Cornwallis to his fate. September 28 – American Revolution: American and French troops begin a siege of the British at Yorktown, Virginia. October–December October 12 – The first bagpipes competition is held in the Masonic Arms, Falkirk, Scotland. October 19 – American Revolution: Following the Siege of Yorktown, General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the armed struggle of the American Revolution. October 20 – A Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in the Habsburg monarchy. November 5 – John Hanson is elected President of the Continental Congress. November 29 English slave traders begin to throw approximately 142 slaves taken on in Accra overboard alive from the slave ship Zong in the Caribbean Sea to conserve supplies for the remainder; the Liverpool owners subsequently attempt to reclaim part of their value from insurers. Henry Hurle officially founds the Ancient Order of Druids in London, England. December – A school is founded in Washington County, Pennsylvania that will later be known as Washington & Jefferson College. December 12 – American Revolutionary War – Second Battle of Ushant: The British Royal Navy, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in , decisively defeats the French fleet in the Bay of Biscay. Date unknown Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor abolishes serfdom. The Bank of North America is chartered by the Continental Congress. Charles Messier publishes the final catalog of Messier objects. Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovers tungsten. Immanuel Kant publishes his Critique of Pure Reason. Reverend Samuel Peters publishes his General History of Connecticut, using the term blue law for the first time. Phillips Exeter Academy is founded in New Hampshire. </onlyinclude> Births January 26 – Achim von Arnim, German novelist and poet (d. 1831) January 30 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German poet and scientist (d. 1838) February 17 – René Laennec, French physician and inventor (d. 1826) March 1 – Javiera Carrera, Chilean independence campaigner (d. 1862) March 4 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator, philanthropist (d. 1869) March 13 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German architect, painter (d. 1841) April 3 – Swaminarayan, Indian Hindu reformer and deity (d. 1830) May 9 – Henri Cassini, French botanist and naturalist (d. 1832) June 9 – George Stephenson, English engineer, designer of railway locomotives Locomotion No. 1, Rocket'' (d. 1848) June 21 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician, physicist (d. 1840) July 6 Stamford Raffles, English founder of