| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1664 | - 27 Aug 1664—27 Aug 1664: Nieuw Amsterdam becomes New York as 300 English soldiers under Col.
Mathias Nicolls take the town from the Dutch under orders from Charles II. The town is
renamed after the King's brother James, Duke of York
|
| 2 | 1665 | - 1665—1665: Great Plague of London (July-October) kills over 60,000
|
| 3 | 1666 | - 2 Sep 1666—2 Sep 1666: Great Fire of London, after a drought beginning 27 June (2-6 Sep)
|
| 4 | 1668 | - 1668—1668: Newton constructs reflecting telescope
|
| 5 | 1679 | - 27 May 1679—27 May 1679: Habeas Corpus Act becomes law in England - (later repealed from time to
time)
|
| 6 | 1681 | - 1681—1681: Oil lighting first used in London streets
|
| 7 | 1682 | - 1682—1682: Halley observes the comet which bears his name
|
| 8 | 1687 | - 5 Jul 1687—5 Jul 1687: Newton published his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica' - written
in Latin
|
| 9 | 1688 | - Feb 1688—Feb 1688: Edward Lloyd's Coffee House opens - later became Lloyd's of London
|
| 10 | 1692 | - 13 Feb 1692—13 Feb 1692: The massacre of Glencoe - Clan Campbell sides with King William and
murders members of Clan McDonald
|
| 11 | 1697 | - 2 Dec 1697—2 Dec 1697: Official opening of St Paul's Cathedral
|
| 12 | 1698 | - 1698—1698: Invention of steam engine by Capt Thomas Savery
|
| 13 | 1702 | - 11 Mar 1702—11 Mar 1702: First English daily newspaper The Daily Courant (till 1735)
|
| 14 | 1703 | - 4 Aug 1703—4 Aug 1703: British take Gibraltar
|
| 15 | 1705 | - 1705—1705: First workable steam pumping engine devised by Thomas Newcomen (some say c1710
or 1711)
|
| 16 | 1707 | - 16 Jan 1707—16 Jan 1707: Union with Scotland - Scots agree to send 16 peers and 45 MPs to English
Parliament in return for full trading privileges - Scottish Parliament meets for the last time in
March
|
| 17 | 1712 | - 1712—1712: Last trial for witchcraft in England (Jane Wenham)
|
| 18 | 1714 | - 1714—1714: Longitude Act: prize of ?20,000 offered to the inventor of a workable method of
determining a ship's longitude (won by John Harrison in 1773 for his chronometer).
|
| 19 | 1726 | - 1726—1726: Invention of the chronometer by John Harrison
|
| 20 | 1731 | - 1731—1731: Invention of sextant by John Hadley
|
| 21 | 1733 | - 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in
Latin for a few years
|
| 22 | 1739 | - 7 Apr 1739—7 Apr 1739: Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York
|
| 23 | 1744 | - 1744—1744: Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
|
| 24 | 1746 | - 16 Apr 1746—16 Apr 1746: Battle of Culloden - last battle fought in Britain - 5,000 Highlanders routed by
the Duke of Cumberland and 9,000 loyalists Scots - Young Pretender Charles flees to
Continent, ending Jacobite hopes forever - the wearing of the kilt prohibited
|
| 25 | 1752 | - 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and
Scotland, making this Sep 14
|
| 26 | 1754 | - 1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be
used - Quakers & Jews exempt
|
| 27 | 1755 | - 1755—1755: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language' by Dr Samuel Johnson
|
| 28 | 1762 | - 1762—1762: Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
|
| 29 | 1764 | - 1764—1764: James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768)
|
| 30 | 1767 | - 1767—1767: Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
|
| 31 | 1768 | - 6 Dec 1768—6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica' published in Edinburgh by
William Smellie
|
| 32 | 1769 | - 1769—1769: Arkwright invents water frame (textile production)
|
| 33 | 1770 | - 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims
Australia for Britain
|
Bef 1664 - 
