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John Burgoyne

John Burgoyne

John Burgoyne (February 24, 1723 – August 4, 1792) was a British general during the American Revolutionary War, infamous for his arrogance, pompous attitude, and vanity. On October 17, 1777 at Saratoga he surrendered his army of 6,000 men.

Biography

Burgoyne, "Gentleman Johnny" entered the army at an early age. In 1743 he made a runaway marriage to Lady Charlotte Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby, but soon had to sell his commission to meet his debts, after which he lived abroad for seven years. By Lord Derby's intervention Burgoyne was then reinstated at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, also called The French and Indian War, and in 1758 he became captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Foot Guards. In 1758-1759 he participated in expeditions made against the French coast, and in the latter year he was instrumental in introducing light cavalry into the British Army. The two regiments then formed were commanded by Eliott (afterwards Lord Heathfield) and Burgoyne. In 1761 he sat in parliament for Midhurst, and in the following year he served as brigadier-general in Portugal, winning particular distinction by his capture of Valencia d'Alcantara and of Vila Velha. In 1768 he became M.P. for Preston, and for the next few years he occupied himself chiefly with his parliamentary duties, in which he was remarkable for his general outspokenness and, in particular, for his attacks on Lord Clive. At the same time he devoted much attention to art and drama (his first play, The Maid of the Oaks, being produced by David Garrick in 1775), and gambled recklessly. In the army he had by this time become a major-general, having convinced King George of General Carleton's faults, and in this way taking his place. On the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War he was appointed to a command. In 1777 he was at the head of the British reinforcements designed for the invasion of the colonies from Canada. In this disastrous expedition he gained possession of Fort Ticonderoga (for which he was made a lieutenant-general) and Fort Edward; but, pushing on, was detached from his communications with Canada, and hemmed in by a superior force at Saratoga. On the 17th of October his troops, about 3500 in number, laid down their arms. The success was the greatest the colonists had yet gained, and it proved the turning-point in the war. The indignation in England against Burgoyne was great. He returned at once, with the leave of the American general, to defend his conduct, and demanded, but never obtained, a trial. He was deprived of his regiment and a governorship which he held. In 1782, however, when his political friends came into office, he was restored to his rank, given a colonelcy, and made commander-in-chief in Ireland and a privy councillor. After the fall of the Rockingham government in 1783, Burgoyne withdrew more and more into private life, his last public service being his participation in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. In his latter years he was principally occupied in literary and dramatic work. His comedy, The Heiress, which appeared in 1786, ran through ten editions within a year, and was translated into several foreign languages. He died suddenly on the June 4, 1792. General Burgoyne, whose wife died in June 1776 during his absence in Canada, had several natural children (born between 1782 and 1788) by Susan Caulfield, an opera singer, one of whom became Field Marshal Sir J. F. Burgoyne. He was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.

External link


-
- [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=35904 Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online] Burgoyne, John Burgoyne, John Burgoyne, John Burgoyne, John Burgoyne, John ja:ジョン・バーゴイン

February 24

February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 310 days remaining, 311 in leap years. By Roman custom February 24 is the day added to a leap year, and the occurrence of February 29 is merely a consequence of this.

Events


- 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire.
- 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
- 1711 - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Friderich Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.
- 1739 - Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah
- 1803 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison, establishes the principle of judicial review.
- 1804 - London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute,
- 1826 - The signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo marks the end of the First Burmese War.
- 1831 - The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
- 1839 - William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel.
- 1848 - King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
- 1863 - Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
- 1868 - The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1868 - Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted.
- 1881 - China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty
- 1899 - Western Washington University Established.
- 1909 - The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded.
- 1917 - World War I: The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if that country declares war on the United States.
- 1918 - Estonia is independent from Imperial Russia.
- 1925 - A thermite (magnesium) bomb is used for the first time to break up a 250,000-ton ice jam clogging the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, New York.
- 1938 - A nylon bristle toothbrush becomes the first commercial product (DuPont) to be made with nylon yarn.
- 1942 - Propaganda: The Voice of America begins broadcasting.
- 1945 - Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
- 1946 - Juan Perón is elected president of Argentina.
- 1948 - Cold War: The Communist Party seizes control of Czechoslovakia.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
- 1970 - National Public Radio is founded.
- 1975 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release the classic double album Physical Graffiti.
- 1976 - Cuba : national Constitution proclaimed
- 1981 - Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
- 1981 - Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Dr. Herman Tarnower, the author of the bestselling The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet.
- 1983 - A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
- 1988 - The Supreme Court of the United States sides with Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine by overturning a lower court decision to award Jerry Falwell $200,000 for defamation.
- 1989 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
- 1989 - United Airlines Flight 811, bound forNew Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers out of the business-class section.
- 1992 - Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love.
- 1995 - The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
- 1996 - The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.
- 1999 - The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery, in spite of Germany's legal action to attempt to save him.
- 1999 - A China Southern Airlines Tupolev TU-154 airliner crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport in eastern China killing 61.
- 2002 - 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah ends.

Births


- 1103 - Emperor Toba of Japan (d. 1156)
- 1304 - Ibn Battuta, explorer
- 1463 - Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian humanist (d. 1494)
- 1500 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
- 1547 - Don John of Austria, military leader (d. 1578)
- 1557 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
- 1597 - Vincent Voiture, French poet (d. 1648)
- 1619 - Charles Le Brun, French artist (d. 1690)
- 1622 - Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (d. 1665)
- 1684 - Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (d. 1738)
- 1693 - James Quin, English actor (d. 1766)
- 1709 - Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor (d. 1782)
- 1723 - John Burgoyne, British general (d. 1792)
- 1774 - Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge (d. 1850)
- 1786 - Wilhelm Grimm, German philologist and folklorist (d. 1859)
- 1836 - Winslow Homer, American artist (d. 1910)
- 1842 - Arrigo Boito, Italian composer (d. 1918)
- 1846 - Luigi Denza, Italian composer (d. 1922)
- 1848 - Andrew Inglis Clark, Tasmanian politician (d. 1907)
- 1852 - George Moore, English writer (d. 1933)
- 1874 - Honus Wagner, baseball player (d. 1955)
- 1877 - Ettie Rout, New Zealand activist (b. 1936)
- 1885 - Chester Nimitz, U.S. admiral (d. 1966)
- 1885 - Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1939)
- 1890 - Marjorie Main, American actress (d. 1975)
- 1909 - August Derleth, American writer (d. 1971)
- 1914 - Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)
- 1921 - Abe Vigoda, American actor
- 1921 - Douglass Watson, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1922 - Richard Hamilton, English painter
- 1922 - Steven Hill, American actor
- 1923 - David Soyer, American cellist
- 1932 - Michel Legrand, French composer
- 1932 - John Vernon, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
- 1931 - Dominic Chianese, American actor
- 1934 - Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2000)
- 1934 - Renata Scotto, Italian soprano
- 1938 - Phil Knight, American sportswear manufacturer
- 1940 - Denis Law Scottish footballer
- 1942 - Joseph Lieberman, American politician and vice presidential candidate
- 1943 - Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer
- 1944 - Nicky Hopkins, British musician (d. 1994)
- 1945 - Barry Bostwick, American actor
- 1947 - Rupert Holmes, English musician
- 1947 - Edward James Olmos, American actor
- 1948 - J. Jayalalithaa, Indian politician
- 1948 - Walter Smith, Scottish football manager
- 1948 - Dennis Waterman, British actor
- 1950 - Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1951 - Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
- 1951 - Helen Shaver, Canadian actress
- 1955 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer
- 1955 - Alain Prost, French race car driver
- 1956 - Paula Zahn, American journalist
- 1958 - Sammy Kershaw, American musician
- 1962 - Michelle Shocked, American musician
- 1966 - Billy Zane, American actor
- 1968 - Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (d. 2005)
- 1970 - Jeff Garcia, American football player
- 1972 - Stewart Isbell, American photographer
- 1973 - Jordan Jovtchev, Bulgarian gymnast
- 1973 - Alexei Kovalev, Russian hockey player
- 1974 - Chad Hugo, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
- 1975 - Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian fiddler
- 1977 - Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer
- 1981 - Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
- 1982 - Klára Koukalová, Czech tennis player

Deaths


- 616 - King Ethelbert of Kent
- 1525 - Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier
- 1563 - Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (b. 1519)
- 1588 - Johann Weyer, Dutch physician and occultist
- 1666 - Nicholas Lanier, English composer (b. 1588)
- 1674 - Matthias Weckmann, German composer (b. 1616)
- 1685 - Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English politician and military leader (b. 1629)
- 1704 - Marc-Antoine Charpentier, French composer (b. 1643)
- 1714 - Edmund Andros, English governor in North America (b. 1637)
- 1721 - John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English statesman and poet (b. 1648)
- 1777 - King Joseph I of Portugal (b. 1714)
- 1779 - Paul Daniel Longolius, German encylopedist (b. 1704)
- 1781 - Edward Capell, English critic (b. 1713)
- 1799 - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist (b. 1742)
- 1810 - Henry Cavendish, English scientist (b. 1756)
- 1815 - Robert Fulton, American inventor (b. 1765)
- 1825 - Thomas Bowdler, English physician and editor (b. 1754)
- 1856 - Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1792)
- 1925 - Hjalmar Branting, Prime Minister of Sweden, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1860)
- 1970 - Conrad Nagel, American actor (b. 1897)
- 1975 - Nikolai Bulganin, Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
- 1984 - Helmut Schelsky, German sociologist (b. 1912)
- 1990 - Tony Conigliaro, baseball player (b. 1945)
- 1990 - Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (b. 1917)
- 1990 - Sandro Pertini, Italian politician (b. 1896)
- 1990 - Johnnie Ray, American singer (b. 1927)
- 1991 - John Daly, South African game show host (b. 1914)
- 1991 - George Gobel, American comedian (b. 1919)
- 1993 - Bobby Moore, English footballer (b. 1941)
- 1994 - Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
- 1998 - Antonio Prohias, Cuban-born cartoonist (b. 1921)
- 1998 - Henny Youngman, English-born comedian (b. 1906)
- 1999 - Andre Dubus, American writer (b. 1936)
- 2001 - Claude E. Shannon, American information theorist (b. 1916)
- 2002 - Leo Ornstein, Russian-born composer and pianist (b. 1912)
- 2003 - John Edward Christopher Hill, English historian (b. 1912)
- 2003 - Bernard Loiseau, French chef (b. 1951)
- 2004 - John Randolph, American actor (b. 1915)

Holidays and observances


- Regifugium, in the Roman calendar
- Independence Day in Estonia (1918)
- Flag Day in México
- Catholicism: Mardi Gras (aka Shrove Tuesday) (2004, 2009)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/24 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050224.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 23 - February 25 - January 24 - March 24 -- listing of all days ko:2월 24일 ms:24 Februari ja:2月24日 simple:February 24 th:24 กุมภาพันธ์

August 4

August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining.

Events


- 1265 - The Battle of Evesham of the Second Barons' War is fought in Worcestershire, with the army of future King Edward I of England defeating the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and killing de Montfort and many of his allies. This is sometimes considered the death of chivalry in England.
- 1578 - Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir - Moroccans defeat Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is defeated and killed in North Africa, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal.
- 1693 - Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of Champagne.
- 1704 - During the War of the Spanish Succession an Anglo-Dutch force seizes the rock of Gibraltar.
- 1735 - Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he published was true.
- 1753 - George Washington, then a young Virginia planter, becomes a Master Mason, the highest basic rank in the secret fraternity of Freemasonry.
- 1789 - The feudal system is abolished in France.
- 1790 - A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).
- 1821 - Atkinson & Alexander publish the Saturday Evening Post for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
- 1824 - Battle of Cos fought between Turks and Greeks.
- 1854 - The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships.
- 1873 - Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clash for the first time with the Sioux (near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed).
- 1892 - The family of Lizzie Borden is found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home.
- 1902 - Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens.
- 1914 - World War I: Germany invaded Belgium; in response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States proclaims neutrality.
- 1944 - Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse where they find Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family.
- 1947 - The Supreme Court of Japan is established.
- 1964 - American civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
  - Vietnam War: United States destroyers USS Maddox and USS C. Turner Joy are attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. Air support from the carrier USS Ticonderoga sinks two, possibly three North Vietnamese gunboats.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, US representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
- 1975 - The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages included the U.S. consul and the Swedish charge d'affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya.
- 1977 - US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
- 1983 - Thomas Sankara becomes president of Upper Volta.
- 1983 - New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull during a baseball game and was charged by police for his "act of cruelty to animals". His manager Billy Martin quipped, "It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man."
- 1984 - The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
- 1985 - In one of the most exciting days in sports, Tom Seaver of the Chicago White Sox won his 300th game and Rod Carew of the California Angels picked up his 3000th hit. It marked the only day in which two men reached baseball's three biggest milestones in the same day.
- 1987 - The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues.
- 1991 The Greek cruise ship Oceanos sinks off the coast of South Africa.
- 1993 - A federal judge sentences LAPD officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights.
- 1995 - Operation Storm begins in Croatia.
- 1997 - 185,000 Teamsters union United Parcel Service drivers walk off the job.
- 2005 - Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that Michaëlle Jean will be Canada's 27th — and first black — Governor General.

Births


- 1222 - Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English soldier (d. 1262)
- 1290 - Duke Leopold I of Austria (d. 1326)
- 1521 - Pope Urban VII, (d. 1590)
- 1604 - François Hédelin, abbé d'Aubignac, French writer (d. 1676)
- 1701 - Thomas Blackwell, Scottish classical scholar (d. 1757)
- 1719 - Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German minerologist and geologist (d. 1767)
- 1721 - Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician (d. 1803)
- 1792 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (d. 1822)
- 1805 - William Rowan Hamilton, Irish mathematician (d. 1865)
- 1834 - John Venn, British mathematician (d. 1923)
- 1840 - Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German psychiatrist (d. 1902)
- 1859 - Knut Hamsun, Norwegian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1952)
- 1899 - Ezra Taft Benson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1994)
- 1900 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (d. 2002)
- 1901 - Louis Armstrong, American musician (d. 1971)
- 1904 - Witold Gombrowicz, Polish novelist and dramatist (d. 1969)
- 1906 - Eugen Schuhmacher, German zoologist (d. 1973)
- 1908 - Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor (d. 1994)
- 1909 - Glenn Cunningham, American politician (d. 2004)
- 1910 - William Schuman, American composer (d. 1992)
- 1912 - Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and mountaineer (d. 1999)
- 1912 - Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat
- 1913 - Robert Hayden, American poet (d. 1980)
- 1921 - Maurice Richard, Canadian hockey player (d. 2000)
- 1927 - Jess Thomas, American tenor (d. 1993)
- 1929 - Yasser Arafat, Palestine leader (d. 2004)
- 1929 - Kishore Kumar, Indian singer and actor (d. 1987)
- 1936 - Assia Djebar, Algerian writer and filmmaker
- 1937 - David Bedford, English musician
- 1942 - David Lange, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 2005)
- 1943 - Bjørn Wirkola, Norwegian ski jumper
- 1944 - Richard Belzer, American actor and comedian
- 1947 - Klaus Schulze, German composer
- 1955 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor and writer
- 1958 - Mary Decker, American athlete
- 1960 - Dean Malenko, American professional wrestler
- 1960 - José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain
- 1961 - Barack Obama, American politician
- 1962 - Roger Clemens, baseball player
- 1967 - Mike Marsh, American athlete
- 1968 - Marcus Schenkenberg, Swedish model
- 1970 - Michael DeLuise, American actor
- 1971 - Jeff Gordon, American race car driver
- 1972 - Stefan Brogren, Canadian actor
- 1974 - Cristian González, Argentine footballer
- 1977 - Luis Boa Morte, Portuguese footballer
- 1978 - Kurt Busch, American race car driver
- 1992 - Dylan and Cole Sprouse twin actors

Deaths


- 1060 - King Henry I of France (b. 1008)
- 1265 - Killed in the Battle of Evesham:
  - Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (b. 1223)
  - Henry de Montfort (b. 1238)
  - Peter de Montfort
  - Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (b. 1208)
- 1306 - King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (b. 1289)
- 1338 - Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of Edward I of England (b. 1300)
- 1526 - Juan Sebastián Elcano, Spanish explorer (b. 1476)
- 1578 - King Sebastian of Portugal (b. 1554)
- 1578 - Thomas Stucley, English adventurer
- 1598 - William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman (b. 1520)
- 1612 - Hugh Broughton, English scholar (b. 1549)
- 1639 - Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Mexican dramatist
- 1727 - Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (b. 1647)
- 1741 - Andrew Hamilton, American lawyer
- 1784 - Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (b. 1706)
- 1792 - John Burgoyne, British general (b. 1723)
- 1795 - Timothy Ruggles, American-born Tory politician (b. 1711)
- 1875 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (b. 1805)
- 1938 - Pearl White, American actress (b. 1889)
- 1957 - Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, President of Brazil (b. 1869)
- 1976 - Roy Herbert Thomson, Lord Thomson of Fleet, Canadian publisher (b. 1894)
- 1977 - Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1981 - Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1998 - Yuri Artyukhin, cosmonaut (b. 1930)
- 1999 - Victor Mature, American actor (b. 1915)
- 2001 - Lorenzo Music, American actor, writer, and producer (b. 1937)
- 2003 - Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances


- Roman Catholicism - Saint John Vianney – Patron Saint of Priests
- Burkina Faso - Anniversary of the Revolution
- Cook Islands - Constitution Day (celebrations begin on the last Friday in July and last up to 2 weeks.)
- El Salvador - Transfiguration Bank Holiday
- Ancient Egypt - Jubilation of the Heart of Re

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/4 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050804.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- August 3 - August 5 - July 4 - September 4 -- listing of all days ko:8월 4일 ja:8月4日 simple:August 4 th:4 สิงหาคม

1792

1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 25 - The London Corresponding Society is founded by Carlton Schulman.
- February 20 - The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.
- March 16 - King of Sweden Gustav III Shot in the back by Jacob Johan Anckarström at a midnight masquerade at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, on March 16, he expired on March 29 succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
- April 2 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
- April 5 - United States President George Washington vetos a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto has been used in the United States.
- April 20 - France declares war against the Habsburgs
- April 21 - Tiradentes, prime figure in the Inconfidência Mineira plot, is executed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- April 24 - First experimental use of the guillotine in France
- April 25 - Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
- May 11 - Captain Robert Gray becomes the first white man to discover the Columbia River.
- May 17 - Buttonwood Agreement is signed, beginnings of New York Stock Exchange
- May 21 - Old lava dome collapses in Kyushu, Japan when Mount Unzen volcano erupts - resulting avalanche and tsunami kills about 14300
- June 1 - Kentucky is admitted as the 15th U.S. state and as one of its first orders of business ratifies all twelve articles of the Bill of Rights, including one that is technically still pending for consideration.
- June 4 - Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for Great Britain.
- August 10 - French Revolution: Storming of the Tuileries Palace. Louis XVI of France is arrested and taken into custody.
- September 2 - During what became known as the September Massacres of the French Revolution, rampaging mobs slaughtered three Roman Catholic Church bishops and more than two hundred priests.
- September 11 - Six men steal some of the former French Crown jewels from a warehouse the revolutionary government uses to store them.
- September 20 - Battle of Valmy - French revolutionary army defeats Prussians under Duke of Brunswick after 7-hour artillery duel.
- September 21 - French convention abolishes the monarchy and establishes the First Republic.
- September 22 - Beginning of the Era of the historical French Republican Calendar.
- October 12 - First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York; 300 years after.
- October 13 - Foundation of Washington, DC.  The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion, known as the White House since 1818, is laid.
- October 29 - Mt. Hood (Oregon) is named after the British naval officer Alexander Arthur Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who spotted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.
- December 26 - Trial of Louis XVI of France begins.

Without dates


- Dominique-Jean Larrey, chief surgeon of the Grand Armee of France, created the first ambulance wagons specifically designed as ambulances.
- French revolution, culminate year, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composes La Marseillaise also known as "Marche pour les armées du Rhin".
- Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, last emperor, takes office.
- Treaty of Jassy ends Russian war with Ottoman Empire over Crimea.
- Russia invades Poland: War in defence of the constitution.
- King John VI takes over from his insane mother in Portugal.
- George Washington is re-elected as president of the United States.
- Tipu Sultan invades Kerala in India, but is repulsed.
- George Vancouver explores Puget Sound, becomes first European to see Mount Rainier.
- Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach, an astronomer, publishes "The Tables of the Sun", an essential early work for navigation.
- Claude Chappe successfully demonstrates the first semaphore line, between Paris and Lille.
- William Murdoch begins experimenting with gas lighting.
- George Anschutz constructs first blast furnace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Thomas Holcroft produces the play Road to Ruin in London.
- Barthelemy Catherine Joubert, later general, becomes sub-lieutenant.
- Johann Georg Albrechtberger becomes Kapellmeister in Vienna.
- State Street Corporation is founded.

Ongoing events


- French Revolution (1789-1799)
- French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)

Births


- January 12 - Johann Arfvedson, Swedish chemist (d. 1841)
- February 10 - Captain Frederick Marryat, British author (d. 1848)
- February 17 - Karl Ernst von Baer, German naturalist (d. 1876)
- February 29 - Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
- March 3 - Johann Karl Ludwig Gieseler, German church historian (d. 1854)s
- March 7 - John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1871)
- April 1 - Karl Gottlob Zumpt, German scholar (d. 1894)
- April 23 - John Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
- April 25 - John Keble, British poet (d. 1866)
- May 13 - Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
- May 15 - James Mayer Rothschild, German-born banker (d. 1868)
- May 17 - Anne Isabella Milbanke, English wife of George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
- May 21 - Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis, French engineer and scientist (d. 1843)
- June 16 - John Linnell, British painter (d. 1882)
- July 10 - George M. Dallas, U.S. Senator and Vice President of the United States (d. 1864)
- June 21 - Ferdinand Christian Baur, German theologian (d. 1860)
- August 4 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, British poet (d. 1822)
- August 13 - Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen of William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1849)
- August 18 - Lord John Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
- September 19 - William Backhouse Astor, Sr., American business tycoon (d. 1875)
- September 26 - William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand (d. 1842)
- November 11 - Mary Anne Evans, wife of Benjamin Disraeli (d. 1872)
- November 28 - Victor Cousin, French philosopher (d. 1867)
- December 1 - Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1856)
- December 6 - William II of the Netherlands (d. 1849)
- Matteo Carcassi, Italian musician and composer (d. 1853)
- William Henry Smith, British businessman (d. 1865)

Deaths


- February 23 - Sir Joshua Reynolds, British painter (b. 1723)
- March 1 - Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1747)
- March 3 - Robert Adam, British architect (b. 1728)
- March 10 - John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1713)
- March 29 - King Gustav III of Sweden (assassinated) (b. 1746)
- April 3 - George Pocock, British admiral (b. 1706)
- April 4 - James Sykes, American politician (b. 1725)
- April 3 - John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English statesman (b. 1718)
- April 14 - Maximilian Hell, Slovakian astronomer (b. 1720)
- April 23 - Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer (b. 1841)
- April 30 - John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich (b. 1718)
- May 10 - John Stevens, American delegate to the Continental Congress
- May 12 - Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist (b. 1710)
- May 24 - George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, British naval officer (b. 1718)
- June 4 - John Burgoyne, British general (b. 1723)
- July 3 - Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick (b. 1735)
- July 18 - John Paul Jones, American naval captain (b. 1747)
- July 29 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
- August 4 - John Burgoyne, British general (b. 1723)
- August 25 - Jacques Cazotte, French writer (b. 1719)
- September 3 - Princesse de Lamballe, French friend of Marie Antoinette (murdered)
- September 8 - Charles d'Abancourt, French statesman (b. 1758)
- September 18 - August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German religious leader (b. 1704)
- September 25 - Adam Gottlob Moltke, Danish statesman (b. 1710)
- October 7 - George Mason, American patriot (b. 1725)
- October 22 - Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer (b. 1725)
- October 28 - Paul Möhring, German physician and scientist (b. 1710)
- October 28 - John Smeaton, English civil engineer (b. 1724)
- December 15 - Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (b. 1756)
- Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab, Arabic preacher (b. 1703) Category:1792 ko:1792년 ms:1792 simple:1792 th:พ.ศ. 2335

Great Britain

:For an explanation of often confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). British Isles (terminology) Great Britain is an island lying off the north-western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom (UK). Great Britain is also used as a political term describing the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, the three countries which together comprise the entire island and include some outlying islands. Great Britain is also widely, but inaccurately, used as a synonym for the sovereign state properly known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Geographical definition

With an area of 218 595km² (84,400 sq.mi) the island of Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles. It is the largest island in Europe, and eighth largest in the world. It is the third most populous island after Java and Honshu. Great Britain stretches over approximately ten degrees of latitude on its longer, north-south axis. Geographically, the island is marked by low, rolling countryside in the east and south, while hills and mountains predominate in the western and northern regions. Before the end of the last ice age, Great Britain was a peninsula of Europe; the rising sea levels caused by glacial melting at the end of the ice age caused the formation of the English Channel, the body of water which now divides Great Britain from the European mainland. The climate of Great Britain is milder than that of other regions of the Northern Hemisphere at the same latitude, because the warm waters of the Gulf Stream pass by the British Isles and exert a moderating influence on the weather. Cool, but not cold, temperatures, clouds more often than sun, and abundant rain are the rule in most years.

Political definition

Politically, Great Britain describes the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales. It includes outlying islands such as the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland but does not include the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Over the centuries, Great Britain has evolved politically from several independent countries (England, Scotland, and Wales) through two kingdoms with a shared monarch (England and Scotland), a single all-island Kingdom of Great Britain, to the situation following 1801, in which Great Britain together with the island of Ireland constituted the larger United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK). The UK became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the 1920s following the independence of five-sixths of Ireland as the Republic of Ireland.

History

The Roman geographer Ptolemy called the larger island Megale Brettania (Great Britain), and the smaller island Micra Bretannia (Little Britain). Hence, originally, the term Great Britain referred to the largest island in the British Isles, just as the largest of the Canary Islands is still called Gran Canaria, and the largest of the Comoros is Grande Comore. Nevertheless, it is sometimes supposed that Great Britain is a translation of the French term Grande Bretagne, which is used in France to distinguish Britain from Brittany (in French: Bretagne), which had been settled in late Roman times by Romano-Celtic refugees from Roman Britain, then under attack by the Anglo-Saxons. Since the English court and aristocracy was largely French-speaking for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest of 1066, the French term naturally passed into English usage. The term was revived during the reign of King James VI of Scotland, I of England to describe the island, on which co-existed two separate kingdoms, both at that time ruled by the same monarch. Though England and Scotland each remained legally in existence as separate countries with their own parliaments, collectively they were sometimes referred to as Great Britain. In 1707, an Act of Union joined both parliaments. That Act used two different terms to describe the new all island nation, a 'United Kingdom' and the 'Kingdom of Great Britain'. However, the former term is regarded by many as having been a description of the union rather than its name at that stage. Most reference books therefore describe the all-island kingdom that existed between 1707 and 1800 as the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801, under a new Act of Union, this kingdom merged with the Kingdom of Ireland, over which the monarch of Great Britain had ruled. The new kingdom was from then onwards unambiguously called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, 26 of Ireland's 32 counties gained independence to form a separate Irish Free State. The remaining truncated kingdom has therefore since then been known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom now also formally includes a number of Overseas Territories.

Usage and nomenclature

Usage of the term Great Britain

Great Britain is also widely, but incorrectly, used as a synonym for the political state properly known as the United Kingdom (see below). This common usage is technically inaccurate as the United Kingdom includes Northern Ireland, in addition to the three countries that make up Great Britain, as shown by its full name "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", and also because the three countries that make up Great Britain itself collectively include over 100 other islands, such as the Isles of Scilly, St Michael's Mount, the Isle of Wight, Lindisfarne, Lundy the Isle of Portland, and Steepholm in England; Flatholm and Anglesey in Wales; and the Isle of Arran, Bute, the Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and inner and outer Hebrides of Scotland. The British themselves occasionally use the abbreviation GB, such as in the Olympic Games where the British team is sometimes informally referred to as 'Team GB'. The UK also uses the international foreign vehicle identification code of GB, although on number plates that include European Identification the code of UK is used. The UK short-code can be confused with the Ukraine. This is discussed further under Britain. There is similar situation with the terms Britain and British, which are used to relate to the whole of the UK and not just the island of Great Britain. This usage is generally considered to be correct. Examples of this are "British monarchs", "British culture" and "British citizens" - which would generally be considered to embrace the whole of the United Kingdom. As if this was not confusion enough, the term "British" also has specific historical and archaeological usage, referring to the Celtic tribes present on the island prior to and during the Roman occupation. In rugby league the RFL fields its representative side under the name Great Britain.

Nomenclature

The name Britain is derived from the name Britannia, used by the Romans from circa 55 BC. The etymology of this term has been the subject of (sometimes fanciful) speculation, but is generally thought to derive from a Celtic word, Pritani, "painted", a reference to the inhabitants of the islands' use of body-paint and tattoos (see Britain for further discussion of etymology). In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1136), the island of Great Britain was referred to as Britannia maior ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the Gaulish region which approximates to modern Brittany. The term "Bretayne the grete" was used by chroniclers as early as 1338, but it was not used officially until King James I proclaimed himself "King of Great Britain" on 20 October 1604 to avoid the more cumbersome title "King of England and Scotland".

Territories associated with Great Britain


- Kingdom of England
- Kingdom of Scotland
- Principality of Wales
- Duchy of Cornwall

Other lands of the archipelago


- Ireland
  - Republic of Ireland
  - Northern Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Channel Islands

Related topics


- United Kingdom
- UK topics
- British Isles
- Britain
- History of Britain
- History of England
- History of Scotland
- History of Wales
- British Empire
- The Commonwealth of Nations formerly called the British Commonwealth
- List of British monarchs
- Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
- British Prime Ministers
- Constitutional status of Cornwall The Cornish question
- Acts of Union 1536-1543 merging Kingdom of England and Principality of Wales
- Act of Union 1707 merging Scotland and England to form Great Britain
- Act of Union 1800 merging Great Britain and Ireland to form the United Kingdom
- Anglo-Irish Treaty facilitating the Irish Free State's exit from the United Kingdom
- SS Great Britain,
- .gb ccTLD

References

External links


- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/coast Coast] – the BBC explores the coast of Great Britain
- [http://www.know-britain.com/general/great_britain.html Know Britain] – one explanation of the terms "Great Britain", "United Kingdom" and so on
- [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/freegb/index.htm#maps Administrative map of Great Britain] – from the Ordnance Survey; various formats
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations]
- [http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ The British Isles]
- [http://www.walkingtree.com/ Mercator's Atlas] Maps of Cornwall & Wales ("Cornewallia & Wallia"), Ireland ("Irlandia"), Scotland ("Scotia") and England ("Anglia") circa 1564. Category:British Isles Category:Geography of the United Kingdom Category:Islands in the British Isles Category:Islands ko:그레이트브리튼 섬 ja:グレートブリテン島 simple:Great Britain

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known, especially internationally, as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen British colonies in North America. The war began largely as a colonial revolt against the economic policies of the British Empire, and eventually widened far beyond British North America, with France, Spain, and the Netherlands entering the war against Great Britain. Additionally, many American Indians fought on both sides of the conflict. Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture colonial coastal cities, but control of the countryside largely eluded them. French involvement proved decisive, with a naval victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a British army at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 recognized the independence of the United States of America. Because a great number of colonists fled the thirteen colonies and settled in the north, the war also paved the way for the eventual creation of what would become Canada. The terms American Revolutionary War and American Revolution are often used interchangeably, though the American Revolution included political and social developments before and after the war itself. This article refers solely to the military campaign; for a broader perspective, including the origins and aftermath of the war, see the American Revolution.

Combatants

Colonists

Colonists were divided over which side to support in the war. About 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population supported the struggle for independence, and were known as "Patriots" (or "Whigs"). About 15 to 20 percent supported the British Crown during the war, and were known as "Loyalists" (or "Tories"). Loyalists fielded perhaps 50,000 men during the war years in support of the British Empire. In some areas, the American Revolutionary War was a civil war. When the war began, the American revolutionaries did not have a professional army (also known as a "regular" or "standing" army). Each colony had traditionally provided for its own defenses through the use of local militia. Militiamen served for only a few weeks or months at a time, were generally reluctant to go very far from home, and would often come and go as they saw fit. Militia typically lacked the training and discipline of regular troops, but could be effective when led by talented officers. Seeking to coordinate military efforts, the Continental Congress established (on paper) a regular army—the Continental Army—in June of 1775, and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief. The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress, and Washington reluctantly augmented the regular troops with militia throughout the war. Although as many as 250,000 Patriots may have served as regulars or militiamen in the eight years of the war, there were never more than 90,000 total men under arms for the revolutionaries in any given year. Armies in North America were small by European standards of the era; the greatest number of men that Washington personally commanded in the field at any one time was fewer than 17,000.

European nations

commander-in-chief Early in 1775, the British army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. Additionally, over the course of the war the British hired about 30,000 German mercenaries, popularly known in the colonies as "Hessians" because many of them came from Hesse. Germans would make up about one-third of the British troop strength in North America. By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, though these were spread from Canada to Florida. France, the Netherlands and Spain entered the war against Great Britain in an attempt to dilute Britain's emerging superpower status. Early on, all three countries quietly provided financial assistance to the American rebels. France officially entered the war in 1778 and soon sent troops, ships, and military equipment to fight against the British for the remainder of the war. Spain entered the war in 1779, officially as an ally of France, not the United States—Spain was not keen on encouraging similar rebellions in her own empire. The Netherlands entered the war late in 1780, but was soon overwhelmed by the British.

Blacks and Native Americans

African-Americans, slaves and free blacks, served on both sides during the war. Black soldiers served in northern militias from the outset, but this was forbidden in the South, where slaveowners feared arming slaves. Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, issued an emancipation proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British, and Sir Henry Clinton issued a similar edict in New York in 1779. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to the British lines, although possibly as few as 1,000 served under arms. Many of the rest served as orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts and guides, although more than half died in smallpox epidemics that swept the British forces, and a number were driven out of the British lines when food ran low. Despite Dunmore's promises, the majority were not given their freedom. In response, and because of manpower shortages, Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776. All-black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; many were slaves promised freedom for serving in lieu of their masters; another all-black unit came from Haiti with French forces. At least 5,000 black soldiers fought as Patriots. Most American Indian communities east of the Mississippi River were affected by the war, many divided over the question of which side to support. Most Native Americans who joined the fight fought against the United States, since native lands were threatened by ever expanding Anglo-American settlement. An estimated 13,000 warriors fought on the British side; the largest group, the Iroquois Confederacy, fielded about 1,500 warriors against the Patriots.

War in the North

Massachusetts, 1774 to 1776

Iroquois Confederacy In 1774, the British parliament effectively abolished the provincial government of Massachusetts. Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, already the commander-in-chief of British troops in North America, was also appointed governor of Massachusetts and was instructed by King George's government to enforce royal authority in the troublesome colony. However, popular resistance compelled the newly appointed royal officials in Massachusetts to resign or to seek refuge in Boston. Gage commanded four regiments of British regulars (about 4,000 men) from his headquarters in Boston, but the countryside was in the hands of the Patriots. On the night of 18 April 1775, General Gage sent 900 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at Concord, Massachusetts. Several Patriot riders — including Paul Revere — alerted the countryside, and when the British troops entered Lexington on the morning of 19 April, they found 75 minutemen formed up on the village common. Shots were exchanged, and the British moved on to Concord, where there was more fighting. By the time the "redcoats" (as the British soldiers were called) began the return march, several thousand militiamen had gathered along the road. A r