1777
| File:Decade.png ( 1770s: ) 1777 link | |
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 The French king sends the Marquis de Lafayette to direct the American insurgents | |
| year 1777 |
Events
January–March
- January 12 – Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what becomes Santa Clara, California.
- January 15 – Vermont declares its independence from New York, becoming the Vermont Republic, an independent country, a status it retains until it joins the United States as the 14th state in 1791.
- February 5 – Under the 1st Constitution of Georgia, 8 counties are chartered: Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Richmond, and Wilkes. This dissolves the existing parishes of St. George, St. Mary's, St. Thomas, St. Phillip, Christ Church, St. David, St. Matthews, St. Andrew, St. James, St. Johns, and St. Paul.
- February 24 – King Joseph I of Portugal dies, and is succeeded by his brother and son-in-law Peter III of Portugal, and his daughter Maria I of Portugal.
- March 4 – The Fourth Continental Congress, with John Hancock as President, begins a 199 day session in Philadelphia, lasting until September 18.
- March 29–30 – Third voyage of James Cook: English explorer Captain Cook discovers Mangaia and Atiu in the Cook Islands.
April–June
- April 1 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger's play Sturm und Drang is premiered by the Seyler Theatre Company in Leipzig, giving its name to the whole Sturm und Drang movement in German literature.
- May 8 – Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners, The School for Scandal, is first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.
- May 16 – Lachlan McIntosh and Button Gwinnett shoot each other during a duel near Savannah, Georgia. Gwinnett, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, dies three days later.
- June 13 – American Revolution: The Marquis de Lafayette lands near Georgetown, South Carolina, to help the Continental Congress train its army.
- June 14 – The Stars and Stripes is adopted by the Continental Congress as the flag of the United States.
- June 21 – Encyclopædia Britannica Second Edition begins publication in Edinburgh.
July–December
- July 8 – The 1777 Constitution of Vermont is signed, officially abolishing slavery.
- July 6 – American Revolutionary War – Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
- November 15 – American Revolution: After 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation, in the temporary American capital at York, Pennsylvania.
- November 17 – American Revolution: The Articles of Confederation are submitted to the states for ratification.
- November 29 – San Jose, California is founded. It is the first pueblo in Spanish Alta California.
- December 18 – The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking October's victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga.
- December 24 – Third voyage of James Cook: English explorer Captain Cook locates Kiritimati (Christmas Island).
- December 30 – Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria dies and is succeeded by his distant cousin Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria.
Date unknown
- The code duello is adopted at the Clonmel Summer Assizes as the form for pistol duels by gentlemen in Ireland. It is quickly denounced, but nevertheless widely adopted throughout the English-speaking world.
- Kunsthochschule Kassel is founded in Germany as a fine arts academy.
- Det Dramatiske Selskab is founded in Copenhagen (Denmark) as an acting academy.