On This Day

Maj. James Graves Simcoe is appointed commandant of the Queen's Rangers in Pennsylvania

Maj. James Graves Simcoe is appointed commandant of the Queen's Rangers in Pennsylvania

Maj. James Graves Simcoe is appointed commandant of the Queen's Rangers in Pennsylvania

Events Before

  1. United States Declaration of Independence

    The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, announcing the separation of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.

  2. "Common Sense" pamphlet by Thomas Paine is published advocating American independence

    Common Sense is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies.

  3. Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book "The Wealth of Nations"

    Adam Smith (baptised 16 June [O.S. 5 June] 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish…

  4. Continental Congress creates committee to draft a Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjami

    Continental Congress creates committee to draft a Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston as members

  5. Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States"

    The United Colonies of North-America was the official name as used by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia for the newly formed proto-state comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and...

Events After

  1. Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance are signed in Paris between the United States and France, the fi

    Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance are signed in Paris between the United States and France, the first treaties negotiated by the United States. The first treaty establishes formal diplomatic and commercial relations, and the second forms a defensive alliance.

  2. American poet Phillis Wheatley (24) weds grocer and advocate for black rights John Peters

    American poet Phillis Wheatley (24) weds grocer and advocate for black rights John Peters

  3. Naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (34) weds Marie Anne Rosalie Delaporte

    Naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (34) weds Marie Anne Rosalie Delaporte

  4. British explorer Captain James Cook is the first European to visit Maui in the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii)

    The history of Hawaii began with the discovery and settlement of the Hawaiian Islands by Polynesian people between 940 and 1200 AD.

  5. 1st American military court martial trial begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts

    The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years...

More from the 1770s

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What happened on October 15, 1777?
Maj. James Graves Simcoe is appointed commandant of the Queen's Rangers in Pennsylvania

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