Timeline May 1780

Events in May 1780 4

• 1780 Siege of Charleston British capture the principal Southern American port British forces under Sir Henry Clinton besieged Charleston, South Carolina, from late March. General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered the city and roughly 5,000 Continental troops on 12 May. It was the greatest American defeat of the Revolutionary War.
• 1780 American Academy of Arts and Sciences founded Learned society chartered in Boston The Academy was chartered by the Massachusetts legislature on 4 May, promoted by John Adams and others. It was among the earliest learned societies of the new United States.
• 1780 Dark Day in New England Midday darkness covers the northeast of North America On 19 May a thick darkness fell over New England and parts of Canada at midday, probably caused by smoke from forest fires. Candles were needed at noon and many took it as a religious omen.
• 1780 – 1845 Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) Died 12 October 1845, aged 65 Elizabeth Fry was an English Quaker prison reformer who campaigned for humane treatment of women prisoners, beginning at Newgate. She also worked for the homeless and founded a training school for nurses. From 2001 to 2016 her portrait appeared on the Bank of England five-pound note.