1788 to 1789

1788

x - The Times newspaper in London is founded. It was originally named the Daily Universal Register in 1785.
x - The Qajar dynasty, rulers of Iran, make Tehran their capital. [u.1920s]
feb 27 - |MASSACHUSETTS| Following an incident in which free blacks were kidnapped and transported to the island of Martinique, the declares the slavery trade illegal.
mar 24 - |RHODE ISLAND| The Constitution is rejected by a popular referendum.
jun 25 - |VIRGINIA| The Federalists, led by James Madison +, finally prevail as ratification of the Constitution (with a proposed bill of rights and 20 other changes) is endorsed by a close vote of 89 to 75.
jul 02 - A formal announcement is made by the president of Congress that the Constitution of the United States is now in effect, having been ratified by the required nine states.
sep 13 - New York City is chosen by Congress to be the temporary seat of the new U.S. government.
dec 23 - Maryland proposes giving a 10 square-mile area along the Potomac River for the establishment of a federal town to be the new seat of the U.S. government.

1789

jan 23 - Georgetown University, the first Catholic college in the U.S., is founded by Father John Carroll.
feb 04 - Ballots are cast in the first presidential election, to be counted on apr 06.
mar 04 - The first Congress convenes in New York City, but is unable to achieve a quorum, since most members are still traveling there.
apr 06 - In the Senate, with 9 of 22 senators present, the presidential ballots cast on feb 04 are counted. George Washington + is the unanimous choice for President with 69 votes. John Adams + is elected Vice President with 34 votes.
apr 30 - On the balcony of New York's Federal Hall, George Washington, at age 57, is sworn in as the first President of the United States. He then enters the Senate chamber to deliver his inaugural address.
may 05 - The French Estates-General meets at Versaille, the first such meeting since 1614.
jun 17 - The Third Estate (commoners) of the Estates-General meets separately and declares itself to be a National Assembly. King Louis XVI closed their meeting place, so they repair to the tennis court at the Louvre (Jeu de Paume).
jun 20 - Members of the National Assembly take oath not to disband until a constitution is established.
jun 27 - Louis XVI legalizes the National Assembly, permitting all three estates to meet together and vote per capita.
jul 14 - |PARIS| The French Revolution begins with the fall of the Bastille, then functioning as a royal prison. A mob kills its governor, the Marquis de Launey, and releases its seven prisoners (none of whom are political prisoners).
aug 08 - During the night, equality of rights throughout France is proclaimed.
aug 08 - Nobles and clergy in the National Assembly, out of fear, renounce their privileges, ending feudalism in France.
aug - Adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen.
nov 26 - |U.S.| A Day of Thanksgiving is established by a congressional resolution and a proclamation by George Washington +.
oct 05 - A Parisian mob marches on Versailles. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are relocated to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, where they are confined.
x - Mutiny on the British ship the Bounty.
x - Alexander Mackenzie travels with the French-Canadian voyagers up the river that now bears his name to the Artic.
x - There is a coup d'etat in Sweden.
x - Gustavus III of Sweden passes his Act of Union and Security.