This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1738.

Events

April 11 Events Pre-1600 * 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. * 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. * 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferra ...

– Robert Blair marries Isabella Law. *

July 10 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. * 645 – Isshi Incident: Prin ...

– Richard Dawes is appointed Master of the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle (By Learning, You Will Lead) , established = , closed = , type = Grammar SchoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Geoffrey Stanford , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , cha ...

. *August –

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...

is ordained a priest, and in the autumn becomes vicar of Sutton-on-the-Forest, Yorkshire. *

August 8 Events Pre-1600 * 685 BC – Spring and Autumn period: Battle of Qianshi: Upon the death of the previous Duke of Qi, Gongsun Wuzhi, Duke Zhuang of Lu sends an army into the Duchy of Qi to install the exiled Qi prince Gongzi Jiu as th ...

–

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 ...

writes to

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

describing the deterioration in his mental condition; Swift will eventually be given into the care of a legal guardian. *

September 18 Events Pre-1600 * 96 – Domitian, who has been conducting a reign of terror for the past three years, is assassinated as a result of a plot by his wife Domitia and two Praetorian prefects. * 96 – Nerva is proclaimed Roman emperor a ...

–

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

composes his first solemn

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

(published 1785).

New books

Prose

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

– '' The Constitutions of the Free-Masons'', 2nd ed. *

Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens (24 June 1704 – 11 January 1771) was a French rationalist, author and critic of the Catholic church, who was a close friend of Voltaire and spent much of his life in exile at the court of Frederick the ...

– '' Jewish Letters'' (published anonymously) *

John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to: Politics and law *Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament * John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania *John Gray Banks (188 ...

– ''Miscellaneous Works in Verse and Prose'' *

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (; ; 17 July 1714 – 27 MayJan LekschasBaumgarten Family'' 1762) was a German philosopher. He was a brother to theologian Siegmund Jakob Baumgarten (1706–1757). Biography Baumgarten was born in Berlin as the ...

– ''De ordine in audiendis philosophicis per triennium academicum quaedam praefatus acroases proximae aestati destinatas indicit Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten'' * Louis de Beaufort – ''Dissertation sur l'incertitude des cinq prèmiers siècles de l'histoire romaine'' *

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 ...

– ''The Art of Preaching'' * Marie Huber – ''Lettres sur la religion essentielle à l'homme (Letters Concerning the Religion Essential to Man)'' *

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 ...

(anonymously) – ''

A Treatise of Human Nature '' A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects'' (1739–40) is a book by Scottish philosopher David Hume, considered by many to be Hume's most important work and one of the ...

'' (dated 1739) *

Pierre Louis Maupertuis Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...

– ''Sur la figure de la terre'' *

Margareta Momma Anna Margareta Momma née von Bragner (1702–1772), was a Swedish publisher, chief editor and journalist. She was the chief editor and publisher of the political essay ''Samtal emellan Argi Skugga och en obekant Fruentimbers Skugga'' (1738-1739) ...

– '' Samtal emellan Argi Skugga och en obekant Fruentimbers Skugga'' (Conversation between the Shadow of Argus and the Unfamiliar Shadow of a Female) * Francis Moore – ''Travels into the Inland Parts of Africa'' *

Abbé Prévost Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles ( , , ; 1 April 169725 November 1763), usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French priest, author, and novelist. Life and works He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full nam ...

– ''Memoirs of a Man of Quality'' (anonymous English translation) * Thomas Shaw – ''Travels in Barbary and the Levant'' *

**''The Beasts Confession to the Priest'' **''

A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation ''A Complete Collection of genteel and ingenious Conversation, according to the most polite mode and method now used at Court, and in the best Companies of England,'' commonly known as ''A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation, ...

'' *

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...

**'' The Divine Legation of Moses Demonstrated'' **''A Vindication of the author of the Divine Legation of Moses'' *

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...

– ''A Journal of a Voyage from London to Savannah in Georgia'' *

Diego de Torres Villarroel Diego de Torres Villarroel (169319 June 1770) was a Spanish writer, poet, dramatist, doctor, mathematician, priest and professor of the University of Salamanca. His most famous work is his autobiography, ''Vida, ascendencia, nacimiento, crianza y ...

**''Anatomía de todo lo visible e invisible'' **''Vida ejemplar de la venerable madre Gregoria Francisca de Santa Teresa''

Drama

– ''Sir John Cockle at Court'' *

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

**''Momolo Cortesan'' **''L'uomo di mondo'' *Sir

Hildebrand Jacob Hildebrand Jacob (1692 or 1693–1739) was a British poet and playwright, whose major works include the epic poem ''Brutus the Trojan'' and the tragic verse drama ''The Fatal Constancy''. His collected works (entitled ''The Works of H. Jacob, Esqr. ...

**''The Happy Constancy'' **''The Prodigal Reformed'' **''The Trial of Conjugal Love'' *

George Lillo George Lillo (3 February 1691 – 4 September 1739) was an English playwright and tragedian. He was also a jeweller in London. He produced his first stage work, ''Silvia, or The Country Burial'', in 1730, and a year later his most famous play, ...

– ''

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

'' (adapted from

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 ...

's ''

Pericles, Prince of Tyre ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was pu ...

'') * Charles Marsh – '' Amasis, King of Egypt'' * James Miller – ** ''

Art and Nature ''Art and Nature'' is a 1738 comedy play by the British writer James Miller. The play received a rough reception from what Miller described a "faction" in the Drury Lane audience, and its run was not extended beyond a single night. He described ...

'' ** '' The Coffee House'' *

Alexis Piron Alexis Piron (9 July 1689 – 21 January 1773) was a French epigrammatist and dramatist. Life He was born at Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began life as c ...

– ''La Metromanie'' *

António José da Silva António José da Silva Coutinho (8 May 170518 October 1739) was a Portuguese dramatist born in colonial Brazil, known as "the Jew" (''O Judeu''). The Brazilian spelling of his first name is Antônio; António José da Silva Coutinho in Hebrew is ...

– ''Precipicio de Faetonte'' * James Thomson – ''

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...

Poetry

Mark Akenside Mark Akenside (9 November 1721 – 23 June 1770) was an English poet and physician. Biography Akenside was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the son of a butcher. He was slightly lame all his life from a wound he received as a child f ...

(anonymously) – ''A British Philippic'' *

Elizabeth Carter Elizabeth Carter (pen name Eliza; 16 December 1717 – 19 February 1806) was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, linguist, and polymath. As one of the Bluestocking Circle that surrounded Elizabeth Montagu,Encyclopaedia BritannicRet ...

(anonymously) – ''Poems Upon Particular Occasions'' *

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 ...

– ''Fables: Volume the Second'' *

Eugenio Gerardo Lobo Eugenio Gerardo Lobo Huerta (24 September 1679, Cuerva, Toledo – 1750, Barcelona) was a Spanish soldier and poet. He was the Military Governor of Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the ...

– ''Obras poéticas líricas'' *

– ''London, A Poem, on the Third Satire of Juvenal'' *

**''The Sixth Epistle of the First Book of Horace Imitated'' **''The First Epistle of the First Book of Horace Imitated'' **(with

) ''An Imitation of the Sixth Satire of the Second Book of Horace'' **''One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight'' **''The Universal Prayer'' **''One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight: Dialogue II'' * James Thomson – ''The Works of Mr Thomson'' *

– ''Juguetes de Talia, entretenimiento del numen'' *

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

– ''A Collection of Psalms and Hymns'' (first English edition)

Births

February 9 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. * 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...

''(baptized)'' –

Mary Whateley Mary Darwall (née Whateley; 1738 – 5 December 1825), who sometimes wrote as Harriett Airey, was an English poet and playwright. She belonged to the Shenstone Circle of writers gathered round William Shenstone in the English Midlands. She la ...

, English poet and playwright (died 1825) *

May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. *1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. *1386 – England and Portugal formally rati ...

–

John Wolcot John Wolcot (baptised 9 May 1738 – 14 January 1819) was an English satirist, who wrote under the pseudonym of "Peter Pindar". Life Wolcot was baptised at Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. In the parish register, his surname was spelled " ...

, English satirist and poet (died

1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...

) *

May 12 Events Pre-1600 * 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. * 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang d ...

–

Jonathan Boucher Rev. Jonathan Boucher (pronounced Boo-Shay), FRSE, FSA (12 March 1738 – 27 April 1804) was an English clergyman, teacher, preacher and philologist. Early career Jonathan Boucher was born in Blencogo, near Wigton, Cumberland, and educated at ...

, English philologist (died

1804 Events January–March * January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic, having the only successful slave revolt ever. * February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa. * Februa ...

) *

May 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed. * 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death. * 1153 &ndash ...

– Moritz August von Thümmel, German humorist and satirical author (died 1817) *

June 21 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily (approximate date). * 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mo ...

–

Gottlieb Christoph Harless Gottlieb Christoph Harless (originally Harles) (21 June 1738 – 2 November 1815) was a German classical scholar and bibliographer. Biography He was born at Culmbach in Bavaria. He studied at the universities of Halle, Erlangen and Jena. In ...

, German bibliographer (died

1815 Events January * January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England. * January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussi ...

) *

July 24 Events Pre-1600 * 1132 – Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. * 1148 – Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade. * 1304 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Sti ...

–

Betje Wolff Elizabeth ("Betje") Wolff-Bekker (24 July 17385 November 1804) was a Dutch novelist who, with Agatha "Aagje" Deken, wrote several popular epistolary novels such as ''Sara Burgerhart'' (1782) and ''Willem Levend'' (1784). Biography Betje Bekker w ...

, Dutch novelist (died 1804) *

November 15 Events Pre-1600 * 655 – Battle of the Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. * 1315 – Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy: The Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft ambushes the army of Leopold I in the Battle of Mo ...

–

Joseph Johnson Joseph Johnson may refer to: Entertainment *Joseph McMillan Johnson (1912–1990), American film art director *Smokey Johnson (1936–2015), New Orleans jazz musician * N.O. Joe (Joseph Johnson, born 1975), American musician, producer and songwrit ...

, English publisher (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 ...

) *

December 4 Events Pre-1600 * 771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne as sole king of the Frankish Kingdom. * 963 – The lay papal protonotary is elected pope and takes the name Leo VIII, being consecrated on 6 ...

– Karl Friedrich Kretschmann,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

poet, playwright and storyteller (died 1809) *''unknown date'' – Manuel Lassala, Spanish dramatist and philosopher (died

1806 Events January–March * January 1 ** The French Republican Calendar is abolished. ** The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon. * January 5 – The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall ...

)

Deaths

January 6 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...

–

Jean-Baptiste Labat Jean-Baptiste Labat (sometimes called, simply, Père Labat) (1663 – 6 January 1738) was a French clergyman, botanist, writer, explorer, ethnographer, soldier, engineer, and landowner. Life Labat was born and died in Paris. He entered the ...

, French polymath (born 1663) *March –

Margrethe Lasson Anna Margrethe Lasson (March 1659 – March 1738) was a Danish novelist, the first novelist in Denmark. Biography Lasson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her Parents were Jens Lassen (1625–1706), was a High Court judge on the island of Fyn, a ...

, Danish novelist (born 1659) *

April 25 Events Pre-1600 * 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion. * 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the ...

– Giacomo Laderchi, Italian ecclesiastical historian (born c. 1678) *

June 5 Events Pre-1600 *1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights. *1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...

–

Isaac de Beausobre Isaac de Beausobre (8 March 1659 – 5 June 1738) was a French Protestant churchman, now best known for his two-volume history of Manichaeism, ''Histoire Critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme'' . Life Beausobre was born at Niort, Deux-Sèvres. ...

, French Protestant theologian (born 1659) *

July 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. * 1283 – Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese ...

–

Jean-Pierre Nicéron Jean-Pierre Nicéron (11 March 1685 – 8 July 1738) was a French lexicographer. Biography Nicéron was born in Paris, a relative of the mathematician and Minim friar Jean François Niceron. After his studies at the Collège Mazarin, he joined t ...

, French lexicographer (born 1685) * September 3 or 4 –

, English playwright (born

1691 Events January–March * January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands. * January 14 – A ...

) * September 23 –

Herman Boerhaave Herman Boerhaave (, 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738Underwood, E. Ashworth. "Boerhaave After Three Hundred Years." ''The British Medical Journal'' 4, no. 5634 (1968): 820–25. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20395297.) was a Dutch botanist, ...

, Dutch humanist writer (born

1668 Events January–March * January 23 – The Triple Alliance (1668), Triple Alliance of 1668 is formed between Kingdom of England, England, Sweden and the Dutch Republic, United Provinces of the Netherlands. * February 13 &ndash ...

) *

November 10 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of ten months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. * 937 – Ten Kingdoms: Li Bian usurps the throne and deposes Emperor Yang ...

–

John Asgill John Asgill (25 March 1659 – 10 November 1738) was an eccentric English writer and politician. Life Asgill attended Nonconformist (Protestantism) services in his youth. He studied law at the Middle Temple, 1686, and was called to the bar in ...

, English pamphleteer (born 1659)

References

{{Year in literature article categories Years of the 18th century in literature