Historical Events
- Dec 3 First official US flag raised (Grand Union Flag) aboard naval vessel USS Alfred
Knox's Artillery Convoy Sets Out
Dec 9 At Fort Ticonderoga, New York, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of abandoned British artillery to Boston, Massachusetts, later forces the British to evacuate Boston [1]
Arkwright's Carding Machine
Dec 16 Englishman Richard Arkwright receives a patent for his carding machine for use in cotton mills
- Dec 22 Continental navy organized with 7 ships
Battle of Quebec
Dec 31 Battle of Quebec: American Continental Army led by Richard Montgomery is defeated trying to take the British stronghold of Quebec City in the American Revolutionary War, General Montgomery is killed and Benedict Arnold is injured
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 6 Nicolas Isouard, French composer, born in Porto Salvo, Valletta, Malta (d. 1818)
- Dec 14 Philander Chase, American Episcopal Church bishop and founder of Kenyon College, born in Cornish, New Hampshire (d. 1852)
- Dec 14 Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, British admiral, born in Annsfield, Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 1860)
- Dec 16 François-Adrien Boieldieu, French opera composer known as 'the French Mozart' (La dame blanche - The White Lady), born in Rouen, France (d. 1834)
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Dec 16 English novelist (Pride and Prejudice), born in Steventon, England
Famous Deaths
Richard Montgomery (1738-1775)
Dec 31 Irish General in Continental Army during American Revolutionary War, dies in attack on Quebec at 37
