14 July — The Storming of the Bastille. The beginning of the Great French bourgeois revolution. The siege of the Bastille was prompted by rumors that King Louis XVI intended to dissolve the Constituent Assembly formed on 9 July, and by the dismissal of the reformer Jacques Necker from his post as Controller-General of Finances. Outraged Parisians, arming themselves with whatever they could find, took to the city’s streets and squares on 14 July and marched toward the Bastille. The assault on the fortress lasted about four hours. The crowd broke into the fortress; the garrison commander was torn apart, and the fortress itself was badly damaged. Seven prisoners held there were set free. Frightened by the масштабе uprising, the king was forced to make concessions.
The next day it was officially decreed that the Bastille should be dismantled and demolished, and work began immediately, continuing until 16 May 1791. The crushed stone from the fortress was used to make miniature models of the Bastille and sold as souvenirs. Most of the stone blocks were used to build the Concorde Bridge. For many generations of French people, the fortress had been a symbol of the абсолютной power of kings. Over 400 years, many famous figures were imprisoned in the Bastille, including Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Pierre Beaumarchais, and Voltaire, who was held there twice. The fall of the Bastille was seen as the triumph of the revolution and soon became surrounded by legends. Beginning in 1880, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille has been celebrated by the French as a national holiday. And on the site of the demolished fortress today stands the Place de la Bastille—an intersection of a dozen streets and boulevards, with a major underground hub of the Paris Metro and the Paris Opera nearby.
4 March — the United States Constitution comes into force. George Washington becomes the 1st President of the United States.
25 September — In the United States of America, Congress adopts the Bill of Rights—the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Lavoisier confirms the law of conservation of mass, discovered by Lomonosov.
1 August — Victory of the Russian army under Suvorov over the Turks at Focsani.
22 September — Defeat of the Turkish army by Suvorov’s Russian troops at Rimnik.
24 August — The Battle of Rochensalm (Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790) takes place. The Swedish squadron is forced to retreat. Russian fleet losses amount to 2 ships; Swedish losses, 13 ships and 24 transports.
14 June — A longboat carrying Captain William Bligh and the loyal crew members of the Royal Navy ship "Bounty", sailing to Tahiti, reaches the island of Timor. Officers and sailors who mutinied against the captain’s tyranny set him adrift on 28 April in the open sea. For more than a month and a half the boat drifted over the waves, until, after a 5,800 km journey, it reached land largely thanks to Bligh’s skill as a seaman. Bligh later rose to the rank of vice admiral.