Deaths on April 1

Floyer Sydenham, English scholar and academic (b. 1710)

Floyer Sydenham (1710 – 1 April 1787) was an English scholar of Ancient Greek.

13 May

Arthur Phillip
Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the "First Fleet") to establish a penal colony in Australia.
14 May

Constitutional Convention (United States)
In Philadelphia, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States; George Washington presides.
20 Jun

Federal Convention
Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the 'United States'.
6 Aug

Constitutional Convention (United States)
Sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
12 Dec

United States Constitution
Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, five days after Delaware became the first.