| January 6 | Massachusetts slaves petition legislature for freedom |
| January 12 | 1st U.S. public museum established (Charlestown SC) |
| January 17 | Captain James Cook becomes 1st to cross Antarctic Circle (66 degrees 33' S) |
| February 26 | Construction authorized for Walnut St. jail in Philadelphia |
| March 12 | Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable found settlement now known as Chicago |
| March 18 | Oliver Goldsmith' "She Stoops to Conquer," premieres in London |
| April 27 | British Parliament passes Tea Act (Boston won't like this) |
| July 20 | Scottish settlers arrive at Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada) |
| July 21 | Pope Clemens XIV bans Jesuits |
| July 29 | 1st schoolhouse west of Allegheny Mtns completed, Schoenbrunn, OH |
| September 11 | Benjamin Franklin writes "There never was a good war or bad peace" |
| December 16 | Big tea party in Boston harbor-indians welcome (Boston Tea Party) |
| December 26 | Expulsion of tea ships from Philadelphia |
