1751- Benjamin Franklin “discovers” electricity.

• Benjamin Franklin first shocked himself in 1746,

while conducting experiments on electricity with
found objects from around his house. Six years later
and exactly 261 years ago today, the founding
father flew a kite attached to a key and a silk ribbon
in a thunderstorm and effectively trapped lightning
in a jar. The experiment is now seen as a watershed
moment in mankind's question to channel a force of
nature once thought to be the wrath of God
himself. It's also understood that Ben Franklin was
pretty effing lucky he didn't fry his bones on that
fateful early June afternoon in 1752. Based on what
he'd contribute to the nation in the years after that,
America is pretty lucky, too.
1775-1781- American Revolution
• The American Revolution (1775-83) is also known as
the American Revolutionary War and the U.S. War of
Independence. The conflict arose from growing
tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North
American colonies and the colonial government, which
represented the British crown. Skirmishes between
British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and
Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and
by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-
scale war for their independence. France entered the
American Revolution on the side of the colonists in
1778, turning what had essentially been a civil war into
an international conflict. After French assistance helped
the Continental Army force the British surrender at
Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the Americans had
effectively won their independence, though fighting
would not formally end until 1783.
1789- George Washington
inaugurated
• The first inauguration of George Washington as
the first President of the United States was held on
Thursday, April 30, 1789 on the balcony of Federal
Hall in New York City, New York.
The inauguration marked the commencement of the
first four-year term of George Washington as
President. Chancellor of New York Robert
Livingston administered the presidential oath of office.
With his inauguration, the executive branch of the
United States government officially began operations
under the new frame of government established by
the 1787 Constitution. The first term of John
Adams as Vice President commenced on April 21, 1789,
when he assumed his duties as presiding officer of the
United States Senate.
1804- Napoleon crowns himself
Emperor.
• The coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the
French took place on Sunday December 2, 1804 (11
Frimaire, Year XIII according to the French
Republican Calendar) at Notre Dame Cathedral in
Paris. It marked "the instantiation of modern
empire" and was a "transparently masterminded
piece of modern propaganda".[1]
• The stool that was part of a set made for the
reception of Napoleon by the corps legislatif after
his coronation as emperor. Made in the workshop
of Jacob-Desmalter, designed by Bernard Poyet,
1805. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
• Napoleon wanted to establish legitimacy of his imperial
reign, with its new royal family and new nobility.
Therefore, he designed a new coronation ceremony
that was unlike the ceremony used for the kings of
France. In the traditional coronation, kings underwent a
ceremony of consecration (sacre) rather than a
coronation; in consecration, anointment was conferred
by the archbishop of Reims in Notre-Dame de
Reims.[2] Napoleon's was a sacred ceremony held in the
great cathedral in the presence of Pope Pius VII.
Napoleon brought together an assortment of different
rites and customs, incorporating aspects
of Carolingian tradition, the ancien régime and
the French Revolution, all presented in sumptuous
luxury.[3] According to government tallies, the entire
cost was over 8.5 million francs.[citation needed]