This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1780.

Events

*September/October –

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', '' The ...

is elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in the 1780 British general election. *December – Karl von Marinelli becomes head of the Schultz theatre company (Schultzsche Gesellschaft) of Baden. *''unknown dates'' **

Det Dramatiske Selskab Det Dramatiske Selskab is the name for several Norwegian amateur theatre drama troupes. These troupes were the first permanent theatre troupes in the cities of Norway. The period between 1780–1830 is described by many as ''the age of the dramatic ...

in Christiania, an amateur acting troupe, is formed and gives the first regular stage performances in Norway. **A

legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposi ...

law entitles the

Załuski Library The Załuski Library ( pl, Biblioteka Załuskich, la, Bibliotheca Zalusciana) established in Warsaw in 1747 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother, Andrzej Stanisław Załuski, both Roman Catholic bishops, was a public library nationalized ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

to a copy of every book published in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

New books

Fiction

Elizabeth Blower Elizabeth Blower (c. 1757/1763 – post-1816) was an English poet, novelist and actress. Her earlier work comments on political, electoral and critical matters, but her two later novels are dominated by sentiment.Lorna Sage: ''The Cambridge Guide ...

– ''The Parsonage House'' * Herbert Croft – ''

Love and Madness ''Love and Madness'' is a 1780 English novel by Sir Herbert Croft. It was based on the 1779 murder of Martha Ray, the mistress of Lord Sandwich, by James Hackman. Its full title is ''Love and Madness, a Story too True: in a Series of Letters betw ...

'' *

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (née Spencer; ; 7 June 1757 – 30 March 1806), was an English aristocrat, socialite, political organiser, author, and activist. Born into the Spencer family, married into the Cavendish family, she wa ...

– ''The Sylph'' *

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Rights of Ma ...

– ''Alwyn'' *

Samuel Jackson Pratt Samuel Jackson Pratt (25 December 1749 – 4 October 1814) was a prolific English poet, dramatist and novelist, writing under the pseudonym of "Courtney Melmoth" as well as under his own name. He authored around 40 publications between 1770 a ...

– ''Emma Corbett, or, The miseries of civil war''

Children

* Mrs. Trimmer – ''An Easy Introduction to the Knowledge of Nature, and Reading the Holy Scriptures. Adapted to the Capacities of Children''

Drama

* Hannah Cowley – ''

The Belle's Stratagem ''The Belle's Stratagem'' is a romantic comedy of manners, the most successful work of its playwright, Hannah Cowley. It received its premiere on 22 February 1780,Winter, William. Preface to "Two Old Comedies: The Belle's Stratagem and The Wond ...

'' * Sophia Lee – '' The Chapter of Accidents'' * Isaac Reed – ''A Select Collection of Old Plays'' (from

Robert Dodsley Robert Dodsley (13 February 1703 – 23 September 1764) was an English bookseller, publisher, poet, playwright, and miscellaneous writer. Life Dodsley was born near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where his father was master of the free school. H ...

's press)

Poetry

* Hannah Cowley – ''The Maid of Aragon'' *

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

– ''The Candidate'' * Herbert Croft – ''The Abbey of Kilkhampton; or, Monumental Records for the Year 1980'' (satire) *

Susannah Harrison Susannah Harrison (1752–1784) was an English working-class religious poet. Her 1780 collection ''Songs in the Night'' went through at least twenty-one editions in Britain and America, making it "one of the best selling collections written by a l ...

– ''Songs in the Night'' *

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1762; his conne ...

– ''An Essay on History'' *

Anna Seward Anna Seward (12 December 1742 ld style: 1 December 1742./ref>Often wrongly given as 1747.25 March 1809) was an English Romantic poet, often called the Swan of Lichfield. She benefited from her father's progressive views on female education. Li ...

– ''Elegy on Captain Cook'' * Christoph Martin Wieland – ''

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairi ...

Non-fiction

* William Beckford – ''Biographical Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters'' *

Jacob Bryant Jacob Bryant (1715–1804) was an English scholar and mythographer, who has been described as "the outstanding figure among the mythagogues who flourished in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries." Life Bryant was born at Plymout ...

– ''An Address to Dr.

Priestley Priestley may refer to: Places * Priestley, West Virginia, US, an unincorporated community * Priestley Glacier, a major valley glacier in Antarctica * Priestley (lunar crater), on the far side of the Moon * Priestley (Martian crater) * 5577 P ...

'' *

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...

– ''Speech on Oeconomical Reformation'' *

Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

– ''Opuscoli miscellanei'' (containing ''Il duello'' and ''Lettere della nobil donna Silvia Belegno alla nobil donzella Laura Gussoni'') *

William Combe William Combe (25 March 174219 June 1823) was a British miscellaneous writer. His early life was that of an adventurer, his later was passed chiefly within the "rules" of the King's Bench Prison. He is chiefly remembered as the author of ''Th ...

– ''Letters of the Late Lord Lyttelton'' (forgeries) *

Martin Madan Martin Madan (1726 – 2 May 1790) was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for his contribution to Methodist music, 'The Lock Hospital Collection,' and later controversial views on marriage expressed in his book ''Thelyphthora''. ...

– ''Thelyphthora'' (in favor of

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

) *

Johannes von Müller Johannes von Müller (3 January 1752 – 29 May 1809) was a Swiss historian. Biography He was born at Schaffhausen, where his father was a clergyman and rector of the gymnasium. In his youth, his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schoop (1696–1 ...

– ''Geschichten der Schweizer'' * John Nichols – ''A Select Collection of Poems'' *

Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...

– ''An Essay on the Population of England'' *

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

– ''

Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever ''Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever'' (1780) is a multi-volume series of books on metaphysics by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. Priestley wrote a series of important metaphysics works during the years he spent serving ...

'' *

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

– ''Supplement to the Edition of Shakespeare's Plays Published in 1778 by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens'' (by

Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first p ...

) * Horace Walpole – ''On Modern Gardening'' * John Wesley – ''Reflections on the Rise and Progress of the American Rebellion'' * Arthur Young – ''A Tour in Ireland''

Births

March 6 Events Pre-1600 * 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor. * 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. * 845 & ...

– Lucy Barnes, American writer (died

1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...

) *

March 10 Events Pre-1600 * 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. * 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a ...

–

Frances Trollope Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, '' Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a ...

, English novelist (died

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...

) *

June 1 Events Pre-1600 *1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu. * 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed k ...

–

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mo ...

, German soldier and military historian and theorist (died

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti- slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Ky ...

) *

June 3 Events Pre-1600 * 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. * 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, depos ...

–

William Hone William Hone (3 June 1780 – 8 November 1842) was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom. Biography Ho ...

, English satirist (died

1842 Events January–March * January ** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. ** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...

) * August 14 – George Croly, Irish poet, novelist and historian (died

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

) *

November 27 Events Pre-1600 *AD 25 – Luoyang is declared capital of the Eastern Han dynasty by Emperor Guangwu of Han. * 176 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of " Imperator" and makes him Supreme Commander of the ...

–

William Cardell William Samuel Cardell (November 27, 1780 – August 10, 1828) was an early American fiction writer and scholar. He is best remembered for his sea stories for boys, which combined adventure tales with moral instruction. ''The Story of Jack Haly ...

, American grammarian and writer of boys' stories (died

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized. * January 22 – Arth ...

) *

December 20 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – Antonius Primus enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor for Nero's former general Vespasian. * 1192 – Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England a ...

–

John Wilson Croker John Wilson Croker (20 December 178010 August 1857) was an Anglo-Irish statesman and author. Life He was born in Galway, the only son of John Croker, the surveyor-general of customs and excise in Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College Dubl ...

, Irish statesman and author (died 1857) *

December 26 Events Pre-1600 * 887 – Berengar I is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia. * 1481 – Battle of Westbroek: An army of 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers raised by David of Bu ...

– Mary Somerville, Scottish science writer and polymath (died

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

) *''probable'' **

Maria Elizabeth Budden Maria Elizabeth Budden, (née Halsey, c. 1780 – 26 April 1832) was a novelist, translator and writer of didactic children's books, who frequently signed her work "M. E. B." or "A Mother". Her ''True Stories...'' series of history books for youn ...

, English novelist and writer of didactic children's books (died

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plant ...

) **

Anna Maria Porter Anna Maria Porter (1778–1832) was a British poet and novelist. Life The sister of Jane Porter and Robert Ker Porter, she was probably born on 17 December 1778 and was baptized in Salisbury on 25 December 1778. She spent her infancy in Dur ...

, English poet and novelist (died

)

Deaths

January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. *1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...

–

Jonathan Carver Jonathan Carver (April 13, 1710 – January 31, 1780) was a captain in a Massachusetts colonial unit, explorer, and writer. After his exploration of the northern Mississippi valley and western Great Lakes region, he published an account of his exp ...

, American explorer and writer (born

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin by ...

) * February 14 –

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family ...

, English jurist and legal author (born

1723 Events January–March * January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...

) * February 17 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (born

1706 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Monday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 26 – War of Spanish Succession: The uprising by Bavaria ...

) *

April 29 Events Pre-1600 * 1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. * 1386 – Battle of the Vikhra River: The Principality of Smolensk is defeated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and b ...

–

Claude Joseph Dorat Claude Joseph Dorat (31 December 1734 – 29 April 1780) was a French writer, also known as Le Chevalier Dorat. He was born in Paris, of a family consisting of generations of lawyers, and he joined the corps of the king's musketeers. He became f ...

, "Le Chevalier Dorat", French poet and novelist (born 1734) * May 11 – Nicolas Fernández de Moratín, Spanish literary reformer (born

1737 Events January–March * January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parma a ...

) *

July 14 Events Pre-1600 * 982 – King Otto II and his Frankish army are defeated by the Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy. * 1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II. * 142 ...

– Charles Batteux, French philosopher (born

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ref ...

) *

September 4 Events Pre-1600 * 476 – Romulus Augustulus is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself "King of Italy", thus ending the Western Roman Empire. * 626 – Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne ove ...

– Sir

John Fielding Sir John Fielding (16 September 1721 – 4 September 1780) was a notable English magistrate and social reformer of the 18th century. He was also the younger half-brother of novelist, playwright and chief magistrate Henry Fielding. Despite bein ...

, English social reformer and half-brother of

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

(born

1721 Events January–March * January 6 – The Committee of Inquiry on the collapse of the South Sea Company in Great Britain publishes its findings. * February 5 – James Stanhope, chief minister of Great Britain, dies a day after ...

) *

September 8 Events Pre-1600 * 617 – Battle of Huoyi: Li Yuan defeats a Sui dynasty army, opening the path to his capture of the imperial capital Chang'an and the eventual establishment of the Tang dynasty. *1100 – Election of Antipope Theodo ...

–

Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (; 26 April 17118 September 1780) was a French novelist who wrote the best known version of ''Beauty and the Beast''. Her third husband was the French spy Thomas Pichon (1757–1760). Life and work Christened Ma ...

, French novelist (born 1711) * September 23 – Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand, French salon hostess (born

1697 Events January–March * January 8 – Thomas Aikenhead is hanged outside Edinburgh, becoming the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy. * January 11 – French writer Charles Perrault releases the book '' Histoires o ...

) *

December 22 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – Vespasian is proclaimed Emperor of Rome; his predecessor, Vitellius, attempts to abdicate but is captured and killed at the Gemonian stairs. * 401 – Pope Innocent I is elected, the only pope to succeed h ...

– James Harris, English grammarian (born

1709 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – Battle of St. John's: The French capture St. John' ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1780 In Literature Years of the 18th century in literature