1st Channel Crossing
Completes the first Channel crossing in a hot air balloon
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1785 in France
Explore 13 historical events and records for France in 1785.
Historical records for France in 1785
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 13 of 13 unique records.
13Unique records
1 of 1Page
12Named events on this page
9Named people on this page
5Places on this page
January
1st Hot Air Balloon
1st to pilot a hot-air balloon across the Channel from Dover to Calais
February
Death of Charles Bonaparte
Death of Charles Bonaparte, father of Napoleon I
September
Lieutenant
Appointed Lieutenant en second of a Battalion in an artillery regiment
November
Lieutenant
Joins his regiment in Valence. Joins his regiment at Valence
Alliance Agreement at Paris
An alliance is agreed between France & Holland
Alliance is agreed between France and Holland
An alliance is agreed between France & Holland
Other events (month unknown)
Academy Creates General Physics Section
Reorganisation added general physics to the Academy's formal scientific sections.
Church Properties
Instrumental in drafting a general inventory of church properties in France
Coulomb Law
Uses a torsion balance to measure forces between electric charges.
Electrostatic Force Measurement
Establishes the inverse-square law governing electrostatic attraction and repulsion.
Natural History and Mineralogy Section Added
The Academy established a section devoted to natural history and mineralogy as its disciplinary remit expanded.
Sane Wins Large Ship Design Competition
The naval architect's design for a powerful three decked warship was selected for further standard construction. The resulting expertise carried over into later shipbuilding practice.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.