1768 CE

Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses in London. Five days after the signing of the treaty, a group of the szlachta, Polish nobles, establishes the Bar Confederation, to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence, and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Prithvi Singh begins a reign of 10 years as the new Raja of Jaipur (part of the modern-day Indian state of Rajasthan), 12 days after the death of Madho Singh.

In the 1760s, the 18th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and sent to the other Thirteen Colonies. Refusal to revoke the letter will result in dissolution of the Massachusetts Assembly, and (from October) incur the institution of martial law to prevent civil unrest.source
February 24 – With Russian troops occupying the nation, opposition legislators of the national legislature having been deported, the government of Poland signs a treaty virtually turning the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into a protectorate of the Russian Empire.source
February 27 – The first Secretary of State for the Colonies is appointed in Britain, the Earl of Hillsborough.source
27 February – the first Secretary of State for the Colonies is appointed, the Earl of Hillsborough.United Kingdom source
February 29 – Five days after the signing of the treaty, a group of the szlachta, Polish nobles, establishes the Bar Confederation, to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence, and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski.source
March 17 – Britain's Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, concludes a peace agreement with the leaders of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora tribal nations) of the northern American lands, and with Chiefs Oconostota and Attakullakulla of the Cherokee nation in the southern American lands.source
17 March – The Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, concludes a peace agreement with the leaders of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora tribal nations) of the northern American lands, and with Chiefs Oconostota and Attakullakulla of the Cherokee nation in the southern American lands.United Kingdom source
May 15 – After the Treaty of Versailles, the island of Corsica is ceded by Genoa to France.source
15 May – French conquest of Corsica: Treaty of Versailles – The island of Corsica is ceded to France by the Republic of GenoaFrance source
16 July – The Loftus Baronetcy, of Mount Loftus in the County of Kilkenny, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for Edward Loftus.Ireland source
August 27 – Almost all merchants and traders in the British colony of New York sign a pact not to import British manufactured goods as long as the Townshend Acts are in effect, nor to do business with nonassociators to the pact.source
September 16 – Louis XV appoints René de Maupeou as Grand Chancellor of France (an office he will hold until 1790), and orders him to crush the judicial opposition.source
October 14 – William Pitt resigns from his position as Prime Minister of Great Britain.source
October 17 – Representatives of the Cherokee nation sign the Treaty of Hard Labour with British representative John Stuart and relinquish all claims to the land between the Ohio River and the Allegheny Mountains, now the United States state of West Virginia.source
October 17- The Treaty of Fort Stanwix is concluded.Canada source
November 5 – The Treaty of Fort Stanwix is signed between the five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca) relinquishing their claims to territory south of the Ohio River to the British.source
12 December – The King lays down the government, which creates the December Crisis (1768), that cause the parliament to call the Riksdag of the Estates.Sweden source
December 15 – The king's refusal to sign state documents results in the December Crisis (1768) in Sweden.source
Guy Carleton succeeds James Murray as governor of Quebec.Canada source
Christian von Proeck takes over as Governor of Iceland, taking over from Otto von Rantzau.Iceland source

Conflict & Security

March 27 – Catherine the Great of Russia dispatches troops under General Pyotr Krechetnikov to intervene in a civil war in Poland, at the request of Poland's King Stanisław August Poniatowski, a move that will ultimately lead to the Partitions of Poland.source
May 10 – Massacre of St George's Fields: John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton, severely criticising King George III. This action provokes protesters to riot; in the Southwark district of London, troops fire on the mob, killing seven.source
10 May – John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticising King George III. This action provokes protesters to riot; in Southwark, troops fire on the mob, killing seven, the Massacre of St George's Fields.United Kingdom source
June 20 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774): Russia captures the fortress of Bar.source
July 14 – The massacre of Polish people (most likely by the Russians) at the village of Balta, now a part of Ukraine but at the time an Ottoman Empire town on the frontier with Poland, leads to the Russo-Turkish War.source
September 22–29 – The Massachusetts Convention of Towns, assembling in Boston, resolves on a written objection to the impending arrival of British troops rather than more militant action but causes panic in London.source
October 1 – The British Army's 29th Infantry Regiment of foot soldiers, which will carry out the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, arrives in Boston Harbor along with three other regiments. The 700 foot soldiers march through the Massachusetts colony's capital as a show of force and begin their occupation. Within a year, there will be "nearly 4,000 armed redcoats in the crowded seaport of 15,000 inhabitants."source
October 4 – The Sultan Mustafa III of the Ottoman Empire begins the Russo-Turkish War after the Russians refuse to withdraw troops from Poland.source
8 October – French conquest of Corsica: Battle of Borgo – French forces are defeated by CorsicansFrance source
October 29 – French colonists in Louisiana refuse to accept the colony's acquisition by Spain and begin an uprising that forces Spanish Governor Antonio de Ulloa to flee.source
29 October – French colonists in Louisiana refuse to accept the colony's acquisition by Spain and begin an uprising that forces Spanish Governor Antonio de Ulloa to fleeFrance source
Citizens of Boston, Massachusetts, refuse to quarter British troops.United Kingdom source
22–29 September – The Massachusetts Convention of Towns, assembling in Boston, resolves on a written objection to the impending arrival of British troops rather than more militant action but causes panic in London.United Kingdom source
William Williams Pantycelyn - Tri Wyr o SodomWales source

Exploration & Expansion

2 March - Rowland Pugh, a local miner, discovers the "Great Lode" of copper on Parys Mountain and is rewarded with a bottle of whisky and a rent-free house for his lifetime.Wales source
April 5 – The New York Chamber of Commerce, first of its kind in the American colonies, is founded by 20 New York merchants at Bolton and Sigel's Tavern at 54 Pearl Street in New York City. Former New York City mayor John Cruger Jr. is elected the Chamber's first president.source
July 1–3 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, on his circumnavigation westbound, sails through the Bougainville Strait and along the north shore of Bougainville Island in the Solomons.source
August 26 – James Cook departs from Plymouth aboard HMS Endeavour on his first voyage of discovery.source
26 August – James Cook departs from Plymouth aboard HMS Endeavour on his first voyage of discovery.United Kingdom source
New Smyrna, Florida, the largest attempt at colonization by the British in the New World, is founded by Dr. Andrew Turnbull.source
David Dale begins his own business importing linen yarn from the Dutch Republic to Glasgow.Scotland source

Religion & Belief

18 February – The Hon. Frederick Augustus Hervey, later 4th Earl of Bristol, is appointed Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry (being translated from Cloyne), an office he will hold until his death in 1803.Ireland source
June 14 – The largest mass meeting ever held in New England, up to this time, takes place at the Old South Church to support a petition demanding that the British remove a ship which has been hindering navigation in Boston Harbor.source
24 August - A seminary is founded at Trefeca-isaf for the training of evangelical preachers, with financial assistance from Selina, Countess of Huntingdon.Wales source
Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the founder of the Al Khalifa dynasty, constructed Qal'at Murair in the town of Zubarah in present-day Qatar. The fortress served to consolidate his control over Zubarah and neighboring tribes.source
Bishop John O'Brien's Irish-English dictionary, Focaloir Gaoidhilge-Sacs-Bhéarla, is published posthumously and anonymously in Paris.Ireland source
Frederick Cornwallis enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.United Kingdom source
Oldest Jews' burial ground in Wales established at Swansea.Wales source
Controversial Bishop of Bangor John Egerton is translated to the see of Lichfield in England.Wales source
Thomas Edwards (Twm o'r Nant) - Y Farddoneg FabilonaiddWales source
John Griffith - Some Brief Remarks upon Sundry Important Subjects ... principally addressed to the ... Quakers ...Wales source

Economy & Finance

December 21 – King Prithvi Narayan Shah unifies several small kingdoms to establish modern-day Nepal; this dynasty will end in 2008.source
Catherine II founded assignation banks, paving the way for Russia’s first paper money.Russia source

Technology & Infrastructure

17 March – William Cookworthy of Plymouth is granted a patent for the manufacture of true porcelain.United Kingdom source
Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay is first lit (by candlepower).Ireland source
Bridge over River Deveron between Banff and Macduff swept away in flood.Scotland source
Construction of Forth and Clyde Canal begins (Act 8 March).Scotland source
The Theatre Royal, Bath, and Theatre Royal, Norwich, assume these titles having been granted Royal Patents, making them officially England's only legal provincial patent theatres.United Kingdom source

Science & Discovery

22 November – HDMS Den Prægtige is launched at Nyholm in Copenhagen.Denmark source
December 10 – The first of the weekly numbers of the Encyclopædia Britannica, edited by William Smellie, are published in Edinburgh; one hundred are planned.source
Joseph Wright of Derby's painting An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump.United Kingdom source

Health & Medicine

March 1 – King Louis XV decrees that all cities and towns in France will be required to post house numbering on all residential buildings, primarily to facilitate the forced quartering of troops in citizens' homes.source
1 March – King Louis XV decrees that all cities and towns in the kingdom will be required to post house numbering on all residential buildings, primarily to facilitate the forced quartering of troops in citizens' homesFrance source
14 October – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, succeeds William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, as Prime Minister after Pitt's resignation due to ill health.United Kingdom source
Catherine II was inoculated against smallpox, setting an example for her subjects and marking an important moment in Russian medical history.Russia source

Crime & Justice

16 May - Evan Lloyd is fined £50 after being found guilty of libel against William Price.Wales source

Disasters & Accidents

30 May: Eggert Ólafsson and his wife, Ingibjörg Halldórsdóttir drowned after their boat capsizes in Breiðafjörður.Iceland source
August 7 – The palace of the Ottoman Grand Vizier is destroyed by a fire in Constantinoplesource
August 30 – A fire burns much of the Library of the Vatican.source
December 1 – The slave ship Fredensborg sinks off Tromøya, Norway.source
1 December — The slave ship Fredensborg sinks off Tromøya.Norway source

Climate & Environment

April 4 – The Cotopaxi volcano erupts in what is now Ecuador, at the time part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, covering the towns of Hambato and Tacunga with ash, but not causing fatalities.source
October 15 – A powerful hurricane sweeps across Cuba during the Festival of Santa Teresa, killing hundreds of people. Spain's King Carlos III begins a precedent of ordering the colonial government to fund disaster relief, a task previously left to the Catholic Church.source
The Steller's sea cow, discovered on Bering Island in 1741, is driven to extinction.source

Culture & Society

January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London.source
9 January – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses in London.United Kingdom source
January - Gunnerus Library, the oldest scientific library in Norway is opened in Trondheim.Norway source
March 17 – Prithvi Singh begins a reign of 10 years as the new Raja of Jaipur (part of the modern-day Indian state of Rajasthan), 12 days after the death of Madho Singh.source
14 May - In Dublin, a concert takes place for the benefit of "Jones", a resident of Britain Street, where music will be performed on "that most admired instrument, the Welsh Harp".Wales source
July 18 – "The Liberty Song", the first American patriotic song, is published in the Boston Gazette and includes the refrain "In freedom we're born".source
July 25 – The Imperial Court of China's Emperor Qianlong and his three senior grand councilors, Fuheng, Yenjisan and Liu T'ung-hsun, issues a directive to officials in the Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces warning them about the need to respond to rumors of sorcery.source
16 August – The equestrian statue of Frederick V is installed on Amalienborg in Copenhagen.Denmark source
December 10 – The Royal Academy is founded in London, with Joshua Reynolds as its first President.source
10 December – first volumes of Encyclopædia Britannica begin publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source
10 December - Richard Wilson is a founder member of the Royal Academy of Arts.Wales source
The Petit Trianon, originally designed for Madame de Pompadour, is completed in the park of the Palace of Versailles, and inaugurated by Louis XV.source
The Complete Farmer: Or, a General Dictionary of Husbandry, written by "A Society of Gentlemen", a group of members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts in Britain, concludes publication in weekly numbers and is first published in book form.source
The Petit Trianon, originally designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel for Madame de Pompadour, is completed in the park of the Palace of Versailles and inaugurated by Louis XV for Marie AntoinetteFrance source
The Ladies of Llangollen meet for the first time.Ireland source

Births

January 1 – Maria Edgeworth, Irish novelist (died 1849)source
January 7 – Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples and Spain (died 1844)source
January 28 – King Frederick VI of Denmark (died 1839)source
February 12 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1835)source
10 March – Domingos Sequeira, painter (died 1837)Portugal source
March – Tecumseh, Native American (Shawnee) chief (died 1813)source
May 17 – Caroline of Brunswick, queen of George IV of the United Kingdom (died 1821)source
May 17 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (died 1854)source
June 9 – Samuel Slater, American industrialist (died 1835)source
July 27 – Charlotte Corday, French murderer of Jean-Paul Marat (died 1793)source
August 6 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (died 1813)source
September 4 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French writer, diplomat (died 1848)source
October 2 – William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, British general and politician (died 1854)source
November 3 – Karađorđe Petrović, leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, founder of the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty (died 1817)source
November 21 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German theologian (died 1834)source
22 November - William Williams (Gwilym Twrog), poet (died 1836)Wales source
Johan Ernst Berg, politician (died 1828)Norway source
Vera Zavadovskaya, courtier (died 1845)Russia source

Deaths

24 January – Morten Leuch, timber merchant and landowner (born 1732).Norway source
February 1 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (born 1685)source
February 17 – Arthur Onslow, English politician (born 1691)source
February 29 – John Mitchell, colonial American physician and botanist (born 1711)source
March 1 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher, writer (born 1694)source
14 March - Owen Rees, Calvinist minister, 50/51Wales source
March 18 – Laurence Sterne, Irish writer (born 1713)source
April 9 – Sarah Fielding, English writer (born 1710)source
April 19 – Canaletto, Italian artist (born 1697)source
June 8 – Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German classical scholar, archaeologist (born 1717)source
4 July – Paula de Odivelas, nun and royal mistress (born 1701).Portugal source
July 11 – José de Nebra, Spanish composer (born 1702)source
August 3 – Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1693)source
September 11 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer (born 1688)source
October 1 – Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician (born 1687)source
October 31 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (born 1690)source
November 17 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1693)source
1768 – Ivan Barkov, Russian poet and translator (born 1732)Russia source