1778 In Great Britain

Events from the year 1778 in Great Britain.

Incumbents

* Monarch – George III
* Prime Minister – Frederick North, Lord North ( Tory)
* Parliament – 14th

Events

* 18 January – the third Pacific expedition of James Cook, with ships and , first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
* 6 February – American Revolutionary War: Britain declares war on France for aiding the Americans.
* 23 April – American Revolutionary War: John Paul Jones in raids Whitehaven, with limited effect.
* 24 April – American Revolutionary War: North Channel Naval Duel – John Paul Jones in USS ''Ranger'' captures in the North Channel.
* May – is commissioned and remains in active service for the following 32 years, most notably at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805).
* 28 May–11 November – American Revolutionary War: In response to the threat of invasion from France, major militia camps are set up at Coxheath Common in Kent and Warley Common near Brentwood, Essex.
* 16 June – American Revolutionary War: Spain declares war on Britain.
* 28 June – American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Monmouth takes place in Monmouth, New Jersey.
* 3 July – American Revolutionary War: the Wyoming Valley battle and massacre takes place near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, ending in a defeat of the local colonists.
* 10 July – American Revolutionary War: Louis XVI of France declares war on Great Britain.
* 27 July – American Revolutionary War: First Battle of Ushant – British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
* September – first St. Leger Stakes horse race held under this name and at its continuing location, Town Moor, Doncaster. The winner is Hollandoise.
* 7 September – American Revolutionary War: French invasion of Dominica captures the British fort there before the latter is aware that France has entered the war in the Franco-American alliance.
* 26 November – in the Hawaiian Islands, James Cook becomes the first European to discover Maui.

Ongoing

* American Revolutionary War 1775–1783
* First Anglo-Maratha War 1777–1783

Undated

* Papists Act is the first to provide a measure of Catholic Relief.
* Lord Mansfield decides the landmark case of ''Da Costa v Jones'' in English contract law, in relation to the presumption of good faith.
* Joseph Bramah invents a type of flush toilet.
* Flint & Clark, the predecessors of Debenhams, begin trading as drapers in London; their successor will enter liquidation in 2020.
* Fanny Burney's novel '' Evelina'' published (anonymously).
* Thomas West's ''A Guide to the Lakes'' published.

Births

* 1 January – James Grant, major-general (died 1852)
* 4 January – John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland (died 1857)
* 19 March – Edward Pakenham, general (died 1815)
* 10 April – William Hazlitt, essayist (died 1830)
* 6 May – Henry Phillpotts, Bishop of Exeter (died 1869)
* 18 May
** Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, politician (died 1854)
** Andrew Ure, doctor and writer (died 1857)
* 7 June – Beau Brummell, arbiter of fashion (died 1840)
* 19 September – Henry Peter Brougham, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1868)
* 25 November
** Joseph Lancaster, Quaker educationist (died 1838 in the United States)
** Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, Christian writer (died 1856)
* 17 December – Humphry Davy, chemist (died 1829)
* 18 December – Joseph Grimaldi, clown (died 1837)

Deaths

* 5 March – Thomas Augustine Arne, composer (born 1710)
* 22 April – James Hargreaves, weaver, carpenter, and inventor (born 1720)
* 11 May – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1708)
* 16 May – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, diplomat and politician (born 1718)
* 12 August – Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, general and politician (born 1714)

References

Further reading

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{{Year in Europe, 1778

Years in Great Britain