On This Day
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Congress decides on the design of the US flag: 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars

The following is a timeline of the flag of the United States. 1776 January 1 – The Continental Colours, first flown at the commissioning of Continental Admiral Esek Hopkins' flagship on December 3,...

The following is a timeline of the flag of the United States. 1776 January 1 – The Continental Colours, first flown at the commissioning of Continental Admiral Esek Hopkins' flagship on December 3, 1775, is displayed at George Washington's Prospect Hill camp, north of Cambridge and Boston, during the Siege of Boston. The flag has 13 horizontal stripes, alternating red and white in the field, representing the United Colonies of America, and a British Union flag in the canton.

1776 May – A popular legend promulgated by the descendants of Betsy Ross of Philadelphia during the 1870s holds that the seamstress sewed the first American flag.

Historical Significance

The following is a timeline of the flag of the United States.

Events Before

  1. Argentine General José de San Martín leads a revolutionary army over the Andes to attack Spanish royalists in Chile

    Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land...

  2. Gioachino Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella) premieres at Rome's Teatro Valle

    La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo ("Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant") is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.

  3. The New York Stock Exchange is founded

    The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "the Big Board") is an American stock exchange headquartered at the New York Stock Exchange Building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New…

  4. Tsar of Russia, Nicholas I (21) weds Alexandra Feodorovna [Princess Charlotte] (19) at the Grand Church of the Winter Pa

    Tsar of Russia, Nicholas I (21) weds Alexandra Feodorovna [Princess Charlotte] (19) at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, Russia

  5. Alexander Twilight, likely the first African American to graduate from a US college, receives a BA degree from Middlebur

    Alexander Twilight, likely the first African American to graduate from a US college, receives a BA degree from Middlebury College

Events After

  1. British colonial officer Stamford Raffles lands in Singapore

    British colonial officer Stamford Raffles lands in Singapore

  2. Stamford Raffles founds Singapore as a British trading post

    Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of…

  3. Godert van der Capellen, becomes Governor-General of Dutch East Indies

    Godert Alexander Gerard Philip, Baron van der Capellen (Utrecht, 15 December 1778 – De Bilt, 10 April 1848) was a Dutch statesman.

  4. The Adams–Onís Treaty between Spain and the United States is signed, ceding Florida to the US and defining the boundary

    The Adams–Onís Treaty between Spain and the United States is signed, ceding Florida to the US and defining the boundary between the US and New Spain

  5. Territory of Arkansas organized

    The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas.

More from the 1810s

Leading Romantic poet Lord Byron (27) marries Anne Isabella Milbanke (22) by special licence, at Seaham Hall in County D

Leading Romantic poet Lord Byron (27) marries Anne Isabella Milbanke (22) by special licence, at Seaham Hall in County Durham

Field Marshal Blücher's troops cross the Rhine at Kaub

Field Marshal Blücher's troops cross the Rhine at Kaub

US Vice President John C. Calhoun (28) weds Floride Bonneau (19)

US Vice President John C. Calhoun (28) weds Floride Bonneau (19)

French church annuls marriage of Napoleon I and Empress Joséphine

Joséphine Bonaparte was the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I and as such Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on April 4, 1818?
The following is a timeline of the flag of the United States. 1776 January 1 – The Continental Colours, first flown at the commissioning of Continental Admiral Esek Hopkins' flagship on December 3, 1775, is displayed at George Washington's Prospect Hill camp, north of Cambridge and Boston, during the Siege of Boston. The flag has 13 horizontal stripes, alternating red and white in the field, representing the United Colonies of America, and a British Union flag in the canton.
Why is Congress decides on the design of the US flag: 13 red and white stripes and 2... significant?
The following is a timeline of the flag of the United States.

Explore More

April 4 in HistoryYear 1818