This article is about the year 1776. For the musical, see 1776 (musical)

1776 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar).

Events

• January 10 - Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
• March 17 - American Revolutionary War: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington places artillery overlooking the city.
• March 28 - Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
• May 1 - Former Jesuit Adam Weishaupt founds the Bavarian Illuminati (Order of the Illuminati) in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.
• May 6 - Battle of Prague Prussian king Frederick the Great triumphs over Austrian army.
• June 8 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trois-Rivières - American invaders are driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
• June 12 - Virginia Declaration of Rights by George Mason adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates.
• June 17 - Lt. Jose Joaquin Moraga leads a band of colonists from Monterey Presidio, landing on June 29 and constructing the Mission Dolores of the new Presidio of San Francisco.
• July 4 - American Revolutionary War: United States Declaration of Independence.
• July 9 - An angry mob in New York City topples the equestrian statue of George III in Bowling Green.
• August 15 - First Hessian troops land on Staten Island to join British forces
• August 27 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Long Island - Washington's troops routed in Brooklyn by British under William Howe.
• September - First running of the St. Leger Stakes horse race in England.
• September 2-9 - Hurricane from NC to Nova Scotia - 4170 dead
• September 7 - World's first submarine attack. American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor.
• September 11 - American Revolutionary War: abortive peace conference between British and Americans on Staten Island.
• September 15 - American Revolutionary War: British land on Manhattan at Kip's Bay.
• September 16 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Harlem Heights
• September 22 - American Revolutionary War: Nathan Hale executed in New York City for espionage.
• October 7 - Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg.
• October 9 - Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California.
• October 11 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island - On Lake Champlain near Valcour Island, a British fleet led by Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15 American gunboats commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the two day-long battle will give Patriot forces enough time to prepare defenses of New York City.
• October 28 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains - British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.
• November 16 - American Revolutionary War: Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture Fort Washington from the American Continentals.
• December 5 - The Phi Beta Kappa society is organized at the College of William and Mary.
• December 23 - Thomas Paine, living with Washington's troops begins publishing The American Crisis, containing the stirring phrase, These are the times that try men's souls.
• December 25 - American Revolutionary War: Gen. George Washington orders the first issue of The Crisis read to his troops on Christmas Eve, then at 6 PM all 2600 of them march to McKonkey's Ferry , cross the Delaware River and land on the Jersey bank at 3 AM.
• December 26 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trenton - Washington's troops surprise the 1500 Hessian troops under the command of Col. [Johan Rall] at 8 AM outside Trenton and score a victory, taking 1000 prisoners while suffering only 6 wounded.

• Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations
• Edward Gibbon publishes The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
• Austria abolishes death penalty and torture and decriminalizes witchcraft
• British begin to use old ships docked close to shore as temporary prisons, prison junks
• 35th and last volume of Diderot's Encyclopedie published

Births

• January 24 - E.T.A. Hoffmann, poet, composer, and painter (+ 1822)
• February 11 - Joannis Capodistrias Greek governor of Troezen (1827-1831)
• March 10 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Queen of Prussia (+ 1810)
• April 1 - Sophie Germain, mathematician (+ 1831)
• June 11 - John Constable, landscape painter
• August 6 - Amedeo Avogadro, chemist
• Muttusvami Dikshitar, Carnatic music composer

Deaths

• August 25 - David Hume, Scottish philosopher