Technology & Infrastructure in the 18th century

622 sourced entries, 1700 CE to 1799 CE, oldest first. Also see Technology & Infrastructure across every century or everything else in the 18th century.

1700Sir Stephen Evans is Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company between the years 1700 to 1712.Canada source
1700The Kvitsøy bucket light is established.Norway source
1700Stjärnsunds manufakturverk is founded.Sweden source
1701Detroit, Michigan founded as Fort Pontchartrain du détroit by Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac.Canada source
1701HMS Royal Sovereign, a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line built by Fisher Harding at Woolwich Dockyard in 1701 for the Royal Navy, is launched.England source
1702January 12 – In North America, ships from Fort Maurepas arrive at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff to build Fort Louis de la Mobile (future Mobile, Alabama), to become the capital of French Louisiana.source
1702George Sorocold erects machinery at Cotchetts' silk spinning mill in Derby, making it one of the earliest examples of a factory.England source
1702Castle Howard in Yorkshire is completed to the design of John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor.England source
1703The Parliament of Ireland investigates the possibility of improving navigation on the rivers Shannon and Barrow and constructing a Newry Canal.Ireland source
1704Nerchinsky Zavod is founded in the Nerchinsko-Zavodsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia by Greek mining engineers.source
1704approx. date – the first modern orrery is built by George Graham and Thomas Tompion.England source
1704A House of Industry opens in Dublin to accommodate the destitute.Ireland source
1705Construction begins on Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire designed by John Vanbrugh for the Duke of Marlborough and partly funded by the Crown. It is completed in 1724.source
1705Taichung City, Taiwan is founded as the village of Dadun.source
1705The present Farumgård main building is constructed.Denmark source
1705Staldmestergården on Slotsholmen in Copenhagen is constructed.Denmark source
1706The country house Nlågård outside Copenhagen's northern city gate is constructed by Prince Charles of Denmark.Denmark source
1706Vyshny Volochyok Waterway was under constructionRussia source
1706Adam Tas drafts a memorandum of complaint to the VOC Directorate in Batavia on behalf of farming burghers.South Africa source
1706Crickhowell Bridge rebuilt in stone.Wales source
1707A fortress is founded on the future site of Ust-Abakanskoye (modern Abakan).source
1707Hacienda Juriquilla is built in Querétaro, Mexico.source
1707Senapati, the grandson of Maharaja Chhatrasal, built Raja Ka Tal reservoirIndia source
1707Construction of the Darbar building in Dehradun was completedIndia source
1707The Ramlösa mineral water brand was established in 1707, becoming a well-known Swedish brand.Sweden source
1708February 26 – HMS Falmouth, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built at Woolwich Dockyard for the British Royal Navy, is launched.source
170826 February – HMS Falmouth, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line built at Woolwich Dockyard for the Royal Navy, is launched.United Kingdom source
170828 July – The second Eddystone Lighthouse, erected by John Rudyerd, is first illuminated.United Kingdom source
1708Calcareous hard-paste porcelain is produced for the first time in Europe, at Dresden, Saxony, by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, and developed after his death (October) by Johann Friedrich Böttger.source
1709January 10 – Abraham Darby I successfully produces cast iron using coke fuel at his Coalbrookdale blast furnace in Shropshire, England.source
170910 January – Abraham Darby I successfully produces cast iron using coke fuel at his Coalbrookdale blast furnace in Shropshire.United Kingdom source
1709March 28 – Johann Friedrich Böttger reports the first production of hard-paste porcelain in Europe, at Dresden.source
1709July 13 – Production of Eau de Cologne is begun by perfumier Johann Maria Farina in Germany, founding Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz.source
1709The first piano is exhibited in Florence by its inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori, who names it "gravicembalo col piano e forte", a name which is subsequently shortened to "pianoforte" and then "piano".source
1709The second Eddystone Lighthouse, erected off the south west coast of England by John Rudyerd, is completed.source
1709Construction of Marlborough House begins in London.United Kingdom source
1709The second Eddystone Lighthouse, erected by John Rudyerd, is completed.United Kingdom source
1709Enactment of Britain's first copyright law, the Statute of Anne, coming into effect on 10 April 1710.United Kingdom source
1710March 6 – The ancient Roman Pillar of the Boatmen is found during the construction of a crypt under the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris.source
1710April 10 – The world's first copyright legislation, Britain's Statute of Anne, becomes effective.source
171010 April – the Statute of Anne, the world's first copyright legislation, becomes effective.United Kingdom source
1710Jacob Christoph Le Blon, working in Amsterdam, invents a three-color printing process with red, blue, and yellow plates, a precursor of the modern CMYK printing process.source
1710John Smithwick begins brewing Smithwick's ale at Kilkenny.Ireland source
1710Creation of the Outline Map of All Countries of the Universe (Nansenbushu Bankoku Shoka No Zu). This is the first Japanese printed map to depict the geographical world.Japan source
1711Weir constructed at Forestmill on the Black Devon by George Sorocold to feed Gartmorn Dam reservoir.Scotland source
1711Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company founded at Greenock.Scotland source
1711Blast furnace for the production of charcoal iron erected at Backbarrow in the north west of England; it will be in production until the 1960s.United Kingdom source
17121 July – The children of the theologian and landowner Hector Gottfried Masius are ennobled by letters patent with the name von der Maase.Denmark source
1712July 8 – The British Royal Navy 50-gun ship HMS Advice is launched at Deptford Dockyard.source
1712The first known working Newcomen steam engine is built by Thomas Newcomen with John Calley, to pump water out of mines in the Black Country of England, the first device to make practical use of the power of steam to produce mechanical work.source
1712Bridge built over the River Bann at Banbridge.Ireland source
1712Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, is completed.United Kingdom source
1712The first known working Newcomen steam engine is built by Thomas Newcomen with John Calley to pump water out of mines in the Black Country, the first practical device to harness the power of steam to produce mechanical work.United Kingdom source
1713The Prøvestenen Battery is established in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1714June 3 – The city of Kassel in Germany inaugurates the summer tradition of the "water stairs" or "great cascades" (Grossen Kaskaden) emptying from the base of the Hercules monument down to the Wilhelmshöhe castle.source
1714The river Kander (Switzerland) is redirected into Lake Thun.source
1714William Dyer - Cyfoeth i'r CymruWales source
17159 February - An advertisement appears in the London Gazette for the first St David's Day dinner in London, to be followed by a sermon given by Rev George Lewis.Wales source
1715August 31 – Old Dock, Liverpool, England, the world's first enclosed commercial wet dock (Thomas Steers, engineer), opens.source
171531 August – Opening of Old Dock, Liverpool, the world's first enclosed commercial wet dock (Thomas Steers, engineer).United Kingdom source
1715Karlsruhe Palace is built, resulting in the town of Karlsruhe growing up around it.source
1715Filippo Juvarra starts working on the previously postponed construction of the church of Santa Christina in Turin.source
1715Coffee is first grown in the French colony of Saint-Domingue.source
17163 August – Martin Düssel and Christoffer Düssel are ennobled with letters patent under the name “von Falkenskiold”, founding the noble House of Falkenskiold.Denmark source
171629 September – the original Portland Bill Lighthouse is first illuminated.United Kingdom source
1716Drainage and navigation of the River Shannon.Ireland source
1716The Norwegian Campaigns startedRussia source
171727 March – Actress Adrienne Lecouvreur is invited to join the Comédie-Française in Paris, performing first in the title rôle of Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon's ElectreFrance source
171717 July – George Frideric Handel's Water Music performed on a barge on the River Thames for King George I.United Kingdom source
171719 September - Japanning of tinplate begins at Pontypool.Wales source
1717Fort Prince of Wales founded by the Hudson's Bay Company, (rebuilt later in stone in 1731.)Canada source
1717Carrbridge Packhorse Bridge built.Scotland source
1717The Board of Ordnance establishes an Officer Corps of Engineers within the British Army, the immediate predecessor of the Royal Engineers.United Kingdom source
1717Kentish Post newspaper begins publication in Canterbury.United Kingdom source
1717The Lower Swansea valley's first copper smelting works is opened by John Lane and John Pollard (possibly his step father-in-law) at Llangyfelach, Landore.Wales source
171815 May – James Puckle patents the Puckle Gun.United Kingdom source
1718Coffee is grown in Surinam (Dutch colony).source
1718First passage to America of a ship built on the Clyde, and belonging to Glasgow.Scotland source
1719June 18 – Captain John Perry fixes the Dagenham Breach of the River Thames in England.source
1719October 21 – The Red Canal is opened in the Russian capital, Saint Petersburg, after seven years of construction, at a ceremony in the presence of the Tsar Peter the Great.source
1719December – 1719 Establishment lays down the technical specifications for construction of warships for the Royal Navy.United Kingdom source
1719Construction of Fortress Louisbourg by the French begins on Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island).Canada source
1719Postvesenet became state owned.Norway source
1719Earliest known Newcomen atmospheric engines in Scotland at Stevenston (north Ayrshire) and at Elphinstone, East Lothian (near Tranent).Scotland source
1719The Davies brothers of Bersham begin work on the wrought-iron gates at Chirk Castle.Wales source
172029 December – Haymarket Theatre opens in London.United Kingdom source
1720The Town on Queen Anne's Creek, North Carolina is renamed Edenton, in honor of North Carolina Governor Charles Eden; it is incorporated in 1722.source
1720The first yacht club in the world, the Royal Cork Yacht Club, is founded in Ireland.source
1720The Royal Cork Yacht Club is established as the Water Club of the Cork Harbour by William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin; it is widely acknowledged as the world's oldest yacht club.Ireland source
1720The Naval Charter was issued, the work on which was carried out under the leadership of Peter IRussia source
1720The Caledonian Mercury newspaper begins publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source
1721Regular mail service between London and New England is established.source
1721Nazarbaug Palace, a Gaekwad palace built in Vadodara, Gujarat stateIndia source
17227 May – Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway construction begins.Scotland source
17227 May – Construction begins for the Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway, Scotland's first railway.United Kingdom source
172227 November – A consortium is granted royal permission to establish Store Kongensgade Faience Manufactury in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1722The Chiesa del Purgatorio, Venafro, Italy, Catholic Church is built.source
1722Store Kongensgade Faience Manufactury opens in Copenhagen with a monopoly on production of faience with blue decorations.Denmark source
1722William Wood commences the minting (in London) of copper halfpence and farthings for circulation in Ireland.Ireland source
1722Construction begins of Senate House at the University of Cambridge, designed by James Gibbs.United Kingdom source
17238 March – the Chelsea Waterworks Company receives a Royal Charter.United Kingdom source
1723The Province of Carolina incorporates Beaufort, North Carolina, as the Port of Beaufort, making it the third incorporated town in the province.source
1723Mavisbank House in Midlothian is designed by William Adam in collaboration with his client, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, and construction begins; it is the first Palladian villa in Scotland.Scotland source
17249 November – At the Greenland Parade, two Greenlandic Inuit, Pock and Keperock, who had been sent to Copenhagen by Hans Egede earlier that year, are presented to the general public when they sail through the canals around Christiansborg Palace in their kayaks accompanied by barges with musicians and dignitaries.Denmark source
1724The Central Guardhouse on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen is built. In 1874 it is moved to Kastellet.Denmark source
1724The Rémy Martin cognac house is established.France source
1724Burcefield and Gardie Houses built.Scotland source
1724The Shire Hall, Monmouth, is built.Wales source
1725The construction of the Oslo Ladegård is complete.Norway source
1725One of the earliest examples of a steam pump in Scotland is installed for draining coal mines at Edmonstone in Midlothian.Scotland source
1725Mining of minerals at Strontian begins.Scotland source
1726c. April/May – General George Wade begins an 11-year construction program on military roads of Scotland.Scotland source
1728Iron smelting at Invergarry begins.Scotland source
1728Inverness – Fort William road through the Great Glen completed.Scotland source
1729November 29 – The first (wooden) Putney Bridge is completed, as the only fixed crossing of the River Thames between London Bridge and Kingston, England.source
172929 November – completion of the first (wooden) Putney Bridge as the only fixed crossing of the River Thames between London Bridge and Kingston.United Kingdom source
1729Construction of Købmagergade 5 and Købmagergade 7 is completed following the Copenhagen Fire of 1728.Denmark source
1730First bridge across the River Foyle linking Lifford and Strabane is built.Ireland source
1730First turnpike act for Ireland, for improvement of the road from Dublin to Kilcullen Bridge.Ireland source
1730Iron smelting at Abernethy using ore from Tomintoul.Scotland source
1730Perth–Dunkeld–Inverness road completed.Scotland source
1730Construction work is carried out on the north-east wing of Bodysgallen Hall.Wales source
17311731: Fort St. Pierre on Rainy Lake established by Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye and Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye. This was the first fort in La Verendrye's expansion of the "Posts of the West".Canada source
1731The Ladoga Canal, connecting the Volga River to the Baltic Sea, is completed.Russia source
1731Cumbernauld House, to designs by William Adam, is built.Scotland source
17321732: Fort St. Charles, on Lake of the Woods was constructed by La Vérendrye's nephew, Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye and his eldest son Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye.Canada source
1732Construction of a new Haddo House near Tarves in Aberdeenshire for William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, by William Adam in Georgian Palladian style begins.Scotland source
1732"Madam" Bridget Bevan begins her correspondence with Griffith Jones (Llanddowror).Wales source
173323 April–end of October – Wade's Bridge, Aberfeldy, designed by William Adam, built.Scotland source
1733May 26 – The introduction of John Kay's Flying Shuttle which revolutionized the textile industry and marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.source
173326 May – John Kay patents the flying shuttle.United Kingdom source
173327 August - The first vessel of the Swedish East India Company return to Gothenburg in Sweden from China.Sweden source
1733Construction of Bygdøy Royal Estates main building is complete.Norway source
1734Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye establishes the first Fort Maurepas on the Red River about five leagues south of Lake Winnipeg, third of the main La Vérendrye posts. (Fort Saint Pierre on Rainy River; reactivated; Fort St. Charles on Lake of the Woods.)Canada source
1734Construction of Holkham Hall in Norfolk begins.United Kingdom source
17358 August – Wade's Bridge, Aberfeldy, built and opened in 1733, is formally opened in the presence of General George Wade.Scotland source
1735The King's Highway (Charleston to Boston) is completed.source
1735Quebec: Construction begins on the Chemin du roy between Quebec and Montreal.source
1735Probable date – Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Switzerland, Blancpain becomes the first registered watch brand in the world.source
1735A shipbuilding industry begins in Mumbai.source
1735Leonhard Euler solves the Basel problem, first posed by Pietro Mengoli in 1644, and the Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem.source
1735Niderviller pottery established.France source
1735Construction of the Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park, Dublin, begins.Ireland source
17367 November – Laurits S. Winther establishes a ropewalk at Sortebrødre Torv in Odense which will eventually become Roulunds Fabrikker.Denmark source
1736The Belgrade Fortress is completed.source
1736One of the earliest records of use of a bathing machine is made at Scarborough, England.source
1736North wing of house at Bregentved is constructed.Denmark source
1736Approximate date – Scots Mining Company House built at Leadhills.Scotland source
1736George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, becomes the first Field Marshal of Great Britain.Scotland source
1736One of the earliest records of use of a bathing machine is made at Scarborough, North Yorkshire.United Kingdom source
1737April 22 – Lots are first advertised for sale in the new town of Richmond, Virginia, by the placement of a notice by William Byrd in the Virginia Gazette. According to the paper, "... on the North Side of James River, near the Uppermost Landing, and a little below the Falls, is lately laid off by Major Mayo, a Town, called Richmond, with Streets 65 Feet wide, in a pleasant and healthy Situation, and well supply'd with Springs of good Water. It lies near the Publick Warehouse at Shoccoe's, and in the midst of great Quantities of Grain, and all kind of Provisions. The Lots will be granted in Fee Simple, on Condition only of building a House in Three Years Time, of 24 by 16 Feet, fronting within 5 Feet of the Street. The Lots to be rated according to the Convenience of their Situation, and to be sold after this April General Court, by me, William Byrd."source
17371 December – The newly erected lighthouse on Flat Holm is lit for the first time.Wales source
1737Andrew Rodger, a farmer on the estate of Cavers, south Roxburghshire, develops a winnowing machine for corn, called a 'fanner'.Scotland source
1737Kilmichael Bridge in Argyll built.Scotland source
1737Construction of a new Glasgow town hall begins.Scotland source
1737Tinplate manufacture at Kidwelly begins.Wales source
1738February 11 – Jacques de Vaucanson stages the first demonstration of an early automaton, The Flute Player at the Hotel de Longueville in Paris, and continues to display it until March 30.source
1738June 24 – British inventor Lewis Paul receives a patent for roller cotton-spinning machinery.source
173824 June – Lewis Paul and John Wyatt obtain a patent for roller cotton-spinning machinery.United Kingdom source
1738July 1 – English metallurgist William Champion is granted a patent for his process of extracting zinc from other materials in a furnace.source
17381 July – William Champion of Bristol patents a process to distill zinc from calamine using charcoal in a smelter.United Kingdom source
1738Black Forest clockmaker Franz Ketterer produces one of the earliest cuckoo clocks.source
1738Fort Rouge (the fort), built on the Assiniboine River near the Forks.Canada source
1738Fort La Reine, one of the forts of the Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye western expansion, was built. It was located on the Assiniboine River near where present day Portage la Prairie stands.Canada source
1738Morgan Edwards begins his career as a preacher.Wales source
1739February – George Whitefield first preaches in the open air, to miners at Kingswood, South Gloucestershire.United Kingdom source
1739April – John Wesley first preaches in the open air, at Whitefield's invitation.United Kingdom source
1739Johan Ludvig Holstein constructs Ledrebrog's new main building near Lejre.Denmark source
1739The potato is first cultivated in Scotland as a field crop, at Kilsyth.Scotland source
1739The new privileges of the manufacturing industry liberates industrial workers from military service.Sweden source
1739The Manufakturkontoret (Office of Manufacture) is founded by the Riksdag of the Estates, which is to regulate and supervise the manufacture industry in Sweden.Sweden source
1739A new parish church is completed at Willington Worthenbury near Wrexham, designed by Richard Trubshaw.Wales source
1740January - The Ice House was built in St. Petersburg.Russia source
1740March 25 – Construction begins on Bethesda Orphanage for boys near Savannah, Georgia, founded by George Whitefield.source
1740Spain begins construction on Fort Matanzas in the Matanzas Inlet, approximately 15 mi south of St. Augustine, Florida.source
1740Vincennes porcelain factory established.France source
1740Susanna Drury shows her gouache drawings of the Giant's Causeway at the Dublin Society's first exhibition, bringing the site to wider attention.Ireland source
1740Thomas Witherby establishes his stationery business in London, specializing in printing and publishing for the marine insurance industry. By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, as the Witherby Publishing Group, it will claim to be the oldest independent publisher in the English speaking world.United Kingdom source
1740James Whatman establishes his paper mill in Maidstone, specializing in quality paper. It will remain in production until 2014.United Kingdom source
1741Summer – Upper Priory Cotton Mill is opened in Birmingham, England, as the world's first mechanised cotton mill by Lewis Paul and John Wyatt; although this is not a commercial success, other Paul-Wyatt cotton mills follow.source
1741First Fort Dauphin, was built near Winnipegosis, Manitoba.Canada source
1741Completion of rebuilding of Powerscourt House in County Wicklow by the architect Richard Cassels.Ireland source
1741Earliest known record of the Royal Order of Scotland within British Freemasonry.Scotland source
1741Leadhills Miners' Library set up.Scotland source
1741Summer – Upper Priory Cotton Mill is opened in Birmingham as the world's first mechanised cotton mill by Lewis Paul and John Wyatt; although this is not a commercial success, other Paul-Wyatt cotton mills follow.United Kingdom source
1741Henry Hoare begins to lay out the landscape gardens at Stourhead, Wiltshire.United Kingdom source
174228 May – opening in London of first known British bagnio to offer a swimming pool.United Kingdom source
1742Molde, Norway, becomes a city.source
1742Spain completes the construction of Fort Matanzas in the Matanzas Inlet, approximately 15 mi south of St. Augustine, Florida.source
1742Eisenach, Germany builds its Stadtschloss (city castle).source
1742First Fort Paskoya built by La Vérendrye at Cedar Lake.Canada source
1742c. March – Newry Canal opened. On 28 March the Cope brings the first load of Tyrone coal carried from Lough Neagh to Dublin by this route.Ireland source
1742Kirkcaldy Beer Duties Act passed.Scotland source
1742Delftware manufactured in Glasgow.Scotland source
1742Rebuilding of Trevor Hall, Denbighshire, begins, following the marriage of Mary and John Lloyd (Pentrehobin).Wales source
174315 June – Arthur Jones-Nevill is appointed Surveyor General of Ireland in succession to Arthur Dobbs.Ireland source
1743Capodimonte porcelain is first manufactured, in Naples.source
1744The new Hirschholm Palace is completed.Denmark source
1744Crown prince Frederick's renovation of the Prince's Mansion is completed.Denmark source
1744Mineral springs discovered at Thorp Spa in the West Riding of Yorkshire by John Shires.United Kingdom source
1745October 11 – At Köslin (modern Koszalin in Poland) Prussian scientist Ewald Georg von Kleist independently invents the first electrical capacitor to store and discharge electricity. The invention, commonly called the Leyden jar is later credited to a subsequent inventor Pieter van Musschenbroek.source
1745November 8 – Jacobite rising of 1745: Charles Edward Stuart crosses from Scotland into England for the first time. He arrives at Longtown, Cumbria, and spends the night at a nearby village, the Riddings, then leads his army south along the right bank of the River Eden the next day.source
1745Iceland's first primary school was established in the Westman Islands.Iceland source
1745The term "middle class" is first used.United Kingdom source
1746William Edwards begins his first attempt at building a bridge over the River Taff at Pontypridd.Wales source
1747The Vadstena adliga jungfrustift begin its activity.Sweden source
1747Construction of the Usk Bridge (Usk), designed by William Edwards, begins.Wales source
1747John Boydell - The Bridge BookWales source
1748April – first uniforms of the Royal Navy introduced for commissioned officers and midshipmen.United Kingdom source
1748Construction of the Sveaborg fortification begins near Helsinki.source
1748Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh.source
1748Construction of Fort George begins.Scotland source
1748Garron Bridge on the Inveraray Castle estate, designed by Roger Morris and/or his kin Robert Morris, is completed.Scotland source
1748Lewis Morris - Plans of Harbours, Bays, and Roads in St. George's and the Bristol ChannelsWales source
1749A census is conducted in Finland.source
1750November 18 – Westminster Bridge is officially opened in London.source
175018 November – Westminster Bridge is officially opened for the general public to use, the only fixed crossing of the River Thames between London Bridge and Putney.United Kingdom source
1750Britain produces c. 2% of the entire world's output of industrial goods, before the Industrial Revolution begins.source
1750German immigrants begin to arrive in numbers at Halifax.Canada source
1750The construction of Fredriksvern naval base was finished.Norway source
1750The construction of Frogner Manor is finished.Norway source
1750Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen, opens.Scotland source
1750William Thomas begins his diary.Wales source
1751Construction of Zinn House and Prince William Mansion is completed in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1751The house which will become Áras an Uachtaráin is built in Phoenix Park, Dublin, by the park's Chief Ranger, politician Nathaniel Clements, to his own design.Ireland source
1751Approximate date – bridge built at Bridge of Orchy.Scotland source
1751A new Lizard Lighthouse is built in Cornwall.United Kingdom source
1752July 30 – The first of the Kronstadt canals, conceived by Peter the Great and designed to link two of the harbors of the Russian city, is completed and opened to maritime traffic.source
1752La Corne began a three-year appointment as the western commander of the poste de l'Ouest.Canada source
1752Pollok House near Glasgow, designed by William Adam is built.Scotland source
1752The village of Luncarty is established by William Sandeman to house his employees.Scotland source
1753February 17 – The concept of electrical telegraphy is first published in the form of a letter to Scots' Magazine from a writer who identifies himself only as "C.M.". Titled "An Expeditious Method of Conveying Intelligence", C.M. suggests that static electricity (generated by 1753 from "frictional machines") could send electric signals across wires to a receiver. Rather than the dot and dash system later used by Samuel F.B. Morse, C.M. proposes that "a set of wires equal in number to the letters of the alphabet, be extended horizontally between two given places" and that on the receiving side, "Let a ball be suspended from every wire" and that a paper with a letter on it be underneath each wire.source
1753August 6 – Russian scientist Georg Richmann becomes the first person to be electrocuted by his own equipment after he uses an insulated, but improperly grounded, lightning rod in an attempt to gather data on a thunderstorm. Richmann also becomes the first victim of ball lightning during his scientific experiment, in an attempt to replicate the experiments of American Benjamin Franklin.source
1753The Cramer family starts a brewing operation at Warstein in North Rhine-Westphalia, originating the Warsteiner brand.source
1753Fort Rouge rebuilt by Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre at its original location.Canada source
1753Stroganov Palace started constructionRussia source
1753Bonawe ironworks begins casting.Scotland source
1753Old Bridge of Dee, Invercauld, completed by military engineer Edward Caulfield.Scotland source
1754Construction of Anichkov Palace in Saint Petersburg, RussiaRussia source
1754Construction of the city Oleksandriia in Kirovohrad OblastRussia source
1754Old Spey Bridge at Grantown-on-Spey is completed by the military.Scotland source
1754John Jenkin (Ioan Siengcin) opens a Welsh school at Nevern.Wales source
1755March 12 – A steam engine is used in the American colonies for the first time as New Jersey copper mine owner Arent Schuyler installs a Newcomen atmospheric engine to pump water out of a mineshaft.source
175510 April – Essex Bridge across the river Liffey in Dublin is opened to carriage traffic.Ireland source
1755September 17 – Jean-Marc Vacheron founds his watch-making company Vacheron Constantin. To this day, Vacheron Constantin is the oldest watchmaker in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its foundation. 'Treasures of Vacheron Constantin: A Legacy of Watchmaking since 1755'source
1755Wolsey, the clothes manufacturer, is established in Leicester, England; the business celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2005.source
1755Hurdal glassverk is established in Hurdal.Norway source
1755Ironworks established at Furnace, Argyll.Scotland source
1756The first chocolate-candy factory begins operations in Germany.source
1756The town of Gus-Khrustalny is established in Russia, with the setting up of a crystal glass factory.source
1756The Vincennes porcelain factory moves to Sèvres as the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres.France source
1756A house is constructed in EyrarbakkiIceland source
1756The planned industrial village of Charlestown, Fife, is begun by Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin.Scotland source
175673rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot first formed.Scotland source
1756Undated – completion of William Edwards' Old Bridge, Pontypridd. With a 140 ft span it becomes (by 10 ft) the longest single-span bridge in Great Britain, remaining so for 40 years.United Kingdom source
1756Spring – Completion of Britain's longest single-span bridge (at this date), William Edwards' Old Bridge, Pontypridd, over the River Taff, at the third (or fourth) attempt.Wales source
1757The oldest house in Nedstakaupstaður in Ísafjörður was built.Iceland source
1757Kilbeggan Distillery established.Ireland source
1757Final rebuilding of Douglas Castle begins.Scotland source
1757First lighthouse on Little Cumbrae is built.Scotland source
175777th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders) raised as the First Highland Battalion by Maj. Archibald MontgomerieScotland source
1757Hirwaun ironworks begins coke smelting.Wales source
1757George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis, takes out a lease on Esgair-mwyn lead mine.Wales source
175824 April – Robert Dodsley and his brother James sign a contract with Edmund Burke to launch The Annual Register.United Kingdom source
175829 April – the Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) is established by the Parliament Street Act 1757 (31 Geo. 2. c. 19 (I)) at the request of Dublin Corporation to govern standards on the layout of streets, bridges, buildings and other architectural considerations, influential in the creation of Georgian Dublin.Ireland source
175814 October - First issue of Norrköpings Tidningar.Sweden source
1758Construction of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Saarbrücken is completed.Germany source
1758Mineral spring discovered at Lucan, Dublin.Ireland source
1758Summer – work begins on construction of what will become the Grand Canal near Dublin.Ireland source
1758The gold mines at Gullverket, starts to operate, the mines is operated from 1758 to 1907.Norway source
175920 March: King Frederick V issued a decree that a prison should be built in Iceland.Iceland source
1759May 1 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery in England.source
175923 July – Keel laying of HMS Victory at Chatham Dockyard.United Kingdom source
17595 September & 28 October – Regulations issued for the production of printed cotton fabrics in the kingdom, permitting Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf to set up a manufactory in Jouy-en-Josas for the production of toile de JouyFrance source
1759October 16 – Smeaton's Tower, John Smeaton’s Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of South West England, is first illuminated.source
175916 October – Smeaton's Tower, John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse, is first illuminated.United Kingdom source
1759Construction of Christian's Church, Copenhagen is completed.Denmark source
1759West front of Trinity College Dublin on College Green completed by architects Henry Keene and John Sanderson.Ireland source
1759The Carron Company establishes its ironworks at Falkirk.Scotland source
1759Bank of England £10 note first issued.United Kingdom source
176026 December – Carron Company produces its first cast iron at Falkirk.Scotland source
1760Construction of a new Glasgow town hall is completed.Scotland source
1760George Ross acquires Cromarty and begins the process of developing it as a planned town.Scotland source
1760First wellhouse built at St Bernard's Well, Stockbridge, Edinburgh.Scotland source
1761July 17 – The first section of the Bridgewater Canal is opened, for the transportation of coal from local mines to Manchester.source
176117 July – James Brindley completes the Bridgewater Canal from Worsley to Manchester.United Kingdom source
1761November 7 – The New London Harbor Light is first lit to guide ships into the Connecticut harbor; the lighthouse, only the fourth to be built has been in continuous operation for more than 250 years.source
1761Construction begins on Stjórnarráðshúsið.Iceland source
1761The construction of Coche Manor in Breivik is completed.Norway source
1761The construction of Kongsberg Church is completed.Norway source
1761Penicuik House in Midlothian built in Palladian style on the site of an earlier house by Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet, for himself.Scotland source
1761Robert Adam and Sir William Chambers are jointly appointed Architect of the King's Works to King George III of Great Britain.Scotland source
1761Industrial Revolution: Establishment of Matthew Boulton's Soho Manufactory near Birmingham to serve the "Birmingham toy industry", considered as the first factory for the production of metal goods in Britain.United Kingdom source
1762Louis XV orders the construction of the Petit Trianon, in the park of the Palace of Versailles, for his mistress Madame de Pompadour.source
1762Watt distillery in Derry is established; it will produce Tyrconnell (whiskey).Ireland source
1762Hadeland Glassverk is established in Jevnaker.Norway source
1762The last remaining buildings are cleared from London Bridge.United Kingdom source
1763July – construction of Coldstream Bridge across the border with England begins.Scotland source
1763September – a loaded barge passes from Belfast to Lisburn inaugurating the Lagan Navigation.Ireland source
17631 October – construction of first North Bridge, Edinburgh, begins, including drainage of eastern end of Nor Loch. The Edinburgh Physick Garden moves from a site by the loch to Leith Walk.Scotland source
1763Plymouth Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil established.Wales source
1764Fort Erie is constructed. It is the first British fort to be constructed in the Canadian territories which were newly annexed from the French.Canada source
1764Approximate date – Yair Bridge built across the River Tweed by William Mylne.Scotland source
1764Howden Bridge built at Mid Calder.Scotland source
1764Industrial Revolution: James Hargreaves invents the Spinning Jenny.United Kingdom source
1765April 26 – At Saint Petersburg, German engineer Christian Kratzenstein presents to the Russian Academy of Sciences a perfected version of the arithmetical machine originally invented by Gottfried Leibniz. Kratzenstein claims that his machine solves the problem with the Leibniz machine has with calculations above four digits, perfecting the flaw where the machine is "prone to err whenever it is necessary to make a number of 9999 move to 10000", but the machine is not developed further.source
17657 May – HMS Victory is launched at Chatham Dockyard; at the beginning of the 21st century it remains the oldest naval ship still in commission.United Kingdom source
1765May 26 – During a stroll in the park "on a fine Sabbath afternoon" at Glasgow Green, Scottish engineer James Watt receives the inspiration that provides the breakthrough in his development of the steam engine; he recounts later that "The idea came into my mind, that as steam was an elastic body it would rush into a vacuum, and if a communication was made between the cylinder and an exhausted vessel, it would rush into it, and might be there condensed without cooling the cylinder... I had not walked further than the Golf-house when the whole thing was arranged in my mind."source
1765May – James Watt makes a breakthrough in the development of the steam engine by constructing a model with a separate condenser, an idea which has come to him in a walk on Glasgow Green.Scotland source
1765August 9 – Russian Empress Catherine II issues a decree authorizing the new way to produce vodka (by freezing).source
1765Sugar refinery at Greenock opened.Scotland source
176619 February - Thomas Kymer is granted an Act of Parliament allowing him to construct the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal.Wales source
1766April 3 – Seventeen days after the Stamp Act's repeal in London, news reaches America of the decision.source
1766May 29 – In a paper read to the Royal Society, British theoretical chemist Henry Cavendish first describes his process of producing what he refers to as "inflammable air" by dissolving base metals such as iron, zinc and tin in a flask of sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, drawing the conclusion that the vapor that was released is different from air. Seven years later, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier bestows the name "hydrogen" on the gas.source
176626 July – construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal begins to connect the River Trent and River Mersey.United Kingdom source
176628 October – Coldstream Bridge across the River Tweed on the Northumberland border, designed by John Smeaton, is opened to traffic.Scotland source
1766Holger Jacobaeus, a Danish merchant, constructed a large wooden house in Keflavík.Iceland source
1766Gatchina Palace started construction.Russia source
176730 April - John Guest of Broseley becomes manager of Dowlais Ironworks.Wales source
1767July – Edinburgh Council adopts the final plan for the New Town, for which the architect James Craig has been made a Freeman of the city on 3 June.Scotland source
1767A second Fort Dauphin was built on the north shore of Lake Dauphin.Canada source
1767Nesstofa is built in Seltjarnarnes.Iceland source
1767The first sections of the Hotel Refsnes Gods are erected.Norway source
1767Quarries and lime kilns at Charlestown, Fife, opened by Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin.Scotland source
1767Auchincruive House is built after a design by Robert Adam.Scotland source
1767Undated – Josiah Spode establishes the Spode pottery manufactory at Stoke-on-Trent.United Kingdom source
176817 March – William Cookworthy of Plymouth is granted a patent for the manufacture of true porcelain.United Kingdom source
1768Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay is first lit (by candlepower).Ireland source
1768Bridge over River Deveron between Banff and Macduff swept away in flood.Scotland source
1768Construction of Forth and Clyde Canal begins (Act 8 March).Scotland source
1768The Theatre Royal, Bath, and Theatre Royal, Norwich, assume these titles having been granted Royal Patents, making them officially England's only legal provincial patent theatres.United Kingdom source
17698 April – the Theatre Royal, York, reopens under this title having been granted a Royal Patent. (The manager, Tate Wilkinson, also obtains a patent for his theatre in Hull.)United Kingdom source
1769April 29 – Scottish inventor James Watt is granted a British patent for "A method of lessening the consumption of steam in steam engines" – the separate condenser, a key improvement (first devised by Watt in 1765) and the basis for the Watt steam engine which stimulates the Industrial Revolution.source
176929 April – James Watt is granted a British patent for "A method of lessening the consumption of steam in steam engines" – the separate condenser, a key improvement (first devised by Watt in 1765 in Glasgow) which stimulates the Industrial Revolution. In September he completes a full-size experimental engine at Kinneil House.Scotland source
1769July 3 – Richard Arkwright patents a spinning frame in England, able to spin threads mechanically.source
17693 July – Richard Arkwright patents a spinning frame able to weave fabric mechanically.United Kingdom source
17693 August – part of the first North Bridge, Edinburgh, collapses while nearing completion, killing five.Scotland source
1769August/September - Robert Williams, a Welsh travelling preacher, arrives in America, the first licensed preacher to obtain permission from John Wesley to address the Methodist societies there.Wales source
1769October 23 – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrates a steam-powered artillery tractor (see drawing) in France.source
176923 October – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrates a steam-powered artillery tractor (or 'automobile').France source
176919 November – Blackfriars Bridge across the River Thames in London opens to traffic.United Kingdom source
1769November – River Shannon made navigable from Killaloe (Lough Derg) to Roosky above Lough Ree.Ireland source
1770January 1 – The foundation of Fort George, Bombay is laid by Colonel Keating, principal engineer, on the site of the former Dongri Fort.source
177012 April – Monkland Canal authorized.Scotland source
1770May – the Louth Navigation canal in Lincolnshire opens.United Kingdom source
177012 July – Industrial Revolution: James Hargreaves obtains a patent for the spinning jenny.United Kingdom source
1770November 14 – James Bruce discovers what he believes to be the source of the Nile.source
1770December – The Library of the Sorbonne in Paris is opened to the publicFrance source
1770The Baron d'Holbach's (anonymous) materialist work Le Système de la Nature ou Des Loix du Monde Physique et du Monde Moral is produced in Neuchâtel.source
1770The city of Saint-Eustache, Quebec is established.Canada source
1770John O'Keeffe's play The Giant's Causeway.Ireland source
1770The construction of Eidsvollsbygningen was finished.Norway source
1770Approximate date - Bridge at Pontardawe built by William Edwards.Wales source
1771March 15 – The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers first meets in London, the world's oldest engineering society.source
177115 March – Society of Civil Engineers first meets (in London), the world's oldest engineering society.United Kingdom source
177130 September – Bath Assembly Rooms completed.United Kingdom source
1771November 16 – During the night the River Tyne in the north of England floods, destroying many bridges and killing several people; the replacement main bridge at Newcastle upon Tyne will not be completed until 1781.source
177116 November – Several rivers flood in northern England, destroying many bridges and killing several people.United Kingdom source
177126 November – First section of Monkland Canal opened.Scotland source
1771Limoges porcelain manufacture is established in France.source
1771Limoges porcelain manufacture is establishedFrance source
1771St George's Circus intersection built in London.United Kingdom source
1771Industrial Revolution: Richard Arkwright begins to develop cotton mills at Cromford in the Derwent Valley of Derbyshire, one of the earliest factory complexes.United Kingdom source
177228 May – Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal open for traffic throughout from a junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal to the River Severn at Stourport. Engineered by James Brindley, this is the first British trunk canal completed and its dimensions determine the size of boat used throughout the narrow canal network (72 ft by 7 ft).United Kingdom source
177221 September – Birmingham Canal Navigations main line open for traffic, linking Birmingham to the River Severn via the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.United Kingdom source
1772The Hudson's Bay Company opens Cumberland House on the Saskatchewan River.Canada source
1772Construction of St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, as the first part of the New Town (designed by James Craig), begins.Scotland source
1772Original North Bridge, Edinburgh, completed.Scotland source
177327 May – Major landslip at Buildwas in the valley of the River Severn.United Kingdom source
1773August – Inauguration of the pleasure gardens Vauxhall (Gotheburg).Sweden source
1773Marsala wine first shipped to England.source
1773A theater designed by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz is constructed for the royal court at Gripsholm Castle.Sweden source
1773First London catering establishment to offer curry, Norrish Street Coffee House.United Kingdom source
1773James Rivington settles in New York, where he begins selling musical instruments, including "Welsh harps".Wales source
1773Dolauhirion Bridge is built on the Llandovery to Cilycwm road by William Edwards.Wales source
1773David Williams, having resigned from the ministry, opens a school in Chelsea.Wales source
1774January 27 – British industrialist John Wilkinson patents a method for boring cannon from the solid, subsequently utilised for accurate boring of steam engine cylinders.source
177427 January – John Wilkinson patents a method for boring cannon from the solid, subsequently utilised for accurate boring of steam engine cylinders.United Kingdom source
177431 January – The Royal Danish Theatre reopens on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen..Denmark source
1774February 7 – The volunteer fire company of Trenton, New Jersey, predecessor to the paid Trenton Fire Department created in 1892, is founded. In 1905, at 131 years, it claims to be the oldest continuously serving department in the U.S.source
1774German cobbler Johann Birkenstock creates the first Birkenstock sandals.source
1774Edward Jones, an "exhorter" at Whitefield's Tabernacle, Moorfields, and a lay preacher, begins holding Welsh-language services in Cock Lane, Smithfield, London.Wales source
1774John Wilkinson takes out a patent for cannon-boring at his works in Bersham.Wales source
1774Construction work is completed on Morris Castle, "Wales's first block of flats".Wales source
1775June 16 – The post of chief engineer of the Continental Army is created.source
1775Breguet, one of the oldest Swiss luxury watch brands, clock and jewelry manufacturers is founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris.source
1775Industrial Revolution in Great Britain.source
1775John Wilkinson invents and patents a new kind of boring machine.source
1775James Watt's 1769 steam engine patent is extended to June 1800 by Act of Parliament and the first engines are built under it.source
1775Bygholm Manor is completed near Horsens.Denmark source
1775The manufacture of brännvin are taken over by the state, but the project does not meet with success as the Swedish public continue to manufacture it at home.Sweden source
1775John Wilkinson (industrialist) invents and patents a new kind of boring machine.United Kingdom source
1775The 1769 Watt steam engine patent is extended to June 1800 by Act of Parliament and the first engines are built under it.United Kingdom source
1775Anthony Bacon obtains munitions contracts for his ironworks.Wales source
177613 May: Christian VII ordered a mail service to be established.Iceland source
1776November 28 – The 9th North Carolina Regiment is established.United States source
1776The first commercial examples of the Watt steam engine are sold.source
1776Roskildevej is constructed across Frederiksberg Hill as a direct continuation of Vesterbrogade, with the effect that it passes Valby by to the detriment of the inn and other businesses.Denmark source
1776Blaafarveværket, a mining and industrial company in Modum, was established.Norway source
1776Expansion of the Russian Assignation Bank network, with a new branch established in Tobolsk to extend circulation of paper rubles.Russia source
1776Probable – Dunmore Pineapple constructed.Scotland source
1776New Aray Bridge on Inveraray Castle estate, designed by Robert Mylne, is completed.Scotland source
1776The Dobbin House Tavern is built in the location which becomes Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.United States source
1777January 22 – The first headstone is created in Oak Grove Cemetery in Bath, Massachusetts (now Maine).United States source
1777April 7 – The first session of the North Carolina General Assembly of 1777 meet in New Bern, North Carolina.United States source
1777May – completion of the Trent and Mersey Canal.United Kingdom source
177723 July – The brothers Jørgen Wichmand and Thomas Frederik Wichmand were ennobled by letters patent under the name Wichfeld.Denmark source
1777September 1 – John McKesson becomes the first Clerk of the New York State Assembly.United States source
1777Peter Johansen establishes the shipyard Petersværft on his new Petersgaard estate.Denmark source
1777Fort Nonsense is built in Morristown, New Jersey.United States source
1777Undated – William Bass establishes the Bass Brewery at Burton upon Trent.United Kingdom source
1778April 30 – The 1,800 ft long Hudson River Chain, designed to prevent British ships from moving up the river toward West Point, New York is stretched across the river and anchored by an engineering team under the direction of Captain Thomas Machin.source
17784 September – Conrad Alexander Fabritius (1731–1805) and Michael Fabritius (1739–1815), as well as all legitimate children of their then-deceased father Michael Fabritius (1697-1746), are ennobled by letters patent under the name Fabritius de Tengnagel.Denmark source
177820 October - First issue of Stockholms-PostenSweden source
1778The term thoroughbred is first used in the United States, in an advertisement in a Kentucky gazette, to describe a New Jersey stallion called Pilgarlick.source
1778Spinning mule invented to spin multiple strands of yarn.Canada source
1778The first residential building was built in Akureyri.Iceland source
1778The construction of Stiftsgården was finished.Norway source
1778First cotton mill in Scotland established at Penicuik.Scotland source
1778Joseph Bramah invents a type of flush toilet.United Kingdom source
1778A furnace is built at Sirhowy by Thomas Atkinson and William Barrow of London. This is the first stage of the Tredegar ironworks.Wales source
1779May – Boulton and Watt's Smethwick Engine, which will become the oldest working engine in the world, is brought into service.United Kingdom source
1779July 20 – Tekle Giyorgis I begins the first of his five reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia.source
1779The spinning mule is perfected by Lancashire inventor Samuel Crompton.source
1779The Iron Bridge is erected across the River Severn in Shropshire, the world's first bridge built entirely of cast iron. It will open to traffic on January 1, 1781.source
1779Boulton and Watt's Smethwick Engine, now the oldest working engine in the world, is brought into service (May).source
1779Grand Canal opens to traffic between Dublin and Sallins.Ireland source
1779Mandal is given town status as a ladested.Norway source
1779New bridge over River Deveron between Banff and Macduff, designed by John Smeaton, is completed.Scotland source
1779Cotton mill at Rothesay, Bute, is established.Scotland source
1779The Iron Bridge is erected across the River Severn in Shropshire; the first all cast-iron bridge ever constructed.United Kingdom source
1779Haverfordwest prison is built on the site of the former castle.Wales source
1779New bridges are built over the River Wye at Builth Wells and River Towy at Llandeilo.Wales source
178031 May – James Watt patents a copying machine.Scotland source
17801 July - Anthony Bacon acquires the lease of the Hirwaun ironworks.Wales source
1780July 17 – The first bank created in the United States, the Bank of Pennsylvania, is chartered.source
1780August – passenger boat service begins on Grand Canal between Dublin and Sallins.Ireland source
1780The Woodford Reserve bourbon whiskey distillery begins operation in Kentucky.source
1780The original Craven Cottage is built by William Craven, 6th Baron Craven, in London, on what will become the centre circle of Fulham F.C.'s pitch.source
1780Quakers begin the Underground Railroad to smuggle slaves to freedom in Canada.Canada source
1780James Small produces a two-horse swing plough using Carron Company iron.Scotland source
1780The original Craven Cottage is built by William Craven, 6th Baron Craven, in London.United Kingdom source
1780Woodford Reserve bourbon whiskey distillery begins operation in Kentucky.United States source
1780The development of Ebbw Vale Steelworks begins.Wales source
1781January 1 – Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn in England.source
17811 January – Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn.United Kingdom source
17818 August – construction of The Custom House, Dublin, to the design of James Gandon, begins.Ireland source
1781October 20 – A Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in the Habsburg monarchy.source
1781Tjöruhúsið, Neðstikaupstaður was built in Ísafjörður.Iceland source
1781Cheboksary granted city statusRussia source
1781Construction of The Mound in Edinburgh begins.Scotland source
178223 January – local Laird George Ludovic Houston invites purchase of marked plots of land which, when built upon, form the planned town of Johnstone, to provide employment for his thread and cotton mills, and one of the latter is erected by Corse, Burns & Co.Scotland source
1782April 21 – A Lak Mueang (city pillar) is erected on Rattanakosin Island, located on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, by order of King Rama I, an act considered the founding of the capital city of Bangkok.source
178227 September - Francis Homfray leases a mill from Anthony Bacon of Cyfarthfa ironworks. (Under the terms of the new House of Commons (Disqualification) Act 1782 (22 Geo. 3. c. 45), Bacon, as an MP, is disqualified from holding government munitions contracts.)Wales source
1782October 18 – The first franking privilege is granted for official correspondence to be sent at no charge to and from members of the Confederation Congress, at government expense, during periods when the Congress is in session.source
1782The British Parliament extends James Watt's patent for the steam engine to the year 1800.source
1782In the course of this year John Molson, the future pioneer of Canadian steam navigation, arrives in Canada.Canada source
1782Ironworks at Le Creusot established; first smelting with coke in FranceFrance source
1782The first Landpóstur services began, introducing the first postal services to Iceland.Iceland source
1782Oxenfoord Castle is rebuilt to designs by Robert Adam.Scotland source
1782In the case of Folkes v. Chadd, litigation regarding the silting of Wells Harbour in Norfolk, Lord Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, allows leading civil engineer John Smeaton, to provide scientific evidence, origin of modern rules on acceptance of expert witnesses.United Kingdom source
1782Parliament extends James Watt's patent for the steam engine to the year 1800.United Kingdom source
1783October 3 – The first Waterford Crystal glassmaking business begins production in Waterford, Ireland.source
17833 October – first Waterford Crystal glassmaking business begins production in Waterford.Ireland source
178321 November First manned hot air balloon flightFrance source
1783The Evan Williams (bourbon) distillery is founded in Bardstown, Kentucky.source
1783Sevastopol Naval Base completedRussia source
1783Malo-Kalinkin Bridge (St. Petersburg) builtRussia source
1783Halbeath Railway opens from the colliery at Halbeath (in the Fife Coalfield) to the harbour at Inverkeithing.Scotland source
1783Evan Williams (bourbon) distillery is founded in Bardstown, Kentucky.United States source
1783Industrial Revolution: Henry Cort of Funtley, Hampshire, invents the grooved rolling mill for producing bar iron.United Kingdom source
1783Evan Hughes (Hughes Fawr) - Rhai Hymnau Newyddion o Fawl i'r OenWales source
178415 April – the first ascent of a manned balloon in the British Isles takes place with a hot air balloon at NavanIreland source
1784June 9 – The Bank of New York, a predecessor of BNY Mellon, opens.United States source
178421 August – Joseph Bramah receives his first lock patent.United Kingdom source
1784William Conyngham begins installation of a planned settlement on Rutland Island, County DonegalIreland source
1784Georgernes Verft, a shipyard in Bergen, was established.Norway source
1784Orlov Trotter - birth of Bars I, considered first of breedRussia source
1784Highland estates whose revenues were forfeited to the government by their proprietors following the Jacobite rising of 1745 are restored to their legal heirs on discharge of debts. The accrued funds are primarily applied to completion of the Forth and Clyde Canal.Scotland source
1784Industrial Revolution: Henry Cort of Funtley, Hampshire, applies the coal-fired reverbatory furnace to the puddling process for conversion of cast to wrought iron and Edmund Cartwright designs his first power loom.United Kingdom source
1785January 7 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air.source
17857 January - French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard crosses the English Channel in a balloonFrance source
17857 January – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air.United Kingdom source
1785March 10 – American engineer James Rumsey sends a letter to George Washington informing of his plans to create a steamboat.source
178522 May – Robert Burns' first child, Elizabeth ("Dear-bought Bess"), is born to his mother's servant, Elizabeth Paton and his poems "To a Mouse" and "Halloween" are written.Scotland source
1785May 23 – Benjamin Franklin receives a patent for bifocals.source
1785Coal gas is first used for illumination.source
1785Stratford-on-Slaney in County Wicklow is founded by the Earl of Aldeborough as a cotton manufacturing centre.Ireland source
1786March 13 – Construction begins in Dublin on the Four Courts Building, with the first stone laid down by the United Kingdom's Viceroy for Ireland, the Duke of Rutland.source
178613 March – Construction begins in Dublin on the Four Courts Building, with the first stone laid by the British Viceroy for Ireland, the Duke of Rutland.Ireland source
1786March 26 – Columbia, South Carolina is chartered as the first planned city in the United States.United States source
1786October 6 – HMS Bellerophon begins service with the Royal Navy.source
178625 December - Plymouth ironworks is leased to Richard Hill.Wales source
1786James Rumsey tests his first steamboat on the Potomac River, at Shepherdstown, Virginia.source
1786Teaching began at Hólavallarskóli in Reykjavík.Iceland source
1786Court Riding Arena in Saint Petersburg begins constructionRussia source
1786Northern Lighthouse Board formed as the Commissioners of Northern Light Houses by act of parliament largely at the urging of the lawyer and politician "Honest" George Dempster, to oversee the construction and operation of (at this time) four Scottish lighthouses: Kinnaird Head, North Ronaldsay, Scalpay and Mull of Kintyre.Scotland source
1786Date unknown - Maria Christina Bruhn becomes the first woman to be given a patent as an inventor in Sweden.Sweden source
1786Scottish millwright Andrew Meikle invents a practical threshing machine.United Kingdom source
17871 January – George III writes his first letter to Arthur Young's Annals of Agriculture, under the name of Ralph Robinson of Windsor.United Kingdom source
1787August 27 – Launching a 45 ft steam powered craft on the Delaware River, John Fitch demonstrates the first U.S. patent for his design.source
1787November - Richard Crawshay uses puddling at the Cyfarthfa ironworks.Wales source
17871 December – Kinnaird Head Lighthouse first illuminated.Scotland source
1787December 3 – James Rumsey demonstrates his water-jet propelled boat on the Potomac River.source
1787Fort Augustaborg is constructed on the Danish Gold Coast.Denmark source
1787Lomonosov Bridge completed in Saint PetersburgRussia source
1787Kennetpans Distillery begins to operate a condensing rotative stationary steam engine designed by James Watt, the first in Scotland.Scotland source
1787Catrine is developed on the River Ayr around one of the first cotton mills in Scotland by Claud Alexander of Ballochmyle in partnership with David Dale.Scotland source
1787Construction of Margam orangery begins.Wales source
1788February 1 – Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patent a steamboat.source
1788February 1 – Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patent the steamboat in Georgia.United States source
1788September – Sydney's first road, from the Governor's House to Dawes Point, is completed.Australia source
1788Annual British iron production reaches 68,000 tons.source
1788St Gregory's Church, Preshome, designed by Father John Reid, is built.Scotland source
1788Tobermory, Mull, and Ullapool are founded as herring ports by the British Fisheries Society to the designs of Thomas Telford.Scotland source
1788The estate house at Yair is built.Scotland source
1788Flax mills established at Brigton in Angus and Inverbervie in Kincardineshire.Scotland source
1788Undated – annual British iron production reaches 68,000 tons.United Kingdom source
1788date unknown – Architect John Nash, during his "Welsh interlude", designs the stable block at Plas LlanstephanWales source
178920 April – first boat passes through the Thames and Severn Canal's Sapperton Tunnel near Cirencester in Gloucestershire. At 3,817 yd it is the longest tunnel of any kind in England at this date.United Kingdom source
1789September 11 – Alexander Hamilton is appointed as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.source
17895 October – The first ship built in the colony, Rose Hill Packet, begins service on the Parramatta River.Australia source
178924 October – Royal Canal Company incorporated to construct a waterway from Dublin to the River Shannon.Ireland source
1789December – steamboat experiments on the Forth and Clyde Canal by Patrick Miller of Dalswinton.Scotland source
1789Thomas Jefferson returns from Europe, bringing the first macaroni machine to the United States.source
1789The pedal-powered tricycle is invented by two Frenchmen, Blanchard and Maguier.source
1789Fort Washington (Cincinnati, Ohio) is built to protect early U.S. settlements in the Northwest Territory.source
1789Kirov Plant (factory) establishedRussia source
1789Moscow Gostiny Dvor shopping mall rebuiltRussia source
1789Fort Washington is built in Cincinnati, to protect early U.S. settlements in the Northwest Territory.United States source
1789unknown date - Blaenavon Ironworks begins production.Wales source
17901 January – the Oxford Canal is opened throughout its 91 miles, providing an important link between the River Thames at Oxford and Coventry in the English Midlands.United Kingdom source
1790March 1 – The first United States Census is authorized; it is held later in the year.source
1790March 1 – The first United States census is authorized.United States source
1790April 10 – The United States patent system is established.source
1790May – construction begins on the Royal Canal at Cross Guns Bridge in Phibsborough, Dublin.Ireland source
1790June 9 – Royal assent is given to establishment of the port of Milford Haven in Wales.source
17909 June - Royal assent is given to establishment of the port of Milford Haven.Wales source
179028 June – Forth and Clyde Canal opened.Scotland source
1790July 31 – Inventor Samuel Hopkins becomes the first to be issued a U.S. patent (for an improved method of making potash).source
1790Langabúð, the oldest house in Djúpivogur, was built.Iceland source
1790By royal command, the silk factories are explicitly allowed to employ women workers when no men are available (though women did in practice work in the silk industry earlier), which quickly results in a majority of female workers in the Swedish silk industry.Sweden source
1790The world's first railway viaduct (used by horse-drawn wagons to carry coal from the mines) is built at Blaenavon.Wales source
1791February 24 – First Bank of the United States chartered for 20 years, with headquarters in Philadelphia.United States source
17912 March – Claude Chappe and his brothers first demonstrate the optical telegraph.France source
1791August 6 – The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (Prussia) is finished.source
1791August 26 – John Fitch is granted a patent for the steamboat in the United States.source
17917 November – The Custom House in Dublin opens for business, having been completed under the supervision of James Gandon.Ireland source
1791Camembert cheese reputedly first made by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy.source
1791Governor of New South Wales – Captain Arthur Phillip, RNAustralia source
1791The first bridge across the River Foyle at Derry, built by the American Lemuel Cox in wood, is opened to vehicular traffic.Ireland source
1791Inauguration of the Bergianska trädgårdenSweden source
1791Architect John Soane begins reconstruction of the Bank of England in London.United Kingdom source
1791Richard Phillips builds Clyne Castle.Wales source
17923 June - Monmouthshire Canal receives its Act of Parliament.Wales source
1792June 13 – Vancouver becomes the first European to enter Burrard Inlet.source
1792June - The Merthyr to Newbridge section of the Glamorganshire Canal is completed.Wales source
1792George Anschutz constructs the first blast furnace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.source
1792Scottish engineer William Murdoch begins experimenting with gas lighting.source
1792Claude Chappe successfully demonstrates the first semaphore line, between Paris and Lille.source
1792Beamish and Crawford's 'Cork Porter Brewery' is established when William Beamish and William Crawford purchase an existing brewery (from Edward Allen) on a site in Cramer's Lane used for brewing since at least the 17th century.Ireland source
1792Clachan Bridge, connecting Seil to the mainland, is built to the design of John Stevenson of Oban revised by Robert Mylne.Scotland source
1792Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna establish the newsagent's business in Little Grosvenor Street, London, which will become W H Smith.United Kingdom source
179313 April – Manchester Penny Post launched, the first such service in the English provinces.United Kingdom source
1793September 18 – The cornerstone to the future United States Capitol is dedicated by U.S. President Washington at the site of the new Federal City on the Potomac River.source
1793October 28 – Eli Whitney applies for patent for his cotton gin (the patent is granted the following March).United States source
1793Macquarie Lighthouse, the first in Australia, is erected in Sydney.Australia source
1793Construction commences on the first bridge across the River Suir at Waterford, built by the American Lemuel Cox in wood.Ireland source
1793The first Sula Lighthouse was built.Norway source
1793Little Cumbrae Lighthouse built.Scotland source
1793Slater Mill is completed in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, as the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in North America to utilize the Arkwright system of cotton spinning as developed by Samuel Slater.United States source
1793Construction of Clydach Ironworks begins.Wales source
1794February - Mumbles Lighthouse is completed and brought into use.Wales source
1794March 14 – Eli Whitney is granted a United States patent for the cotton gin.source
1794March 27 – The United States Government authorizes the building of the first six United States Navy vessels; in 1797 the first three frigates, USS United States, USS Constellation and USS Constitution will go into service (not to be confused with October 13, 1775, which is observed as the Navy's Birthday).source
1794March 27 – The United States Government authorizes the building of the first six United States Navy vessels (in 1797 the first 3 frigates, USS United States, USS Constellation and USS Constitution go into service), not to be confused with October 13, 1775, which is observed as the Navy's Birthday .United States source
179414 May – Hambletonian wins his first race. He will win every subsequent race he finishes in his career.United Kingdom source
1794The Oban distillery is built in Scotland.source
17941794 – Baranov builds first vessel in northwestern America at Voskres-senski on Kenai.Canada source
1794The printing press on Hrappsey ceased operations.Iceland source
1794Tromsø was issued its city charter.Norway source
1794Kharitonov Palace commissionedRussia source
1794Original Pentland Skerries lighthouse on Muckle Skerry built, engineered by Thomas Smith with the work superintendend by his stepson Robert Stevenson, the latter's first official work for the Commissioners of Northern Light Houses.Scotland source
1795July 25 – Construction of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales begins.source
179518 November – the River Clyde, in spate, floods the centre of Glasgow and brings down the recently erected bridge at the foot of the Saltmarket.Scotland source
1795The Hudson's Bay Company trading post Fort Edmonton is constructed; the city of Edmonton, Alberta, eventually grows from it.source
1795Acting Governor of New South Wales – William PatersonAustralia source
1795A road Act is passed, in Lower Canada, though opposed by country people, who fear a return of the Statue labor of Governor Haldimand's time.Canada source
1795The first Wexford bridge across the River Slaney in the town of Wexford, built by the American Lemuel Cox in wood, is completed.Ireland source
1795Gallowgate Barracks in Glasgow are built.Scotland source
1795Copper bolts forged at Parys Mountain are used in the construction of an American warship, the USS Constitution.Wales source
1796February - The main line of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal opens; it is 12.5 mi long, and runs from Newport to Pontnewynydd, via Pontymoile, rising by 447 feet (136.3m) through 42 locks.Wales source
1796March 30 – Carl Gauss obtains conditions for the constructibility by ruler and compass of regular polygons, and can announce that the regular 17-gon is constructible by ruler and compasses.source
1796August 2 – Marc Isambard Brunel is granted citizenship of the United States; in the autumn he is appointed chief engineer of New York City.United States source
1796August 9 – The Wearmouth Bridge in England, designed by Rowland Burdon in cast iron, opens to traffic. Its span of 72 m makes it the world's longest single-span vehicular bridge extant at this date.source
17969 August – opening to traffic of Wearmouth Bridge, designed by Rowland Burdon in cast iron. Its span of 237 feet (72 m) makes it the world's longest single-span vehicular bridge extant at this date.United Kingdom source
17962 December – Two passenger boats, the Camden and the Phelan go into service on the Royal Canal with a fare of 1s-1d (first class cabin) or 6d (second class cabin) from Dublin to Leixlip, a journey of approximately 20km. This contrasts with the stagecoach price at the time, which cost 8s-8d for the same journey.Ireland source
1796December – The British government begins work on a 40-acre (162,000 m²) site at Norman Cross, for the world's first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp.source
1796December – the government begins work on a 40-acre (162,000 m 2 ) site at Norman Cross for the world's first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp.United Kingdom source
1796Annual British iron production reaches 125,000 tons.source
1796The still under-construction Royal Canal reaches the town of Kilcock and trade commences between it and Dublin.Ireland source
1796John Wilkinson blows in blast furnace No. 1 on the site that becomes Brymbo Steelworks.Wales source
1797May 10 – The first ship of the United States Navy, the frigate USS United States, is commissioned.source
179719 September – John Shortland is the first European to enter the port of Newcastle. On the 9th he discovered the Hunter River estuary and coal.Australia source
1797Johnstons of Elgin established as a textile mill in Elgin, Moray.Scotland source
1797Richard Fothergill and the Rev. Matthew Monkhouse take over Tredegar ironworks and construct a new furnace.Wales source
1798January – Eli Whitney contracts with the U.S. federal government for 10,000 muskets, which he produces with interchangeable parts.source
1798April 30 – The United States Department of the Navy is established as a cabinet-level department. Benjamin Stoddert, a civilian businessman, is appointed as the first Navy Secretary by President Adams.source
179817 October - First recorded use of the word "tramroad", in the minutes of the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal Company.Wales source
179822 December – Norfolk enters the River Derwent,Australia source
1798Highland Park distillery is founded in Kirkwall.Scotland source
1798William Lort Mansel becomes Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.Wales source
1799October – Anthony Bushby Bacon and his brother Thomas take over the Hirwaun ironworks. Thomas sells his interest in the Plymouth ironworks to the Hill family.Wales source
1799William Cockerill begins building cotton-spinning machinery in Belgium.source
1799Eli Whitney, holding a 1798 United States government contract for the manufacture of muskets, is introduced by Oliver Wolcott Jr. to the concept of interchangeable parts, an origin of the American system of manufacturing.source
1799North West Company establishes a fur post at Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. The nearby Hudson's Bay Company fur post which is also established at this time is called Acton House.Canada source
1799Frankenthal Porcelain Factory closed by the French forces.Germany source
1799River Shannon made navigable from Limerick to Killaloe.Ireland source
1799Inverbervie Old Bridge (over the Bervie Water), designed by James Burn, is completed.Scotland source
1799Eli Whitney, holding a January 1798 U.S. government contract for the manufacture of muskets, is introduced by Oliver Wolcott Jr. to the French concept of interchangeable parts, an origin of the American system of manufacturing.United States source
1799Carolina Gold Rush: 12-year-old Conrad John Reed finds what he describes as a "heavy yellow rock" along Little Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina and makes it a doorstop in his home. Conrad's father John Reed learns that the rock is actually gold in 1802, initiating the first gold rush in the U.S.United States source
1799The Crumlin Arm of the Monmouthshire canal, with Fourteen Locks, is completed. It leaves the main line at Crindau, rising 358 feet (109m) through 32 locks to Crumlin (including the Cefn flight of Fourteen Locks).Wales source