1780 – 1790s

Events in the 1780s 11

• 1714 – 1788 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Empfindsamer Stil pioneer Son of J.S. Bach and a key bridge between Baroque and Classical styles. His expressive keyboard works influenced Haydn and Beethoven.
• 1760 – 1788 Hutton — deep geological time The Earth is inconceivably old — "no vestige of a beginning" James Hutton of Edinburgh, through observation of Scottish rock formations, concluded in his Theory of the Earth (1788) that geological processes — erosion, deposition, uplift — operate extremely slowly and have been doing so for an immense time. His famous phrase "no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end" introduced the concept of deep time. His work was essential for Darwin, who needed vast geological time for evolution to operate.
• 1780 – 1800 Galvani and Volta — animal electricity and the battery Electricity in living things, and electricity from chemistry Luigi Galvani discovered in 1780 that electric current causes muscle contraction in frogs, suggesting electricity is fundamental to living things. Alessandro Volta's voltaic pile (1800) — the first battery — showed that electricity could be generated chemically without biological tissue. Volta's invention provided the first sustained source of electric current and launched all subsequent electrical and electrochemical science.
• 1781 Herschel discovers Uranus First planet discovered since antiquity On 13 March 1781, William Herschel of Bath discovered Uranus using a home-made reflecting telescope — the first planet discovered since ancient times and the first found by systematic telescopic search. The discovery doubled the known size of the solar system and demonstrated that new planets could still be found. It also prompted mathematical predictions of Neptune 65 years later.
• 1782 – 1840 Niccolò Paganini Violin virtuoso & composer Italian violinist and composer whose dazzling technique revolutionised violin playing. His 24 Caprices remain among the most challenging violin works ever written.
• 1783 Cavendish — composition of water Water is hydrogen and oxygen, not an element In 1783, Henry Cavendish demonstrated that water is produced by burning hydrogen in oxygen, establishing that water is a compound of two gases rather than a fundamental element. This overturned 2,500 years of belief dating to the ancient Greeks and completed the demolition of the four-elements theory.
• 1783 – 1804 Cayley — principles of aerodynamics Lift, drag and the concept of the fixed-wing aircraft George Cayley of Yorkshire formulated the basic principles of aerodynamics between 1783 and 1804, identifying the forces of lift, drag, and thrust acting on a flying body. He designed the first successful glider and understood that a fixed wing — rather than flapping — was the key to heavier-than-air flight. His 1804 model glider was the ancestor of all subsequent aircraft, including the Wright Brothers' 1903 Flyer.
• 1786 – 1826 Carl Maria von Weber Early Romantic opera pioneer German composer who established German Romantic opera with Der Freischütz, paving the way for Wagner.
• 1788 – 1824 Lord Byron English Romantic poet Byron became a leading Romantic figure through emotionally intense poetry and a dramatic public persona.
• 1789 – 1925 Qajar dynasty Decline, territorial losses and foreign pressure The Qajar dynasty ruled Iran for over a century but presided over territorial losses to Russia and Britain and growing foreign interference. The 1906 Constitutional Revolution forced the creation of a parliament (Majlis), a landmark in Iran's political modernisation, before the dynasty fell to Reza Khan's coup.
• 1789 – 1799 French Revolution End of the Bourbon monarchy The French Revolution overthrew the monarchy, reshaped French society, and spread revolutionary ideals across Europe.