1760 in Great Britain explained

Events from the year 1760 in Great Britain. This year sees a change of monarch.

Incumbents

• Monarch – George II (until 25 October), George III (starting 25 October)
• Prime Minister – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (Whig)^[1]

Events

• 22 January – Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Wandiwash in India, British general Sir Eyre Coote is victorious over the French under Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau.^[2]
• 15 February – HMS Royal Katherine runs aground off Bolt Head, South Devon, with the loss of 699 lives.
• 21 - 26 February – Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Carrickfergus in the north of Ireland, a force of French troops under the command of privateer François Thurot captures and holds the town and castle of Carrickfergus before retiring; the force is defeated (and Thurot killed) in a naval action in the Irish Sea on 28 February.^[3]
• June – Scottish Presbyterian preacher Dr. James Fordyce moves to London.
• 3 July – a lightning strike causes a major fire at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard; substantial rebuilding follows.^{[4] [5]}
• 31 July – Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Warburg, the British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick storms Warburg, with a heroic role being played by the British commander Lord Granby.^[6]
• 8 September – Seven Years' War: Jeffery Amherst captures Montreal.^[7]
• 25 October – George III ascends to the throne following the death of his grandfather George II.^[2] He will reign until 29 January 1820. He surrenders the income from the Crown Estate to the government in exchange for a civil list contribution to maintaining the Royal Household.
• Thomas Braidwood establishes Braidwood's Academy for the Deaf and Dumb in Edinburgh, the first school for the deaf in Britain.

Publications

• Geologist John Michell's essay "Conjectures concerning the Cause and Observations upon the Phaenomena of Earthquakes".^[8]
• Fragments of Ancient Poetry collected in the Highlands of Scotland by James Macpherson.^[2]
• The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne.^[2]

Births

• 28 March  - Thomas Clarkson, abolitionist (died 1846)^[9]
• 27 October – Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet, Royal Navy Admiral (died 1828)
• probable – Lemuel Francis Abbott, portrait painter (died 1802)

Deaths

• 5 May – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, murderer (hanged) (born 1720)
• 30 September – Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry, society beauty (lead poisoning) (born 1732)
• 25 October – King George II of Great Britain (born 1683, Hanover)

See also

• 1760 in Wales

Notes and References

1. Web site: History of Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle - GOV.UK . www.gov.uk . 19 June 2023 . en.
2. Book: Williams, Hywel. Cassell's Chronology of World History. registration. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2005. 0-304-35730-8. 320.
3. Book: Rodger, N. A. M.. Nicholas Rodger

   . Nicholas Rodger. The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649–1815. London. Penguin Books; National Maritime Museum. 2006. 0-14-102690-1. 283.

4. Web site: Portsmouth Dockyard. Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk. 2011-09-27.
5. Web site: Chronology Of Events In Portsmouth  - 1700–1799. History In Portsmouth. 2011-09-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20110822183623/http://www.history.inportsmouth.co.uk/events/chronology-4.htm. 2011-08-22. dead.
6. Web site: BritishBattles.com. 2007-08-02.
7. Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer. Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 222. 0-7126-5616-2.
8. Philosophical Transactions, li. 1760
9. Web site: BBC - History - Thomas Clarkson . www.bbc.co.uk . 17 March 2022.