Key Figures
The commanders, statesmen, diplomats, and thinkers who shaped 1777 — from Washington's Continental Army and Britain's high command to the mathematicians and writers of the wider world.
Every Key Figures article in the 1777 knowledge base. Use the topic filters to narrow by sub-topic.
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian officer who had served under Frederick the Great, arriv...
Casimir Pulaski — Commander of the Continental Cavalry
On September 15, 1777, Congress commissioned the exiled Polish cavalry officer Casimir Pulaski as...
Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arrived on the coast of Sout...
Tipu Sultan — Early Military Campaigns in India
Tipu Sultan (1751–1799) emerged in 1777 as a rising military commander in the Kingdom of Mysore, ...
Carl Friedrich Gauss (born 1777)
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss was born on April 30, 1777, in the city of Brunswick (Braunschweig), ...
John Jay in 1777 — Constitution-Maker and New York's Firs...
The New York jurist whose 1777 was defined by two foundational achievements — as a principal draf...
Sir Henry Clinton (1730–1795)
General Sir Henry Clinton (1730–1795) was a British army officer who served throughout the Americ...
Silas Deane and American Diplomacy in France
Silas Deane, the first official American diplomatic representative in France, spent 1777 negotiat...
General Nathanael Greene
General Nathanael Greene (1742–1786) emerged as one of George Washington's most trusted commander...
Mercy Otis Warren — Political Thinker and Propagandist of...
The Massachusetts intellectual and playwright who shaped Revolutionary ideology through poetry, d...
Lord George Germain (1716–1785)
Lord George Germain (1716–1785), born George Sackville, was the British Secretary of State for th...
Leonhard Euler — Mathematics and Science Despite Blindness
Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), one of history's most prolific mathematicians and scientists, continu...
Henry Knox — Continental Army Chief of Artillery and Mili...
In 1777, Henry Knox rose to prominence as George Washington's chief of artillery and most trusted...
General George Washington
George Washington served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army throughout 1777, a year of...
General John Burgoyne (1722–1792)
General John Burgoyne (1722–1792) was a British army officer, politician, and playwright best kno...
Benjamin Franklin in Paris (1777)
Benjamin Franklin arrived in France on December 3, 1776, reaching Paris on December 21, and spent...
General Benedict Arnold
General Benedict Arnold stands as one of the most accomplished yet ultimately tragic figures of t...
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams (born 11 November 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts) spent 1777 at the family farm in...