1724 CE

January 15: King Felipe V of Spain abdicates in favor of his son, who becomes King Luis I but dies 7 months later.

In the 1720s, the 18th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 15 – King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne in favour of his 16-year-old son Louis I.source
  • 6 April – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne becomes Secretary of State for the Southern Department; Henry Pelham becomes Secretary at War.United Kingdomsource
  • June 23 – The Treaty of Constantinople is signed, partitioning Persia between the Ottoman Empire and Russia.source
  • 24 June - Treaty of Constantinople was signed delimiting the spheres of influence of the Russian and Ottoman empires in the Transcaucasus.Russiasource
  • July 31 – The Hyderabad State is created in India, as Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah rewards his associate Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan. Qamar-ud-din becomes the first Nizam of Hyderabad. The princely state exists for more than 220 years, coming to an end after India's independence from Britain.source
  • September 4 – José de Grimaldo, who had been Prime Minister for Spain's King Philip V until the latter's abdication in January, resumes office with the return of King Philip.source
  • October 16 – Yeongjo becomes the new emperor of Korea after the death of his older brother Gyeongjong. He reigns for almost 52 years until his death on April 22, 1776.source
  • December 7 – By order of the Nizam, Hyderabad is made the permanent capital of the Indian princely state of the same name. It becomes capital of the Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradeshsource
  • December 14 – The Viceroyalty of Zhili (modern-day Hebei province) is recreated in the Chinese Empire by the Emperor Yongzheng for the first time in 55 years, with Li Weijun as the first Viceory. Zhili exists as a viceroyalty until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.source
  • The Austrian Netherlands agree to the Pragmatic Sanction.source
  • The Faroe Islands detach from rule of Denmark–Norway.Denmarksource
  • The title of Baron Bergavenny is inherited by William Nevill.Walessource

Conflict & Security

  • January 22 – Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, Spanish Captain general of the Río de la Plata, forces the Portuguese to abandon their fortified settlement at what will become the city of Montevideo in Uruguay.source
  • 24 December – General George Wade is appointed Commander in Chief in Scotland after his report on the need for military roads in the country.Scotlandsource
  • Blenheim Palace construction is completed in England. It is presented as a gift from the nation to the Duke of Marlborough, for his involvement in the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.source
  • Undated – Blenheim Palace construction is completed. It has been built as a gift from the nation to the Duke of Marlborough (died 1722) for his involvement in the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.United Kingdomsource

Exploration & Expansion

  • January 18 – The Dutch East India Company cargo ship Fortuyn, on its maiden voyage, departs from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after a layover of 16 days following its arrival from the Netherlands. With a crew of 225 commanded by Pieter Westrik, the ship departs for Batavia in the Dutch East Indies and is never seen again.source

Religion & Belief

  • March 20 – The 1724 papal conclave opens in Rome, 13 days after the death of Innocent XIII. Starting with 33 electors and eventually having 53, the conclave deliberates for more than two months before selecting a successor.source
  • May 13 – Cardinal Giulio Piazza, the Archbishop of Faenza, comes within four votes of being elected the new Popesource
  • May 29 – Cardinal Vincenzo Orsini, the Archbishop of Benevento, accepts the papacy, two days after being unanimously selected by the cardinals at the papal conclave in Rome. He becomes the 245th pontiff as Pope Benedict XIII.source
  • June 11 – Johann Sebastian Bach leads his cantata O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (O eternity, you word of thunder), BWV 20, on the first Sunday after Trinity, beginning his second cycle, the chorale cantata cycle.source
  • 14 September - Robert Clavering, a canon of Christ Church, Oxford, is nominated to succeed John Tyler as Bishop of Llandaff.Walessource
  • October 2 – Muhammad bin Nasir is elected as the new Imam of Oman after the overthrow of his brother, Saif bin Sultan II.source
  • December 2 – The Metropolitan Mojsije Petrović, leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church within the Habsburg monarchy, issues a 57-point decree to purge the church of the Turkish influence.source
  • Allan Ramsay publishes The Ever Green: Being a collection of Scots Poems and co-writes and edits the first volume of The Tea-Table Miscellany, a collection of Scots songs, in Scots and English.Scotlandsource
  • William Wynne - The Life of Sir Leoline JenkinsWalessource

Economy & Finance

  • April 28 – The first of the seven Drapier's Letters, satirical pamphlets seeking to arouse public opinion in Ireland against the imposition by the British of a privately minted copper coinage, is published by Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin and author, writing under the pseudonym "M. B., Drapier", identifying himself as a drapier or seller of cloth.source
  • September 24 – The Paris Bourse, the stock exchange for France, is created by order of King Louis XV on the advice of Nicolas Ravot d'Ombreval, four years after a financial panic had shut down trading. Stock markets had already been set up in Lyon, Bourdeaux and Toulouse.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • 9 November – At the Greenland Parade, two Greenlandic Inuit, Pock and Keperock, who had been sent to Copenhagen by Hans Egede earlier that year, are presented to the general public when they sail through the canals around Christiansborg Palace in their kayaks accompanied by barges with musicians and dignitaries.Denmarksource
  • The Central Guardhouse on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen is built. In 1874 it is moved to Kastellet.Denmarksource
  • The Rémy Martin cognac house is established.Francesource
  • Burcefield and Gardie Houses built.Scotlandsource
  • The Shire Hall, Monmouth, is built.Walessource

Science & Discovery

  • 22 May – a total solar eclipse crosses Ireland around 6:30 p.m.Irelandsource
  • December 24 – Francesco Valesio resumes writing his Diario di Roma, 13 years after he ceased his recording of daily life in Rome.source
  • China expels foreign missionaries.source
  • Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky introduced.Russiasource

Health & Medicine

  • May - Alexander Menshikov was removed from the post of Governor-General of the Saint Petersburg Governorate for significant abuses. Pyotr Apraksin was appointed to his place.Russiasource

Crime & Justice

  • July 27 – "Peter the Wild Boy" is captured near Helpensen in Hanover.source
  • November 11 – Joseph Blake (alias "Blueskin"), English highwayman, is hanged in London.source
  • November 16 – Highwayman Jack Sheppard is hanged in London.source
  • 16 November – Thief Jack Sheppard is hanged in London. (His partner-in-crime, highwayman Joseph Blake, alias "Blueskin", was similarly executed five days earlier.)United Kingdomsource
  • Shah Mahmud Hotaki of Afghanistan goes insane.source
  • Frederik Rostgaard is banished from the Royal Court in Copenhagen after accusations of corruption and withdraws to Krogerup Manor north of the city.Denmarksource
  • The Royal Greenland Trading Department charges Bernhard Grodtschilling with painting a double portrait of Pooq and Qiperoq. It is the following year handed over to the Kunstkammeret.Denmarksource
  • c. March–November – Galloway "Levellers" dykebreaking in opposition to enclosures.Scotlandsource

Disasters & Accidents

  • 23 June - The Hølonda Church burns down.Norwaysource
  • November 19 – The Dutch East India Company frigate Slot ter Hooge strikes rocks and sinks off Porto Santo Island, Madeira, with the loss of 221 of the 254 people on board.source
  • 19 November - according to legend, that day emperor Peter I of Russia rushes into the cold Neva to save the drowning soldiers while inspecting ironworks. This icy water rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's bladder problems and caused his death in February 1725.Russiasource

Culture & Society

  • January 28 – Saint Petersburg State University is established in Russia.source
  • February 8 – Catherine I of Russia is officially named tsaritsa by her husband, Peter the Great.source
  • February 20 – The premiere of Giulio Cesare, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, takes place in London.source
  • 20 February – Giulio Cesare in Egitto, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, is premiered in London.United Kingdomsource
  • March – Jonathan Swift publishes the first of the Drapier's Letters (A Letter To the Shop-Keepers, Tradesmen, Farmers, and Common-People of Ireland, Concerning the Brass Half-Pence Coined by Mr. Woods).Irelandsource
  • April 7 – (Good Friday) Bach leads the first performance of his St John Passion,""carefully designed with a great deal of musico-theological intent", on Good Friday.source
  • April 10 – Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, his first cantata composed for Easter in Leipzig.source
  • April 23 – Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104, illustrating the topic of the Good Shepherd in pastoral music.source
  • 7 May - coronation of Catherine as empress of Russia.Russiasource
  • June 24 – On the Feast of St. John the Baptist, Bach leads the first performance of his Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7, the third cantata of his chorale cantata cycle.source
  • July 2 – On the Feast of the Visitation, Bach leads the first performance of his Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10, the fifth cantata of his chorale cantata cycle.source
  • August 13 – Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101, a chorale cantata on a famous tune.source
  • August – Longman, the oldest surviving publishing house in England, is founded in London by Thomas Longman.source
  • September 10 – Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78, a chorale cantata based on a passion hymn by Johann Rist.source
  • September 29 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV 130, for the feast of archangel Michael, based on Paul Eber's hymn in twelve stanzas.source
  • October 15 – The historic Teatro Nuovo opera house is inaugurated in Naples with the premiere of Antonio Orefice's comic opera Lo Simmele.source
  • October 22 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, O dear soul) in Leipzig on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, based on the communion hymn of the same name.source
  • October 31 – George Frideric Handel's opera Tamerlano is performed for the first time, premiering in London. The opera will be revived as late as 2009.source
  • 31 October – Handel's opera Tamerlano is premiered in LondonUnited Kingdomsource
  • December 25 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, in Leipzig, based on Luther's 1524 Christmas hymn.source
  • The Kaitokudō academy merchant school, part predecessor of Osaka University is founded in Japan.source
  • John Neal, an instrument-maker and music publisher based in Christ Church Yard, Dublin, publishes the earliest printed collection of Irish music, which includes pieces by Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan.Irelandsource
  • Ludvig Holbergs comedy play «Julestuen» and other comedy plays is first published.Norwaysource
  • Saint Petersburg Mint and Saint Petersburg State University founded.Russiasource
  • A charity school is built at Caerleon as the result of a bequest from Charles Williams.Walessource

Births

  • January 12 – Frances Brooke, English writer (died 1789)source
  • February 28 – George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, British field marshal (died 1807)source
  • March 1 – Manuel do Cenáculo, Portuguese prelate and antiquarian (died 1814)source
  • March 6 – Henry Laurens, political leader during the American Revolutionary War, father of John Laurens (died 1792)source
  • April 22 – Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (died 1804)source
  • April 30 - Jean-Baptiste de La Brosse, Jesuit, priest, missionary, and professor (died 1782)Canadasource
  • May 7 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, Alsatian-born Austrian general (died 1797)source
  • June 8 – John Smeaton, English civil engineer (died 1792)source
  • July 2 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (died 1803)source
  • July 10 – Eva Ekeblad, Swedish scientist (died 1786)source
  • August 25 – George Stubbs, English painter (died 1806)source
  • September 3 – Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, British soldier and Governor of Quebec (died 1808)source
  • 3 September – Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, soldier and Governor of Quebec (died 1808)United Kingdomsource
  • 4 December - Princess Louise of Wales, daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales (died 1751)Walessource
  • December 12 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (died 1816)source
  • December 18 – Louise of Great Britain, queen of Frederick V of Denmark (died 1751)source
  • December 25 – John Michell, English scientist and geologist (died 1793)source
  • Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, bishop of VoronezhRussiasource

Deaths

  • 8 January - Mary Herbert, Marchioness of Powis, age unknownWalessource
  • March 7 – Pope Innocent XIII (born 1655)source
  • March 7 – Pope Innocent XIII dies at the age of 68 after less than three years as the Roman Catholic pontiff.source
  • March 15 – Regent Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours (born 1644)source
  • May 21 – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, English statesman (born 1661)source
  • June 15 – Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (born 1674)source
  • June – Magdelaine Chapelain, French fortune teller and poisoner (born 1651)source
  • July 13 – Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet, British politician (born 1656)source
  • August 6 – Samson Wertheimer, European rabbi (born 1658)source
  • August 31 – King Louis I of Spain (born 1707)source
  • August 31 – Louis I of Spain dies of smallpox, aged 17, after a reign of seven months, and his father Philip V resumes the throne.source
  • August 31 - Louis I of Spain (born 1707)Spainsource
  • November 14 – John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl (born 1660)source
  • November 16 – Jack Sheppard, British criminal (executed) (born 1702)source
  • November 16 – Willem Mons, lover of Catherine I of Russia, is executed, and his head preserved in alcohol.source
  • 16 November – Jack Sheppard, criminal (executed) (born 1702)United Kingdomsource
  • 26 November - Willem Mons was executed.Russiasource
  • December 7 – In the aftermath of an attack against Jesuit Catholics led by the Lutheran mayor of the Prussian city of Thorn (modern-day Toruń, Poland), ten Lutheran officials (including mayor Johann Gottfried Rösner) are executed in the town square. Rösner and seven others are decapitated by an axe, while two others are hanged, drawn and quartered for blasphemy.source