1776 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1776 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1774 1774 in Great Britain Events from the year 1774 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 31 March - American Revolutionary War: Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed in the Boston Port Act.* 17 April - The first avowedly Unitarian congregation,... | 1775 1775 in Great Britain Events from the year 1775 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 17 January - First performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.* 9 February - American Revolution: British Parliament... | 1776 | 1777 1777 in Great Britain Events from the year 1777 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 3 January - American Revolution: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.* 18 May - First performance of... | 1778 1778 in Great Britain Events from the year 1778 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 18 January - Third Pacific expedition of James Cook, with ships HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, first view O'ahu then Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the... |
| Sport |
| 1776 English cricket season 1776 English cricket season In the 1776 English cricket season, according to Rowland Bowen, the earliest known scorecard templates were introduced. These were printed by T Pratt of Sevenoaks and soon came into general use.-Matches:-Other events:... |
Events from the year 1776 in Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
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Incumbents
- Monarch - King George IIIGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
- Prime Minister - Lord NorthFrederick North, Lord NorthFrederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC , more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence...
, ToryToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Events
- 10 January – American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
: Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
publishes his pamphlet Common SenseCommon Sense (pamphlet)Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense, signed "Written by an Englishman", became an immediate success. In relation to the population of the Colonies at that time, it had the largest...
(in Philadelphia). - 27 February - American Revolution: At the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
LoyalistLoyalist (American Revolution)Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
s are defeated by North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
PatriotPatriot (American Revolution)Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
s. - 2 March–3 March - American Revolution: Battle of NassauBattle of NassauThe Battle of Nassau was a naval action and amphibious assault by American forces against the British port of Nassau, Bahamas during the American Revolutionary War...
. - 2 March–3 March - American Revolution: Battle of the Rice BoatsBattle of the Rice BoatsThe Battle of the Rice Boats, also called the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, was a land and naval battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in and around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina on March 2 and 3, 1776...
. - 9 March - Economist Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
publishes The Wealth of NationsThe Wealth of NationsAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith...
. - 17 March - American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
commands the placement of artilleryArtilleryOriginally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
overlooking the city at Dorchester HeightsDorchester HeightsDorchester Heights is the central area of South Boston. It is the highest area in the neighborhood and commands a view of both Boston Harbor and downtown.-History:...
. - 15 May–26 May - American Revolution: Battle of The CedarsBattle of the CedarsThe Battle of The Cedars was a series of military confrontations early in the American Revolutionary War during the Continental Army's invasion of Quebec that had begun in September 1775. The skirmishes, which involved limited combat, occurred in May 1776 at and around The Cedars, west of...
. - 8 June - American Revolution: Battle of Trois-RivièresBattle of Trois-RivièresThe Battle of Trois-Rivières was fought on June 8, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. A British army under Quebec Governor Guy Carleton defeated an attempt by units from the Continental Army under the command of Brigadier General William Thompson to stop a British advance up the Saint...
: AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
invaders are driven back at Trois-Rivières, QuebecTrois-Rivières, QuebecTrois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
. - 4 July - American Revolution: the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
officially declares independence from the British EmpireBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
with the United States Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. - 12 July - Captain James CookJames CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
sets off from PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
on his third, and fatal, expedition to the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. - 27 August - American Revolution: At the Battle of Long IslandBattle of Long IslandThe Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the...
Washington's troops are routed in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
by British under William HoweWilliam Howe, 5th Viscount HoweWilliam Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
. - 11 September - American Revolution: abortive peace conferenceStaten Island Peace ConferenceThe Staten Island Peace Conference was a brief meeting held in the hope of bringing an end to the American Revolution. The conference took place on September 11, 1776, at Billop Manor, the residence of Colonel Christopher Billop, on Staten Island, New York...
between British and Americans on Staten Island. - 15 September - American Revolution: British land on ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at Kip's BayLanding at Kip's BayThe Landing at Kip's Bay was a British amphibious landing during the New York Campaign in the American Revolutionary War on September 15, 1776, occurring on the eastern shore of present-day Manhattan....
. - 16 September - American Revolution: Battle of Harlem HeightsBattle of Harlem HeightsThe Battle of Harlem Heights was fought during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The action took place in what is now the Morningside Heights and west Harlem neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City on September 16, 1776....
is fought. - 24 September - First running of the St. Leger StakesSt. Leger StakesThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
horse race. - 11 October - American Revolution: Battle of Valcour IslandBattle of Valcour IslandThe naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Valcour Island...
: On Lake ChamplainLake ChamplainLake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
near Valcour IslandValcour IslandValcour Island is an island in Lake Champlain in Clinton County, New York, USA. The island is mostly in the Town of Peru and partly in the Town of Plattsburgh, southeast of the City of Plattsburgh....
, a British fleet led by Sir Guy CarletonGuy Carleton, 1st Baron DorchesterGuy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
defeats 15 AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gunboats commanded by Brigadier General Benedict ArnoldBenedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the defense of Lake Champlain prevents a further British advance toward Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. - 18 October - American Revolution: Battle of Pell's PointBattle of Pell's PointThe Battle of Pell's Point , also known as the Battle of Pelham, was a skirmish fought between British and American troops during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War...
. - 28 October - American Revolution: Battle of White PlainsBattle of White PlainsThe Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from New York City, British General William Howe landed...
: British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the AmericansUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - 19 November - American Revolution: Fort Lee, New JerseyFort Lee, New JerseyFort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
is captured by the British forces. - 26 December - American Revolution: The Continental ArmyContinental ArmyThe Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
led by Washington defeats a Hessian brigade at the Battle of TrentonBattle of TrentonThe Battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, after General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton, New Jersey. The hazardous crossing in adverse weather made it possible for Washington to lead the main body of the...
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Undated
- Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
David HartleyDavid Hartley (the Younger)David Hartley, the younger , statesman, scientific inventor, and the son of the philosopher David Hartley. He was Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull, and also held the position of His Britannic Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary, appointed by King George III to treat with the United...
unsuccessfully introduces a motion to the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
calling for the abolition of slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
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Publications
- The first volume of Edward GibbonEdward GibbonEdward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a non-fiction history book written by English historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings. Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788–89...
. - Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
's The Wealth of NationsThe Wealth of NationsAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith...
. - William WitheringWilliam WitheringWilliam Withering was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis.-Introduction:...
's The botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in Great Britain, the first flora in English based on Linnaean taxonomyLinnaean taxonomyLinnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:# the particular form of biological classification set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his Systema Naturæ and subsequent works...
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Births
- 10 January - George BirkbeckGeorge BirkbeckGeorge Birkbeck was a British doctor, academic, philanthropist, pioneer in adult education and founder of Birkbeck College.-Biography:...
, doctor, academic and philanthropist (died 18411841 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1841 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig , Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:...
) - 17 January (baptism date) - Jane PorterJane PorterJane Porter was a Scottish historical novelist and dramatist.-Life and work:Jane Porter was an avid reader. Said to rise at four in the morning in order to read and write, she read the whole of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene while still a child...
, novelist (died 18501850 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1850 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 11 April - Macvey NapierMacvey NapierMacvey Napier FRS FRSE was a Scottish lawyer and an editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica. A hard-working scholar in his youth, he was recruited by Archibald Constable...
, lawyer and encyclopedia editor (died 18471847 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1847 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 11 June - John ConstableJohn ConstableJohn Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
, painter (died 18371837 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1837 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — King William IV , Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:...
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Deaths
- 2 February - Francis HaymanFrancis HaymanFrancis Hayman was an English painter and illustrator who became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768 and later its first librarian....
, painter and illustrator (born 17081708 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1708 in Great Britain.-Events:* 13 February - Robert Harley is dismissed from his position as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and Robert Walpole becomes Secretary at War....
) - 24 March - John HarrisonJohn HarrisonJohn Harrison was a self-educated English clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age...
, clockmaker (born 16931693 in EnglandEvents from the year 1693 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Co-Monarchs - William and Mary-Events:* March - William Congreve's first play, the comedy The Old Bachelor, is performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane....
) - 29 April - Edward Wortley MontaguEdward Wortley MontaguEdward Wortley Montagu was an English author and traveller.He was the son of Edward Wortley Montagu, MP and of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whose talent and eccentricity he seems to have inherited....
, traveller and writer (born 17131713 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1713 in Great Britain.-Events:* 27 March - First Treaty of Utrecht between Britain and Spain. Spain cedes Gibraltar and Minorca....
) - 20 June - Benjamin HuntsmanBenjamin HuntsmanBenjamin Huntsman was an English inventor and manufacturer of cast or crucible steel.-Biography:Huntsman was born the third son of a Quaker farmer in Epworth, Lincolnshire. His parents were Germans who had emigrated only a few years before his birth.Huntsman started business as a clock, lock and...
, inventor and manufacturer (born 17041704 in EnglandEvents from the year 1704 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 May - Robert Harley becomes Secretary of State for the Northern Department....
) - 7 July - Jeremiah MarklandJeremiah MarklandJeremiah Markland , English classical scholar, was born at Childwall in Liverpool on the 29th of October 1693. He was educated at Christ's Hospital and Peterhouse, Cambridge...
, classical scholar (born 16931693 in EnglandEvents from the year 1693 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Co-Monarchs - William and Mary-Events:* March - William Congreve's first play, the comedy The Old Bachelor, is performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane....
) - 25 August - David HumeDavid HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
, philosopher (born 17111711 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1711 in Great Britain.-Events:* 24 February - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.* 1 March - First edition of the magazine The Spectator published....
) - 17 November - James FergusonJames Ferguson (1710-1776)James Ferguson was a Scottish astronomer and instrument maker.-Biography:Ferguson was born near Rothiemay in Banffshire of humble parents. Acoording to his autobiography, he learnt to read by hearing his father teach his elder brother, and with the help of an old woman was able to read quite well...
, astronomer (born 17101710 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1710 in Great Britain.-Events:* January - Food shortages in major cities due to the harsh winter.* 27 February–21 March - Trial of Henry Sacheverell for preaching criticism of the Glorious Revolution which was considered subversive by the Whig government.* 1 March - Riots in...
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