1789

Events

Dated Events

• Real World: February 4. George Washington is elected the first President of the United States.

• Real World: March 4. The Constitution of the United States is declared in effect by the first U.S. Congress.

• Real World: April 28. A mutiny is led by Fletcher Christian against Captain William Bligh on the HMS Bounty.

• Real World: May 5. The Estates-General convene in France for the first time since 1614.

• Real World: June 17. The Third Estate of the Estates-General, representing the bourgeoisie, declares itself the National Assembly, inviting members of the the other two Estates to join them.

• Real World: June 20. Having been locked out of their regular meeting-hall by Louis XVI, the National Assembly meets in a tennis court, and signs the Tennis Court Oath- widely considered the first step towards the French Revolution.

• Real World: July 9. The National Assembly meets in Versailles; declaring itself the National Constituent Assembly, it begins preparing a French constitution.

• Real World: July 12. Crowds in Paris angrily protest Louis XVI's dismissal of the popular finance minister Jacques Necker.

• Real World: July 14. The French Revolution erupts in force as the Bastille is stormed by Parisians and peasants begin to attack the manors of nobles.

• Real World: August 4. End of the feudal system in France.

• Real World: August 26. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is adopted by the National Constituent Assembly.

• Real World: November 20. New Jersey becomes the first of the United States to ratify the Bill of Rights.

• Real World: November 21. North Carolina ratifies the U.S. Constitution and becomes the 12th member of the United States.

Undated Events

• Real World: Abd-al-Hamid I is replaced by Selim III as sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Deaths

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