January 28 » Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
May 28 » French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
July 3 » French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
Day of marriage February 3, 1774
The temperature on February 3, 1774 was about -1.0 °C. Wind direction mainly northeast. Weather type: zeer betrokken. Special wheather fenomena: ijs. Source: KNMI
March 31 » American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.
May 10 » Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
June 22 » The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
August 1 » British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
September 4 » New Caledonia is first sighted by Europeans, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook.
September 5 » First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia.
Day of death November 5, 1781
The temperature on November 5, 1781 was about 7.0 °C. There was 22 mm of rainWind direction mainly south. Weather type: betrokken regen. Source: KNMI
January 1 » American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
January 5 » American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
January 6 » In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands.
August 5 » The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.
September 5 » Battle of the Chesapeake in the American Revolutionary War: The British Navy is repelled by the French Navy, contributing to the British surrender at Yorktown.
September 28 » American Revolution: American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.
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/P2243.php : accessed January 4, 2026), "John Parke Custis (1754-1781)".
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