The 1740s

Explore 236 historical events from 1740–1749.

Year by year

1740 37 1741 26 1742 22 1743 27 1744 24 1745 22 1746 18 1747 17 1748 21 1749 22

Notable Events

1741 aleksei chirikov sights land in southeast alaska

1741 285 years ago

Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans…

Aleksei Ilyich Chirikov was a Russian navigator and captain who, along with Vitus Bering, was the first Russian to reach the northwest coast of North America. He discovered and cha…

Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans…

1746 280 years ago

The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by W

The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British gove…

The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by W

1747

Giuseppe Crespi, Italian painter (born 1665)

Giuseppe Maria Crespi, nicknamed Lo Spagnuolo, was an Italian late Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. His eclectic output includes religious paintings and portraits, but he i…

Giuseppe Crespi, Italian painter (born 1665)

1746 280 years ago

Thomas Southerne, Irish playwright (born 1660)

Thomas Southerne was an Irish dramatist.

Thomas Southerne, Irish playwright (born 1660)

1749

King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River

George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 (O.S.) until his death in 1760…

King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River

1745

Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (died 1826)

Philippe Pinel was a French physician, precursor of psychiatry and incidentally a zoologist. He was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the c…

Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (died 1826)

1742

Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician (born 1664)

Count Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm was a Swedish general, diplomat and politician, a member of the noble Horn family. He served twice as president of the privy council chancell…

Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician (born 1664)

1741 285 years ago

Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (born 1668)

Magnus Julius De la Gardie, son of Axel Julius De la Gardie, was a Swedish general and statesman, member of the Swedish Hats Party.

Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (born 1668)

1748

Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (died 1831)

Georg Michael Telemann was a German composer and theologian.

Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (died 1831)

1741 285 years ago

Samuel Chase, American lawyer and jurist (died 1811)

Samuel Chase was a Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and As…

Samuel Chase, American lawyer and jurist (died 1811)

All Events

1749

King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River

George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 (O.S.) until his death in 1760…

King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River

1749

Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded

Halifax, officially the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipali…

Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded

1749

Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French pianist and composer (died 1794)

Jean-Frédéric Edelmann was a French classical composer. He was born in Strasbourg to a Protestant family of Alsatian descent. After studying law and music, he moved to Paris in 177…

Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French pianist and composer (died 1794)

1749

Levi Lincoln Sr

Levi Lincoln Sr. was an American revolutionary, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A Democratic-Republican, he served as Thomas Jefferson's first attorney general, and playe…

Levi Lincoln Sr

1749

Edward Jenner, English physician and microbiologist (died 1823)

Edward Jenner was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms vaccine and vaccin…

Edward Jenner, English physician and microbiologist (died 1823)

1749

Georg Joseph Vogler, German organist, composer, and theorist (died 1814)

Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler, was a German composer, organist, teacher and theorist. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades th…

Georg Joseph Vogler, German organist, composer, and theorist (died 1814)

1749

Thomas Lynch Jr., American commander and politician (died 1779)

Thomas Lynch Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina and a Founding Father of the United States. His father Thomas L…

Thomas Lynch Jr., American commander and politician (died 1779)

1749

Yolande de Polastron, French educator (died 1793)

Yolande de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac was the favourite of Marie Antoinette, whom she met when she was presented at the Palace of Versailles in 1775, the year after Marie Antoi…

Yolande de Polastron, French educator (died 1793)

1749

Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1822)

Jean Baptiste Joseph, chevalier Delambre was a French mathematician, astronomer, historian of astronomy, and geodesist. He was also director of the Paris Observatory, and author of…

Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1822)

1749

Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein, Swedish chamberlain (died 1802)

Baron Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein was a Swedish diplomat and courtier, best known as Sweden's ambassador to France during the French Revolution, and as the husband of Madame de …

Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein, Swedish chamberlain (died 1802)

1749

Ambrose Philips, English poet and politician (born 1674)

Ambrose Philips was an English poet and politician. He feuded with other poets of his time, resulting in Henry Carey bestowing the nickname "Namby-Pamby" upon him, which came to m…

Ambrose Philips, English poet and politician (born 1674)

1749

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German novelist, poet, playwright, and diplomat (died 1832)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary…

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German novelist, poet, playwright, and diplomat (died 1832)

1749

Cornelis van der Aa, Dutch historian and bookseller (died 1816)

Cornelis van der Aa was a Dutch writer and bookseller in Haarlem who was sentenced in 1796 by the schepenen of the city to five years of imprisonment and consecutive perpetual exil…

Cornelis van der Aa, Dutch historian and bookseller (died 1816)

1749

Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (born 1700)

Abraham ben Abraham, also known as Count Valentine Potocki, was a Polish nobleman (szlachta) of the Potocki family who converted to Judaism and was burned at the stake by the Roman…

Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (born 1700)

1749

William Jones, Welsh mathematician and academic (born 1675)

William Jones, FRS was a Welsh mathematician best known for his use of the symbol π to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. He was a close friend o…

William Jones, Welsh mathematician and academic (born 1675)

1749

Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois, French navy officer and politician, Governor General of New France…

Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois was a French Naval officer who served as Governor of New France from 1726 to 1746.

Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois, French navy officer and politician, Governor General of New France…

1749

Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (born 1719)

Johann Elias Schlegel was a German critic and dramatic poet.

Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (born 1719)

1749

Matthias Bel, Hungarian pastor and polymath (born 1684)

Matthias Bel or Matthias Bél was a Lutheran pastor and polymath from the Kingdom of Hungary. Bel was active in the fields of pedagogy, philosophy, philology, history, and theoretic…

Matthias Bel, Hungarian pastor and polymath (born 1684)

1749

Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (born 1706)

Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet was a French mathematician and physicist.

Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (born 1706)

1749

Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (born 1711)

Baron Franz von der Trenck was an Habsburg nobleman and soldier, leader and commander of pandurs in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748).

Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (born 1711)

1749

A plot by Muslim slaves in Malta to assassinate Manuel Pinto da Fonseca of the Knights Hospitaller was uncovered

The Conspiracy of the Slaves was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller Malta to rebel and assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca of the Order of St John, in an at…

A plot by Muslim slaves in Malta to assassinate Manuel Pinto da Fonseca of the Knights Hospitaller was uncovered

1749

Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (born…

Field Marshal Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, was a British army officer and Whig politician. After serving as a junior officer under William III during the Williamite War in …

Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (born…

1849 denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy by the signing of 06 05

1748

Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries

Denmark is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark, also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unit…

Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries

0 christian feast day johann walter lutheran 04 24

1748

The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.

Lutheranism or Evangelical Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that arose under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to re…

The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.