Holland and England are now producing the magnificent ocean-going merchant vessels known as East Indiamen
Charles II, the childless king of Spain. leaves all his territories to Philip of Anjou, a grandson of the French king, Louis XIV
Poland, Russia and Denmark attack Sweden, beginning the 21-year Northern War
Peter the Great sets up numerous schools and commercial enterprises to enable Russia to compete in Europe
Boston merchant Samuel Sewall publishes The Selling of Joseph, a very early anti-slavery tract
In the years after the battle of the Boyne, Catholic ownership of land in Ireland is reduced to just 14% of the total
Peter the Great founds the port and city of St Petersburg, giving Russia access to the Baltic
The Act of Settlement declares that no Catholic may inherit the English crown
The War of the Spanish Succession breaks out between French and Austrian claimants to the Spanish throne
German chemist Georg Stahl coins the name phlogiston for the substance believed to be released in the process of burning
The Augustan Age begins in English literature, claiming comparison with the equivalent flowering under Augustus Caesar
On the death of her brother-in-law, William III, Anne becomes queen of England and Scotland
Peter the Great falls for a Lithuanian serf, Catherine, who becomes his life-long companion
The tenth Sikh guru, Gobind Rai, names as his successor the sacred book known as the Granth
The duke of Marlborough wins a major victory over the French at Blenheim, capturing twenty-four battalions and four regiments
The Swedish king Charles XII suffers his first major defeat in a brilliant career, when he faces the Russians at Poltava
The death of Aurangzeb introduces the long period of decline of the Mughal empire
The Act of Union merges England and Scotland as 'one kingdom by the name of Great Britain', a century after the union of the crowns
The secret of true porcelain is at last discovered in the west, at Dresden, by Johann Friedrich Böttger
The Tatler launches a new style of journalism in Britain's coffee houses, followed two years later by the Spectator
Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, is discovered on a Pacific island where he has survived alone for nearly five years
Abraham Darby at Coalbrookdale discovers the use of coke in the smelting of pig iron
In a friendly keyboard contest in Rome between Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, the result is a draw – Handel being the winner on the organ and Scarlatti on the harpsichord
Thomas Newcomen creates a piston steam engine, with the steam condensed in the cylinder by a jet of cold water
Christopher Wren's new domed St Paul's cathedral is completed in London
Machines are thrown out of the window of a Spitalfields factory, in an early protest against industrialization
The Byerley Turk, Darley Arabian and Godolphin Arabian, ancestors of all thoroughbred racehorses, are imported into England
25-year-old George Berkeley attacks Locke in his Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
Handel's success in London with his opera Rinaldo prompts him to settle in Britain
Alexander Pope's Rape of the Lock introduces a delicate vein of mock-heroic in English poetry
The tsar formally marries Catherine, his mistress for nearly ten years (though they may have married secretly five years earlier)
The violinist Archangelo Corelli composes his Christmas Concerto, the best known of his influential group of twelve Concerti Grossi
The emperor Charles VI issues a Pragmatic Sanction, declaring that the remaining Habsburg empire can be inherited through the female line
The treaties signed in Utrecht bring to an end the War of the Spanish Succession
In the aftermath of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish Netherlands are transferred to Austria
Strasbourg and Alsace are ceded to Louis XIV and become part of France
Cosmas Damian Asam begins work on a highly theatrical creation, the Benedictine Abbey of Weltenburg (1714-1735), joined by his younger brother Egid Quirin from 1721
Fahrenheit perfects the mercury thermometer and decides on a 180-degree interval between the freezing and boiling points of water
On the death of Queen Anne, the Act of Settlement delivers the British crown to the elector of Hanover, as George I
The British government offers a massive £20,000 prize for a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time at sea
In his Monadology Leibniz describes a universe consisting of forceful interactive parts that he calls 'monads'
Louis XIV dies after seventy-two years on the throne
A Jacobite uprising in Scotland on behalf of the Old Pretender ends in fiasco
Colen Campbell creates interest in the Palladian style in Britain with the publication of his Vitruvius Britannicus
The Habsburg emperor Charles VI has a son, but the child dies within the year
Scottish entrepreneur John Law establishes the Louisiana Company to develop the Mississippi valley for France
The earl of Burlington employs Colen Campbell to remodel his Piccadilly house in the Palladian style
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, observing the Turkish practice of inoculation against smallpox, submits her infant son to the treatment
The tsarevitch Alexis, heir to Peter the Great, dies from violence inflicted on him in prison
Shares in John Law's Louisiana Company rise spectacularly and then collapse, in what becomes known as the Mississippi Bubble
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, with its detailed realism, can be seen as the first English novel
Two political parties emerge in Sweden's parliament and become known as the Hats and the Caps
The lighter rococo style, beginning in France, becomes an extension of the baroque
The symphony begins to develop as a musical form, deriving from the overtures of operas
The postchaise, introduced in France, provides the first chance of reasonably comfortable travel by land
Like the symphony, the string quartet develops during the eighteenth century, moving from simple beginnings to great complexity
Johann Sebastian Bach compiles the Little Keyboard Book a set of pieces to teach his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Shares in the South Sea Company rise rapidly and collapse within the year, in the so-called South Sea Bubble
The Dalai Lama in Lhasa accepts Chinese imperial protection, which lasts until 1911
Young noblemen, particularly from Britain, visit Italy on the Grand Tour
Canaletto begins to specialize in views of the Venetian canals, finding his main customers among the British
In the treaty of Nystad Sweden cedes Estonia to Russia together with most of Latvia (the rest of which soon follows)
Robert Walpole becomes Britain's chief minister and holds the post for an unrivalled span of twenty-one years
With the transfer of Swedish territory on the Baltic coast, Russia becomes the dominant power in the region
In a ceremony in St Petersburg's cathedral Peter the Great has himself proclaimed 'emperor of all Russia'
Jean-Antoine Watteau paints the most splendid shop sign in history, for his friend Gersaint
Johann Sebastian Bach writes the six Brandenburg Concertos for his employer at the court of Köthen
The Iroquois League becomes known as the Six Nations, after the Tuscarora join the group
Easter Island is reached by the Dutch, beginning a spate of European discovery in the islands of the Pacific
J.S. Bach publishes The Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection of 24 Preludes and Fugues
16-year-old Benjamin Franklin contributes the 'Dogood Papers', essays on moral topics, to a Boston journal, The New England Courant
The Austrian emperor, Charles VI, agrees that Hungary shall be ruled as a separate kingdom within his empire
General Wade, commander-in-chief of North Britain, begins an impressive program of road construction in the Scottish Highlands
The Russian tsar Peter the Great dies and is succeeded by his wife as the empress Catherine I
Vivaldi publishes the set of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons
Jonathan Swift sends his hero on a series of bitterly satirical travels in Gulliver's Travels
J.S. Bach conducts the first performance of his St Matthew Passion in the St Thomas's church in Leipzig
On the death of his father, George I, George II becomes king of Great Britain
Handel composes Zadok the Priest for the crowning of George II, and it has been sung at every subsequent British coronation
The Danish explorer Vitus Bering sails into Arctic seas through the strait between Asia and America known now by his name
Benjamin Franklin prints, publishes and largely writes the weekly Pennsylvania Gazette
The Italian poet Metastasio produces, in Vienna, opera libretti which are used by almost every composer of the day
John and Charles Wesley form a Holy Club at Oxford which becomes the cradle of Methodism
The Flemish-born sculptor Michael Rysbrack creates a monument to Newton in Westminster Abbey
English maker of telescopes John Hadley designs the instrument which evolves into the standard sextant used at sea
Benjamin Franklin sets up a subscription library, the Library Company of Philadelphia
Georgia is granted to a group of British philanthropists, to give a new start in life to debtors
With the performance of Esther Handel taps a rich new vein, the English oratorio
John Kay, working in the Lancashire woollen industry, patents the flying shuttle to speed up weaving
Benjamin Franklin establishes the most successful of America's almanacs, publishing it annually until 1758
An alliance between the French and Spanish Bourbons is the first of what become known as the Family Compacts
Voltaire publishes a series of Philosophical Letters comparing the French unfavourably with England
John Peter Zenger, editor of the Weekly Journal, is acquitted of libelling the governor of New York on the grounds that what he published was true
A revivalist movement in America, led by Jonathan Edwards, becomes known as the Great Awakening
The Asam brothers build at their own expense the tiny and brilliant baroque church of St John Nepomuk, attached to their own house in Munich
Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus publishes a 'system of nature', capable of classifying all living things
Swedish chemist Georg Brandt discovers a new metallic element, which he names cobalt
The leader of a gang of tribal brigands seizes the Persian throne and takes the name Nadir Shah
Florence loses her independence when the last Medici duke of Tuscany dies
Italian dramatist Carlo Goldoni makes a success of plays in the ancient commedia dell'arte tradition
In the Treaty of Vienna, France accepts the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI – the last of the European powers to do so
Britain declares war on Spain, partly in a mood of indignation over Captain Jenkins' ear
The Persian ruler Nadir Shah enters Delhi and removes much of the accumulated treasure of the Mughal empire
David Hume publishes his Treatise of Human Nature, in which he applies to the human mind the principles of experimental science
Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador become the Spanish viceroyalty of New Granada, with Bogota as the capital
Frederick II, inheriting the throne in Prussia, establishes a cultured and musical court
A charismatic leader, Baal Shem Tov, develops Hasidism in Poland as an influential revivalist movement within Judaism
Italian dramatist Carlo Goldoni makes a success of plays in the ancient commedia dell'arte tradition
Jack Broughton, champion of England, opens an academy to teach 'the mystery of boxing, that wholly British art'
The Habsburg emperor Charles VI dies and is succeeded by his elder daughter, the 23-year-old Maria Theresa
Frederick II, the king of Prussia, invades the neighbouring Habsburg province of Silesia, launching the War of the Austrian Succession
Bad weather causes the French to abandon a plan to invade Britain with the Scottish pretender Charles Edward Stuart
The American Magazine and the General Magazine both begin a short-lived existence
J.S. Bach publishes his set of Goldberg Variations, supposedly written for performance by the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg
Frederick's Prussian army defeats the Austrians at Mollwitz, securing his hold on most of Silesia
American revivalism is inflamed by Jonathan Edwards' vivid sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Venice's new theatre, the Teatro Novissimo, has machinery which can change the scenes in the blink of an eye
French and Bavarian armies join the war against Austria, marching through upper Austria into Bohemia
Spain, now an ally of France, joins in the war against Austria
Britain, already fighting Spain (in the War of Jenkin's Ear), is drawn into the wider conflict as an ally of Austria
French and Bavarian forces enter Prague, one of the most important cities in the Austrian empire
An Austrian army captures the Bavarian capital city, Munich
Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius proposes 100 degrees between the freezing and boiling points of water
Edmond Hoyle publishes the definitive rules of whist
The Muslim reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab makes an alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, of significance to the later Saudi dynasty
George II leads a British army to victory over the French at Dettingen
Benjamin Franklin drafts in Philadelphia the founding document for the American Philosophical Society
Muhammad ibn Saud begins the expansion of power that will lead eventually to the establishment of Saudi Arabia
France formally declares war on Britain half way through the War of the Austrian Succession
J.S. Bach publishes another set of 24 Preludes and Fugues, as an addition to his previous Well-Tempered Clavier
Franklin publishes his design for an improved stove in Account of the New Invented Pennsylvania Fire Place
New England militiamen achieve an unexpected success in capturing the fortress of Louisbourg from the French
Maurice de Saxe, with a French army including an Irish brigade, defeats British, Austrian and Dutch forces at Fontenoy
The principle of the Leyden jar is discovered by an amateur German physicist, Ewald Georg von Kleist, dean of the cathedral in Kamin
Charles Edward Stuart lands at Eriskay in the Hebrides, launching the Forty-Five Rebellion
Charles Edward Stuart gathers support for the Forty-Five Rebellion on his way south from the Hebrides and reaches Edinburgh
Charles Edward Stuart marches as far south as Derby, but then turns back
Frederick the Great's Prussian soldiers, advancing in shallow disciplined formation, outclass other armies of the time
Frederick II's three victories in 1745 cause him to be known by his contemporaries as Frederick the Great
Frederick the Great begins to build the summer palace of Sans Souci at Potsdam
Charles Edward Stuart and his 5000 Scots are routed at Culloden, bringing the Forty-Five Rebellion to an abrupt end
Tartan and Highland dress are banned by the British government, in a prohibition not lifted until 1782
An earthquake destroys much of Lima, and an ensuing tidal wave engulfs its port at Callao
Monsieur Passemont constructs in Paris a millennium clock which can record the date in any year up to AD 9999
French forces capture the British East India Company's fort of Madras
The French commander Maurice de Saxe succeeds in occupying the entire Austrian Netherlands
A tribal leader, Ahmad Shah Abdali, is elected king of the Afghans in an event seen as the foundation of the Afghan nation
Samuel Richardson's Clarissa begins the correspondence that grows into the longest novel in the English language
Systematic digging begins near Vesuvius, in an area where ancient fragments are often unearthed - soon discovered to be Pompeii
The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession, but only postpones the continuation of hostilities (in the Seven Years' War)
The peace treaty returns all captured territories to their owners – with the exception of Silesia, which becomes part of Prussia
A French official travels down the Ohio valley, placing markers to claim it for France
Henry Fielding introduces a character of lasting appeal in the lusty but good-hearted Tom Jones
Shortly before his death (in 1750) J.S. Bach completes his Mass in B Minor, worked on over many years
French painter Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin returns to the subject matter that first took his interest, still life
Naval engagements are now fought in lines of battle, with only the most heavily armed vessels rated as 'ships of the line'
Horace Walpole begins to create his own Strawberry Hill, a neo-Gothic fantasy, on the banks of the Thames west of London
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo begins a series of frescoes to decorate the prince bishop's residence in Würzburg
By the time of his death the prolific output of Domenico Scarlatti includes 555 sonatas, all but a few for his own instrument, the harpsichord
Robert Clive prevails over the French after holding out during the seven-week siege of Arcot in southern India
A great French undertaking by Denis Diderot, his 28-volume Encyclopédie, begins publication
The Swedish chemist Alex Cronstedt identifies an impurity in copper ore as a separate metallic element, which he names nickel
English poet Thomas Gray publishes his Elegy written in a Country Church Yard
English gardener Lancelot Brown sets up in business as a freelance 'improver of grounds', and soon acquires the nickname Capability Brown
Britain is one of the last nations to adjust to the more accurate Gregorian calendar, causing a suspicious public to fear they have been robbed of eleven days
English obstetrician William Smellie introduces scientific midwifery as a result of his researches into childbirth
The French seize or evict every English-speaking trader in the region of the upper Ohio
Benjamin Franklin flies a kite into a thunder cloud to demonstrate the nature of electricity
French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard wins the cherished Prix de Rome at the age of 20
George Washington undertakes a difficult and ineffectual journey to persuade the French to withdraw from the Ohio valley
In Freedom of Will American evangelist Jonathan Edwards makes an uncompromising defence of orthodox against liberal Calvinism
Benjamin Franklin's chopped-up snake, urging union of the colonies with the caption 'Join or Die', is the first American political cartoon
Quaker minister John Woolman publishes the first part of Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes, an essay denouncing slavery
Scottish chemist Joseph Black identifies the existence of a gas, carbon dioxide, which he calls 'fixed air'
George Washington kills ten French troops at Fort Duquesne, in the first violent clash of the French and Indian war
Benjamin Franklin proposes to the Albany Congress that the colonies should unite to form a colonial government
The British colonies negotiate with the Iroquois at the Albany Congress, in the face of the French threat in the Ohio valley
Francesco Guardi, previously a painter of figures, begins to specialize in view of Venice, his native city
A British force under Edward Braddock lands in America to provide support against the French in the Ohio valley
Samuel Johnson publishes his magisterial Dictionary of the English Language
The first Conestoga wagons are acquired by George Washington for an expedition through the Alleghenies
Johann Joachim Winckelmann publishes a book on Greek painting and sculpture which introduces a new strand of neoclassicism
The army led by Edward Braddock and George Washington is ambushed at Fort Duquesne and Braddock is killed
In what becomes known as the Diplomatic Revolution, two of Europe's long-standing rivals - France and Austria - sign a treaty of alliance
122 people die after being locked overnight in a small room in Calcutta, in an incident that becomes known as the Black Hole of Calcutta
The French in America, under the marquis of Montcalm, begin two highly successful years of campaigning against the British
Frederick the Great again precipitates a European conflict, marching without warning into Saxony and launching the Seven Years' War
Admiral John Byng is shot on the deck of a ship in Portsmouth harbour for 'neglect of duty' in failing to relieve Minorca
Robert Clive defeats the nawab of Bengal at the battle of Plassey, and places his own man on the throne
Robert Adam returns to Britain after two years in Rome with a repertoire of classical themes which he mingles to form a new British neoclassicism
William Pitt the Elder becomes secretary of state and transforms the British war effort against France in America
English painter Joseph Wright sets up a studio in his home town, Derby
Joshua Reynolds is by now the most fashionable portrait painter in London, copies with as many as 150 sitters in a year
A comet returns exactly at the time predicted by English astronomer Edmond Halley, and is subsequently known by his name
James Woodforde, an English country parson with a love of food and wine, begins a detailed diary of everyday life
Liverpool-born artist George Stubbs sets up in London as a painter, above all, of people and horses
Portrait-painter Thomas Gainsborough moves from Suffolk to set up a studio in fashionable Bath
Voltaire publishes Candide, a satire on optimism prompted by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755
British general James Wolfe sails up the St Lawrence river with 15,000 men to besiege Quebec
The Portuguese expel the Jesuits from Brazil, beginning a widespread reaction against the order in Catholic Europe
Staffordshire potter Josiah Wedgwood sets up a factory of his own in his home town of Burslem
Frederick the Great suffers his first major defeat, by a Russian and Austrian army at Kunersdorf
Laurence Sterne publishes the first two volumes of Tristram Shandy, beginning with the scene at the hero's conception
Wolfe defeats Montcalm and captures Quebec, but both commanders die in the engagement
A British defeat of the French in Quiberon Bay prompts David Garrick to write Heart of Oak
A succession of victories cause 1759 to be known in Britain as annus mirabilis, the wonderful year
German painter Johann Zoffany moves to England to find work as a painter of conversation pieces and portraits
On the death of his grandfather, George II, George III becomes king of Great Britain
Joseph Haydn enters the service of the Esterházy family, and stays with them for twenty-nine years
Scottish chemist and physicist Joseph Black observes the latent heat in melting ice
Austrian physician Joseph Leopold Auenbrugger describes his new diagnostic technique – percussion, or listening to a patient's chest and tapping
John Harrison's fourth chronometer is only five seconds out at the end of a test journey from England to Jamaica
Italian anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni publishes De Sedibus, the work that introduces scientific pathology
George Washington, the future president, inherits Mount Vernon from his half-brother Lawrence
Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son, Johann Christian, moves to London and becomes known as the English Bach
Two books in this year, émile and Du Contrat Social, prompt orders for the arrest of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The intensely dramatic music of Gluck's Orfeo ed Eurydice introduces a much needed reform in the conventions of opera
Fingal, supposedly by the medieval poet Ossian, is a forgery in the spirit of the times by James MacPherson
6-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart plays for the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa
In the treaty of Paris, Spain cedes Florida to Britain, completing British possession of the entire east coast of north America
The Treaty of Hubertusburg, between Prussia and Austria, increases the power of Prussia among the many separate states of Germany
English journalist John Wilkes is arrested for publishing seditious libel in issue no 45 of his weekly magazine The North Briton
James Boswell meets Samuel Johnson for the first time, in the London bookshop of Thomas Davies
Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, leads an uprising of the Indian tribes in an attempt to drive the British east of the Appalachians
7-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart begins a three-year concert tour of Europe
American artist Benjamin West settles in London, where he becomes famous for his large-scale history scenes
The capital of the Portuguese colony of Brazil is moved from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro
A treaty signed in Paris ends the Seven Years' War between Britain, France and Spain
In the treaty of Paris France cedes to Britain all its territory north of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi river, except the district of New Orleans
A French expedition from St Malo, founding a colony on East Falkland, name the islands Les îsles Malouines
The Russian empress Catherine the Great secures the throne of Poland for one of her lovers, as Stanislaw II
James Watt ponders on the inefficiency of contemporary steam engines and invents the condenser
James Watt ponders on the inefficiency of contemporary steam engines and invents the condenser
Catherine the Great founds the Hermitage as a court museum attached to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg
Britain passes the Sugar Act, levying duty on sugar, wine and textiles imported into America
Joseph Haydn's first published work is six string quartets, a form which he subsequently makes very much his own
Lancashire spinner James Hargreaves conceives the idea of the spinning jenny, with multiple spindles worked from a single wheel
English historian Edward Gibbon, sitting among ruins in Rome, conceives the idea of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
English author Horace Walpole provides an early taste of Gothic thrills in his novel Castle of Otranto
Britain passes the Stamp Act, taxing legal documents and newspapers in the American colonies
American campaigners against the Stamp Act organize themselves as the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts and New York
Britain repeals the Stamp Act, in a major reversal of policy achieved by resistance in the American colonies
English chemist Henry Cavendish isolates hydrogen but believes that it is phlogiston
Irish novelist Oliver Goldsmith publishes The Vicar of Wakefield, with a hero who has much to complain about but keeps calm
Pierre le Roy's chronometer, as accurate as Harrison's and cheaper to construct, is set to become the standard model
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon complete a four-year survey to establish the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland
Work begins on Edinburgh's New Town, to the design of the 23-year-old architect James Craig
The British Chancellor, Charles Townshend, passes a series of acts taxing all glass, lead, paint, paper and tea imported into the American colonies
Captain James Cook sails from Plymouth, in England, heading for Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus
A French artist, Jean Baptiste le Prince, discovers the aquatint technique in printmaking
A Society of Gentlemen in Scotland begins publication of the immensely successful Encyclopaedia Britannica
Corsica is sold to France by the republic of Genoa
A border incident at Balta, in the southern Ukraine, sparks a war between Russia and Turkey that will last six years
The Royal Academy is established in London, with Joshua Reynolds as its first president
Captain Cook observes in Tahiti the transit of Venus, the primary purpose of his voyage to the Pacific
Captain Cook reaches New Zealand and sets off to chart its entire coastline
French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot successfully tests a steam wagon, probably the first working mechanical vehicle
Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra begins work at San Diego de Cala, the first of his nine California missions
27-year-old Thomas Jefferson begins constructing a mansion on a hilltop in Charlottesville, calling it Monticello ('little mountain')
The triangular trade, controlled from Liverpool, ships millions of Africans across the Atlantic as slaves
British troops fire into an unruly crowd in Boston, Massachusetts, killing five
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret
Captain Cook reaches the mainland of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay, and continues up the eastern coast
In response to American protests, the British government removes the Townshend duties on all commodities with the exception of tea
English entrepreneur Richard Arkwright adds water power to spinning by means of the water frame
Richard Arkwright pioneers the factory environment with his cotton mill at Cromford in Derbyshire
Russia, Prussia and Austria agree a treaty enabling them to divide the spoils in the first partition of Poland
The first partition of Poland begins the process of Lithuania being progressively absorbed into Russia
Gustavus III achieves a coup d'état which brings executive power in Sweden back into royal hands
Captain Cook sets off, in HMS Resolution, on his second voyage to the southern hemisphere
Captain Cook sets off, in HMS Resolution, on his second voyage to the southern hemisphere
Haydn's Farewell Symphony gives a subtle hint to his employer at Esterházy that it is time for the musicians to return home
Samuel Johnson and James Boswell undertake a journey together to the western islands of Scotland
Some fifty colonists, disguised as Indians, tip a valuable cargo of tea into Boston harbour as a protest against British tax
Responding to pressure from the Catholic monarchs of Europe, Clement XIV abolishes the Jesuit Order
English prison reformer John Howard is shocked into action by the conditions he sees in Bedford gaol
The London brokers who meet to do business in Jonathan's coffee house decide to call themselves the Stock Exchange
Oliver Goldsmith's play She Stoops to Conquer is produced in London's Covent Garden theatre
Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele isolates oxygen but does not immediately publish his achievement
As a retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, the British parliament closes Boston's port with the first of its Coercive Acts
Goethe's romantic novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, brings him an immediate European reputation
Goethe's play Götz von Berlichingen, a definitive work of Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress), has its premiere in Berlin
Britain's new Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts include the requirement that Massachusetts citizens give board and lodging to British troops
The Spanish, now in sole occupation of the Falkland Islands, call them Las Islas Malvinas
Encouraged by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine emigrates to America and settles in Philadelphia
In the treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji, ending the recent Russo-Turkish war, the Ottoman empire cedes the Crimea to Russia
The treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji grants Russia special rights in relation to the Christian Holy Places under Ottoman control
Illiterate visionary Ann Lee, leader of an English sect, the 'Shaking Quakers', crosses the Atlantic to spread the word
English chemist Joseph Priestley isolates oxygen, but he believes it to be 'dephlogisticated air'
Delegates from twelve American colonies meet in Philadelphia and agree not to import any goods from Britain
Thomas Gainsborough moves from Bath to set up a studio in London
Dutch nomads, pressing far north from Cape Town, become known as the Trekboers
Pioneer Daniel Boone and other backwoodsmen cut the road west that will bring settlers to Kentucky
Patrick Henry makes a stirring declaration – 'Give me liberty or give me death' – to the Virginia Assembly
John Singleton Copley, already established as America's greatest portrait painter, moves to London
General Gage sends a detachment of British troops to seize weapons held by American Patriots at Concord
Paul Revere is one of the US riders taking an urgent warning to Concord, but he is captured on the journey
The first shot of the American Revolution is fired in a skirmish between redcoats and militiamen at Lexington, on the road to Concord
The first shot of the American Revolution is fired in a skirmish between redcoats and militiamen at Lexington, on the road to Concord
Delegates from the states reassemble in Philadelphia, with hostilities against the British already under way in Massachusetts
Delegates in Philadelphia select George Washington as commander-in-chief of the colonial army
At Bunker Hill, overlooking Boston from the north, the American militiamen prove their worth against British professional soldiers
Delegates to the Continental Congress make a final bid for peace, sending the Olive Branch Petition to George III
Britain declares the colonies to be in a state of rebellion, and sets up a naval blockade of the American coastline
Yankee Doodle is the most popular song with the patriot troops in the American Revolution
Figaro makes his first appearance on stage in Beaumarchais' The Barber of Seville
Talleyrand begins an extremely varied career by becoming an abbot at the age of twenty-one
Captain Cook publishes his discovery of a preventive cure against scurvy, in the form of a regular ration of lemon juice
Francisco de Goya begins a series of designs for tapestries to be made in Spain's Royal Tapestry Factory
George Washington raises on Prospect Hill a new American flag, the British red ensign on a ground of thirteen stripes – one for each colony
In Common Sense, an anonymous pamphlet, English immigrant Thomas Paine is the first to argue that the American colonies should be independent
Two Boulton and Watt engines are installed, the first of many in the mines and mills of England's developing industrial revolution
George Washington drives the British garrison from Boston, and moves south to protect New York
The revolutionary convention of Virginia votes for independence from Britain, and instructs its delegates in Philadelphia to propose this motion
Virginia's motion for independence from Britain is passed at the Continental Congress of the colonies with no opposing vote
Thomas Jefferson's text for the Declaration of Independence is accepted by the Congress in Philadelphia
English historian Edward Gibbon publishes the first volume of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
John Hancock is the first delegate to sign the Declaration of Independence, formally written out on a large sheet of parchment
George Washington, driven from New York by the British, retreats towards Philadelphia
Spanish America is now administered as four viceroyalties - New Spain, New Granada, New Peru and La Plata
Buenos Aires rather than Asunción is chosen to be capital of the new Spanish viceroyalty of La Plata
Scottish economist Adam Smith analyzes the nature and causes of the Wealth of Nations
George Washington defeats the British at Trenton at a psychologically important moment in the course of the war
Congress adopts a new flag for independent America – the stars and stripes
George Washington, heavily defeated in a battle at Brandywine, is forced to relinquish Philadelphia to the British
Richard Brinsley Sheridan's second play, The School for Scandal, is an immediate success in London's Drury Lane theatre
The American general Horatio Gates captures the army of General Burgoyne near Saratoga
The US Congress agrees the final version of the Articles of Confederation, defining the terms on which states join the Union
Benjamin Franklin persuades the French to sign a Treaty of Alliance, committing France to the US cause
France, joining the American colonies in their fight against Britain, sends a large fleet across the Atlantic
The American naval hero John Paul Jones makes successful raids around the coasts of Britain
In Brook Watson and the Shark John Singleton Copley creates the most intensely dramatic of his modern history paintings
The British rapidly abandon Philadelphia on news of the expected arrival of a French fleet
The British rapidly abandon Philadelphia on news of the expected arrival of a French fleet
The British adopt a new policy in the south, landing in Georgia and capturing much of South Carolina
Francis Hopkinson's popular ballad The Battle of the Kegs describes an ingenious American threat to the British navy
15-year-old Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun earns enough from painting portraits to support the rest of her family
British explorer Captain James Cook is killed in a skirmish with natives in Hawaii over a stolen boat
Joseph Banks tells a committee of the House of Commons that the east coast of Australia is suitable for the transportation of convicted felons
The world's first iron bridge is assembled in a few months across the Severn at Coalbrookdale
Samuel Crompton perfects the mule, a machine for spinning that combines the merits of Hargreave's jenny and Arkwright's water frame
The 10-year-old Napoleon is admitted as a student in a military college at Brienne, near Troyes
U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, fights H.M.S. Serapis near England's Flamborough Head
Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro is a master of colour woodcuts, often depicting the courtesan district of Edo
An Indian uprising in Spanish Peru is led by a descendant of the Incas, Tupac Amaru II
In developing the Haskalah, the German philosopher Moses Mendelssohn reconciles Judaism and the Enlightenment
Six days of riot in London are triggered by Lord George Gordon leading a march to oppose any degree of Catholic emancipation
The capture of British go-between John André yields proof that US general Benedict Arnold is in the pay of the British
British army officer John André is executed in New York as a spy
Maryland, ratifies the Articles of Confederation (the last state to do so), completing 'the Confederation of the United States'
William Herschel discovers Uranus, the first planet to be found by means of a telescope, and names it the Georgian star
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, now 25, leaves Salzburg to settle in Vienna
Joseph II passes an Edict of Toleration, for the first time allowing Protestant worship in Habsburg territories
The Bank of North America is established by the Continental Congress to lend money to the fledgling Revolutionary government
US poet Philip Freneau describes in The British Prison Ship the horrors of his experiences as a prisoner
German philosopher Immanuel Kant publishes the first of his three 'critiques', The Critique of Pure Reason
Ann Lee leads her Shaker colleagues in a missionary tour of New England lasting two years
The reforming emperor Joseph II emancipates the serfs in the Habsburg territories
The British general Charles Cornwallis, isolated at Yorktown, is forced to surrender in the final engagement of the Revolutionary War
Italian sculptor Antonio Canova sets up his studio in Rome and begins producing finely modelled nudes in the Greek style
Friedrich von Schiller's youthful and anarchic play The Robbers causes a sensation when performed in Mannheim
The English actress Sarah Siddons, already well known in the province, causes a sensation when she appears in London at Drury Lane
12-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven publishes his first composition, Piano Variations on a March by Dressler
French paper manufacturer Joseph Montgolfier sends a hot-air balloon 3000 feet (1000m) into the air, in front of a crowd in Annonay
Some 40,000 Loyalists flee from British America to the previously French colonies, in particular Nova Scotia
US lexicographer Noah Webster publishes a Spelling Book for American children that eventually will sell more than 60 million copies
The empress Catherine the Great annexes the Crimean peninsula, giving Russia a presence in the Black Sea
20-year-old John Jacob Astor emigrates from Germany to America and sets up in the fur trade
Ten days after the first human ascent in a hot-air balloon the feat is repeated, again in Paris, in a version lifted by hydrogen
In the Treaty of Paris, negotiated by Adams, Franklin and Jay, the British government recognizes US independence
In the Treaty of Paris, negotiated by Adams, Franklin and Jay, the British government recognizes US independence
In the Treaty of Paris, negotiated by Adams, Franklin and Jay, the British government recognizes US independence
Louis XVI watches through his telescope the first balloon flight with living passengers – a sheep, a cock and a duck
A hot-air balloon rises from a Paris garden, carrying the first human aeronauts – Pilàtre de Rozier and the marquis d'Arlandes
Jacques-Louis David, establishing a reputation with his severe classical paintings, is elected to the French academy
Benjamin Franklin, irritated at needing two pairs of spectacles, commissions from a lens-grinder the first bifocals
A 24-year-old, William Pitt the Younger, is appointed Britain's prime minister by George III
A 24-year-old, William Pitt the Younger, is appointed Britain's prime minister by George III
English ironmaster Henry Cort patents a process for puddling iron which produces a pure and malleable metal
English ironmaster Henry Cort patents a process for puddling iron which produces a pure and malleable metal
The first mail coach leaves Bristol for London, introducing a new era of faster transport
Mozart and his friends perform for Haydn the Mozart quartets inspired by Haydn's 'Russian' quartets (op.33), which on publication are dedicated to him
The French queen Marie Antoinette is wrongly implicated in a scandal involving a diamond necklace
French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb begins publishing his discoveries in the field of electricity and magnetism
James Hutton describes to the Royal Society of Edinburgh his studies of local rocks , launching the era of scientific geology
William Withering's Account of the Foxglove describes the use of digitalis for dropsy, and its possible application to heart disease
Napoleon graduates from his military college and is commissioned in an artillery regiment
French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon crosses the Atlantic to sculpt a statue of George Washington from the life at Mount Vernon
Mozart's Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna and then has a huge success in Prague
The emperor Joseph II is reported to have told Mozart that his opera The Marriage of Figaro has 'too many notes'
US author Philip Freneau publishes his first collection of poems, dating back to 1771
Daniel Shays is the most prominent figure in a violent protest movement by farmers against the government of Massachusetts
Francisco de Goya is appointed painter to the king of Spain, Charles III
French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier publishes a system for classifying and naming chemical substances
The Continental Congress passes the Northwest Ordinance, a plan for the establishment of new states north and west of the Ohio river
The French finance minister, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, is dismissed when his proposed reforms meet aristocratic opposition
The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade is founded in London, with a strong Quaker influence
The First Fleet (eleven ships carrying about 750 convicts) leaves Portsmouth for Australia
A British ship lands a party of freed slaves as the first modern settlers in Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa
Scottish engineer James Watt devises the governor, the first example of industrial automation
Scottish engineer James Watt devises the governor, the first example of industrial automation
Delegates meeting in Philadelphia agree a final draft for a US constitution, to be submitted to the states for ratification
The Federalist Papers, in support of the Constitution and mainly written by Alexander Hamilton, begin appearing in New York
Mozart's opera Don Giovanni has its premiere in Prague
After a journey of eight months from England the First Fleet reaches Australia, anchoring in Botany Bay
Arthur Phillip, selecting a suitable coastal site for the first penal colony in Australia, names the place Sydney Cove
The constitution of the United States is ratified by the states, but it is immediately agreed that amendments will be desirable
Tiradentes (the 'puller of teeth') leads the first rebellion against Portuguese rule in Brazil
The ministers of Louis XVI reluctantly announce that the estates general will meet in 1789, for the first time since 1614
Spain's affairs are controlled by Manuel de Godoy, lover of the queen, Maria Luisa
In his Principles Jeremy Bentham defines 'utility' as that which enhances pleasure and reduces pain
England's champion pugilist, the Jewish prize-fighter Daniel Mendoza, publishes The Art of Boxing
George Washington, unanimously elected first president of the United States, is inaugurated on Wall Street in New York
Alexander Hamilton becomes secretary of the treasury in the administration of George Washington, whose federalist views he shares
A pamphlet published in France by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès asks a challenging question, What is the Third Estate?
William Blake publishes Songs of Innocence, a volume of his poems with every page etched and illustrated by himself
A left-wing political club begins to meet in a Jacobin convent in Paris, thus becoming known as the Jacobins
The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, a slave captured as a child in Africa, becomes a best-seller on both sides of the Atlantic
Alexander Mackenzie explores by canoe from central Canada through the Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean
Delegates of the Third Estate swear an oath in a tennis court at Versailles, pledging themselves not to disperse until France has a constitution
The painter Jacques-Louis David sketches the events in the Versailles tennis court
An excited Paris mob liberates the seven prisoners held in the forbidding fortress of the Bastille
US painter and author William Dunlap has great success with his comedy The Father; or, American Shandyism
Parisians force their way into the palace at Versailles and insist on Louis XVI and his royal family accompanying them back to Paris
French doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposes a decapitation machine as a more humane form of capital punishment
Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny on HMS Bounty against the captain, William Bligh
Francisco de Goya is appointed court painter to the new Spanish king, Charles IV
A second fleet arrives in Sydney, bringing more convicts and a regiment, the New South Wales Corps, to keep order
Mozart's opera Così fan Tutte has its premiere in Vienna, in the court theatre of Joseph II
A second great revivalist movement sweeps northeast America, inspired by the earlier example of Jonathan Edwards
Joseph Haydn sets off for England, where impresario Johann Peter Salomon presents his London symphonies
The Potomac is chosen as the navigable river on which the new US capital city will be sited
The USA becomes the first nation to establish a regular census as a systematic check on the size of the population
Anglo-Irish politician Edmund Burke publishes Reflections on the Revolution in France, a blistering attack on recent events across the Channel
English painter J.M.W. Turner is only 15 when a painting of his, a watercolour, is first exhibited at the Royal Academy
Naval officer George Vancouver sails from Britain on the voyage which will bring him to the northwest coast of America
Under the guidance of Alexander Hamilton the First Bank of the United States is established in Philadelphia
The Canadian Constitution Act divides Quebec into Upper Canada (today's Ontario) and Lower Canada (today's Quebec)
Scottish poet Robert Burns publishes Tam o' Shanter, in which a drunken farmer has an alarming encounter with witches
French inventor Claude Chappe develops a hilltop signalling system, for which he coins the words telegraph and semaphore
A stranger arrives in Vienna with a mysterious commission for Mozart to write a requiem mass, just months before the composer's death
Louis XVI and his family attempt to flee from Paris to the border but are captured at Varennes
Stationed at Valence, Napoleon becomes president of the local Jacobin club and makes radical speeches against the nobility and clergy
An Indian raid on an American military camp beside the Maumee river leaves more than 600 US soldiers dead
The Ordnance Survey is founded in Britain, to make detailed maps of the country for military purposes
Mozart's opera The Magic Flute has its premiere in Vienna in a popular theatre run by the librettist, Emanuel Shikaneder
Wolfe Tone is one of the founders in Belfast of the Society of United Irishmen
Mozart dies, at the age of just 35, leaving his Requiem unfinished
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, are ratified by the states
Thomas Paine publishes the first part of The Rights of Man, his reply to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France
The Swedish king Gustavus III is assassinated at a midnight masquerade in Stockholm – an event later dramatized by Verdi
France declares war on the Austrian emperor, an event that plunges Europe into more than 20 years of conflict
In a first demonstration of the guillotine, a highwayman is beheaded in a Paris square
A French officer, Rouget de Lisle, writes a stirring anthem for France, soon to be known as the Marseillaise
Scottish painter Henry Raeburn depicts the Reverend Robert Walker skating on Duddingston Loch
George Washington is unanimously elected for a second term as president of the USA
The Brazilian rebel Tiradentes is beheaded in public in Rio de Janeiro as a warning to would-be revolutionaries
Charlotte Square in Edinburgh begins to be built to the design of Robert Adam
English author Mary Wollstonecraft publishes a passionately feminist work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Thomas Paine moves hurriedly to France, to escape a charge of treason in England for opinions expressed in his Rights of Man
A French revolutionary army defeats the Austrians and Prussians at Valmy, and thus saves Paris from attack
After their success at Valmy, French republican armies overrun much of the Austrian Netherlands
During four September days, thugs are encouraged to massacre some 1400 aristocrats and priests held in Paris prisons
Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific coast of Canada, becoming the first known person to cross the north American continent
The National Convention abolishes royalty in France and establishes the first republic
The first political parties, Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Republicans, emerge in the USA
George III sends Lord Macartney on an embassy to the Chinese emperor Qianlong
Beethoven leaves Bonn and goes to Vienna to study composition with Haydn
The Terror begins in republican France, with executions rising to more than 3000 in December
Louis XVI is guillotined after a majority of just one in the national Convention has voted for death without delay
Britain joins other European nations in war against France, mainly in naval engagements in the West Indies and Atlantic
Russia and Prussia agree on a second partition of Poland
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, enormously speeding up the process of separating cotton fibres from the seeds
Rebellion breaks out in the Vendée and a peasant army marches against republican Paris
George Washington lays the cornerstone for the Congress building on Capitol Hill
25-year-old Charlotte Corday gains access to prominent republican Jean-Paul Marat and stabs him in his bath
France becomes the first nation to attempt national conscription, calling up bachelors between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five
The US Congress passes Fugitive Slave Laws, enabling southern slave owners to reclaim escaped slaves in northern states
Horatio Nelson, with his ship docked in Naples, meets Lady Hamilton, wife of the British envoy
The French Convention adopts imaginative names for the months in their new republican calendar
Toussaint L'Ouverture, a former slave, joins a Spanish force invading the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)
English revolutionary Thomas Paine spends nearly a year in a French prison after opposing the execution of Louis XVI
Napoleon's soldiers capture Toulon and his artillery fire forces the Anglo-Spanish fleet to withdraw from the harbour
Robespierre and St Just succeed in sending Danton and his faction to the guillotine in April
French chemist Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is guillotined for having been involved with tax collection in the ancien régime
The treaty agreed by US envoy John Jay restores some degree of friendship between the USA and Britain
Goethe and Schiller become friends, and together create the movement known as Weimar classicism
In his Science of Knowledge Johann Gottlieb Fichte contrasts the I, or Ego, and its opposing non-I, or non-Ego
Robespierre and his faction go to the guillotine in July, in the final bloodletting of the Terror
George Washington uses military force to assert government authority on rebels in Pennsylvania refusing to pay a federal tax on whisky
Virtuoso violinist Nicolo Paganini gives his first public performances, in churches in his native Genoa
William Blake's volume Songs of Innocence and Experience includes his poem 'Tyger! Tyger! burning bright'
Dutch Boers begin calling themselves Afrikaners, to emphasize that Africa is their native land
Beethoven makes his first public appearance in Vienna as a pianist, playing either his first or second piano concerto
Mungo Park sets off on his first expedition to explore the Niger on behalf of the African Association
Two extra stars are added to the American flag for Vermont and Kentucky, two new states that have joined since the original union of thirteen
The Netherlands, forced by invasion into the French camp, is transformed into the Batavian republic
Indian tribes, at peace talks in Fort Greenville, cede much of Ohio to the USA
Thomas Paine publishes his completed Age of Reason, an attack on conventional Christianity
After the Fort Greenville concessions, the Shawnee leader Tecumseh emerges as a champion of Indian territorial rights
A secret Protestant group, the Orange Society, is formed in Co. Armagh to resist Irish nationalism
The 26-year-old Napoleon Bonaparte comes to public attention for his part in saving the Convention in Paris from an assault by rebels
With the Dutch entering the war on the side of the French, Britain seizes their valuable Cape colony in South Africa
Poland's neighbours – Russia, Prussia and Austria – are all on hand for the final partition of the kingdom
A treaty negotiated by US minister Thomas Pinckney provides a temporary resolution of disputes between Spain and the USA
Napoleon marries Josephine de Beauharnais, widow of Alexandre de Beauharnais, guillotined in 1794
After two rapid victories in north Italy, Napoleon marches on Turin and the king of Sardinia asks for an armistice
In Berkeley, Gloucestershire, Edward Jenner inoculates a boy with cowpox in the pioneering case of vaccination
In the armistice of Cherasco the king of Sardinia cedes to France his territories of Savoy and Nice
Napoleon Bonaparte takes command of the French army of Italy, with astonishingly successful results
French astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace publishes his nebular hypothesis, arguing that the planets formed from a mass of incandescent gas
US author Joel Barlow publishes his mock-heroic poem The Hasty Pudding, inspired by a dish eaten in 1793 in France
George Washington selects the Cherokee Indians for an experiment in adaptation to 'civilization'
George Washington, resisting pressure for him to accept a third presidential term, delivers a farewell address to guide the nation's future
Napoleon creates in northern Italy the Cisalpine Republic, formed from occupied territores including the papal states of Bologna and Ferrara
The election in the USA brings in a Federalist president (John Adams) and a Republican vice-president (Thomas Jefferson)
Irish nationalist Wolfe Tone sails from France to invade Ireland with a force of 14,000 French soldiers
German physician Samuel Hahnemann coins the term 'homeopathy' and describes this new approach to medicine
Napoleon marches against Vienna and is only two days from the city when the emperor requests an armistice
In Venice Napoleon deposes the last of the doges and sets up a provisional democracy
Pope Pius VI is seized by a French army in Rome and is taken off to captivity in France
On 18 Fructidor (September 4) Napoleon organizes, from a distance, a coup d'étât in Paris on behalf of three of the Directors
Samuel Taylor Coleridge says that while writing Kubla Khan he is interrupted by 'a person on business from Porlock'
Napoleon achieves the peace of Campo Formio, by which Austria cedes the Austrian Netherlands and northern Italy to France
By the Treaty of Campo Formio the free republic of Venice, created by Napoleon, is handed over to Austrian rule
After four years in Copenhagen, German artist Caspar David Friedrich makes his life-long home in Dresden
Napoleon, with distinguished scientists in his fleet, sails to invade Egypt
British explorer George Bass sails round Tasmania in an open whaleboat, discovering the strait which now bears his name
Austrian author Alois Senefelder, experimenting with grease and water on stone, discovers the principles of lithography
Napoleon's campaign in Egypt begins well with the Battle of the Pyramids, a victory over an Egyptian army
The US public is outraged by news of the XYZ Affair, in which the French ask for bribes before being willing to negotiate a treaty
Irish nationalist Wolfe Tone, convicted of treason for his failed invasion, cuts his throat to cheat the British gallows
US author Charles Brockden Brown publishes Wieland, the first of four novels setting Gothic romance in an American context
The British acquire a foothold in the Persian Gulf by making Oman a protectorate
Disaster strikes the French in Egypt when Nelson finds their fleet in Aboukir Bay and destroys it in the Battle of the Nile
Controversial Alien and Sedition Acts are passed by the US Congress as emergency measures in response to the perceived threat of war with France
English poets Wordsworth and Coleridge jointly publish Lyrical Ballads, a milestone in the Romantic movement
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' is published in Lyrical Ballads
Napoleon's soldiers discover a black basalt slab, the Rosetta Stone, near the village of Rashid in Egypt
Napoleon leads a costly, unsuccessful and plague-ridden expedition against the Turkish garrisons in Syria
The tsar, Paul I, establishes the Russian-American Company with the express purpose of developing Alaska
Haydn's oratorio The Creation has its first public performance in Vienna, in the Burgtheater
Napoleon, in Syria, orders 3000 captured defenders of Jaffa to be killed by bayonet or drowning to save ammunition
In a famous moment of calculated courage Napoleon visits and touches the sick in a plague hospital in Jaffa
A Sikh maharajah, Ranjit Singh, captures Lahore and makes it his capital in his campaign to unify the Punjab
English surveyor William Smith compiles a manuscript, Order of the Strata, revealing chronology through fossils in rocks
British prime minister William Pitt introduces income tax at 10% to pay for the war against France
The British parliament passes a Combination Act, classing any association of labourers as a criminal conspiracy
A Portuguese prince regent, the future John VI, rules on behalf of his deranged mother, Queen Maria
Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, is killed fighting the British at Seringapatam
Napoleon abandons his army in Egypt and returns hastily to Paris at a time of great political opportunity
Napoleon contrives a military coup that ends the Directory and gives him sweeping powers as First Consul