| January 1 | General George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag |
| January 2 | 1st revolutionary flag displayed |
| January 2 | Austria ends interregation torture |
| January 5 | Assembly of New Hampshire adopts its 1st state constitution |
| January 10 | "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine, published |
| January 16 | Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks |
| February 8 | Wolfgang von Goethes' "Stella," premieres in Hamburg |
| February 17 | 1st volume of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of Roman Empire" published |
| March 2 | Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston |
| March 3 | U.S. commodore Esek Hopkins occupies Nassau Bahamas |
| March 17 | British forces evacuate Boston to Nova Scotia during Revolutionary War |
| March 25 | Continental Congress authorized a medal for George Washington |
| April 1 | Friedrich von Klinger's "Sturm und Drang," premieres in Leipzig |
| April 3 | Washington receives honorary Ll.D. degree from Harvard College |
| April 12 | Halifax resolution for independence adopted by North Carolina |
| April 15 | Duchess of Kingston found guilty of bigamy |
| May 1 | Adam Weishaupt founds secret society of Illuminati |
| May 2 | France and Spain agreed to give weapons to American rebels |
| May 4 | Rhode Island declares independence from England |
| May 12 | Turgot, French minister of Finance, resigns |
| June 7 | Richard Lee moves Declaration of Independence in Continental Congress |
| June 10 | Continental Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence |
| June 11 | Continental Congress create a committee to draft Declaration of Independence |
| June 12 | Virginia adopts Declaration of Rights |
| June 23 | Final draft of Declaration of Independence submitted to U.S. Congress |
| June 28 | Charleston, South Carolina repulses British sea attack |
| June 29 | Mission Dolores founded by San Francisco Bay |
| June 29 | Virginia state constitution adopted and Patrick Henry made governor |
| July 1 | 1st vote on Declaration of Independence |
| July 2 | Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are and of right ought to be Free and Independent States" |
| July 4 | Declaration of Independence - U.S. gains independence from Britain |
| July 6 | Declaration of Independence announced on front page of "Pennsylvania Evening Gazette" |
| July 8 | John Nixon gave 1st public reading of Decleration of Independence in Philadelphia |
| July 9 | Declaration of Independence is read to George Washington's troops, New York |
| July 12 | Captain Cook departs with Resolution for 3rd trip to Pacific Ocean |
| August 2 | Formal signing of Declaration of Independence |
| August 27 | British defeat Americans in Battle of Long Island |
| August 29 | Americans withdraw from Manhattan to Westchester |
| August 30 | U.S. Army evacuates Long Island/falls back to Manhattan, New York City |
| September 6 | 1st (failed) submarine attack (David Bushnell's "Turtle" attacks British sailboat "Eagle" in Bay of New York) |
| September 6 | Hurricane hits Martinique; 100 French and Dutch ships sinks; 600 die |
| September 9 | Continental Congress renames "United Colonies," "US" |
| September 10 | George Washington asks for a spy volunteer, Nathan Hale volunteers |
| September 12 | Nathan Hale leaves Harlem Heights Camp (127th St) for spy mission |
| September 15 | British forces capture Kip's Bay Manhattan during Revolution |
| September 17 | Presidio of San Francisco forms as a Spanish fort |
| September 21 | Nathan Hale, spied on British for American rebels, arrested |
| September 24 | 1st St. Leger horesrace held at Doncaster |
| September 24 | St. Leger horse race run for 1st time |
| October 9 | Mission Dolores founded by San Francisco Bay |
| October 11 | Brigadier General Arnold's Lake Champlain fleet defeated by British |
| October 12 | British Brigade begins guarding Throgg Necks Road in Bronx |
| October 18 | Battle of Pelham: Col John Glover and Marblehead regiment meet British Forces in Bronx |
| October 18 | In a New York bar decorated with bird tail, customer orders "cock tail" |
| October 28 | Battle of White Plains; Washington retreats to NJ |
| November 1 | Mission San Juan Capistrano founded in California |
| November 16 | 1st gun salute - for U.S. Andrea Doria at Ft. St. Eustatius |
| November 16 | British troops captured Fort Washington during American Revolution |
| November 18 | Hessians capture Ft. Lee, NJ |
| November 28 | Washington and his troops cross Delaware River |
| November 30 | Captain Cook begins 3rd and last trip to Pacific (South Sea) |
| December 5 | 1st U.S. fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa (William and Mary College), forms |
| December 8 | George Washington's retreating army crosses Delaware River from New Jersey |
| December 19 | Thomas Paine published his 1st "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls" |
| December 23 | Continental Congress negotiates a war loan of $181,500 from France |
| December 23 | Thomas Paine writes "These are the times that try men's souls" |
| December 25 | Washington crosses Delaware and surprises and defeats 1,400 Hessians |
| December 26 | Battle of Trenton-major British defeat |
| December 26 | George Washington defeats Hessians at Trenton |
| December 31 | Rhode Island establishes wage and price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors |
