All links are to Wikipedia entries.
Tipu Sultan, from a painting said to have been in the possession of Richard Wellesley. (Click on image to see a larger version.)
Government, Politics, and War:
- The first Combination Act is passed by Parliament, prohibiting trade unions and collective bargaining.
- The Dutch government takes over Dutch East India Company.
- January 9: Parliament passes the world’s first general income tax bill, as a means to pay for the war with France.
- February: Napoleon invades Syria and defeats superior Ottoman forces in several battles.
- March 7: Napoleon captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives.
- May 4: British forces (including a division led by Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington) defeat Tipu Sultan of Mysore in the Battle of Seringapatam.
- May 21: The Siege of Acre ends after two months. Napoleon‘s attempt to widen his Middle Eastern campaign into Syria is frustrated by Ottoman forces, and he withdraws to Egypt.
- June: Arthur Wellesley is appointed by his brother, the Governor-General of India, as Governor of Mysore.
- July 25: Napoleon defeats 10,000 Ottoman troops at Aboukir.
- November 9: The Directoire government in France is overthrown in a coup d’état by Napoleon, who establishes the Consulate, with himself as First Consul.
Society and Social History:
- The Royal Military College is founded by Prince Frederick, Duke of York. It is first located at High Wycombe and in 1812 moves to Sandhurst, where it remains today as the Royal Military Academy.
Literature, Journalism, and Publishing:
- January: The first edition of the magazine Fashions of London and Paris is published.
The Blind Milton Dictating to his Daughters by Henry Fuseli. (Click on image to see a larger version.)
Art, Architecture, and Design:
- Henry Fuseli exhibits a series of paintings from subjects from the works of John Milton, with a view to forming a Milton gallery corresponding to Boydell’s Shakespeare gallery. Also situated in Pall Mall, it is a commercial failure and closes in 1800.
Science and Industry:
- The Royal Institution is founded by leading scientists, with the mission of supporting scientific education and research.
Natural History and Exploration:
- Mungo Park’s Travels in the Interior of Africa is published.
- July 15: The Rosetta Stone is discovered by the French in Egypt.
