1793
Execution of Louis XVI
At 10:22 on a cold Paris morning, Louis Capet - once Louis XVI of France and Navarre - climbed the Revolutionary scaffold in the Place de la Révolution.
Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin
A young Yale graduate tutoring in Georgia watched enslaved women picking seeds from cotton bolls and built a box with wire teeth to do the job mechanically.
Macartney Embassy Received by Qianlong
Lord Macartney, after a year's journey, knelt before the Qianlong Emperor at the summer palace at Jehol - but declined to kowtow.
Reign of Terror Begins
With armies invading, the Vendee in revolt, and Paris starving, the Committee of Public Safety under Robespierre suspended the new constitution and declared…
France Declares War on Britain and the Netherlands
The National Convention added Britain and the Dutch Republic to its list of enemies, joining Austria and Prussia.
Execution of Marie Antoinette
The widowed queen, hair gone white, was tried on charges including incest with her son and taken to the scaffold in a tumbrel - dressed in plain white, hands…
Second Partition of Poland
Russia and Prussia - without Austria, distracted by France - took another great slice of Poland.
Vendée Uprising
Marat Assassinated in His Bath
Republican Calendar Adopted
Want 1793 in context? Print the whole 18th century as a one-sheet timeline chart.
Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1793?
Saeculum lists 10 events from 1793. The most significant is Execution of Louis XVI: At 10:22 on a cold Paris morning, Louis Capet - once Louis XVI of France and Navarre - climbed the Revolutionary scaffold in the Place de la Révolution.
What era was 1793 part of?
1793 falls within the Enlightenment (1651-1800). Reason, revolution, and the first global wars.
Which regions saw notable events in 1793?
The events from 1793 span Europe, North America and East Asia.