1776 in literature
Encyclopedia
Events
- The United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
issues its Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
on July 4.
New books
- Elizabeth GriffithElizabeth GriffithElizabeth Griffith , sometimes also credited Elizabeth Griffiths, was an 18th-century Irish dramatist, fiction writer, essayist and actress, best known for her edition of Shakespeare's comedies published in 1775.- Biography :Griffith was born in Glamorgan, Glamorganshire, Wales to Dublin theatre...
- The Story of Lady Juliana Harley - Friedrich Heinrich JacobiFriedrich Heinrich JacobiFriedrich Heinrich Jacobi was an influential German philosopher, literary figure, socialite and the younger brother of poet Johann Georg Jacobi...
- Edward Allwill's Briefsammlung - Ignacy KrasickiIgnacy KrasickiIgnacy Krasicki , from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno , was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet , a critic of the clergy, Poland's La Fontaine, author of the first Polish novel, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, and translator from French and...
- The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom (Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki) (first novel in Polish) - Samuel Jackson PrattSamuel Jackson PrattSamuel Jackson Pratt was a prolific English poet, dramatist and novelist, writing under the pseudonym of "Courtney Melmoth" as well as under his own name...
as "Courtney Melmoth" - The Pupil of Pleasure
New drama
- Hannah CowleyHannah CowleyHannah Cowley was an English dramatist and poet. Although Cowley’s plays and poetry did not enjoy wide popularity after the nineteenth century, critic Melinda Finberg rates Cowley as “one of the foremost playwrights of the late eighteenth century” whose “skill in writing fluid, sparkling dialogue...
- The Runaway - Samuel FooteSamuel FooteSamuel Foote was a British dramatist, actor and theatre manager from Cornwall.-Early life:Born into a well-to-do family, Foote was baptized in Truro, Cornwall on 27 January 1720. His father, John Foote, held several public positions, including mayor of Truro, Member of Parliament representing...
- The Bankrupt - Johann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
- Stella - Friedrich Maximilian KlingerFriedrich Maximilian KlingerFriedrich Maximilian von Klinger was a German dramatist and novelist.-Biography:Klinger was born of humble parentage in Frankfurt. His father died when he was a child, and his early years were a hard struggle. He was enabled, however, in 1774 to enter the university of Gießen, where he studied law...
- Sturm und DrangSturm und DrangSturm und Drang is a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s, in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism... - Heinrich Leopold WagnerHeinrich Leopold WagnerHeinrich Leopold Wagner , born in Strasbourg, was a German dramatist, known for his 1776 tragedy Die Kindermörderin.-Works:* Prometheus, Deukalion und seine Rezensenten, 1775* Der wohltätige Unbekannte, 1775...
- Die Kindermörderin
New poetry
- James BeattieJames Beattie (writer)Professor James Beattie FRSE was a Scottish poet, moralist and philosopher.He was born the son of a shopkeeper and small farmer at Laurencekirk in the Mearns, and educated at Aberdeen University. In 1760, he was appointed Professor of moral philosophy there as a result of the interest of his...
- Poems - Richard GravesRichard GravesRichard Graves was an English minister, poet, and novelist.Born at Mickleton Manor, Mickleton, Gloucestershire, to Richard Graves, gentleman, and his wife, Elizabeth, Graves was a student at Abingdon School and Pembroke College, Oxford...
- Euphrosyne - William Mickle - The Lusiad
- Hannah MoreHannah MoreHannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...
- Sir Eldred of the Bower, and The Bleeding Rock - Jonathan Richardson - Morning Thoughts
- John ScottJohn Scott of AmwellJohn Scott , known as Scott of Amwell, was a poet and writer on the alleviation of poverty.He was a wealthy Quaker who lived at Amwell near Ware in Hertfordshire, England...
- Amwell - 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"...
- Psalms and Hymns - William WhiteheadWilliam Whitehead__FORCETOC__William Whitehead was an English poet and playwright. He became Poet Laureate in 1757 after Thomas Gray declined the position.-Life:...
- Variety
Non-fiction
- John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
- Thoughts on GovernmentThoughts on GovernmentThoughts on Government, or in full Thoughts on Government, Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies, was written by John Adams during the spring of 1776 in response to a resolution of the North Carolina Provincial Congress which requested Adams's suggestions on the establishment of... - James BeattieJames Beattie (writer)Professor James Beattie FRSE was a Scottish poet, moralist and philosopher.He was born the son of a shopkeeper and small farmer at Laurencekirk in the Mearns, and educated at Aberdeen University. In 1760, he was appointed Professor of moral philosophy there as a result of the interest of his...
- Essays - Jeremy BenthamJeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
- Fragment on Government - Charles BurneyCharles BurneyCharles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
- A General History of Music - George CampbellGeorge CampbellGeorge Campbell may refer to:Sportsmen*George Campbell , a professional footballer from Scotland who played for Aberdeen FC in the Scottish Premier League, and in Australia's National League...
- The Philosophy of Rhetoric - David DalrympleDavid DalrympleDavid Dalrymple may refer to:*Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet *David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes , baronet and Lord Advocate*David Dalrymple , graduate student in computer science...
- Annals of Scotland - Edward GibbonEdward GibbonEdward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
- The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman EmpireThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a non-fiction history book written by English historian Edward Gibbon and published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776, and went through six printings. Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, VI in 1788–89...
, volume 1 - 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...
- A Survey of Experimental Philosophy - Sir John HawkinsJohn Hawkins (author)Sir John Hawkins was an English author and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson and Horace Walpole. He was part of Johnson's various clubs but later left The Literary Club after a disagreement with some of Johnson's other friends. His friendship with Johnson continued and he was made one of the executors...
- A General History of the Science and Practice of Music - David HerdDavid Herd (anthologist)David Herd was a Scottish anthologist who was a noted collector of national ballads.-Biography:The son of a farmer in the parish of Marykirk in Kincardineshire, he became clerk to an accountant in Edinburgh, where he became a well-known figure among the literary men...
- Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs - Soame JenynsSoame JenynsSoame Jenyns was an English writer.- Biography :He was the son of Sir Roger Jenyns and his second wife Elizabeth Soame, the daughter of Sir Peter Soame. He was born in London, and was educated at St Johns College, Cambridge. In 1742 he was chosen M.P...
- A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion - Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
- Common SenseCommon senseCommon sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as, "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Thus, "common sense" equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have...
- The American Crisis
- Common Sense
- Richard PriceRichard PriceRichard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
- Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty - 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...
- An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Births
- January 24 - E T A Hoffman
- February 12 - Richard MantRichard Mant-Life:He was born at Southampton and educated at Winchester College and at Trinity College, Oxford.He was elected fellow of Oriel in 1798, and afterwards took orders, holding a curacy at Southampton in 1802...
- November 20 - William BlackwoodWilliam BlackwoodWilliam Blackwood was a Scottish publisher who founded the firm of William Blackwood & Sons.Blackwood was born of humble parents in Edinburgh. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a firm of booksellers in Edinburgh, and he followed his calling also in Glasgow and London for several years...
- Maria VersfeltMaria VersfeltMaria Johanna Elselina Versfelt, also known as Ida Saint-Elme, Elzelina av Aylde Jonghe, and by her pseudonym La Contemporaine , was a Dutch writer and stage actress, known for her adventurous life...
- Maria Versfelt
Deaths
- April 29 - Edward Wortley MontaguEdward Wortley MontaguEdward Wortley Montagu was an English author and traveller.He was the son of Edward Wortley Montagu, MP and of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whose talent and eccentricity he seems to have inherited....
, travel writer - May 23 - Jeanne Julie Eleonore de LespinasseJeanne Julie Eleonore de LespinasseJeanne Julie Éléonore de Lespinasse owned a prominent salon in France.-Early life:She was born in Lyon, an illegitimate child of the comtesse d'Albon, but was brought up as the daughter of Claude Lespinasse of Lyon...
, "Mademoiselle de Lespinasse" - 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...