1792 in the United States

Events from the year 1792 in the United States.

Incumbents

February 20 - The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.
March 20 - A new capital of North Carolina and county seat of the newly formed Wake County is established after North Carolina State Senator and surveyor William Christmas submits his design for the city. A few months later the capital is officially named Raleigh in honor of Sir Walter Raleigh.

April 2 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
April 5 - United States President George Washington vetoes a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto is used in the United States.
May 10 - Union Bank is founded in Boston. In 1925 it merges with State Street Trust Company, now known as the State Street Corporation
May 11 - Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition: Captain Robert Gray becomes the first explorer to enter the Columbia River.
May 17 - The Buttonwood Agreement is signed, beginning the New York Stock Exchange.
June 1 - Kentucky becomes the 15th state of The United States of America.
June 4 - Isaac Shelby is inaugurated as the first governor of Kentucky.
June 9 - Denmark recognizes the independence of the United States.

October 12 - The first Columbus Day celebration in the United States is held in New York City, 300 years after his arrival in the New World.
October 13 - Foundation of Washington, D.C.: The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion, known as the White House after 1818, is laid.
October 29 - Mount Hood is named after British Admiral Lord Hood by Lt. William Broughton of the Vancouver Expedition, who spots the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.
December 3 - George Washington is re-elected President of the United States.

George Anschutz constructs the first blast furnace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Shiloh Meeting House, predecessor of Shiloh United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, is founded.
Pearson & Sons bakery, earliest predecessor of Nabisco, opens in Massachusetts.

February 15 - John Witherspoon, signatory of the Declaration of Independence
April 4 - James Sykes, delegate to the Continental Congress
May 10 - John Stevens, New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress
July 18 - John Paul Jones, sailor and the U.S.'s first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolution
October 7 - George Mason, patriot, statesman and delegate
December 8 - Henry Laurens, 5th president of the Continental Congress, signatory of the Articles of Confederation, father of John Laurens