1779

February 14. Explorer James Cook is killed at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii.

April. Charles III's Spain enters the war on the side of the US and France.

July 24. Gibraltar is sieged by French and Spanish troops.

September 23. The US Navy sinks two British ships in the Battle of Flamborough Head, a promontory on the Yorkshire coast.

In Italy, Bortolo Nardini founds his renowned grappa [schnaps] distillery.