Year 1779: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1779. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, historic firsts, U.S. economic data, entertainment trivia, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 1779, the United States was in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, an “armed conflict” between the U.S. and Great Britain that took place between April 19, 1775, and September 3, 1783. The hostilities between the two nations were fueled, in part, by heavy taxes that Great Britain imposed on American colonists, particularly through the controversial Stamp Act and Tea Act.

2. Patriots: Colonists from the Thirteen Colonies “who fought for independence from Great Britain” during the American Revolution.

3. Loyalists: Historians believe that about “15% to 20% of the colonial population (roughly 500,000 people) remained loyal to the British Crown” during the American Revolution.

4. In 1779, General George Washington set a standard daily military ration for a Continental Army soldier that included 1.5 pounds of flour or bread, one pound of beef or fish (or 12 ounces of pork), and four ounces of whiskey or spirits.

5. Inflation rate: -11.59%

6. Consumer Price Index (CPI): 12.200

7. $100.00 in 1779 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,745.74 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.35% per year” between 1779 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of 2,645.74%.” In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 3.642% of what it could purchase in 1779.

8. It is also worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost about 96% of its value since 1779.

9. American companies established in 1779 included the Illinois-Wabash Company, a business that purchased land from Native Americans “in the Illinois Country, a region of North America acquired by Great Britain in 1763.”

10. On February 14, at Kettle Creek, Georgia, a Patriot militia force of 340 men led by Colonel Andrew Pickens of South Carolina defeated a Loyalist militia force of 700 men led by Colonel James Boyd.

11. On February 14, Captain James Cook, the legendary English explorer and navigator, was killed by Native Hawaiians during his third visit to the Pacific island.

12. On February 25, Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark obtained British Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton’s unconditional surrender of Fort Sackville, an 18th-century British outpost in Vincennes, Indiana. Fort Sackville’s demise marked “a decisive victory in the American Revolutionary War that diminished British influence in the Old Northwest and influenced the future western borders of the United States.”

13. On June 16, U.S. General Anthony Wayne captured Stony Point, New York, resulting in heavy losses for the British.

14. On July 15, American writer Clement Clarke Moore was born in New York City. He authored the classic poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, now known as The Night Before Christmas.

15. On September 27, the Continental Congress appointed John Adams to travel to France to negotiate peace treaties with Great Britain in hopes of ending the American Revolutionary War.

16. In November, Thomas Chippendale, the famous furniture designer and cabinetmaker, died in London of tuberculosis.

17. Here are more than 25 foods and beverages that were an integral part of the American diet during the late 1700s: ale, baked fruit puddings, beans, beef, berry pies, cider, coffee and tea, corn mush, crabs, duck, eel, hasty pudding, johnnycakes, lobster, local fruits such as apples and berries, local vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, and onions, oat cakes, pepper cakes, pork, turkey, venison, whole-grain bread, and wine.

18. Dinner was the “main and largest meal” of the day and was traditionally eaten anywhere from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The modern three-meal eating pattern began “to take shape toward the end of the century.”

19. In 1779, the most popular baby names for boys included James, John, Henry, Thomas, and William. For girls, the most popular baby names were Anna, Elizabeth, Frances, Mary, and Sarah.

20. The most popular surnames in America included Baker, Brown, Carter, Davis, Johnson, Jones, Miller, Smith, Williams, and Wilson.

21. Popular fiction works for the year: Nocturnal Revels (a two-volume book about prostitution in 18th-century London) and Richard Graves’ Columella

22. Noteworthy nonfiction work published in 1779: John Abercrombie’s The British Fruit Gardener and Art of Pruning

23. Notable dramatic works for the year: Elizabeth Richardson’s The Double Deception, Hannah More’s The Fatal Falsehood, and Richard Cumberland’s Calypso

24. Top poetic works published in 1779: Ann Murry’s Poems and William Cowper and John Newton’s Olney Hymns

25. Famous people born in 1779 included Francis Scott Key (an American composer who wrote the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner, which would become the U.S. national anthem) and Louis Defreycinet (a French explorer “who circled the globe and outlined the entire Australian coast”).

26. Famous people who passed away in 1779 included James Cook, a British explorer who “mapped the South Pacific, including Hawaii and Australia’s eastern coastline.”

27. In 1779, the words “Americanism,” “ball-and-socket joint,” “cookie,” “cutty sark,” “encampment,” “en route,” “executive branch,” “eyebrow pencil,” “Fourth of July,” “gas,” “North Carolinian,” “passive resistance,” “photometer,” “p’s and q’s,” “reconnaissance,” “regarding,” “sedative,” “shut down,” “snowbank,” “straightforward,” “transatlantic,” “Tudor,” “unanticipated,” “Wisdom of Solomon,” and “wrong side up” all appeared in print for the first time.

28. Courtesy of AmericanHeritage.com, here is the menu for a typical New England Thanksgiving dinner:

• Apple pie

• Cauliflower

• Cider

• Haunch of venison

• Indian pudding

• Mincemeat pie

• Onions in cream

• Pigeon pasties

• Plum pudding

• Potatoes

• Pumpkin pie

• Raw celery

• Roast pork

• Roast goose

• Roast turkey

• Squash

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1779_in_the_United_States

2. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1779

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_established_in_1779

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1779_in_literature

5. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1779.html

6. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1779

7. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1780-1784.html

8. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1779

9. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1779

10. https://www.americanheritage.com/thanksgiving-dinner-during-revolution

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor