1743 CE

In New France, Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville ends his final term (multiple times over 43 years) as Governor of colonial French Louisiana, which he helped colonize; he is succeeded by the Marquis de Vaudreuil (for the next 10 years) and returns to France. (June 16 O.S.) – War of the Austrian Succession – Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria: British forces, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeat a French army under the duc de Noailles; King George II of Great Britain (and Elector of Brunswick) leads his own troops, the last British king to do so. (16 June O.S.) – War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria – British forces, including the Royal Scots Greys, the Scots Guards and the Royal Scots Fusiliers, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeat the French; King George II of Great Britain (and Elector of Brunswick) leads his own troops, the last reigning British monarch to participate in a battle.

In the 1740s, the 18th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 8 – King Augustus III of Poland, acting in his capacity as Elector of Saxony, signs an agreement with Austria, pledging help in war in return for part of Silesia to be conveyed to Saxony.source
January 23 – With mediation by France, Sweden and Russia begin peace negotiations at Åbo (Turku) to end the Russo-Swedish War. By August 17, Sweden cedes all of its claims to southern Finland.source
May - Three of the four estates in the Riksdag of the Estates: the nobility, the clergy and the burghers, offers to support the Russian candidate as heir to the Swedish throne in exchange for favorable peace terms with Russia.Sweden source
16 June - Preliminary peace between Sweden and Russia.Sweden source
July 3 – As a concession to Russia, Sweden's parliament ratifies the election of Adolphus Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, a great-grandson of King Charles XI, to be heir to the throne of Sweden. Adolphus becomes king on the death of King Frederick on April 5, 1751, marking the end of the Hesse-Kassel dynasty and the start of the dynasty of the Holstein-Gottorp that will rule Sweden from 1751 to 1818source
July 28 – France and the Allies of Britain conclude a treaty to provide care for each other's wounded.source
July 31 – At a summit in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the British colonies of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania conclude a treaty with the Six Nations, conceding that the member tribes are entitled to the territory west of the Appalachian mountains and north of the Ohio River.source
2 August – The Barony of Conradsborg is established by Ide Margrethe Reventlow for her son Christian Frederik Knuth from the manors of Sørup, Sandbygård and Rosengård.Denmark source
August 18 (August 7 Old Style) – Russia and Sweden sign the Treaty of Åbo.source
August 27 – Henry Pelham becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain.source
27 August – Henry Pelham becomes Prime Minister, following the death of Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, on 2 July.United Kingdom source
September 13 – The Treaty of Worms is signed between Great Britain, Austria and Sardinia.source
13 September – Treaty of Worms signed between Great Britain, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the Kingdom of Sardinia.United Kingdom source
25 October – France and Spain form the Alliance of Fontainebleau with the aim of recapturing Gibraltar from Britain.United Kingdom source

Conflict & Security

March 2 – A British expeditionary fleet under Sir Charles Knowles is defeated by the Spanish in the Battle of La Guaira.source
March 2 – Battle of La Guaira: Spanish victory over the British.Spain source
2 March – War of Jenkins' Ear: Battle of La Guaira – a British expeditionary fleet under Sir Charles Knowles is defeated by the Spanish off the South-American coast.United Kingdom source
May 9 – Austrian army defeats the Bavarian army in the Battle of Simbach.source
May 30 – The Dalecarlian rebellion (1743) breaks out in Sweden.source
11 June - Dalecarlian Rebellion (1743). A rebel army of peasants march toward Stockholm to prevent the election of Adolf Frederik of Holstein-Gottorp as heir to the Swedish throne and punish those responsible for the war.Sweden source
16 June (27 June New Style) – War of the Austrian Succession: the Battle of Dettingen is fought in Bavaria; King George II leads the troops of Britain and Brunswick to victory over the French – the last time a reigning British monarch participates in a battle. The Prime Minister, Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, is also present, observing from a carriage. George Frideric Handel writes the oratorio Dettingen Te Deum in celebration of the King's victory.United Kingdom source
22 June - The rebel army reach Stockholm, where they are dispersed by the military.Sweden source
June 27 (June 16 O.S.) – War of the Austrian Succession – Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria: British forces, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeat a French army under the duc de Noailles; King George II of Great Britain (and Elector of Brunswick) leads his own troops, the last British king to do so.source
27 June (16 June O.S.) – War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria – British forces, including the Royal Scots Greys, the Scots Guards and the Royal Scots Fusiliers, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeat the French; King George II of Great Britain (and Elector of Brunswick) leads his own troops, the last reigning British monarch to participate in a battle.Scotland source
August 24 – The War of the Hats: The Swedish army surrendered to the Russians in Helsinki, ending the war and starting Lesser Wrath.source
September – Denmark-Norway threatens to declare war because their candidate, Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, was not chosen as heir to the Swedish throne, which result in Sweden having to accept a Russian protective force in Sweden.Sweden source
October 23 – After almost six weeks, Nader Shah of Persia lifts the siege of Mosul.source

Exploration & Expansion

January 1 – The Verendrye brothers, probably Louis-Joseph and François de La Vérendrye, become the first white people to see the Rocky Mountains from the eastern side (the Spanish conquistadors had seen the Rockies from the west side).source
January 12 – The Verendryes, and two members of the Mandan Indian tribe, reach the foot of the mountains, near the site of what is now Helena, Montana.source
April 2 – The Verendrye brothers bury a tablet claiming the Great Plains of North America for King Louis XV of France. A schoolgirl in Pierre, South Dakota, unearths the tablet 170 years later on February 16, 1913.source
April 9 – The Verendrye brothers make the first contact since 1722 between Europeans and the Sioux Indians, whom they refer to as Les Gens de la Fleche Collee ("the people of the sheathed arrow").source
May 10 – In New France, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville ends his final term (multiple times over 43 years) as Governor of colonial French Louisiana, which he helped colonize; he is succeeded by the Marquis de Vaudreuil (for the next 10 years) and returns to France.source
10 May – In New France, Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville ends his final term (multiple times over 43 years) as Governor of colonial French Louisiana, which he helped colonize; he is succeeded by the Marquis de Vaudreuil (for the next 10 years) and returns to France.France source
December 3 – Ecuadorian scientist Pedro Vicente Maldonado departs from Brazil in order to purchase the most state-of-the-art equipment for the French Geodesic Missionsource
Concentrated hunting of sea otter by Russia begins.Canada source
Father Claude-Godefroy Coquart joins La Vérendrye at Fort La Reine becoming the first recorded missionary in present-day Manitoba and the first to travel beyond Lake of the Woods.Canada source
Dr Christopher Packe produces the first geological map of south-east England.United Kingdom source
Griffith Hughes returns from his travels in America and Barbados, and presents a hitherto unknown substance, asbestos, to the Royal Society.Wales source

Religion & Belief

2 January - Edward Willes is consecrated Bishop of St David's.Wales source
January 16 – Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury turns his effects over to King Louis XV, 13 days before his death on January 29.source
14 February: Finnur Jónsson is appointed official of the Diocese of Skálholt, serving as bishop until a new bishop has been elected after the death of Jón Árnason.Iceland source
April 1 – Pope Benedict XIV issues a new bill, barring agreements by spouses not to appeal annulments of marriagessource
21 April - Thomas Herring becomes Archbishop of York and is replaced as Bishop of Bangor by Matthew Hutton. Both men go on to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury.Wales source
2 August – The Barony of Christiansdal is established by Ide Margrethe Reventlow from the manors of Adserstrup and Grimsted.Denmark source
November - John Thomas is elected to replace Isaac Maddox as Bishop of St Asaph, but is translated to the bishopric of Lincoln before his consecration and is himself replaced at St Asaph by Samuel Lisle.Wales source
William Williams (Pantycelyn) is refused ordination as a priest because of his Methodist activities; from this time on he commits himself entirely to the Methodist movement.Wales source

Economy & Finance

April 3 – Prithvi Narayan Shah becomes the new King of the Gorkha Kingdom and begins a campaign to unify the 54 different principalities in the Himalayas under his rule as part of the unification of Nepalsource
The Moët & Chandon champagne house is established by Claude Moët in Épernay as Moët et Cie.France source
Gin Act 1743 attempts to increase taxation on gin provoking riots in London.United Kingdom source

Technology & Infrastructure

15 June – Arthur Jones-Nevill is appointed Surveyor General of Ireland in succession to Arthur Dobbs.Ireland source
Capodimonte porcelain is first manufactured, in Naples.source

Science & Discovery

July 23 – James Oglethorpe departs from Georgia to England and returns there in September.source
October 21 – Benjamin Franklin's view of a lunar eclipse from Philadelphia is spoiled by a rainstorm; several days later, he learns that residents of Boston received the same storm hours after the eclipse, demonstrating that weather moves from west to east.source
November 5 – Coordinated scientific observations of the transit of Mercury are organized by Joseph-Nicolas Delisle.source
December 9 – At Haarlem, Dutch astronomer Dirk Klinkenberg becomes the first to observe the Great Comet of 1744. Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux discovers it independently on December 13. Both scientists are given credit for its discoverysource
Robert Foulis becomes printer to the University of Glasgow.Scotland source

Crime & Justice

July 20 – Lord Anson captures the Philippine galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga and its treasure of 1,313,843 Spanish dollars at Manila along with a treasure of 2 1/2 million dollars, and proceeds back toward Mexico, then returns to Britain in 1744source
20 July – Lord Anson captures the Philippine galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga and its treasure of 1,313,843 Spanish dollars at Manila.United Kingdom source
July - Execution of Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock.Sweden source
Probable date – The last wolf in Scotland is shot, in Killiecrankie.source
Leaders of the free church, Zionittene, is arrested, four leaders was banished to Altona, and others was imprisoned in labor camps.Norway source
William Hogarth begins painting his Marriage à-la-mode series.United Kingdom source
Last wolf said to be killed in Scotland.United Kingdom source

Disasters & Accidents

April 13 – The British East India Company ship Princess Louisa is wrecked off the coast of Maio Island in the Cape Verde Islands, killing 49 of her 179 crew.source
13 April – British East India Company ship Princess Louisa is wrecked off the coast of Maio Island in the Cape Verde Islands, killing 49 of her 179 crew.United Kingdom source
July 13 – All 276 people on board the Dutch East India Company ship Hollandia drown after the ship strikes a rock off of the Isles of Scilly in England near Cornwall. The wreckage is located in 1971.source
13 July – all 276 people on board the Dutch East India Company ship Hollandia 1742 ship drown after the ship strikes a rock off Annet, Isles of Scilly.United Kingdom source

Climate & Environment

January 12 – An earthquake strikes the Philippinessource
3-11 December - The Great Flood of 1743.Norway source

Culture & Society

February 21 – George Frideric Handel's oratorio, Samson, premieres in London.source
21 February – premiere in London of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, Samson.United Kingdom source
April 18 – The trustees of the English Province of Georgia vote to inaugurate public schools in the corporate territory.source
8 June - William Bulkeley completes the first of his diaries.Wales source
23 June - Adolf Frederik of Holstein-Gottorp, the candidate of Empress Elizabeth I of Russia, is elected heir to the Swedish throne.Sweden source
September 11 – Russian noble Natalia Lopukhina is flogged in front of the Twelve Collegia building in Saint Petersburg, bringing a conclusion to the "Lopukhina Affair" plotted by France and the Duchy of Holstein.source
4 October – Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay succeeds his brother as 3rd Duke of Argyll.Scotland source
December 10 – King Louis XV of France informs King Philip V of Spain of his intent to try to restore the House of Stuart to the throne of the United Kingdom. James Francis Edward Stuart was briefly the Crown Prince of England and Scotland until his father, King James II, was deposed in 1688 and, as Pretender to the Throne, would become King James III if the attack, planned for January 1, 1744 succeeds.source
December 11 – Princess Louise of Great Britain, daughter of King George II, weds Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway.source
11 December – The wedding of Crown Prince Frederick (V) and Louise of Great Britain is celebrated at Christiansborg Palace. The couple had already been married by proxy on 10 November in Hanover.Denmark source
11 December – Princess Louise, the King's daughter, marries Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway.United Kingdom source
c. April – radical apothecary Charles Lucas publishes his pamphlet A Remonstrance against certain Infringements on the Rights and Liberties of the Commons and Citizens of Dublin, arguing that the right of electing Aldermen for Dublin lies with the entire Corporation.Ireland source
Daniel Rowland & Ralph Erskine - Traethawd am farw i'r ddeddf, a byw i DduwWales source

Births

January 25 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher (died 1819)source
February 13 – Sir Joseph Banks, British naturalist and botanist (died 1820)source
13 February – Joseph Banks, naturalist and botanist (died 1820).United Kingdom source
February 28 – René Just Haüy, French "father of modern crystallography" (died 1822)source
March 28 (March 17 O.S.) – Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, Russian princess, courtier and patron of the arts and sciences (died 1810)source
March – Joseph Brant, Mohawk leader (died 1807)source
April 13 – Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, author of the Declaration of American Independence (died 1826)source
April – Etta Palm d'Aelders, Dutch-French feminist (died 1799)source
May 17 – Seth Warner American revolutionary hero (died 1784)source
May 20 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian rebel (died 1803)source
May 24 – Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary, doctor and scientist (died 1793)source
June 2 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian Freemason (died 1795)source
June 23 - Catherine Shuvalova, Russian courtier. (died 1816)Russia source
30 July - Philip Yorke, genealogist (died 1804)Wales source
August 26 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (died 1794)source
September 17 – Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician, philosopher, and political scientist (died 1794)source
25 November – Jochum Brinch Lund, merchant (d.1807).Norway source
December 1 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist, discoverer of uranium (1789), zirconium (1789), and cerium (1803) (died 1817)source

Deaths

January 29 – Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, Bishop of Fréjus, chief minister of France under Louis XV (born 1653)source
February 18 – Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (born 1667)source
March 14 – Jean-Paul Bignon, French priest and man of letters (born 1662)source
March 23 – Lancelot Blackburne, Archbishop of York (born 1658)source
April 11 - Jean-Baptiste Chardon, jesuit missionary (born 1672).Canada source
April 12 – Augustine Washington, father of the future first President of the United States (born 1694)source
15 April – Eiler Hagerup d.e., bishop (born 1685).Norway source
May 6 – Andrew Michael Ramsay, English Freemason (born 1686)source
June 16 – Louise Françoise, Princess of Condé, eldest daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan (born 1673)source
July 2 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, British politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born c. 1674)source
2 July – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1674).United Kingdom source
15 July - John Wynne, former Bishop of St Asaph and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, 85Wales source
August 5 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English statesman and writer (born 1696)source
August 30 – Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, British politician (born 1663)source
September 14 – Nicolas Lancret, French painter (born 1690)source
September 21 – Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper, India (born 1688)source
October 4 – John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (born 1678)source
December 27 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (born 1659)source