1759 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1759 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1757 1757 in Great Britain Events 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.... | 1758 1758 in Great Britain Events from the year 1758 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Whig-Events:... | 1759 | 1760 1760 in Great Britain Events from the year 1760 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II , George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Newcastle, Whig-Events:... | 1761 1761 in Great Britain Events from the year 1761 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Newcastle, Tory-Events:* 16 January - In India, general Sir Eyre Coote captures Pondicherry from the French.... |
| Sport |
| 1759 English cricket season 1759 English cricket season Three Dartford v All-England matches were played in the 1759 English cricket season and a number of well-known names were involved.- Matches :... |
Events from the year 1759 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...
. The year was dubbed an Annus Mirabilis
Annus Mirabilis of 1759
The Annus Mirabilis of 1759 took place in the context of the Seven Years' War and Great Britain's military success against French-led opponents on several continents...
due to a succession of military victories in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
against French-led opponents.
Incumbents
- Monarch - King George II
- Prime Minister - Duke of NewcastleThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
, WhigBritish Whig PartyThe Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
Events
- 15 January - The British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
opens 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...
. - 8 April - Robert Clive captures Masulipatam in 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...
from the French. - 1 May - Seven Years' WarSeven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
: British forces capture GuadeloupeGuadeloupeGuadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
from the French. - 25 July - Seven Years' War (French and Indian WarFrench and Indian WarThe French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
): In CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, British forces capture Fort NiagaraFort NiagaraFort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
from French, who subsequently abandon Fort RouilléFort RouilléFort Rouillé or Fort Toronto was a French trading post located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that was established around 1750 but abandoned in 1759. The fort site is now part of the public lands of Exhibition Place...
. - 1 August - Seven Years' War: At the Battle of MindenBattle of MindenThe Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...
, British-Hanoverian forces under Ferdinand of Brunswick defeat the French army of the Duc de BroglieVictor-François, 2nd duc de BroglieVictor François de Broglie, 2nd duc de Broglie was a French aristocrat and soldier and a marshal of France...
, but due to the disobedience of the English cavalry commander Lord George Sackville, the French are able to withdraw unmolested. - 18 August - Seven Years' War: At the Battle of LagosBattle of LagosThe naval Battle of Lagos between Britain and France took place on August 19, 1759 during the Seven Years' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and is named after Lagos, Portugal. For the British, it was part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759.-Origins:...
, the British fleet of Edward BoscawenEdward BoscawenAdmiral Edward Boscawen, PC was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands throughout the 18th Century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos...
defeats a French force under Commodore de la Clue off the Portuguese coast. - 10 September - Seven Years' War: Battle of PondicherryBattle of PondicherryThe Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' War. The battle took place on 10 September 1759. The outcome was indecisive....
- An inconclusive naval battle is fought off the coast of 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...
between the French Admiral d'Aché and the British under George PocockGeorge PocockSir George Pocock, KB was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He rose to the rank of admiral.Pocock was from Chieveley in Berkshire, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the navy. George Pocock entered the navy in 1718, serving aboard under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Captain...
. The French forces are badly damaged and returned home, never to return. - 13 September - Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
falls to British forces following General WolfeJames WolfeMajor General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
's victory in the Battle of the Plains of AbrahamBattle of the Plains of AbrahamThe Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
just outside the city. Both the French Commander (the Marquis de MontcalmLouis-Joseph de MontcalmLouis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Saint-Veran was a French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War .Montcalm was born near Nîmes in France to a noble family, and entered military service...
) and the British General Wolfe are fatally wounded. - 14 September - "A Journey Through Europe; or, A Play of Geography", the earliest British board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
sold. - 16 October – Smeaton's TowerSmeaton's TowerSmeaton's Tower is the third and most notable Eddystone Lighthouse. It marked a major step forward in the design of lighthouses. In use until 1877, it was largely dismantled and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe in the city of Plymouth, Devon where it now stands as a memorial to its designer, John Smeaton,...
, John SmeatonJohn SmeatonJohn Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
’s Eddystone LighthouseEddystone LighthouseEddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
, is first illuminated. - 20 November - Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Quiberon BayBattle of Quiberon BayThe naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...
, the British fleet of Sir Edward Hawke defeats a French fleet under Marshal de Conflans near the coast of BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. This is the decisive naval engagement of the War — after this, the French are no longer able to field a significant fleet and a planned French invasion of BritainPlanned French Invasion of Britain (1759)A French invasion of Great Britain was planned to take place in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, but due to various factors including naval defeats at the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay was never launched. The French planned to land 100,000 French soldiers in Britain to end British...
is abandoned.
Unknown dates
- Royal Botanic Gardens, KewRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewThe Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
, created. - The song Heart of OakHeart of Oak"Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies including the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy....
is written by William Boyce with words by 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...
.
Publications
- 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 Theory of Moral SentimentsThe Theory of Moral SentimentsThe Theory of Moral Sentiments was written by Adam Smith in 1759. It provided the ethical, philosophical, psychological, and methodological underpinnings to Smith's later works, including The Wealth of Nations , A Treatise on Public Opulence , Essays on Philosophical Subjects , and Lectures on...
, embodying some of his Glasgow lectures.
Births
- 25 January - Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, poet (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:...
) - 27 April - Mary WollstonecraftMary WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
, writer, philosopher and feminist (died 17971797 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1797 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 3 January - Three of the stones making up Stonehenge fall due to heavy frosts....
) - 28 May - William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, Prime MinisterPrime 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 18061806 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1806 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory , Lord Grenville coalition-Events:...
) - 7 August - William Owen PugheWilliam Owen PugheWilliam Owen Pughe was a Welsh antiquarian and grammarian best known for his Welsh and English Dictionary, published in 1803, but also known for his grammar books and 'Pughisms' ....
, lexicographer (died 18351835 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1835 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Robert Peel, Tory , Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:...
) - 24 August - William WilberforceWilliam WilberforceWilliam Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, abolitionist (died 18331833 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1833 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Earl Grey, Whig-Events:* 3 January - British forces re-establish British rule on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic....
) - 19 September - William Kirby, entomologist (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:...
) - 24 September - Charles SimeonCharles SimeonCharles Simeon , was an English evangelical clergyman.He was born at Reading, Berkshire and educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. In 1782 he became fellow of King's College, and took orders, receiving the living of Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, in the following year...
, evangelical clergyman (died 18361836 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1836 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Viscount Melbourne, Whig-Events:* 2 March - First organised point-to-point horse race held, at Madresfield, Worcester....
) - 25 October - William GrenvilleWilliam Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron GrenvilleWilliam Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville PC, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807 as head of the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background :...
, Prime Minister (died 18341834 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1834 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Earl Grey, Whig , Lord Melbourne, Whig , Duke of Wellington, Tory, , Robert Peel, Tory...
) - date unknown - John MayneJohn MayneJohn Mayne , was a Scottish poet born in Dumfries, South West Scotland. In 1780, his poem The Siller Gun appeared in its original form in Ruddiman's Magazine, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh. It is a humorous poem descriptive of an ancient custom in Dumfries of shooting for the "Siller...
, poet (d. 1836)
Deaths
- 11 March - John ForbesJohn Forbes (General)John Forbes was a British general in the French and Indian War. He is best known for leading the Forbes Expedition that captured the French outpost at Fort Duquesne and for naming the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder.-Early life:Forbes was...
, general (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:...
) - 14 April - George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
, composer (born 1685, Saxony-Anhalt) - 6 August - Eugene AramEugene AramEugene Aram was an English philologist, but also infamous as the murderer celebrated by Thomas Hood in his ballad, The Dream of Eugene Aram, and by Bulwer Lytton in his 1832 novel Eugene Aram.-Early life:...
, English philologist (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 August - John Kennedy, 8th Earl of CassilisJohn Kennedy, 8th Earl of CassilisJohn Kennedy, 8th Earl of Cassilis was a Scottish peer.He succeeded to the titles of 10th Lord Kennedy and 8th Earl of Cassilis on 23 July 1701.He held the office of Governor of Dumbarton Castle between 1737 and 1759....
(born 17001700 in ScotlandEvents from the year 1700 in the Kingdom of Scotland.-Births:* April - John Kennedy, 8th Earl of Cassilis * 27 August - Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore * 11 September - James Thomson, poet -Full date unknown:...
) - 13 September - James WolfeJames WolfeMajor General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
, general (born 17271727 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1727 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George I , King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* February - Spain besieges Gibraltar in order to recapture the territory....
) - 10 October - Granville ElliottGranville ElliottMajor-General Granville Elliott , was a British military officer. He served with distinction in several other European armies and subsequently in the British Army...
, military officer (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....
) - 13 October - John HenleyJohn HenleyJohn Henley , English clergyman, commonly known as 'Orator Henley', and one of the first entertainers and a precursor to the talk show hosts of today.The son of a vicar, John Henley was born in Melton Mowbray...
, English minister (born 16921692 in EnglandEvents from the year 1692 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 19 February - Princess Anne leaves the court after quarrelling with her sister, Queen Mary....
)