May 7 » The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
May 15 » James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun.
June 26 » Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, Peter the Great's son, mysteriously dies after being sentenced to death by his father for plotting against him.
November 22 » Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") is killed in battle with a boarding party led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard.
November 30 » King Charles XII of Sweden dies during a siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway.
December 17 » War of the Quadruple Alliance: Great Britain declares war on Spain.
Day of death January 17, 1778
The temperature on January 17, 1778 was about 2.0 °C. Wind direction mainly south. Weather type: zeer betrokken. Source: KNMI
January 18 » James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
February 6 » New York became the third state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
February 23 » American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
May 12 » Heinrich XI, count of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, is elevated to Prince by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.
June 28 » American Revolutionary War: The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness.
August 3 » The theatre La Scala in Milan is inaugurated with the première of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Caspar Evers, "Family tree Evers - van Rijsbergen", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-evers-van-rijsbergen/I4367.php : accessed February 1, 2026), "Petrus Slootmans (1696-1778)".
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