| January 4 | Andre Mechain discovers M80 (globular cluster in Scorpio) |
| January 5 | British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond, Va |
| January 6 | Battle of Jersey (Island in UK) |
| January 20 | 1st edition of Pieter It Hoens "Post of Neder-Rhijn" published |
| January 29 | Mozart's opera "Idomeneo" premieres, Munich |
| January 30 | Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland |
| February 3 | Dutch West Indies island of St. Eustatia taken by British |
| March 1 | Continental Congress adopts Articles of Confederation |
| March 13 | Sir William Herschel sees "comet" (really discovered Uranus) |
| March 15 | Battle of Guilford Court House, North Carolina (British suffer heavy losses) |
| April 8 | Premiere of Mozart's violin sonata K379 |
| April 29 | French fleet occupies Tobago |
| April 29 | French fleet stopped Britain from seizing the Cape of Good Hope |
| May 1 | Emperor Jozef II decrees protection of population |
| May 26 | Bank of North America incorporates in Philadelphia |
| June 3 | Jack Jouett rides to warn Jefferson of British attack |
| July 11 | Thomas Hutchins designated Geographer of US |
| August 1 | English army under general Cornwallis occupies Yorktown, Virginia |
| August 5 | Battle at Doggers Bank: Dutch fleet vs English fleet |
| August 20 | George Washington begins to move his troops south to fight Cornwallis |
| August 30 | French fleet of 24 ships under Comte de Grasse defeat British under Admiral Graves at battle of Chesapeake Capes in Revolutionary War |
| September 4 | Los Angeles founded by 44 in Bahia de las Fumas, (Valley of Smokes) |
| September 5 | Battle of Virginia Capes, French defeat British, traps Cornwallis |
| September 25 | Joan Derks scatters "On the People of Netherlands" pamphlets |
| September 28 | 9,000 American forces and 7,000 French forces begin siege of Yorktown |
| October 6 | Americans and French begin siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown; last battle of Revolutionary War |
| October 16 | Washington takes Yorktown |
| October 17 | Cornwallis defeated at Yorktown |
| October 19 | Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown at 2 PM; Revolutionary War ends |
| November 5 | John Hanson elected 1st "President of U.S. in Congress assembled" |
| November 13 | English troops occupy Negapatam Ceylon |
| December 31 | Bank of North America, 1st U.S. bank opens |
BrainyHistory
