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Neoclassicism occurs
In the middle of the 18th century, Europe began to move toward a new style in architecture, literature, and the arts, generally known as Neoclassicism. This style sought to emulate the ideals of Classical antiquity, especially those of Classical Greece. -
Haydn becomes famous
During the 1760s Haydn's fame began to spread throughout Europe -
American Revolution occurs
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The passage of the Stamp Act of 1765 imposed internal taxes on official documents, newspapers and most things printed in the colonies, which led to colonial protest and the meeting of representatives from several colonies at the Stamp Act Congress. -
The Boston Massacre
A confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing various projectiles. -
Boston Tea Party
A protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. The Sons of Liberty strongly opposed the taxes in the Townshend Act as a violation of their rights. Protesters, some disguised as American Indians, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. -
Lexington and Concord warfare
Open warfare erupted when British regulars sent to capture a cache of military supplies were confronted by local Patriot militia at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. -
Declaration of Independence
The United States’ colonies had claimed its independence from Britain during the American Revolution. -
Mozart dismissed from his Salzburg position
While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years there, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas. -
Basso continuo became extinct
By 1800, basso continuo was practically extinct, except for the occasional use of a pipe organ continuo part in a religious Mass in the early 1800s. -
Beethoven composed many works
After 1810, increasingly less socially involved, Beethoven composed many of his most admired works, including later symphonies, mature chamber music and the late piano sonatas. -
Beethoven’s going deaf
During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.