Culture & Society in the 18th century

1,295 sourced entries, 1700 CE to 1799 CE, oldest first. Also see Culture & Society across every century or everything else in the 18th century.

1700January 1 (Julian) (January 11, Gregorian) – The Tsardom of Russia begins numbering its calendar from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini), instead of since the Creation (Anno Mundi).source
1700March 1 (Swedish), March 11 (Gregorian), February 29 (Julian) – The Swedish calendar is adopted.source
17001 March – The Gregorian calendar is adopted.Norway source
1700March 3 – Shivaji II accedes to the throne of the Maratha Empire as the 4th Chhatrapati after his father Rajaram I's death.source
1700March (early) – William Congreve's comedy The Way of the World is first performed in London.source
17005 April – The coronation of Frederick IV and Queen Louise at Frederiksborg Castle.Denmark source
1700April 15 – The coronation of King Frederick IV of Denmark takes place at Frederiksborg Castle in Copenhagen.source
170019 April – Campbeltown is erected a royal burgh.Scotland source
1700July 11 – The Prussian Academy of Sciences is founded, with Gottfried Leibniz as president.source
1700September 6 – Edmond Halley returns to England after a voyage of almost one year on HMS Paramour, from which he has observed the Antarctic Convergence, and publishes his findings on terrestrial magnetism in General Chart of the Variation of the Compass.source
1700September – While in the Netherlands, William III meets his cousin Sophia at Het Loo Palace. This is a precursor to the Act of Settlement of the following year that opens the way to the future succession of the House of Hanover.England source
1700November 15 – Louis XIV of France accepts the Spanish crown on behalf of his grandson Philip of Anjou of the House of Bourbon, who becomes Philip V of Spain (reigning for 44 years – with a short break – to 1746), thus triggering the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).source
170015 November – Louis XIV of France accepts the Spanish crown on behalf of his grandson Philip of Anjou of the House of Bourbon, who becomes Philip V of Spain (in accordance with the will of Charles II of Spain), thus triggering the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).France source
170028 December – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.England source
1700December 28 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.Ireland source
1700An English translation of the novel Don Quixote, "translated from the original by many hands and published by Peter Motteux", begins publication in London. While popular among readers, it will eventually come to be known as one of the worst translations of the novel, totally betraying the spirit of Miguel de Cervantes's masterpiece.source
1700The poem Stolt Anne is written by Hans Paus.Norway source
170126 April – Commodore C. T. Sehested adjourns as the first chief of the new Royal Danish Naval Academy. The institution is created with inspiration from similar institutions in the Netherlands and France.Denmark source
170125 May – Christian Gyldenløve marries Dorothea Krag in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1701June 24 – the Act of Settlement 1701, passed by the Parliament of England, becomes law. Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant descendants are next in line to the throne following Anne, the heir apparent to her brother-in-law King William III, ensuring that no Catholic will inherit the throne.Ireland source
170128 June – title of Myrton Baronetcy, of Gogar in the County of Edinburgh in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia created in favour of Andrew Myrton.Scotland source
1701October 9 – The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.source
1701November 2 – King Philip V of Spain marries for the first time, to 13-year-old Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy, who serves as Queen Consort until her death from tuberculosis at the age of 25.source
1701December — Nicholas Rowe's play Tamerlane premieres at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London; its pro-Whig views make it popular amongst supporters of King William and the Glorious Revolution.England source
1701December - John Hanbury marries Albina, the daughter of John Selwyn of Gloucestershire, and is elected unopposed as MP for Gloucester.Wales source
1701The Philharmonic Society (Academia Philharmonicorum) is established in Ljubljana, Slovenia.source
1701Peter I founded a navigation and mathematics school in Moscow to train future naval and military officers.Russia source
1701date unknown - Evan Evans begins holding Anglican services at a private house in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.Wales source
170220 February – William III falls from his horse, Sorrel, in Richmond Park after it stumbles on a molehill and breaks his clavicle.England source
17028 March – Anne, daughter of King James II, comes to the throne of Great Britain. Since her only surviving son had died prior to her accession, there is no prospective Prince of Wales.Wales source
1702March 19 (March 8 Old Style) – Princess Anne Stuart, daughter of the late King James II and younger sister of his successor, Mary II (who had reigned jointly with her husband, William III, as William and Mary until her death in 1694), ascends the English, Scottish and Irish thrones upon William's death. In her first speech to the English Parliament, made three days later, she tells the assembly "As I know my heart to be entirely English, I can very sincerely assure you there is not anything you can expect or desire from me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England." Anne is the mother of 17 children by her husband, Prince George of Denmark and Norway, but none will survive childhood, and she will die without an heir, bringing an end to the reign of the House of Stuart and enabling the Hanoverian Succession. After the death of William, the States General of the Netherlands do not appoint a new stadtholder, and so the Dutch Republic becomes a true republic again, starting the Second Stadtholderless Period.source
1702March 22 (March 11 Old Style) – The first regular English-language national newspaper, The Daily Courant, begins publication on Fleet Street in the City of London, initially by Elizabeth Mallet; it covers only foreign news.source
1702May 6 – Cloudesley Shovell is promoted to full admiral in the English navy.source
1702June 25 – The premiere of the opera L'Offendere per amore overo la Telesilla by Johann Joseph Fux takes place in Vienna.source
170218 July – Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp succeeds his father as Duke of Schleswig.Denmark source
1702July 23 – The first performance of the opera Médus, roi des Mèdes by François Bouvard takes place at the Paris Opera.source
1702October 1 – The founding deed of the University of Wrocław is signed by the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I of the House of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia.source
1702October 19 – The opera Der Sieg der fruchtbaren Pomona by Reinhard Keiser is premiered at the Hamburg Opera for the birthday of King Frederick IV of Denmark.source
1702October – Jonathan Swift returns to Ireland in the company of Esther Johnson.Ireland source
1702November 7 – The first performance of the opera Tancrède by André Campra takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
1702November 15 – The opera La Clemenza d'Augusto by Johann Joseph Fux is premiered in Vienna.source
1702December 14 – John Churchill is created duke of Marlborough.source
1702December – Daniel Defoe publishes his satiric pamphlet The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (anonymously).England source
1702Richard Bentley at Cambridge in England introduces the first written (as opposed to oral) competitive examinations in a Western university.source
1702The travel diary Oku no Hosomichi ("Narrow road to the deep north"), a major work of haibun by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō and one of the major texts of Japanese literature of the Edo period, is published eight years after Bashō's death.source
1702Beginning development of the Kremlin Arsenal in 1702 which finished in 1736 due to lack of funding at that time.Russia source
1702The Advocates Library is moved from the Faculty of Advocates to Parliament House, Edinburgh.Scotland source
1702An eisteddfod is held at Machynlleth.Wales source
1703February – Soldiers at Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrate Mardi Gras in Mobile, starting the tradition for Mobile, Alabama.source
1703March 20 (February 4 in the Chinese calendar) – 46 of the forty-seven rōnin of Japan carry out an order of seppuku (ritual suicide) for the killing they committed on January 30. The punishment is given by the shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. The story continues to be dramatized more than 300 years later in Chūshingura theater, novels and film.source
170330 March – Catherine Price, sister of Richard Price, marries William Thomas of Cefn Ydfa, Llangynwyd; they would become the parents of Ann Maddocks.Wales source
170313 April – Major-General David Colyear, Lord Portmore, is elevated to the style of Earl of Portmore in the Peerage of Scotland.Scotland source
1703June – The completed 1703 Icelandic census is presented in the Althing, the first complete census of any country.source
170320 July – Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet, marries Lady Essex Finch, daughter of the Earl of Nottingham.Wales source
1703July – John Hanbury II marries Bridget Ayscough, the eldest daughter of Sir Edward Ayscough of Stallingbough, Lincolnshire. Sir Edward's only son having died, Bridget inherits a share of his estates and brings a fortune of £10,000 to the marriage.Wales source
170328 August – Thomas Windsor, 1st Viscount Windsor, marries Charlotte Herbert, daughter of Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke, and widow of John Jeffreys, 2nd Baron JeffreysWales source
17036 September Frederick VI is secretly married to Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg and thereby becomes guilty of bigamy.Denmark source
1703Frederick IV opens a new opera house in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1703Queen Anne revives the Order of the Thistle and creates other new titles in the Peerage of Scotland: Duke of Atholl, Duke of Douglas, Earl of Cromartie, Earl of Glasgow, Earl of Hopetoun, Earl of Rosebery, Earl of Stair, Viscount of Garnock, Viscount Mount Stuart and Viscount of Primrose.Scotland source
1704February 28 – Establishment of the first school open to African-Americans in New York City by Frenchman Elias Neau.source
1704February – In America, Mardi Gras is celebrated with the Masque de la Mobile in the capital of Louisiana (New France), Mobile, Alabama.source
17046 April - Sir Humphrey Mackworth proposes to the SPCK the "Erection of libraries in Wales".Wales source
1704April 24 – The first regular newspaper in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.source
1704May - Erasmus Lewis becomes secretary to Robert Harley at the Northern Department.Wales source
170420 September – Dunkeld is erected a royal burgh.Scotland source
1704October 26 – Richard Levinge, member of the Irish House of Commons, is created 1st Levinge Baronet, of High Park in the County of Westmeath.Ireland source
1704The Students' Monument is built in Aiud, Romania.source
1704Isaac Newton publishes his Opticks. He also predicts that the world will end in 2060.source
1704A Tale of a Tub, the first major satire by Jonathan Swift (written 1694–1697), is published in London, running through three editions this year.source
1704Beau Nash becomes master of ceremonies at Bath, and an arbiter of fashion.England source
1704George Farquhar co-writes the play The Stage Coach.Ireland source
1704Jonathan Swift publishes his first major satires, A Tale of a Tub and The Battle of the Books, in London.Ireland source
1704Robert Nelson - A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of EnglandWales source
1705January 8 – George Frideric Handel's first opera, Almira, is premiered in Hamburg.source
1705February 25 – George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premieres in Hamburg.source
1705March 8 – The Province of Carolina incorporates the town of Bath, making it the first incorporated town in modern-day North Carolina. The town becomes the political center and de facto capital of the northern portion of the Province of Carolina until Edenton is incorporated in 1722.source
1705April 9 – The Queen's Theatre is opened in London by John Vanbrugh and William Congreve, serving as an opera house, premiering with Gli amori di ergasto ("The Loves of Ergasto"), an Italian language opera by German composer Jakob "Giacomo" Greber. A theatre remains in operation on this site for more than 300 years, becoming Her Majesty's Theatre.source
17059 April – The Queen's Theatre is opened in the Haymarket, Westminster, by John Vanbrugh and William Congreve, serving as an opera house, premiering with Gli amori di ergasto ("The Loves of Ergasto"), an Italian language opera by German composer Jakob "Giacomo" Greber. A theatre remains in operation on this site for more than 300 years, becoming Her Majesty's Theatre.England source
1705April 16 – Queen Anne of England honours Isaac Newton with the title of Knight Bachelor at Trinity College, Cambridge.source
1705September 24 (O.S.) – Stanisław Leszczyński is crowned as King of Poland.source
170530 October – John Vanbrugh's play The Confederacy (adapted from the French) is first performed at his new London playhouse, The Queen's Theatre.England source
1705November 5 – The Dublin Gazette in Ireland publishes its first edition.source
1705November 5 – The Dublin Gazette, the official newspaper of the British Government in Ireland, publishes its first edition.Ireland source
1705November 23 – The premiere of the play Ulysses by Nicholas Rowe takes place in London, starring Thomas Betterton.source
170523 November – Nicholas Rowe's play Ulysses is first performed in London, starring Thomas Betterton.England source
170527 December – John Vanbrugh's play The Mistake (adapted from the French) is first performed at his new London playhouse, The Queen's Theatre.England source
1705December 29 – The premiere of the play Idoménée by Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon takes place in Paris.source
1705Peter the Great introduces a beard tax, requiring others to pay a fee and carry a medal; with those without tokens to be fined by the local law enforcement.Russia source
170514–19 February – date of first Edinburgh Courant newspaper published, by printer James Watson.Scotland source
170618 January - Erasmus Saunders is made Rector of Helmdon, Northamptonshire.Wales source
17068 April – George Farquhar's play The Recruiting Officer first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.England source
1706April 8 – George Farquhar's Restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London.Ireland source
170617 November - Thomas Mansel, future Baron Mansel, becomes 5th Baronet Mansel of Margam on the death of his father Edward Mansel.Wales source
1706November 21 – the Cox Baronetcy, of Dunmanway in the County of Cork, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of Richard Cox, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.Ireland source
1706November 28 – The royal wedding of Prussia takes place in Berlin between the 18-year-old Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and his bride Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the 19-year-old daughter of the future King George I of Great Britain.source
1706John O'Heyne's Epilogus chronologicus exponens (a history of the Dominican Order in Ireland) is published in Louvain.Ireland source
1707June 19 – The coronation of Muhammad Mu'azzam as the new Emperor of India, Bahadur Shah I, takes place in Delhisource
1707October - Marsh's Library, the first public library in Ireland, is established by an Act of the Irish Parliament called ‘An Act for Settling and Preserving a Publick Library forever’.Ireland source
17075 December – first meeting of the Society of Antiquaries takes place in the Bear Tavern on The Strand, London.United Kingdom source
1707December 24 – The first British Governor of Gibraltar, directly appointed by Queen Anne, Roger Elliott, takes up his residence in the Convent of the Franciscan Friars.source
1707Sukhrungphaa established Rangpur, the capital of the Ahom kingdomIndia source
1707Tailors' Hall completed in Dublin.Ireland source
1707The Velthen Company becomes the perhaps first professional theater company to perform in Norway.Norway source
1707Establishment of Warminster School in Wiltshire as Lord Weymouth's Grammar School.United Kingdom source
1707Establishment of the Fortnum & Mason department store in London.United Kingdom source
1707Edward Lhuyd – Archaeologia Britannica: an Account of the Languages, Histories and Customs of Great Britain, from Travels through Wales, Cornwall, Bas-Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland. Vol. 1: Glossography Lhuyd's work was compiled with assistance from Moses Williams, and was dedicated to Thomas Mansel, 1st Baron Mansel.Wales source
1708March 25 – a registry of deeds begins operation in Ireland.Ireland source
1708April 8 – Easter Sunday: The first performance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio La resurrezione takes place in Rome.source
1708April 9 – Ottoman princess Emine Sultan, daughter of Sultan Mustafa II, marries Grand Vizier Çorlulu Ali Pasha.source
170830 April – 7 July – British general election: New Scottish Westminster constituencies are used for the first time.Scotland source
170814 July – Joseph Trapp becomes first Oxford Professor of Poetry.United Kingdom source
1708August 23 – Meidingu Pamheiba is crowned King of Manipur.source
1708August – The future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor weds Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.source
1708October – Edmund Meyrick sets up a school at Carmarthen.Wales source
1708December 14 – The première of Electre by Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon takes place in Paris.source
1708Johann Sebastian Bach is appointed as chamber musician and organist, at the court in Weimar.source
1708Chairs of Moral Philosophy and of Logic & Metaphysics established in the University of Edinburgh. Regent system of teaching here abolished.Scotland source
1708Wilbury House in Wiltshire, designed by William Benson, is completed.United Kingdom source
1708Edward Lhuyd becomes a Fellow of the Royal Society.United Kingdom source
1708Edward Lhuyd is elected a fellow of the Royal Society.Wales source
170924 January - The Central Naval Museum was established.Russia source
1709February 1 or 2 – During his first voyage, Captain Woodes Rogers encounters marooned privateer Alexander Selkirk, and rescues him after four years living on one of the Juan Fernández Islands, inspiring Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. After sacking Guayaquil, he and Selkirk will visit the Galápagos Islands.source
17095 February – dramatist John Dennis devises the thundersheet as a new method of producing theatrical thunder for his tragedy Appius and Virginia at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.United Kingdom source
1709February – In America, Mardi Gras is celebrated one more time with Masque de la Mobile in the capital of French Louisiana, Mobile, Alabama, before Mobile is moved 27 miles (43 km) down the Mobile River to Mobile Bay in 1711.source
1709June – The Worcester Post-Man is first published in Worcester; as Berrow's Worcester Journal it will continue to be published as a newspaper more than 300 years later.United Kingdom source
170919 July - David Parry is appointed keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, in succession to Edward Lhuyd.Wales source
1709July 26 – Reinhard Keiser's opera Desiderius, König der Langobarden is premiered in Hamburg.source
1709December 26 – The first performance of the opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel takes place at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice.source
1709The first modern edition of William Shakespeare's plays is published in London, edited by Nicholas Rowe.source
1709Trinity School is founded as the charity school of Trinity Church, in New York City.source
1709De Nostri Temporis Studiorum Ratione (On the Study Methods of Our Times) is published by Neapolitan philosopher Giambattista Vico.source
1709First clout archery competition for the Edinburgh Arrow held by the Royal Company of Archers and won by David Drummond, advocate.Scotland source
1709The deposed Polish monarch Stanisław I of Poland is given refuge in Kristianstad in Sweden with his family, including Queen Catherine Opalińska and Marie Leszczyńska.Sweden source
1709Publication of The Works of Mr William Shakespear edited by dramatist Nicholas Rowe, the first modern edition of Shakespeare's plays, including scene divisions, dramatis personæ and a prefatory account of Shakespeare's life, the first substantial biography of him.United Kingdom source
1710April 19 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, meets the Four Mohawk Kings.source
171019 April – Queen Anne meets the Four Mohawk Kings in London.United Kingdom source
171010 June – Watkin Williams-Wynn, heir to a baronetcy, establishes the "Cycle of the White Rose", a Jacobite group, in North Wales.Wales source
1710June 16 – Köprülüzade Numan Pasha becomes the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire.source
1710In Sweden, the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala is founded as the Collegium curiosorum.source
1710Founding of the Trångsund Fortress, established by Peter The Great in 1710.Russia source
1710Dancing 'assemblies' in Edinburgh begin.Scotland source
1711January 24 – The first performance of Francesco Gasparini's most famous opera Tamerlano takes place at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice.source
1711February 24 – Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, premieres at the Queen's Theatre, Haymarket.source
171124 February – premiere of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, at the Queen's Theatre, Haymarket.United Kingdom source
1711February – French settlers at Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrate Mardi Gras in Mobile (Alabama), by parading a large papier-mache ox head on a cart (the first Mardi Gras parade in America).source
1711March 1 – The Spectator is founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in London.source
17111 March – first edition of the magazine The Spectator published in London, edited by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.United Kingdom source
171123 May – Robert Harley made Earl of Oxford.United Kingdom source
171129 May – Harley made Lord High Treasurer.United Kingdom source
1711August 11 – The first horse race is held at the newly founded Ascot Racecourse, which becomes one of the leading racecourses in England.source
171111 August – the first race meeting is held at Ascot Racecourse, "Her Majesty's Plate", attended by Queen Anne.United Kingdom source
1711August 13 – Tamachi Raisinhji becomes Jam Sahib (ruling prince) of Nawanagar State in Gujarat, India.source
171123 August - Baptist minister Rev Abel Morgan is seen off by his congregation at Rhydwilim prior to embarking for a future in America.Wales source
1711October 16 – Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts is established in Brussels.source
1711Establishment of the Arsenal Design BureauRussia source
17121 January – Thomas Windsor, son of the Earl of Plymouth, is created Baron Mountjoy. Windsor, the second husband of Charlotte Jeffreys, daughter of Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke, would sell much of his family's Welsh property, but their Glamorgan estates would pass through the marriage of a descendant, Charlotte Hickman-Windsor, to John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute.Wales source
1712January 12 – The premiere of the opera Idoménée by André Campra takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
171212 January – The première of the opera Idoménée by André Campra takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in ParisFrance source
1712January 16 – A military engineering school is established in Moscow which is to become the A.F. Mozhaysky Military-Space Academy.source
171230 February 1712 – Sweden temporarily adopts February 30 as a day to adjust the Swedish calendar back to the Julian calendar.Sweden source
1712March 11 (February 30 Swedish Style, February 29 on the Julian calendar) – Sweden temporarily adopts the rare February 30, as a day to adjust the Swedish Calendar back to the Julian calendar.source
1712June 5 – Reus in Catalonia, Spain is given the title of imperial city by Elisabeth Christine, wife of Archduke Charles.source
1712July 20 – Jesus College, Oxford, England, inherits the extensive library of its Principal Jonathan Edwards on his death.source
1712July - On the death of its Principal Jonathan Edwards, Jesus College, Oxford, inherits his extensive library. Edwards is buried in the college chapel, whose restoration is funded by another bequest in his will.Wales source
17121 August – The Stamp Act 1712 is passed, imposing a tax on publishers, particularly of newspapers.United Kingdom source
1712September – Composer George Frideric Handel re-locates to London with the permission of his patron, the future King George I of Great Britain.source
1712October 31 – King Philip V of Spain establishes the Biblioteca Nacional de España as the Palace Public Library (Biblioteca Pública de Palacio) in Madrid.source
1712November 22 – The first performance of George Frideric Handel's opera Il pastor fido takes place at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, London.source
171222 November – The first performance of George Frideric Handel's opera Il pastor fido takes place at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, London.United Kingdom source
1712December 27 – The premiere of the opera Callirhoé by André Cardinal Destouches takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
171227 December – The première of the opera Callirhoé by André Cardinal Destouches takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in ParisFrance source
1712A translation of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer into Irish, made by John Richardson (1664–1747), is published.source
1712Robert Nelson - Cydymaith i Ddyddiau Gwylion ac Ymprydiau Eglwys Loegr (translation by Thomas Williams of A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England)Wales source
1713January - On the death of John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery (see Deaths), the Golden Grove estate in Carmarthenshire is inherited by a cousin, John Vaughan (1693–1765), who would rebuild Gelli Aur mansion.Wales source
1713February 25 – Frederick William I of Prussia begins his reign.source
1713April 14 – First performance, in London, of Joseph Addison's libertarian play Cato, a Tragedy, which will be influential on both sides of the Atlantic.source
171314 April – first performance, in London, of Joseph Addison's libertarian play Cato, a Tragedy.United Kingdom source
1713May 13 – King Philip V of Spain issues an auto accordado that changes the order of succession for the Spanish throne allowing a female descendant within the House of Bourbon to rule. The change will allow his great-great-granddaughter to ascend the throne in 1833 as Queen Isabella II.source
1713May 17 – Ottone in villa, the first opera by composer Antonio Vivaldi, is given its initial performance, debuting at the Teatro delle Grazie in Vicenzasource
171321 July - Lady Anne Vaughan, heiress of the Earl of Carbery, marries Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton.Wales source
171319 September - Frederik Krag is appointed Vice Steward of Norway.Norway source
1713December – the post of Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow is established, considered as the foundation of the University of Glasgow School of Law.Scotland source
1713Ars Conjectandi, a seminal work on probability by Jacob Bernoulli, is published eight years after his death, by his nephew, Niklaus Bernoulli.source
1713The Royal Danish Military Academy (Landkadetakademiet) is founded by request of Frederick IV on inspiration from the Naval Academy.Denmark source
1713Le Tombeau de Nostradamus, farce by Alain-René Lesage, first performed at the Foire de Saint Laurent in 1714.France source
17142 February – Nicholas Rowe's tragedy Jane Shore premieres at the Drury Lane Theatre in London and is a popular success.United Kingdom source
171414 April – Queen Anne performs the last touching for the "King's evil".United Kingdom source
1714May 20 – Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata for Pentecost, Erschallet, ihr Lieder, BWV 172, at the chapel of Schloss Weimar.source
1714August 1 – Georg Ludwig von Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain and Ireland, on the death of Queen Anne. Anne's death brings an end to the reign of the House of Stuart, in that her half-brother James Francis Edward Stuart, the eldest son of James II of England, has been ineligible for the British throne based on the Act of Settlement 1701 had barred members of the Roman Catholic church from becoming monarchs. George of Hanover, as great-grandson of James I of England and a second cousin to Anne, is deemed the eldest living Protestant descendant of James I.source
17141 August – George I becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland upon the death of Anne.Ireland source
1714August 1 – George Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, succeeds his distant relative Queen Anne as King George I of Great Britain. This event becomes the catalyst to the Jacobite risings. Jacobite supporters of James Stuart as heir to the throne began to organise after Queen Anne died, ending the blood line of House of Stuart and resulting in the succession of George of Hanover.Scotland source
17141 August – Hanoverian succession: George, elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain on the death at Kensington Palace following a stroke of his second cousin, Queen Anne, without surviving issue and the death on 28 May of the designated first heir Electress Sophia of Hanover.United Kingdom source
1714September 27 - Prince George, son of King George I, is invested as Prince of Wales. His wife, Caroline of Ansbach, becomes the first Princess of Wales to receive the title at the same time as her husband and the first Princess of Wales for over two hundred years.Wales source
1714John Morgan of Matchin - Myfyrdodau bucheddol ar y pedwar peth diweddafWales source
1714Erasmus Saunders marries the daughter of Humphrey Lloyd of Aberbechan.Wales source
17151 March - The Society of Antient Britons is founded in London. Thomas Jones, its first treasurer and secretary, presents the society's "loyal address" to King George I and is subsequently knighted.Wales source
171524 March - The wedding between Princess Ulrika Eleonora and Frederick of Hesse.Sweden source
171519 April - Start of the Sami mission by the College of Missions.Norway source
1715September 6 – The first major Jacobite rising in Scotland against the rule of King George I of Great Britain breaks out. The Earl of Mar raises the standard of James Edward Stuart, and marches on Edinburgh. James, the son of the deposed King James VII, arrives from France.source
17156 September – first of the major Jacobite risings in Scotland against the rule of King George I of Great Britain: The Earl of Mar raises the standard of James Edward Stuart at Braemar and marches on Edinburgh.Scotland source
17156 September – First of the major Jacobite risings in Scotland against the rule of King George I: The Earl of Mar raises the standard of James Edward Stuart and marches on Edinburgh.United Kingdom source
17159 November - Silvanus Bevan marries Elizabeth, daughter of royal clockmaker Daniel Quare.Wales source
1715Around this year, a breech loading firearm is made for Philip V of Spain.source
1715First record of the actress and writer Eliza Haywood, performing in Thomas Shadwell's Shakespeare adaptation, Timon of Athens; or, The Man-Hater at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin.Ireland source
1715Date Unknown - Around this year, a breech loading firearm is made for Philip V of Spain.Spain source
17165 July – Prince Ernest Augustus, younger brother of George I, is created Duke of York and Albany in the peerage of Great Britain.United Kingdom source
171618 July – Melusine von der Schulenburg, mistress of George I, is created for life Duchess of Munster, Marchioness of Dungannon, Countess of Dungannon and Baroness Dundalk, in the Peerage of Ireland.United Kingdom source
171627 July Griffith Jones becomes rector of Llanddowror, under the patronage of his brother-in-law Sir John Philipps, 4th Baronet.Wales source
17169 November – In London, Caroline of Ansbach, Princess of Wales, gives birth to a stillborn son, Prince Augustus George of Wales.Wales source
1716November 12 – Johann Sigismund Kusser (Cousser) is appointed "Master of the Music, attending His Majesties State in Ireland".Ireland source
171613 December – John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe, is appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.Scotland source
1716The Kangxi Dictionary is published, laying the foundation of most references to Han characters studied in the future.source
1716Peter the Great visits Copenhagen. He ascends the Round Tower on horseback while visiting Copenhagen. His wife, Catherine I, reportedly ascended behind him in a carriage.Denmark source
1716Karl Leopold married Catherine Ivanovna of RussiaRussia source
1717March 2 – Dancer John Weaver performs in the first ballet in Britain, shown at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, The Loves of Mars and Venus.source
17172 March – dancer John Weaver performs in the first ballet in Britain, shown at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, The Loves of Mars and Venus.United Kingdom source
171716 May – Voltaire is sentenced to eleven months in the Bastille and banished from Paris for criticizing the Duc D'Orléans; while in prison he writes his first play, Oedipe ("Oedipus")France source
1717June 24 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the Modern and first Free-Masonic Grand Lodge (which merges with the Ancient Grand Lodge of England in 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London.source
1717July 17 – Water Music by George Frederick Handel is first performed, on a Thames barge in London.source
1717August 7 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, sworn in as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.Ireland source
1717September 21 – The first known Druid revival ceremony is held by John Toland at Primrose Hill, in London, at the Autumnal Equinox, to found the Mother Grove, what will later become the Ancient Order of Druids.source
171721 September – the first known Druid revival ceremony is held by John Toland at Primrose Hill, in London, at the Autumnal Equinox, to found the Mother Grove, which is later to become the Ancient Order of Druids.United Kingdom source
1717October 16 – Antonio Vivaldi's opera Tieteberga is performed for the first time, premiering at the Teatro San Moisè in Venicesource
17176 December – Colley Cibber's play The Non-Juror premieres at Drury Lane. Strongly anti-Jacobite, it is a popular success.United Kingdom source
1717December 9 (November 29, O.S.) - King George I of Great Britain banishes his son and daughter-in-law, George, Prince of Wales and Caroline of Ansbach, from the royal household after the Prince threatens the King's personal assistant, the Duke of Newcastle, the royal Lord Chamberlain. The altercation takes place at the baptismal ceremony for the Prince's newborn son, George William.source
1717Hugh MacCurtin's A brief discourse in vindication of the antiquity of Ireland, out of many authentick Irish histories and chronicles (based on Geoffrey Keating's History of Ireland) is published in Dublin The author is imprisoned in the city about this time.Ireland source
1717Niels Wernersen was ennobled, and given the noble family name Werenskiold.Norway source
1718March 12 – Anton Florian becomes the new Prince of Liechtenstein, succeeding Joseph Wenzelsource
171812 April - The Neva Yacht Club is foundedRussia source
1718July 25 – At the behest of Tsar Peter the Great, the construction of Kadriorg Palace, dedicated to his wife Catherine, began in Tallinn.source
1718November 18 – Voltaire's first play, Oedipus, premières at the Comédie-Française in Paris. This is his first use of the pseudonym.source
1718December 6 – Following the death of Charles XII on November 30, his sister Ulrika Eleonora proclaims herself Queen regnant of Sweden, as the news of her brother's death reaches Stockholm.Sweden source
1718Edinburgh Evening Courant newspaper launched.Scotland source
1718Regius Chair of Anatomy and Botany at the University of Glasgow established.Scotland source
1718Marrow Controversy, an ecclesiastical dispute in Scotland, begins.United Kingdom source
1718date unknown - The first permanent printing press in Wales is established at Adpar, Cardiganshire.Wales source
1718Thomas Taylor - The Principality of Wales exactly described... (the first atlas of Wales to be published)Wales source
1719January – The Carolean Death March.Norway source
1719February – The Royal Academy of Music is founded, establishing a London opera company that commissions new works from Handel, Bononcini and others.United Kingdom source
1719March 17 – The coronation of Ulrika Eleonora as Queen of Sweden takes place in Stockholm.source
1719April 25 – Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is published in London. Initially anonymous, by the end of the year it will have run through four editions and is significant in establishing extended realistic fiction as a literary genre.source
1719August 20 – Princess Maria Josepha of Austria, at one time the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria's Habsburg Empire, marries Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony ten days after renouncing any claim to the Austrian throne.source
17191 September – Marriage ceremony of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart ("Old Pretender" to the Scottish throne) and Princess Maria Clementina Sobieska at Montefiascone in Italy.Scotland source
1719September 3 – The three-story tall Opernhaus am Zwinger, one of the largest opera houses in the world at the time, opens in Dresden by staging Antonio Lotti's Giovi in Argo.source
171916 November — Oratorian College, Mechelen, celebrates a former student, Henricus van Gaemeren, graduating from Leuven University as first in his year.Belgium source
17199 December - Arvid Horn replace Gustav Cronhielm as Privy Council Chancellery.Sweden source
1719December 22 – Andrew Bradford publishes the American Weekly Mercury, Pennsylvania's first newspaper.source
1719James Figg opens one of the first indoor venues for combat sports, adjoining the City of Oxford tavern in Oxford Road.source
1719Raine's Foundation School, Bethnal Green (founded by Henry Raine), opens in Wapping (closed 2020).source
1719The first lottery in Denmark is held. The prizes are royal land lots.Denmark source
1719On the death without heirs of Sir John Wynne, the Wynnstay estate passes to Jane Thelwall, the great-granddaughter of Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet.Wales source
1719The Welsh Charity School in London moves to Ailesbury Chapel, Clerkenwell, where it remains until about 1721.Wales source
1720March - Sir William Morgan of Tredegar replaces John Morgan of Rhiwpera as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire.Wales source
172023 April (St George's Day) – George I publicly reconciles with his son George, Prince of Wales at St James's PalaceUnited Kingdom source
1720May 3 – The coronation of King Frederick I of Sweden takes place in Stockholm, six weeks after his rule began.source
17203 May - Coronation of Frederick I.Sweden source
1720June 1 – British silversmiths are once again allowed to use sterling silver after 24 years of being limited to a higher quality (but softer) Britannia silver.source
17201 June – British silversmiths are once again allowed to use sterling silver after 24 years of being limited to a purer (but softer) Britannia silver.United Kingdom source
172021 August - Elisha Beadles sends an account of the progress of the Quaker movement in South Wales to London for consideration by the "Meeting for Sufferings".Wales source
1720The Academia Real da Historia is founded in Lisbon, Portugal.source
1720Il teatro alla moda, a satirical pamphlet by Benedetto Marcello, is published anonymously in Venice.source
1720Severin Seehausen was ennobled, and given the noble family name Svanenhielm.Norway source
1721January 3 - The Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinjūten no Amijima) is performed for the first time at the Takemoto Theater. (Traditional Japanese Date: Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1720)Japan source
172111 January – Printer Isaac Carter marries Ann Lewis at Cenarth.Wales source
1721March 24 – Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg concertos are completed, and dedicated to Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt.source
17211 August – The King orders a large sale of church property in Norway.Norway source
17217 August – The wedding of Crown Prince Christian and Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach takes place at Pretzsch Castle in Saxony.Denmark source
172121 December – Niels Tygesen Knag was ennobled, and given the noble family name Knagenhjelm.Norway source
1721December 22 – Philip V of Spain signs a Royal Decree in Lerma, transforming the Seminary of Saint Rose of Lima in Caracas into the Universidad Real y Pontificia de Caracas.source
172130 December – Bridget Vaughan marries Arthur Bevan, a barrister.Wales source
1721December - Cricket was first played in India for Recreational purpose by English sailors in Cambay (now Khambhat), Gujarat.India source
1721The first theater performance is presented at the Bollhuset for fifteen years, since the theater is opened again after the war.Sweden source
1722January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel Moll Flanders is published anonymously in London.source
172227 January – Daniel Defoe's novel Moll Flanders is published anonymously in London.United Kingdom source
1722February 16 – Peter the Great, Emperor of All Russia, announces that his heir to the throne will be his 4-year old grandson, Prince Pyotr Alekseivich.source
172219 March – 1722 British general election begins, the second during the reign of George I.United Kingdom source
1722September 6 – Wälättä Giyorgis, a 16-year-old who nursed Ethiopia's Emperor Bakaffa back to health after he fell ill, marries the Emperor and begins her rise to power as the Empress Mentewab. Upon Bakaffa's death in 1730, Mentewab becomes the regent for her son by Bakaffa, Iyasu II.source
1722Johann Sebastian Bach composes The Well-Tempered Clavier.source
1722The first public theatre in Denmark, Lille Grønnegade Theatre, is founded in Copenhagen.source
1722The Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen, the first public theater in Denmark, is opened.Denmark source
1722University of Burgundy established in Dijon.France source
1722Ludvig Holbergs comedy plays «Den Politiske Kandestøber», «Den vægelsindede», Jean de France eller Hans Frandsen, Jeppe på bjerget and Mester Gert Westphaler is first published.Norway source
1722Utne Hotel in Utne is founded (Norway's oldest hotel in continuous operation).Norway source
1722William Aikman paints a portrait of the poet Allan Ramsay.Scotland source
1722Physician Archibald Pitcairne writes the comedy The Assembly, or Scotch Reformation.Scotland source
1723January – The Estates of the Realm is assembled. The party in favor of naming Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp as heir to the throne is strengthened, supported by the Empire of Russia.Sweden source
1723February 4 – The Kangxi Era ends in Qing dynasty China, and the Yongzheng Era begins, with the coronation of Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor.source
1723March 12 – the title of Viscount Palmerston is created in the Peerage of Ireland for the politician Henry Temple.Ireland source
17238 June – The Honourable Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland is formed in Edinburgh by over 300 landowners, part of the Scottish Enlightenment.Scotland source
1723July 2 – Bach's Magnificat is first performed.source
1723July 18 – Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136, in Leipzig on the eighth Sunday after Trinity.source
1723August 15 – The Peterhof Palace is opened in a formal ceremony just outside Saint Petersburg, capital of the Russian Empire.source
1723December 26 – Bach leads the first performance of Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, his first Christmas Cantata composed for Leipzig.source
1723Ludvig Holbergs comedy plays «Jacob von Tyboe», «Erasmus Montanus», Den stundesløse and other comedy plays is first published.Norway source
1723Cairney-born painter William Aikman settles in London as a portraitist under the patronage of John Campbell, Duke of Argyll.Scotland source
1723date unknown - The roles of Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Custos Rotulorum of Brecknockshire are merged.Wales source
1724January 28 – Saint Petersburg State University is established in Russia.source
1724February 8 – Catherine I of Russia is officially named tsaritsa by her husband, Peter the Great.source
1724February 20 – The premiere of Giulio Cesare, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, takes place in London.source
172420 February – Giulio Cesare in Egitto, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, is premiered in London.United Kingdom source
1724March – 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).Ireland source
1724April 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
1724April 10 – Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, his first cantata composed for Easter in Leipzig.source
1724April 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
17247 May - coronation of Catherine as empress of Russia.Russia source
1724June 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
1724July 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
1724August 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
1724August – Longman, the oldest surviving publishing house in England, is founded in London by Thomas Longman.source
1724September 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
1724September 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
1724October 15 – The historic Teatro Nuovo opera house is inaugurated in Naples with the premiere of Antonio Orefice's comic opera Lo Simmele.source
1724October 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
1724October 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
172431 October – Handel's opera Tamerlano is premiered in LondonUnited Kingdom source
1724December 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
1724The Kaitokudō academy merchant school, part predecessor of Osaka University is founded in Japan.source
1724John 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.Ireland source
1724Ludvig Holbergs comedy play «Julestuen» and other comedy plays is first published.Norway source
1724Saint Petersburg Mint and Saint Petersburg State University founded.Russia source
1724A charity school is built at Caerleon as the result of a bequest from Charles Williams.Wales source
1725January 1 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his chorale cantata Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, which features the trumpet fanfares from the beginning also in the end.source
1725January 6 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123, a chorale cantata for Epiphany.source
1725January 20 – James Figg hosts the first recorded international boxing match, fought between English livestock drover Bob Whitaker and Venetian gondolier Alberto di Carni in London.source
1725February 2 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his chorale cantata Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125, based on Luther's paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis.source
1725February 8 – (January 28 Old Style) Catherine I becomes Empress of Russia on the death of her husband, Peter the Great.source
1725February 23 – J. S. Bach leads his Tafel-Music Shepherd Cantata for the birthday of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.source
1725March 25 – Bach's chorale cantata Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, is first performed on the Feast of the Annunciation, coinciding with Palm Sunday.source
1725March 30 – The second performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion, BWV 245 (including 5 movements from his Weimarer Passion), takes place at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig.source
1725April 1 – J. S. Bach's later Easter Oratorio in its first version is performed at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig on Easter Sunday.source
1725April 2 – J. S. Bach's cantata Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, is first performed in Leipzig on Easter Monday.source
17254 May - Ann Thomas (the "Maid of Cefn Ydfa") marries Anthony Maddocks.Wales source
1725May 21 – On the day of the grand wedding of her daughter Anna to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Empress Catherine I of Russia creates the Order of Saint Alexander Nevskysource
1725July 15 – Sir Richard Everard becomes the 4th Governor of North Carolina.source
1725August 15 – The civil marriage of King Louis XV of France and Princess Maria Leszczyńska of Poland is held at Strasbourg. The King is not present, and his cousin, the Duke of Orléans, serves as his proxy.source
1725August 19 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, a cantata setting the unchanged text of Neander's hymn.source
1725September 5 – The day after they meet for the first time, the wedding ceremony of King Louis and Marie takes place in Fontainebleau, making her the Queen Consort of France. Their marriage lasts for almost 43 years until her death in 1768.source
1725November 8 – The first newspaper in the Province of New York, the New-York Gazette, is introduced by William Bradford as a weekly publication.source
1725November 22 – Chief Chicagou of the Mitchigamea tribe, and chiefs of five other tribes of the Illini Confederation, are received as guests of King Louis XV in Paris. Chicagou pledges the Illini's support of the French presence in North America.source
1725December 25 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of the Christmas cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, making laughter audible in singing.source
1725The Four Seasons, a set of violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, is published.source
1725Gradus ad Parnassum, a seminal work on counterpoint, laying out rules of constructing music, is published by Johann Joseph Fux.source
1725William Thomson compiles Orpheus Caledonius: or a Collection of the Best Scotch Songs.Scotland source
1725Barony of Calton, including Calton Hill, purchased by the city of Edinburgh.Scotland source
1725Sir John Philipps, 6th Baronet, marries Elizabeth Shepherd.Wales source
1726January 1 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16, his church cantata for New Year's Day to a libretto by Georg Christian Lehms.source
1726January 27 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72, concluding his third Christmas season in Leipzig on the Third Sunday after Epiphany.source
172625 May – Britain's first circulating library is opened in Edinburgh by poet and bookseller Allan Ramsay.Scotland source
172626 July - Prince Frederick, son of the Prince of Wales, is created Baron Snowdon by his grandfather, King George I of Great Britain.Wales source
1726September 8 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Geist und Seele wird verwirret, BWV 35, a solo cantata for alto voice.source
1726October 26 – Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is published in LondonIreland source
172626 October - Women are formally allowed employment at the Kungliga Hovkapellet, the first officially employed females being Judith Fischer and Sophia Schröder.Sweden source
1726October 27 – J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, one of the few works he calls a cantata.source
1726November 8 (October 28 Old Style) – Jonathan Swift's satirical novel Gulliver's Travels is first published (anonymously) in London; it sells out within a week.source
1726Morgan Morgan of Llanrumney (Glamorgan).Wales source
1727February 2 – Johann Sebastian Bach's solo cantata, Ich habe genug, BWV 82, premieres in Leipzig.source
1727April 11 – Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244b) premieres at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig.source
1727June 22 (July 11 Old Style) – George, Prince of Wales, becomes King George II of Great Britain, on the death of his father.source
172722 June - On the death of his father, King George I of Great Britain, the Prince of Wales becomes King George II of Great Britain.Wales source
172725 August - Herbert Mackworth inherits the Gnoll estate, Neath, on his father's death.Wales source
1727August 30 – Anne, eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain, is given the title Princess Royal.source
172730 August – Anne, eldest daughter of George II, is given the title Princess Royal.United Kingdom source
1727October 11 – George II of Great Britain is crowned. Handel's Coronation Anthems are composed for the event, including Zadok the Priest, which has been played at every subsequent Coronation of the British monarch.source
1727December 17 – The London Evening Post, a conservative newspaper, publishes its first issue. It continues in regular publication for 70 years.source
1727Foundation of the Det Kongelige Vajsenhus.Denmark source
1727The first Palladian villa in Scotland, Mavisbank House, designed by William Adam in collaboration with his client, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, is completed.Scotland source
1727Lithographiæ Svecanæ Specimen Secundum by Magnus Bromelius is published.Sweden source
1728January 5 – The Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana, the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana.source
1728January 9 – The coronation of Peter II as the Tsar of the Russian Empire takes place in Moscow.source
172810 January – The Provoked Husband a comedy based on an unfinished John Vanbrugh play completed by Colley Cibber premieres at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It appears to be the hit of the theatre season until eclipsed by The Beggars Opera a few weeks later.United Kingdom source
1728January 29 – The Beggar's Opera, the most popular theatrical production of the 18th century, is performed for the first time. The premiere takes place at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. Written by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch, the ballad opera is a satire of Italian opera.source
172829 January – The first performance of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. A major success it leads to a theatre boom and is followed by a number of other ballad operas imitating its style.United Kingdom source
1728July 17 – At the age of 8, Prince Teruhito, son of Emperor Nakamikado, is named as the Crown Prince of Japan. Teruhito becomes the Emperor Sakuramachi at age 15, upon his father's death.source
1728August 29 – The City of Nuuk is founded in Greenland, as Fort Godt-Haab, by royal governor Claus Paarss.source
1728A new town hall is built in Viborg next to Viborg Cathedral. The building now houses the Skovgaard MuseumDenmark source
1728The Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen, the first public theater in Denmark, is closed.Denmark source
1728Matthew Dubourg becomes Master and Composer of State Music of Dublin.Ireland source
1728Watkin Williams-Wynn, the future 3rd Baronet, is mayor of Oswestry.Wales source
1728The traditional Welsh folk tune, "The Ash Grove", or something very similar, is featured in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera.Wales source
1728Poet John Morgan becomes vicar of Matching, Essex, which leads to his commonly being known as John Morgan Matchin.Wales source
1729January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hanover. For 23 years, Frederick is heir apparent to the British throne, but dies of a lung injury in 1751.source
17298 January – Frederick, the eldest son of George II, is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hanover. For 23 years, he will be heir apparent to the British throne but dies of a lung injury in 1751.United Kingdom source
17298 January - Prince Frederick, son of King George II, is created Prince of Wales, nearly two years after his father's accession.Wales source
1729January 19 – At the age of 14, Joseph (José), Prince of Brazil, son of King John V of Portugal, is married to the 10-year-old Princess Mariana Victoria of Spain, eldest daughter of King Philip V of Spain. In 1750, the couple become King Joseph I and Queen Consort Mariana Victoria of Spain.source
17291 March - A St. David's Society is established by Welsh immigrants in Philadelphia.Wales source
172913 March - Bussy Mansel, 4th Baron Mansel, marries Barbara Villiers, daughter of William Villiers, 2nd Earl of Jersey.Wales source
1729March 23 – Johann Sebastian Bach's First Köthen Funeral music premieres at St. Jakob, Köthen, in honor of the funeral of his former employer Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen. The next morning, Bach's funeral cantata Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt, BWV 244a premieres at St. Jakob, marking the same occasion.source
1729April 3 – Benjamin Franklin, aged 23, writes the essay "A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature and Necessity of Paper Currency" and later applies the economic principles to backing of paper money used in the United States.source
1729December 2 – George Frideric Handel's famous opera Lotario is given its first performance, premiering at the King's Theatre in London.source
1729Jonathan Swift (anonymously) publishes his satire A Modest Proposal.source
1729Jonathan Swift publishes A Modest Proposal.Ireland source
1729Completion of Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland's first Palladian mansion, designed by Alessandro Galilei and Edward Lovett Pearce for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.Ireland source
1729Society of St. Luke, Scotland's first art institute, established in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1729Lewis Morris, eldest of the noted Morris brothers of Anglesey, becomes a customs official.Wales source
17303 February – The Daily Advertiser is founded in London as the first newspaper funded by advertising.United Kingdom source
1730February 26 (February 15 O.S.) – Anna of Russia (Anna Ioannovna) becomes reigning Empress of Russia following the death of her cousin Emperor Peter II.source
173023 March - Personal union between Sweden and Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel until 1751.Sweden source
1730May 9 (April 28 O.S.) – The coronation of Anna of Russia as Empress of Russia takes place in Saint Petersburg.source
1730August - Sir John Glynne succeeds to the family baronetcy, following the deaths of his father and elder brother in successive years.Wales source
1730December 9 – The first documented notice in North America about freemasonry is published in The Pennsylvania Gazette in an article by its publisher, Benjamin Franklin.source
1730Adam Gottlob Moltke was made chamberlain to crown prince Frederick, later King Frederick V.Denmark source
1730The Glasgow Linen Society is formed.Scotland source
1730James Thomson's poem cycle The Seasons is first published complete.Scotland source
173123 April - Henry Fielding's latest work, The Welsh Opera, is performed in Haymarket. It includes personal attacks on Frederick, Prince of Wales.Wales source
17316 June – The coronation of Christian VI of Denmark.Denmark source
1731June 25 – the Royal Dublin Society is founded by members of the Dublin Philosophical Society, chiefly Thomas Prior and Samuel Madden, as the "Dublin Society for Improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts and Sciences".Ireland source
1731August 23 – The oldest known sports score in history is recorded in the description of a cricket match at Richmond Green in England, when the team of Thomas Chambers of Middlesex defeats the Duke of Richmond's team by 119 to 79.source
173123 August – the oldest known sports score in history is recorded in the description of a cricket match at Richmond Green, when the team of Thomas Chambers of Middlesex defeats the Duke of Richmond's team by 119 to 79.United Kingdom source
1731September 22 - Griffith Jones (Llanddowror) writes to the SPCK proposing that a Welsh school be set up at Llanddowror. This marks the beginning of the circulating schools movement.Wales source
1731Nicolaus Zinzendorf visits Copenhagen and the Moravian Church gains considerable popularityDenmark source
1731Denmark-Norway introduces a new Royal Standard flag.Denmark source
1731William Hogarth produces his A Harlot's Progress series of paintings.United Kingdom source
1732February 14 – Henry Fielding's comedy The Modern Husband premieres at the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane in London.source
173214 February – first performance of Henry Fielding's comedy The Modern Husband, at the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane in London.United Kingdom source
1732April–May – first performances of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Esther, the first oratorio in English, in London.United Kingdom source
17321 July - Charles Hanbury Williams marries Frances, the daughter of earl Coningsby.Wales source
1732December 7 – The original Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London (the modern-day Royal Opera House) is opened.source
173211 December – Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Louise are received in Copenhagen and the wedding ceremony is repeated.Denmark source
1732The Portsmouth Grammar School is founded in England under the will of Dr. William Smith, a physician and former Mayor of Portsmouth, by Christ Church, Oxford.source
1732The closing of the Saint-Médard Cemetery.France source
1732Conor Begley and Hugh MacCartin's English-Irish dictionary is published in Paris.Ireland source
1732Hercules Mahieu, a Cape official, marries Arnoldina Hendrica Pothof from Breda.South Africa source
1732Frederick, Prince of Wales, purchases Carlton House in London as his new home.Wales source
173323 January – first performance of George Frideric Handel's opera Orlando, at the His Majesty's Theatre in London.United Kingdom source
1733January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, Orlando is performed for the first time, making its debut at the King's Theatre in London.source
1733June 12 – At Schloss Salzdahlum, Prince Frederick of Prussia, the 21-year-old heir to the throne reluctantly marries Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern in order to avoid prosecution for desertion from the Prussian Army and to be guaranteed the throne. Despite the unhappy marriage Frederick and Elisabeth later reign as King and Queen Consort of Prussia.source
173324 October – Incorporated Society in Dublin for Promoting English Protestant Schools is established to open Irish Charter Schools.Ireland source
1733Samuel Madden publishes Memoirs of the Twentieth Century.Ireland source
1733William Wynn writes his first poem, while a student at Oxford.Wales source
1733John Myddelton, politician, inherits the estates of his brother Robert, including Chirk Castle.Wales source
1734April 25 – Easter occurs on the latest possible date (the next time is in 1886).source
1734May 15 – Prince Charles of Spain (later King Charles III) becomes the new King of Naples and Sicily, five days after his arrival in Naples.source
173425 October – The Royal Danish Nautical Charts Archive is established.Denmark source
1734The King's mistress, Hedvig Taube, is officially acknowledged as his lover after she is granted a title and her own residence after the birth of their child, which attracts a national scandal.Sweden source
1734The Civil Code of 1734 is passed. This regulates all society, introducing numerous new laws. Among them the ban of torture (though the interpretation of this law allows for the practice to continue), restrictions of a man's right to abuse his wife, bans any other form of marriage except that conducted by the church, and bans illegitimate children from inheritance.Sweden source
1734The amateur theatrical society "Greve De la Gardies comedianter" performs in Stockholm, starring Brita Sophia De la Gardie, which cause an interest for the establishment of a professional Swedish language theater, which is realized in 1737.Sweden source
1734Society of Dilettanti founded in London.United Kingdom source
1734Original construction (in stone) of Cilewent Farmhouse, now located at St Fagans National History Museum.Wales source
1734Edmund Curll – The Life of Robert Price ... one of the Justices of His Majesty's Court of Common-PleasWales source
1734Daniel Rowland marries Eleanor Davies of Caer-llugest and is ordained a deacon.Wales source
1735January 8 – George Frideric Handel's opera Ariodante is premièred at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.source
17358 January – premiere of George Frideric Handel's opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London.United Kingdom source
1735February 14 – The Order of St. Anna is established in Russia, in honor of the daughter of Peter the Great.source
173512 March - The first Holiday Peace Act was introduced.Norway source
1735April 16 – Alcina, George Frideric Handel's Italian opera, premieres at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.source
173516 April – London premiere of Alcina by Handel, his first Italian opera for the Royal Opera House.United Kingdom source
173510 May - Kongliga Ritarakademien is created: it is re-founded as the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in 1773.Sweden source
1735June 25 – In Great Britain, the Engraving Copyright Act 1734, the first of a series of copyright protection laws, takes effect after being given royal assent by King George II.source
1735November 25 – The largest bell in the world, the 22 foot diameter Tsar Kolokol, is successfully cast in Moscow within the Kremlin.source
1735Linnaeus publishes his Systema Naturae.source
1735Thomas Carte's An History of the Life of James, Duke of Ormonde begins publication in London.Ireland source
1735The first known printed poetry by an Ulster Scots writer (in the Habbie stanza form) is published in a broadsheet in Strabane.Ireland source
1735Richard Leveridge writes a melody to Henry Fielding's The Roast Beef of Old England.United Kingdom source
1735date unknown – Swansea-born Beau Nash appoints himself Master of Ceremonies at Tunbridge Wells, where a public house is later named after him.Wales source
1736January 12 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, becomes the Second Field Marshal of Great Britain.source
1736February 12 – Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor marries Maria Theresa of Austria, ruler of the Habsburg Empire at the Augustinian Church in Vienna.source
1736March 8 – Nader Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty, is crowned Shah of Iran on a date selected by court astrologers.source
173617 April - Frederick, Prince of Wales, marries Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London.Wales source
1736April – The Genbun era begins in Japan. The era of Kyōhō Reforms ends.source
1736May 8 – Frederick, Prince of Wales, marries Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.source
17368 May – marriage of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.United Kingdom source
1736May 22 – King George II of Great Britain departs for Europe as part of his duties as Elector of Hanover; his wife, Caroline, Queen Consort rules on his behalf as the Regent for the last time until his return on January 14, 1736.source
17368 November – poet Allan Ramsay establishes the first regular public theatre company in Scotland, at Carrubber's Close in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1736Sir Isaac Newton's Method of Fluxions (1671), describing his method of differential calculus, is first published (posthumously) and Thomas Bayes publishes a defense of its logical foundations (anonymously).source
1736The University of Copenhagen introduces a Candidate of Law degree.Denmark source
1736The architects Lauritz de Thurah and Nicolai Eigtved are put in charge of designing the interior of the first Christiansborg Palace.Denmark source
1736Paul becomes the first of the Swiss Lafranchini brothers to come to Ireland where he produces rococo stucco work for the architect Richard Cassels.Ireland source
1736The construction of Dovre Church is finished, with a pulpit carved by Lars Pinnerud.Norway source
1736Fortunatus Wright marries Mary, daughter of William Bulkeley, in Dublin.Wales source
1737April 9 – William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in succession to Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (sworn 7 September).Ireland source
173717 May – construction of the circular Radcliffe Library at the University of Oxford begins.United Kingdom source
173713 August – Howel Harris and Daniel Rowland meet for the first time, at Defynnog.Wales source
173731 August – The Prince and Princess of Wales have their first child, Princess Augusta. The birth takes place at St James's Palace, the royal couple having absconded from Hampton Court Palace in the middle of the night to avoid the King and Queen being present.Wales source
1737September 1 – The oldest existing English language newspaper in the world, The News Letter, is founded in Belfast, Ireland.source
1737September 1 – The News Letter is first published in Belfast by Francis Joy, making it the world's oldest existing English language newspaper.Ireland source
1737October 11 – The first national stage in Sweden opens, when Carl Gyllenborg's play Den svenska sprätthöken is performed in the Swedish language, by the first native actors, on the stage of Bollhuset in Stockholm.source
1737October - The first Swedish satire play, Svenska Sprätthöken by Carl Gyllenborg, is performed at the Swedish theatre at Bollhuset with Beata Sabina Straas and Peter Lindahl.Sweden source
1737November 4 – The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated in Naples, Italy.source
1737The Georg August University of Göttingen in Lower Saxony is opened to students.source
1737Royal Society of Edinburgh formed as the Edinburgh Society for Improving Arts and Sciences and particularly Natural Knowledge.Scotland source
1737The Whole Duty of a Woman "by a lady" includes a recipe for "a dripping pudding", the first record of Yorkshire pudding.United Kingdom source
1738January 3 – George Frideric Handel's opera Faramondo is given its first performance.source
1738March – Howel Harris preaches in Monmouthshire for the first time.Wales source
1738April 15 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, premieres in London.source
173815 April – première in London of Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel.United Kingdom source
1738April 18 – Spain's Royal Academy of History (Real Academia de la Historia) is established by decree of King Philip V of Spain.source
1738May 4 – The Imperial Theatrical School, in modern times known as Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, is founded under the reign of Empress Anna. It is the first ballet school in Russia and second in the world.source
173822 May – foundation stone of George Watson's College in Edinburgh is laid.Scotland source
1738May 24 – John Wesley, newly returned from America, experiences a spiritual rebirth at a Moravian Church meeting in Aldersgate, in the City of London, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day (his younger brother Charles had a similar experience three days earlier).source
173824 May – John Wesley, newly returned from America, experiences a spiritual rebirth at a Moravian Church meeting in Aldersgate in the City of London, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day. His younger brother Charles had a similar experience three days earlier.United Kingdom source
17386 June - Premier of the Den Afwundsiuke by Olof von Dalin at Bollhuset in Stockholm.Sweden source
1738Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, having completed a law degree, is hired as a court musician by Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia, the future Frederick the Great (Bach will remain in Frederick's service until 1768).source
1738Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet was foundedRussia source
1738Anderston Weavers' Society established in Glasgow.Scotland source
1738A new building, designed by James Steer to house the Welsh Charity School is erected in London.Wales source
173916 January – first performance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Saul at the His Majesty's Theatre, London.United Kingdom source
1739January (dated 9 February) – the original version of The Scots Magazine begins publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1739March - Diarist William Bulkeley of Brynddu is a bearer at the funeral of Richard Bulkeley, 5th Viscount Bulkeley, and leaves an account in his diary.Wales source
17394 April – first performance of Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt at the King's Theatre, London.United Kingdom source
173920 May - The roof of St Mary's Church, Swansea, collapses into the nave just before a Sunday morning service; the congregation is waiting outside for the officiating priest, who is running late.Wales source
1739June 13 – (June 2 Old Style); The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is founded in Stockholm, Sweden.source
1739The first Bible in Estonian is published.source
1739The poem Nordlands Trompet by Petter Dass is published posthumously.Norway source
1739The Løvenskiold family were ennobled.Norway source
1739A reform partially retracts the unpopular sumptuary law of servants clothing from 1720, and secures the rights for servants of certain functions to dress as they wish, as the previous clothing restriction has proven to have a deteriorating effect on staff recruitment.Sweden source
1740February 20 – The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town of Newton as Wilmington, North Carolina, named for Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington and patron of Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston.source
1740May 31 – Frederick II becomes King in Prussia upon the death of his father, Frederick William I.source
1740June 16 – Pour le Mérite first awarded in Prussia as a military honour.source
1740July 7 – Adam Smith sets out from Scotland to take up a scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford.source
17407 July – Adam Smith sets out from Scotland to take up a scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford.Scotland source
1740August 1 – The song Rule, Britannia! is first performed at Cliveden, the country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales, in England.source
17401 August – the patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!", with words by Scottish-born poet James Thomson, is first performed at Cliveden, the English country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales.Scotland source
17401 August – "Rule, Britannia!" is first performed in an open-air performance at Cliveden, the country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales as part of the masque Alfred with music by Thomas Arne to a lyric by Scottish-born poet James Thomson; the original tenor soloist is probably Thomas Salway.United Kingdom source
1740September 8 – Hertford College, Oxford, England, is founded for the first time.source
17408 September – Hertford College, Oxford, is founded for the first time.United Kingdom source
174028 October - 2-months old Prince Ivan Antonovich succeeds Empress Anna of Russia as Ivan VI under the regency of Anna's favourite Ernst von Biron.Russia source
1740November 6 – Samuel Richardson's popular and influential epistolary novel, Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded, is published anonymously in London.source
17406 November – Samuel Richardson's epistolary novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded is published anonymously in London.United Kingdom source
1740November 14 – The University of Pennsylvania is officially established.source
1740Enfield, North Carolina, is founded.source
1740William Hogarth paints a portrait of philanthropist Captain Thomas Coram (pictured).United Kingdom source
1741February 14 – Irish-born actor Charles Macklin makes his London stage debut as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, pioneering a psychologically realistic style with Shakespeare's text revived, replacing George Granville's melodramatic adaptation The Jew of Venice. Kitty Clive plays the travesti role of Portia.source
1741June 25 – Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen Regnant of Hungary in Bratislava.source
1741June – In the general election, the seat of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet at Denbighshire is targeted by the government. Sir Watkin wins by 1352 to 933, but the sheriff, a member of the Salusbury family, disallows 594 of his votes and returns a cousin of Salusbury, John Myddelton of Chirk. Sir Watkin is elected for Montgomeryshire instead.Wales source
174122 August–14 September – George Frideric Handel composes the oratorio Messiah in London to a libretto compiled by Charles Jennens, completing the "Hallelujah Chorus" on 6 September. It receives a private rehearsal in Chester in November while Handel is en route to Dublin.United Kingdom source
17412 October – the Bull's Head Musical Society opens a Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin.Ireland source
174112 December – The deposed regent Anna Leopoldovna, her husband Anthony Ulrich, and their children are imprisoned, initially at Riga and later at Dünamünde fortress.Russia source
1741Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich, regarded as the first Serbian and Bulgarian secular printed book, is printed in Vienna.source
1741Ludvig Holberg's Niels Klim's Underground Travels is published.Denmark source
1741Ludvig Harboe, began a four-year stay (1741–1745) to monitor and support religious and social changes in Iceland.Iceland source
1741Ludvig Holbergs satirical science-fiction/fantasy novel «Niels Klim's Underground Travels» is first published.Norway source
1741David Owen composes Dafydd y Garreg Wen on his deathbed, according to traditionWales source
1742February 12 – John Carteret, 2nd Lord Carteret becomes Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain.source
1742February 22 – Henry Fielding publishes his picaresque novel Joseph Andrews anonymously in London when "the first edition... reached the bookstalls" in the city.source
1742March 29 – Acting in his capacity of Grand Duke of Lithuania, Poland's King Stanisław August Poniatowski issues a proclamation allowing Jews in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius to live anywhere except for two public streets, the Pilies street and the Galves Street.source
1742April 13 – George Frideric Handel's oratorio The Messiah is first performed, in Dublin, Ireland in aid of local charities.source
174213 April – George Frideric Handel's oratorio The Messiah is first performed in Dublin.United Kingdom source
1742July 14 – William Pulteney is created 1st Earl of Bath in Great Britain.source
174214 July – William Pulteney is created 1st Earl of Bath.United Kingdom source
1742July - Zionittene performs their first adult baptism in Drammenselva.Norway source
1742August 19 – Voltaire's controversial play Fanatacism, or Mahomet the Prophet is first performed, in Paris, to a theatre audience filled with French nobility.source
1742November 13 – The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters is founded.source
174213 November– The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters is founded as a historical Collegium Antiquitatum. It was founded by secretary of state, Count Johan Ludvig Holstein and the history professor Hans Gram.Denmark source
1742December 2 – The Pennsylvania Journal first appears in the United States.source
1742Anders Celsius publishes his proposal for a centigrade temperature scale originated in 1741.source
1742The University of Erlangen is founded in Bavaria.source
1742Charles Jervas's English translation of Don Quixote is published posthumously. Through a printer's error, the translator's name is printed as 'Charles Jarvis', leading the book to forever be known as the Jarvis translation. It is acclaimed as the most faithful English rendering of the novel made up to this time.source
1742Colin Maclaurin publishes his Treatise on Fluxions.source
1742Peter III of Russia is brought to Russia from Germany by his aunt, Elizabeth I, to be received by the Russian Orthodox Church and declared heir to the Russian throne.Russia source
1743February 21 – George Frideric Handel's oratorio, Samson, premieres in London.source
174321 February – premiere in London of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, Samson.United Kingdom source
1743April 18 – The trustees of the English Province of Georgia vote to inaugurate public schools in the corporate territory.source
17438 June - William Bulkeley completes the first of his diaries.Wales source
174323 June - Adolf Frederik of Holstein-Gottorp, the candidate of Empress Elizabeth I of Russia, is elected heir to the Swedish throne.Sweden source
1743September 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
17434 October – Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay succeeds his brother as 3rd Duke of Argyll.Scotland source
1743December 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
1743December 11 – Princess Louise of Great Britain, daughter of King George II, weds Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway.source
174311 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
174311 December – Princess Louise, the King's daughter, marries Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway.United Kingdom source
1743c. 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
1743Daniel Rowland & Ralph Erskine - Traethawd am farw i'r ddeddf, a byw i DduwWales source
1744April 2 – The first Rules of golf are drawn up at Leith, for the first golf competition.source
174418 May - Howell Harris marries Anne Williams.Wales source
1744June 13 – Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin is named as the new Chancellor of the Russian Empire by the Empress Elizabeth.source
1744June 28 – At the age of 15, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Empress of Russia, is received into the Russian Orthodox Church after converting from the Lutheran faith. Upon her conversion to the Russian Orthodox religion, she is given the name Yekaterina (Catherine). In 1762, she takes the throne as the Empress Catherine II, later known as Catherine the Great.source
174428 June - The future Catherine the Great, Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, fiancée of Peter III, the heir to the throne of Russia, converts to the Russian Orthodox Church and is received with the new name Catherine (Yekaterina or Ekaterina) and the (artificial) patronymic Алексеевна (Alekseyevna, daughter of Aleksey).Russia source
174418 August - The wedding between Crown Prince Adolf Frederick and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia on Drottningholm Palace.Sweden source
1744August - Creation of the L'Ordre de l'Harmonie.Sweden source
17446 December – first performance of Handel's Irish-premiered oratorio Messiah in Cork, at St. Finbarr's Cathedral.Ireland source
1744Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, sequel to Tommy Thumb's Song Book, containing the oldest version of many well-known and popular rhymes, is published in London.source
1744Alexander Bryce's "A Map of the North Coast of Britain", the first to show the Caithness coastline accurately, is published.Scotland source
1744The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers established on Leith Links.Scotland source
1744William Williams Pantycelyn - Aleluia (first collection of hymns)Wales source
1745February 23 – The royal wedding of the crown prince of France takes place at Versailles: the Dauphin Louis Ferdiand, eldest son of King Louis XV, is united in marriage to Princess Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, daughter of King Philip V. The Dauphin never takes the throne, dying in 1765, eight years before the death of his father.source
1745August 19 – The Jacobite rising of 1745 begins at Glenfinnan in Scotland, where Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raises his standard in a campaign to enforce his father James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender")'s claim to be King James III of England.source
174519 August – Jacobite rising: Charles Stuart raises his standard at Glenfinnan.Scotland source
1745August 21 – Catherine the Great, and the heir to the throne, Peter III of Russia get married.Russia source
1745September 1 – Catherine the Great marries Peter III of Russia, in Saint Petersburg.source
1745September 11 – Jacobite rising of 1745: Jacobites enter Edinburgh; six days later, Charles Edward Stuart proclaims his father as James VIII of Scotland.source
1745September 13 - The first Atlas of Russia is published by the Russian Academy of SciencesRussia source
1745September 14 – Madame de Pompadour is officially presented at the court of Louis XV.source
174514 September – Madame de Pompadour is officially presented in the court of Louis XV.France source
174528 September – the song later to become the British national anthem "God Save the King" is first performed at the Drury Lane Theatre in London in a setting by Thomas Arne.United Kingdom source
1745The construction of Paléet in Oslo is finished.Norway source
1745Catharina Ebba Horn becomes the official royal mistress of the King.Sweden source
1745Ancient British Music, Part 2 (unpublisher)Wales source
17468 January – Jacobite rising: Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie" or "The Young Pretender") occupies Stirling.United Kingdom source
1746February 1 – Jagat Singh II, the ruler of the Mewar Kingdom, inaugurates his Lake Palace on the island of Jag Niwas in Lake Pichola, in what is now the state of Rajasthan in northwest India.source
174626 March – King George II of Great Britain grants the Dublin Society £500 pa from the Privy Purse.Ireland source
174611 April – "for licensing hawkers and pedlars and for the encouragement of English Protestant schools" provides grants for charter schools.Ireland source
1746May 9 – Voltaire, on being admitted into the Académie française, gives a discours de réception in which he criticizes Boileau's poetryFrance source
1746September 20 – Bonnie Prince Charlie flees to the Isle of Skye from Arisaig, after the unsuccessful Jacobite rising of 1745, marked by the Prince's Cairn on the banks of Loch nan Uamh.source
1746October 22 – The College of New Jersey is founded in Princetown, New Jersey. In 1896, it is renamed Princeton University.source
1746Charles Batteux's Les beaux-arts réduits à un même principe is published in Paris, putting forward for the first time the idea of "les beaux arts": "the fine arts".source
1746The National College of Art and Design originates as a private drawing school set up by the painter Robert West in Dublin.Ireland source
1746Charles Smith's The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford is published in Dublin.Ireland source
174721 April – Edmund Burke sets up Burke's Club, a debating society at Trinity College Dublin, which will become the College Historical Society.Ireland source
174722 July – William IV, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen, is confirmed as Stadtholder of the United ProvincesNetherlands source
17474 September – The coronation of Frederick V of Denmark at Frederiksborg Chapel.Denmark source
1747October 4 — Schlosstheater Schönbrunn opens on the name day of Maria Theresa's husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.Austria source
1747November 9 – Rioters in Amsterdam demand governmental reform.source
1747November 21 – Mozart's parents, Anna Maria Mozart and Leopold Mozart, marry in Salzburg.Austria source
174729 December – The Press and Journal begins publication as a weekly, Aberdeen's Journal.Scotland source
1747The Housing Discipline Directive, which was a decree by former King Christian VI, on the arrangements for upbringing, education and religious life, is published in parliament.Iceland source
1747A Quaker meeting house is established at Quakers Friars in Bristol, the burial place of Llywelyn ap Dafydd.Wales source
174811 June - The Dannebrog became the only official merchant flag in Norway. The royal standard flag became forbidden to be used on merchant ships.Norway source
174824 June – on the death of his father William, John Adam inherits his architectural practice in Scotland and the position of Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance, immediately taking his brother Robert into partnership.Scotland source
1748July 29 – Royal Navy Admiral Edward Boscawen arrives at the coast of southeastern India with 28 ships, to defend Fort St. David from attacks by armies of French India. Historian Francis Grose later writes that Boscawen had brought the largest fleet "ever seen together in the East Indies", with nine ships of the line, two frigates, a sloop, and two tenders" and 14 ships of the British East India Company. Altogether, Boscawen has 3,580 sailors under his command. He then launches an offensive to destroy the French fort at Pondicherry and drive France from the subcontinent.source
1748September 24 – Shah Rukh becomes ruler of Greater Khorasan.source
174818 December – Niels Eigtved's new theatre of Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen opens with a repertoire of Danish plays and Italian operas.Denmark source
174827 December – Ernst Henrich Berling receives a license to publish newspapers.Denmark source
1748Montesquieu publishes De l'esprit des lois.source
1748Leonhard Euler publishes Introductio in analysin infinitorum, an introduction to pure analytical mathematics, in Berlin.source
1748Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock publishes the first three cantos of his epic poem Der Messias in hexameters (anonymously), in Bremer Beiträge (Leipzig).source
1748David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is published.Scotland source
1748Holywell Music Room, Oxford, the first purpose-built concert hall in Europe, is opened.United Kingdom source
1748William Williams Pantycelyn marries Mary Francis of Llansawel.Wales source
1748The Salusbury family leave Lleweni Hall.Wales source
1749January 3 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.source
17493 January — The newspaper Berlingske is first published by Ernst Henrich Berling, making it the oldest Danish newspaper still in printing.Denmark source
1749January 21 – The Teatro Filarmonico, the main opera theater in Verona, Italy, is destroyed by fire. It is rebuilt in 1754.source
1749February 28 – Henry Fielding's comic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling is published in London. Also this year, Fielding becomes magistrate at Bow Street, and first enlists the help of the Bow Street Runners, an early police force (eight men at first).source
1749February – The second part of John Cleland's erotic novel Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) is published in London. The author is released from debtors' prison in March.source
1749March 17 – At London's Covent Garden, composer George Frideric Handel conducts the first performance of his new oratorio, Solomon. More than 250 years later, an instrumental from Solomon, "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba"; will be featured in the 2012 London Summer Olympics opening ceremony.source
17498 April - Charles Wesley marries Sarah Gwynne of Garth.Wales source
174912 April – the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, designed by James Gibbs, is opened as an academic library.United Kingdom source
174912 May – Frederick V visits Roskilde on his grand tour of Denmark and Norway.Denmark source
17493 June – radical apothecary Charles Lucas begins publication of The Censor, or Citizens' Journal in Dublin.Ireland source
174919 July - "Madam" Sidney Griffith accompanies Howell Harris to the Llangeitho association - the beginning of a relationship that would cause considerable controversy.Wales source
1749August 7 – Mary Musgrove Bosomworth, a woman of mixed British and Creek Indian ancestry, presents herself as Coosaponakeesa, Queen of the Creek Indians and marches with 200 Creek Indians into the town of Savannah, Georgia. During her confrontation with British colonial authorities, she and her husband Thomas Bosomworth demand payment of "nearly twenty-five thousand dollars" in compensation for property taken from the Creek Indians, before the British authorities determine that she doesn't have the authority to speak for the tribe.source
1749September 12 – The first recorded game of baseball is played, by Frederick, Prince of Wales, at Kingston upon Thames in England.source
174912 September – the first recorded game of baseball is played, by Frederick, Prince of Wales, at Kingston upon Thames.United Kingdom source
1749November 12 – In response to the increasing number of starving people moving into Paris from rural parts of France, King Louis XV issues an ordinance that "all the beggars and vagabonds who shall be found either in the streets of Paris, or in churches or church doorways, or in the countryside around Paris, of whatever age or sex, shall be arrested and conducted into prisons, to stay there as long as shall be necessary."source
1749December 5 – French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau premieres his new opera, Zoroastre, at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, but the first version is not a success. After five years of rewriting, Rameau will revive Zoroastre on January 19, 1756 and the opera will continue to be performed more than two centuries later.source
1749James Simon's An essay towards an historical account of Irish coins is published in Dublin.Ireland source
17509 January – At the age of 25, Henry Herbert the younger succeeds to his father's earldom of Pembroke.Wales source
1750October 14 – The Louvre Museum is created in Paris four years after art critic Lafond de Saint-Yenne calls on the King to allow the display of the royal art collection to the general public. Abel-François Poisson, the Marquis de Marigny, arranges for the display of 110 of the Crown's paintings at the Palais du Luxembourg.source
175014 October – Display of 110 paintings from the royal art collection at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris is arranged by Abel-François Poisson, the Marquis de Marigny, origin of both the Louvre museum and Musée du Luxembourg.France source
1750December 3 – What is described later as "The first documented presentation of a musical in New York" takes place one block east of Broadway, at the Nassau Street Theatre, when a resident company of actors stages The Beggar's Opera.source
175016 December - The Norwegian Military Academy is founded.Norway source
1750Hannah Snell reveals her sex to her Royal Marines compatriots.source
1750Maruyama Okyo paints The Ghost of Oyuki.source
1750The learned society Académie de Stanislas founded.France source
1750At about this date, a chocolate house, the predecessor of Daly's Club, is established in Dublin.Ireland source
1750Establishment of the Jockey Club and the Pytchley Hunt.United Kingdom source
1751January 7 – The University of Pennsylvania, conceived 12 years earlier by Benjamin Franklin and its other trustees to provide non-denominational higher education "to train young people for leadership in business, government and public service". rather than for the ministry, holds its first classes as "The Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania" in Philadelphia.source
1751January - Crown Prince Gustav is engaged to Sophia Magdalena of Denmark.Sweden source
1751February 16 – English poet Thomas Gray first publishes Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, anonymously in The Magazine of Magazines. The poem becomes more popularly known as "Gray's Elegy".source
1751March 25 – For the last time, New Year's Day is legally on March 25, in England and Wales and "in all his Majesty's Dominions in Europe, Asia, Africa and America" due to the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750. The months of January 1751, February 1751 and most of March 1751 did not exist in British territories: those months were recorded as the last three of 1750 according to the Old Style dating system; the equivalent months a year later were recorded as the first three of 1752 under the New Style system.source
175125 March – legally New Year's Day for the last time in England and Wales.United Kingdom source
1751April 19 – The Qianlong Emperor of China visits the southern capital of Nanjing for the first time, bringing with him 3,000 staff and 6,690 horses and stays for four days.source
1751April 20 – A month after the death of his father, 12-year old Prince George William Frederick is formally invested as the new Prince of Wales. Nine years later, Prince George becomes King George III upon the death of his grandfather, King George II.source
175120 April – George, eldest son of the late Frederick, Prince of Wales, is made Prince of Wales.Wales source
1751April 29 – The sport of cricket is first played in the American colonies, as a team of New Yorkers plays against a team of Englishmen and defeats them, 167 to 80, in a match in Greenwich Village. Tom Melville, The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America (Popular Press, 1998) p5source
1751May 27 (May 13 Old Style) – Adoption of the Gregorian calendar: Royal assent is given to An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use (the "Calendar Act") passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, introducing the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the eleven-day difference between Old Style and New Style dates and making 1 January legally New Year's Day from 1752 in the British Empire. It is largely promoted by George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield.source
175127 May – adoption of the Gregorian calendar: royal assent is given to An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use (the "Calendar Act") passed by Parliament, introducing the Gregorian Calendar, correcting the eleven-day difference between Old Style and New Style dates and making 1 January legally New Year's Day from 1752 in the British Empire. It is largely promoted by George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield.United Kingdom source
1751June 28 – The first volume of Denis Diderot's Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, often referred to as le Encyclopédie, is publishedsource
175128 June – The first volume of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie (Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers) is published, notably including a map of their figurative system of human knowledge.France source
1751August 13 – The Academy and College of Philadelphia, predecessor to the private University of Pennsylvania, opens its doors, with Benjamin Franklin as president.source
1751September 13 – Kalvária Banská Štiavnica in the Kingdom of Hungary is completed.source
1751September – Richard Morris co-founds the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion in London.Wales source
1751November 26 – Adolf Frederick is formally crowned as the King of Sweden. The coronation ceremony takes place almost eight months after he assumed the throne.source
1751December 14 – The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.source
1751Zand Iran is established by Karim Khan Zand.source
1751Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus publishes his Philosophia Botanica, the first textbook of descriptive systematic botanical taxonomy, and the first appearance of his binomial nomenclature.source
1751Ferdinando Galiani publishes the first modern economic analysis, Della Moneta.source
1751The actress Peg Woffington begins a 3-year residence in her native Dublin at Thomas Sheridan's Smock Alley Theatre.Ireland source
1751David Hume settles in Edinburgh and publishes An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals.Scotland source
17521 January – the British Empire (except Scotland, which had changed New Year's Day to 1 January in 1600) adopts today as the first day of the year as part of adoption of the Gregorian calendar, which is completed in September: today is the first day of the New Year under the terms of last year's Calendar Act.United Kingdom source
1752March 23 – The Halifax Gazette, the first Canadian newspaper, is published.source
175223 March – Canada's first newspaper, the weekly Halifax Gazette, is published.Canada source
1752April 12 – The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Spain's Royal Academy of the Fine Arts, is formally established in Spain, eight years after first being proposed to King Fernando VI by Jeronimo Antonio Gil as a small school in Madrid. The foundation of the Royal Academy is considered by historians to be "an essential step in modernizing Spain" during the Spanish Enlightenment.source
1752April 13 – The oldest property insurance company in the United States, "Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire", holds its organizational meeting at the courthouse in Philadelphia to elect a board of directors, largely through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin's newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, has been advertising the meeting since February 18, with a notice that "All persons inclined to subscribe to the articles of insurance of houses from fire, in or near this city, are desired to appear at the Court-house, where attendance will be given, to take in their subscriptions, every seventh day of the week, in the afternoon, until the 13th of April next, being the day appointed by the said articles for electing twelve directors and a treasurer." The property insurance company is still in existence more than 250 years later.source
1752April 22 – Adam Smith, appointed the year before as a professor of logic, is unanimously elected by the faculty of the University of Glasgow to be the new Professor of Moral Philosophy "on the express condition that he would content himself with the emoluments of the Logic Professorship until 10 October", in that the 1751-1752 salary budgeted for the job has already been distributed to faculty members who had substituted for the previous moral philosophy professor, Thomas Craigie; from April to October, Smith's remuneration for teaching moral philosophy is limited to fees paid directly to him by his students (a half guinea per semester for the public class, and a guinea per semester for the private class). Smith's lectures on ethics are first published in 1759 in his work The Theory of Moral Sentiments.source
17525 June – Frances, mother of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet, purchases the Mathafarn estate on her son's behalf.Wales source
1752June – Benjamin Franklin reportedly carries out his famous kite experiment, duplicating experiments that show that lightning and electricity are the same. According to Franklin, lightning strikes the kite that he is flying during a thunderstorm and produces sparks identical to what he has previously generated artificially in a Leyden jar. However, the report of his experiment is not made until October 19, in Franklin's newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, leading 20th century researchers to doubt that he conducted the experiment, if at all, until sometime after September 28, when he had written in the Gazette about other such experiments, and that he was making a claim that he had conceived the experiment independently.source
1752July 1 – In Istanbul, Divitdar Mehmed Emin Pasha is dismissed from his position as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire by the Ottoman Sultan, Mahmud I. The Sultan appoints Çorlulu Ali Pasha as the new Grand Vizier.source
17528 July – The wedding of Frederick V and Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.Denmark source
1752September 2 of Julian calendar (Wednesday) (September 13 "New Style")– Great Britain and the British Empire use the Julian calendar for the last time and adopt the Gregorian calendar, making the next day Thursday, September 14 in the English-speaking world. A newspaper at the time notes the next day that "Altho' we have more than once, for the Information of our Readers, publish'd some Accounts of the Alteration of the Style, which took Place this Day, agreeable to a late Act of Parliament, in all his Majesty's Dominions in Europe, Asia, Africa and America" and notes that "The Supputation of the Year began on the first Day of January last, and for the future the first Day of that Month will be stiled the first Day of every Year in all Accounts whatsoever, which Supputation or Reckoning never took Place before this Year in any Courts of Law until the 25th Day of March", and adds, "This Day, had not this Act passed, would have been the 3rd of September, but is now reckoned the 14th, eleven nominal Days being omitted."source
1752December 5 – The first presentation of a Shakespearean play in America is performed when a company of players stages The Merchant of Venice in Williamsburg, Virginia.source
17523–13 September inclusive – these dates are omitted from the calendar in Great Britain and Ireland as part of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, correcting the discrepancy between Old Style and New Style dates, under terms of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.Ireland source
1752Seminarium Lapponicum established in Trondheim, a school for preparing teachers to teach in Sami language.Norway source
17523–13 September – these dates are omitted from the calendar in Britain as part of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar to correct the discrepancy between Old Style and New Style dates.Scotland source
1752The spinning schools which had been established through the 1739 reform are given government support, and medals are created for spinning mistresses to encourage the textile industry.Sweden source
1753May 1 – Species Plantarum is published by Linnaeus (adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature as the formal start date of the scientific classification of plants).source
1753June 7 – The British Museum is established in London, by Act of Parliament.source
17537 June – the British Museum is established in London by Act of Parliament.United Kingdom source
17532 July – John Jones succeeds the late Johann Christoph Pepusch as organist at Charterhouse.Wales source
175324 July - The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities is founded by Queen Louisa Ulrika.Sweden source
175315 December – Lady Charlotte Cavendish, married to William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (future Prime Minister of Great Britain & Ireland), inherits her family's estates, including Lismore Castle, from her father, Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Cork, bringing them into the Devonshire family.Ireland source
1753Robert Wood publishes The ruins of Palmyra; otherwise Tedmor in the desart in English and French, making the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra known to the West.source
1753James Lind writes A Treatise of the Scurvy.source
1753Glasgow Literary Society formed.Scotland source
1753Foulis Academy formed in Glasgow by Robert Foulis to teach art.Scotland source
1753Military road completed to Rest and Be Thankful.Scotland source
1753Undated – First stage of Horace Walpole's Gothic Revival 'Castle' at Strawberry Hill in London completed.United Kingdom source
1754March 25 – The Clandestine Marriages Act 1753 comes into force in England and Wales, placing marriage in that jurisdiction on a statutory basis for the first time.source
175425 March – Lord Harwicke's Marriage Act 1753 "for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage" comes into force in England and Wales, giving increased incentive for couples to contract Border marriages in Scotland.Scotland source
1754March 31 – The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts is founded as a gift to King Frederick V on his 31st birthday.Denmark source
1754May 14 – The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is founded in Scotland.source
175414 May – The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is founded as the Society of St Andrews Golfers, a group of players on St Andrews Links.Scotland source
175414 May – The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is founded in Scotland; it will come to control the rules of golf.United Kingdom source
1754July 17 – Classes begin at Columbia University, founded on October 31 as King's College by royal charter of King George II of Great Britain. The college is originally located in Lower Manhattan in the Province of New York. Instruction is suspended in 1776, and the school reopens in 1784 as Columbia College. With the college's growth in the 19th century, it is renamed Columbia University in 1896.source
1754October 31 – What will become Columbia University is chartered as "a College in the Province of New York... in the City of New York in America... named King's College", with the charter submitted by New York's colonial governor, James De Lancey.source
1754The Select Society is established as The St Giles' Society by a group of 15 Edinburgh intellectuals, part of the Scottish Enlightenment.Scotland source
1755January 23 (O. S. January 12, Tatiana Day, nowadays celebrated on January 25) – Moscow University is established.source
175523 January (O.S. 12 January) - Empress Elizabeth signs a decree establishing Moscow University, the first university in Russia, on the initiative of Mikhail Lomonosov and Ivan Shuvalov.Russia source
1755April 15 – A Dictionary of the English Language is published by Samuel Johnson (he had begun the work nine years earlier, in 1746).source
1755June 5 – Scottish chemist Joseph Black describes his discovery of carbon dioxide (fixed air) and magnesium, in a paper to the Medical Society of Edinburgh. The paper is published in 1756 with the title Experiments upon Magnesia alba, Quicklime, and some other alkaline Substances.source
1755October 25 – Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pasha becomes the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, the fifth person to serve as the Empire's Vizier in 1755.source
175519 December – Bredo Munthe of Bekkeskov was ennobled, and given the noble family name Munthe af Morgenstierne.Norway source
1755December – formation of 23rd Regiment of Foot, predecessor of the 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot and earliest constituent of The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.United Kingdom source
1755Opéra national de Montpellier establishedFrance source
1755Completion of Russborough House, County Wicklow, designed in the Palladian style by Richard Cassels for Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown.Ireland source
1756March 17 – St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).source
1756May – the dramatic poem Leucothoé becomes Isaac Bickerstaffe's first published work.Ireland source
1756June 25 – The Marine Society is founded in London, the world's oldest seafarers' charity.source
175625 June – foundation of The Marine Society in London, the world's oldest seafarers' charity.United Kingdom source
1756July 30 – Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly built Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo to Empress Elizabeth of Russia and her court.source
17561 November – Wanlockhead Miners' Library set up.Scotland source
17564 December – Pitt becomes Secretary of State for the Southern Department.United Kingdom source
1756December 14 – Rev. John Home's tragedy Douglas is performed for the first time in Edinburgh, with overwhelming success, in spite of the opposition of the local church presbytery, who summon Alexander Carlyle to answer for having attended its representation. However, it fails in its early promise to set up a new Scottish dramatic tradition.source
175614 December – Rev. John Home's blank verse tragedy Douglas is performed for the first time, in Edinburgh, with considerable success, in spite of the opposition of the local church presbytery, who summon Rev. Alexander Carlyle to answer for having attended its representation; however, it fails in its early promise to set up a new Scottish dramatic tradition.Scotland source
1756Leopold Mozart publishes his book on his method for learning to play the violin, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.source
1756Foundation of the Imperial TheatresRussia source
1756Church of St Andrew's in the Square, Glasgow, designed by Allan Dreghorn, is completed.Scotland source
1757April 29 – Inside the house at Stratford-upon-Avon in England known as Shakespeare's Birthplace, a bricklayer, identified only as "Mosely", re-tiling the roof, discovers a supposed pro-Catholic testament of John Shakespeare, father of William Shakespeare, more than 150 years after the elder's death. The finding starts "what remains one of the most controversial topics in Shakespeare studies" because of disagreements over its authenticity and date.source
1757Kongsberg School of Mines was established.Norway source
1758January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (Animalia) of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the starting point of modern zoological nomenclature, introducing binomial nomenclature for animals to his established system of Linnaean taxonomy. Among the first examples of his system of identifying an organism by genus and then species, Linnaeus identifies the lamprey with the name Petromyzon marinus. He introduces the term Homo sapiens. (Date of January 1 assigned retrospectively.)source
17585 April – Founding of Ludwigsburg porcelainGermany source
1758April – Goronwy Owen becomes headmaster of the grammar school attached to the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.Wales source
1758Rudjer Boscovich publishes his atomic theory, in Theoria philosophiae naturalis redacta ad unicam legem virium in nalura existentium.source
1758The ballet dancers Marie Barch and Carl Vilhelm Barch debut at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen as the first native ballet dancers.Denmark source
1758date unknown – The Welsh Charity School becomes co-educational.Wales source
1759January 6 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.source
1759January 15 – Voltaire's satire Candide is published simultaneously in five countries.source
1759January 15 – The British Museum opens at Montagu House in London after six years of development.source
175915 January – Voltaire's satire Candide is published simultaneously in five countriesFrance source
175915 January – the British Museum opens at Montagu House, Bloomsbury in London.United Kingdom source
1759June 15 – The first vascular surgery in history is performed by a Dr. Hallowell (whose first name has been lost) at Newcastle upon Tyne in England, who uses suture repair rather than a tying off with a ligature to repair an aneurysm on a patient's brachial artery. The case is reported in 1761 by Dr. Richard Lambert in the paper "A new technique of treating an aneurysm", published in the journal Medical Observations and Inquiries. The new procedure of reconstructing a damaged artery replaces the practice of ligation that had risked the amputation of a limb or organ failure.source
17596 August: Björn Halldórsson, a priest based in Sauðlauksdalur receives seed potatoes from Copenhagen. This is believed to be the first potato crop in Iceland.Iceland source
1759December 6 – The Germantown Union School (later called Germantown Academy), America's oldest nonsectarian day school, is founded.source
1759December 31 – The Guinness Brewery is leased by Arthur Guinness in St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, for the brewing of Guinness.source
1759The Kew Gardens are established in England by Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the mother of George III.source
1759Adam Smith publishes his Theory of Moral Sentiments, embodying some of his Glasgow lectures.source
1759Page Corps military academy founded in Saint PetersburgRussia source
1759Dumfries House, designed by Robert Adam, completed.Scotland source
1759The song Heart of Oak is written by William Boyce with words by David Garrick.United Kingdom source
176027 July? – the Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh, predecessor of Edinburgh College of Art, is established.Scotland source
1760September 5 - The Marriage of Josef II and Isabella of ParmaAustria source
1760October 5 – The wedding of Princess Isabella of Parma and Prince Joseph of Austria takes place at Hofburg Palace's Redoute Hall (Redoutensaele), at the former imperial palace in Vienna.source
176025 October – The Prince of Wales succeeds his grandfather, King George II, on the throne of Great Britain, as King George III.Wales source
1760Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée opens a school for deaf education in Paris which becomes the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris, the world's first free school for the deaf; Thomas Braidwood establishes Braidwood's Academy for the Deaf and Dumb in Edinburgh, the first school for the deaf in Britain.source
1760The first Icelandic children's book was published, Barna-Liood : med Ljuflings-Lag by Reverend Vigfús Jónsson in Hítardalur.Iceland source
1760Thomas Braidwood establishes Braidwood's Academy for the Deaf and Dumb in Edinburgh, the first school for the deaf in Britain.United Kingdom source
1761May 9 – Exhibition of 1761, the innaugaral exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opens at Spring Gardens in Londonsource
17619 May – The Exhibition of 1761, the innaugaral exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opens at Spring Gardens in LondonUnited Kingdom source
1761September 8 – George III marries Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.source
17618 September – King George III marries Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (who he has met for the first time earlier in the day) at St James's Palace.United Kingdom source
1761September 22 – George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned.source
1761December – James Macpherson, supposedly translating "Ossian", publishes Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books, together with Several Other Poems composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal, translated from the Gaelic Language.Scotland source
1761The music for "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" ("Ah, would I tell you Mom?") is first published in France by a Monsieur Bouin in his book Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy; in 1806, English poet Jane Taylor publishes her poem, The Star, whose words fit the rhythm of the tune and become the children's song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.source
1761l'Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Élus Coëns de l'Univers is founded.source
1761Tuesday October 6 – King George III offers Pitt the governorship of Canada, with £5,000 per annum, but, instead, makes Pitt's wife, Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, a peeress; and £13,000 per annum is granted to the survivor of three of his family.Canada source
1761Johan Christopher Wessel was ennobled, and given the noble family name Tordenskiold.Norway source
1761After March – Allan Ramsay appointed to succeed John Shackelton as Principal Painter in Ordinary to King George III.Scotland source
1761Edward Allgood II (1712–1801) establishes a japannery at Usk.Wales source
1761Goronwy Owen takes up his position as a rector in Virginia, and his salary is agreed.Wales source
1762January 5 – Peter III succeeds Empress Elisabeth of Russia. Peter immediately opens peace negotiations with Prussia.Russia source
176210 February - The Guard Hussars regiment is founded.Denmark source
176210 March – William Robertson is elected Principal of the University of Edinburgh, an office which he will hold until his death in 1793, contributing to the Scottish Enlightenment.Scotland source
1762March 17 – The first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York City takes place in lower Manhattan, inaugurating an annual tradition; the Ancient Order of the Hibernians organization later becomes the sponsor of the event, which attracts as many a 300,000 marchers in some years.source
1762March 20 – Innovative publisher Samuel Farley launches the weekly newspaper The American Chronicle, the seventh in New York City.source
176214 May – Charles Macklin's The True-Born Irishman is first performed at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin.Ireland source
1762September – Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships is founded in London. The world's oldest mutual insurer, it pioneers age-based premiums based on the mortality rate.United Kingdom source
1762October 5 – Orfeo ed Euridice by Cristoph Willibald Gluck was given its first performance.source
1762Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya is finished by Paisius of Hilendar.source
1762James "Athenian" Stuart and Nicholas Revett's architectural treatise Antiquities of Athens is published.source
1762The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates Kingston, named for King George III, as the county seat of Dobbs County, North Carolina. The name is later shortened to Kinston in 1784.source
1762Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract (Du Contrat social, ou Principes du droit politique) and Emile, or On Education (Émile, ou De l’éducation) are published in Amsterdam and The Hague respectively. In Rousseau's native Republic of Geneva they are publicly burned and prohibited in Paris.source
1762Louis XV orders construction of the Petit Trianon in the park of the Palace of Versailles to the design of Ange-Jacques Gabriel for his mistress Madame de PompadourFrance source
1762Elisabeth Christina von Linné publishes her discovery of the Tropaeolum majus.Sweden source
1762Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis, leaves the Whig party.Wales source
1763March – James Macpherson, supposedly translating "Ossian", publishes Temora: An ancient epic poem; also this year Hugh Blair writes A Critical Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian.Scotland source
1763April 6 – The Théâtre du Palais-Royal, home to the Paris Opera for almost 90 years, is destroyed in an accidental fire.source
1763April 23 – The controversial Issue 45 of John Wilkes's satirical newspaper The North Briton is published as a response to a speech four days earlier by King George III praising the end of the Seven Years' War. In what will become a test case for freedom of speech, Wilkes, a member of Parliament, is arrested for libel of the King and imprisoned, then flee to France.source
176316 May – James Boswell is introduced to Samuel Johnson at Thomas Davies's bookshop in London.United Kingdom source
176325 May – The first newspaper in Norway ("Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler") published its first issue.Norway source
1763June 9 - The Mozart family grand tour departed following the Seven Years' War. Leopold Mozart took seven year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister Maria Anna Mozart on a Western Europe tour to perform in front of royalty.Austria source
1763July 9 – The Mozart family grand tour of Europe began, lifting the profile of child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus.source
1763August 6 – the post of Historiographer Royal for Scotland is revived for Rev. William Robertson, Principal of the University of Edinburgh.Scotland source
1763September 1 – Empress Catherine the Great of Russia endorses Ivan Betskoy's plans for a Foundling Home in Moscow.source
176310 September – the Freeman's Journal newspaper begins publication in Dublin, established by three merchants under the management of Henry Brooke with contributions by the radical politician Charles Lucas and initially in support of the Protestant Ascendancy.Ireland source
176311 October – Hester Lynch Salusbury marries Henry Thrale, against her family's wishes.Wales source
1763Joseph Haydn writes his Symphony No. 12 and Symphony No. 13 (August–December) for Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy; also, at about this date, his Symphony No. 40.source
1763St Cecilia's Hall is opened by Edinburgh Musical Society as the first purpose-built concert hall in Scotland (architect: Robert Mylne).Scotland source
17643 January – the Brooke Baronetcy, of Colebrooke in the County of Fermanagh, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for Arthur Brooke, a member of the Irish House of Commons.Ireland source
1764February – Thomas Nowell, the new principal of St Mary Hall, Oxford, marries Sarah Munday, daughter of the Mayor of Oxford.Wales source
1764March 17 – Francisco Javier de la Torre arrives in Manila to become the new Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines.source
176431 March – "Jones" performs on the Welsh harp at a benefit concert in Dublin, "in the true Spirit and Taste peculiar to the Genius of his Country".Wales source
176423 April – Mozart family grand tour: 8-year-old W. A. Mozart settles in London for a year where he composes his Symphony No. 1.United Kingdom source
1764April 27 – Eight-year-old child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performs a private concert before King George III and Queen Charlotte in Great Britain, and has an encore on May 19.source
1764June 21 – The English-language Quebec Gazette is established in Quebec City, Canada (the oldest surviving newspaper in North America).source
1764July 8 – The Niagara Conference begins at the invitation of Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern district, who hosts "one of the largest conventions of red men ever held on the continent" to negotiate the end of the hostilities from the French and Indian War. Reportedly, 2,000 representatives of the North American tribes meet at upstate New York coming from distances ranging "From Dakota to Hudson's Bay, and from Maine to Kentucky."source
1764July 31 – Johnson arrives at the Niagara River site to meet with the representatives of the Indian nations.source
1764October 15 – English scholar Edward Gibbon conceives the idea of writing The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, "as I sat musing amid the ruins of the Capitol".source
1764November – The Speculative Society established in Edinburgh as a debating group, part of the Scottish Enlightenment.Scotland source
1764Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto "a story, translated by William Marshal, Gent., from the original Italian of Onuphrio Muralto", the first Gothic novelsource
1764Catherine the Great establishes the first secondary education school for females in Russia – The Smolny Institute, for girls of the nobility in St. Petersburg.source
1764Foundation of the Smolny Institute.Russia source
1764St Lucia day celebration was started at a Manor in the Västergötland provinceSweden source
1764Landscape gardener Lancelot "Capability" Brown is appointed Chief Gardener at the royal palace of Hampton Court; redesigns the gardens of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire; and works at Broadlands in Hampshire.United Kingdom source
1765January 23 – Prince Joseph of Austria marries Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria in Vienna.source
1765February 8 – Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia, issues a decree abolishing the historic punishments against unmarried women in Germany for "sex crimes", particularly the Hurenstrafen (literally "whore shaming") practices of public humiliation.source
1765July 13 – Qianlong, the Emperor of China issues a decree that copper engravings be made to depict all of his victories in battle. In the interest of amity with the Chinese, King George III of Great Britain gives priority to the sale of British copper, and King Louis XV of France assents to the use of French artisans.source
176512 August – The Royal Shepherd, by Richard Rolt, is performed in Dublin to celebrate the birthday of the Prince of Wales.Wales source
17658 October — Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra was founded.Norway source
17656 December – The Penrhyn estate comes into the possession of the Pennant family, through the marriage of Richard Pennant with the heiress of the Warburton family.Wales source
1765Catherine the Great establishes the first secondary education school for non-noble females in Russia: the Novodevichii Institute, for the daughters of commoners.source
1765École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort foundedFrance source
1765Foundation of the Novodevichii Institute.Russia source
1765First publication of the ballad "Sir Patrick Spens".Scotland source
1765Walter Scott's novel Redgauntlet (1824) presents an alternate history of this year.Scotland source
1765Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire completed.United Kingdom source
1766January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism.source
1766February 13 – John Mills is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, with Benjamin Franklin as one of his sponsors.source
1766February – American Revolution: Parliament repeals the Stamp Act which is very unpopular in the British colonies. The persuasion of Benjamin Franklin is considered partly responsible.United Kingdom source
176612 March – the Blunden Baronetcy, of Castle Blunden, in the County of Kilkenny is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for John Blunden, a member of the Irish House of Commons.Ireland source
1766May 30 – The Theatre Royal, Bristol, opens in England. Also this year in England, the surviving Georgian Theatre (Stockton-on-Tees) opens as a playhouse.source
1766June 4 – On the occasion of the 28th birthday of King George III, members of the Sons of Liberty in Manhattan erect a liberty pole as a protest for the first time. The historic symbol, a tall "wooden pole with a Phrygian cap" is placed "on the Fields somewhere between Broadway and Park Row". British soldiers cut down the pole in August.source
17664 July - Charles of Hesse was appointed Steward of Norway.Norway source
1766October 1 – Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden weds Princess Sophia Magdalena of Denmark. They become King Gustav III and Queen Consort Sophia of Sweden upon his ascension to the throne in 1771.source
17664 November – The wedding between Crown Prince Gustav and Sophia Magdalena of Denmark in Stockholm.Sweden source
17668 November – The wedding of Christian VII and Caroline Matilda of Great Britain takes place at Christiansborg Palace accompanied by extensive celebrations throughout the city. The couple has already been married by proxy in London on 1 October.Denmark source
176612 November - John, Lord Mountstuart marries Charlotte Jane, granddaughter of Thomas Windsor, 1st Viscount Windsor.Wales source
1766November 29 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returns to Salzburg, after the Mozart family grand tour of Europe.source
1766November – Raja Lumu consolidates his claim to the Selangor Sultanate by marriage to the niece of the Sultan of Perak.source
1766Childsburgh, the Orange County, North Carolina seat laid out as Corbin Town in 1754, and renamed in 1759, is renamed Hillsborough, in honor of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, Earl of Hillsborough.source
1766Dr. James Fordyce's two-volume compendium Sermons to Young Women is published in London.source
1766The Swing (commissioned 1766, painted 1767), oil painting by Jean-Honoré FragonardFrance source
1766Assembly of the Nobility was founded.Russia source
17672 January – The newspaper Aalborg Stiftstidende is published for the first time in Aalborg.Denmark source
17671 May – Anointing of Christian VII and Queen Caroline Mathilde at Christiansborg Palace.Denmark source
1767July 3 – Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is first published.source
17673 July — Norway's oldest newspaper, still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded (first edition published this date).Norway source
176724 November – Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège, a three-act operatic tragédie lyrique, composed by François-André Danican Philidor, was first performed by the Paris Opera at the Salle des Machines in the Palais des Tuileries in Paris.France source
1767November 29 – The Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, in her capacity as Queen of Hungary, issues an edict against the Romani people (commonly called the "gypsies"), prohibiting them from marrying and calling for gypsy children to be taken away by the government so that they can be brought up by Christian families, a proclamation that "produced little or no effect in comparison with the trouble involved".source
1767Establishment of the Collège de Montréal.Canada source
1767John O'Keeffe's first play, The She Gallant, is performed at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin.Ireland source
1767The first known competition of winter sport biathlon takes place, in Norway.Norway source
1767Adam Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society is published.Scotland source
1768January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London.source
17689 January – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses in London.United Kingdom source
1768January - Gunnerus Library, the oldest scientific library in Norway is opened in Trondheim.Norway source
1768March 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
176814 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
1768July 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
1768July 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
176816 August – The equestrian statue of Frederick V is installed on Amalienborg in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1768December 10 – The Royal Academy is founded in London, with Joshua Reynolds as its first President.source
176810 December – first volumes of Encyclopædia Britannica begin publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source
176810 December - Richard Wilson is a founder member of the Royal Academy of Arts.Wales source
1768The Petit Trianon, originally designed for Madame de Pompadour, is completed in the park of the Palace of Versailles, and inaugurated by Louis XV.source
1768The 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
1768The 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
1768The Ladies of Llangollen meet for the first time.Ireland source
176929 January – The Royal Danish Agricultural Society is founded.Denmark source
176923 March – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, the Prime Minister, and his wife, Anne, are divorced; on 24 June the Duke remarries.United Kingdom source
176930 May – Claes Ekeblad appointed Privy Council Chancellery.Sweden source
176915 July – the Royal Hibernian Military School, founded in Dublin to educate orphaned children of members of the British armed forces in Ireland, is granted its Royal charter.Ireland source
1769August 3 – The party of Gaspar de Portolà becomes the first white group to set foot in the area now known as Santa Monica, California.source
1769September 6–9 – David Garrick holds a Shakespeare Jubilee festival at Stratford-upon-Avon in England.source
176916 November - Henry Bayley succeeds to the barony of Beaudesert and takes the surname Paget.Wales source
17699 December – first Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, opens.Scotland source
1769December 13 – Dartmouth College is established in Hanover, New Hampshire, as John Wentworth, the Royal Governor, conveys a charter from King George III of Great Britain.source
1769The Authorized King James Version of the Bible is published in England in the Oxford standard text, edited by Benjamin Blayney.source
1769Ulrich Ferdinand Beenfeldt cmpletes the Fenger family portrait.Denmark source
1769The Concert des Amateurs is founded by François-Joseph Gossec in Paris at the Hôtel de Soubise.France source
177026 January - Ballet was performed by Madame Stuart, possibly the first ballet ever performed in Oslo.Norway source
1770March 21 – King Prithvi Narayan Shah shifts to the newly constructed Basantapur Palace, in the capital Kathmandu, as the first King of the Unified Kingdom of Nepal.source
177021 March – the College Historical Society, a debating society at Trinity College Dublin, founded by Edmund Burke, holds its first meeting when Burke's Club (founded 1747) merges with the Historical Club (1753).Ireland source
1770May 16 – 14-year-old Marie Antoinette of Austria marries Louis-Auguste (who in 1774 becomes King Louis XVI) at the Palace of Versailles.source
177016 May – 14-year-old Marie Antoinette of Austria marries Louis-Auguste (who in 1774 becomes King Louis XVI) at the Palace of VersaillesFrance source
1770September – Royal Clarence Hotel, Exeter is advertised as a hotel, perhaps the first use of the word in England.United Kingdom source
1770September - Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet, holds his legendary coming-of-age party, to which 15,000 guests are invited. Three coachloads of cooks are sent from London to provide the refreshments, and a hall is built especially for the occasion at Wynnstay.Wales source
17708 November – Crown Prince Gustav and his youngest brother travel to Paris.Sweden source
1770David Dalrymple's anthology of Ancient Scottish Poems is published.Scotland source
1770Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet - History of the Gwydir Family (posthumously published)Wales source
17714 February - First meeting of the Cymdeithas y Gwyneddigion is held; Owen Jones is its president.Wales source
1771March 12 – The North Carolina General Assembly establishes Wake County (named for Margaret Wake, the wife of North Carolina Royal Governor William Tryon) from portions of Cumberland, Johnston and Orange counties. Bloomsberry (later known as Wake Courthouse) is made the informal county seat.source
177130 May - Gustav III of Sweden returns to Sweden as monarch.Sweden source
1771June 11 – The Society of Gentlemen Supporters of the Bill of Rights meets in the London Tavern and changes its platform to a comprehensive program for British parliamentary reform in advance of the next election.source
1771August 8 – The first recorded town cricket match is played, at Horsham, England.source
17718 August – first recorded town cricket match played at Horsham; Horsham Cricket Club formed here soon after 1806.United Kingdom source
1771October 17 – The opera Ascanio in Alba by Wolfgang Mozart, age 15, premieres in Milan.source
177121 December - Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet, marries, as his second wife, Charlotte Grenville.Wales source
1771December - The first theatre in Norway is founded by Martin Nürenbach in Oslo; it would be dissolved in 1772.Norway source
1771Slovene literature: István Küzmics, the Hungarian Slovene writer and evangelical pastor, publishes (in Halle) the Nouvi Zákon, a translation of the New Testament into the Prekmurje Slovene language, with discrete South Slavic artwork.source
1771The Royal Theatre Ballet School in Copenhagen is founded.Denmark source
1771The song «Norges Skaal» is written by Johan Nordahl Brun.Norway source
1771Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition completes publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1772April 13 – Warren Hastings begins his service for the British East India Company as Governor of Bengal, arriving at the company's headquarters at Fort William, outside of Calcutta, and including what are now parts of northeast India and Bangladesh. Hastings serves for two years, then later becomes Governor-General of India.source
177230 April – The Norwegian Society is founded in Copenhagen as a national venue for Norwegian students.Denmark source
177230 April - The Norwegian Society (Det Norske Selskab), a literary society for Norwegian students in Copenhagen, is formed.Norway source
177229 May – Coronation of King Gustav III and Queen Sophia Magdalena in Stockholm.Sweden source
17723 June – the London-Derry Journal and General Advertiser is first published.Ireland source
177222 June – Somersett's Case: Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice delivers the decision that slavery is not supported by the common law of England.United Kingdom source
1772September - The comedy-play Kierlighed uden Strømper, by Johan Herman Wessel, is first published.Norway source
1772Lady Anne Lindsay writes the ballad "Auld Robin Gray".Scotland source
1772William Williams Pantycelyn writes the words of the missionary hymn "O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness".Wales source
1773January 12 – The first museum in the American colonies is established in Charleston, South Carolina; in 1915, it is formally incorporated as the Charleston Museum.source
1773January 18 – The first opera performance in the Swedish language, Thetis and Phelée, performed by Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin in Bollhuset in Stockholm, Sweden, marks the establishment of the Royal Swedish Opera.source
1773January 18 – The first opera performance in the Swedish language, Thetis et Pelée, performed by Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin in Bollhuset, marks the establishment of the Royal Swedish Opera.Sweden source
1773March 15 – The popular (and enduring) comedy She Stoops to Conquer, by Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith, is performed for the first time, premiering at London's Covent Garden Theatre.source
177315 March – first performance of Oliver Goldsmith's comedy She Stoops to Conquer at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.Ireland source
17736 August – Samuel Johnson sets out for Scotland where on 14 August he meets James Boswell in Edinburgh for their tour to the Hebrides. On 12 September they are entertained at Kingsburgh, Skye, by Allan and Flora MacDonald.Scotland source
1773September 11 – The Public Advertiser publishes a satirical essay titled Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One, written by Benjamin Franklin.source
1773October 10 – Paul Revere marries Rachel Walker, his second wife.source
1773October 14 – The Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (Polish for National Education Committee), formed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, is considered to be the world's first ministry of education.source
17732 November - The Sunnmøre Practical Agricultural Society was founded.Norway source
177325 November - Walter Siddons marries Sarah Kemble.Wales source
1773December 23 – Moscow State Academy of Choreography was founded under the reign of Catherine II. It is the second ballet school in Russia after Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.source
1773Istanbul Technical University is established (under the name of Royal School of Naval Engineering) as the world's first comprehensive institution of higher learning dedicated to engineering education.source
1773Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock publishes the last five cantos of his epic poem Der Messias in Hamburg.source
1773In China, written work begins on the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, the largest literary compilation of books in China's history (surpassing the Yongle Encyclopedia of the 15th Century). Upon completion in 1782, the books are bound in 36,381 volumes (册) with more than 79,000 chapters (卷), comprising about 2.3 million pages, and approximately 800 million Chinese characters.source
1773Antoine Baumé publishes his textbook Chymie expérimentale et raisonnée in Paris.France source
1773The Norwegian Mapping Authority, Norway's national mapping agency, was founded.Norway source
1773Commission of National EducationPoland source
1774April 19 – The premiere of Iphigénie en Aulide by Christoph Willibald Gluck sparks a huge controversy, almost a war, such as has not been seen in Paris since the Querelle des Bouffons.source
177420 April – Life Assurance Act stipulates that people taking out life assurance must have an interest in the life of the insured person, with the intention of eliminating the use of policies as a form of gambling.United Kingdom source
17742 May – the Society of Antiquaries of London open the coffin of King Edward I and discover that his body has been perfectly preserved for 467 years.United Kingdom source
17747 June - Wedding between Prince Charles and Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp.Sweden source
177427 June – foundation stone of General Register House in Edinburgh, designed by Robert Adam, is laid; the building will not be opened until 1788.Scotland source
1774August 6 – Ann Lee and the Shakers arrive in America and settle in New York.source
1774September 29 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's semi-autobiographical epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) (written January–March) is published anonymously in Leipzig, Germany; it is influential in the Sturm und Drang movement and Romanticism.source
177411 October - Det nyttige Selskab, a non-profit organization, was founded in Bergen.Norway source
1774October 25 – The Edenton Tea Party takes place in North Carolina, marking the first major gathering of women in support of the American cause.source
1774November 4 – The Maryland Jockey Club follows a recommendation of the Continental Congress and cancels its race schedule. The decision sets a precedent for other jockey clubs in the colonies, and no major races are held until the end of the American Revolution.source
1774Rampur Raza Library was established in India, located in what is now Uttar Pradesh.India source
1774Dundas House in New Town, Edinburgh, designed by William Chambers, is completed.Scotland source
1774The Royal Crescent, Bath, designed by John Wood the Younger, is completed.United Kingdom source
1775January 5 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart finishes a Sonata for Keyboard in C.source
177517 January – Richard Brinsley Sheridan's first play, the comedy of manners The Rivals, is premiered at the Covent Garden Theatre, London.Ireland source
177517 January – first performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners The Rivals at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.United Kingdom source
177522 March – American Revolution: Edmund Burke's speech before the British Parliament on conciliation with the American colonies.United Kingdom source
1775June 11 – Coronation of Louis XVI takes place in Reims. The last coronation of the Ancien Regime before the French Revolutionsource
1775November 17 – The city of Kuopio, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.source
1775Vincenzo Galeotti succeeds Vincenzo Piatolli as artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet.Denmark source
1775Nicolai Abildgaard completes The Wounded Philoctetes.Denmark source
1775Samuel Johnson's A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland is published.Scotland source
1775John Howie's Biographia Scoticana is published.Scotland source
1775Edward Evans - An Address delivered before the Association of Ministers at Dref Wen, near Newcastle Emlyn, with two HymnsWales source
1776January 10 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense, arguing for independence from British rule in the Thirteen Colonies.source
1776February 17 – Edward Gibbon publishes the first volume of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.source
1776March 9 – Scottish economist Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations in London.source
1776March 28 – Foundation of the ballet troupe which becomes the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Russian Empire.source
177623 May – The Criminal Law Act introduces hard labour as a punishment since penal transportation to British North America has been made impossible due to the American Revolution (initially intended as a temporary measure). The first prison hulk to accommodate such prisoners comes into use on 15 July on the River Thames.United Kingdom source
1776July 4 - The Albertina art museum is founded in Vienna, Austria.source
1776July 21 – Mozart's Serenade No. 7 (the "Haffner") is first performed in Salzburg, Austria.source
17765 August - Romeo and Juliet is played for the first time in Sweden at Egges Theatre in Norrköping with Margareta Seuerling as Julia.Sweden source
177624 August – Herbert Mackworth is created a baronet.Wales source
1776August – The guild organisation Marchandes de modes is founded in Paris.source
1776August – The guild organisation Marchandes de modes is founded.France source
1776September 17 – The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.source
1776September 24 – The Bolshoi Theatre company hosts its first annual opera season, with the opening of the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.source
1776September 24 – The first running of the St Leger Stakes horse race (not yet named) in England, first of the British Classic Races, devised by Anthony St Leger (British Army officer), takes place on Cantley Common at Doncaster. The winner is a filly (later named Allabaculia) owned by the organiser, the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham.source
1776October 7 – Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.source
1776December 5 – The Phi Beta Kappa society is founded at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.source
1776December 5 – Phi Beta Kappa honor society founded at the College of William and Mary.United States source
1776December 19 – American Revolution – Thomas Paine, living with Washington's troops, publishes the first in the series of pamphlets on The American Crisis in The Pennsylvania Journal, opening with the stirring phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls."source
1776The King's Club is founded in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1776David Herd's anthology Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs is published.Scotland source
1776King Charles III continued his efforts to modernize Spain's administration and infrastructure. He was known for his "Regalismo" policy, which aimed to reduce the power of the church and increase the power of the state. This year also saw further implementation of the Bourbon Reforms, which were intended to strengthen the empire and consolidate royal authority.Spain source
1777April 1 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger's play Sturm und Drang is premiered by the Seyler Theatre Company in Leipzig, giving its name to the whole Sturm und Drang movement in German literature.source
1777May 8 – Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners, The School for Scandal, is first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.source
177729 May – the Palmer Baronetcy, of Castle Lackin in the County of Mayo, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for Roger Palmer.Ireland source
17777 June - Gustav III visits Catherine the Great in Russia.Sweden source
1777June 21 – Encyclopædia Britannica Second Edition begins publication in Edinburgh.source
177721 June – Encyclopædia Britannica Second Edition begins publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1777July 4 – The first organized Independence Day celebration in Philadelphia: included fireworks set off from the city's commons.United States source
17778 September – inauguration of Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.United Kingdom source
1777Kunsthochschule Kassel is founded in Germany as a fine arts academy.source
1777Det Dramatiske Selskab is founded in Copenhagen (Denmark) as an acting academy.source
1777George II Frederic is crowned as king of the Miskito Kingdom.source
1777The pioneer acting academy Det Dramatiske Selskab is founded.Denmark source
1777Colebrook Township, Pennsylvania is settled.United States source
1777Thomas Pennant marries, as his second wife, Anne Mostyn, daughter of Sir Thomas Mostyn, 4th Baronet.Wales source
177814 January - The Anker family were ennobled.Norway source
1778April - The king introduces the costume reform Nationella dräkten to give the population a standard costume to wear and thereby avoid the great waste of clothing. In reality, however, the costume comes to be worn only as a court costume.Sweden source
1778May 12 – Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz is elevated to Prince of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. This year sees the first appearance of the modern-day national colors of Germany on a flag that closely resembles the modern flag of Germany, to occur anywhere within modern-day Germany.source
1778August 3 – The La Scala Opera House opens in Milan, with the première of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.source
177822 September – first St. Leger Stakes horse race held under this name and at its continuing location, Town Moor, Doncaster. The winner is Hollandoise.United Kingdom source
1778Thomas Kitchin's The Present State of the West-Indies: Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe is published in London.source
1778Phillips Academy is founded in Massachusetts by Samuel Phillips Jr.source
1778Highland Society of London established with "the view of establishing and supporting schools in the Highlands and in the Northern parts of Great Britain, for relieving distressed Highlanders at a distance from their native homes, for preserving the antiquities and rescuing from oblivion the valuable remains of Celtic literature, and for promoting the improvement and general welfare of the Northern parts of Great Britain".Scotland source
1778Phillips Academy, a prestigious secondary boarding school in the United States, is founded by Samuel Phillips Jr.United States source
1778Fanny Burney's novel Evelina published (anonymously).United Kingdom source
1778Blind harpist John Parry and his son David play Handel's choruses on two Welsh harps at the court of King George III of Great Britain.Wales source
1778David William - Gorfoledd ym Mhebyll SeionWales source
177914 May – First running of The Oaks horse race.United Kingdom source
1779October 1 – The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden.source
1779December 13 – Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais marries Joséphine Tascher.source
1779The Icelandic Society of Learning was founded by Icelandic students in Copenhagen, the group would later be replaced by the Icelandic Literary Society.Iceland source
1779George Richardson's Iconology is published.Scotland source
1779First performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Critic at the Drury Lane Theatre in London.United Kingdom source
1780March 26 – The British Gazette and Sunday Monitor, the first Sunday newspaper in Britain, begins publication.source
1780April 16 – The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.source
1780May 4 – The first Epsom Derby horse race is run on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England. The victor is Diomed.source
17804 May – the first Epsom Derby horse race is run on Epsom Downs, Surrey. The victor is Diomed.United Kingdom source
17808 June – Henrik af Trolle is appointed general admiral and chief of the Swedish naval fleet.Sweden source
1780July – Robert Raikes initiates a Sunday school movement, in Gloucester.United Kingdom source
178029 September - Sir Watkin Lewes is elected Lord Mayor of London.Wales source
1780December 14 – Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler Hamiltonsource
1780The amateur dramatic group Det Dramatiske Selskab is founded in Christiania, Norway.source
1780The book Atli by Björn Halldórsson in Sauðlauksdalur was first published.Iceland source
1780Det Dramatiske Selskab in Oslo is founded.Norway source
1780Royal Aberdeen Golf Club founded as the 'Society of Golfers at Aberdeen'.Scotland source
1780St David's Club established in Aberystwyth, the oldest gentlemen's club in Wales.Wales source
1781September 4 – Los Angeles is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles de Porciuncula ("City of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula"), by a group of 44 Spanish settlers in California.source
1781October 12 – The first bagpipes competition is held in the Masonic Arms, Falkirk, Scotland.source
178112 October – first bagpipes competition in the Masonic Arms, Falkirk.Scotland source
1781November 29 – Henry Hurle officially founds the Ancient Order of Druids in London, England.source
17813 December – first known building society established, in Birmingham.United Kingdom source
1781December – A school is founded in Washington County, Pennsylvania that will later be known as Washington & Jefferson College.source
1781December – A school is founded in Washington County, Pennsylvania that would later be known as Washington & Jefferson College.United States source
1781Immanuel Kant publishes his Critique of Pure Reason.source
1781Reverend Samuel Peters publishes his General History of Connecticut, using the term blue law for the first time.source
1781'Journalisme' appears for the first time (in French).source
1781Phillips Exeter Academy is founded in New Hampshire.source
1781First annual Granard harp festival.Ireland source
1781Great Gatchina Palace completedRussia source
1781Nazran founded; largest city in IngushetiaRussia source
1781John Parry (harpist) - British Harmony, being a Collection of Antient Welsh AirsWales source
1781Richard Price is made an honorary LL.D. by Yale University, in the company of George Washington.Wales source
17821 July – Act of Proscription 1746 (including Dress Act) repealed, permitting wearing of Highland dress and arms.Scotland source
1782July 16–August 29 – The Masonic Congress of Wilhelmsbad, Germany, one of the most important secret society congresses in history, takes place. High-degree Freemasons from the whole of Europe spend the time deliberating the fate of the rite of Strict Observance, and hierarchy of the governing bodies of world Freemasonry, at the Hanau-Wilhelmsbad spa.source
1782July 16 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna.source
178216 July - Premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Burgtheater, ViennaAustria source
1782August 7 – Étienne Maurice Falconet's Bronze Horseman statue of Tsar Peter the Great is unveiled in Saint Petersburg.source
178230 September - The Royal Swedish Opera relocates from Bollhuset to a new modern opera house, which is inaugurated with Cora och Alonzo by Johann Gottlieb Naumann.Sweden source
1782October 10 – Welsh actress Sarah Siddons, the pre-eminent star of the English stage, makes a triumphant return to the theatre in the title role of David Garrick's new play, Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage.source
178210 October – Sarah Siddons makes a triumphant return to the Drury Lane Theatre in London in the title role of Garrick's adaptation of Thomas Southerne's Isabella, or, The Fatal Marriage.United Kingdom source
1782The first theater in the Baltic, the Riga City Theater, is founded.source
1782In China, the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries is completed, the largest literary compilation in China's history (surpassing the Yongle Encyclopedia of the 15th century). The books are bound in 36,381 volumes (册) with more than 79,000 chapters (卷), comprising about 2.3 million pages, and approximately 800 million Chinese characters.source
1782Egil's saga was first published in print.Iceland source
1782The anti-union song «Norges Skaal» is first published. It was first written in 1771 by Johan Nordahl Brun.Norway source
1782Bronze Horseman, sculpture of Peter the Great, unveiled in St. PetersburgRussia source
1782William Owen Pughe and Robert Hughes (Robin Ddu yr Ail o Fôn) meet in London.Wales source
178327 January – The Herald newspaper begins publication as the weekly Glasgow Advertiser (with news of the Peace of Paris); it will become the longest continually-published daily in Britain.Scotland source
178317 March – Installation dinner for the founding of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick by King George III of the United Kingdom takes place in Dublin Castle.Ireland source
1783May 13 – The Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal organization for American veterans of the American Revolution, is formed in Newburgh, New York.source
1783May 26 – A Great Jubilee Day, celebrating the end of the American Revolution, is held in Trumbull, Connecticut.source
1783May 26 – A Great Jubilee Day is held in Trumbull, Connecticut, to celebrate the end of the American Revolution.United States source
1783June 4 or June 5 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their hot air balloon at Annonay, France.source
178318 August – Great Meteor passes over the east coast of Britain, sparking reports in the press and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.United Kingdom source
178320 August - Thomas Charles marries Sally Jones and settles in Bala.Wales source
1783August – Robert Burns writes his poem "Now Westlin' Winds" or "Composed in August".source
1783September 9 – Dickinson College is chartered in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.source
1783October 17 – Mozart's Great Mass is first performed, in Salzburg, Austria.source
1783December 4 – At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, U.S. General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.source
1783In Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Rose Fortune becomes Canada's first policewoman.Canada source
1783Church of St. Catherine (Saint Petersburg) completedRussia source
1783Bolshoi Theatre, Saint Petersburg first builtRussia source
1784January 7 – D. Landreth Seed Company established in Philadelphia; it will continue to exist into the 21st century.United States source
178415 January - The Asiatic Society was established.India source
178429 January – Joachim Geelmuyden and his family were ennobled under the name Gyldenkrantz.Norway source
1784April 27 – The Marriage of Figaro, written by playwright Pierre Beaumarchais as a sequel to The Barber of Seville, premieres at the Comédie-Française in Paris.source
178414 May - Thomas James Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley, is created Baron Bulkeley.Wales source
178422 May – English actress Sarah Siddons makes her Scottish debut in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1784June 4 – Élisabeth Thible is the first woman to ascend in a hot-air balloon, at Lyon, France.source
178418 September – Dardanus, opera by Antonio Sacchini, was first performed at VersaillesFrance source
1784December – Immanuel Kant's essay "Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?" is published.source
1784The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town of Morgansborough, named for Daniel Morgan. The town is designated as the county seat for Burke County, North Carolina and is subsequently renamed Morgan, later shortened to Morganton.source
1784Princess Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova is named first president of the newly created Russian Academy.source
1784Foundation of the first theater in Estonia, the Tallinna saksa teater.source
1784The post of Postmasters General of Ireland establishedIreland source
1784God - completed by poet Gavrila DerzhavinRussia source
1785January 1 – The first issue of the Daily Universal Register, later known as The Times, is published in London.source
178512 January - The first public library in Norway is opened.Norway source
1785January 27 – The University of Georgia in the United States is chartered by the Georgia General Assembly meeting in Savannah. The first students are admitted in Athens, Georgia in 1801.source
1785January 27 – The University of Georgia is granted a charter (written by Abraham Baldwin) by the Georgia General Assembly meeting in Savannah. The first students are admitted in Athens, Georgia in 1801.United States source
178522 June – The Academy of Surgery is founded in Copenhagen, replacing the Theatrum Anatomico-chirurgicum from 1736.Denmark source
1785July 16 – The Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house is founded by Florens-Louis Heidsieck in Reims, France.source
178516 July - The Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house is founded by Florens-Louis Heidsieck in Reims, France.France source
1785October 13 – The first newspaper in British India, the English-language Madras Courier, is published. It continues publication as a weekly until 1794.source
178521 December – the Prince of Wales marries the widowed Catholic Maria Fitzherbert in her London home, secretly, and in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.United Kingdom source
1785Belfast Academy (later Belfast Royal Academy) is founded by Rev. James Crombie in Belfast, Northern Ireland.source
1785Cabinet des Modes, the first fashion magazine, is published in France.source
1785The University of New Brunswick is founded in Fredericton, New Brunswick.source
1785Fredericton opens a Provincial Academy of Arts and Sciences, the germ of the University of New Brunswick (1859).Canada source
1785City Dumas established in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and other cities by imperial decreeRussia source
1785Late September – James Boswell’s The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides is published.Scotland source
1786April 11 – Columbia College (modern-day Columbia University) holds its first graduation, with eight students, including DeWitt Clinton.source
1786May 1 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.source
1786July 31 – The 'Kilmarnock volume' of Robert Burns' Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect is published in Scotland.source
178631 July – Robert Burns' Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect is published by John Wilson in Kilmarnock (the text having been submitted to him on 13 July). The volume proves so popular that Burns abandons his plans to emigrate to Jamaica on 1 September for a post as a bookkeeper on a slave plantation and on 27–28 November journeys on a borrowed pony from Mossgiel Farm for his first visit to Edinburgh. Two weeks later he extemporises his "Address to a Haggis" which is first published on 19 December in the Caledonian Mercury.Scotland source
1786August 17 – Frederick William II, the paternal nephew of Frederick the Great, becomes King of Prussia.source
1786September 11-14 – Annapolis ConventionUnited States source
1786November 7 – The oldest musical organization in the United States, the Stoughton Musical Society, is founded.source
1786November 17 – Six locations are granted municipal rights. This year is regarded as the founding of Reykjavík.Iceland source
1786November 30 – Peter Leopold Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgates a penal reform, making his country the first state to abolish the death penalty. This day is therefore commemorated by 300 cities around the world as Cities for Life Day.source
1786Foundation of Madam Lindes Institut.Denmark source
1786Creaking Pagoda completed in Tsarskoye SeloRussia source
1786Fevey - premier of opera by Vasily Pashkevich with libretto by Catherine the GreatRussia source
1786Date unknown- The first school to give higher education to female students, the Societetsskolan, is founded in Gothenburg.Sweden source
1787January 19 – Mozart's Symphony No. 38 is premièred in Prague.source
178724 January – Hamlet is played for the first time in Sweden by Andreas Widerberg at the Comediehuset in Gothenburg.Sweden source
178729 January – States of Brabant, meeting in Brussels, admonish the Emperor that the Joyous Entry cannot be unilaterally altered.Belgium source
178727 February - Royal British Bowmen, an archery society, formed in Wrexham.Wales source
1787February 28 – A charter is granted, establishing the institution which will become the University of Pittsburgh.source
178717 April – the Edinburgh edition of Robert Burns' Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect is published by William Creech including a portrait of Burns by Alexander Nasmyth. The poet has great social success in the city's literary circles; 16-year-old Walter Scott meets him at the house of Adam Ferguson. Burns also writes the first version of "The Battle of Sherramuir" this year.Scotland source
1787May 31 – The original Lord's Cricket Ground in London holds its first cricket match; Marylebone Cricket Club founded.source
178731 May – the original Lord's Cricket Ground holds its first cricket match; Marylebone Cricket Club founded.United Kingdom source
1787August 10 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composes his famous Eine kleine Nachtmusik.source
1787September 4 – The first secondary school open to girls in Denmark, J. Cl. Todes Døtreskole, is founded in Copenhagen.source
17874 September – J. Cl. Todes Døtreskole is founded as one of the first girls' schools in the city.Denmark source
1787September 24 – Washington Academy (later Washington & Jefferson College) is chartered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.source
1787October 27 – The first of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, is published in The Independent Journal, a New York newspaper.source
1787October 27 – The first of The Federalist papers, a series of essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, is published in a New York paper.United States source
1787October 29 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte) premieres in the Estates Theatre in Prague.source
1787November 1 – The first secondary school open to girls in Sweden, Societetsskolan, is founded in Gothenburg.source
1787Det Dramatiske Selskab in Christiansand is founded.Norway source
1788January 1 – The first edition of The Times, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published in London.source
17889 January – Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa founded.United Kingdom source
17884 June – Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon, becomes Chief Justice of the King's Bench.Wales source
1788June 7 – France: Day of the Tiles, which some consider the beginning of the French Revolution.source
1788June 9 – The African Association, an exploration group dedicated to plotting the Niger River and finding Timbuktu, is founded in England.source
1788June 26 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in Vienna, completes his antepenultimate symphony, the Symphony No. 39 in E-flat.source
1788July 28 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in Vienna, completes his penultimate symphony, the Symphony No. 40 in G Minor.source
17881 August – English Market in Cork is opened.Ireland source
1788August 8 – King Louis XVI agrees to convene the Estates-General meeting in May 1789, the first time since 1614.source
17888 August - Louis XVI agreed to convene the Estates-General meeting in May 1789, for the first time since 1614.France source
1788August 10 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in Vienna, completes his final symphony, the Symphony No. 41 in C Major, and nicknamed (after his death) The Jupiter.source
1788December – Robert Burns writes his version of the Scots poem Auld Lang Syne.source
1788December – Robert Burns writes his version of the Scots poem Auld Lang Syne. From Whitsun he has been tenant of Ellisland Farm.Scotland source
1788Eriksholm Manor is completed to designs by Caspar Frederik Harsdorff.Denmark source
1788Fruntimmersskolan i Viborg foundedRussia source
1788Kremlin Senate building completedRussia source
1789January 21 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts. The anonymous author is William Hill Brown.source
1789January 21 – William Hill Brown's anonymous sentimental epistolary novel The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature, usually considered the first American novel, is published in Boston.United States source
1789January 23 – Georgetown University is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (part of modern-day Washington, D.C.), as the first Roman Catholic college in the United States.source
1789January – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès publishes the pamphlet What Is the Third Estate? (Qu'est-ce que le tiers-état?), influential on the French Revolution.source
1789May 5 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time in 175 years, taken as the start of the French Revolution (1789–1799).source
178912 May - Thomas Jones organises an eisteddfod at the New Inn (modern-day Owain Glyndwr Hotel) in Corwen, where for the first time the public are admitted.Wales source
17894 June – Australia's first theatrical performance The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar staged with convicts acting in the roles.Australia source
1789June 20 – The Tennis Court Oath is taken in Versailles.source
1789June 23 – Louis XVI of France makes a conciliatory speech urging reforms to a joint session, and orders the three estates to meet together.source
17899 July – The Theater War, which began the previous year, formally ends.Denmark source
178917 July – The town of Hammerfest was founded.Norway source
178918 August – Beginning of Liège Revolution: democrats occupy the town hallBelgium source
1789September 2 – The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.source
1789September 22 – The United States Department of the Post Office is established.source
1789October 5 – Women's March on Versailles: Some 7,000 women march 12 mi from Paris to the royal Palace of Versailles to demand action over high bread prices.source
17894 November – Richard Price preaches a sermon in London, A Discourse on the Love of Our Country, igniting the Revolution Controversy.United Kingdom source
1789November – foundation stone for Old College, University of Edinburgh, laid.Scotland source
1789December 11 – The University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the United States, is founded.source
1789The Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elementary Treatise of Chemistry), an influential chemistry textbook by Antoine Lavoisier, is published; translated into English in 1790, it comes to be considered the first modern chemical textbook.source
1789Former slave Olaudah Equiano's autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, one of the earliest published works by a black writer, is published in London.source
1790January 26 – Mozart's opera Così fan tutte premieres in Vienna.source
179015 March – The Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers' Society is established in Dublin; by the 21st century this will be the city's oldest surviving charity.Ireland source
179018 May - The first meeting of the Literary Fund, founded by David Williams ("to assist indigent authors") takes place in London.Wales source
179016 June–28 July – 1790 British general election gives Pitt an increased majority.United Kingdom source
1790July 14 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation, in the Fête de la Fédération.source
179014 July - The Fête de la Fédération is held.France source
179014 September – Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Marie Sophie arrives at Copenhagen.Denmark source
1790September 25 – The Peking Opera is born, when the Four Great Anhui Troupes introduce Anhui opera to Beijing, in honor of the Qianlong Emperor's 80th birthday.source
1790September 30 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor starts to rule.source
1790The song «Udsikter fra Ulriken» is written by Johan Nordahl Brun.Norway source
1790Kirkmichael musician Robert Petrie publishes several Highland music pieces with "Mrs. Small of Dirnanean" in their title. The compositions are published in "Petrie's Collection of Strathspey Reels & County Dances".Scotland source
1790The noblewomen's social boycott of the monarch is smashed by the arrest of Jeanna von Lantingshausen.Sweden source
1791January 1 – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England, to perform a series of concerts.source
17911 January – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England where his concerts are huge successes. On 8 July he is awarded an honorary doctorate of music at the University of Oxford.United Kingdom source
1791March 13 – Thomas Paine's chief work Rights of Man (first part) is published in London.source
1791Early March – Provincial militias are abolished and the Département de Paris is placed above the Paris Commune (1789-1795) in all matters of general order and security.France source
1791June 21 – The Ordnance Survey is founded in Great Britain for the production of maps.source
1791July 8 – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, on his visit to England, is awarded an honorary doctorate of music at the University of Oxford.source
179122 August – Galloway Association of Glasgow founded as the Glasgow Galloway Brotherly Society.Scotland source
1791September 5 – An ordinance is written barring the game of baseball within 80 yards of the Meeting House in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the first known reference to the game of baseball in North America.source
1791September 6 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera seria, La clemenza di Tito, premières at the Estates Theatre in Prague with Mozart conducting to mark the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia.source
1791September 12 – The first serious secondary education school open to girls in Denmark, the Døtreskolen af 1791, is founded in Copenhagen.source
179129 September – the King's son Prince Frederick, Duke of York, marries Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia at Charlottenburg.United Kingdom source
1791September 30 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singspiel opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) premières at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna with Mozart conducting.source
1791October 28 – French Revolution: The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen is published in France.source
1791December 4 – The first issue of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published in London.source
1791December 31 – Schoolboys from Hólavallarskóli celebrate the first known New Year's Eve bonfire in Iceland.Iceland source
1791The Dar Hassan Pacha (palace) in the Casbah of Algiers is completed.source
1791The School for the Indigent Blind, the oldest continuously operating specialist school of its kind in the world, is founded in Liverpool, England, by blind ex-merchant seaman, writer and abolitionist Edward Rushton.source
1791The first printed manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, one of the Classic Chinese Novels, begins publication posthumously.source
1791Døtreskolen af 1791 is founded.Denmark source
1791Zoological Museum of Moscow University foundedRussia source
1791Poet Robert Burns gives up farming for a full-time post as an exciseman in Dumfries, writes "Ae Fond Kiss", "The Banks O' Doon" and "Sweet Afton", and publishes his last major poem, the narrative "Tam o' Shanter" (written 1790 and first published on 18 March 1791 in the Edinburgh Herald).Scotland source
1792January 25 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.source
1792February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy The Road to Ruin in London.source
179216 May – The Medal of Merit is established.Denmark source
179220 June – Demonstration of 20 June 1792.France source
179221 June – Iolo Morganwg holds the first Gorsedd ceremony, at Primrose Hill in London.United Kingdom source
1792September 12 – The town of Fort Borbon is founded by Governor Joaquín Alós y Bru. Nowadays it is called Fuerte Olimpo.source
1792October 12 – The first Columbus Day celebration in the United States is held in New York City, 300 years after his arrival in the New World.source
179213 November – Successes of the French Revolutionary Army are celebrated with bonfires and bell-ringing in Dundee and Perth causing the 42nd Regiment of Foot to be sent north to the towns.Scotland source
179220 December – The Marriage of Figaro is given for the first time in Sweden at the Stenborg Theatre in Stockholm with Didrik Gabriel Björn and Eleonora Säfström.Sweden source
1792Johann Georg Albrechtsberger becomes Kapellmeister in Vienna.source
1792The composer Ludwig van Beethoven moves to Vienna from Bonn to study with Haydn. He would live in Vienna for the rest of his life.source
1792Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, one of the earliest works of feminist literature, is published in London.source
1792The first written examinations in Europe are held at the University of Cambridge in England.source
179211–14 July – Belfast Harp Festival brings together and records the work of most of the remaining traditional players of the clàrsach. It is organised by Dr. James McDonnell, Robert Bradshaw and Henry Joy McCracken in the Assembly Rooms, Belfast, and Edward Bunting is one of three musicians to transcribe the music.Ireland source
1792The start of the French Revolutionary Wars that marked a turning point in the European politics that later affected the Dutch Republic.Netherlands source
1793January 2 – Premiere of Mozart's Requiem (completed after the composer's death in 1791 by Franz Xaver Süssmayr) in a performace for the benefit of Mozart's widow, Constanze.source
179318 February – A school opens in an unfinished church building in Sydney; Isabella Rosson is the first teacher (the first school had been established in 1789).Australia source
1793June 10 – French Revolution: The Jardin des Plantes and the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle are created by the National Convention. The museum opens in Paris the following year, and the garden houses one of the first public zoos.source
179310 June – French Revolution: The Jardin des Plantes and the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle are created by the National Convention. The museum opens in Paris the following year, and the garden houses one of the first public zoos.France source
1793August 10 – French Revolution – Feast of Unitysource
1793August – Burns writes "Scots Wha Hae".Scotland source
1793September 8 – The first Círio de Nazaré is celebrated in Belém.source
179312 September – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson meets Emma, Lady Hamilton in Naples.United Kingdom source
1793October 12 – The cornerstone of Old East, the oldest state university building in the United States, is laid in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on the campus of the University of North Carolina (the 12th of October is subsequently celebrated at the university as University Day).United States source
1793December 9 – New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, is established by Noah Webster.source
1793The Louvre in Paris opens to the public as an art museum.source
1793Lawrence Academy (Groton, Massachusetts) is chartered.source
1793Niccolò Paganini debuts as a violin virtuoso at age 11 in his birthplace of Genoa.source
1793A school cairn, a rectangular stone tower, was erected at Skólvörðuholt in Reykjavík, where a statue of Leifur Eiríksson now stands.Iceland source
1793Lansdown Crescent, Bath, designed by John Palmer, is completed.United Kingdom source
1793Y Cylchgrawn Cymraeg is the first political journal to be published in the Welsh language.Wales source
17943 January – Aarhus Stiftstidende, a local newspaper based in Aarhus, is published for the first time.Denmark source
1794February 4 – French Revolution: The National Convention of the French First Republic abolishes slavery.source
179410 February – Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, authorized to raise the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (first parades 24 June). This year also the Duke becomes Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.Scotland source
1794March 11 – Canonsburg Academy (modern-day Washington & Jefferson College) is chartered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.source
179421 April - Charles Kemble, Brecon-born brother of Sarah Siddons, makes his first appearance on the London stage as Malcolm in Macbeth.Wales source
1794June 24 – Bowdoin College is founded in Brunswick, Maine.source
1794June 29 – Petition of Free Negroes.Canada source
17949 July – Tree of Liberty erected on the Place Royale (Brussels).Belgium source
1794August 1 – Aristocrats in Sweden gather to mourn the demise of coffee after the beverage is forbidden by royal decree.source
1794August 29 – Stonyhurst College is finally established as a Roman Catholic school in Lancashire, England, having had several European locations.source
1794August – Colombian Antonio Nariño is denounced as a traitor after he translates and publishes the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.source
1794September 10 – The University of Tennessee is established at Knoxville.source
1794November 14 – The first recorded meeting of the Franklin Literary Society is held at Canonsburg Academy (modern-day Washington & Jefferson College).source
1794The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry, a British Yeomanry Cavalry Regiment, is formed by the Earl of Cassillis at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire.source
1794The Icelandic National Educational Association was founded on the initiative of Magnús Stephensen.Iceland source
1794Fru Haugans Hotel in Mosjøen is founded (Northern Norway's oldest hotel in continuous operation).Norway source
1794Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, dedicated to "Fellow Citizens of the United States of America", is published.United States source
1795January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the first state university in the United States.source
1795January 14 – The University of North Carolina (renamed The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1963) opens to students, becoming the first state university in the United States.United States source
179517 January – Duddingston Curling Society formally organised.Scotland source
179528 January - The town of Farsund is founded.Norway source
1795March 29 – Ludwig van Beethoven makes his public debut in Vienna performing his Second Piano Concerto under the baton of his teacher Antonio Salieri.source
1795April 8 – George, Prince of Wales, marries Caroline of Brunswick.source
17958 April – marriage of George, Prince of Wales, to his cousin Caroline of Brunswick at St James's Palace on the promise of being relieved of his debts; the couple separate after a year.United Kingdom source
17958 April - George, Prince of Wales, marries his first cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick.Wales source
1795June 3 – The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies are founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.source
17955 June – the Royal College of St Patrick established at Maynooth by Act of Grattan's Parliament to provide university-level education for Roman Catholic ecclesiastical and lay students.Ireland source
1795June - Cecilia Thrale, youngest daughter of Hester Thrale, elopes with John Meredith Mostyn, a member of the prominent Anglesey family.Wales source
179522 August – Constitution of the Year III enacted, establishing the Directory.France source
179613 January – the Royal Technical College in Glasgow, predecessor of the University of Strathclyde, is founded under the will of Professor John Anderson.Scotland source
179616 January – Australia's first theatre opens in Sydney. Edward Young's The Revenge and the comedy The Hotel are the first works performed.Australia source
1796March 9 – Widow Joséphine de Beauharnais marries General Napoleon Bonaparte.source
17969 March - Widow Joséphine de Beauharnais marries General Napoléon Bonaparte.France source
1796September - The King visits the Imperial court of Catherine the Great in Saint Petersburg in Russia to be engaged to Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia. He discontinues the plans when told that she will not be required to convert to Lutheranism.Sweden source
1796October – Jane Austen begins writing her first draft of Pride and Prejudice, under the title First Impressions (the book will not be published until 1813).source
1796December 5 – Schoolboys from Hólavallarskóli stage the play Hrólfur or Slaður og trúgirni by Sigurður Pétursson, which is generally considered the first Icelandic theatre production.Iceland source
1796Robert Burns's version of the Scots poem Auld Lang Syne is first published, in this year's volume of The Scots Musical Museum.source
1796Building of the Four Courts in Dublin is substantially completed under the supervision of James Gandon.Ireland source
1796Det Dramatiske Selskab in Arendal is founded.Norway source
1796Kendal Museum opened in Westmorland.United Kingdom source
1797February 12 – "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" is first performed, with the music composed in January by Joseph Haydn, and it also becomes the tune of the Deutschlandlied, the German national anthem (Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, later Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit).source
179712 February – "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" is first performed, with the music composed in January by Joseph Haydn, which also becomes the tune to the Deutschlandlied, the German national anthem (Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, later Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit).Germany source
1797March 13 – Médée, an opera by Luigi Cherubini, is premiered in Paris.source
1797April 5 – Manifesto of three-day corveeRussia source
1797May 30 – English abolitionist William Wilberforce marries Barbara Ann Spooner about six weeks after their first meeting.source
17975 July – Christian Ditlev Frederik, Count of Reventlow, is appointed to Minister of the State.Denmark source
179725 October – University of Leuven suppressed by decree.Belgium source
1797October – Coleridge composes the poem Kubla Khan in an opium-induced dream, writing down only a fragment of it on waking.United Kingdom source
1797November 16 – The Prussian heir apparent, Frederick William, becomes King of Prussia as Fredrick William III.source
179724 December – Walter Scott marries Charlotte Carpenter at St Mary's Church, Carlisle, and the couple immediately move into their new home at 50 George Street, Edinburgh.Scotland source
1797Joseph-Louis Lagrange publishes his treatise on differential calculus, entitled Théorie des fonctions analytiques.source
1797Shinyukan Cram School (進修館) founded by Masataka Okudaira (奥平昌孝) in Nakatsu, Buzen Province (now Oita Prefecture), Kyushu Island, as predecessor of Keio-Gijyuku University in Japan.source
1797The Tamperret (a special marriage court in Norway) is abolished.Norway source
1797Nathaniel Williams - Pregeth a Bregethwyd yn Llangloffan ar Neilltuad ... Joseph James a James DaviesWales source
1798January 4 – Constantine Hangerli enters Bucharest, as Prince of Wallachia.source
179831 March - George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis, becomes Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire;Wales source
17989 April – The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland is formally established in Dublin and members hold their first meeting on Dawson Street.Ireland source
179820 June – The abolishment of the Stavnsbånd, a serfdom-like institution originally introduced in 1733. The implementation was gradual.Denmark source
179818 July - The town of Egersund is founded.Norway source
1798September 18 – Lyrical Ballads is published anonymously by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, inaugurating the English Romantic movement in literature.source
1798September – Charles Brockden Brown publishes the first significant American novel, the Gothic fiction Wieland: or, The Transformation; an American Tale.source
179811 October – Elizabeth Inchbald's play Lovers' Vows, adapted from Kotzebue's Das Kind der Liebe, is first performed at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.United Kingdom source
179812 October – The rebuilt Weimarer Hoftheater are inaugurated with the first performance of the first part of Friedrich Schiller's dramatic trilogy Wallenstein: Das Lager (The Camp), directed by Goethe.Germany source
1798Thomas Malthus publishes An Essay on the Principle of Population (anonymously) in London.source
1798S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy foundedRussia source
1798Emily Clark - Ianthé, or the Flower of CaernarvonWales source
1799March 14 – The public premiere of Haydn’s oratorio The Creation takes place at the Burgtheater in Vienna.source
1799March 29 – New York passes a law aimed at gradually abolishing slavery in the state.source
179912 July – Unlawful Societies Act to outlaw clandestine radical societies and require a printer's imprint on all published material.United Kingdom source
1799David Thompson marries Charlotte SmallCanada source
1799Hilchen Sommerschild became the first female teacher in Norway.Norway source
1799Philip Yorke – The Royal Tribes of WalesWales source