1756 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1756 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1754 1754 in Great Britain Events from the year 1754 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Henry Pelham, Whig , Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Whig-Events:... | 1755 1755 in Great Britain Events from the year 1755 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Whig-Events:... | 1756 | 1757 1757 in Great Britain Events from the year 1757 in Great Britain.- Events :* 2 January - Robert Clive captures Calcutta, India.* 14 March - Seven Years' War: Admiral Sir John Byng is executed by firing squad aboard for breach of the Articles of War.... | 1758 1758 in Great Britain Events from the year 1758 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Whig-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1756 English cricket season 1756 English cricket season The 1756 English cricket season marks the beginning of cricket’s “Hambledon Era”. The Hambledon team, then probably run by a parish organisation rather than the famous club which is believed to have been formed in about 1765, made its first recorded appearances in three matches against... |
Events from the year 1756 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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Incumbents
- Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom
- Prime Minister - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
, 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...
(to 16 November), William Cavendish, 4th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 4th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC , styled Lord Cavendish before 1729 and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman who was briefly nominal Prime Minister of Great Britain...
, Whig
Events
- 16 January - Treaty of WestminsterTreaty of Westminster (1756)The Treaty of Westminster was a treaty of neutrality signed on January 16, 1756 between Frederick the Great of Prussia and King George II of the British Empire. British fears of French attacks on Hanover were responsible for the development of the treaty. Based on the terms of the agreement, both...
signed between Britain and 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...
guaranteeing the neutrality of HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, the German province controlled by King George IIGeorge II of Great BritainGeorge II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. - 12 April - Seven Years' WarSeven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
: The FrenchFranceThe 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...
invade MinorcaMinorcaMin Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
, then under British control. - 17 May - Seven Years' War: The Seven Years' War formally begins when Britain declares war on 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...
. - 20 May - Seven Years' War: Battle of MinorcaBattle of MinorcaThe Battle of Minorca was a naval battle between French and British fleets. It was the opening sea battle of the Seven Years' War in the European theatre. Shortly after Great Britain declared war on the House of Bourbon, their squadrons met off the Mediterranean island of Minorca. The fight...
: The British fleet under John ByngJohn ByngAdmiral John Byng was a Royal Navy officer. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to Vice-Admiral in 1747...
is defeated by the French under Roland-Michel Barrin de La GalissonièreRoland-Michel Barrin de La GalissonièreRoland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, Marquis de La Galissonière, sometimes spelled Galissonnière, was the French governor of New France from 1747 to 1749 and the victor in the Battle of Minorca in 1756.- New France :...
. - 28 May - Seven Years' War: The British garrison in Minorca surrenders to the French.
- 20 June - A garrisonGarrisonGarrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
of the British armyBritish Armed ForcesThe British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is imprisoned in the Black Hole of CalcuttaBlack Hole of CalcuttaThe Black Hole of Calcutta was a small dungeon in the old Fort William, at Calcutta, India, where troops of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, held British prisoners of war after the capture of the Fort on June 19, 1756....
. - 25 June - Foundation of The Marine SocietyThe Marine SocietyThe Marine Society was the world's first seafarers’ charity. In 1756, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden and Saxony Britain urgently needed to recruit men for the navy...
in London, the world's oldest seafarers' charity. - 16 November - Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
resigns as Prime MinisterPrime 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...
. His successor is William Cavendish, 4th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 4th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC , styled Lord Cavendish before 1729 and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman who was briefly nominal Prime Minister of Great Britain...
. - 4 December - William Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
becomes Secretary of State for the Southern DepartmentSecretary of State for the Southern DepartmentThe Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
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Undated
- Poet Christopher SmartChristopher SmartChristopher Smart , also known as "Kit Smart", "Kitty Smart", and "Jack Smart", was an English poet. He was a major contributor to two popular magazines and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding. Smart, a high church Anglican, was widely known throughout...
confined to an asylum. - Anonymous publication of Edmund BurkeEdmund BurkeEdmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
's A Vindication of Natural SocietyA Vindication of Natural SocietyA Vindication of Natural Society: A View of the Miseries and Evils Arising to Mankind is a work by Edmund Burke published in 1756. It is a satire of Lord Bolingbroke's deism. Burke confronted Bolingbroke not in the sphere of religion but civil society and government, arguing that his arguments...
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Births
- 3 March - William GodwinWilliam GodwinWilliam Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism...
, writer (died 18361836 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1836 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Viscount Melbourne, Whig-Events:* 2 March - First organised point-to-point horse race held, at Madresfield, Worcester....
) - 4 March - Sir Henry RaeburnHenry RaeburnSir Henry Raeburn was a Scottish portrait painter, the first significant Scottish portraitist since the Act of Union 1707 to remain based in Scotland.-Biography:...
, painter (died 18231823 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1823 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:...
) - April - William GiffordWilliam GiffordWilliam Gifford was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist.-Life:Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devonshire to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and house painter, had run away as a youth with vagabond Bampfylde Moore Carew, and he...
, satirist (died 18261826 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1826 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:...
) - 13 June - Edmund LodgeEdmund LodgeSir Edmund Lodge, KH , herald, was a long-serving English officer of arms, a writer on heraldic subjects, and a painstaking supplier of short, accurate biographies.-Life and career:...
, writer (died 18391839 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1839 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:* January — The first parallax measurement of the distance to Alpha Centauri is published by Thomas Henderson....
) - 21 September - John Loudon McAdamJohn Loudon McAdamJohn Loudon McAdam was a Scottish engineer and road-builder. He invented a new process, "macadamisation", for building roads with a smooth hard surface that would be more durable and less muddy than soil-based tracks....
, engineer and road builder (died 18361836 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1836 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Viscount Melbourne, Whig-Events:* 2 March - First organised point-to-point horse race held, at Madresfield, Worcester....
) - 22 November - Gilbert WakefieldGilbert WakefieldGilbert Wakefield was an English scholar and controversialist.Gilbert Wakefield was the third son of the Rev. George Wakefield, then rector of St Nicholas' Church, Nottingham but afterwards at Kingston-upon-Thames. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. as second...
, scholar (died 18011801 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1801 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory , Henry Addington, Tory-Events:...
) - Thomas Burgess, author, philosopher and Bishop (died 18371837 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1837 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — King William IV , Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:...
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Deaths
- 25 February - Eliza HaywoodEliza HaywoodEliza Haywood , born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. Since the 1980s, Eliza Haywood’s literary works have been gaining in recognition and interest...
, actress and writer (born 16931693 in EnglandEvents from the year 1693 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Co-Monarchs - William and Mary-Events:* March - William Congreve's first play, the comedy The Old Bachelor, is performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane....
) - 24 July - George VertueGeorge VertueGeorge Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.-Life:...
, engraver and antiquary (born 16841684 in EnglandEvents from the year 1684 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:*15 March - Highwayman John Nevison hanged for murder.*10 May - Titus Oates arrested for perjury.*31 July - The village of Churchill, Oxfordshire, is largely destroyed by fire....
) - 31 August - John DandridgeJohn DandridgeColonel John Dandridge of Chestnut Grove was a distinguished colonel, planter, and Clerk of the Courts of New Kent County, Virginia from 1730 to 1756...
, distinguished colonel, planter (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....
) - 28 October - Charles Somerset, 4th Duke of BeaufortCharles Somerset, 4th Duke of BeaufortCharles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort was the younger son of Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort, and his second wife, Rachel Noel. Because his brother had no issue, on 24 February 1746, on his brother's death, he succeeded him and became 4th Duke of Beaufort, the 12th Lord Herbert, and the...
(born 17091709 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1709 in Great Britain.-Events:* January to March - Unusually cold weather brings floating ice into the North Sea....
) - 8 December - William Stanhope, 1st Earl of HarringtonWilliam Stanhope, 1st Earl of HarringtonWilliam Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, PC was a British statesman and diplomat.He was a younger son of John Stanhope of Elvaston, Derbyshire, and a brother of Charles Stanhope , an active politician during the reign of George I. His ancestor, Sir John Stanhope , was a half-brother of Philip...
, statesman and diplomat (born c.16901690 in EnglandEvents from the year 1690 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 7 January - The first recorded full peal is rung, at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London, marking a new era in change ringing....
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