1780
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1 January 1780 Tomohito replaces Hidehito as Emperor of Japan.
And dares insulting France pretend, an ode by John Stanley (67) to words of Whitehead, is performed for the first time.
17 January 1780 British naval forces defeat Spaniards off Cape St. Vincent, thus relieving Gibraltar. Six Spanish warships are captured, three run aground. Admiral Don Juan de Langara is captured.
26 January 1780 The court martial of Benedict Arnold ends in Morristown, New Jersey with aquittal on most charges. He is found guilty of abuse of authority.
11 February 1780 A British expedition lands at John’s Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.
22 February 1780 Francesco III, Duke of Modena, Reggio and Ferrara dies and is succeeded by his son Ercole III.
Atys, a tragédie lyrique by Niccolò Piccinni (52) to words of Marmontel after Quinault, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The premiere is performed badly but by the second night it will be very successful, which is a comfort to the anti-Gluckists.
29 February 1780 Publication of six accompanied keyboard sonatas op.4 by Muzio Clementi (28) is announced in the Morning Post, London.
1 March 1780 The legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bars the enslavement of any person born after this date. It also ends the slave trade in the state.
8 March 1780 L’amant anonyme, a comédie mêlée de ballets by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (34) after de Genlis, is performed for the first time, in Paris.
10 March 1780 Russia declares armed neutrality in the war between Great Britain and the United States.
14 March 1780 Spanish forces capture the British garrison at Mobile, West Florida (Alabama).
18 March 1780 After two years in Italy, Antonio Salieri (29) departs Naples for Vienna.
24 March 1780 British forces begin an offensive into the interior of Nicaragua from San Juan del Norte.
26 March 1780 Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand replaces Karl I as Duke of Brunswick.
28 March 1780 Das tartarische Gesetz, a singspiel by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (20) to words of Gotter, is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
30 March 1780 String Quartet in C by Samuel Wesley (14) is performed for the first time, at a Wesley family concert at their London home.
A large British force reaches to within one kilometer of Charleston, South Carolina.
31 March 1780 King Louis XVI bans Italian comic opera from the Théâtre Italien, recognizing French works and composers as the true voice of comic opera in the country.
1 April 1780 Le sacrifice d’Abraham, an oratorio by Giuseppe Cambini (34), is performed for the first time, at a concert spirituel, Paris.
William Billings (33) finds himself in a financial situation sufficiently comfortable to buy a house in Boston.
6 April 1780 A motion by John Dunning in the House of Commons that “the influence of the crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished,” is carried 233-215.
8 April 1780 Antonio Salieri (29) returns to Vienna after two years of travel in Italy, fearful that Emperor Joseph is unhappy with him.
14 April 1780 King Friedrich II of Prussia issues the Allgemeines Landrecht, directing that there be a unified code of law for all the Prussian states.
British forces capture the American supply depot at Monck’s Corner, 50 km north of Charleston, capturing large quantities of supplies and cutting off the city.
16 April 1780 The University of Münster is founded by Franz Freiherr von Fürstenberg.
17 April 1780 British and French fleets meet in a muddled engagement off Martinique. Much damage is done but no advantage is gained by either side.
22 April 1780 Ercole III Reinald replaces Francesco III Maria as Duke of Modena and Reggio.
Antonio Sacchini’s (49) Armida is revived at the King’s Theatre, London as Rinaldo. It is the hit of the London season.
29 April 1780 After a siege of two weeks, the Spanish defenders of Immaculada Concepción fort (El Castillo, Nicaragua) surrender to invading British. The British will hold the fort for six months, then leave after hundreds of them die of disease.
2 May 1780 A large French convoy carrying 6,000 men sets sail from France for America.
William Herschel discovers Xi Ursae Majoris, the first identified binary star.
4 May 1780 The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is chartered in Boston “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, dignity, honor and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.” It is the first scientific society in the United States. The first president is John Bowdoin.
7 May 1780 Americans surrender Fort Moultrie, South Carolina to the British.
12 May 1780 After a siege of six weeks, US forces in Charleston, South Carolina surrender unconditionally to the British.
14 May 1780 This is the date of a diploma awarded to Joseph Haydn (48) upon being given membership in the Philarmonic Society of Modena.
19 May 1780 Symphonie concertante in Bb, C48 by Johann Christian Bach (44) is performed, possibly for the first time, in the Tottenham Street Rooms, London.
Darkness covers New England and parts of Canada during the day. It has never been explained.
22 May 1780 François-Joseph Gossec (46) is appointed sous-directeur of the Paris Opéra under Dauvergne.
25 May 1780 Two regiments of the United States Army mutiny at Morristown, New Jersey over unpaid wages and dwindling rations. The mutiny is put down.
26 May 1780 Spanish defenders repulse a British attack on St. Louis (Missouri).
29 May 1780 A meeting of the Protestant Association takes place in London. The group, founded by Lord George Gordon, opposes the Roman Catholic Relief Act which removes disabilities of Catholics. They resolve to present a petition to Parliament.
British forces defeat Americans at Waxhaws Creek, near Lancaster, South Carolina.
2 June 1780 Members of the Protestant Association, numbering 20,000 to 40,000 march on Parliament in London to petition against the Roman Catholic Relief Act. Along the way, their numbers swell to as much as 60,000. At the Houses their entrance is forbidden except for their leader, Lord George Gordon. While he is inside, the crowd begins to riot and attack Catholics and their property. Churches are a particular target. Parliament flees.
4 June 1780 After a lull yesterday, anti-Catholic rioting resumes in London.
Still o’er the deep does Britain reign, an ode by John Stanley (68) to words of Whitehead, is performed for the first time, to honor the birthday of King George III.
5 June 1780 La finta amante, an opera buffa by Giovanni Paisiello (40), is performed for the first time, in Mogilev, Poland.
6 June 1780 As Parliament meets for the first time since June 2, the anti-Catholic mob attacks again and forces them to flee. They turn their attention to attacks on the home of the Lord Chief Justice, Newgate and Clerkenwell Prisons, where the prisoners are freed, the Bank of England and foreign embassies which have Catholic chapels on their premises, particularly Sardinia and Bavaria. Over 30 fires are started.
Andromaque, a tragédie lyrique by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (39) to words of Pitra after Racine, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
7 June 1780 After dithering for several days, the British government calls out troops to halt anti-Catholic rioting in London. They are given shoot-to-kill orders against those who refuse to disperse. 285 people are killed, 173 wounded, 139 arrested.
A constitution for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is ratified by plebiscite.
9 June 1780 The anti-Catholic riots in London are brought under control. 25 people will be hanged for their part in the insurrection, but the leader, Lord George Gordon, will be found not guilty of treason.
22 June 1780 Canadians and Indians capture Riddle’s Station on the South Fork of the Licking River (Harrison County, Kentucky).
30 June 1780 Ludwig I Wilhelm Geldricus Ernst replaces Karl Paul Ernst as Count of Bentheim and Steinfurt.
9 July 1780 Denmark declares armed neutrality in the war between Great Britain and the United States.
10 July 1780 L’italiana in Londra becomes the first opera by Domenico Cimarosa (30) to be performed in Teatro alla Scala, Milan, the first of many.
11 July 1780 Count de Rochambeau, commander of a large force of French troops and ships, comes ashore with a retinue at Newport, Rhode Island to help the revolutionary cause. As no one is there to greet him, he spends the night in a hotel. General Washington’s emissary will arrive tomorrow.
21 July 1780 Royal Navy ships arrive off Narragansett Bay and blockade the French within.
1 August 1780 Sweden declares armed neutrality in the war between Great Britain and the United States.
9 August 1780 Benjamin Franklin writes from Paris to the Continental Congress telling them that John Adams is hindering his relationship with the French court.
16 August 1780 British and American troops blunder into each other in the dark near Camden, South Carolina, 175 km northwest of Charleston. There is a brief fire fight. After dawn, fighting resumes. The Americans are demolished, suffering three times the casualties of the British. Many units run away, along with their commander, Horatio Gates.
29 August 1780 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (24) completes his Symphony K.338 in Salzburg.
2 September 1780 One of the nights September 2-4 probably sees the premiere of Symphony K.338 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (24) in Salzburg.
3 September 1780 Henry Laurens, United States representative to the Netherlands, is arrested off a merchant ship by a British man-of-war off Newfoundland. He will remain in the Tower of London for the duration of the war.
7 September 1780 Der Herr segne euch for chorus and strings by Johannes Herbst (45) is performed for the first time.
British forces capture Charlotte, North Carolina.
8 September 1780 After a successful campaign in South Carolina, British forces march into North Carolina.
10 September 1780 Haider Ali of Mysore completes his conquest of the Carnatic by reaching the British garrison at Madras.
14 September 1780 Near Augusta, Georgia, American troops assault a Creek village. They inflict heavy losses but are beaten back. This is the largest engagement of the revolution involving Indians.
16 September 1780 In Amsterdam, John Adams learns that he has been empowered by Congress to negotiate a loan from the Dutch.
20 September 1780 A French force under Admiral de Ternay and General Jean Baptiste Rochambeau, having marched from Rhode Island, meets Washington in Hartford.
23 September 1780 Friedrich replaces Ernst Friedrich III as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
A bust of André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (39) is installed in the Liège City Theatre.
Adelheit von Veltheim, a Schauspiel mit Gesang by Christian Gottlob Neefe (32) to words of Grossmann, is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
British Major John Andre is captured in disguise near Tarrytown, New York. He carries papers betraying the American garrison at West Point, signed by Benedict Arnold.
25 September 1780 Hearing of the capture of Major John Andre, Benedict Arnold flees to a British ship in the Hudson River where he is awarded a commission and the rank of Brigadier General in the British army.
2 October 1780 British Major John Andre is hanged as a spy by the Americans at Tappan, New York.
7 October 1780 Americans demolish a loyalist force at King’s Mountain, North Carolina, 300 km northwest of Charleston. They kill, injure or capture the entire force of 1,100 men. Some loyalists are killed after the surrender.
10 October 1780 What may be the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean makes landfall on Barbados. Over the next week it will strike every island in the Lesser Antilles and Santo Domingo. 22,000 people are killed. There is much destruction, including many British and French naval vessels carrying thousands of soldiers.
18 October 1780 Six weeks of voting conclude in the British general election. The supporters of the Prime Minister, Lord North, are returned but with a slim majority.
27 October 1780 Persée, a tragédie lyrique by François-André Danican-Philidor (54) to words of Marmontel after Quinault, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The public response is frigid.
A party of four professors and six students from Harvard College view a solar eclipse from Penobscot Bay, Maine. It is the first American expedition to view an eclipse. The British commander of the area allows the expedition to land, view the eclipse and depart in peace.
5 November 1780 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (24) departs Salzburg for Munich to produce Idomeneo.
6 November 1780 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (24) arrives in Munich to produce Idomeneo.
10 November 1780 Inca leader Tupac Amaru, having captured the Spanish Corregidor Antonio de Arriaga six days ago, executes him in Tungarica. This leads to an indigenous uprising against the Spanish.
13 November 1780 Wir haben ein Fest des Herrn for chorus and strings by Johannes Herbst (45) is performed for the first time.
29 November 1780 Empress Maria-Theresia, Archduchess of Austria, Queen Mária Terézia of Hungary, Queen of Bohemia, dies, probably of a heart ailment, in the Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna. She is succeeded by her son Emperor Joseph II, King of the Romans, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King József II of Hungary.
6 December 1780 Alcide al bivio, a festa teatrale by Giovanni Paisiello (40) to words of Metastasio, is performed for the first time, at the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
12 December 1780 The British ambassador at The Hague withdraws over Dutch financial support for the American cause.
16 December 1780 The Netherlands declares armed neutrality in the war between Great Britain and the United States.
18 December 1780 Incidental music to Blumauer’s play Erwine von Steinheim by Johann Schenk (27) is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Burgtheater. (It is possible that Schenk’s music was not used at the first performance)
20 December 1780 Great Britain declares war on the Netherlands.
25 December 1780 Luigi Galvani records his conclusion, after a series of experiments in Bologna, that muscles are operated by electrical stimulation of nerves.
30 December 1780 The Netherlands declares war on Great Britain.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
3 June 2012
Last Updated (Sunday, 03 June 2012 04:54)