1788 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1788 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1786 1786 in Great Britain Events from the year 1786 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:... | 1787 1787 in Great Britain Events from the year 1787 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:... | 1788 | 1789 1789 in Great Britain Events from the year 1789 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:... | 1790 1790 in Great Britain Events 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:... |
| Sport |
| 1788 English cricket season 1788 English cricket season In the 1788 English cricket season, MCC became the game's lawgiver.Fri 30 May. A revised set of Laws was issued by the Cricket Club at Marylebone, formerly the White Conduit Club... |
Events from the year 1788 in the Kingdom of 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...
.
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 - 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...
, 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
- 1 January - First edition of The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
published under this title (previously The Daily Universal Register). - 9 January - Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa founded.
- 18 January - Captain Arthur PhillipArthur PhillipAdmiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
's ship arrives at Botany BayBotany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
. - 26 January - Eleven ships of First FleetFirst FleetThe First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
from Botany Bay led by Arthur Phillip land in what would become SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Britain establishes the prison colony of New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. - 31 January - Henry Benedict StuartHenry Benedict StuartHenry Benedict Stuart was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne...
becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as King Henry IX and the figurehead of JacobitismJacobitismJacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
. - 13 February - Former 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...
Warren HastingsWarren HastingsWarren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
impeachedImpeachment of Warren HastingsThe Impeachment of Warren Hastings was a failed attempt to impeach the former Governor-General of India Warren Hastings in the Parliament of Great Britain between 1788 and 1795. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta particularly relating to mismanagement and personal...
by the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
for misconduct. - 17 February - The uninhabited Lord Howe IslandLord Howe IslandLord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
is discovered by the brig HMS Supply, commanded by Lieutenant BallHenry Lidgbird BallHenry Lidgbird Ball was a Royal Navy officer, best known for discovering and exploring Lord Howe Island.In 1788, having previously commanded HMS Supply, Lieutenant Ball commanded the vessel entrusted with shipping the first group of settlers from Botany Bay to Norfolk Island.Between 1788 and 1790,...
, who is on his way from Botany BayBotany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
to Norfolk IslandNorfolk IslandNorfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
with convicts to start a penal settlement there. - 14 March - The Edinburgh Evening Courant carries a notice of £200 reward for capture of William BrodieWilliam BrodieWilliam Brodie , more commonly known by his prestigious title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of the trades guild and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling.-Career:By day, Brodie was a...
, town councillor doubling as a burglar. - 20 May - Marylebone Cricket ClubMarylebone Cricket ClubMarylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
publishes revised Laws of CricketLaws of cricketThe laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...
, establishing their position as the final arbiter of the rules of the game. - 13 August - The Triple AllianceTriple Alliance (1788)The Triple Alliance of 1788 was a military alliance between Great Britain, Prussia and the United Provinces, formed to prevent France from becoming a superpower in Europe by taking over the Dutch colonies, fleet and wharfs....
is formed between Britain, PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
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...
. - 22 August - Britain signs a treaty with the chiefs of Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
allowing the creation of a settlement for freed slaves. - 27 August - Trial of William BrodieWilliam BrodieWilliam Brodie , more commonly known by his prestigious title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of the trades guild and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling.-Career:By day, Brodie was a...
begins 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...
. He is sentenced to death by hanging. - 1 October - William Brodie hangedHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. - 14 October - William SymingtonWilliam SymingtonWilliam Symington was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas.-Early life:...
demonstrates a paddle steamerPaddle steamerA paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
on Dalswinton Loch near DumfriesDumfriesDumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
. - November–February 1789 - A period of a mental instability for the 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...
, causes a regency crisis only averted by his sudden recovery the following year. - December - Gilbert WhiteGilbert WhiteGilbert White FRS was a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist.-Life:White was born in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire. He was educated at the Holy Ghost School and by a private tutor in Basingstoke before going to Oriel College, Oxford...
publishes The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, in the County of SouthamptonThe Natural History and Antiquities of SelborneThe Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, or just The Natural History of Selborne is a book by pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist Gilbert White first published in 1789...
(dated 1789).
Undated
- 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...
begins an investigation into the slave trade led by Thomas ClarksonThomas ClarksonThomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
and 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...
.
Births
- 21 January - William Henry SmythWilliam Henry SmythWilliam Henry Smyth was an English sailor, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist.-Private Life:...
, astronomer and admiral (died 18651865 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1865 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 22 January - George Byron, 6th Baron Byron, poet (died 18241824 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1824 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Earl of Liverpool, Tory-Events:...
) - 5 February - Robert PeelRobert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
, Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime 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 18501850 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1850 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 10 March - Edward Hodges BailyEdward Hodges BailyEdward Hodges Baily RA FRS - was an English sculptor who was born in Downend in Bristol.-Life:...
, sculptor (died 18671867 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1867 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl of Derby, Conservative-Events:* 5 March — Fenian rising in Ireland....
) - 22 September - Theodore Edward HookTheodore Edward HookTheodore Edward Hook was an English man of letters.- Biography :He was born in London. He spent a year at Harrow School, and subsequently matriculated at Oxford, but he never actually resided at the university...
, author (died 18411841 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1841 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig , Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:...
)
Deaths
- 31 January - Charles Edward StuartCharles Edward StuartPrince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
, claimant to the British throne (born 17201720 in Great BritainEvents 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....
) - 2 February - James StuartJames Stuart (1713-1788)James "Athenian" Stuart was an English archaeologist, architect and artist best known for his central role in pioneering Neoclassicism.-Early life:...
, archaeologist, architect and artist (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....
) - 18 February - John WhitehurstJohn WhitehurstJohn Whitehurst FRS , of Cheshire, England, was a clockmaker and scientist, and made significant early contributions to geology. He was an influential member of the Lunar Society.- Life and work :...
, clockmaker and scientist (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....
) - 29 March - Charles WesleyCharles WesleyCharles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
: Co-founder (with brother, John WesleyJohn WesleyJohn Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
) of the religious movement now known as MethodismMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
(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:...
) - 15 April - Mary DelanyMary DelanyMary Delany was an English Bluestocking, artist, and letter-writer; equally famous for her "paper-mosaicks" and her lively correspondence.-Early life:...
, bluestocking, artist, and writer (born 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....
) - 18 June - Adam GibAdam GibAdam Gib was a Scottish religious leader, head of the Antiburgher section of the Scottish Secession Church.Gib was born in the parish of Muckhart, Perthshire. He studied literature and theology at the University of Edinburgh and at Perth, and was licensed as a preacher in 1740...
, religious leader (born 17141714 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1714 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Anne , King George I-Events:* March - The Scriblerus Club, an informal group of literary friends, is formed by Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay, John Arbuthnot , Thomas Parnell, Henry St...
) - 2 August - Thomas GainsboroughThomas GainsboroughThomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
, painter (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....
) - 15 October - Samuel GreigSamuel GreigSamuel Greig, or Samuil Karlovich Greig , as he was known in Russia - Scottish-born Russian admiral who distinguished himself in the Battle of Chesma and the Battle of Hogland...
, admiral (born 17361736 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1736 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 14 April - Porteous Riots in Edinburgh...
) - 6 December - Jonathan ShipleyJonathan ShipleyJonathan Shipley was the son of a London stationer; his mother's family were owners of Twyford House, a large manor in Winchester, England. He was ordained a minister in the Church of England and became both Bishop of Llandaff and Bishop of St Asaph.Jonathan grew up at Walbrook in the City of...
, bishop and politician (born 1714) - 22 December - Percivall PottPercivall PottSir Percivall Pott London, England) was an English surgeon, one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen.-Life:...
, surgeon (born 1714)