{{year nav|
Year '1776' ('
MDCCLXXVI') was a
leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the
Gregorian calendar (or a
leap year starting on Friday of the 11-day slower
Julian calendar).
Events of 1776
January
★
January 15 -
Thomas Paine publishes ''
Common Sense''..
[1]
★
January 20 -
American Revolution:
South Carolina Loyalists led by
Robert Cunningham sign a petition from prison agreeing to all demands for peace by the newly formed state government of South Carolina.
★
January 24 -
American Revolution:
Henry Knox arrives at
Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from
Fort Ticonderoga
February
★
February 27 - American Revolution:
Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge:
North Carolina Loyalists charge across Moore's Creek bridge near
Wilmington to attack what they mistakenly believe to be a small force of rebels. Several loyalist leaders are killed in the ensuing battle. The patriot victory virtually ends all British authority in the town.
March
★
March 4 - The
American Revolution: The
Americans capture "
Dorchester Heights" dominating the port of
Boston,
Massachusetts.
★
March 9 - The first of the Great Economists,
Adam Smith, publishes ''
The Wealth of Nations''.
★
March 17 - American Revolution:
British forces evacuate
Boston, Massachusetts after
George Washington commands the placement of
artillery overlooking the city at
Dorchester Heights.
★
March 28 -
Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the
Presidio of San Francisco.
April
★
April 12 - American Revolution: The Royal Colony of North Carolina produces the
Halifax Resolves making it the first British colony to officially authorize its
Continental Congress delegates to vote for independence from the
Kingdom of Great Britain.
May
★
May 1 -
Adam Weishaupt founds the
Bavarian Illuminati (Order of the Illuminati) in
Ingolstadt,
Bavaria.
★
May 4 -
Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to
King George III.
June
★
June 7 - American Revolution:
Richard Henry Lee of
Virginia proposes to the
Continental Congress a
resolution calling for a
Declaration of Independence.
★
June 8 - American Revolution:
Battle of Trois-Rivières:
American invaders are driven back at
Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
★
June 12 - American Revolution:
Virginia Declaration of Rights by
George Mason adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates.
★
June 15 - American Revolution: Delaware Separation Day: The
Delaware General Assembly votes to suspend government under the British Crown.
★
June 17 - Lt.
Jose Joaquin Moraga leads a band of colonists from
Monterey Presidio, landing on
June 29 and constructing the
Mission Dolores of the new Presidio of
San Francisco.
July
★
July 2 - American Revolution: The final (despite minor revisions) U.S. Declaration of Independence is written.
★
July 4 - American Revolution:
United States Declaration of Independence.
United States officially declares independence from the
British Empire.
★
July 9 - American Revolution: An angry mob in
New York City topples the equestrian statue of
George III in
Bowling Green.
★
July 12 - Captain
James Cook sets off from
Plymouth England on his third, and fatal, expedition to the
Pacific Ocean.
★
July 21 - Mozart's celebrated
Haffner Serenade is first performed in
Salzburg, Austria
August
★
August 2 - Most of the American colonies ratify the Declaration of Independence
★
August 15 - American Revolution: First
Hessian troops land on
Staten Island to join British forces.
★
August 27 - American Revolution:
Battle of Long Island:
Washington's troops routed in
Brooklyn by British under
William Howe.
September
★
September - First running of the
St. Leger Stakes horse race in England.
★
September 6 - Hurricane hits
Guadeloupe, killing more than 6000.
★
September 7 - American Revolution: World's first
submarine attack. American submersible craft ''
Turtle'' attempts to attach a
time bomb to the hull of British Admiral
Richard Howe's flagship ''HMS Eagle'' in
New York Harbor.
★
September 11 - American Revolution: abortive peace conference between British and Americans on
Staten Island.
★
September 15 - American Revolution: British land on
Manhattan at
Kip's Bay.
★
September 16 - American Revolution:
Battle of Harlem Heights is fought.
★
September 22 - American Revolution:
Nathan Hale executed in
New York City for espionage.
October
★
October 7 -
Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries
Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg.
★
October 9 - Father
Francisco Palou founds
Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now
San Francisco, California.
★
October 11 - American Revolution:
Battle of Valcour Island: On
Lake Champlain near
Valcour Island, a
British fleet led by Sir
Guy Carleton defeats 15
American gunboats commanded by Brigadier General
Benedict Arnold. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the two day-long battle will give Patriot forces enough time to prepare defenses of
New York City.
★
October 28 - American Revolution:
Battle of White Plains:
British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the
Americans.
November
★
November 16 - American Revolution:
Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General
Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture
Fort Washington from the American
Continentals.
December
★
December 5 - The
Phi Beta Kappa society is founded at the
College of William and Mary.
★
December 7 - American Revolution:
Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general.
★
December 21 - American Revolution: The Royal Colony of North Carolina reorganizes into the
State of North Carolina after adopting its own constitution.
Richard Caswell becomes the first governor of the newly formed state.
★
December 23 - American Revolution:
Thomas Paine, living with Washington's troops, begins publishing ''
The American Crisis'', containing the stirring phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls."
★
December 25 - American Revolution: Gen. George Washington orders the first issue of ''The Crisis'' read to his troops on Christmas Eve, then at 6 p.m. all 2600 of them march to
McKonkey's Ferry, cross the
Delaware River and land on the Jersey bank at 3 a.m.
★
December 26 - American Revolution:
Battle of Trenton: Washington's troops surprise the 1500 Hessian troops under the command of Col.
Johann Rall at 8 a.m. outside Trenton and score a victory, taking 948 prisoners while suffering only 6 wounded.
No month known
''
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', Vol. 1 published by Gibbon.
Notable Births
★
January 24 -
E.T.A. Hoffmann, German writer, composer, and painter (d.
1822)
★
February 11 -
Joannis Capodistrias, Greek governor of Troezen (d.
1831)
★
March 10 -
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia (d.
1810)
★
April 1 -
Sophie Germain, French mathematician (d.
1831)
★
June 11 -
John Constable, English painter (d.
1837)
★
August 9 -
Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist (d.
1856)
★
December 27 -
Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d.
1811)
★ ''date unknown''
★
★
Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian composer (d.
1835)
★
★
Jane Porter, English novelist (d.
1850)
: ''See also .''
Deaths
★
March 10 -
Élie Catherine Fréron, French critic (b.
1719)
★
March 10 -
Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish merchant and philanthropist (b.
1701)
★
March 24 -
John Harrison, English clockmaker (b.
1693)
★
March 26 -
Samuel Ward, American politician (b.
1725)
★
April 29 -
Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b.
1713)
★
May 4 -
Jacques Saly, French sculptor (b.
1717)
★
June 10 -
Leopold Widhalm, Austrian luthier (b.
1722)
★
June 20 -
Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (b.
1704)
★
July 7 -
Jeremiah Markland, English classical scholar (b.
1693)
★
July 10 -
Richard Peters, English-born clergyman (b.
1704)
★
August 1 -
Francis Salvador, American patriot (b.
1747)
★
August 2 -
Louis François I, Prince of Conti, French military leader (b.
1717)
★
August 25 -
David Hume, Scottish philosopher (b.
1711)
★
October 17 -
Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian (b.
1681)
★
November 17 -
James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer (b.
1710)
: ''See also .''
Other
1776, or MDCCLXXVI, is the number shown at the bottom of the pyramid on the American dollar bill.
References
1. Timeline of the American Revolutionary War
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