1776

{| align=right cellpadding=3 id=toc style="margin-left: 15px;"\n|- \n| align="center" colspan=2 | Years:
1773 1774 1775 - 1776 - 1777 1778 1779\n|-\n| align="center" colspan=2 | Decades:
1740s 1750s 1760s - 1770s - 1780s 1790s 1800s\n|- \n| align="center" | Centuries:
17th century - 18th century - 19th century

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1776 in art
\n1776 in literature
\n1776 in music
\n1776 in science
\n----\nList of state leaders in 1776
\nList of religious leaders in 1776
\n|} \nThis article is about the year 1776. For the musical, see 1776 (musical)

Table of contents

1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths

Events

\n* January 10 - Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense \n* March 17 - American Revolutionary War: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington places artillery overlooking the city.\n* March 28 - Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.\n* May 1 - Former Jesuit Adam Weishaupt founds the Bavarian Illuminati (Order of the Illuminati) in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.\n* May 6 - Battle of Prague Prussian king Frederick the Great triumphs over Austrian army. \n* June 8 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trois-Rivières - American invaders are driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.\n* June 12 - Virginia Declaration of Rights by George Mason adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates.\n* 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. \n* July 4 - American Revolutionary War: United States Declaration of Independence.\n* July 9 - An angry mob in New York City topples the equestrian statue of George III in Bowling Green.\n* August 15 - First Hessian troops land on Staten Island to join British forces\n* August 27 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Long Island - Washington's troops routed in Brooklyn by British under William Howe.\n* September - First running of the St. Leger Stakes horse race in England.\n* September 2-9 - Hurricane from NC to Nova Scotia - 4170 dead\n* September 7 - 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.\n* September 11 - American Revolutionary War: abortive peace conference between British and Americans on Staten Island.\n* September 15 - American Revolutionary War: British land on Manhattan at Kip's Bay.\n* September 16 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Harlem Heights\n* September 22 - American Revolutionary War: Nathan Hale executed in New York City for espionage.\n* October 9 - Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California.\n* October 11 - American Revolutionary War: 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. \n* October 28 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains - British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans. \n* November 16 - American Revolutionary War: Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture Fort Washington from the American Continentals. \n* December 5 - The Phi Beta Kappa society is organized at the College of William and Mary.\n* December 23 - Thomas Paine, living with Washington's troops begins publishing The Crisis, containing the stirring phrase, These are the times that try men's souls.\n* December 25 - American Revolutionary War: Gen. George Washington orders the first issue of The Crisis read to his troops on Christmas Eve, then at 6 PM all 2600 of them march to McKonkey's Ferry, cross the Delaware River and land on the Jersey bank at 3 AM.\n* December 26 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trenton - Washington's troops surprise the 1500 Hessian troops under the command of Col. [Johan Rall] at 8 AM outside Trenton and score a victory, taking 1000 prisoners while suffering only 6 wounded.

• Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations\n*Edward Gibbon publishes The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire\n*E pluribus unum was chosen by the first Great Seal committee\n* Austria abolishes death penalty and decriminalizes torture and witchcraft\n* British begin to use old ships docked close to shore as temporary prisons, prison junks\n* 35th and last volume of Diderot's Encyclopedie published

Births

\n*January 24 - E.T.A. Hoffmann, poet, composer, and painter (+ 1822)\n*February 11 - Joannis Capodistrias Greek governor of Troezen (1827-1831)\n* March 10 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Queen of Prussia (+ 1810) \n* April 1 - Sophie Germain, mathematician (+ 1831)\n*June 11 - John Constable, landscape painter\n*August 6 - Amedeo Avogadro, chemist\n*Muttusvami Dikshitar, Carnatic music composer

Deaths

\n*August 25 - David Hume, Scottish philosopher \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n