1787 Facts for Kids

The year 1787 was a time of big changes, especially in the United States, where a new plan for the country's government was created. Many other important events happened around the world, from scientific discoveries to new alliances and the start of new countries.

September 17: The United States Constitution is signed by leaders from the 13 states in Philadelphia.

This article is about the year 1787.

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	17th century – 18th century – 19th century
Decades:	1750s 1760s 1770s – 1780s – 1790s 1800s 1810s
Years:	1784 1785 1786 – 1787 – 1788 1789 1790

1787 (MDCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1787th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 787th year of the 2nd millennium, the 87th year of the 18th century, and the 8th year of the 1780s decade. As of the start of 1787, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Key Events of 1787
Famous People Born in 1787
- Births with Unknown Dates
Notable People Who Passed Away in 1787
See also

Key Events of 1787

January to March: New Beginnings

January 9 – In North Carolina, leaders decided to buy land for a new town. They named it Pittsborough, which is now Pittsboro.
January 11 – The famous astronomer William Herschel discovered two new moons orbiting the planet Uranus. He named them Titania and Oberon.
January 19 – Mozart's Symphony No. 38 was performed for the first time in Prague.
February 4 – A rebellion in Massachusetts, called Shays' Rebellion, came to an end.
February 21 – The government of the United States, under the Articles of Confederation, announced that a meeting would be held in Philadelphia. The goal was to improve the Articles of Confederation.
February 28 – A special paper was signed to create a new school, which later became the University of Pittsburgh.
March 3 – Harrisburg was chosen as the new capital city of Pennsylvania.
March 17 – The Bank of North America, which was like the central bank for the U.S. government, was started again after its original permission had run out.
March 30 – Biblical theology, a way of studying the Bible, became its own special subject in Germany.

April to June: Important Meetings and Journeys

April 2 – A special paper was signed to create the first courts in what would become Australia.
May 13 – Captain Arthur Phillip left England with 11 ships, known as the First Fleet. They were carrying about 700 prisoners and many crew members to start a new settlement in Australia.
May 14 – Leaders from different states began to arrive in Philadelphia for a very important meeting called the Constitutional Convention.
May 22 – In Britain, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp started a group called the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. This group worked to end the buying and selling of enslaved people.
May 25 – The Constitutional Convention officially began in Philadelphia. The original idea was to fix the old Articles of Confederation, but they ended up writing a completely new plan for the country, the United States Constitution. George Washington led the meeting.
May – A civil war began in the Dutch Republic (now the Netherlands).
May 31 – The first cricket match was played at the original Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The Marylebone Cricket Club was also founded.
June 20 – At the Convention, Oliver Ellsworth suggested that the new government should be called the United States.
June 28 – Princess Wilhelmina of Orange was stopped by Dutch rebels while trying to travel to The Hague.

July to September: A New Nation Takes Shape

July 13 – The government passed the Northwest Ordinance. This law set up rules for governing the Northwest Territory (which later became states like Ohio and Michigan). It also explained how new states could join the country and limited the spread of slavery.
July 18 – The United States signed its first agreement with the Sultanate of Morocco.
August 9 – South Carolina gave up its claim to a strip of land in what is now Alabama and Mississippi to the United States.
August 10 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his famous piece of music, Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
August 27 – John Fitch showed off his steam-powered boat on the Delaware River. He received the first U.S. patent for his design.
September 13 – Troops from Prussia invaded the Dutch Republic. Many Dutch patriots had to leave their homes and go to France.
September 17 – The United States Constitution was signed by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This was a huge step in creating the United States as we know it.
September 24 – Washington Academy, which later became Washington & Jefferson College, was officially started in Pennsylvania.

October to December: More States and Discoveries

October 1 – In the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92), Russian forces won a battle against the Turks.
October 27 – The first of The Federalist Papers was published. These were a series of essays written to convince people to approve the new U.S. Constitution.
October 29 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni was performed for the first time in Prague.
November 1 – The first secondary school for girls in Sweden, called Societetsskolan, was opened.
November 21 – An agreement was signed between France and Lord Gia Long, who would later become the Emperor of Vietnam.
December 3 – James Rumsey showed off his boat that moved using a water jet on the Potomac River.
December 7 – Delaware became the first state to approve the new Constitution, officially joining the United States.
December 8 – The La Purisima Mission was founded in California.
December 12 – Pennsylvania became the second state to approve the Constitution.
December 18 – New Jersey became the third state to approve the Constitution.
December 23 – Captain William Bligh set sail from England on the ship HMS Bounty, heading for Tahiti.

Other Important Events of 1787

Caroline Herschel was given a yearly salary by King George III of Great Britain for helping her brother William with his astronomy work.
The town of Waynesborough was started in North Carolina, but it no longer exists today.
Antoine Lavoisier suggested that silica was made of a metal that hadn't been discovered yet. This metal was later named silicon.
The first serious school for girls in Denmark was founded.
A fossil bone found in New Jersey was discussed by a scientific group in Philadelphia.

Famous People Born in 1787

Joseph von Fraunhofer

January 1 – Manuel José Arce, a general and the first President of the Federal Republic of Central America.
February 10 – William Bradley, known as Britain's tallest man.
February 23 – Emma Willard, an important American educator.
March 6 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, a German expert in optics (lenses and light).
March 9 – Josephine Kablick, a Czech botanist and paleontologist.
April 26 – Ludwig Uhland, a German poet.
May 25 – José María Bocanegra, who became the 3rd President of Mexico.
June 28 – Sir Harry Smith, an English soldier and military leader.
August 24 – James Weddell, a British sailor who discovered the Weddell Sea.
October 4 – François Guizot, who became Prime Minister of France.
November 4 – Edmund Kean, a famous English actor.

Louis Daguerre

November 18 – Louis Daguerre, a French artist and chemist who helped invent photography.
November 21 – Samuel Cunard, a Canadian businessman who started the Cunard Line shipping company.
November 25 – Franz Xaver Gruber, an Austrian composer.
December 10 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, an American educator.
December 17 – Jan Evangelista Purkyne, a Czech scientist who studied anatomy and botany.

Births with Unknown Dates

Juana Galán, a Spanish heroine.
Shaka, a powerful Zulu king.

Notable People Who Passed Away in 1787

Roger Joseph Boscovich

January 1 – Arthur Middleton, an American politician.
February 4 – Pompeo Batoni, an Italian painter.
February 13 – Rudjer Boscovich, a Croatian scientist and diplomat.
February 13 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, a French statesman.
March 8 – Samuel Graves, a British Royal Navy admiral.
April 2 – Thomas Gage, a British general.
May 28 – Leopold Mozart, an Austrian composer and father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
June 20 – Carl Friedrich Abel, a German composer.
July 4 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, a Marshal of France.
August 1 – Alphonsus Liguori, an Italian saint.
October 7 – Henry Muhlenberg, who founded the U.S. Lutheran Church.