1709 in Great Britain
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.svg.png) 1709 in Great Britain: |
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| 1707 1707 in Great Britain Events 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:... | 1708 1708 in Great Britain Events from the year 1708 in Great Britain.-Events:* 13 February - Robert Harley is dismissed from his position as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and Robert Walpole becomes Secretary at War.... | 1709 | 1710 1710 in Great Britain Events from the year 1710 in Great Britain.-Events:* January - Food shortages in major cities due to the harsh winter.* 27 February–21 March - Trial of Henry Sacheverell for preaching criticism of the Glorious Revolution which was considered subversive by the Whig government.* 1 March - Riots in... | 1711 1711 in Great Britain Events from the year 1711 in Great Britain.-Events:* 24 February - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.* 1 March - First edition of the magazine The Spectator published.... |
Events from the year 1709 in Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
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Events
- January to March - Unusually cold weather (the Great Frost of 1709Great Frost of 1709The Great Frost or was an extraordinarily cold winter in Europe in late 1708 and early 1709, and was found to be the coldest European winter during the past 500 years...
) brings floating ice into the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. - 10 January - Abraham Darby IAbraham Darby IAbraham Darby I was the first, and most famous, of three generations with that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal...
successfully produces cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
using coke fuelCoke (fuel)Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
at his CoalbrookdaleCoalbrookdaleCoalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
blast furnaceBlast furnaceA blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
in ShropshireShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. - 1 February - During his first voyage, Captain Woodes RogersWoodes RogersWoodes Rogers was an English sea captain, privateer, and, later, the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas. He is known as the captain of the vessel that rescued the marooned Alexander Selkirk, whose plight is generally believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.Rogers came from an...
encounters marooned privateer Alexander SelkirkAlexander SelkirkAlexander Selkirk was a Scottish sailor who spent four years as a castaway when he was marooned on an uninhabited island. It is probable that his travels provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe....
and rescues him after four years living on one of the Juan Fernández IslandsJuan Fernández IslandsThe Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first...
, inspiring DefoeDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
's book Robinson CrusoeRobinson CrusoeRobinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
. After sacking GuayaquilGuayaquilGuayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, he and Selkirk will visit the Galapagos IslandsGalápagos IslandsThe Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
. - 12 April - First edition of society magazine TatlerTatlerTatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
published. - 30 July - War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish SuccessionThe War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
: Capture of TournaiTournaiTournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
by John Churchill, 1st Duke of MarlboroughJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of MarlboroughJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Prince Eugene of SavoyPrince Eugene of SavoyPrince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
. - 11 September - War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of MalplaquetBattle of MalplaquetThe Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11 September 1709, was one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, which opposed the Bourbons of France and Spain against an alliance whose major members were the Habsburg Monarchy, Great Britain, the United Provinces and the Kingdom 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...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
led by the Duke of Marlborough defeat FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The song "For He's a Jolly Good FellowFor He's a Jolly Good Fellow"For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" is a song which is sung to congratulate a person on a significant event, such as, a promotion, a birthday, the birth of a child, or the winning of a championship sporting event. The melody originates from that of the French song "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre...
" is based on the French song "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerreMarlbrough s'en va-t-en guerreMarlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre is one of the most popular folk songs in the French language...
" composed following this battle. - 9 October - War of the Spanish Succession: British army captures MonsMonsMons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
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Undated
- Enactment of Britain's first copyright law, the Statute of AnneStatute of AnneThe Statute of Anne was the first copyright law in the Kingdom of Great Britain , enacted in 1709 and entering into force on 10 April 1710...
, coming into effect on 10 April 1710. - Influx of German refugeeRefugeeA refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s from the Rhenish Palatinate, mostly Protestants en route to the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
colonies. - The earliest known cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
match involving county teams played is between KentKent county cricket teamsKent county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Kent, jointly with Sussex, is the birthplace of the sport...
and SurreySurrey county cricket teamsSurrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...
. - Construction of Marlborough HouseMarlborough HouseMarlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...
begins. - The second Eddystone LighthouseEddystone LighthouseEddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
, erected by John RudyerdJohn RudyardJohn Rudyard was the man contracted to build the second Eddystone Lighthouse, following the destruction of the original building in the Great Storm of 1703. He was neither an architect nor professional engineer, but a silk merchant and a property developer...
, is completed. - Publication of the first modern edition of ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, edited byShakespeare's editorsShakespeare's editors were essential in the development of the modern practice of producing printed books and the evolution of textual criticism....
Nicholas Rowe. - Publication of An English-Saxon Homily on the Birth-day of St. Gregory by Ælfric of EynshamÆlfric of EynshamÆlfric of Eynsham was an English abbot, as well as a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as Ælfric the Grammarian , Ælfric of Cerne, and Ælfric the Homilist...
, translated from Old English by Elizabeth ElstobElizabeth ElstobElizabeth Elstob , the 'Saxon Nymph,' was born and brought up in the Quayside area of Newcastle upon Tyne, and, like Mary Astell of Newcastle, is nowadays regarded as one of the first English feminists...
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Births
- 17 January - George Lyttelton, 1st Baron LytteltonGeorge Lyttelton, 1st Baron LytteltonGeorge Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton PC , known as Sir George Lyttelton, Bt between 1751 and 1756, was a British politician and statesman and a patron of the arts.-Background and education:...
, politician (died 17731773 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1773 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 17 January - Captain James Cook becomes the first European explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle....
) - 18 September - Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, English writer and lexicographer (died 17841784 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1784 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - September - John ClelandJohn ClelandJohn Cleland was an English novelist most famous and infamous as the author of Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure....
, English novelist (died 17891789 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1789 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 2 November - Princess AnneAnne, Princess Royal and Princess of OrangeAnne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort, Caroline of Ansbach. She was the spouse of William IV, Prince of Orange, the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands...
, (died 17591759 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1759 in Great Britain. The year was dubbed an Annus Mirabilis due to a succession of military victories in the Seven Years' War against French-led opponents.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II...
)
Deaths
- 24 January - George RookeGeorge RookeAdmiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval commander. He is known for his service in the wars against France and particularly remembered today for his victory at Vigo Bay and for capturing Gibraltar for the British in 1704.-Early life:Rooke was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury...
, English admiral (born 16501650 in EnglandEvents from the year 1650 in England.-Events:* 1 May - The future King Charles II of England signs the Treaty of Breda with the Scottish Covenanters.* 23 June - Charles arrives in Scotland where he signs the Covenant....
) - 15 February - John PhilipsJohn PhilipsJohn Philips was an 18th century English poet.- Early life and education :Philips was born at Bampton, Oxfordshire, the son of Rev. Stephen Philips, later archdeacon of Salop, and his wife Mary Wood. He was at first taught by his father and then went to Winchester College...
, English poet (born 16761676 in EnglandEvents from the year 1676 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 February - Isaac Newton observes to Robert Hooke that "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"....
) - 9 March - Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of MontaguRalph Montagu, 1st Duke of MontaguRalph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu was an English courtier and diplomat.-Life:He was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State Ralph Winwood...
, English diplomat (born c. 1638) - 30 June - Edward LhuydEdward LhuydEdward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
, scientist (born 16601660 in EnglandEvents from the year 1660 which occurred in the Kingdom of England. This is the year of Restoration.-Events:* 1 January** Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration.**...
) - 17 July - Robert BollingRobert BollingColonel Robert Bolling was a wealthy early American settler planter and merchant.- Ancestry and Early Life :...
, English settler in Virginia (born 16461646 in EnglandEvents from the year 1646 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 9 January - Battle of Bovey Heath: Parliament secures a significant victory over the Royalists in Devon.* 13 March - Parliament captures Cornwall after Royalists surrender at Truro....
) - 9 October - Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of ClevelandBarbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of ClevelandBarbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland was an English courtesan and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled...
, English mistress of Charles II of EnglandCharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
(born 16401640 in EnglandEvents from the year 1640 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 12 January - Thomas Wentworth becomes Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Earl of Strafford.* 17 January - John Finch becomes Lord Keeper of the Great Seal....
) - 23 November - William Bentinck, 1st Earl of PortlandWilliam Bentinck, 1st Earl of PortlandHans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, Baron Bentinck of Diepenheim and Schoonheten, KG, PC was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. He was steady, sensible, modest...
, favourite of William IIIWilliam III of EnglandWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
(born 1649, Netherlands)