Editing 1800 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 1]]
** [[Quasi-War]]: [[Action of 1 January 1800]] &ndash; A naval battle off the coast of [[Haiti]], between four United States merchant vessels escorted by naval schooner {{USS|Experiment|1799|6}}, and a squadron of armed barges manned by Haitian pirates (known as [[wikt:picaroon|picaroons]]), under the command of general [[André Rigaud]], ends indecisively.
** The [[Dutch East India Company]] dissolves.
* [[February 7]] &ndash; A public [[1800 French constitutional referendum|plebiscite in France]] confirms [[Napoleon]] as [[First Consul]], by a substantial majority.
* [[February 11]] &ndash; [[Infrared radiation]] is discovered by astronomer [[Sir William Herschel]].
* [[February 22]] &ndash; The [[Baker rifle]], designed by [[Ezekiel Baker]], is selected by the British [[Board of Ordnance]] as a new standard.
* {{anchor|March}}[[March 14]] &ndash; [[Papal conclave, 1799–1800]]: cardinal Barnaba Chiaramonti succeeds [[Pope Pius VI|Pius VI]] as [[Pope Pius VII|Pius VII]], the 251st pope. He is crowned on [[March 21]], in Venice.
* [[March 17]] &ndash; The British [[Royal Navy]] [[ship of the line]], {{HMS|Queen Charlotte|1790}}, catches fire off the coast of [[Capraia]], with the loss of 673 lives.<ref name="People's Chronology">{{cite book|chapter=1800|title=The People's Chronology|editor=Everett, Jason M.|publisher=Thomson Gale|year=2006}}</ref>
* [[March 20]] &ndash; [[Alessandro Volta]] describes his new invention, the [[voltaic pile]], the first chemical [[Battery (electricity)|battery]], in a letter to the [[Royal Society]] of London.
* [[March 26]] &ndash; British [[Royal Navy]] officer [[Henry Waterhouse]] first charts the [[Antipodes Islands]].