1790s - Definition and Overview

Events and Trends

• French Revolution (1789 - 1799). It is considered to have effectively ended on November 9, 1799 when a successful coup d'état places Napoléon Bonaparte in control of France.
• French inventor Claude Chappe first demonstrates a practical semaphore system (1792). Use of the system will eventually expand to include the whole of France. This is considered to be the first practical telecommunications system.

World Leaders

• King Louis XVI (France)
• Maximilien Robespierre (France)
• King George III (Great Britain)
• Emperor Leopold II (Holy Roman Empire)
• Emperor Francis II (Holy Roman Empire)
• Emperor Kangxi (China)
• Pope Pius VI
• Empress Catherine II (Russia)
• Emperor Paul (Russia)
• President George Washington (United States)
• President John Adams (United States)