March 8 » An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes "African Slavery in America", the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery.
April 20 » American Revolutionary War: The Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
June 12 » American Revolution: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged.
July 5 » The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
July 26 » The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
September 8 » The unsuccessful Rising of the Priests in Malta.
Day of death February 23, 1785
The temperature on February 23, 1785 was about -3.0 °C. Wind direction mainly south east. Weather type: omtrent helder. Source: KNMI
January 7 » Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
January 20 » Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
January 27 » The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
November 28 » The first Treaty of Hopewell is signed, by which the United States acknowledges Cherokee lands in what is now East Tennessee.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Leen Schaap, "Database Schaap", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/database-schaap/I5867.php : accessed September 29, 2026), "Antje Dekker (1775-1785)".
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