On This Day

Yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, then the US capital, has its first fatality and lasts until November, killing aro

Yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, then the US capital, has its first fatality and lasts until November, killing around 5,000 people

Yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, then the US capital, has its first fatality and lasts until November, killing around 5,000 people

Events Before

  1. US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance

    US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance

  2. King Gustav III of Sweden is shot by Count Jacob Johan Anckarström at a masked ball at the opera and dies on March 29

    Jacob Johan Anckarström (11 May 1762 – 27 April 1792) was a Swedish military officer who is known as the assassin of King Gustav III of Sweden. He was convicted and executed for regicide.

  3. The Coinage Act is passed, establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 Half-Eagle, $2.50 Quart

    The Coinage Act is passed, establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 Half-Eagle, $2.50 Quarter-Eagle gold coins, and the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half-dime

  4. Brazilian revolutionary Tiradentes is hanged, drawn, and quartered in Rio de Janeiro

    Brazilian revolutionary Tiradentes is hanged, drawn, and quartered in Rio de Janeiro

  5. Guillotine first used in France, executes highwayman Nicolas Pelletier

    Nicolas Jacques Pelletier (1756 – 25 April 1792) was a French highwayman who was the first person to be executed by guillotine.

Events After

  1. Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, revolutionizing the cotton industry in the southern US states [1]

    Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped...

  2. Naval Act of 1794 is signed by President George Washington, authorizing the building of six frigates and establishing a

    Naval Act of 1794 is signed by President George Washington, authorizing the building of six frigates and establishing a permanent US Navy

  3. Battle of Fleurus: Major victory by forces of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan over the Coa

    Battle of Fleurus: Major victory by forces of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan over the Coalition Army (Great Britain, Hanover, Dutch Republic, and Habsburgs) with the first use of a reconnaissance balloon

  4. French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of "the Terror" are guillotined to thunderous ch

    French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of "the Terror" are guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris

  5. 4th US President James Madison (43) weds Dolley Madison (26) in Jefferson County, West Virginia

    4th US President James Madison (43) weds Dolley Madison (26) in Jefferson County, West Virginia

More from the 1790s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on August 19, 1793?
Yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, then the US capital, has its first fatality and lasts until November, killing around 5,000 people

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