1777 in Great Britain
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Events from the year 1777 in Great Britain.
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Incumbents
Events
- 3 January â American Revolution: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.[2]
- 1 May â legal case of Goodright v. Stevens decides that the declaration of either parent cannot be accepted to prove that a child born in wedlock is a bastard.
- 8 May â first performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners The School for Scandal at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.[3]
- May â completion of the Trent and Mersey Canal.[4]
- 21 July â Holmfirth Flood in the Holme Valley of West Yorkshire: three drowned.
- 16 August â American Revolution: at the Battle of Bennington British and Brunswicker forces are decisively defeated by American troops.[3]
- 8 September â inauguration of Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.[5]
- 11 September â American Revolution: Battle of Brandywine is a major victory for the British in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
- 19 September â American Revolution: First Saratoga: Battle of Freeman's Farm â British forces under General Burgoyne win the field but with serious casualties[3]
- 4 October â American Revolution: at the Battle of Germantown, troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.[3]
- 7 October â American Revolution: Second Saratoga: Battle of Bemis Heights â the Americans are victorious.
- 17 October â American Revolution: Saratoga campaign ends with Burgoyne's surrender to the Americans.[3]
- 24 December â Kiritimati (Christmas Island) visited by James Cook.
- Undated â William Bass establishes the Bass Brewery at Burton upon Trent.
Publications
- Encyclopædia Britannica Second Edition begins publication.
- Laws Respecting Women, as they Regard Their Natural Rights is published by Joseph Johnson.
- John Howard's study The State of the Prisons in England and Wales.
- Clara Reeveâs Gothic novel The Champion of Virtue (anonymously), later known as The Old English Baron.[6]
Births
- 22 January â Joseph Hume, doctor and politician (died 1855)
- 3 February â John Cheyne, physician (died 1836)
- 16 February â Benjamin D'Urban, general and colonial administrator (died 1849)
- 1 April â William Gell, archaeologist (died 1836)
- 24 June â John Ross, Arctic explorer (died 1856)
- 9 July â Henry Hallam, historian (died 1859)
- 3 November â Princess Sophia, fifth daughter of King George III (died 1848)
Deaths
- 12 January â Hugh Mercer, soldier and physician, dies in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (born 1726)
- 11 May â George Pigot, Baron Pigot, governor of Madras (born 1719)
- 19 or 27 May â Button Gwinnett, 2nd Governor of Georgia, dies near Savannah, Georgia, United States (born 1735)
- 27 July â William Hayes, composer (bapt. 1708)
- 7 October â Simon Fraser, general (born 1729)
- 21 October â Samuel Foote, dramatist and actor (born 1720)
- 26 December â Dolly Pentreath, last-known fluent native speaker of the Cornish language (born 1692)