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
June 2 » Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
June 13 » Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain's North American colonies to ban the importation of slaves.
June 22 » The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
July 21 » Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
September 4 » New Caledonia is first sighted by Europeans, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook.
October 21 » The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty".
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 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.
April 29 » American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.
August 24 » American Revolutionary War: A small force of Pennsylvania militia is ambushed and overwhelmed by an American Indian group, which forces George Rogers Clark to abandon his attempt to attack Detroit.
October 20 » The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Austria.
November 29 » The crew of the British slave ship Zong murders 133 Africans by dumping them into the sea to claim insurance.
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 3, 2026), "John Parke Custis (1754-1781)".
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