Year 1798: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1798. 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: John Adams (Federalist Party-Massachusetts)
2. Vice President: Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican-Virginia)
3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut)
4. Speaker of the House of Representatives: Jonathan Dayton (Federalist-New Jersey)
5. In 1798, the fifth U.S. Congress was in session. It met at Congress Hall, located at 6th and Chestnut Streets in Center City Philadelphia. Both chambers had a Federalist majority.
6. Inflation rate: -3.15%
7. Consumer price index (CPI): 12.300
8. $100.00 in 1798 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,707.48 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.46% per year” between 1798 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of 2,607.48%.” In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 3.693% of what it could purchase back in 1798.
9. It’s worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost 96% of its value since 1798.
10. In 1798, there were 16 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), Kentucky (1792), and Tennessee (1796).
11. American companies established in 1798 included Fanning & Coles (a company engaged in ancient China trade and maritime fur trade) and Pratt-Read (a manufacturer of screwdrivers).
12. On April 7, the Mississippi Territory was organized.
13. On April 30, the U.S. Department of the Navy was formed.
14. On June 7, English economist Thomas Malthus published the first edition of his influential Essay on the Principle of Population.
15. On June 18, Congress passed the Naturalization Act of 1798, which “increased the residency requirement for immigrants to become [U.S.] citizens from 5 to 14 years.”
16. On June 25, Congress passed the Alien Friends Act of 1798, which gave the U.S. president “unilateral authority to arrest and deport any non-citizen deemed dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.”
17. On July 6, Congress passed the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law that allowed the U.S. president “to unilaterally apprehend, restrain, or deport non-U.S. citizens aged 14 and older who are natives or citizens of a hostile nation.”
18. On July 7, the U.S. Congress “rescinded all treaties with France, officially sparking the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval conflict triggered by French seizure of hundreds of American merchant ships. Fought primarily in the Caribbean, the two-and-a-half-year conflict ended with the Convention of 1800.”
19. On July 14, Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1798, which restricted “freedom of speech and the press during times of perceived national crisis.”
20. On August 31-September 1, America's first major bank robbery took place at the Bank of Pennsylvania, which was located in Carpenters' Hall at 325 Chestnut Street in Center City Philadelphia.
21. November 17 to 22: The Long Storm of 1798, an “unprecedented snowstorm” that hit New England for five days, “buried homes and resulted in hundreds of fatalities.”
22. On December 14, David Wilkinson of Rhode Island received a U.S. patent for a nut and bolt machine.
23. In 1798, the first successful American vineyard was planted in Lexington, Kentucky.
24. Key fiction books published in 1798 included Hannah Webster Foster’s The Boarding School; or, Lessons of a Preceptress to Her Pupils, and Mary Wollstonecraft’s Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman.
25. In February, British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the famous conversation poem, Frost at Midnight.
26. In April, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the conversation poems Fears in Solitude and The Nightingale.
27. Famous people born in 1798 were Charles Wilkes (an explorer), George Fletcher Moore (an explorer), and Jim Beckwourth (an explorer).
28. Famous people who died in 1798 included George Vancouver (an explorer) and Giacomo Casanova (a memoirist).
29. In 1798 as well, the words “absolute zero,” “bailsman,” “baked beans,” “chef de cuisine,” “disrepair,” “disrespectable,” “edacious,” “fire department,” “horologist,” “imaginary number,” “insulation,” “lakeshore,” “nationalism,” “New Jerseyan,” “past participle,” “trampoline,” and “vandalism” 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/1798_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1798
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_established_in_1798
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1798_in_literature
5. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1798.html
6. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1798.html
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1798
8. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1795-1799.html
9. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1798
10. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1798

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