Editing 1779

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2011}}
{{Year dab|1779}}
{{Year nav|1779}}
[[File:The Siege and Relief of Gibraltar (2).jpg|250px|thumb|[[July 16]]: The [[Great Siege of Gibraltar]] begins as Spain attacks the British]]
{{C18 year in topic}}
{{Year article header|1779}}

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 11]]
** British troops surrender to the [[Marathas]] in [[Battle of Wadgaon|Wadgaon]], India, and are forced to return all territories acquired since [[1773]].
* [[January 22]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; [[Claudius Smith]] is hanged at [[Goshen (village), New York|Goshen]], [[Orange County, New York]] for supposed acts of terrorism upon the people of the surrounding communities.
* [[January 29]] &ndash; After a second petition for partition from its residents, the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] abolishes [[Bute County, North Carolina|Bute County]], [[North Carolina]] (established [[1764]]) by dividing it and naming the northern portion [[Warren County, North Carolina|Warren County]] (for Revolutionary War hero [[Joseph Warren]]), the southern portion [[Franklin County, North Carolina|Franklin County]] (for [[Benjamin Franklin]]).  The General Assembly also establishes [[Warrenton, North Carolina|Warrenton]] (also named for Joseph Warren) to be the seat of Warren County, and [[Louisburg, North Carolina|Louisburg]] (named for [[Louis XVI of France]]) to be the seat of Franklin County.
* [[February 12]] &ndash; Lieutenant Colonel [[Francisco Bouligny]] arrives with [[Málaga|Malagueño]] colonists at [[Bayou Teche]], to establish the city of [[New Iberia, Louisiana]].
* [[February 14]] &ndash; Captain [[James Cook]] is killed on the [[Hawaiian Islands|Sandwich Islands]], on his third voyage.
* [[March 1]] &ndash; [[Lao–Siamese War (1778–1779)|Capture and sack of Vientiane]] by Siamese forces.
* [[March 10]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Aynalıkavak]] is signed between [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turkey]] and the [[Russian Empire]], regarding the [[Crimean Khanate]].

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 12]] &ndash; [[Spain]] and [[France]] secretly sign the [[Treaty of Aranjuez (1779)|Convention of Aranjuez]], with Spain joining an alliance against Great Britain in return for France's pledge to recover all Spanish territory lost to the British.<ref>Robert W. Smith, ''Amid a Warring World: American Foreign Relations, 1775-1815'' (Potomac Books, 2012)</ref> 
* [[May 13]] &ndash; [[War of the Bavarian Succession]] &ndash; Russian and French mediators at the [[Congress of Teschen]] negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives a part of the Bavarian territory (the [[Innviertel]]), and relinquishes the rest.
* [[June 1]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; [[Benedict Arnold]] is [[court-martial]]ed for [[malfeasance]], in his treatment of government property.
* [[June 16]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; In support of France, Spain declares war on Britain.
* [[June 21]] &ndash; King [[Charles III of Spain]] issues a declaration of war against Great Britain.<ref>William Nester, ''The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789: The Art of American Power During the Early Republic'' (Potomac Books, 2011) p53</ref>

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 16]] &ndash; The [[Great Siege of Gibraltar]]  begins. This is an action by French and Spanish forces to wrest control of [[Gibraltar]] from the established British garrison. The garrison, led by [[George Augustus Eliott]] (later 1st Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar), survives all attacks and a blockade of supplies.
* [[July 16]]
** [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; United States forces, led by General [[Anthony Wayne]], capture [[Stony Point, New York]] from British troops.
** [[Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation]] issued in order to regulate organization of [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] in [[Habsburg monarchy]].
* [[July 20]] &ndash; [[Tekle Giyorgis I]] begins the first of his five reigns as [[Emperor of Ethiopia]].
* [[July 22]] &ndash; [[Battle of Minisink]]: The Goshen Militia is destroyed by [[Joseph Brant]]'s forces.
* [[July 24]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; American forces, led by Commodore [[Dudley Saltonstall]], launch the [[Penobscot Expedition]] in what is now [[Castine, Maine|Castine]], Maine, resulting in the worst naval defeat in U.S. history, until surpassed by the attack on [[Pearl Harbor]] in 1941.
* [[August 17]] &ndash; [[Action of 17 August 1779]]: The 64-gun British warship [[HMS Ardent (1764)|HMS ''Ardent'']] is captured by France in the [[English Channel]] off of [[Plymouth]] after an ineffective attempt by the British captain to properly aim its cannons at the French frigare [[French frigate Junon (1778)|''Junon'']]
* [[August 23]] &ndash; [[Martín de Mayorga]], Captain-General of Guatemala, becomes the Spanish [[Viceroy of New Spain]] after the death of [[Antonio María de Bucareli]].
* [[September 14]]&ndash;[[September 15|15]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; [[Little Beard's Town]], a loyalist stronghold, is burnt by the [[Sullivan Expedition]].
* [[September 21]] &ndash; [[Battle of Baton Rouge (1779)|Battle of Baton Rouge]] &ndash; Spanish troops under [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] capture the city from the British.
* [[September 23]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]] &ndash; [[Battle of Flamborough Head]] &ndash; The American ship ''[[USS Bonhomme Richard (1765)|Bonhomme Richard]]'', commanded by [[John Paul Jones]], engages the British ship {{HMS|Serapis|1779|6}}.  The ''Bonhomme Richard'' sinks, but the Americans board the ''Serapis'' and other vessels, and are victorious.
* [[September 28]] &ndash; [[Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician)|Samuel Huntington]] is elected as the seventh [[President of the Continental Congress]].<ref name=Harper>''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p166</ref>

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 1]] &ndash; The city of [[Tampere]], [[Finland]] (belonging to [[Sweden]] at this time) is founded by King [[Gustav III of Sweden]].
* [[October 4]] &ndash; The Fort Wilson Riot against [[James Wilson (Founding Father)|James Wilson]] and others in [[Philadelphia]] takes place.
* [[November 2]] &ndash; The North Carolina General Assembly carves a new county from [[Dobbs County, North Carolina|Dobbs County]], North Carolina and names it [[Wayne County, North Carolina|Wayne County]], in honor of United States General [[Anthony Wayne]].
* [[December 13]] &ndash; [[Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais]] marries [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Joséphine Tascher]].
* [[December 25]] &ndash; Fort Nashborough (later to become [[Nashville, Tennessee]]) is founded by [[James Robertson (explorer)|James Robertson]].
* [[December 31]] &ndash; [[Affair of Fielding and Bylandt]]: Following a brief naval engagement between the British and Dutch off the [[Isle of Wight]], the Dutch merchantmen and naval vessels are captured and taken to [[Portsmouth]], England.

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Industrial Revolution]] in England:
** [[The Iron Bridge]] is erected across the [[River Severn]] in [[Shropshire]], the world's first bridge built entirely of [[cast iron]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/icons-timeline/1750-1800 |title=Icons, a portrait of England 1750–1800 |access-date=2007-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817164134/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/icons-timeline/1750-1800 |archive-date=August 17, 2007 }}</ref> It will open to traffic on January 1, 1781.<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>
** The [[spinning mule]] is perfected by [[Lancashire]] inventor [[Samuel Crompton]].<ref name="Cassell's Chronology333334"/>
** [[Boulton and Watt]]'s  ''[[Smethwick Engine]]'', now the oldest working engine in the world, is brought into service ([[May]])).
* A joint Spanish-Portuguese survey of the [[Amazon basin]] begins to determine the boundary between the colonial possessions in South America; it continues until [[1795]].
</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
[[File:Stephen Decatur, by John Wesley Jarvis - KN-2779.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Stephen Decatur]]]]
[[File:Key-Francis-Scott-LOC.jpg|110px|thumb|[[Francis Scott Key]]]]

* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[Stephen Decatur]], American naval officer (d. [[1820]])
* [[January 18]] &ndash; [[Peter Mark Roget]], British lexicographer (d. [[1869]])
* [[February 1]] &ndash; [[Nikolaus von Krufft]], Austrian composer and civil servant (d. [[1818]])
* [[March 6]] &ndash; [[Antoine-Henri Jomini]], French general (d. [[1869]])
* [[March 15]] &ndash; [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] (d. [[1848]])
* [[March 21]] &ndash; [[José Bernardo de Tagle y Portocarrero, Marquis of Torre Tagle]], Peruvian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Peru (d. 1825)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bosquejo sobre la evolución política y jurídica de la época Republicana del Perú |first=Alfonso |last=Benavides Loredo |publisher=P. Acevedo |year=1918 |location=Lima |page=227 |language=es |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trlGAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA227}}</ref>
* [[May 28]] &ndash; [[Thomas Moore]], Irish poet (d. [[1852]])
* [[June 20]] &ndash; [[Dorothy Ann Thrupp]], British psalmist, hymnwriter, translator (d. [[1847]])
* [[July 8]] &ndash; [[Giorgio Pullicino]], Maltese painter and architect (d. [[1851]])
* [[August 1]] &ndash; [[Francis Scott Key]], American lawyer, lyricist (d. [[1843]])
* [[August 8]] &ndash; [[Benjamin Silliman]], American chemist, educator and abolitionist (d. [[1864]])
* [[August 20]] &ndash; [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]], Swedish chemist (d. [[1848]])
* [[August 29]] &ndash; [[Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres]], French painter (d. [[1867]])
* [[September 8]] &ndash; [[Mustafa IV]], [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|sultan of the Ottoman Empire]] (d. [[1808]])
* [[September 18]] &ndash; [[Joseph Story]], [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] (d. [[1845]])
* [[November 14]] &ndash; [[Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger]], Danish poet (d. [[1850]])
* [[December 12]] &ndash; [[Madeleine Sophie Barat]], French Catholic saint, founder of the [[Society of the Sacred Heart]] (d. [[1865]])
* [[December 24]] &ndash; [[George Washington Lafayette]]
* ''date unknown'' &ndash; [[Giacomo Beltrami]], Italian explorer (d. [[1855]])

== Deaths ==
[[File:Captainjamescookportrait.jpg|110px|thumb|[[James Cook]]]]
[[File:Kazimierz Pułaski.PNG|thumb|right|110px|[[Casimir Pulaski|Kazimierz Pułaski]]]]
* [[January 3]] &ndash; [[Claude Bourgelat]], French veterinary surgeon (b. [[1712]])
* [[January 20]] &ndash; [[David Garrick]], English actor (b. [[1717]])
* [[January 22]] &ndash; [[Jeremiah Dixon]], English surveyor, astronomer (b. [[1733]])
* [[February 7]] &ndash; [[William Boyce (composer)|William Boyce]], English composer (b. [[1711]])
* [[February 14]] &ndash; [[James Cook]], British naval captain and explorer (b. [[1728]])
* [[February 24]] &ndash; [[Paul Daniel Longolius]], German encyclopedist (b. [[1704]])
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[Martha Ray]] (b. [[1742]]), British singer and mistress of John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich (murdered) (b. [[1742]])
* [[April 9]] &ndash; [[Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa]], Spanish military officer (b. [[1717]])
* [[April 24]] &ndash; [[Eleazar Wheelock]], American founder of Dartmouth College (b. [[1711]])
* [[May 1]] &ndash; [[Sarah Clayton]], English industrialist (b. [[1712]])
* [[May 3]] &ndash; [[John Winthrop (educator)|John Winthrop]], American astronomer (b. [[1714]])
* [[June 7]] &ndash; [[William Warburton]], English critic, Bishop of Gloucester (b. [[1698]])
* [[June 10]] &ndash; [[Jane Gomeldon]], English writer, poet and adventurer (b. [[1720]])
* [[June 16]] &ndash; [[Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet]], Colonial governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts Bay (b. [[1712]])
* [[June 23]] &ndash; Ras [[Mikael Sehul]], Enderase of [[Ethiopia]] (b. [[1692]])
* [[June 28]] &ndash; [[Martha Daniell Logan]], American botanist (b. [[1704]])
* [[June 29]] &ndash; [[Anton Raphael Mengs]], German-Bohemian painter (b. [[1728]])
* [[July 21]] &ndash; [[Caleb Fleming]], English dissenting minister, polemicist (b. [[1698]])
* [[August 26]] &ndash; [[Henrika Juliana von Liewen]], Swedish political salonnière (b. [[1709]]) 
* [[September 12]] &ndash; [[Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple]], English politician (b. [[1711]])
* [[October 11]] &ndash; [[Kazimierz Pułaski]], veteran commander of Polish, Russian, and American troops (b. [[1745]])
* [[November 16]] &ndash; [[Pehr Kalm]], Finnish explorer and naturalist (b. [[1716]])
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin]], French painter (b. [[1699]])
* [[December 8]] &ndash; [[Nathan Alcock]], English physician (b. [[1707]])
* [[December 16]] &ndash; [[Emperor Go-Momozono]] of Japan (b. [[1758]])
* [[December 17]] &ndash; [[Giuseppe Carcani]], Italian composer (b. [[1703]])
* [[December 23]] &ndash; [[Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol]], British admiral and politician (b. [[1724]])

=== unknown date ===
* [[Giuseppe Bonici]], Maltese architect, military engineer (b. [[1707]])
* [[Johann Joseph Gassner]], German priest (b. [[1727]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Blair's Chronological Tables |author1=John Blair |author-link=John Blair (priest) |author2=J. Willoughby Rosse|location= London |publisher=[[Henry George Bohn|H.G. Bohn]] |year=1856 |via=Hathi Trust |chapter-url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6349vh5n?urlappend=%3Bseq=694 |chapter=1779 |hdl=2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6349vh5n?urlappend=%3Bseq=694 }}

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[[Category:1779| ]]