Events in History
Birthdays in History
John Witherspoon
Feb 5 John Witherspoon, Scottish-American president of the College of New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence, born in Gifford, Scotland (d. 1794)
John Witherspoon
- Feb 17 Tobias Mayer, "method of lunars" for longitude determination
- Feb 21 Louis-Pierre Anquetil, French historian (d. 1808)
- Feb 23 Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (d. 1791)
- Feb 24 John Burgoyne, British general (surrendered at Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War), born in Sutton, England (d. 1792)
- Mar 5 Princess Mary of Great Britain (d. 1773)
- Mar 23 Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar, King of Iran (d. 1771)
- Mar 25 Kaat Mussel, [Catharina Mulder], Dutch demonstrater
- Mar 31 Frederik V, King of Denmark/Norway (1746-66)
- Apr 20 Cornelius Harnett, American delegate to the Continental Congress, born in Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina (d. 1781)
- Apr 30 Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)
- Jun 3 Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian-born naturalist (d. 1788)
- Jun 11 J G Palitzsch, 1st saw Halley's comet on return, Prolitz
Adam Smith
Jun 16 Adam Smith, Scottish economist (Wealth of Nations) and moral philosopher (date of baptism), born in Kirkaldy, Fife, Scotland (d. 1790)
Adam Smith
William Blackstone
Jul 10 William Blackstone, jurist (Blackstone's Commentaries), born in London, England
William Blackstone
- Jul 11 Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and writer (d. 1799)
- Jul 16 Joshua Reynolds, England, portrait painter (Simplicity)
- Aug 2 Nicolas de Pigage, French classical architect
- Sep 11 Johann Bernhard Basedow, German educational reformer, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1790)
- Sep 13 François Joseph Paul de Grasse, French admiral (commanded the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake), born in Le Bar-sur-Loup, France (d. 1788)
- Oct 4 Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (d. 1798)
- Nov 8 John Byron, British naval officer (d. 1786)
- Nov 30 William Livingston, revolutionary Governor of New Jersey (d. 1790)
- Dec 19 Susanne K von Klettenberg, German friend of Goethes mother
- Dec 26 Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm, German writer (d. 1807)
Deaths in History
- Feb 2 Antonio M Valsalva, Italian anatomist, dies at 66
Christopher Wren
Feb 25 Christopher Wren, English astronomer and architect (St. Paul's Cathedral), dies at 90
Christopher Wren
- Feb 26 Thomas d'Urfey, English writer (b. 1653)
- Mar 15 Johann C Gunther, writer, dies at 27
- Mar 31 Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, British-born American statesman (b. 1661)
- Apr 5 J Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect (Hofburg, Vienna), dies at 66
- Apr 11 John Robinson, English diplomat and prelate, dies at 72
- May 11 Jean Galbert de Campistron, French dramatist (b. 1656)
- Jul 1 Willem van de Pose, gov of Cape Colony (1699-1797), dies at about 59
- Jul 14 Claude Fleury, French historian (b. 1640)
- Jul 26 Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman
- Jul 28 Mariana Alcoforado, nun (schreef no Lettres Portuguese), dies at 63
- Aug 10 Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman, dies at 66
- Aug 17 Joseph Bingham, English scholar (b. 1668)
- Aug 21 Dimitrie Cantemir, Romanian historian and Monarch of Moldova (1710-11), dies at 49
- Aug 23 Increase Mather, New England Puritan minister (b. 1639)
- Aug 26 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microscopist who was the first to observe bacteria and protozoa and naturalist (Philosophical Transactions), dies at 90
- Oct 10 William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1665)
- Oct 31 Cosimo III de' Medici, monarch of Florence (1670-1723), dies at 81
- Nov 7 Godfrey Kneller, English painter (74-77), dies
- Nov 19 Antoine Nompar de Caumont, French courtier and soldier (b. 1632)
- Dec 2 Philip, French duke of Orleans/regent (1715-23)/PM (1723), dies
- Dec 7 Jan Santini Aichel, Bohemian architect (b. 1677)
- Dec 20 Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (b. 1652)
- Dec 22 Jacques Basnage, French/Dutch historian/vicar, dies at 70