Events from the year

1708 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia, by crossing th ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

– Anne *

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

– 1st (until 3 April),

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

(starting 8 July)

Events

* 13 February – Robert Harley is dismissed from his position as

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...

and

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

becomes Secretary at War. * 11 March – Queen Anne withholds

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

vetoes legislation. * 23 March –

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

unsuccessfully tries to land at the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

with a French fleet. * 30 April–7 July –

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held to return members to serve in the House of Commons of the second Parliament of Great Britain, the first after the merger of the

Parliaments of England This is a list of parliaments of England from the reign of King Henry III, when the '' Curia Regis'' developed into a body known as Parliament, until the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707. For later parliaments, see the List ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1707. The election results in a victory for the Whigs. * 1 May – the Privy Councils of England and Scotland are merged into the Privy Council of Great Britain. * 11 July –

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

: allied victory under the commander John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough against the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

at the

Battle of Oudenarde The Battle of Oudenarde, also known as the Battle of Oudenaarde, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession, pitting a Grand Alliance force consisting of eighty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Marlborough and Prin ...

. * 14 July – Joseph Trapp becomes first

Oxford Professor of Poetry The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time po ...

. * 18 August – War of the Spanish Succession: Capture of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

by British forces. * 23 August – Queen Anne attends a thanksgiving service at the new

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

in London for victory at the

. She quarrels publicly with

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...

; and loose bolts in the supporting beams above her – in fact, the result of poor workmanship – are interpreted by the opposition as the " Screw Plot", a Whig assassination attempt. * 12 October – War of the Spanish Succession: British forces capture

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

after a two-month siege, although the

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

continues to hold out for another six weeks. * 26 October –

topping out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

of the new

in London.

Undated

Wilbury House Wilbury House or Wilbury Park is an 18th-century Neo-Palladian country house in the parish of Newton Tony, Wiltshire in South West England, about northeast of Salisbury. It is a Grade I listed building, and the surrounding park and garden are Gra ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, designed by William Benson, is completed. * The second

Eddystone Lighthouse The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 ...

, erected by John Rudyerd, is first illuminated. * Edward Lhuyd becomes a Fellow of the Royal Society. * The Parliament of Great Britain passes an act prohibiting the British government from accepting plunder taken by privateers. * Merger (with consent of Parliament) of the Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies and the more recently established English Company Trading to the East Indies to form the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies, known as the Honourable

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

Publications

Prose

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard S ...

, ''The Present State of the War'' (pro-Marlborough tract) * Edmund Arwaker, ''Truth in Fiction'' (fables) *

Francis Atterbury Francis Atterbury (6 March 1663 – 22 February 1732) was an English man of letters, politician and bishop. A High Church Tory and Jacobite, he gained patronage under Queen Anne, but was mistrusted by the Hanoverian Whig ministries, and ban ...

, ''Fourteen Sermons Preach'd on Several Occasions'' *

Joseph Bingham Joseph Bingham (September 1668 – 17 August 1723) was an English scholar and divine, who wrote on ecclesiastical history. Life He was born at Wakefield in Yorkshire. He was educated at Wakefield Grammar School and University College, Oxf ...

, ''Origines Ecclesiasticae, or Antiquities of the Christian Church'', vol. 1 * Richard Blackmore, ''The Kit-Cats'' * Jeremy Collier, ''An Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain, Chiefly of England'', vol. 1 *

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (26 February 1671 – 16 February 1713) was an English politician, philosopher, and writer. Early life He was born at Exeter House in London, the son of the future Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Earl ...

, ''A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm'' (contra radical Protestantism) * Edmund Curll, ''The Charitable Surgeon'' * John Downes – ''Roscius Anglicanus'' (a historical review of the stage) * John Fisher, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester (executed 1535) – ''Funeral Sermon for Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby'' (originally delivered 1509; published with an anonymous preface by Thomas Baker) * Charles Gildon ** ''Libertas Triumphans'' (re

) ** ''The New Metamorphosis'' (fiction) * John Harris, '' Lexicon Technicum: Or, A Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences'', vol. 1 (second edition) * Aaron Hill, ''The Celebrated Speeches of Ajax and Ulysses, for the Armour of Achilles'' (from

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

) *

Benjamin Hoadly Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 1676 – 17 April 1761) was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy. Li ...

, ''The Unhappiness of the Present Establishment, and the Unhappiness of Absolute Monarchy'' *

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

(died 1704), ''Some Familiar Letters'' *

Simon Ockley Simon Ockley (16789 August 1720) was a British Orientalist. Biography Ockley was born at Exeter. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. in 1697, MA. in 1701, and B.D. in 1710. He became fellow of Jesus College and vica ...

, ''The Conquest of Syria, Persia, and Aegypt by the Saracens'' (vol. 1 of '' History of the Saracens'') *

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

: ** ''Predictions for the Year 1708'' ** ''The Accomplishment of the First of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions'' (together, part of the "Bickerstaff Papers") ** '' An Argument against Abolishing Christianity''

Poetry and songs

* Edmund Arwaker, ''Truth in Fiction; or, Morality in Masquerade''Cox, Michael, editor, ''The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature'', Oxford University Press, 2004, * Sir Richard Blackmore, ''The Kit-Cats'' *

Elijah Fenton Elijah Fenton (20 May 1683 – 16 July 1730) was an English poet, biographer and translator. Life Born in Shelton (now Stoke-on-Trent), and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of ...

, ''Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany Poems'' *

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

, ''Wine'', published anonymously * Charles Gildon, ''Libertas Triumphans'', on the battle of

Oudenarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heu ...

, July 11 * Aaron Hill, ''The Celebrated Speeches of Ajax and Ulysses for the Armour of Achilles'', published anonymously, translated from

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

William King William King may refer to: Arts *Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer *William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King *William King (artist) (1925–2015), Ame ...

, ''The Art of Cookery'' *

Matthew Prior Matthew Prior (21 July 1664 – 18 September 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. He is also known as a contributor to '' The Examiner''. Early life Prior was probably born in Middlesex. He was the son of a Nonconformist joiner at Wimborne ...

, ''Poems on Several Occasions'', published this year, although the book states "1709" * Isaac Watts, ''Hymns and Spiritual Songs''

Births

* 7 January – George Stone, Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) (died 1764) * 26 January –

William Hayes William Hayes may refer to: In politics *William Hayes (Irish politician), Irish Sinn Féin politician *William Hayes (Canadian politician) (1879–1939), member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta * William P. Hayes (1866–1940), American la ...

, composer (died 1777) * 15 March –

John Hulse John Hulse (15 March 1708 – 14 December 1790) was an English clergyman. He is now known mainly as the founder of the series of Hulsean Lectures at the University of Cambridge. Early life John Hulse was born at Middlewich, in Cheshire, the elde ...

, Anglican cleric (died 1790) * 13 July – Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby, Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) and benefactor (died 1794) * 15 November –

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

("the Elder"),

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

(died 1778) * 8 December – Charles Hanbury Williams, Welsh-born diplomat and satirical poet (died 1759) * 18 December –

John Collier John Collier may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Collier (caricaturist) (1708–1786), English caricaturist and satirical poet *John Payne Collier (1789–1883), English Shakespearian critic and forger *John Collier (painter) (1850–1934), ...

, caricaturist and satirical poet ("Tim Bobbin") (died 1786) * Richard Dawes, classical scholar (died 1766) *

Lavinia Fenton Lavinia Powlett, Duchess of Bolton (1708 – 24 January 1760), known by her stagename as Lavinia Fenton, was an English actress who was the mistress and later the wife of the 3rd Duke of Bolton. She was probably the daughter of a naval lieutenan ...

, actress (died 1760) * Francis Hayman, painter and illustrator (died 1776) * Elizabeth Scott, hymnwriter (died 1776 in the United States) * Thomas Seward, poet (died 1790)

Deaths

* 5 March –

William Beveridge William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal politician who was a progressive and social reformer who played a central role in designing the British welfare state. His 194 ...

, Bishop of St. Asaph (born 1637) * 15 March – William Walsh, poet, critic and politician (born 1662) * 29 March –

John Partridge John Partridge may refer to: *John Partridge (artist) (1789–1872), British portrait painter *John Partridge (astrologer) (1644–1710s), English astrologer *John Partridge (actor) (born 1971), English actor, singer and dancer *John Bernard Partrid ...

, astrologer and almanack-maker (born 1644) * 20 April –

Damaris Cudworth Masham ] Damaris, Lady Masham (18 January 1659 – 20 April 1708) was an English writer, philosopher, theologian, and advocate for women's education who is characterized as a proto-feminist. She overcame some weakness of eyesight and lack of access to ...

, philosopher (born 1659) * 21 June – John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton, Scottish politician (born 1656) * 10 July – James Kendall, soldier and politician (born 1647) * 1 August –

Edward Tyson Edward Tyson (20 January 1651 – 1 August 1708) was an English scientist and physician. He is commonly regarded as the founder of modern comparative anatomy, which compares the anatomy between species. Biography Tyson was born the son of Edward ...

, comparative anatomist (born 1651) * 6 September – John Morden, merchant and philanthropist (born 1623) * 19 September –

Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford PC (23 February 1620 – 19 September 1708), styled The Honourable between 1642 and 1651, was an English soldier, courtier and Whig politician. Background Born at Wroxeter, he was the eldest son of Richard ...

, politician (born 1620) * 29 September –

Sir James Oxenden, 2nd Baronet Sir James Oxenden, 2nd Baronet (4 April 1641 – 29 September 1708), of Dene, Kent was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1679 and 1702. Oxenden was the son of Sir Henry Oxenden, 1st Baronet and his second wife Eli ...

, politician (born 1641) * 1 October – John Blow, composer (born 1649) * 10 October – David Gregory, Scottish astronomer (born 1659) * 28 October –

Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Georg ...

, consort of Queen Anne (born 1653 in Denmark) * 31 October – Nathaniel Higginson, politician (born 1652) * 15 November –

Gregory Hascard Gregory Hascard Doctor of Divinity, DD (died 15 November 1708) was a Dean and Canons of Windsor, Canon of Windsor from 1671 to 1684 and then Dean of Windsor from 1684 until 1708, but he was also a noted Benefice#Pluralism, pluralist. He wrote thre ...

, pluralist cleric * Moll Davis, entertainer and courtesan, a mistress of King Charles II (born c. 1648) * "Father" Bernard Smith, organ builder (born c. 1630 in Germany) * Thomas Ward, exiled Catholic convert and controversialist (born 1652)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1708 Years in Great Britain