1718 in Great Britain
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.svg.png) 1718 in Great Britain: |
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| 1716 1716 in Great Britain Events from the year 1716 in Great Britain.-Events:* January - The Duke of Argyll disperses the remainder of the Jacobite troops.* 10 February - The pretender James Francis Edward Stuart flees to France... | 1717 1717 in Great Britain Events 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.... | 1718 | 1719 1719 in Great Britain Events from the year 1719 in Great Britain.-Events:* April - Bank rate set at 5%, at which it will remain for more than a century.* 28 April - A Peerage Bill, proposed by Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, to prevent the creation of peers in the House of Lords is defeated in the House of... | 1720 1720 in Great Britain Events from the year 1720 in Great Britain.-Events:* 17 February - Treaty of Den Haag signed between Britain, France, Austria, the Dutch Republic and Spain ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance.... |
| Sport |
| 1718 English cricket season |
Events from the year 1718 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
- 7 January - Occasional Conformity ActOccasional Conformity ActThe Occasional Conformity Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain The Occasional Conformity Act (also known as the Toleration Act 1711) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain The Occasional Conformity Act (also known as the Toleration Act 1711) was an Act of the Parliament of...
repealed. - 15 May - James PuckleJames PuckleJames Puckle was an English inventor, lawyer and writer from London chiefly remembered for his invention of the Defence Gun, better known as the Puckle gun, a multi-shot gun mounted on a stand capable of firing up to nine rounds per minute...
patents the Puckle Gun, an early form of machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
. - 2 August - Quadruple AllianceQuadruple AllianceThe term "Quadruple Alliance" refers to several historical military alliances; none of which remain in effect.# The Quadruple Alliance of August 1673 was an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in...
formed between Britain, FranceFranceThe 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...
, the Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and the Dutch RepublicDutch RepublicThe Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. - 11 August - War of the Quadruple AllianceWar of the Quadruple AllianceThe War of the Quadruple Alliance was a result of the ambitions of King Philip V of Spain, his wife, Elisabeth Farnese, and his chief minister Giulio Alberoni to retake territories in Italy and to claim the French throne. It saw the defeat of Spain by an alliance of Britain, France, Austria , and...
: A British fleet under Admiral ByngGeorge Byng, 1st Viscount TorringtonAdmiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, KB PC was a British naval officer and statesman of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His career included service as First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George II.-Naval career:Byng was born at Wrotham, Kent, England...
defeats a 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...
fleet at the Battle of Cape PassaroBattle of Cape PassaroThe Battle of Cape Passaro was the defeat of a Spanish fleet under Admirals Antonio de Gaztañeta and Fernando Chacón by a British fleet under Admiral George Byng, near Cape Passero, Sicily, on 11 August 1718, four months before the War of the Quadruple Alliance was formally...
. - 17 December - War of the Quadruple Alliance: Britain, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and France declare war on Spain.
Undated
- The Proper motionProper motionThe proper motion of a star is its angular change in position over time as seen from the center of mass of the solar system. It is measured in seconds of arc per year, arcsec/yr, where 3600 arcseconds equal one degree. This contrasts with radial velocity, which is the time rate of change in...
of stars discovered by Edmond HalleyEdmond HalleyEdmond Halley FRS was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, following in the footsteps of John Flamsteed.-Biography and career:Halley...
. - Marrow ControversyMarrow ControversyThe Marrow Controversy was a Scottish ecclesiastical dispute occasioned by the republication in 1718 of The Marrow of Modern Divinity The Marrow Controversy was a Scottish ecclesiastical dispute occasioned by the republication in 1718 of The Marrow of Modern Divinity The Marrow Controversy was a...
, an ecclesiastical dispute, in ScotlandScotlandScotland 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...
. - Greenwich Hospital receives a Royal CharterRoyal CharterA royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
(revoked in 18291829 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1829 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Duke of Wellington, Tory-Events:* 8 January - Hanging of body-selling murderer William Burke in Edinburgh...
). - The Transportation Act of 1718 creates the punishment of penal transportationPenal transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
as an alternative to a death sentenceDeath SentenceDeath Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
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Births
- 18 February - Robert HenryRobert HenryRobert Henry was a Scottish historian.Born into a farming family at St. Ninians, Stirlingshire, Henry was educated at Stirling High School and the University of Edinburgh. After teaching at Annan, he entered the Church of Scotland, becoming minister at New Greyfriars in Edinburgh in 1768...
, historian (died 17901790 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1790 in the Kingdom of Great Britain. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 4 April - Benjamin KennicottBenjamin KennicottBenjamin Kennicott was an English churchman and Hebrew scholar.He was born at Totnes, Devon. He succeeded his father as master of a charity school, but the generosity of some friends enabled him to go to Wadham College, Oxford, in 1744, and he distinguished himself in Hebrew and divinity...
, churchman and Hebrew scholar (died 17831783 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1783 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord Shelburne, Whig , Duke of Portland, Coalition , William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 7 April - Hugh BlairHugh BlairHugh Blair FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse....
, preacher and man of letters (died 18001800 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1800 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 8 January - First soup kitchens open in London.* 17 March - catches fire with the loss of 700 lives....
) - 17 May - Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of HoldernessRobert Darcy, 4th Earl of HoldernessRobert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness PC , known before 1721 as Lord Darcy and Conyers, was a British diplomat and politician. From 1744 to 1746 he was ambassador at Venice and from 1749 to 1751 he represented his country at The Hague...
, diplomat and politician (died 17781778 in Great BritainEvents 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...
) - 23 May - William HunterWilliam Hunter (anatomist)William Hunter FRS was a Scottish anatomist and physician. He was a leading teacher of anatomy, and the outstanding obstetrician of his day...
, anatomist (died 17831783 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1783 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord Shelburne, Whig , Duke of Portland, Coalition , William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 30 May - Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of DownshireWills Hill, 1st Marquess of DownshireWills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire PC , known as the Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as the Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era...
, politician (died 17931793 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1793 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 5 June - Thomas ChippendaleThomas ChippendaleThomas Chippendale was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs, titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director...
, furniture maker (died 17791779 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1779 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 9 January - First Anglo-Maratha War: British troops surrender to the Marathas in Wadgaon, India, and are forced to return all terrorities acquired since 1773.* 11 February -...
) - 17 June - George HowardGeorge Howard (soldier)Field Marshal Sir George Howard PC KB was a British military officer.-Military career:Born the son of Thomas Howard and his wife Mary, Howard was commissioned into his father's regiment in 1725...
, field marshal (died 17961796 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1796 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 5 July - Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of HertfordFrancis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of HertfordFrancis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford KG, PC, PC was a British courtier and politician.He was born in Chelsea, London the son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Lord Conway and Charlotte Shorter and died in Surrey, England...
, Viceroy of Ireland (died 17941794 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1794 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 23 March - British troops capture Martinique from the French....
) - 31 July - John CantonJohn CantonJohn Canton FRS was an English physicist.Canton was born in Middle Street Stroud, Gloucestershire, the son of a weaver John Canton and Esther He had only a common education, after which he was put apprentice to a broadcloth weaver, but his leisure hours were devoted to mathematical studies, and...
, physicist (died 17721772 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1772 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 24 March - Royal Marriages Act 1772 requires the monarch's consent for the marriage of all members of the royal family.* 28 May - Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal open...
) - 3 November - John Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...
, statesman (died 17921792 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1792 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:* Monarch - King George III* Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 25 January - The radical London Corresponding Society established....
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Deaths
- 6 January - Richard HoareRichard HoareSir Richard Hoare was the founder of C. Hoare & Co, one of the United Kingdom's oldest private banks.-Career:Having been raised near Smithfield Market in London, Richard Hoare began his working life apprenticed to a goldsmith. He was granted the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company on 5 July 1672....
, goldsmith and banker (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....
) - 1 February - Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of ShrewsburyCharles Talbot, 1st Duke of ShrewsburyCharles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, KG, PC was an English statesman. Born to Roman Catholic parents, he remained in that faith until 1679 when—during the time of the Popish Plot and following the advice of the divine John Tillotson—he converted to the Church of England...
, politician (born 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.**...
) - 18 February - Pierre Antoine Motteux, dramatist (born 1663, France)
- 30 July - William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, Quaker and founder of the Pennsylvania colony (born 16441644 in EnglandEvents from the year 1644 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* King Charles I opens a Royalist 'parliament' at Oxford.* 26 January - First English Civil War: At the Battle of Nantwich the Parliamentarians defeat the Royalists....
) - 22 November - BlackbeardBlackbeardEdward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, pirate (born c.16801680 in EnglandEvents from the year 1680 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 4 November - A second Exclusion Bill is proposed to exclude the Catholic James, Duke of York from inheriting the throne.* 15 November - The Exclusion Bill is defeated in the House of Lords....
) - 6 December - Nicholas RoweNicholas Rowe (dramatist)Nicholas Rowe , English dramatist, poet and miscellaneous writer, was appointed Poet Laureate in 1715.-Life:...
, poet and dramatist (born 16741674 in EnglandEvents from the year 1674 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 19 February - England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War...
)