The year 1799 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.
Archaeology
* July 15 – In the Egyptian port city of Rosetta (Rashid), French Captain Pierre Bouchard finds the Rosetta Stone, which will become the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing.
* July 25 – At the Battle of Abukir in Egypt,
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
gains French control of Egyptian artifacts by defeating over 10,000 OttomanMamluk troops under
Mustafa Pasha Mustafa Pasha may refer to:
People
* Çoban Mustafa Pasha (died 1529), Ottoman vizier and governor of Egypt (1522–23)
* Koca Mustafa Pasha (fl. 1511–1512), Ottoman grand vizier (1511–12)
* Kara Şahin Mustafa Pasha (fl. 1524–1566), Ottom ...
* Thomas Beddoes makes the first recorded use of the word ''
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
publishes the first scientific description of the
platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monot ...
(''Ornithorhynchus anatinus'' Shaw) in ''The Naturalists' Miscellany''.
Exploration
*
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...
and
Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (; 22 August 1773 – 11 May 1858) was a French explorer and botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. He co-authored volumes of the scientific results of their e ...
begin a five-year exploration of the natural history of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
.
Geology
* ''by summer'' – William Smith produces the first large-scale
geological map
A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with str ...
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
* December 11 – Smith draws up a table of
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...
round Bath.
History of science
* Benjamin Hutchinson publishes ''Biographia Medica'' in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the first
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...
historical dictionary of international medical biography.
Mathematics
*
Paolo Ruffini
Paolo Ruffini ( Valentano, 22 September 1765 – Modena, 10 May 1822) was an Italian mathematician and philosopher.
Education and Career
By 1788 he had earned university degrees in philosophy, medicine/surgery and mathematics. His works incl ...
partially proves the
Abel–Ruffini theorem
In mathematics, the Abel–Ruffini theorem (also known as Abel's impossibility theorem) states that there is no solution in radicals to general polynomial equations of degree five or higher with arbitrary coefficients. Here, ''general'' means ...
that quintic or higher-order equations cannot be solved by a general formula.
*
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at ...
becomes the first to publish the concept of the
Simson line
In geometry, given a triangle and a point on its circumcircle, the three closest points to on lines , , and are collinear. The line through these points is the Simson line of , named for Robert Simson. The concept was first published, howeve ...
.
Medicine
* March – The
Pneumatic Institution
The Pneumatic Institution (also referred to as Pneumatic Institute) was a medical research facility in Bristol, England, in 1799–1802. It was established by physician and science writer Thomas Beddoes to study the medical effects of gases, know ...
for research into the medical implications of newly discovered gases is established by Thomas Beddoes in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
.
*
Caleb Parry
Caleb Hillier Parry (21 October 1755 – 9 March 1822) was an Anglo-Welsh physician credited with the first report of Parry–Romberg syndrome, published in 1815, and one of the earliest descriptions of the exophthalmic goiter, published in 1825. ...
publishes ''An Inquiry Into the Symptoms and Causes of the Syncope Anginosa Commonly Called Angina Pectoris, illustrated by Dissections'', describing the mechanisms for
Angina
Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease.
Angina is typically the result of obstruc ...
.
*
Maria Dalle Donne
Maria Dalle Donne (12 July 1778 – 9 June 1842) was an Italian physician and a director at the University of Bologna. She was the third woman in the history of the world to receive doctorate in medicine, and the second woman to become a member of ...
becomes the first female
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degre ...
, at the
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...
.
*
Matthew Baillie
Matthew Baillie FRS (27 October 1761 – 23 September 1823) was a British physician and pathologist, credited with first identifying transposition of the great vessels (TGV) and situs inversus.
Early life and education
He was born in the manse ...
begins publication in London of ''A Series of Engravings, Accompanied with Explanations, which are Intended to Illustrate the Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body'', the first comprehensive atlas of
pathology
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
as a separate subject.
Metrology
* An all-
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
kilogramme
The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...
prototype is fabricated with the objective of equalling as closely as feasible the mass of one cubic decimetre of water at 4 °C. The prototype is presented to the Archives of the
French Republic
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in June and on December 10 is formally ratified as the ''Kilogramme des Archives'' and the kilogramme defined as being equal to its mass. This standard holds for the next ninety years.
Mineralogy
* Twelve-year-old Conrad John Reed finds what he described as a "heavy yellow rock" along Little Meadow Creek in
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.
Paleontology
*
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
, writing in ''Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
'' 4, describes the bones of ''
Megalonyx jeffersonii
''Megalonyx'' (Greek, "large claw") is an extinct genus of ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae, native to North America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. It became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event at the end of th ...
'', an extinct ground sloth.
Physics
* ''
Annalen der Physik
''Annalen der Physik'' (English: ''Annals of Physics'') is one of the oldest scientific journals on physics; it has been published since 1799. The journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers on experimental, theoretical, applied, and mat ...
'' first published.
Technology
*
Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South.
Although Whitney h ...
, holding a January 1798
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
government contract for the manufacture of
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket graduall ...
American system of manufacturing
The American system of manufacturing was a set of manufacturing methods that evolved in the 19th century. The two notable features were the extensive use of interchangeable parts and mechanization for production, which resulted in more efficient u ...
.
Awards
*
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
:
John Hellins
:''This subject should not be confused with his grandson John Hellins, 1829–1887, clergyman and entomologist''.
John Hellins FRS ( 1749 – 5 April 1827) was a British autodidact, schoolteacher, mathematician, astronomer and country parson. ...
Births
* January –
James Meadows Rendel
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
(died
1856
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California.
* January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voy ...
)
* January 12 –
Priscilla Susan Bury
Priscilla Susan Bury, born Falkner (12 January 1799 Liverpool – 8 March 1872 Croydon), was an English botanist and illustrator.
Personal life
Priscilla Susan Bury was born in Rainhill, Liverpool. Her parents were Edward Falkner and Bridg ...
, British botanist (died
1872
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years.
* February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts o ...
)
* March 16 –
Anna Atkins
Anna Atkins (née Children; 16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871) was an English botanist and photographer. She is often considered the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images. Some sources say that she was the first wom ...
, British botanist (died
1871
Events January–March
* January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory.
* January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sou ...
)
* May 21 –
Mary Anning
Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for the discoveries she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channe ...
, English
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...
(died
1847
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government.
* January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California.
* January 16 – John C. Frém ...
)
* June 3 –
Elisabetta Fiorini Mazzanti
Elisabetta Fiorini Mazzanti (3 June 1799 – 23 April 1879), was an Italian botanist and writer. She was known for her work in bryology and algae. In scientific literature, she is referred to by the abbreviation Fior.-Mazz.
Early years
Elisa ...
, Italian botanist (died
1879
Events January–March
* January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War.
* January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
* Janu ...
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
(died
1862
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria.
* January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico.
* January ...
1834
Events
January–March
* January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
* January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.
* January ...
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
inventor (died 1862)
* December 20 –
Nicholas Callan
Father Nicholas Joseph Callan (22 December 1799 – 10 January 1864) was an Irish priest and scientist from Darver, County Louth, Ireland. He was Professor of Natural Philosophy in Maynooth College in County Kildare from 1834, and is best known ...
,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate ca ...
(died
1864
Events
January–March
* January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster (" Oh! Susanna", " Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song ...
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
-born
horticulturalist
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
(died
1870
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England.
** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed.
* January 3 – Construction of the B ...
)
* Undated
**
Petrache Poenaru
Petrache Poenaru (; 10 January 1799 – 2 October 1875) was a Romanian inventor of the Enlightenment era.
Poenaru, who had studied in Paris and Vienna and, later, completed his specialized studies in England, was a mathematician, physicist, eng ...
, Romanian inventor (died
1875
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of th ...
)
**
John Stringfellow
John Stringfellow (1799 – 13 December 1883) was a British early aeronautical inventor, known for his work on the aerial steam carriage with William Samuel Henson.
Life
Stringfellow was born in Attercliffe, England to Martha ée Gil ...
, English pioneer of heavier-than-air flight (died
1883
Events
January–March
* January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States.
* January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people.
* Janua ...
)
Deaths
* January 17 –
Maria Gaetana Agnesi
Maria Gaetana Agnesi ( , , ; 16 May 1718 – 9 January 1799) was an Italian mathematician, philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian. She was the first woman to write a mathematics handbook and the first woman appointed as a mathematics prof ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
(born
1718
Events
January – March
* January 7 – In India, Sufi rebel leader Shah Inayat Shaheed from Sindh who had led attacks against the Mughal Empire, is beheaded days after being tricked into meeting with the Mughals to discuss ...
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
studies (born
1740
Events
January–March
* January 8 – All 237 crewmen on the Dutch East India Company ship '' Rooswijk'' are drowned, when the vessel strikes the shoals of Goodwin Sands, off of the coast of England, as it is beginning its sec ...
)
* February 12 –
Lazzaro Spallanzani
Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...
, Italian
physiologist
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
(born
1729
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hanov ...
)
* February 18 –
Johann Hedwig
Johann Hedwig (8 December 1730 – 18 February 1799), also styled as Johannes Hedwig, was a German botanist notable for his studies of moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
1730
Events
January–March
* January 30 (January 19 O.S.) – At dawn, Emperor Peter II of Russia dies of smallpox, aged 14 in Moscow, on the eve of his projected marriage.
* February 26 (February 15 O.S.) – Anna of Russia (Ann ...
)
* February 19 –
Jean-Charles de Borda
Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda (4 May 1733 – 19 February 1799) was a French mathematician, physicist, and Navy officer.
Biography
Borda was born in the city of Dax to Jean‐Antoine de Borda and Jeanne‐Marie Thérèse de Lacroix.
In 175 ...
, French mathematician and physicist (born
1733
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX.
* January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for the ...
William Curtis
William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum.
Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural h ...
, English botanist and
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
(born
1747
Events
January–March
* January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
* February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Cou ...
1745
Events
January–March
* January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bavar ...
watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...
(born
1736
Events
January–March
* January 12 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, becomes the first Field Marshal of Great Britain.
* January 23 – The Civil Code of 1734 is passed in Sweden.
* January 26 – Stanislaus I of P ...
)
* September 7 –
Jan Ingenhousz
Jan (or John) Ingenhousz or Ingen-Housz FRS (8 December 1730 – 7 September 1799) was a Dutch-born British physiologist, biologist and chemist.
He is best known for discovering photosynthesis by showing that light is essential to the process ...
,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
physiologist
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
(born 1730)
* October 6 –
William Withering
William Withering Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (17 March 1741 – 6 October 1799) was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and first systematic investigator of the bioactivity of digitalis.
Withering was born in Wellington, S ...
, English physician, discoverer of
digitalis
''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves.
''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in sh ...
(born
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
*February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech ...
)
* December 6 –
Joseph Black
Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of ...
,
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...
and physicist (born
1728
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The '' Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana'', the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana.
* January 9 – The coronation of Peter II as the Tsar of ...
)
* December 31 –
Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton
Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton (29 May 1716 – 1 January 1800) was a French naturalist and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''.
Biography
Daubenton was born at Montbard, Côte-d' ...