Timeline October 1777

Events in October 1777 6

• 1699 – 1777 Marie Therese Geoffrin (1699-1777) Died 6 October 1777, aged 78 Parisian salonniere whose gatherings brought together leading philosophers, artists, and writers of the French Enlightenment, including Diderot and d'Alembert. She helped fund the Encyclopedie and corresponded with European royalty, including Catherine the Great and Stanislaus II of Poland. Her salon was considered one of the most influential intellectual circles of eighteenth-century Europe.
• 1720 – 1777 Samuel Foote (1720-1777) Died 21 October 1777, aged 57 English actor, playwright, and theatre manager known for satirical comedies and sharp mimicry of public figures. He held the royal patent for the Haymarket Theatre in London. Scandal and declining health forced him to sell his patent shortly before his death.
• 1777 British Capture of Philadelphia Howe's army takes the American capital British forces under General William Howe defeated Washington at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September and occupied Philadelphia on 26 September 1777, forcing the Continental Congress to flee. Washington's attempt to retake the city failed at the Battle of Germantown on 4 October. The British held Philadelphia through the following winter.
• 1777 Battles of Saratoga American victory forces British surrender American forces under Horatio Gates defeated a British army led by General John Burgoyne in two engagements near Saratoga, New York. Burgoyne surrendered his entire army of roughly 6,000 men on 17 October 1777. The victory convinced France to enter the war openly on the American side.
• 1777 Treaty of San Ildefonso Spain and Portugal settle South American borders Spain and Portugal signed a treaty resolving longstanding border disputes in South America, with Portugal ceding Colonia del Sacramento to Spain in exchange for territory further north. The agreement redrew colonial boundaries along the Rio de la Plata region. It followed a brief war between the two crowns over the disputed territory.
• 1777 – 1811 Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) Died 21 November 1811, aged 34 German playwright, poet, and novelist known for works including "The Broken Jug" and the novella "Michael Kohlhaas." He died in a suicide pact with his terminally ill companion Henriette Vogel near Berlin. His work had little recognition in his lifetime but later became a major influence on German literature.