Timeline May 1775

Events in May 1775 6

• 1751 – 1775 Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (1751-1775) Died 10 May 1775, aged 23 Caroline Matilda was the youngest sister of King George III of Great Britain and became Queen consort of Denmark and Norway through her marriage to Christian VII. Her affair with royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee led to his execution and her own exile and divorce. She died in exile at Celle Castle at the age of twenty-three.
• 1775 Flour War Grain price riots sweep across northern France A wave of riots broke out across Paris and northern France after a poor harvest and deregulation of the grain trade pushed bread prices sharply higher. Crowds attacked markets and granaries in dozens of towns before royal troops restored order. The unrest exposed tensions that would resurface more violently in 1789.
• 1775 Capture of Fort Ticonderoga Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold seize a key British fort A small force of Green Mountain Boys and Massachusetts militia under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured the lightly defended British fort at Ticonderoga, New York. The garrison surrendered without significant resistance, and the fort's cannons were later hauled to Boston to help force a British withdrawal. The raid gave the Continental cause an early, badly needed victory.
• 1775 Second Continental Congress convenes Colonial delegates assemble in Philadelphia to coordinate resistance Delegates from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia to organize a unified response to the outbreak of fighting with Britain. The Congress assumed responsibility for the war effort, created the Continental Army, and later moved toward independence. It functioned as the de facto national government of the colonies.
• 1775 – 1840 Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840) Died 29 June 1840, aged 65 Lucien Bonaparte was a French statesman and the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose support as President of the Council of Five Hundred helped enable the 1799 coup that brought Napoleon to power. He later broke with his brother and lived largely in Italy, where he was made Prince of Canino. He died on 29 June 1840.
• 1775 Parliament extends James Watt's steam engine patent Act secures Watt and Boulton's monopoly on improved steam power The British Parliament passed an act extending James Watt's patent on his improved steam engine for twenty-five years, protecting his partnership with manufacturer Matthew Boulton. The extension allowed the firm Boulton and Watt to commercialize the more efficient engine design. The technology went on to power the growth of British industry.