1779 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1779 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 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... | 1779 | 1780 1780 in Great Britain Events from the year 1780 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Frederick North, Lord North, Tory-Events:* 16 January - American Revolutionary War: British victory at the Battle of Cape St... | 1781 1781 in Great Britain Events from the year 1781 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 1 January - Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn.... |
| Sport |
| 1779 English cricket season 1779 English cricket season The 1779 English cricket season saw the beginnings of Berkshire as an important team.-Matches:-Other events:Mon 7 – Tues 8 June. There was a "fives" game at the Artillery Ground in which the Duke of Dorset’s team beat Sir Horace Mann’s by 1 wicket. Dorset’s team was James Aylward, William... |
Events from the year 1779 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...
.
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
- 9 January - First Anglo-Maratha WarFirst Anglo-Maratha WarThe First Anglo-Maratha War was the first of three Anglo-Maratha wars fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai.-Background:...
: British troops surrender to the MarathaMarathaThe Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s in Wadgaon, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and are forced to return all terrorities acquired since 1773. - 11 February - Admiral KeppelAugustus Keppel, 1st Viscount KeppelAdmiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...
acquitted of charges of misconduct brought against him by Sir Hugh PalliserHugh PalliserAdmiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War...
. - 14 February - 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...
dies on the Sandwich IslandsHawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
on his third and last voyage. - 23 February–25 February - American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
: Battle of VincennesBattle of VincennesThe Illinois campaign was a series of events in the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen led by George Rogers Clark seized control of several British posts in the Illinois country, in what is now the Midwestern United States...
. - 3 March - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Briar Creek.
- 23 March - Astronomer Edward PigottEdward PigottEdward Pigott was an English astronomer, and the son of astronomer Nathaniel Pigott and Anna Mathurine de Bériot . Probably born in Whitton, Middlesex, his elder brother, Charles Gregory, died in young age. He also had a younger sister, Mathurina...
discovers the Black Eye GalaxyBlack Eye GalaxyThe Black Eye Galaxy was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode in April of the same year, as well as by Charles Messier in 1780...
. - 29 March (– 12 May 1780): American Revolutionary War: Siege of CharlestonSiege of CharlestonThe Siege of Charleston was one of the major battles which took place towards the end of the American Revolutionary War, after the British began to shift their strategic focus towards the American Southern Colonies. After about six weeks of siege, Continental Army Major General Benjamin Lincoln...
by British forces. - 12 April - FranceFrance in the American Revolutionary WarFrance entered the American Revolutionary War in 1778, and assisted in the victory of the Americans seeking independence from Britain ....
(at this time in alliance with AmericaFranco-American allianceThe Franco-American alliance refers to the 1778 alliance between Louis XVI's France and the United States, during the American Revolutionary War. Formalized in the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, it was a military pact in which France provided arms and money, and engaged in full-scale war with Britain. ...
) signs a secret treaty with SpainSpain in the American Revolutionary WarSpain actively supported the Thirteen Colonies throughout the American Revolutionary War, beginning in 1776 by jointly funding Roderigue Hortalez and Company, a trading company that provided critical military supplies, through financing the final Siege of Yorktown in 1781 with a collection of gold...
to wage war against Great Britain. - May - Boulton and WattBoulton and WattThe firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt.-The engine partnership:The partnership was formed in 1775 to exploit Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser. This made much more efficient use of its fuel than the older Newcomen engine...
's Smethwick EngineSmethwick EngineThe Smethwick Engine is a steam engine made by Boulton and Watt; brought into service in May 1779.Originally, it was one of two engines used to pump water back up to the summit level of the BCN Old Main Line canal at Smethwick, not far from the Soho Foundry where it was made...
, now the oldest working engine in the world, is brought into service. - 3 June - Armada of 1779Armada of 1779The Armada of 1779 was an exceptionally large joint French and Spanish fleet intended, with the aid of a feint by the American Continental Navy, to facilitate an invasion of Britain, as part of the wider American War of Independence, and in application of the Franco-American alliance...
: Fleet sets sail from France. - 16 June - American Revolutionary War: SpainSpain in the American Revolutionary WarSpain actively supported the Thirteen Colonies throughout the American Revolutionary War, beginning in 1776 by jointly funding Roderigue Hortalez and Company, a trading company that provided critical military supplies, through financing the final Siege of Yorktown in 1781 with a collection of gold...
declares war on Britain. - 20 June - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Stono FerryBattle of Stono FerryThe Battle of Stono Ferry was an American Revolutionary War battle, fought on June 20, 1779, near Charleston, South Carolina. The rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston held off an assault by poorly-trained militia forces under American General...
. - 6 July - American Revolutionary War: Battle of GrenadaBattle of GrenadaThe Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...
fought between British and FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
navies. - 24 June - American Revolutionary War: Start of the Great Siege of GibraltarGreat Siege of GibraltarThe Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
(fourteenth and last military siege). This was an action by FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
forces to wrest control of GibraltarGibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
from the established British Garrison. The garrison, led by George Augustus Eliott, later 1st Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar, survives all attacks and a blockade of supplies. - 15 July - American Revolutionary War: AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces led by General Anthony WayneAnthony WayneAnthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
capture Stony Point, New YorkStony Point, New YorkStony Point is a triangle-shaped town in Rockland County, United States. Rockland County is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The town is located north of the town of Haverstraw, east and south of Orange County, New York, and west of the Hudson River and Westchester County. The population...
from British troops in the Battle of Stony PointBattle of Stony PointThe Battle of Stony Point was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on the night of July 15–16, 1779. A select force of Continental Army infantry made a coordinated surprise night attack and stormed a fortified position of the British Army on the Hudson River south of West Point, New...
. - 22 July
- American Revolutionary War: Goshen Militia destroyed by Joseph BrantJoseph BrantThayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
's forces at the Battle of MinisinkBattle of MinisinkThe Battle of Minisink was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the northern Delaware Valley...
. - Armada of 1779: French and Spanish ships rendezvous.
- American Revolutionary War: Goshen Militia destroyed by Joseph Brant
- 24 July - American Revolutionary War: the Penobscot ExpeditionPenobscot ExpeditionThe Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor...
ends in defeat for the Americans. - 14–18 August; 31 August–3 September - Armada of 1779Armada of 1779The Armada of 1779 was an exceptionally large joint French and Spanish fleet intended, with the aid of a feint by the American Continental Navy, to facilitate an invasion of Britain, as part of the wider American War of Independence, and in application of the Franco-American alliance...
in the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, but no fleet action with the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
takes place. - September - American Revolutionary War: Spain captures Saint Vincent and GrenadaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
from the British. - 7 September - American Revolutionary War: Capture of Fort ButeCapture of Fort ButeThe Capture of Fort Bute signalled the opening of Spanish intervention in the American Revolutionary War on the side of France and the United States. Mustering an ad hoc army of Spanish regulars, Acadian militia, and native levies under Gilbert Antoine de St...
by SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
troops. - 20 September–21 September - American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Baton RougeBattle of Baton Rouge (1779)The Battle of Baton Rouge was a brief siege during the American Revolutionary War that was decided on September 21, 1779. Baton Rouge was the second British outpost to fall to Spanish arms during Bernardo de Gálvez's march into British West Florida....
Spanish forces defeat the British. - 23 September - American Revolutionary War: The British ship HMS SerapisHMS Serapis (1779)HMS Serapis was a Royal Navy two-decked, Roebuck-class fifth rate. Daniel Brent built her at Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe and launched her in 1779. She was armed with 44 guns . Serapis was named after the god Serapis in Greek and Egyptian mythology...
captured by the Americans. - 18 October - American Revolutionary War: The Americans abandon the Siege of SavannahSiege of SavannahThe Siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint...
.
Undated
- Industrial RevolutionIndustrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
:- Spinning MuleSpinning muleThe spinning mule was a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of two boys: the little piecer and the big or side piecer...
invented by Samuel CromptonSamuel CromptonSamuel Crompton was an English inventor and pioneer of the spinning industry.- Early life :Samuel Crompton was born at 10 Firwood Fold, Bolton, Lancashire to George and Betty Crompton . Samuel had two younger sisters...
. - The Iron BridgeThe Iron BridgeThe Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...
is erected across the River SevernRiver SevernThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
in ShropshireShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
; the first all cast-iron bridge ever constructed.
- Spinning Mule
- First running of the Epsom OaksEpsom OaksThe Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
horse race. - South façade of Stowe HouseStowe HouseStowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens , a significant example of the English Landscape Garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust...
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, completed in the neoclassicalNeoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style based on a design by Robert AdamRobert AdamRobert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
. - Robert Adam completes his remodelling of Syon HouseSyon HouseSyon House, with its 200-acre park, is situated in west London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence...
on Hampstead HeathHampstead HeathHampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
. - First performance of Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
's play The CriticThe Critic (play)The Critic: or, a Tragedy Rehearsed is a satire by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre in 1779. It is a burlesque on stage acting and play production conventions, and Sheridan considered the first act to be his finest piece of writing...
at the Drury Lane TheatreTheatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - ParliamentParliament of Great BritainThe Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
passes the Penitentiary ActPenitentiary ActThe Penitentiary Act was a British Act of Parliament passed in 1779 which introduced state prisons for the first time. The Act was drafted by the prison reformer John Howard and the jurist William Blackstone and recommended imprisonment as an alternative sentence to death or transportation.The...
creating state prisons for the first time.
Publications
- Olney HymnsOlney HymnsThe Olney Hymns were first published in February 1779, and are the combined work of curate John Newton and his poet friend, William Cowper . The hymns were written for use in Newton's rural parish which was made up of relatively poor and uneducated followers...
by John NewtonJohn NewtonJohn Henry Newton was a British sailor and Anglican clergyman. Starting his career on the sea at a young age, he became involved with the slave trade for a few years. After experiencing a religious conversion, he became a minister, hymn-writer, and later a prominent supporter of the abolition of...
and William CowperWilliam CowperWilliam Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
containg the first printed version of Amazing GraceAmazing Grace"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
. - Dialogues concerning Natural ReligionDialogues Concerning Natural ReligionDialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a philosophical work written by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. Through dialogue, three fictional characters named Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes debate the nature of God's existence...
by 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...
(posthumous).
Births
- 1 January - Edward Stanley, Bishop of Norwich (died 18491849 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1849 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:* 13 January — Second Anglo-Sikh War: British forces retreat from the Battle of Chillianwala....
) - 18 January - Peter Mark Roget, lexicographer (died 18691869 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1869 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 6 March — The first international cycle race is held at Crystal Palace, London....
) - 20 February - Augustus Wall CallcottAugustus Wall CallcottSir Augustus Wall Callcott was an English landscape painter-Life and work:Callcott was born in Kensington gravel pits, London. His first study was music and he sang for several years in the choir of Westminster Abbey...
, landscape painter (died 18441844 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1844 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:* 28 February — The Grand National at Aintree is won by the 5/1 joint favourite Discount....
) - 24 February - Robert Gifford, 1st Baron GiffordRobert Gifford, 1st Baron GiffordRobert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford was a British lawyer, judge and politician.Gifford was elected to the House of Commons for Eye in 1817, a seat he represented until 1824, and served under the Earl of Liverpool as Solicitor General between 1817 and 1819 and as Attorney General between 1819 and 1824...
, lawyer, judge and politician (died 18261826 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1826 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:...
) - 14 March - William Ormsby-GoreWilliam Ormsby-GoreFor his great-great grandson, see William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech.William Ormsby-Gore , known as William Gore until 1815, was a British Member of Parliament....
, politician (died 18601860 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1860 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Cray Wanderers Football Club formed in St Mary Cray, north Kent....
) - 15 March - William Lamb, 2nd Viscount MelbourneWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount MelbourneWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
, Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
(died 18481848 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1848 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 2 May - John Galt, novelist (died 18391839 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1839 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:* January — The first parallax measurement of the distance to Alpha Centauri is published by Thomas Henderson....
) - 13 July - William HedleyWilliam HedleyWilliam Hedley was one of the leading industrial engineers of the early 19th century, and was very instrumental in several major innovations in early railway development...
, inventor and locomotive engineer (died 18431843 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1843 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:* 6 January — Antarctic explorer James Clark Ross discovers Snow Hill Island....
) - 31 December - Horace SmithJames and Horace SmithJames Smith and Horace Smith , authors of the Rejected Addresses, sons of a solicitor, were both born in London....
, author (died 18491849 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1849 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:* 13 January — Second Anglo-Sikh War: British forces retreat from the Battle of Chillianwala....
)
Deaths
- 20 January - David GarrickDavid GarrickDavid Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
, actor (born 17171717 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1717 in Great Britain.-Events:* 1 January - Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart....
) - 22 January - Jeremiah DixonJeremiah DixonJeremiah Dixon was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason-Dixon line....
, surveyor and astronomer (born 17331733 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1733 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 23 January - First performance of George Frideric Handel's opera Orlando in London....
) - 4 February - John Hamilton MortimerJohn Hamilton MortimerJohn Hamilton Mortimer was a British Neoclassical painter known primarily for his romantic paintings and pieces set in Italy and its countryside, various other works depicting conversations between people, and works drawn in the 1770s portraying war scenes, very similar to those of Salvator Rosa...
, painter (born 17401740 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1740 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:...
) - 7 February - William Boyce, composer (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....
) - 14 February - 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...
, naval captain and explorer (born 17281728 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1728 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 29 January - First performance of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera.* March - Spain ends its siege of Gibraltar....
) - 7 June - William WarburtonWilliam WarburtonWilliam Warburton was an English critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759.-Life:He was born at Newark, where his father, who belonged to an old Cheshire family, was town clerk. William was educated at Oakham and Newark grammar schools, and in 1714 he was articled to Mr Kirke, an...
, critic and Bishop of Gloucester (born 16981698 in EnglandEvents from the year 1698 which occurred in the Kingdom of England.- Events :* 4 January - The Palace of Whitehall is destroyed by fire.* 11 January–21 April - Czar Peter I of Russia visits England as part of his Grand Embassy, making a particular study of shipbuilding.* July 25 - Engineer...
) - 12 September - Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl TempleRichard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl TempleRichard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple KG, PC was a British politician. He is best known for his association with his brother-in-law William Pitt who he served with in government during Britain's participation in the Seven Years War between 1756 and 1761...
, politician (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....
) - 8 December - Nathan AlcockNathan Alcock-Early life and education:Nathan Alcock was born at Aston, near Runcorn, Cheshire, the second son of David Alcock and his wife Mary née Breck. David Alcock was a descendent of Bishop John Alcock, the founder of Jesus College, Cambridge. He was educated initially by his parents and then at a local...
, physician (born 17071707 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1707 in Great Britain, created in this year as a result of the 1706 Treaty of Union and its ratification by the 1707 Acts of Union.-Events:...
) - 11 December - Bridget BevanBridget BevanBridget Bevan , also known as Madam Bevan, was a Welsh educationalist and public benefactor...
, philanthropist (born 1698) - 23 December - Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of BristolAugustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of BristolAugustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, PC was a British admiral and politician.-Naval career:As a young man, he entered the Navy, where his promotion was rapid...
, admiral and politician (born 17241724 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1724 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George I of Great Britain*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:...
) - date unknown - John DalrympleJohn Dalrymple (political writer)John Dalrymple , Scottish writer, wrote numerous political tracts, among which Answers for the Right Honourable John Dalrymple, Lord Provost of the city of Edinburgh, and others; to the petition of James Stoddart, Esq; late old Provost, and James Stirling, Esq; late one of the bailies of said city,...
, political writer (born 1734)