* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.

* 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.

* 1776 – Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist ( d. 1856 )

* 1717 – Louis François, Prince of Conti ( d. 1776 )

* 1776 – The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place.

* 1734 – Duchess Maria Anna Josepha of Bavaria ( d. 1776 )

* 1776 – Thomas Bladen Capel English navy admiral ( d. 1853 )

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are surprised in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.

In the years between 1776 – 78, Volta studied the chemistry of gases.

Maria's sister, Elizabeth Branwell ( 1776 – 1842 ), moved to the parsonage, initially to nurse her dying sister, but she spent the rest of her life there raising the children.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: word of the United States Declaration of Independence reaches London.

* Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first leader of free modern Greece ( 1776 – 1831 ), had a large building erected ; intended as a barracks, it was subsequently used as a museum, a library and a school.

* 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer ( d. 1776 )

* 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh ( d. 1857 )

* 1776 – Captain John Barry and the captures the Edward.

* Benjamin Franklin: First American Diplomat, 1776 – 1785 US State Department

* 1776 – Marquis de Lafayette arranges to enter the American military as a major general.

* 1776 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German physicist ( d. 1810 )

* 1776 – At The College of William and Mary, Phi Beta Kappa is founded and becomes the first American college fraternity.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The British are defeated in the Battle of Trenton.

* 1776 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general ( d. 1811 )

His first wife, Juliet Macpherson ( c. 1776 – 1850 ), was a daughter of James Macpherson ( 1736 – 1796 ), a probable translator of Ossian poems.

Edvard Munch was related to painter Jacob Munch ( 1776 – 1839 ) and historian Peter Andreas Munch ( 1810 – 1863 ).

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trois-Rivières – American attackers are driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

Following a frenetic shipbuilding race through the Spring and Summer of 1776 by the British at the north end of the lake and the Americans at the south end, they fought a significant naval engagement on October 11 at the Battle of Valcour Island.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia comes to an end with the arrival of British reinforcements.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains – British Army forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island – On Lake Champlain a fleet of American boats is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777.

* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Harlem Heights is fought.

On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island ( also called the Battle of Brooklyn ) was fought in Kings County.

The Battle of Bunker Hill must count as the greatest achievement in Putnam's life ; afterward, his fortunes took a downturn at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, where he was forced to effect a hasty retreat.

The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain.

On December 31, 1776 one year after the Battle of Quebec, a mass was held in celebration of the British success, and Carleton threw a grand ball.

Alpine Pavilion, an open-air stone picnic pavilion built in 1934 by the Civil Works Administration and available for rental is located here, as well as the historic Blackledge-Kearney House, said to be the site where Lord Cornwallis and his troops landed on November 20, 1776, in their pursuit of the Continental Army following the rout of George Washington's forces in the Battle of New York.

In November 1776, a farmer from Closter witnessed British troops landing at Closter Dock on the Hudson River and rode to Fort Lee to warn Continental Army General Nathaniel Greene, allowing the Americans the opportunity to retreat to Hackensack at New Bridge Landing ahead of the British along with the remnants of General George Washington's troops after the failed Battle of Fort Washington.

After the American defeat at the Battle of Fort Washington, George Washington and the troops of the Continental Army retreated across New Jersey from the British Army, traveling through Teaneck and crossing the Hackensack River at New Bridge Landing, which has since been turned into a state park and historic site commemorating the events of 1776 and of early colonial life.

By December 23, 1776, 2, 000 Hessians were moved from Bordentown and positioned at The Mount in Mount Holly, where they engaged in a three day-long artillery, known as the Battle of Iron Works Hill or Battle of Mount Holly, with the Americans on Iron Works Hill.

After George Washington crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, the fact that thousands of Hessian troops had been drawn to Mount Holly aided in the Continental Army's success in the Battle of Trenton the next day, a surprising American victory that helped turn the Army's fading morale after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fort Washington just weeks before and the ignominious retreat through New Jersey.