1787
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1 January 1787 Emperor Joseph II orders a reorganization of the institutions of the Austrian Netherlands. It will cause a revolt.
3 January 1787 The observatory of Lisbon is founded in Castelo São Jorge.
The Wiener Zeitung announces Artaria’s printing of six allemandes IX: 9 by Joseph Haydn (54) and the Twelve Minuets and Six Trios B.203-214 by Ignaz Pleyel (29).
8 January 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus (30) and Constanze Mozart, along with their dog and a small entourage of family and friends, depart Vienna for Prague to produce Le nozze di Figaro.
11 January 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus (30) and Constanze Mozart arrive in Prague and are given a royal reception by the artistic establishment.
At his home in Slough, England, William Herschel discovers two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon.
12 January 1787 Pirro, a dramma per musica by Giovanni Paisiello (46) to words of de Gamerra is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
Castore e Polluce, a tragedia lirica by Georg Joseph Vogler (37) to his own words after Frugoni, is performed for the first time, at the Hoftheater, Munich.
13 January 1787 A tanto amore, an aria for a production of Domenico Cimarosa’s (37) Giannina e Bernardone by Luigi Cherubini (26) is performed for the first time, in London.
17 January 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (30) produces his Le nozze di Figaro in Prague to great success.
18 January 1787 Empress Yekaterina II and a large entourage depart St. Petersburg to tour the newly won dominions in the south. They will not return until 22 July.
19 January 1787 Two days after a triumphant performance of Le nozze di Figaro in Prague, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (30) gives the first performance of his Symphony K.504 “Prague.” Like the opera, it is very successful.
22 January 1787 The Columbian Herald of Charleston, South Carolina, announces that a new singing school has recently been opened by Andrew Law (37). Law arrived in the city at the end of last year.
24 January 1787 Democrito coretto, an opera giocosa by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (47) to words of Brunati after Regnard, is performed for the first time, in the Burgtheater, Vienna.
25 January 1787 1,200 armed insurgents led by Daniel Shays draw up to attack the Springfield Arsenal in Massachusetts, which is defended by 1,100 militia. Three rounds from the garrison (two of them over the attackers heads) kill four men and send the rest into flight.
28 January 1787 Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (26) three piano sonatas C.27-29 is announced in the Journal de Paris.
31 January 1787 Publication of Three String Quartets B.331-333 by Ignaz Pleyel (29) is announced in the Journal de Paris.
2 February 1787 Insurgents under Daniel Shays are routed at Petersham, Massachusetts.
Arthur St. Clair replaces Nathaniel Gorham as President of the Congress of the United States.
4 February 1787 In the chapel of Lambeth Palace, William White is consecrated Bishop for Pennsylvania. He is the first Anglican bishop for America. At the same ceremony, Samuel Provoost is consecrated Bishop for New York.
5 February 1787 Three Sonatas for harpsichord or piano with violin ad.lib. op.17 by Leopold Kozeluch (39) is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
7 February 1787 Three Sonatas for harpsichord or piano op.20 by Leopold Kozeluch (39) is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
10 February 1787 Droves of insurgents begin surrendering at Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
13 February 1787 Three-year-old Georg Wilhelm replaces Philipp II as Count of Schaumburg, Count and Lord of Lippe, under regency.
14 February 1787 Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin Saint-Hérem replaces Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes as Chief Minister of France.
18 February 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) and his wife depart Prague for Vienna.
21 February 1787 The United States Congress resolves that a convention should be called “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation and reporting to Congress and the several Legislatures such alterations and provisions therein as shall, when agreed to in Congress, and confirmed by the States, render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government, and the preservation of the Union.”
22 February 1787 The Assembly of Notables convened by King Louis XVI to devise methods of saving the country from bankruptcy, meets for the first time; in the Salle des Menus Plaisirs, Versailles.
2 March 1787 Zalaor, an opera by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (27) to words of de la Veaux, is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
4 March 1787 Das tartarische Gesetz, a Schauspiel mit Gesang by Georg Benda (64) to words of Gotter after Gozzi, is performed for the first time, in Mannheim. His last stage work, it is a failure and closes tonight.
7 March 1787 Publication of Muzio Clementi’s (35) Capriccio for keyboard op.17 is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
14 March 1787 Andromeda e Perseo, an opera seria by Michael Haydn (49) to words of Varesco, is performed for the first time, in Salzburg.
17 March 1787 The Town of Boston appoints William Billings (40) as a “sealer of leather.”
19 March 1787 Karl II Gustav Reinhard Woldemar replaces Georg Karl I August Ludwig as Count of Neu-Leiningen.
20 March 1787 This is the approximate date that Ludwig van Beethoven (16) departs Bonn to study, supposedly with Mozart (31), in Vienna.
21 March 1787 Alcandro, lo confesso...Non sò d’onde viene K.512, a recitative and aria for bass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) to words of Metastasio, is performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
At Bardstown, Kentucky, Captain Hugh McGary is found guilty of hacking Shawnee King Moluntha to death on 6 October 1786. He is sentenced to one-year suspension from rank.
30 March 1787 Sophie Albertine von Schweden replaces Anna Amalie, Princess of Prussia as Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg.
1 April 1787 Ludwig van Beethoven (16) reaches Munich on his way from Bonn to Vienna.
4 April 1787 The Massachusetts Centinel reports as “just published” William Billings’ (40) Anthem for Easter and a Hymn for Good Friday.
6 April 1787 Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (27) three piano sonatas C.30-32 is announced in the Journal de Paris.
7 April 1787 Ludwig van Beethoven (16) arrives in Vienna from Bonn. He is in the city for a two-week stay, during which he is supposed to receive instruction from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31). (There is no hard evidence that he ever met Mozart or what their relationship was)
Publication of Three String Quintets B.274-276 by Ignaz Pleyel (29) is announced in the Frankfurter Ristretto.
8 April 1787 French controller-general Charles Alexandre de Calonne is dismissed by King Louis XVI.
12 April 1787 Die Liebe im Narrenhause, a komische Oper by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (47) to words of Stephanie, is performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
18 April 1787 Antoine Lavoisier reads a memoir to the French Academy proposing a new nomenclature for chemistry. This and other works of his and Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau will be published together later this year as Method of Chemical Nomenclature.
19 April 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) dates the score to his String Quintet K.515 in Vienna.
20 April 1787 This is the approximate date that Ludwig van Beethoven (16) departs Vienna for Bonn.
23 April 1787 Publication of Muzio Clementi’s (35) Two Symphonies op.18 is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
24 April 1787 The family of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) move into less expensive apartments in Landstrasse, Vienna.
Quintetto in A for organ, two violins, viola and bass, with horns in the last movement, by Samuel Wesley (21) is performed for the first time, at a Wesley family concert in London.
27 April 1787 Three Sonatas for harpsichord or piano with violin and cello obbligato op.21 by Leopold Kozeluch (39) is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
5 May 1787 Giovanni Paisiello’s (46) Cantata fatta in occasione della translazione del sangue di San Gennaro, to words of Marchese di Gatalone, is performed for the first time, in Naples.
9 May 1787 The first shots are fired between Dutch Patriots and Orangists on the Vaartse Rijn between Vreeswijk and Jutphaas.
10 May 1787 Warren Hastings is formally impeached by the British Parliament on charges of mismanaging his office of Governor-General of India, brought by Edmund Burke.
13 May 1787 Eleven ships bearing 750 convicts, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, RN, depart Portsmouth heading for Botany Bay, Australia. They are intended to found a colony there.
14 May 1787 The Constitutional Convention opens in Philadelphia. However, since a quorum of delegates has yet to arrive, formal meetings are postponed until 25 May.
16 May 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) dates the score to his String Quintet K.516 in Vienna.
18 May 1787 Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (27) Piano Concerto C.33 is announced in the Journal de Paris.
21 May 1787 Warren Hastings, former Governor-General of India, is arrested and brought to the House of Lords to hear the charges against him.
Carl Friedrich Abel (63) performs in public for the last time, at a benefit for Mrs. Billington.
22 May 1787 Twelve gentlemen gather in a printer’s shop in London and organize themselves as the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. They will soon form a society with the same name.
The Grand Turk returns to Salem, Massachusetts after a visit to the Far East. Its goods bring in huge profits and raise the interest of New England entrepreneurs in the “China trade.”
25 May 1787 Since the Assembly of Notables refuses to endorse a land tax and a stamp tax, claiming that only the Estates-General could enact that, Loménie de Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse and head of the French Council of Finances, dissolves the council.
The Constitutional Convention begins its first working session. George Washington is chosen as the President of the Convention. Rules are adopted, including a rule of secrecy. Nothing said in the meetings may be communicated to anyone outside.
28 May 1787 06:00 Johann Georg Leopold Mozart dies in Salzburg, aged 67 years, six months and 14 days. The cause of death is “congestion of the spleen” according to his doctor, and consumption according to an obituary. One modern diagnosis is myocardial infarction. Although he has been ill, the death is unexpected. The Abbot of St. Peter’s Monastery records, “The father who died today was a man of much wit and intelligence and would have been capable of performing good service to the state even apart from music. He was the most correct violinist of his day, of which he twice-published Violinschule gives proof.”
29 May 1787 The mortal remains of Leopold Mozart are laid to rest the churchyard of St. Sebastian in Salzburg.
30 May 1787 The local government of the Austrian Netherlands suspends the reforms of 1 January.
31 May 1787 Tokugawa Ienari becomes Shogun in Japan.
A service in memory of Leopold Mozart is held in the church of St. Sebastian, Salzburg.
1 June 1787 King George III of Great Britain issues a royal proclamation “to discountenance and punish all manner of vice, profaneness and immorality, in all persons, of whatsoever degree or quality, within this our realm.” Games of any kind are forbidden on Sundays. The authorities are required to suppress public gaming and unlicensed places of entertainment. Publishers of licentious books will be prosecuted.
5 June 1787 Publication of Three String Quartets B.337-339 by Ignaz Pleyel (29) is announced in the Morning Herald, London.
6 June 1787 Publication of Three String Quartets B.334-336 by Ignaz Pleyel (29) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
8 June 1787 Tarare, an opéra by Antonio Salieri (36) to words of Beaumarchais, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It is a definite success, partly owing to an intense lobbying and pamphlet campaign by Beaumarchais.
14 June 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) dates his Ein musikalischer Spass K.522 for two horns, two violins, viola and bass.
15 June 1787 Massachusetts Governor John Hancock issues a general amnesty for all those involved in Shays’ Rebellion, except Shays himself and several other leaders.
17 June 1787 Le pied de boeuf, a divertissement by François-Joseph Gossec (53) to words of Gardel, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
20 June 1787 Carl Friedrich Abel dies in London aged 63 years, five months, and 29 days. His mortal remains will be laid to rest in St. Pancras Old Church Churchyard, Camden.
27 June 1787 In the summerhouse of his garden in Lausanne, Edward Gibbon reaches what he calls “the hour of my final deliverance.” Between 23:00 and midnight he pens the last lines of his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire after almost 25 years of work.
28 June 1787 Princess Wilhelmina, wife of Stadholder Willem V of the Netherlands, is captured by Patriots near Goejanverwellesluis.
2 July 1787 Opposing the crown and defending the weak, the Parlement of Paris rejects a stamp tax. A land tax will also be rejected two weeks hence.
Andrew Law (38) arrives in Philadelphia, his travels to Charleston being largely a failure.
4 July 1787 Raffaele De Ferrari Rodino replaces Giovanni Carlo Pallavicini as Doge of Genoa.
7 July 1787 The Wiener Zeitung announces the publication of Joseph Haydn’s (55) instrumental work The Seven Last Words XX: 1.
Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (27) three piano sonatas C.34-36 is announced in the Mercure de France, Paris.
13 July 1787 The United States Congress adopts the Northwest Ordinance, setting down the conditions of government in the territory north of the Ohio River. As part of the ordinance, slavery is abolished in this territory.
16 July 1787 Andrew Law (38) opens a new singing school in Philadelphia. It will fail, and Law will return to Connecticut in mid-August.
17 July 1787 Maria Magdalena Beethoven, mother of Ludwig (16), dies of consumption in Bonn, at the age of 40.
19 July 1787 Publication of Three String Quartets B.340-342 by Ignaz Pleyel (30) is announced in the Berlinische Nachrichten.
21 July 1787 Publication of the Piano Quartet K.493 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
26 July 1787 The Parlement of Paris refuses to go along with the stamp tax edict and calls for the Estates General to decide the issue of taxes.
30 July 1787 The Parlement of Paris refuses to go along with the land tax edict saying, “the Nation, represented by the Esttes General, is alone in possessing the right to grant the King the necessary taxes.” (Kwass, 274)
31 July 1787 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe views a performance of L’impresario in angustie by Domenico Cimarosa (37) in Rome. He is so impressed that he takes a full score in manuscript back to Weimar with him where he will translate it into German and produce it.
6 August 1787 King Louis XVI convenes a “lit de justice” at the Parlement of Paris to force his tax proposals. This is accomplished in spite of the fact that during the proceedings, the King’s snoring drowns out the speaker.
7 August 1787 Jean-Jacques d’Eprémesnil, leader of the Parlement, denounces the King’s enforcement and the Parlement refuses to recognize them.
Publication of Three Trios Concertants B.401-403 for violin, viola and cello by Ignaz Pleyel (30) is announced in the Frankfurter Ristretto.
9 August 1787 Publication of Muzio Clementi’s (35) Musical Characteristics op.19 is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
10 August 1787 The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia, hoping to regain the Crimea.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) dates his Serenade K.525 Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
13 August 1787 For the dedication of the new Moravian church in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Johannes Herbst (52) conducts his dedication anthem Lobet den Herrn alle Seine Heerschaaren A.333.
15 August 1787 In an effort to head off growing anti-Royal sentiment in France, the Parlement of Paris is exiled to Troyes.
17 August 1787 Swiss guards, on order of King Louis XVI, seal off the Palais de Justice.
The Hungarian government allows Jews in Pest to continue worshipping in private houses without a rabbi.
18 August 1787 400 workers gather to present a petition to Empress Yekaterina II at the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg. They are working on an embankment of the Fontanka River and Yekaterina Canal, and charge harsh treatment by their employer. Seventeen are arrested and the rest disperse. Yekaterina requires the employer to raise wages and improve conditions. It is the only time in her 34-year reign that Yekaterina faces labor unrest.
La fille-garçon, an opéra comique by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (41) to words of Desmaillot, is performed for the first time, at the Comédie-Italienne, Paris.
22 August 1787 A steamboat with twelve mechanical oars is demonstrated on the Delaware River by inventor John Fitch to members of the Constitutional Convention.
24 August 1787 William Withering dates the preface to his A Botanical Arrangement of British Plants; Including The Uses of Each Species, In Medicine, Diet, Rural Oeconomy and the Arts. It is the first British publication based on Linnaean principles.
1 September 1787 Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (27) three piano sonatas C.37-39 is announced in the Journal de Paris.
3 September 1787 Weavers in Glasgow riot after their wages are cut. When mobs throw bricks at magistrates, troops open fire on them, killing six.
7 September 1787 Publication of the Nocturne (Serenade) B.215 and a Septet for five strings and two horns B.251 by Ignaz Pleyel (30) is announced in the Frankfurter Ristretto.
8 September 1787 Giovanni Paisiello’s (47) componimento drammatico Giunone Lucina, to words of Sernicola, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
Andrew Law (38) is ordained by a Council of Congregational ministers in Hartford. He plans to move south.
13 September 1787 20,000 Prussian troops cross into the Netherlands to support Stadholder Willem V and his wife, Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia.
16 September 1787 As the Stadholder and the Prussian army advance on Utrecht, the Patriots within flee to Amsterdam. The Prussian enter an empty city.
17 September 1787 After a siege, Gorinchem, Netherlands surrenders to Prussian troops.
The Constitution of the United States of America is adopted by representatives of twelve states gathered in Philadelphia. After meeting seven hours a day for five or six days a week over the last four months (except for ten days when a draft was being written), they share a meal at the City Tavern and say goodbye.
18 September 1787 The Dutch Patriot stronghold of Dordrecht surrenders to Prussian troops.
La belle esclave, ou Valcour et Zéïla, an opéra-comique by François-André Danican-Philidor (61) to words of Dumaniant, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre du Comte de Beaujolais, Paris. It is very successful.
20 September 1787 With the defeat of the Patriots, Willem V is restored as Stadtholder at The Hague.
24 September 1787 The Parlement of Paris is recalled to the capital from Troyes.
1 October 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) departs Vienna for Prague to produce Don Giovanni. The opera is still not finished.
Publication of Muzio Clementi’s (35) Keyboard Sonata op.20 is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
After an amphibious landing, Turkish forces attack the fortress of Kinburn, near Ochakiv (Ukraine). The Russians counterattack and force the Turkish survivors back to their ships.
4 October 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) and his wife arrive in Prague to produce Don Giovanni.
7 October 1787 Antonio Salieri (37) writes angrily to Lorenzo da Ponte requesting that he return immediately to Vienna and complete the libretto of Axur, Re d’Omus. Da Ponte is in Prague for the upcoming opening of Don Giovanni. Da Ponte will comply and miss the premiere. See 29 October 1787 and 8 January 1788.
8 October 1787 Thomas Clarkson gives a speech denouncing slavery in the Manchester Cathedral. This is seen as an inspiration to abolitionists in Britain and also the beginnings of the awakening of the middle class.
Lorenzo da Ponte arrives in Prague for the premiere of Don Giovanni.
10 October 1787 Amsterdam, the last Patriot stronghold, surrenders to invading Prussian troops.
12 October 1787 Im Finstern ist nicht gut tappen, a singspiel by Johann Schenk (33) to words of Hiesberger, is performed for the first time, at the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
15 October 1787 Because of the need for funds for the upcoming war against Turkey, Emperor Joseph II sacks the Singspiel players of the Nationaltheater, effective at the end of this season.
22 October 1787 Le fils-rival ou La modèrne Stratonice, an opéra-comique by Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (36) to words of Lafermière, is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
27 October 1787 The first of the Federalist Papers appears the Independent Journal in New York in support of the new constitution. They will all appear in New York newspapers over the next ten months.
28 October 1787 William Wilberforce writes in his diary, “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners’, (the reform of the morals of Britain).” He will succeed in the first.
29 October 1787 Giovanni Paisiello (47) is appointed maestro della real camera for the Neapolitan court.
Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni, an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) to words of da Ponte, is performed for the first time, in the National Theatre, Prague. It is an enormous success. Among the audience in Giacomo Casanova. Mozart wrote the overture last night and the orchestra plays it at sight.
13 November 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) and his wife depart Prague for Vienna.
14 November 1787 16:00 While on a drive with his wife in Vienna, Christoph Willibald Gluck (73) suffers a fourth stroke.
15 November 1787 Christoph Willibald Gluck dies at his home in Vienna after suffering his fourth stroke, aged 73 years, four months and 13 days. Among those attending is Antonio Salieri (37).
17 November 1787 A setting of De profundis by Christoph Willibald Gluck is performed for the first time, at the composer’s funeral in Vienna. It is conducted by Antonio Salieri (37) to whom Gluck gave the score shortly before his death. Gluck’s earthly remains are laid to rest in the cemetery of Matzleinsdorf.
19 November 1787 A meeting of the Parlement, wherein it is expected that they will accede to King Louis’ financial plans, is stunned when the King appears, closes debate and demands that he be obeyed. In the silence that follows, the King’s cousin, Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, publicly states his belief that the edict is illegal. The King storms out. Philippe will be arrested and exiled to his estates.
21 November 1787 Two Grand Sonatas for harpsichord or piano with violin ad.lib. B.571-572 by Ignaz Pleyel (30) are entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
28 November 1787 Pursuant to the Royal Proclamation of 1 June, a committee of a new Proclamation Society meets. Its leader is William Wilberforce.
29 November 1787 King Louis XVI of France promulgates the Edict of Versailles, granting civil rights to Protestants.
1 December 1787 Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant is published this month in Halle.
3 December 1787 Domenico Cimarosa (37) arrives in St. Petersburg to become Maestro di Cappella to the court of Yekaterina the Great. On the way from Italy, Cimarosa and his wife visited Livorno as guest of Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany, also Parma, visiting Duchess Maria Amalia, and three weeks in Vienna, during which he was presented to Emperor Joseph II.
7 December 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) is appointed Imperial and Royal Chamber Composer to replace Christoph Willibald Gluck (†0). It carries with it a salary of 800 gulden.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) and his wife arrive back in Vienna from Prague.
The Delaware ratifying convention votes unanimously to adopt the Constitution of the United States, the first state to do so.
12 December 1787 The ratifying convention of Pennsylvania votes 46-23 to adopt the Constitution of the United States, the second state to do so.
17 December 1787 Protesters, unhappy with the reforms of Joseph II, battle troops in Brabant with rocks and potatoes. Six demonstrators are killed.
18 December 1787 Meeting at the Blazing Star Tavern in Trenton, the ratifying convention of New Jersey votes unanimously to adopt the Constitution of the United States, the third state to do so.
19 December 1787 The Wiener Zeitung announces publication of Joseph Haydn’s (55) String Quartets op.50, as well as the publication of the Sonata for piano-four hands K.497 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31).
26 December 1787 Le prisonnier anglais, an opéra-comique by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (46) to words of Desfontaines (pseud. of Fouques) is performed for the first time, at the Comédie-Italienne.
27 December 1787 A fourth child is born to Constanze and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31) in Vienna, named Theresia.
28 December 1787 Einige Hexenscenen aus Schackespears Macbeth, some incidental music by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (35), is performed for the first time, in the Nationaltheater, Berlin.
31 December 1787 After meeting for one day, the Georgia ratifying convention approves the new Constitution unanimously.
©2004-2015 Paul Scharfenberger
4 June 2015
Last Updated (Thursday, 04 June 2015 04:27)