Arthur Phillip's eleven-ship convict fleet arrived at Sydney Cove and founded the penal colony of New South Wales, the first permanent European settlement in Australia.
Britain signs a treaty with the United States in Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War and recognizing American independence.
A British embassy led by Lord Macartney meets the Qianlong Emperor but fails to secure expanded trade.
General Cornwallis surrenders to American and French forces at Yorktown, Virginia, effectively ending major fighting in the American Revolutionary War.
Edward Jenner inoculates the boy James Phipps with cowpox material, pioneering vaccination against smallpox.
The explorer James Cook was killed in a clash with Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay during his third voyage.
British General John Burgoyne surrenders to the Continental Army at Saratoga, a victory that helps bring France into an alliance with the Americans.