1766 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1766 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1764 1764 in Great Britain Events from the year 1764 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - George Grenville, Whig-Events:... | 1765 1765 in Great Britain Events from the year 1765 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - George Grenville, Whig , Marquess of Rockingham, Whig-Events:* 8 February - Nevil Maskelyne becomes Astronomer Royal.... | 1766 | 1767 1767 in Great Britain Events from the year 1767 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Elder, Whig-Events:... | 1768 1768 in Great Britain Events from the year 1768 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Elder, Whig , Duke of Grafton, Whig-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1766 English cricket season 1766 English cricket season The 1766 English cricket season is a season about which little is known.On Thurs 6 February, Robert Bartholomew died . He had played for Surrey in the 1750s and may have been related to the Bartholomews who played for Chertsey in the 1770s... |
Events from the year 1766 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 IIIGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
- Prime Minister - Marquess of RockinghamCharles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of RockinghamCharles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, KG, PC , styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Earl Malton in 1750, was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Prime...
, 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 30 July), William Pitt the ElderWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
, Whig
Events
- 1 January - Charles Edward StuartCharles Edward StuartPrince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain as King Charles III and figurehead for JacobitismJacobitismJacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
. - 5 February - An observer in Wilmington, North CarolinaWilmington, North CarolinaWilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, reports to the EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
newspaper Caledonian MercuryCaledonian MercuryCaledonian Mercury was the name of a Scottish newspaper, published three times a week between 1720-1867. Numbers published from 1800 on are available online for registered users of the National Library of Scotland website....
that three ships were seized by British Men of War on the charge of carrying official documents without stamps. The strict enforcement causes seven other ships to leave Wilmington for other ports. - 20 February - The Pennsylvania GazettePennsylvania GazetteThe Pennsylvania Gazette was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728, before the time period of the American Revolution, until 1815...
reports that a British sloop outside of Wilmington, North Carolina seized one sloop sailing from Philadelphia and one sloop sailing from Saint ChristopherSaint KittsSaint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
on the charge of carrying official documents without stamps. In response, local residents threaten to burn a Royal Man of War attempting to deliver stamps to Wilmington, forcing the ship to return to the mouth of the Cape Fear River. - February - American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
: 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...
repeals the Stamp ActStamp Act 1765The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp...
which is very unpopular in the British colonies. The persuasion of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
is considered partly responsible. - 18 March - The Declaratory ActDeclaratory ActThe Declaratory Act was a declaration by the British Parliament in 1766 which accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act 1765. The government repealed the Stamp Act because boycotts were hurting British trade and used the declaration to justify the repeal and save face...
asserts the right of Britain to make laws binding in the colonies. - 30 May - Opening of Theatre RoyalBristol Old VicThe Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. - 26 July - Construction of the Trent and Mersey CanalTrent and Mersey CanalThe Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
begins to connect the River TrentRiver TrentThe River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
and River MerseyRiver MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. - 30 July - Marquess of RockinghamCharles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of RockinghamCharles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, KG, PC , styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Earl Malton in 1750, was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Prime...
dismissed 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...
by King George IIIGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and is succeeded by William Pitt the ElderWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of ChathamWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
. - October – Addenbrooke's HospitalAddenbrooke's HospitalAddenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned teaching hospital in Cambridge, England, with strong links to the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1766 on Trumpington Street with £4,500 from the will of Dr John Addenbrooke, a fellow of St Catharine's College...
, Cambridge, completed. - 27 November - An observer in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
reports to the Pennsylvania Gazzette that a British Sloop of War is searching all vessels passing near Cape Lookout, North Carolina and that some vessels have been seized. - 5 December - Christie'sChristie'sChristie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
auction house founded in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Undated
- What is now EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's oldest surviving Georgian theatreTheatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
constructed in Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
. - Henry CavendishHenry CavendishHenry Cavendish FRS was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and...
publishes his paper "On Factitious Airs". This is generally credited to show the discovery of hydrogenHydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, since it describes the density of 'inflammable air', which formed water on combustion. - The first golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club in England opens, at BlackheathBlackheath, LondonBlackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
in Kent.
Publications
- Oliver GoldsmithOliver GoldsmithOliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
's novel The Vicar of WakefieldThe Vicar of WakefieldThe Vicar of Wakefield is a novel by Irish author Oliver Goldsmith. It was written in 1761 and 1762, and published in 1766, and was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians...
. - George StubbsGeorge StubbsGeorge Stubbs was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses.-Biography:Stubbs was born in Liverpool, the son of a currier and leather merchant. Information on his life up to age thirty-five is sparse, relying almost entirely on notes made by fellow artist Ozias Humphry towards the...
' study The Anatomy of the Horse.
Births
- 15 January - Nathan Drake, essayist and physician (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....
) - 14 February - Thomas MalthusThomas MalthusThe Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus FRS was an English scholar, influential in political economy and demography. Malthus popularized the economic theory of rent....
, demographer and economist (died 18341834 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1834 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Earl Grey, Whig , Lord Melbourne, Whig , Duke of Wellington, Tory, , Robert Peel, Tory...
) - 11 May - Isaac D'IsraeliIsaac D'IsraeliIsaac D'Israeli was a British writer, scholar and man of letters. He is best known for his essays, his associations with other men of letters, and for being the father of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli....
, author (died 18481848 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1848 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 3 August - Jeffry WyattvilleJeffry WyattvilleSir Jeffry Wyattville was an English architect and garden designer. His original surname was Wyatt, and his name is sometimes also written as Jeffrey and his surname as Wyatville; he changed his name in 1824.He was trained by his uncles Samuel Wyatt and James Wyatt, who were both leading architects...
, architect and garden designer (died 18401840 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1840 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Melbourne, Whig-Events:* 10 January — Uniform Penny Post introduced.* 22 January — British colonists reach New Zealand...
) - 6 August - William Hyde WollastonWilliam Hyde WollastonWilliam Hyde Wollaston FRS was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore.-Biography:...
, chemist (died 18281828 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1828 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Lord Goderich, Tory , Duke of Wellington, Tory-Events:...
) - 6 September - John DaltonJohn DaltonJohn Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
, chemist and physicist (died 18441844 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1844 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:* 28 February — The Grand National at Aintree is won by the 5/1 joint favourite Discount....
) - 29 December - Charles Macintosh, chemist (died 18431843 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1843 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:* 6 January — Antarctic explorer James Clark Ross discovers Snow Hill Island....
)
Deaths
- 1 January - James Francis Edward StuartJames Francis Edward StuartJames Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, "The Old Pretender" (born 16881688 in EnglandEvents from the year 1688 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* March - William Dampier makes first recorded landing on Christmas Island.* 4 May - Declaration of Indulgence ordered to be read aloud in all churches on two consecutive Sundays....
) - 9 January - Thomas BirchThomas BirchThomas Birch was an English historian.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell....
, English historian (born 17051705 in EnglandEvents from the year 1705 which occurred in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 16 April - Isaac Newton knighted by Queen Anne.* May - General election results in no clear majority for either political faction in Parliament....
) - 21 January - James QuinJames QuinJames Quin was an English actor of Irish descent.Quin was born in London. He was educated at Dublin, and probably spent a short time at Trinity College....
, English actor (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....
) - 4 April - John TaylorJohn Taylor (1704-1766)John Taylor , English classical scholar, was born at Shrewsbury in Shropshire.His father was a barber, and, by the generosity of one of his close customers, the son, having received his early education at the grammar school of his native town, was sent to St John's College, Cambridge...
, English classical scholar (born 17041704 in EnglandEvents from the year 1704 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 May - Robert Harley becomes Secretary of State for the Northern Department....
) - 8 May - Samuel ChandlerSamuel ChandlerSamuel Chandler was an English Nonconformist minister.-Life:He was born at Hungerford in Berkshire, where his father was a minister. He was sent to school at Gloucester, where he began a lifelong friendship with Bishop Butler and Archbishop Secker; and he afterwards studied at Leiden...
, English non-conformist minister (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....
) - 3 September - Archibald Bower, Scottish historian (born 1686)
- 13 September - Benjamin HeathBenjamin HeathBenjamin Heath, D.C.L. , English classical scholar and bibliophile, was born at Exeter.He was the eldest of three sons of Benjamin Heath and Elizabeth Kelland. of a wealthy merchant, and was thus able to devote himself mainly to travel and book collecting. He became town clerk of his native city...
, English classical scholar (born 17041704 in EnglandEvents from the year 1704 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 May - Robert Harley becomes Secretary of State for the Northern Department....
) - 29 November - John WyattJohn Wyatt (inventor)John Wyatt , an English inventor, was born near Lichfield and was related to Sarah Ford, Doctor Johnson's mother. A carpenter by trade he began work in Birmingham on the development of a spinning machine...
, inventor (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....
) - unknown date - John BrownJohn Brown (essayist)John Brown was an English divine and author.His father, a descendant of the Browns of Coalston, near Haddington, became Vicar of Wigton in that year...
, essayist (born 17151715 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1715 in Great Britain.-Events:* February to March - General election results in victory for the Whigs.* 27 March - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke flees to France. His part in secret negotiations with France leading to the Treaty of Utrecht has cast suspicion on him in...
)