1799

Events in 1799 9

• 1602 – 1799 Rise and fall of the VOC Two centuries of empire Across nearly two centuries the VOC builds a trading empire from the Cape to Japan before collapsing under debt and corruption, dissolved in 1799.
• 1732 – 1799 George Washington 1st President — Founding Father of the United States George Washington (Feb 22, 1732 – Dec 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States, serving two terms 1789-1797. Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention.
• 1789 – 1799 French Revolution End of the Bourbon monarchy The French Revolution overthrew the monarchy, reshaped French society, and spread revolutionary ideals across Europe.
• 1799 – 1888 Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888) Died 4 March 1888, aged 88 Amos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer, and transcendentalist philosopher, and the father of author Louisa May Alcott. He died in Boston on 4 March 1888, just two days before his daughter's death. His unconventional educational theories influenced later progressive schooling movements.
• 1799 – 1854 Frederick Catherwood (1799-1854) Died 27 September 1854, aged 55 Catherwood was an English architect and artist renowned for his detailed illustrations of ancient Maya ruins made during expeditions with explorer John Lloyd Stephens. He died when the steamship SS Arctic sank after a collision in the North Atlantic.
• 1799 – 1850 Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) Died 18 August 1850, aged 51 Balzac was a French novelist whose vast cycle of interlinked novels and stories, La Comedie Humaine, chronicled French society after the fall of Napoleon. He is regarded as one of the founders of literary realism. Exhausted by decades of prolific writing, he died just months after marrying Ewelina Hanska.
• 1799 Metric system established A rational, universal system of measurement In 1799, France formally established the metric system, defining the metre as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole, and the kilogram as the mass of a litre of water. For the first time, a coherent, decimal system of measurement was based on natural constants rather than arbitrary standards. The metric system is now used in science worldwide and by most of the world's population.
• 1799 – 1845 Thomas Hood (1799-1845) Died 3 May 1845, aged 45 Thomas Hood was an English poet and humorist known for his puns and comic verse. His late poem The Song of the Shirt, about a poor seamstress, made a great impression in Victorian Britain. He also edited several literary magazines.
• 1799 – 1859 Oscar I The Reformer Known for his liberal views, he pushed for prison reform and equal inheritance rights.