- Apr 22 Madame du Barry becomes King Louis XV's "official" mistress
Historic Invention
Apr 29 Scottish engineer James Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser enrolled (Patent 913)
James Watt
- Jun 4 A transit of Venus is followed five hours later by a total solar eclipse, the shortest such interval in history
Event of Interest
Jun 7 American frontiersman Daniel Boone ascends Pilot Knob, setting sight on the fertile hunting grounds of what is now known as the Bluegrass Region of the State of Kentucky [exact date disputed]
Daniel Boone
- Jul 14 The de Portolá Expedition establishes a base in California, and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California)
Event of Interest
Jul 16 Father Junipero Serra founds Mission San Diego the 1st mission in California
Junípero Serra
- Aug 18 A lightning strike on the Bastion of San Nazaro in Brescia, Italy, ignites 90 tonnes of gunpowder, killing 3,000 people
Historic Discovery
Oct 8 Captain James Cook lands in New Zealand (Poverty Bay)
James Cook