1773 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1773 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1771 1771 in Great Britain Events from the year 1771 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 22 January - Spain cedes the Falkland Islands to Britain.... | 1772 1772 in Great Britain Events 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... | 1773 | 1774 1774 in Great Britain Events from the year 1774 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 31 March - American Revolutionary War: Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed in the Boston Port Act.* 17 April - The first avowedly Unitarian congregation,... | 1775 1775 in Great Britain Events from the year 1775 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 17 January - First performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.* 9 February - American Revolution: British Parliament... |
| Sport |
| 1773 English cricket season 1773 English cricket season The 1773 English cricket season was a horrendous one for Hampshire and the Hambledon Club. They lost every known match played in 1773 and some of their defeats were heavy. Their poor results probably owed much to star bowler Thomas Brett being injured.... |
Events from the year 1773 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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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
- 17 January - 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...
becomes the first European explorer to cross the Antarctic CircleAntarctic CircleThe Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs south of the Equator.-Description:...
. - March - General Turnpike Act regulates the system of road tollRoad tollRoad toll is the term used in some countries for the number of deaths caused annually by road accidents.The term is in common and official use in Australia and New Zealand.-Australia:In Australia the road toll is reported at a state level...
s. - 15 March - First performance of 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...
's play She Stoops to ConquerShe Stoops to ConquerShe Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
at the Covent Garden Theatre 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...
. - 27 April - 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 Tea ActTea ActThe Tea Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its principal overt objective was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses. A related objective was to undercut the price of tea smuggled into Britain's...
, designed to save the British East India CompanyBritish East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
by granting it a monopoly on the North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n teaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
trade. - 10 May - Tea Act comes into force.
- May - Parliament passes an Act regulating the East India Company's activities 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...
and bringing them under government control. - 16 December - AmericanThirteen ColoniesThe Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
colonists protest against the British at the Boston Tea PartyBoston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
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Undated
- John HarrisonJohn HarrisonJohn Harrison was a self-educated English clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age...
receives the Longitude prizeLongitude prizeThe Longitude Prize was a reward offered by the British government for a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude...
for his invention of the first marine chronometerMarine chronometerA marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation...
. - An informal Stock ExchangeStock exchangeA stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
opens at Threadneedle StreetThreadneedle StreetThreadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, leading from a junction with Poultry, Cornhill, King William Street and Lombard Street, to Bishopsgate....
in London. - Penny Post introduced in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
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Births
- 14 January - William Amherst, 1st Earl AmherstWilliam Amherst, 1st Earl AmherstWilliam Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, GCH, PC was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor-General of India between 1823 and 1828.-Background and education:...
, ambassador to China and Governor-General of IndiaGovernor-General of IndiaThe Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
(died 18571857 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1857 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 7 January — London General Omnibus Company begins operating....
) - 27 January - Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of SussexPrince Augustus Frederick, Duke of SussexThe Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex , was the sixth son of George III of the United Kingdom and his consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not pursue an army or naval career.- Early life :His Royal Highness The Prince Augustus...
(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....
) - 6 April - James MillJames MillJames Mill was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of classical economics, together with David Ricardo, and the father of influential philosopher of classical liberalism, John Stuart Mill.-Life:Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of...
, historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher (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....
) - 19 May - Arthur AikinArthur AikinArthur Aikin , English chemist, mineralogist and scientific writer, was born in Warrington, Lancashire into a distinguished literary family of prominent Unitarians....
, chemist and mineralogist (died 18541854 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1854 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Aberdeen, Peelite-Events:* 21 January — Loss of the RMS Tayleur — 380 drowned, later dubbed "the first Titanic"....
) - 13 June - Thomas YoungThomas Young (scientist)Thomas Young was an English polymath. He is famous for having partly deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work...
, scientist (died 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...
) - 23 July - Thomas BrisbaneThomas BrisbaneMajor-General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet GCH, GCB, FRS, FRSE was a British soldier, colonial Governor and astronomer.-Early life:...
, astronomer and Governor of New South Wales (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....
) - 23 October - Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, judge and literary critic (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:...
) - 6 November - Henry HuntHenry Hunt (politician)Henry "Orator" Hunt was a British radical speaker and agitator remembered as a pioneer of working-class radicalism and an important influence on the later Chartist movement. He advocated parliamentary reform and the repeal of the Corn Laws.Hunt was born in Upavon, Wiltshire and became a prosperous...
, politician (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:...
) - 21 December - Robert BrownRobert Brown (botanist)Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
, botanist (died 18581858 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1858 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , Earl of Derby, Conservative-Events:...
) - 27 December - George CayleyGeorge CayleySir George Cayley, 6th Baronet was a prolific English engineer and one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him the first true scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of flight...
, aviation pioneer (died 18571857 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1857 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 7 January — London General Omnibus Company begins operating....
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Deaths
- 9 February - John GregoryJohn Gregory (moralist)John Gregory , a.k.a. John Gregorie, was an eighteenth-century Scottish physician, medical writer and moralist....
, physician, medical writer and moralist (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:...
) - 24 March - Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, statesman and man of letters (born 16941694 in EnglandEvents from the year 1694 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William III, jointly with Queen Mary II until 28 December, then as sole monarch.-Events:* May - The First Whig Junto is appointed to government....
) - 15 May - Alban ButlerAlban ButlerAlban Butler , English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer, was born at Appletree, Northamptonshire.He was educated at the English College, Douai, where on his ordination to the priesthood in 1735 he held successively the chairs of philosophy and divinity...
, Catholic priest and writer (born 17101710 in Great BritainEvents 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...
) - 23 July - George Edwards, naturalist (born 16931693 in EnglandEvents from the year 1693 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Co-Monarchs - William and Mary-Events:* March - William Congreve's first play, the comedy The Old Bachelor, is performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane....
) - 24 August - George Lyttelton, 1st Baron LytteltonGeorge Lyttelton, 1st Baron LytteltonGeorge Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton PC , known as Sir George Lyttelton, Bt between 1751 and 1756, was a British politician and statesman and a patron of the arts.-Background and education:...
, politician (born 17091709 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1709 in Great Britain.-Events:* January to March - Unusually cold weather brings floating ice into the North Sea....
) - 16 November - John Hawkesworth, writer (born c. 17151715 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1715 in Great Britain.-Events:* February to March - General election results in victory for the Whigs.* 27 March - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke flees to France. His part in secret negotiations with France leading to the Treaty of Utrecht has cast suspicion on him in...
) - 20 December - Charles JennensCharles JennensCharles Jennens was an English landowner and patron of the arts, who assembled the text for five of Handel's oratorios: Saul, Israel in Egypt, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Messiah, and Belshazzar...
, landowner (born c. 17001700 in EnglandEvents from the year 1700 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:*27 February - The island of New Britain is discovered by William Dampier in the western Pacific....
)