January 5 » Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
January 16 » Forces of the Maratha Empire defeat a 5,000-strong army of the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.
May 6 » The end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757).
June 23 » Battle of Plassey: Three thousand British troops under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000-strong Indian army under Siraj ud-Daulah at Plassey.
December 5 » Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen: Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.
December 31 » Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issues her ukase incorporating Königsberg into Russia.
Day of death January 28, 1779
The temperature on January 28, 1779 was about 2.0 °C. Wind direction mainly south-southeast. Weather type: betrokken mist. Source: KNMI
January 11 » Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur.
February 14 » James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
May 13 » War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
June 24 » American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
July 6 » Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War.
October 18 » American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah is lifted.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Charles Olson, "Olson's Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/olsons-tree/P21077.php : accessed January 3, 2026), "William Johnson (1757-1779)".
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