1790 in literature

The year 1790 in literature involved some significant events and new books.

Events

• June 9 - The Philadelphia Spelling Book by John Barry becomes the first book to be copyrighted in the United States.
• The very literary Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras (1744–1790), was arrested by the radicals of the French Revolution and charged with plotting to help King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette escape the country. Convicted of treason, de Mahy was handed his official death sentence by the court clerk. The Marquis read the paper and shaking his head in disgust said: "I see that you have made three spelling mistakes."
• Thomas Warton is succeeded as Poet Laureate of Great Britain by Henry James Pye.
• The Royal Literary Fund is founded by David Williams.

New books

• Xavier de Maistre - Voyage around my Room
• Mary Pilkington - Delia
• Ann Radcliffe - A Sicilian Romance
• Alexander Radishchev - Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow
• Hasan Shah - The Dancing Girl
• Helen Maria Williams - Julia

New drama

• Mariana Starke - The Widow of Malabar

New poetry

• William Blake - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
• Robert Burns - "Tam o' Shanter"

Non-fiction

• Samuel Ayscough - An Index to the Remarkable Passages and Words Made Use of by Shakespeare, the first Shakespeare concordance ever published
• James Bruce - Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (first edition)
• Edmund Burke - Reflections on the Revolution in France
• 29 November (first edition) - Mary Wollstonecraft - A Vindication of the Rights of Men
• Jean Paul - Leben des vergnügten Schulmeisterlein Maria Wutz

Births

• January 1 - James Wills, Irish poet (died 1868)
• January 10 - Anders Abraham Grafström
• March 6 - Jacques Arago, French traveller and writer (died 1855)
• March 18 - Marquis de Custine, French aristocrat and travel writer (died 1857)
• June 9 - Abel-François Villemain, French politician and writer (died 1870)
• June 24 - Helena Ekblom, Swedish writer and preacher (died 1859)
• October 1 - Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, English novelist (died 1846)
• October 21 - Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet (died 1869)

Deaths

• April 29 - Charles-Nicolas Cochin, art critic (born 1715)
• May 2 - Martin Madan, English clergyman and writer (born 1726)
• May 6 - Jacques Antoine Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert, French military writer (born 1743)
• May 21 - Thomas Warton, poet (born 1798)
• July 7 - François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher (born 1721)
• July 17 - Adam Smith, Scottish philosopher (born 1723)
• December 17 - Martin Bergame, Hungarian poet (born 1734)
• probable - Marc-Antoine Eidous, French Encyclopedist (b. c. 1724)

Awards