Major Events
- Jan 21 The 1st American novel, William Hill Brown's "The Power of Sympathy" is published by Isaiah Thomas
- Feb 4 1st US electoral college chooses George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President
- Apr 4 1st US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington's presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ending 1791)
- Apr 28 Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny on HMS Bounty against its captain William Bligh in the South Pacific
- Apr 30 George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America at Federal Hall in NYC
- May 12 William Wilberforce makes his first major speech on abolition in the UK House of Commons, reasoning the slave trade morally reprehensible and an issue of natural justice
- Jun 8 James Madison introduces a proposed Bill of Rights in the US House of Representatives
- Jun 17 French Revolution: During the meeting of the Estates-General, the Third Estate proclaims itself the 'National Assembly'
- Jun 20 French Revolution: The Third Estate of the French Estates-General swears the Tennis Court Oath at the Palace of Versailles, swearing not to disband until a new constitution is formed
- Jul 14 Bastille Day - the French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille Prison in Paris (now celebrated as France's national day)
- Jul 27 US Congress establishes Department of Foreign Affairs now referred to as the State Department
- Aug 27 French National Assembly issues the "Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen"
- Sep 24 US Federal Judiciary Act passes, creating a six-person Supreme Court
- Sep 25 US Congress proposes the Bill of Rights
- Oct 2 George Washington transmits the proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification
- Oct 5 French Revolution: Women of Paris march to Versailles in the March on Versailles to confront Louis XVI about his refusal to promulgate the decrees on the abolition of feudalism, demand bread, and have the King and his court moved to Paris
- Nov 13 In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, Benjamin Franklin writes "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes"
- Nov 26 1st national Thanksgiving in America
- More 1789 Events
Articles About 1789
Mutiny on the Bounty
Lieutenant William Bligh is set adrift by the mutineers aboard the HMS Bounty on April 28, 1789April 28George Washington's Inauguration
Allyn Cox's famous mural in the U.S. Capital Building of George Washington being sworn in as the nation's first president on the balcony of Federal Hall in NYCApril 30Tennis Court Oath
Painting by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court OathJune 20France Celebrates Bastille Day
July 14 is Bastille Day, marking the fall in 1789 of the massive Paris fortress, the start of the French Revolution and the end of the country’s monarchy.July 14Bastille Day
Storming of the BastilleJuly 14Women's March on Versailles
Women of Paris marching to Versailles, one of the earliest and most significant events of the French RevolutionOctober 5