John Graunt born in London. His only book, "Natural and Political Observations...upon the Bills of Mortality" (1662), was the foundation of both statistics and demography.
Library of Congress established. A sum of $5000 was appropriated "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington and for filling up a suitable apartment for containing them and for placing them therein." The first catalog, dated April 1802, listed 964 volumes and 9 maps.
First American Mathematical Society sectional meeting held. The Chicago Section of the AMS held its first organizational meeting under the chairmanship of E. H. Moore of the University of Chicago.