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John Dryden is named the first official poet laureate.
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John Locke publishes his essay Two Treaties on Government, stating the natural rights of life, liberty, and property.
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England, Wales, and Scotland unite as Great Britain.
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Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is considered by many to be the first novel published in english.
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Robert Walpole, the first political leader to be called prime minister, takes office.
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Samuel Johnson signs a contract to write A Dictionary of the English Language
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British rule over India begins. Ends in 1947.
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The publication of Encyclopaedia Britannica begins in Scotland
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Phillis Wheatley becomes the first African American to publish a book of poetry.
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William Blake creates illuminated printing, a technique for combining text and illustration.
