Events from the year 1759 in the Kingdom of Great Britain. The year was dubbed an Annus Mirabilis due to a succession of military victories in the Seven Years' War against French-led opponents. [edit] Incumbents [edit] Events - 15 January - The British Museum opens in London.[1]
- 8 April - Robert Clive captures Masulipatam in India from the French.[2]
- 1 May - Seven Years' War: British forces capture Guadeloupe from the French.[3]
- 25 July - Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): In Canada, British forces capture Fort Niagara from French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
- 1 August - Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Minden, British-Hanoverian forces under Ferdinand of Brunswick defeat the French army of the Duc de Broglie,[2] but due to the disobedience of the English cavalry commander Lord George Sackville, the French are able to withdraw unmolested.
- 18 August - Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Lagos, the British fleet of Edward Boscawen defeats a French force under Commodore de la Clue off the Portuguese coast.
- 10 September - Seven Years' War: Battle of Pondicherry - An inconclusive naval battle is fought off the coast of India between the French Admiral d'Aché and the British under George Pocock. The French forces are badly damaged and returned home, never to return.
- 13 September - Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): Quebec falls to British forces following General Wolfe's victory in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham just outside the city. Both the French Commander (the Marquis de Montcalm) and the British General Wolfe are fatally wounded.[2]
- 14 September - "A Journey Through Europe; or, A Play of Geography", the earliest British board game sold.[1]
- 20 November - Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Quiberon Bay, the British fleet of Sir Edward Hawke defeats a French fleet under Marshal de Conflans near the coast of Brittany.[2] This is the decisive naval engagement of the Seven Years' War — after this, the French are no longer able to field a significant fleet.
- A Planned French invasion of Britain is abandoned.
[edit] Unknown dates [edit] Publications [edit] Births - 25 January - Robert Burns, poet (died 1796)
- 27 April - Mary Wollstonecraft, writer, philosopher and feminist (died 1797)
- 28 May - William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (doed 1806)
- 7 August - William Owen Pughe, lexicographer (died 1835)
- 24 August - William Wilberforce, abolitionist (died 1833)
- 19 September - William Kirby, entomologist (died 1850)
- 24 September - Charles Simeon, evangelical clergyman (died 1836)
- 25 October - William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1834)
- date unknown - John Mayne, poet (d. 1836)
[edit] Deaths [edit] References - ^ a b Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ a b c d e Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 319–320. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
- ^ Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 222. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
[edit] See also |
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