Timeline: Thomas Bell: Our Family History

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Abt 1731 - 1791 (60 years)

	Date	Event(s)
1	1731	1731—1731: Invention of seed drill by Jethro Tull [others say 1701] 1731—1731: Invention of sextant by John Hadley
2	1732	7 Dec 1732—7 Dec 1732: Covent Garden Opera House opens
3	1733	1733—1733: Excise crisis: Sir Robert Walpole wanted to add excise tax to tobacco and wine - Pulteney and Bolingbroke oppose the excise tax 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in Latin for a few years 1733—1733: John Kay invents the flying shuttle, revolutionised the weaving industry
4	1734	1734—1734: Kent's Directory published
5	1737	1737—1737: Licensing Act restricts the number of London theatres and subects plays to censorship of the Lord Chamberlain (till 1950s)
6	1738	24 May 1738—24 May 1738: John Wesley has his conversion experience
7	1739	1739—1739: Wesley and Whitefield commence great Methodist revival 7 Apr 1739—7 Apr 1739: Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York 23 Oct 1739—23 Oct 1739: War of Jenkins' Ear starts: Robert Walpole reluctantly declares war on Spain
8	1741	1741—1741: Benjamin Ingham founded the Moravian Methodists or Inghamites - Earliest Moravian registers
9	1742	1742—1742: England goes to war with Spain - incited by William Pitt the Elder (Earl of Chatham) for the sake of trade
10	1743	16 Jun 1743—16 Jun 1743: (June 27 in Gregorian calendar): Battle of Dettingen - last time a British sovereign (George II) led troops in battle
11	1744	1744—1744: Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
12	1745	1745—1745: Jacobite rebellion in Scotland ('The Forty-five') 19 Aug 1745—19 Aug 1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie (The Young Pretender) lands in the western Highlands - raises support among Episcopalian and Catholic clans - The Pretender's army invades Perth, Edinburgh, and England as far as Derby
13	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
14	1747	1747—1747: Abolition of Heritable Jurisdictions in Scotland 1747—1747: Act for Pacification of the Highlands
15	1749	27 Apr 1749—27 Apr 1749: First performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (in Green Park, London)
16	1750	Feb 1750—Feb 1750: Series of earthquakes in London and the Home Counties cause panic with predictions of an apocalypse (Feb/Mar) 16 Nov 1750—16 Nov 1750: Original Westminster Bridge opened (replaced in 1862 due to subsidence)
17	1751	Mar 1751—Mar 1751: Chesterfield's Calendar Act passed - royal assent to the bill was given on 22 May 1751 - decision to adopt Gregorian Calendar in 1752: In and throughout all his
18	1752	1752—1752: Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning conductor 1 Jan 1752—1 Jan 1752: Beginning of the year 1752 [Scotland had adopted January as the start of the year in 1600, and some other countries in Europe had adopted the Gregorian calendar as early as 1582] 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and Scotland, making this Sep 14
19	1753	1753—1753: Private collection of Sir Hans Sloane forms the basis of the British Museum 1 May 1753—1 May 1753: Publication of ?Species Plantarum' by Linnaeus and the formal start date of plant taxonomy
20	1754	1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be used - Quakers & Jews exempt 1754—1754: In the General Election, the Cow Inn at Haslemere, Surrey caused a national scandal by subdividing the freehold to create eight votes instead of one 1754—1754: First British troops not belonging to the East India Company despatched to India 1754—1763: The French and Indian War
21	1755	1755—1755: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language' by Dr Samuel Johnson 1755—1755: Period of canal construction began in Britain (till 1827) 2 Dec 1755—2 Dec 1755: Second Eddystone Lighthouse destroyed by fire
22	1756	15 May 1756—15 May 1756: The Seven Years War with France (Pitt's trade war) begins Jun 1756—Jun 1756: Black Hole of Calcutta - 146 Britons imprisoned, most die according to British sources
23	1757	1757—1757: The foundation laid for the Empire of India 14 Mar 1757—14 Mar 1757: Admiral Byng shot at Portsmouth for failing to relieve Minorca 23 Jun 1757—23 Jun 1757: The Nawab of Bengal tries to expel the British, but is defeated at the battle of Plassey (Palashi, June 23) - the East India Company forces are led by Robert Clive
24	1758	1758—1758: India stops being merely a commercial venture - England begins dominating it politically - The East India Company retains its monopoly although it ceased to trade
25	1759	1759—1759: Wesley builds 356 Methodist chapels 15 Jan 1759—15 Jan 1759: British Museum opens to the public in London 16 Oct 1759—16 Oct 1759: Third Eddystone Lighthouse (John Smeaton's) completed
26	1760	1760—1760: Carron Iron Works in operation in Scotland 5 May 1760—5 May 1760: First use of hangman's drop 25 Oct 1760—25 Oct 1760: George II dies - George III Hanover, his grandson, becomes king. The date conventionally marks the start of the so-called first Industrial Revolution'
27	1761	16 Jan 1761—16 Jan 1761: British capture Pondicherry, India from the French
28	1762	1762—1762: Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
29	1763	1763—1763: Treaty of Paris - gives back to France everything Pitt fought to obtain - (Newfoundland [fishing], Guadaloupe and Martininque [sugar], Dakar [gum]) - but English displaces French as the international language
30	1764	1764—1764: Lloyd's Register of shipping first prepared 1764—1764: Practice of numbering houses introduced to London 1764—1764: James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768) 1764—1764: Mozart produces his first symphony at age eight
31	1765	1765—1765: The potato becomes the most popular food in Europe 22 Mar 1765—22 Mar 1765: Stamp Act passed - imposed a tax on publications and legal documents in the American colonies (repealed the following year)
32	1766	1766—1766: Start of 'composite' national records on rainfall in the UK 5 Dec 1766—5 Dec 1766: Christie's auction house founded in London by James Christie
33	1767	1767—1767: Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
34	1768	9 Jan 1768—9 Jan 1768: Philip Astley starts his circus in London 6 Dec 1768—6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica' published in Edinburgh by William Smellie
35	1769	1769—1769: Arkwright invents water frame (textile production) 1769—1769: Capt James Cook maps the coast of New Zealand 6 Sep 1769—6 Sep 1769: David Garrick organises first Shakespeare festival at Stratford-upon-Avon
36	1770	1770—1770: Clyde Trust created to convert the River Clyde, then an insignificant river, into a major thoroughfare for maritime communications 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims Australia for Britain
37	1771	1771—1771: Right to report Parliamentary debates established in England
38	1772	1772—1772: First Travellers' Cheques issued by the London Credit Exchange Company 1772—1772: Morning Post' first published (until 1937) 14 May 1772—14 May 1772: Judge Mansfield rules that there is no legal basis for slavery in England
39	1774	13 Sep 1774—13 Sep 1774: Cook arrives on Easter Island
40	1775	19 Apr 1775—19 Apr 1775: Battle of Lexington: first action in American War of Independence (1775- 1783) 19 Apr 1775—3 Sep 1783: American Revolutionary War
41	1776	1776—1776: Somerset House in London becomes the repository of records of population 1776—1776: Watt and Boulton produce their first commercial steam engine 4 Jul 1776—4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence 7 Sep 1776—7 Sep 1776: First attack on a warship by a submarine - David Bushnell's ?Turtle' attacked HMS Eagle in New York harbour. The attack was perhaps spectacular (a charge did detonate beneath the ship) but was nevertheless unsuccessful. 'Turtle' was a one man Affair man-powered [Les Moore]
42	1777	1777—1777: Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.
43	1779	1779—1779: Marc Isambard Brunel opens the first steamdriven sawmill at Chatham Dockyard in Kent 1779—1779: First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson 1779—1779: First Spinning Mills operational in Scotland 14 Feb 1779—14 Feb 1779: Capt James Cook killed on Hawaii 23 Sep 1779—23 Sep 1779: Naval engagement between Britain and USA off Flamborough Head
44	1780	1780—1780: Male Servants Tax 1780—1780: The English Reform Movement - until now, only landowners and tenants (freeholders with 40 shillings per year or more) allowed to vote, and in open poll books 1780—1780: Fountain pen invented 1780—1780: About this time the word 'Quiz' entered the language, said to have been invented as a wager by Mr Daly, a Dublin theatre manager 4 May 1780—4 May 1780: First Derby run at Epsom (some say 2nd June) 2 Jun 1780—2 Jun 1780: Jun 2- 8: The Gordon Riots - Parliament passes a Roman Catholic relief measure - for days, London is at the mercy of a mob and destruction is widespread
45	1782	1782—1782: Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief - the way of life of the poor beginning to alter due to industrialisation - New factories in rapidly expanding towns required a workforce that would adjust to new work patterns 1782—1782: James Watt patents his steam engine
46	1783	1783—1783: Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in entries! 3 Sep 1783—3 Sep 1783: Treaty of Versailles (Britain/US) 3 Nov 1783—3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)
47	1784	1784—1784: Pitt's India Act - the Crown (as opposed to officers of the East India Company) has power to guide Indian politics 1784—1784: Wesley breaks with the Church of England 1784—1784: First golf club founded at St Andrews 1784—1784: Invention of threshing machine by Andrew Meikle 2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
48	1785	1785—1785: Sunday School Society founded to educate poor children (by 1851, enrols more than 2 million) 1785—1795: Northwest Indian War 1 Jan 1785—1 Jan 1785: John Walter publishes first edition of The Times (called The Daily Universal Register for 3 years)
49	1787	1787—1787: MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
50	1788	1788—1788: First steamboat demonstrated in Scotland 1788—1788: Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be a minimum of 8 years old (not enforced) 1788—1788: First slave carrying act, the Dolben Act of 1788, regulates the slave trade - stipulates more humane conditions on slave ships 1788—1788: King George III's mental illness occasions the Regency Crisis - Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox attack ministry of William Pitt - trying to obtain full regal powers for the Prince of Wales 1788—1788: Gibbon completes Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 26 Jan 1788—26 Jan 1788: First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New South Wales (left Portsmouth 13 May 1787) ? the 'First Fleet'; eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip
51	1789	28 Apr 1789—28 Apr 1789: Mutiny on HMS Bounty - Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew ends up on Pitcairn Island 30 Apr 1789—4 Mar 1797: George Washington U.S. Presidency
52	1790	1790—1790: Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
53	1791	1791—1791: John Bell, printer, abandons the long s' (the 's' that looks like an 'f') 1791—1791: Establishment of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain 4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper