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Date |
Event(s) |
1 | 1715 | - 1715: Thomas Fairchild produced the first artificial hybrid plant
- 1715: The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland with the aim of overthrowing the Hanovarian succession and placing the "Old Pretender" - James II's son - on the throne. The rebellion is easily defeated
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2 | 1716 | - 1716: The Septennial Act sets General Elections to be held every seven years
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3 | 1717 | - 1717: Townshend is dismissed from government by George I, causing Walpole to resign. The Whig party is split. Convocation is suspended
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4 | 1719 | - 1719: South Sea Bubble bursts, leaving many investors ruined after speculating with stock of the 'South Sea Company'
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5 | 1721 | - 1721: Sir Robert Walpole Prime Minister to 1742 (Whig)
- 1721: Sir Robert Walpole returns to government as First Lord of the Treasury. He remains in office until 1742 and effectively becomes Britain's first Prime Minister
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6 | 1722 | - 1722: First written reference to Stilton cheese in William Stukeley?s Itinerarium Curiosum, letter V
- 1722: Death of the Duke of Marlborough. The Jacobite 'Atterbury Plot' is hatched
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7 | 1726 | - 1726: First circulating library in Britain opens in Edinburgh. Jonathan Swift publishes his 'Gulliver's Travels'
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8 | 1727 | - 1727: Death of Sir Isaac Newton and of King George I (in Hanover). The latter is succeeded by his son as King George II
- 1727: The Gentleman's Magazine', first modern magazine, published
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9 | 1728 | - 1728: Pierre Fauchard, in 'The Surgeon Dentist', described preventive measures to keep teeth healthy as well as inventing the word 'dentist.'
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10 | 1729 | - 1729: Alexander Pope publishes his ' Dunciad'
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11 | 1730 | - 1730: A split occurs between Walpole and Townshend
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12 | 1732 | - 1732: A royal charter is granted for the founding of Georgia in America
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13 | 1733 | - 1733: The 'Excise Crisis' occurs and Walpole is forced to abandon his plans to reorganise the customs and excise
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14 | 1736 | - 1736: John Harrison finished building and tested at sea what proved to be the first accurate chronometer for timing longitude
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15 | 1737 | - 1737: Death of King George II's wife, Queen Caroline
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16 | 1738 | - 1738: John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in Britain
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17 | 1739 | - 1739: Britain goes to war with Spain in the 'War of Jenkins' Ear'. The cause: Captain Jenkins' ear was claimed to have been cut off during a Naval Skirmish
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18 | 1740 | - 1740: Commencement of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe
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19 | 1742 | - 1742: Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington Prime Minister until 1743 (Whig)
- 1742: Beginning with a bull calf from the cow 'Silver' and two cows, 'Pidgeon' and 'Mottle' (inherited from his father's estate), Benjamin Tomkins is credited with founding the Hereford breed.
- 1742: Walpole resigns as Prime Minister
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20 | 1743 | - 1743: Henry Pelham Prime Minister until 1754 (Whig)
- 1743: George II leads British troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria
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21 | 1744 | |
22 | 1745 | - 1745: Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. There is a Scottish victory at Prestonpans
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23 | 1746 | - 1746: The Duke of Cumberland crushes the Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden
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24 | 1747 | - 1747: Yorkshire pudding mentioned in recipes
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25 | 1748 | - 1748: The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle brings the War of Austrian Succession to a close
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26 | 1750 | - 1750: The grapefruit was first described by Griffith Hughes as the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados
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27 | 1751 | - 1751: Benjamin Franklin published 'Experiments and Observations on Electricity' after several years of experiments done with several friends. In this book Franklin suggested an experiment to prove that lightning is a large-scale electrical discharge, a task which later he took upon himself, using a kite. This led to the invention of the lightning rod.
- 1751: Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. His son, Prince George, becomes heir to the throne
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28 | 1752 | - 1752: James Lind called attention to the value of fresh fruit in the prevention of scurvy
- 1752: Ren? Antoine Ferchault de R?aumur showed by experiment that gastric juice liquifies meat.
- 1752: Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Britain
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29 | 1753 | - 1753: Parliament passes the Jewish Naturalization Bill
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30 | 1754 | - 1754: The ministry of Newcastle
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31 | 1755 | - 1755: Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language published
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32 | 1756 | - 1756: Mayonnaise invented to commemorate a victory at the start of the Seven Years War, the successful seige of English-held St. Philip's Castle
- 1756: Britain, allied with Prussia, declares war against France and her allies, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years' War begins
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33 | 1757 | - 1757: The Pitt-Newcastle ministry. Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey and secures the Indian province of Bengal for Britain. William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
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34 | 1759 | - 1759: Wolfe captures Quebec and expels the French from Canada
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35 | 1760 | - 1760: Death of King George II. He is succeeded by his grandson as George III
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36 | 1761 | - 1761: Laurence Sterne publishes his 'Tristram Shandy'
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