1740 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1740 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1738 1738 in Great Britain Events from the year 1738 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:... | 1739 1739 in Great Britain Events from the year 1739 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 14 January - Britain and Spain sign the Convention of Pardo.... | 1740 | 1741 1741 in Great Britain Events from the year 1741 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 30 April–11 June... | 1742 1742 in Great Britain Events from the year 1742 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig , Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, Whig-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1740 English cricket season 1740 English cricket season In the 1740 English cricket season, few matches were reported. London features in all of them. Rain was a problem in July. As in other times of warfare or economic depression, less cricket was played than in times of peace and prosperity.... |
Events from the year 1740 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...
.
Incumbents
- Monarch - King George II
- Prime Minister - Robert WalpoleRobert WalpoleRobert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
, WhigBritish Whig PartyThe Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
Events
- 1 August - The song Rule, Britannia!Rule, Britannia!"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740...
is first performed at ClivedenClivedenCliveden is an Italianate mansion and estate at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Set on banks above the River Thames, its grounds slope down to the river. The site has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor....
, the country home of Frederick, Prince of WalesFrederick, Prince of WalesFrederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
. - 21 August - First issue of grogGrogThe word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the Royal Navy on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or...
in the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. - 18 September - George AnsonGeorge Anson, 1st Baron AnsonAdmiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
sets out on a voyage around the worldGeorge Anson's voyage around the worldWhile Great Britain was at war with Spain in 1740, Commodore George Anson led a squadron of eight ships on a mission to disrupt or capture Spain's Pacific possessions...
. - November - Hertford College, OxfordHertford College, OxfordHertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
, is founded for the first time.
Unknown dates
- By an act of the 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...
, alien immigrants (including Huguenots and Jews) in the colonies) receive British nationalityNationalityNationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
. - Henry HindleyHenry HindleyHenry Hindley was an 18th century clockmaker and maker of scientific instruments. He was the inventor of a screw-cutting lathe. He built a clock for York Minster, England, where he apparently lived for much of his life, in 1752....
invents a device to cut the teeth of clock wheels. - William HogarthWilliam HogarthWilliam Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
paints a portrait of Captain Thomas Coram (pictured). - A now-discredited account by William StukeleyWilliam StukeleyWilliam Stukeley FRS, FRCP, FSA was an English antiquarian who pioneered the archaeological investigation of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury, work for which he has been remembered as "probably... the most important of the early forerunners of the discipline of archaeology"...
asserts that StonehengeStonehengeStonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
was built by druids.
Births
- 17 September - John Hamilton MortimerJohn Hamilton MortimerJohn Hamilton Mortimer was a British Neoclassical painter known primarily for his romantic paintings and pieces set in Italy and its countryside, various other works depicting conversations between people, and works drawn in the 1770s portraying war scenes, very similar to those of Salvator Rosa...
, painter (died 17791779 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1779 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 9 January - First Anglo-Maratha War: British troops surrender to the Marathas in Wadgaon, India, and are forced to return all terrorities acquired since 1773.* 11 February -...
) - 29 October - James BoswellJames BoswellJames Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
, author (died 17951795 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1795 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* March - English Benedictine monks expelled from the Priory of St...
) - 24 November - John Bacon, sculptor (died 17991799 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1799 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - c. December - Francis LightFrancis LightCaptain Francis Light was the founder of the British colony of Penang and its capital George Town in 1786.-Early years:...
, founder of the British colony of Penang (died 17941794 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1794 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 23 March - British troops capture Martinique from the French....
)
Deaths
- 23 April - Thomas TickellThomas TickellThomas Tickell was a minor English poet and man of letters.-Life:The son of a clergyman, he was born at Bridekirk near Cockermouth, Cumberland. He was educated at St Bees School 1695-1701, and in 1701 entered the Queen's College, Oxford, taking his M.A. degree in 1709...
, writer (born 16851685 in EnglandEvents from the year 1685 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Charles II , King James II-Events:* 6 February - James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England.* 23 April - Coronation of King James II....
) - 6 June - Alexander SpotswoodAlexander SpotswoodAlexander Spotswood was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army and a noted Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is noted in Virginia and American history for a number of his projects as Governor, including his exploring beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, his establishing what was perhaps the first...
, governor of Virginia Colony (born 1676) - 17 June - Sir William WyndhamSir William Wyndham, 3rd BaronetSir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet , English politician, was the only son of Sir Edward Wyndham, Bart., a grandson of Sir William Wyndham and a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham, Somerset, who was created a baronet in 1661.Educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, he...
, politician (born 16871687 in EnglandEvents from the year 1687 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 2 April - King James II of England issues the Declaration of Indulgence, suspending laws against Catholics and non-conformists....
) - 20 December - Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount ShannonRichard Boyle, 2nd Viscount ShannonField Marshal Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon PC was a British military officer and statesman.-Military career:...
, military officer and statesman (born 16751675 in EnglandEvents from the year 1675 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 4 March - John Flamsteed appointed as "astronomical observator", in effect, the first Astronomer Royal.* 25 March - Loss of HMY Mary off Anglesey....
)