Events from the year

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January 1 ...

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 ...

–

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

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 ...

– Frederick North, Lord North (

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

) *

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 ...

–

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

Events

* 10 January –

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

publishes his pamphlet ''

Common Sense ''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political argu ...

'' "written by an Englishman" in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

arguing for independence from British rule in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...

. * 27 February – American Revolution: at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, Scottish American

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

s are defeated by

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Patriots. * 2–3 March – American Revolution: ** Battle of Nassau: The American

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

and

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

make a successful assault on

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

. **

Battle of the Rice Boats The Battle of the Rice Boats, also called the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, was a land and naval battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in and around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province ...

: American Patriots resist the Royal Navy on the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

. British control over the

Province of Georgia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

is lost. * 9 March – economist

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

publishes ''

The Wealth of Nations ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the ''magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1 ...

''. * 17 March – American Revolution: British forces evacuate

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, after

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

commands the placement of

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

overlooking the city at Dorchester Heights, ending the 11‑month

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...

. * 12 April – American Revolution: The Royal Colony of North Carolina produces the Halifax Resolves, making it the first British colony officially to authorize its

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

delegates to vote for independence from Great Britain. * 4 May – American Revolution:

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to George III. * 15–26 May – American Revolution: Battle of The Cedars – British forces skirmish with the American

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

around

Les Cèdres, Quebec Les Cèdres is a municipality located north of the Saint Lawrence River in the Montérégie of Quebec, Canada, near Vaudreuil-Dorion. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 7,184. The name means "The Cedars" in French. There is an exte ...

. * 23 May – first purpose-built Freemasons' Hall in England opened in London to a design by

Thomas Sandby Thomas Sandby (1721 – 25 June 1798) was an English draughtsman, watercolour artist, architect and teacher. In 1743 he was appointed private secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, who later appointed him Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, wh ...

. * 8 June – American Revolution: Battle of Trois-Rivières – the invading American Continental Army is driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec. * 29 June – American Revolution:

Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet (June 29, 1776) was an important, early naval victory for the Continental Navy and the future "Father of the American Navy", Captain John Barry. It was the first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War. ...

– the American

successfully challenges the Royal Navy blockade off

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. * 4 July – American Revolution:

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

– the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

meeting in Philadelphia ratifies the declaration by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

of its independence from the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

. * 12 July – Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

sets off from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in HMS ''Resolution'' on his third voyage, to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

, which will be fatal. * 27 August – American Revolution: At the Battle of Long Island Washington's troops are routed in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

by British under William Howe. * 11 September – American Revolution: abortive

peace conference A peace conference is a diplomatic meeting where representatives of certain states, armies, or other warring parties converge to end hostilities and sign a peace treaty. Significant international peace conferences in the past include the follo ...

between British and Americans on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. * 15 September – American Revolution: Landing at Kip's Bay – British troops land on

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

at Kips Bay. * 16 September – American Revolution: Battle of Harlem Heights – the Continental Army under Washington are victorious against the British on Manhattan. * 24 September – first running of the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

horse race (not yet named), first of the

British Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their own ...

, devised by Anthony St Leger, on Cantley Common at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. The winner is a filly (later named

Allabaculia Allabaculia, or alternatively Alabaculia, (foaled 1773) was a British racemare that was the winner of the first St. Leger Stakes in 1776. Her maternal pedigree was not recorded and she did not race under the name "Allabaculia", with the name bes ...

) owned by the organiser, the

2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

. * 11 October – American Revolution:

Battle of Valcour Island The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and ...

– on

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

near Valcour Island, a British fleet led by Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

gunboats commanded by Brigadier General

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the defense of Lake Champlain prevents a further British advance toward

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. * 18 October – American Revolution: Battle of Pell's Point – troops of the American

resist a British and

Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...

force in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. * 28 October – American Revolution: Battle of White Plains – British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the

. * 16 November – American Revolution:

Battle of Fort Washington The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of ...

– Hessian forces under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture Fort Washington in New York from the

. * 20 November – American Revolution: Fort Lee in New Jersey is captured by the British forces. * 26 December – American Revolution: The

led by Washington defeats a

brigade at the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

Undated

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

David Hartley unsuccessfully introduces a motion to the House of Commons calling for the abolition of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Publications

* The first volume of

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...

's ''

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...

''. *

's ''

''. *

William Withering William Withering FRS (17 March 1741 – 6 October 1799) was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and first systematic investigator of the bioactivity of digitalis. Withering was born in Wellington, Shropshire, the son of a surg ...

's ''The botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in Great Britain'', the first

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

in English based on

Linnaean taxonomy Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts: # The particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his ''Systema Naturae'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus t ...

. * Approximate date – First printed edition of folk song "

The Lincolnshire Poacher "The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and deals with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire. It is catalogued as Roud Folk ...

Births

* 10 January – George Birkbeck, doctor, academic and philanthropist (died 1841) * 16 January – Richard Onslow, archdeacon (died 1849) * 17 January (baptism date) – Jane Porter, novelist (died 1850) * 23 January –

Howard Douglas General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British Army officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton. He was an English a ...

, army general (died 1861) * 12 February – Richard Mant, writer and cleric (died 1848) * 16 February –

Abraham Raimbach Abraham Raimbach (16 February 1776 in London17 January 1843), was an English engraver of Swiss descent. He was born in Cecil Court in the West End of London. Weinreb, Ben & Hibbert, Christopher (1983): ''The London Encyclopaedia,'' p. 129. E ...

, engraver (died 1843) * 23 February ** John Walter, newspaper editor (died 1847) **

Heneage Horsley Heneage Horsley (23 February 1776 – 6 October 1847) was Dean of Brechin from 1812 until his death. He was the 3rd son of Samuel Horsley, Bishop of St Asaph, and his first wife Mary Botham. He died on 6 October 1847. He had at least one daug ...

, Scottish Episcopal dean (died 1847) * 25 February –

George William Tighe George William Tighe (25 February 1776March 1837) was an Irish agricultural theorist who spent much of his life in Italy. Through his marriage to Margaret King, he exerted an influence on the radical poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Agriculture and sc ...

, expatriate (died 1837) * 9 March – Thomas Evans, army general (died 1863) * 12 March – Lady Hester Stanhope, archaeologist (died 1839) * 20 March –

Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (20 March 1776 – 17 January 1839), styled Earl Temple from 1784 to 1813 and known as the Marquess of Buckingham from 1813 to 1822, was a British landowner and ...

, politician (died 1839) * 23 March –

Robert Eden Duncombe Shafto Robert Eden Duncombe Shafto (23 March 1776 – 17 January 1848) of Whitworth Hall, Spennymoor, County Durham, was a British politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of Durham from 1804 to 1806. He served as High Sheriff of ...

, politician (died 1848) * 11 April –

Macvey Napier Macvey Napier (born Napier Macvey) (11 April 1776 – 11 February 1847) was a Scottish solicitor, legal scholar, and an editor of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. He was Professor of Conveyancing at the University of Edinburgh. Life Macv ...

, lawyer and encyclopedia editor (died 1847) * 12 April –

Henry Hobhouse Henry Hobhouse may refer to: * Henry Hobhouse (archivist) (1776–1854), English archivist * Henry Hobhouse (East Somerset MP) Henry Hobhouse (1 March 1854 – 25 June 1937) was an English landowner and Liberal, and from 1886 Liberal Unionis ...

, archivist (died 1854) * 20 April **

William Weston Young William Weston Young (1776–1847) was a British Quaker entrepreneur, artist, botanist, wreck-raiser, surveyor, potter, and inventor of the firebrick. Biography William Weston Young was born on 20 April 1776 at Lewin's Mead, Bristol, England ...

, Quaker businessman (died 1847) * 25 April ** Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, member of the royal family (died 1857) **

Edward Solly Edward Solly (25 April 1776 – 2 December 1844) was an English merchant living in Berlin, who amassed an unprecedented collection of Italian Trecento and Quattrocento paintings and outstanding examples of Early Netherlandish painting, at a tim ...

, merchant and art collector (died 1844) * 28 April –

Charles Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville Charles Augustus Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville PC, DL (28 April 1776 – 25 June 1859), styled Lord Ossulston until 1822, was a British politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talent ...

, politician (died 1859) * 6 May – Stephen Rumbold Lushington, politician and administrator in British India (died 1868) * 8 May –

Edward Leveson-Gower Rear-Admiral Edward Leveson-Gower (8 May 1776 – 6 December 1853) was a British naval officer, the son of Admiral The Hon. John Leveson-Gower and Frances Boscawen. Naval and political career Leveson-Gower entered the Navy in 1791, and was pr ...

, admiral (died 1853) * 10 May – George Thomas Smart, musician (died 1867) * 8 June – Thomas Rickman, architect and architectural antiquary (died 1841) * 11 June –

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

, landscape painter (died 1837) * 21 June **

Charles Horsfall Charles Horsfall (21 June 1776 – 18 June 1846) was a merchant and slave-owner who served as Mayor of Liverpool 1832–1833. Life Early life Horsfall was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, the son of Joseph Horsfield and Anna Hodgson, and w ...

, merchant and politician (died 1846) **

William Wadd William Wadd (21 June 1776 – 29 August 1829) was a 19th-century British surgeon and medical author. Wadd, the eldest son of Solomon Wadd (''d''. 1821), a surgeon, who lived and practised for more than half a century in Basinghall Street, Londo ...

, surgeon and medical author (died 1829) * 28 June – Charles Mathews, actor (died 1835) * 3 July – Henry Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton, Anglo-Irish politician (died 1842) * 18 July – John Struthers, Scottish poet (died 1853) * 22 July –

Etheldred Benett Etheldred Anna Maria Benett (22 July 1776 – 11 January 1845) was an early English geologist often credited with being the first female geologist, having devoted much of her life to collecting and studying fossils that she discovered in South ...

, geologist (died 1845) * 30 July –

Sir Edward Kerrison, 1st Baronet General Sir Edward Kerrison, 1st Baronet, (30 July 1776 – 9 March 1853) was a British Army officer and politician. Kerrison was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 7th Light Dragoons, saw service during the Peninsular War and commanded his regim ...

, army general (died 1853) * 2 August –

Thomas Assheton Smith II Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, landowner and sportsman (died 1858) * 12 August –

David Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (12 August 1776 – 19 March 1855) was a British diplomat and politician. Background and education A member of Clan Erskine, Erskine was the eldest son of Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, fourth son of ...

, politician (died 1855) * 18 August **

Thomas Howard, 16th Earl of Suffolk Thomas Howard, 16th Earl of Suffolk, 9th Earl of Berkshire FSA (18 August 1776 – 4 December 1851) was a British peer and politician. Background Suffolk was the second but eldest surviving son of General John Howard, 15th Earl of Suffolk, and ...

, noble (died 1851) **

Sir Robert Newman, 1st Baronet Sir Robert William Newman, 1st Baronet (18 August 1776 – 24 January 1848) was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He was elected as one of the two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) for Blet ...

, politician (died 1848) * 25 August – Thomas Bladen Capel, admiral (died 1853) * 11 September –

Thomas Arbuthnot Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, KCB (11 September 1776 – 26 January 1849"''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''") was a British Army commander. Military career He was born in Rockfleet Castle, County Mayo, Ireland, the sixth ...

, army general (died 1849) * 18 September – Thomas Gleadowe-Newcomen, 2nd Viscount Newcomen, politician (died 1825) * 21 September – John Fitchett, epic poet (died 1838) * 6 October **

James Duff, 4th Earl Fife James Duff, 4th Earl Fife, KT, GCH (6 October 1776 – 9 March 1857), was a Scot who became a Spanish general. Biography James was the elder son of the Hon. Alexander Duff, who succeeded his brother as third Earl Fife in 1809. He was educated ...

, Scottish army general in Spanish service (died 1857) ** James Stuart-Wortley, 1st Baron Wharncliffe, politician (died 1845) * 13 October ** Peter Barlow, mathematician (died 1862) ** John Gibb, Scottish civil engineering contractor (died 1850) * 14 October –

Robert Townsend Farquhar Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar, 1st Baronet (1776 – 16 March 1830) was an influential British merchant of the early nineteenth century who served as a colonial governor and Member of Parliament. During his lengthy service for both the East India ...

, colonial administrator (died 1830) * 20 October –

John Rolls of The Hendre John Rolls of The Hendre (20 October 1776 – 31 January 1837) was a native of Bermondsey, in Southwark, London, Surrey, England. A member of the renowned Rolls family of The Hendre at Llangattock-Vibon-Avel near Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales ...

, judge (died 1837) * 22 October –

Edward Draper Edward Alured Draper (22 October 1776 in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom – 22 April 1841 in Rivière Noire, Mauritius) was a military officer in the British Army and civil servant in Mauritius. Draper was educated at Eton College. In 1793 he mat ...

, army officer and colonial administrator (died 1841) * 7 November –

James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline FRSE (7 November 177617 April 1858), was a British barrister and Whig politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1835 and 1839. Background and education Abercromby was the third ...

, politician (died 1858) * 10 November –

Henry Seymour (Knoyle) Henry Seymour MP, JP (10 November 1776 – 27 November 1849), of Knoyle House, East Knoyle, Wiltshire, of Trent, and of Northbrook, was a British Tory politician. He was the only son of Henry Seymour, of Redland Court, Gloucestershire and his ...

, politician (died 1849) * 15 November – Aaron Manby, ironmaster and civil engineer (died 1850) * 16 November –

Mary Matilda Betham Mary Matilda Betham, known by family and friends as Matilda Betham (16 November 1776 – 30 September 1852), was an English diarist, poet, woman of letters, and miniature portrait painter. She exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1804 to ...

, diarist, scholar and poet (died 1852) * 30 November –

Bartholomew Frere Bartholomew Frere (30 November 1776 – 29 May 1851) was an English diplomat. Life Frere was born in 1776, the fifth son of John Frere, F.R.S., M.P. for Norwich, and a younger brother of John Hookham Frere and William Frere. He proceeded B.A. at ...

, diplomat (died 1851) * 12 December – Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, lawyer and politician (died 1846) * 19 December –

Lord Robert Somerset General Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset (19 December 17761 September 1842) was a British soldier who fought during the Peninsular War and the War of the Seventh Coalition. Life Somerset was the third son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufo ...

, army general (died 1842)

Deaths

* 2 February – Francis Hayman, painter and illustrator (born 1708) * 24 March –

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English Carpentry, carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of calculating longitude while at s ...

, clockmaker (born 1693) * 29 April – Edward Wortley Montagu, traveller and writer (born 1713) * 13 June –

William Battie William Battie (sometimes spelt Batty;) 1 September 1703 – 13 June 1776) was an English physician who published in 1758 the first lengthy book on the treatment of mental illness, ''A Treatise on Madness'', and by extending methods of treatment ...

, psychiatrist (born 1703 or 1704) * 20 June – Benjamin Huntsman, inventor and manufacturer (born 1704) * 7 July –

Jeremiah Markland Jeremiah Markland (18 October (or 29) 1693 – 7 July 1776) was an English classical scholar. Life He was born in Childwall in Lancashire (now Liverpool) on 29 (or 18) October 1693. He was educated at Christ's Hospital and Peterhouse, Cambrid ...

, classical scholar (born 1693) * 17 July –

Harriet Pelham-Holles, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Henrietta "Harriet" Pelham-Holles, Duchess of Newcastle upon Tyne and Duchess of Newcastle-under-Lyne (1701 – 17 July 1776), was the wife of British statesman and prime minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle. She was the daughter ...

, widow of the Prime Minister (born 1701) * 25 August –

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...

, Scottish philosopher (born 1711) * 17 November –

James Ferguson James Ferguson may refer to: Entertainment * Jim Ferguson (born 1948), American jazz and classical guitarist * Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, past member of Lotion * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member for the Broadca ...

, Scottish astronomer (born 1710)