1791 in the United States

::Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (Pro-Admin.-Connecticut) (starting October 24) - Congress: [1st](1st-united-states-congress) (until March 4), [2nd](2nd-united-states-congress) (starting March 4) #### State governments ::data[format=table] | Governors and lieutenant governors | |---| | | :: ## Events ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Bill_of_Rights_Pg1of1_AC.jpg" caption="Bill of Rights]] comes into effect"] :: - February 24 – First Bank of the United States chartered for 20 years, with headquarters in Philadelphia. - March 4 – Vermont is admitted as the 14th U.S. state (*see* History of Vermont). - March 5 – Thomas Chittenden is inaugurated as the first governor of Vermont. - March 9 – Pierre Charles L'Enfant arrives in Georgetown and begins designing the federal capital city. - March 30 – District of Columbia is established. - April 29–May 8 – The first American ships reach Japan, brigantine *Lady Washington* captained by John Kendrick of Boston, and the brig *Grace*. - August 26 – John Fitch is granted a patent for the steamboat in the United States. - September 5 – An ordinance is written barring the game of baseball within 80 yards of the Meeting House in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the first known reference to the game of baseball in North America. - September 9 – Washington, D.C. is officially named after the incumbent President. - September 25 – Mission Santa Cruz is founded by Basque Franciscan Father Fermín Lasuén, becoming the 12th mission in the California mission chain. - October 9 – Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is founded by Father Fermin Lasuen, becoming the 13th mission in the California mission chain. - October 25 – The State of the Union address. - December 15 – Ratification by the states of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution is completed, creating the United States Bill of Rights. Two additional amendments remain pending, and one of these is finally ratified in 1992, becoming the Twenty-seventh Amendment. ### Ongoing - Northwest Indian War (1785–1795) ## Births ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/James_Buchanan.jpg" caption="[[James Buchanan"] :: - February 4 – John McClean, United States Senator from Illinois from 1824 till 1825 and from 1829 till 1830. (died [1830](1830-in-the-united-states)) - February 12 – Peter Cooper, industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States (died [1883](1883-in-the-united-states)) - April 23 – James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States from 1857 till 1861. (died [1868](1868-in-the-united-states)) - April 27 – Samuel Morse, American painter and inventor (died [1872](1872-in-the-united-states)) - June 1 – John Nelson (lawyer), United States lawyer (died [1860](1860-in-the-united-states)) - July 18 – Isaac D. Barnard, United States Senator from 1827 till 1831. (died [1834](1834-in-the-united-states)) - October 24 – Joseph R. Underwood, United States Senator from Kentucky from 1847 till 1853. (died [1876](1876-in-the-united-states)) - November 27 – Truman Smith, United States Senator from Connecticut from 1849 till 1854. (died [1884](1884-in-the-united-states)) ## Deaths - April 24 – Benjamin Harrison V, signer of Declaration of Independence, father of President William Henry Harrison, great-grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison (born [1726](1726)) - May 9 – Francis Hopkinson, signer of Declaration of Independence (born [1737](1737)) - John Roth Prussian clergyman (born 1726 in Prussia) ## References ## References 1. ["First Encounters Between the U.S. and Japan - John Kendrick..."](https://www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/history/01.html?id=eng). *Consulate General of Japan in New York*. 2. ["Logbook for Brig “Grace” (1791)"](https://duxburyhistory.org/collection-highlights/logbook-for-brig-grace-1791/). *Duxbury Rural & Historical Society*. 3. Thorn, John. (2011-08-03). ["The Pittsfield "Baseball" Bylaw of 1791: What It Means"](https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/the-pittsfield-baseball-bylaw-of-1791-what-it-means-940a3ccf08db). *Our Game*. 4. ["Third Annual Address to Congress | the American Presidency Project"](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29433). ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1791_in_the_United_States) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1791_in_the_United_States?action=history). ::