1759 in literature
Encyclopedia
See also: 1758 in literature
, other events of 1759, 1760 in literature
, list of years in literature.
1758 in literature
See also: 1757 in literature, other events of 1758, 1759 in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:* Voltaire buys estate at Ferney.* Annual Register founded by Edmund Burke and Robert Dodsley....
, other events of 1759, 1760 in literature
1760 in literature
The year 1760 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*James Beattie becomes a professor at the University of Aberdeen.*Fanny Burney and her family move to London....
, list of years in literature.
Events
- Denis DiderotDenis DiderotDenis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
's Encyclopédie is formally suppressed by the French government. - Johann Ernst Immanuel WalchJohann Ernst Immanuel WalchJohann Ernst Immanuel Walch was a German theologian, linguist, and naturalist from Jena.The son of the theologian Johann Georg Walch, he studied Semitic languages at the University of Jena, and also natural science and mathematics. In 1749 he published Einleitung in die Harmonie der Evangelien,...
becomes professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Jena. - 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...
becomes Bishop of Gloucester. - The opening of 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...
in January.
New books
- Sarah FieldingSarah FieldingSarah Fielding was a British author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She was the author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy , which was the first novel in English written especially for children , and had earlier achieved success with her novel The Adventures of David Simple...
– The History of the Countess of Dellwyn - Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
– The History of Rasselas, Prince of AbissiniaThe History of Rasselas, Prince of AbissiniaThe History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, often abbreviated to Rasselas, is an apologue about happiness by Samuel Johnson. The book's original working title was “The Choice of Life". He wrote the piece to help support his seriously ill mother with an intended completion date of January 22, 1759...
(on Wikisource). - Gotthold Lessing – Fables
- William RiderWilliam RiderWilliam Rider was an English historian, priest and writer. Whilst he wrote a number of works, his New Universal Dictionary suffered in comparison with that written by Samuel Johnson and his 50-volume work A New History of England was unsuccessful; it was later described as one of the vilest Grub...
– Candidus (a translation of Candide) - Laurence SterneLaurence SterneLaurence Sterne was an Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics...
– The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman vols i–ii. - VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
– CandideCandideCandide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
New drama
- William HawkinsWilliam Hawkins (clergyman)-Life:He was eldest son of William Hawkins, serjeant-at-law, by his first wife, a daughter of Sir Roger Jenyns and sister of Soame Jenyns. Through his grandmother he was descended from Thomas Tesdale, one of the founders of Pembroke College, Oxford, and he matriculated there on 12 November 1737. He...
– Cymbeline (adapted from William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
) - Arthur MurphyArthur MurphyArthur Murphy , also known by the pseudonym Charles Ranger, was an Irish writer.-Biography:He was born at Cloonyquin, County Roscommon, Ireland, the son of Richard Murphy and Jane French....
– The Orphan of China - James TownleyJames TownleyRev. James Townley was an English dramatist and anonymous playwright, the second son of Charles Townley, a merchant.-Early and Personal life:...
– High Life Below Stairs
Poetry
- Samuel ButlerSamuel Butler (poet)Samuel Butler was a poet and satirist. Born in Strensham, Worcestershire and baptised 14 February 1613, he is remembered now chiefly for a long satirical burlesque poem on Puritanism entitled Hudibras.-Biography:...
– The Genuine Remains (collected works) - Edward CapellEdward CapellEdward Capell , English Shakespearian critic, was born at Troston Hall in Suffolk.-Biography:Through the influence of the Duke of Grafton he was appointed to the office of deputy-inspector of plays in 1737, with a salary of £200 per annum, and in 1745 he was made groom of the privy chamber through...
– Prolusions - John Gilbert CooperJohn Gilbert CooperJohn Gilbert Cooper or John Gilbert was a British poet and writer.-Biography:John Gilbert was born in Lockington, Leicestershire. His father was left a legacy which included Thurgarton Priory which he was allowed if he changed his name to Cooper...
– Ver-Vert (transl.) - William MasonWilliam Mason (poet)William Mason was an English poet, editor and gardener.He was born in Hull and educated at Hull Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1754 and held a number of posts in the church....
– Caractacus - Augustus Montague TopladyAugustus Montague TopladyAugustus Montague Toplady was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages"...
– Poems on Sacred Subjects
Non-fiction
- Edmund BurkeEdmund BurkeEdmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
– The Annual Register - Alexander GerardAlexander GerardAlexander Gerard , philosophical writer, son of Rev. Gilbert Gerard, was educated at Aberdeen, where he became Professor, first of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College in 1750, and afterwards between 1760–1771 of Divinity, taking up the post of Professor of Divinity at King's College in 1771. As...
– An Essay on Taste - Oliver GoldsmithOliver GoldsmithOliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
– The Bee (periodical solely by Goldsmith)- – An Enquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe
- 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...
– The History of England, Under the House of Tudor - Richard HurdRichard HurdRichard Hurd was an English divine and writer, and bishop of Worcester.-Life:He was born at Congreve, in the parish of Penkridge, Staffordshire, where his father was a farmer. He was educated at Brewood Grammar School and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He took his B.A. degree in 1739, and in 1742...
– Moral and Political Dialogues - Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of ClarendonEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of ClarendonEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
– The Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon Written by Himself (autobiography) - Mary Latter – Miscellaneous Works
- William RobertsonWilliam Robertson (historian)William Robertson FRSE FSA was a Scottish historian, minister of religion, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh...
– The History of Scotland During the Reigns of Queen Mary and of King James - 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...
– Theory of Moral Sentiments - Arthur Young – Reflections on the Present State of Affairs at Home and Abroad
- Edward YoungEdward YoungEdward Young was an English poet, best remembered for Night Thoughts.-Early life:He was the son of Edward Young, later Dean of Salisbury, and was born at his father's rectory at Upham, near Winchester, where he was baptized on 3 July 1683. He was educated at Winchester College, and matriculated...
– Conjectures on Original Composition
Births
- January 25 – 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 1796) - March 29 – Alexander ChalmersAlexander ChalmersAlexander Chalmers was a Scottish writer.He was born in Aberdeen.Trained as a doctor, he gave up medicine for journalism, and was for some time editor of the Morning Herald...
, journalist (died 1834) - April 27 – 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...
, feminist writer (died 1797) - November 10 – Friedrich SchillerFriedrich SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, poet and dramatist (died 1805) - December 25 – Richard PorsonRichard PorsonRichard Porson was an English classical scholar. He was the discoverer of Porson's Law; and the Greek typeface Porson was based on his handwriting.-Early life:...
, classical scholar (died 1808)
Deaths
- June 12 – William CollinsWilliam Collins (poet)William Collins was an English poet. Second in influence only to Thomas Gray, he was an important poet of the middle decades of the 18th century...
, poet (born 1721) - July 27 – Pierre Louis MaupertuisPierre Louis MaupertuisPierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Berlin Academy of Science, at the invitation of Frederick the Great....
, philosopher (born 1698) - August 6 – 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:...
, philologist (born 1704) - August 24 – Ewald Christian von KleistEwald Christian von KleistEwald Christian von Kleist was a German poet and officer.-Life:Kleist was born at Zeblin, near Köslin in Farther Pomerania, to the von Kleist family of cavalry leaders...
, poet (born 1715) - September 5 – Lauritz de ThurahLauritz de ThurahLaurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah , was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period...
, architectural historian (born 1706) - October 7 – Joseph AmesJoseph Ames (author)Joseph Ames was an English bibliographer and antiquary. He wrote an account of printing in England from 1471 to 1600, entitled Typographical Antiquities...
, bibliographer (born 1680) - probable – Anton Wilhelm AmoAnton Wilhelm AmoAnton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo was born in what is now Ghana, taken to Europe, and became a respected philosopher and teacher at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany. He was the first African known to have attended a European university.-Early life and education:Amo was a Nzema...
, philosopher (born 1703)