1792 CE

Kentucky becomes the 15th state of The United States of America (see History of Kentucky). 7 – French Revolution: September Massacres – Rampaging mobs slaughter three Roman Catholic bishops and more than 200 priests, together with at least 1,000 other criminals. 2–7 September – French Revolution: September Massacres – Rampaging mobs in Paris slaughter three Roman Catholic bishops and more than 200 priests, together with at least 1,000 criminals.

In the 1790s, the 18th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea.source
9 January - Treaty of Jassy ends warRussia source
February 20 – Parliament House, Dublin catches fire during a legislative session. "Although in imminent danger of the roof falling in," it is noted later, "the House did not adjourn until a proper motion had been put and carried in the affirmative."source
February 20 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.source
March 7 – A settlement is formed in Sierra Leone in West Africa as a home for freed slaves.source
7 March – a settlement is formed in Sierra Leone in West Africa as a home for freed slaves.United Kingdom source
March 20 – A new capital of North Carolina, and seat of the newly formed Wake County, is established after North Carolina State senator and surveyor William Christmas submits his design for the city. A few months later, the capital is officially named Raleigh, in honor of Sir Walter Raleigh.source
March 25 – The National Legislative Assembly (France) agrees that the guillotine should be used for judicial executions.source
April 5 – United States President George Washington vetoes a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto is used in the United States.source
April 25 – La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.source
May 7 – Lower Canada is divided into 21 counties.Canada source
June 1 – Kentucky becomes the 15th state of the United States of America.source
June 1 – Kentucky becomes the 15th state of The United States of America (see History of Kentucky).United States source
June 4 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for Great Britain.source
26 July – Associated Friends of the People for Parliamentary Reform constituted in Edinburgh.Scotland source
July - Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm becomes a member of the guardian government and the de facto regent of Sweden.Sweden source
September 21 – French Revolution: A Proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy by the French Convention goes into effect, and the French First Republic is established, effective the following day.source
September 22 – French Revolution: The Era of the historical French Republican Calendar begins.source
October 13 – Foundation of Washington, D.C.: The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House after 1818) is laid.source
November 6 – The second United States presidential election is held. Incumbent President George Washington receives all 132 electoral votes for president, and incumbent Vice President John Adams is re-elected with 77 of 132 votes, with George Clinton receiving 50.source
November 19 – France's National Convention passes a resolution pledging French support for the overthrow of the governments of other nations.source
December 3 – George Washington is re-elected president of the United States.source
10 December – With the colony beginning to flourish, Phillip is granted leave and permitted to return to England. He leaves on the Atlantic, taking Bennelong and Yemmerrawanne with him, and retires to a quiet life in Bath. While the British government decides on a replacement, Francis Grose (the commanding officer of the New South Wales Corps) takes control as Acting Governor.Australia source
Denmark-Norway declares transatlantic slave trade will be illegal after 1803 (though slavery continues to 1848 in Denmark)Norway source

Conflict & Security

March 16 – Assassination of Gustav III: King Gustav III of Sweden is shot in the back by Jacob Johan Anckarström, at a midnight masquerade at the Royal Opera in Stockholm; he lives until March 29, and is then succeeded by his 14-year-old son, Gustav IV Adolf.source
March 22 – Haitian Revolution: Battle of Croix-des-Bouquets – Black slave insurgents gain a victory in the first major battle of the revolution.source
April 20 – France declares war against Austria, beginning the French Revolutionary Wars and the War of the First Coalition.source
May 18 – War in Defence of the Constitution: Russia invades Poland.source
May 29 – The Great Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is disbanded following the Russian invasion of Poland.source
4 June – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for Britain.United Kingdom source
June 13 – Prussia declares war against France.source
14 June - Battle of BoruszkowceRussia source
July 18 – Polish–Russian War: Battle of Dubienka – Soldiers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, led by Tadeusz Kościuszko, resist an attack from Imperial Russian Army forces five times their size.source
July 25 – Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Allied army issues the Brunswick Manifesto threatening the Parisians with military execution and complete destruction should the French royal family be harmed in any way.source
August 21 – Royalist Louis Collenot d'Angremont becomes the first person executed by guillotine for political reasons, in Paris.source
August 29–September 2 – War of the First Coalition: Battle of Verdun – Prussian forces defeat French troops led by Nicolas-Joseph Beaurepaire.source
September 2–7 – French Revolution: September Massacres – Rampaging mobs slaughter three Roman Catholic bishops and more than 200 priests, together with at least 1,000 other criminals.source
September 14 – Radical antimonarchist Thomas Paine flees from England to France after being indicted for treason. He is tried in absentia during December and outlawed.source
September 20 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Valmy – The French revolutionary army defeats the Prussians under the Duke of Brunswick after a 7-hour artillery duel.source
20 September – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Valmy – The French revolutionary army defeats the Prussians under the Duke of Brunswick after a 7-hour artillery duel.France source
September 30 – Chickamauga Cherokee launch an attack on Middle Tennessee to exterminate the White settlers; they are stopped at the opening battle at Buchanan's Station outside Nashboro.source
2–7 September – French Revolution: September Massacres – Rampaging mobs in Paris slaughter three Roman Catholic bishops and more than 200 priests, together with at least 1,000 criminals.France source
October 3 – A militia departs from the Spanish stronghold of Valdivia to quell a Huilliche uprising in southern Chile.source
November 6 – War of the First Coalition: Battle of Jemappes – Austrian armies under the command of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen are defeated in Belgium (at this time part of the Austrian Netherlands) by the French Army led by General Charles François Dumouriez.source
November 29 – War of the First Coalition: The Siege of Antwerp ends with the surrender of the Austrian garrisonsource
18 December – the trial of Thomas Paine in absentia for treason begins. He is outlawed.United Kingdom source
Tipu Sultan invades Kerala, India, but is repulsed.source
Barthélemy Catherine Joubert, future French general, becomes sub-lieutenant.source
Commanding officer of the New South Wales Corps – Francis GroseAustralia source
Thomas Thorild is exiled for revolutionary ideas.Sweden source
Northwest Indian War (1785–1795)United States source

Exploration & Expansion

23 April – The French d'Entrecasteaux expedition, consisting of frigates Recherche and Espérance, land at Recherche Bay, Tasmania to rewater and rest.Australia source
May 11 – Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition: Captain Robert Gray, on the Columbia Rediviva, becomes the first white man to discover the mouth of the Columbia River.source
May 11 – Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition: Captain Robert Gray becomes the first explorer to enter the Columbia River.United States source
16 May – Denmark declares transatlantic slave trade illegal after 1803 (though slavery continues until 1848)Denmark source
28 May – d'Entrecasteaux expedition leaves Tasmania and sails into the Pacific to search for La Pérouse.Australia source
September – Macartney Embassy: George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, sails from Portsmouth in HMS Lion as the first official envoy from Great Britain to China.source
October 29 – Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after British Admiral Lord Hood by Lt. William Broughton of the Vancouver Expedition, who spots the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.source
December – d'Entrecasteaux expedition makes land near Cape Leeuwin and explores south coast of Western Australia.Australia source
James Johnstone establishes that Vancouver Island is an island.source
Many Black Loyalists in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia migrate to Sierra Leone in West Africa, mainly because the promises of land in Canada were not kept by the British.Canada source
Captain George Vancouver begins his explorations of the British Columbia Coast.Canada source
The trading and shipping company Salve Kallevig & Søn was founded in Arendal.Norway source

Religion & Belief

March 1 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, the last emperor, takes office.source
29 September – first St Patrick's Church, Soho Square, London (Roman Catholic) consecrated as a chapel.United Kingdom source
October 2 – The Baptist Missionary Society is founded in Kettering, England.source
2 October – Baptist Missionary Society is founded in Kettering.United Kingdom source
14 December – the Society of United Irishmen circulates a pamphlet Address to the Volunteers, written by physician and poet William Drennan, which the authorities consider to be seditious.Ireland source
Shiloh Meeting House, predecessor of Shiloh United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, is founded.source
3–8 December – Catholic convention in Dublin, during which, at the motion of Christopher Dillon Bellew, it is resolved that the petition in favour of emancipation should be presented directly to the King.Ireland source
Publication of The Poetical Works of Janet Little, the Scotch Milkmaid.Scotland source

Economy & Finance

January – the investment management business which will become the Charles Stanley Group in London is established as a banking partnership in Sheffield.United Kingdom source
April 2 – The Coinage Act is passed, establishing the United States Mint.source
April 2 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and the United States dollar.United States source
May 10 – Union Bank is founded in Boston. In 1925 it merges with State Street Trust Company, now known as the State Street CorporationUnited States source
May 17 – The Buttonwood Agreement is signed, beginning the New York Stock Exchange.source
December – A bill to abolish slavery in Lower Canada does not pass.Canada source
The State Street Corporation is founded, in Boston, Massachusetts.source
The Insurance Company of North America (later Chubb) is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.source
Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island – Philip Gidley KingAustralia source
N. Schiøtt & Hochbrandt is founded.Denmark source
Pearson & Sons bakery, earliest predecessor of Nabisco, opens in Massachusetts.United States source

Technology & Infrastructure

3 June - Monmouthshire Canal receives its Act of Parliament.Wales source
June 13 – Vancouver becomes the first European to enter Burrard Inlet.source
June - The Merthyr to Newbridge section of the Glamorganshire Canal is completed.Wales source
George Anschutz constructs the first blast furnace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.source
Scottish engineer William Murdoch begins experimenting with gas lighting.source
Claude Chappe successfully demonstrates the first semaphore line, between Paris and Lille.source
Beamish and Crawford's 'Cork Porter Brewery' is established when William Beamish and William Crawford purchase an existing brewery (from Edward Allen) on a site in Cramer's Lane used for brewing since at least the 17th century.Ireland source
Clachan Bridge, connecting Seil to the mainland, is built to the design of John Stevenson of Oban revised by Robert Mylne.Scotland source
Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna establish the newsagent's business in Little Grosvenor Street, London, which will become W H Smith.United Kingdom source

Science & Discovery

1 December – HDMS Nidelven is launched at Nyholm in Copenhagen.Denmark source
7 December – HDMS Skjold is launched in Copenhagen.Denmark source
24 December – The American ship Hope arrives in Sydney; Grose is forced to buy alcohol to obtain other cargo.Australia source
Hungarian astronomer Franz Xaver von Zach publishes The Tables of the Sun, an essential early work for navigation.source
Om det allmänna förståndets frihet by Thomas Thorild.Sweden source

Crime & Justice

April 25 – Highwayman Nicolas Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine in France.source
25 April – Highwayman Nicolas Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine in France, in what becomes the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville in Paris.France source
August 10 – French Revolution: Insurrection of 10 August 1792 – The Tuileries Palace is stormed and Louis XVI is arrested and taken into custody.source
10 August – French Revolution: Insurrection of 10 August 1792 – The Tuileries Palace is stormed and Louis XVI is arrested and taken into custody.France source
September 11 – Six men steal some of the former French Crown Jewels from a warehouse where the revolutionary government has stored them.source
11 September – Six men steal some of the former French Crown Jewels from a warehouse, where the revolutionary government has stored them.France source
December 26 – The trial of Louis XVI of France begins.source
Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, a single 32-year-old woman is publicly executed by beheading for concealment.Iceland source
Fox's Libel Act restores to juries the right to determine what constitutes libel; it remains in force until abolition of criminal libel in 2010.United Kingdom source
David Davis (Castellhywel) - Cri Carcharor dan farn MarwolaethWales source
Nicholas Owen - Carnarvonshire, a Sketch of its History, etc.Wales source
Hester Thrale - The Three WarningsWales source

Disasters & Accidents

December (date unknown) – eleven people are drowned near the eighth lock of the Grand Canal when an overloaded barge capsizes.Ireland source
The first steam winding engine at a Scottish colliery is erected at Barrachnie in the Monklands coalfield.Scotland source
The French Theater of Gustav III is dissolved.Sweden source

Climate & Environment

May 21 – 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami: An old lava dome collapses in Kyūshū, Japan, due to activity of Mount Unzen volcano; the resulting avalanche and tsunami kill about 14,300 people.source
"Year of the Sheep" in the Scottish Highlands: mass emigration of crofters following Clearances for grazing.Scotland source

Culture & Society

January 25 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.source
February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy The Road to Ruin in London.source
16 May – The Medal of Merit is established.Denmark source
20 June – Demonstration of 20 June 1792.France source
21 June – Iolo Morganwg holds the first Gorsedd ceremony, at Primrose Hill in London.United Kingdom source
September 12 – The town of Fort Borbon is founded by Governor Joaquín Alós y Bru. Nowadays it is called Fuerte Olimpo.source
October 12 – The first Columbus Day celebration in the United States is held in New York City, 300 years after his arrival in the New World.source
13 November – Successes of the French Revolutionary Army are celebrated with bonfires and bell-ringing in Dundee and Perth causing the 42nd Regiment of Foot to be sent north to the towns.Scotland source
20 December – The Marriage of Figaro is given for the first time in Sweden at the Stenborg Theatre in Stockholm with Didrik Gabriel Björn and Eleonora Säfström.Sweden source
Johann Georg Albrechtsberger becomes Kapellmeister in Vienna.source
The composer Ludwig van Beethoven moves to Vienna from Bonn to study with Haydn. He would live in Vienna for the rest of his life.source
Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, one of the earliest works of feminist literature, is published in London.source
The first written examinations in Europe are held at the University of Cambridge in England.source
11–14 July – Belfast Harp Festival brings together and records the work of most of the remaining traditional players of the clàrsach. It is organised by Dr. James McDonnell, Robert Bradshaw and Henry Joy McCracken in the Assembly Rooms, Belfast, and Edward Bunting is one of three musicians to transcribe the music.Ireland source
The start of the French Revolutionary Wars that marked a turning point in the European politics that later affected the Dutch Republic.Netherlands source

Births

February 17 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German naturalist (died 1876)source
February 29 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (died 1868)source
March 7 – John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (died 1871)source
April 2 – Francisco de Paula Santander, President of Colombia (died 1840)source
April 4 – Thaddeus Stevens, American politician (died 1868)source
April 4 – Thaddeus Stevens, politician (died 1868)United States source
May 13 – Pope Pius IX (born Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti), Italian churchman (died 1878)source
16 June – Major Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell surveyor and explorer.Australia source
August 4 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (died 1822)source
August 13 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen of William IV of the United Kingdom (died 1849)source
August 18 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1878)source
September 26 – William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand (died 1842)source
October 29 – Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, explorer, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, Australia (died 1855)source
November 11 – Mary Anne Evans, wife of Benjamin Disraeli (died 1872)source
November 28 – Victor Cousin, French philosopher (died 1867)source
December 6 – William II of the Netherlands (died 1849)source
Natan Ketilsson, physician and murder victim.Iceland source
Nikolai Lobachevsky (1792-1856) - mathematicianRussia source

Deaths

February 15 – John Witherspoon, Scottish American signer of the Declaration of Independence (born 1723)source
February 23 – Sir Joshua Reynolds, English painter (born 1723)source
March 1 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1747)source
March 29 – King Gustav III of Sweden (assassinated) (born 1746)source
April 21 – Tiradentes, a leading figure in the Inconfidência Mineira conspiracy, is executed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
May 24 – George Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, British naval officer (born 1718)source
June 4 – John Burgoyne, British general (born 1723)source
June 22 – Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Arabian Wahhabi preacher (born 1703)source
July 18 – John Paul Jones, American-born naval captain (born 1747)source
August 4 – John Burgoyne, British army officer, playwright and politician (born 1722)source
August 5 – Frederick North, Lord North, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1732)source
September 16 – Nguyễn Huệ, Vietnamese emperor (born 1753)source
October 7 – George Mason, American patriot (born 1725)source
October 7 – George Mason, patriot, statesman and delegate (born 1725)United States source
November – Samuel Hearne, English explorer, fur-trader, author and naturalist (born 1745)source
November – Samuel Hearne, explorer, fur-trader, author, and naturalist (b.1745)Canada source
14 December - Ole Nilsen Weierholt, wood carver (born 1718)Norway source
George Browne (1698-1792) - Irishman who became a Russian general and governor of LivoniaRussia source