Priestly discovers oxygen

Event

Francis Scott Key, composer (Star-Spangled Banner)

Birth

Sweden declares neutrality

Event

English army under general Cornwallis occupies Yorktown, Virginia

Event

Caroline Herschel becomes 1st woman discoverer of a comet

Event

Louis C Luzac, judge/Dutch Internal minister

Birth

Alfonsus M de' Liguori, Italian theologist/bishop/saint, dies at 90

Death

US Customs begins enforcing Tariff Act

Event

1st US census (population of 3,939,214; 697,624 are slaves)

Event

France becomes 1st country to use the metric system

Event

Whiskey Rebellion begins

Event

Battle of Abukir on the Nile-Nelson defeats French fleet

Event

Friedrich Christoph Gebtewitz, composer, dies at 51

Death

Rare tornado hits Westchester County NY

Event

Carl Stenborg, composer, dies at 60

Death

Belgium King Willem I accept blame in Southern defeat

Event

Maxcy Gregg, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1862

Birth

Richard Henry Dana, novelist/lawyer spent 2 years before mast

Birth

Maria Mitchell, 1st US woman astronomer on Nantucket Island

Birth

Herman Melville, US, author (Moby Dick, Billy Budd)

Birth

Elizabeth Inchbald (Simpson), actress/author (Lady Abbess), dies at 68

Death

Edward Francis Fitzwilliam, composer

Birth

London Bridge opens to traffic

Event

Robert Morrison, missionary in China/translated bible, dies

Death

Slavery abolished through out the British Empire

Event