Editing 1781 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January]] &ndash; [[William Pitt the Younger]], later [[Prime Minister of Great Britain]], enters [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]], aged 21.
* [[January 1]] &ndash; [[Industrial Revolution]]: [[The Iron Bridge]] opens across the [[River Severn]] in England.<ref name="Cassell's Chronology333334">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Hywel|title=Cassell's Chronology of World History|url=https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/333|url-access=registration|location=London|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=2005|isbn=0-304-35730-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/333 333–334]}}</ref>
* [[January 2]] &ndash; [[Virginia]] passes a law ceding its [[western land claims]], paving the way for [[Maryland]] to ratify the [[Articles of Confederation]].
* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Richmond, Virginia]] is [[Raid on Richmond|burned]] by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] naval forces, led by [[Benedict Arnold]].
* [[January 6]] &ndash; [[Battle of Jersey]]: British troops prevent the French from occupying [[Jersey]] in the [[Channel Islands]].
* [[January 17]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; [[Battle of Cowpens]]: The American [[Continental Army]], under [[Daniel Morgan]], decisively defeats British forces in [[South Carolina]].<ref name="Pocket On This Day">{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-14-102715-0|year=2006}}</ref> 
* [[February 2]] &ndash; The Articles of Confederation are ratified by [[Maryland]], the 13th and final state to do so.
* [[February 3]] &ndash; [[Fourth Anglo-Dutch War]] &ndash; [[Capture of Sint Eustatius]]: British forces take the Dutch Caribbean island of [[Sint Eustatius]], with only a few shots fired. On [[November 26]] it is retaken by Dutch-allied French forces.
* [[March]] &ndash; [[Revolt of the Comuneros (New Granada)|Riots]] break out in [[Socorro, Santander]], and spread to other towns.
* [[March 1]] &ndash; The United States [[Continental Congress]] implements the Articles of Confederation, forming its Perpetual Union as the United States in Congress Assembled.
* [[March 13]] &ndash; Sir [[William Herschel]] discovers the [[planet]] [[Uranus]]. Originally he calls it ''Georgium Sidus'' (George's Star), in honour of King [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III of Great Britain]].
* [[March 15]] &ndash; American Revolutionary War &ndash; [[Battle of Guilford Court House]]: American General [[Nathanael Greene]] loses to the British.
* [[March 16]] &ndash; [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] arrives in Vienna after being fired by the [[Hieronymus von Colloredo|Archbishop of Salzburg]]. He would stay there for the rest of his brief life.