March 5 » Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
March 18 » American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
May 22 » A large earthquake causes heavy damage and loss of life in Istanbul and the Marmara region.
July 1 » François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France.
December 2 » Swedish parliament approved the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implemented it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech.
December 5 » In London, auctioneer James Christie holds his first sale.
Day of death October 20, 1776
The temperature on October 20, 1776 was about 14.0 °C. There was 4 mm of rainWind direction mainly south-southeast. Weather type: zeer betrokken. Source: KNMI
April 12 » American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
July 2 » American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not published until July 4.
July 9 » George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island.
August 27 » Battle of Long Island: In what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.
November 29 » American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia, comes to an end with the arrival of British reinforcements.
December 7 » Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arranges to enter the American military as a major general.
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/P25864.php : accessed January 21, 2026), "William EMERSON (1743-1776)".
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