alaska. [1]
- November 1
- Maryland grants citizenship to Lafayette and his descendants. [1]
- December 5
- Phillis Wheatley first important black poet in America, dies in Boston. [1]
- December 21
- John Jay becomes first US Secretary of State (foreign affairs). [1]
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