Year 1794: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1794. 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. President of the United States: George Washington (Independent-Virginia)
2. Vice President: John Adams (Federalist Party-Massachusetts)
3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: John Jay (New York)
4. Speaker of the House of Representatives: Frederick Muhlenberg (Anti-administration-Pennsylvania)
5. In 1794, the third U.S. Congress was in session. It met at Congress Hall in the heart of Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood, from March 4, 1793, to March 4, 1795. The Senate “had a pro-administration majority, and the House had an anti-administration majority.”
6. Inflation rate: 11.11%
7. $100.00 in 1794 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,027.45 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.48% per year” between 1794 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of 2,927.45%.” In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 3.303% of what it could purchase back in 1794.
8. It’s worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost 97% of its value since 1794.
9. Consumer price index (CPI): 11.000
10. In 1794, there were 15 U.S. states. In order of admission to the Union, they were Delaware (1787), Pennsylvania (1787), New Jersey (1787), Georgia (1788), Connecticut (1788), Massachusetts (1788), Maryland (1788), South Carolina (1788), New Hampshire (1788), Virginia (1788), New York (1788), North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), and Kentucky (1792).
11. American companies established in 1794 included the City Hotel (the “first functioning hotel” in the United States) and the Shaker Seed Company (a New York-based seed business).
12. Farmers accounted for about 90% of the U.S. labor force.
13. In 1794, American food prices were “significantly” lower than they are today, but they comprised a much larger percentage of the average worker's annual income, which was around $65 per year. For example, in 1794, butter cost between 12 and 15 cents a pound. Today, the average retail price for a pound of butter in the U.S. ranges between $4.25 and $4.60, an increase of 3,541.17% to 3,066.67% over 232 years.
14. On February 14, James Davenport of Philadelphia received a U.S. parent for a spinning machine to make textiles.
15. On March 27, President Washington signed the Naval Act of 1794, establishing the United States Navy and authorizing the building of six frigates.
16. On March 23, American inventor Josiah Pierson received a U.S. patent for a "cold-header" riveting machine, which “automated the process of forming rivet heads from metal rods without heating the metal.”
17. On June 5, Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1794, “making it illegal for United States citizens to wage war against any country at peace with the U.S.”
18. On June 24, Bowdoin College was founded in Maine.
19. On July 5, American entrepreneur Sylvester Graham was born in West Suffield, Connecticut. He invented the iconic Graham cracker in 1829.
20. On August 1, the Whiskey Rebellion unfolded in western Pennsylvania when an estimated 7,000 armed farmers and insurgents “gathered at Braddock’s Field, just eight miles outside of Pittsburgh. They were protesting a federal excise tax on spirits enacted in 1791 to pay war debts.”
21. On September 15, future U.S. President James Madison married Dolley Madison in Jefferson County, West Virginia.
22. On October 15, the first U.S. silver dollars were released into circulation.
23. On December 8, a group of boys playing in a New Orleans courtyard accidentally set off a massive fire, fueled by high winds, that destroyed over 200 buildings in what is now the French Quarter.
24. Completed in 1794 after two years of construction, the 62-mile Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike became the first “paved toll road in the U.S., driving rural expansion and linking eastern markets with the emerging West.”
25. Key fiction books published in 1794 included Elizabeth Gunning’s The Packet, Jane Austen’s Lady Susan, and William Godwin’s Caleb Williams.
26. Noteworthy non-fiction works for the year included Thomas James Mathias’ The Pursuits of Literature and William Paley’s View of the Evidences of Christianity.
27. Famous people born in 1794 were Anna Brownell Jameson (an Irish novelist), Cornelius Vanderbilt (an American entrepreneur), and Sylvester Graham (an American entrepreneur).
28. Famous people who died in 1794 included Antoine Lavoisier (a French chemist), James Bruce (a Scottish novelist), and James Lind (a Scottish doctor).
29. In 1794 as well, the words “battleship,” “by the skin of one’s teeth,” “centimeter,” “coleslaw,” “farmhand,” “fossilize,” “make-believe,” “motivate,” “platinum,” “seminarian,” “sharpshooter,” “shorthanded,” “social class,” “take the floor,” “telegraphic,” “telegraphy,” “terrorist,” “well-to-do,” and “wordplay” all appeared in print for the first time.
30. Beef: $2.00 to $3.00 per 100 pounds
31. Butter: 12 to 15 cents a pound
32. Chickens: 12 cents each
33. Coffee: 25 cents to 33 cents per pound
34. Corn: 50 cents per bushel
35. Flour: $5.00 per barrel
36. Milk: Eight cents a quart
37. Oats: 33 cents per bushel
38. Salt Pork: Eight cents per pound
39. Turkeys: 50 cents each
40. Wheat: $1.00 to $1.25 per bushel

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1794_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1794
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_established_in_1794
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1794_in_literature
5. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1794.html
6. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1794.html
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1794
8. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1790.html
9. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1794
10. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1794

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