1783 in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
.svg.png) 1783 in Great Britain: |
| Other years |
| 1781 1781 in Great Britain Events from the year 1781 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 1 January - Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn.... | 1782 1782 in Great Britain Events from the year 1782 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory , Marquess of Rockingham, Whig , Earl of Shelburne, Whig-Events:... | 1783 | 1784 1784 in Great Britain Events from the year 1784 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:... | 1785 1785 in Great Britain Events from the year 1785 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1783 English cricket season 1783 English cricket season In the 1783 English cricket season, the Whitehall Evening Post reported on Tuesday 8 July that "the 3rd Duke of Dorset’s cricketing establishment, exclusive of any betting or consequential entertainment, is said to exceed £1000 a year". A colossal sum at the time.A portrait of Edward "Lumpy"... |
Events from the year 1783 in the Kingdom of 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 - Lord ShelburneWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
, Whig (to 2 April), Duke of PortlandWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of PortlandWilliam Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
, Coalition (to 19 December), William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, ToryToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Events
- 1 January - GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerceA chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
is founded by Patrick ColquhounPatrick ColquhounPatrick Colquhoun was a Scottish merchant, statistician, magistrate, and founder of the first regular preventive police force in England, the Thames River Police.-Early life:...
- the first in Britain. - 4 February - American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
: Great Britain formally declares that it will cease hostilities with the United States of AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - 6 February - American Revolutionary War: SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
lifts the Great Siege of GibraltarGreat Siege of GibraltarThe Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
. - 24 February - William Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
resigns as Prime Minister over the proposed peace terms with the United States. - March - Zong MassacreZong MassacreThe Zong Massacre was a mass-killing of African slaves that took place on November 29th, 1781, on the Zong, a British slave ship owned by James Gregson and colleagues in a Liverpool slave-trading firm....
: the case of a British slave-trader who threw 133 slaves overboard in order to claim on the insurance causes outrage amongst AbolitionistsAbolitionismAbolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and creates new support for their cause. - 2 April - Fox-North CoalitionFox-North CoalitionThe Fox-North Coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783. As the name suggests, the ministry was a coalition of the groups supporting Charles James Fox and Lord North...
: William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of PortlandWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of PortlandWilliam Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
becomes First Lord of the TreasuryFirst Lord of the TreasuryThe First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
. - 10 May - John MooreJohn Moore (Archbishop)John Moore was a bishop in the Church of England.-Life:Moore was the son of George Moore, butcher, and his wife Jane.He was born in Gloucester and was educated at the Crypt School there...
enthroned as Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. - Summer - A sulphurous haze from the eruption of the LakiLaki (volcano)Laki or Lakagígar is a volcanic fissure situated in the south of Iceland, not far from the canyon of Eldgjá and the small village Kirkjubæjarklaustur, in South-East Iceland....
volcano in IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
thought to have caused the deaths of more than 10,000 people in Britain. - 18 August - A huge meteorGreat Meteor of August 18, 1783The Great Meteor of August 18, 1783 was an unusually bright bolide observed from the United Kingdom at a time when such phenomena were not well understood...
passes over the east coast of Britain, sparking reports in the press of the time and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal SocietyPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal SocietyThe Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
. - 3 September - American Revolutionary War: Great Britain and the United States sign the Treaty of ParisTreaty of Paris (1783)The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
ending the war. Britain also signs further treaties to end hostilities with 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...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the 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...
. - 7 November - The last public execution is held at TyburnTyburn, LondonTyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
. - 25 November - American Revolutionary War: The last British troops leave 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...
three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. - 9 December - Executions begin to be held in Newgate PrisonNewgate PrisonNewgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
. - 17 December - 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...
dismisses the Fox-North Coalition. It is succeeded by a government formed byFirst Pitt the Younger Ministry-The initial ministry:For the first several days of the ministry, Lord Temple held both the secretaryships of state.-Changes:*March, 1784 - The Duke of Rutland becomes Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, remaining also Lord Privy Seal....
William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
. - 19 December - William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest-ever Prime Minister of Great Britain or the United Kingdom.
- Winter - a severe winter follows in the wake of the Laki eruption.
Undated
- Industrial RevolutionIndustrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
: Henry CortHenry CortHenry Cort was an English ironmaster. During the Industrial Revolution in England, Cort began refining iron from pig iron to wrought iron using innovative production systems. In 1783 he patented the puddling process for refining iron ore...
of FuntleyFuntleyFuntley – from the Anglo-Saxon, "Funtaleg", meaning "Springs", formerly known as Fontley – is a village located to the north of Fareham, Hampshire, England, within the borough of Fareham. Originally it grew due to the development of a quarry there, used to extract the clay that was...
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, invents the grooved rolling mill for producing bar iron. - Erasmus DarwinErasmus DarwinErasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
begins publications of A System of Vegetables, a translation of LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
in which he coins many common English languageEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
names of plants. - The Countess of Huntingdon's ConnexionCountess of Huntingdon's ConnexionThe Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina, Countess of Huntingdon as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist Methodist movement of George Whitefield...
is founded by Selina, Countess of HuntingdonSelina Hastings, Countess of HuntingdonSelina, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales, and has left a Christian denomination in England and Sierra Leone.-Early life:Selina Hastings was born as Lady...
, as part of the Evangelical Revival.
Births
- 22 May - William SturgeonWilliam SturgeonWilliam Sturgeon was an English physicist and inventor who made the first electromagnets, and invented the first practical English electric motor.-Early Life :...
, scientist (died 18501850 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1850 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 17 September - Samuel ProutSamuel Proutthumb|right|Samuel Prout painted by [[John Jackson]] in 1831thumb|right|Market Day by Samuel Proutthumb|right|A View in Nuremberg by Samuel Proutthumb|right|Utrecht Town Hall by Samuel Prout in 1841...
, painter (died 18521852 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1852 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl Russell, Liberal , Earl of Derby, Conservative , Earl of Aberdeen, Peelite-Events:...
) - 22 October - James Henry Keith StewartJames Henry Keith StewartJames Henry Keith Stewart was a Scottish Tory Member of Parliament.Stewart was a younger son of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway and his second wife, Anne Dashwood.He represented Wigtown Burghs 1812–1821...
, Member of Parliament (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....
)
Deaths
- 7 January - William Tans'urWilliam Tans'urWilliam Tans'ur was an English hymn-writer, psalmodist and teacher of music. His output includes approximately a hundred hymn tunes and psalm settings and a Te Deum...
, English hymnist (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....
) - 6 February - Capability BrownCapability BrownLancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
, landscape gardener (born 17161716 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1716 in Great Britain.-Events:* January - The Duke of Argyll disperses the remainder of the Jacobite troops.* 10 February - The pretender James Francis Edward Stuart flees to France...
) - 10 February - James NaresJames NaresJames Nares was an English composer of mostly sacred vocal works, though he also composed for the harpsichord and organ....
, composer (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...
) - 30 March - William HunterWilliam Hunter (anatomist)William Hunter FRS was a Scottish anatomist and physician. He was a leading teacher of anatomy, and the outstanding obstetrician of his day...
, anatomist (born 17181718 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1718 in Great Britain.-Events:* 7 January - Occasional Conformity Act repealed.* 15 May - James Puckle patents the Puckle Gun, an early form of machine gun....
) - 18 September - Benjamin KennicottBenjamin KennicottBenjamin Kennicott was an English churchman and Hebrew scholar.He was born at Totnes, Devon. He succeeded his father as master of a charity school, but the generosity of some friends enabled him to go to Wadham College, Oxford, in 1744, and he distinguished himself in Hebrew and divinity...
, churchman and Hebrew scholar (born 1718) - 16 December - William JamesWilliam James (naval commander)Commodore Sir William James, 1st Baronet, FRS was a British naval commander known for his successful campaigns against Indian native navies....
, naval commander (born 17201720 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1720 in Great Britain.-Events:* 17 February - Treaty of Den Haag signed between Britain, France, Austria, the Dutch Republic and Spain ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance....
)