What Happened in April?

Voltaire's French version of "Philosophical Letters" is banned in Paris. The book was considered a scandalous attack on the French political and religious systems and was publicly burned by the state executioner. Expand +

John Wesley is converted, sparking the Methodist movement.

The Battle of Culloden ends the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland, marking the defeat of Charles Stuart's attempt to reclaim the British throne.

Samuel Johnson's "A Dictionary of the English Language" is published in London.

The Battle of Bergen takes place during the Seven Years' War. The French army under de Broglie withstand an allied British, Hanoverian, Hessian, Brunswick army under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick near Frankfurt-am-Main. More

The Sugar Act is passed by the British Parliament, imposing new duties and stricter enforcement on the American colonies.

The Boston Massacre occurs when British soldiers fire into a crowd, killing five civilians, in Boston, Massachusetts.

English explorer Captain James Cook anchors at Botany Bay in Australia on April 29, 1770, during his first voyage on the HMS Endeavour, marking the first recorded European landing on Australia's eastern coast.  Expand +

The HMB Endeavour, commanded by Captain James Cook's (then Lieutenant) and his crew arrive at Botany Bay, Australia. They fished, explored, found water and botanized but they didn’t set up a land based camp and remained on board their ship. The Endeavour departed on May 6th seven days after her arrival. More

Paul Revere and William Dawes ride from Boston to Lexington warning of British troop movements, marking the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord are fought, marking the start of the American Revolutionary War, with British troops and colonial militiamen clashing in Massachusetts. More

The Battle of Ridgefield takes place during the American Revolutionary War, with a small American force engaging British troops.

John Paul Jones Sails to the British Isles from Brest, France, after been given command of the newly built 18-gun sloop Ranger, with the mission to raid British merchant shipping and warships in the Irish Sea. Operating out of Brest, Jones cruised to the Irish Sea, capturing or destroying several small vessels. This cruise made Jones a household name in Britain. More

The Battle of Martinique takes place during the Anglo-French War. More

Maryland, ratifies the Articles of Confederation becoming the seventh State.

The US Congress Coinage Act of 1792 establishes a national mint located in Philadelphia and Congress chose decimal coinage in parts of 100, and set the name of the Coinage as the U.S. dollar to the already familiar and widely used Spanish silver dollar and its fractional parts (half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth). This resulted in coins of the following metals and denominations: Copper: half cent and cent. Silver: half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. Gold: quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5), and eagle ($10). The Flowing Hair dollar, designed by Robert Scot, was initially produced in 1794, and again in 1795. In October 1795 the design was replaced by the Draped Bust dollar. More

France declares war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars.

Committee of Public Safety is formed in France, wielding significant power during the Reign of Terror.