1779

Events in 1779 8

• 1779 – 1843 Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) Died 11 January 1843, aged 63 Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer who wrote the poem Defence of Fort M'Henry after watching the British bombard Baltimore in 1814. Set to music, it became The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States.
• 1779 – 1845 Joseph Story (1779-1845) Died 10 September 1845, aged 65 Joseph Story served as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1812 until his death. He wrote the Court's opinion in the Amistad case. His Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States became a classic of American legal scholarship.
• 1779 – 1848 Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) Died 7 August 1848, aged 68 Swedish chemist who devised modern chemical symbols and measured atomic weights accurately. He discovered the elements cerium, selenium and thorium. He is counted among the founders of modern chemistry.
• 1779 – 1857 Karl Ritter (1779-1857) Died 28 September 1857, aged 78 Ritter was a German geographer regarded, alongside Alexander von Humboldt, as a founder of modern scientific geography. He held the first chair of geography at the University of Berlin and emphasized the relationship between physical environment and human history. His comparative method shaped geography as an academic discipline.
• 1779 – 1869 Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869) Died 12 September 1869, aged 90 Peter Mark Roget was a British physician and scholar best known for compiling "Roget's Thesaurus," first published in 1852. A polymath, he also contributed to physiology and devised an early form of the slide rule. His thesaurus remains in print and in use more than a century and a half later.
• 1779 – 1852 Thomas Moore (1779-1852) Died 25 February 1852, aged 72 Thomas Moore was Ireland's leading Romantic poet and songwriter, best known for the collection Irish Melodies and songs such as "The Minstrel Boy". He died at his cottage in Wiltshire, England.
• 1779 – 1843 Washington Allston (1779-1843) Died 9 July 1843, aged 63 Washington Allston was an American painter and poet who was among the first Romantic painters in the United States. He was known for dramatic landscapes and for his use of light and colour.
• 1779 – 1848 William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848) Died 24 November 1848, aged 69 British Whig statesman who was Prime Minister in 1834 and from 1835 to 1841. He was the political mentor of the young Queen Victoria. His wife was Lady Caroline Lamb.