1712 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1712 in Great Britain: |
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| 1710 1710 in Great Britain Events 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... | 1711 1711 in Great Britain Events 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.... | 1712 | 1713 1713 in Great Britain Events from the year 1713 in Great Britain.-Events:* 27 March - First Treaty of Utrecht between Britain and Spain. Spain cedes Gibraltar and Minorca.... | 1714 1714 in Great Britain Events from the year 1714 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Anne , King George I-Events:* March - The Scriblerus Club, an informal group of literary friends, is formed by Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay, John Arbuthnot , Thomas Parnell, Henry St... |
Events from the year 1712 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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Events
- 1 January - War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish SuccessionThe War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
: Peace congressTreaty of UtrechtThe Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
opens at UtrechtUtrecht (city)Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. - 17 January - Robert WalpoleRobert WalpoleRobert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
imprisoned in the Tower of LondonTower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
following charges of corruption. - 24 July - War of the Spanish Succession: At the Battle of DenainBattle of DenainThe Battle of Denain was fought on 24 July 1712, as part of the War of the Spanish Succession, and resulted in a French victory under Marshal Villars against Austrian and Dutch forces under Prince Eugene of Savoy.-Prelude:...
, the French defeat a combined Dutch-Austrian force following the withdrawal of British troops. - 4 November - Bandbox PlotBandbox PlotThe Bandbox Plot of November 4, 1712 was an attempt on the life of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, the then British Lord Treasurer, which was foiled by the perspicacity of Jonathan Swift, who happened to be visiting the Earl of Oxford.A bandbox was a lightweight hat-box; this particular one had been...
: Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
foils an attempted murder of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.
Undated
- The first known working Newcomen steam engineNewcomen steam engineThe atmospheric engine invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, today referred to as a Newcomen steam engine , was the first practical device to harness the power of steam to produce mechanical work. Newcomen engines were used throughout Britain and Europe, principally to pump water out of mines,...
is built by Thomas NewcomenThomas NewcomenThomas Newcomen was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, near a part of the country noted for its tin mines. Flooding was a major problem, limiting the depth at which the mineral could be mined...
with John CalleyJohn Calley (engineer)John Calley , a metalworker, plumber and glass-blower, was Thomas Newcomen's partner. He helped develop the Newcomen steam engine, and his name is listed on the patent with Newcomen and Thomas Savery.-References:...
to pump water out of mines in the Black CountryBlack CountryThe Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, the first practical device to harness the power of steamSteamSteam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
to produce mechanical workMechanical workIn physics, work is a scalar quantity that can be described as the product of a force times the distance through which it acts, and it is called the work of the force. Only the component of a force in the direction of the movement of its point of application does work...
. - John ArbuthnotJohn ArbuthnotJohn Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
creates the character of "John BullJohn BullJohn Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
" to represent Britain. - Castle HowardCastle HowardCastle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, north of York. One of the grandest private residences in Britain, most of it was built between 1699 and 1712 for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle, to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh...
in North YorkshireNorth YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, designed by Sir John VanbrughJohn VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
, is completed. - Building begins of St. Paul's, DeptfordSt. Paul's, DeptfordSt Paul's, Deptford is one of London's finest Baroque parish churches. It was designed by architect Thomas Archer and built between 1712 and 1730 in Deptford, which was then in Kent but is now part of South East London...
, a church designed by Thomas ArcherThomas ArcherThomas Archer was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Archer was born at Umberslade Hall in Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire, the youngest son of Thomas Archer, a country gentleman, Parliamentary...
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Publications
- Barnaby Lintot's Miscellaneous Poems, including, anonymously, Alexander PopeAlexander PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
's poem The Rape of the LockThe Rape of the LockThe Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany in May 1712 in two cantos , but then revised, expanded and reissued under Pope's name on March 2, 1714, in a much-expanded 5-canto version...
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Births
- 17 January - John StanleyJohn Stanley (composer)Charles John Stanley was an English composer and organist.-Biography:Stanley, who was blind from an early age, studied music with Maurice Greene and held a number of organist appointments in London, such as St Andrew's, Holborn from 1726...
, composer (died 17861786 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1786 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 8 March - John FothergillJohn Fothergill (physician)John Fothergill FRS was an English physician, plant collector, philanthropist and Quaker.- Life and work :...
, physician (died 17801780 in Great BritainEvents 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...
) - 22 March - Edward Moore, writer (died 17571757 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1757 in Great Britain.- Events :* 2 January - Robert Clive captures Calcutta, India.* 14 March - Seven Years' War: Admiral Sir John Byng is executed by firing squad aboard for breach of the Articles of War....
) - 14 October - George GrenvilleGeorge GrenvilleGeorge Grenville was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP for Buckingham...
, 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 17701770 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1770 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Grafton, Whig , Lord North, Tory-Events:...
) - 21 October - Sir James Denham Steuart, 4th Baronet, economist (died 17801780 in Great BritainEvents 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...
) - Richard GloverRichard Glover (Poet)Richard Glover was an English poet and politician.-Life:The son of Richard Glover, a Hamburg merchant, was born in London. He was educated at Cheam in Surrey....
, poet (died 17851785 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1785 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
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Deaths
- 2 February - Martin ListerMartin ListerMartin Lister FRS was an English naturalist and physician.-Life:Lister was born at Radcliffe, near Buckingham, the son of Sir Martin Lister MP for Brackley in the Long Parliament and his wife Susan Temple daughter of Sir Alexander Temple. Lister was connected to a number of well known individuals...
, naturalist and physician (born c. 1638) - 25 March - Nehemiah GrewNehemiah GrewNehemiah Grew was an English plant anatomist and physiologist, very famously known as the "Father of Plant Physiology"...
, naturalist (born 16411641 in EnglandEvents from the year 1641 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 23 January - Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Mounslow appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.* 29 January - Oliver St John appointed Solicitor General....
) - 1 July - William KingWilliam King (poet)-Life:Born in London, the son of Ezekiel King, he was related to the family of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. From Westminster School, where he was a scholar under Richard Busby, at the age of eighteen he was elected to Christ Church, Oxford in 1681. There he is said to have dedicated himself...
, poet (born 16631663 in EnglandEvents from the year 1663 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 10 January - The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter.* February - Parliament pressures King Charles into withdrawing a proposed Declaration of Indulgence....
) - 12 July - Richard CromwellRichard CromwellAt the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland (born 1626) - 26 July - Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of LeedsThomas Osborne, 1st Duke of LeedsThomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, KG , English statesman , served in a variety of offices under Kings Charles II and William III of England.-Early life, 1632–1674:The son of Sir Edward Osborne, Bart., of Kiveton, Yorkshire, Thomas Osborne...
, statesman (born 1631) - 3 August - Joshua BarnesJoshua BarnesJoshua Barnes , was an English scholar.He was born in London, the son of Edward Barnes, a merchant taylor.Educated at Christ's Hospital and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he was in 1695 chosen Regius Professor of Greek, a language which he wrote and spoke with the utmost facility.One of his first...
, scholar (born 16541654 in EnglandEvents from the year 1654 in The Protectorate.-Events:* 5 April - Signing of the Treaty of Westminster ends the First Anglo-Dutch War, and the Dutch agree to observe the Navigation Acts.* 11 April - England signs a treaty of commerce with Sweden....
) - 18 August - Richard Savage, 4th Earl RiversRichard Savage, 4th Earl RiversRichard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers PC was the second son of Thomas, 3rd Earl; and after the death about 1680 of his elder brother Thomas, styled Viscount Colchester, he was designated by that title until he succeeded to the peerage....
, soldier (born c. 16601660 in EnglandEvents from the year 1660 which occurred in the Kingdom of England. This is the year of Restoration.-Events:* 1 January** Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration.**...
) - 29 August - Gregory KingGregory KingGregory King was an English genealogist, engraver and statistician.-Life:Gregory King was born at Lichfield, England. His father was a surveyor and landscape gardener. Gregory was a very bright boy and his father used him as an assistant in his surveying work. At 14 Gregory became a clerk to...
, statistician (born 16481648 in EnglandEvents from the year 1648 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 17 January - The Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the Second English Civil War....
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