What happened in 1783
8 entries recorded for 1783, listed by date. That was 243 years ago.
1783 at a glance
- Years ago
- 243 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 18th century
- Decade
- 1780s
- Generation born
- Before the named generations
- Entries here
- 8
- Breakdown
- 8 historical events
February
- February 5
1783 Calabrian earthquakes
The first of five strong earthquakes hit the region of Calabria on the Italian Peninsula, killing more than 32,000 people over a period of nearly two months.
March
- March 15
George Washington
George Washington delivered a speech to Continental Army officers in Newburgh, New York, asking them to support the supremacy of the Congress of the Confederation, defusing a potential coup.
April
- April 17
Mechanical Turk
The Mechanical Turk (pictured), a fraudulent chess-playing "machine" by Wolfgang von Kempelen that was secretly controlled by a hidden human, began a tour of Europe.
- April 28
Second Anglo-Mysore War
Second Anglo-Mysore War: British troops surrendered the fortress of Bednore in southwestern India to French and Mysorean forces; many of the prisoners were later murdered.
June
August
- August 4
Mount Asama
Mount Asama (pictured) in Japan began a climactic eruption, which exacerbated the Great Tenmei famine and led to thousands of deaths.
- August 18
Meteor procession
A meteor procession blazed across the night sky over Great Britain.
December
- December 23
George Washington
George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis (painting shown).
Questions about 1783
What happened in 1783?
This site records 8 entries for 1783, including 1783 Calabrian earthquakes on February 5. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1783?
243 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1783 turns 243 this year.
Which century is 1783 in?
1783 falls in the 18th century, in the 1780s.
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