Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
Robert Emmet (4 March 1778 – 20 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland, and to establish a nationally representative government. Emmet entertained, but ultimately abandoned, hopes of immediate French assistance and of coordination with radical militants in Great Britain. In Ireland, many of the surviving veterans of '98 hesitated to lend their support, and his rising in Dublin in 1803 proved abortive.
Emmet’s Proclamation of the Provisional Government to the People of Ireland, his Speech from the Dock, and his "sacrificial" end on the gallows inspired later generations of Irish republicans. Patrick Pearse, who in 1916 was again to proclaim a provisional government in Dublin, declared Emmet's attempt "not a failure, but a triumph for that deathless thing we call Irish Nationality".
1778Mar, 4
Robert Emmet
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Events on 1778
- 5Feb
Articles of Confederation
South Carolina becomes the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. - 18Jun
Philadelphia
American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia. - 28Jun
Battle of Monmouth Courthouse
The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness. - 10Jul
Louis XVI of France
American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain. - 26Nov
James Cook
In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.