Events

January – March

January 7 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – The Senate of the Roman Republic, Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army, prompting the tribunes who support him to flee to where Caesar is waiting in Ravenna ...

– In India,

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

rebel leader

Shah Inayat Shaheed Shah Inayatullah (; 1655 – 1718), popularly known as Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed, Shah Shaheed or Shah Inayat of Jhok, was a 17th-century Sindhi Sufi saint and revolutionary from Jhok. He was the first socialist and agricultural reformist of ...

from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

who had led attacks against the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, is beheaded days after being tricked into meeting with the Mughals to discuss peace. *

January 17 Events Pre-1600 * 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 peopl ...

– Jeremias III reclaims his role as the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

, chief leader within the Eastern Orthodox Church, 16 days after the Metropolitan Cyril IV of Pruoza had engineered an election to become the Patriarch. *

February 14 It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...

– The reign of Victor Amadeus over the principality of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

(now within the state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

in northeastern Germany) ends after 61 years and 7 months. He had ascended the throne on September 22, 1656. He is succeeded by his son

Karl Frederick Karl Telford Frederick (February 2, 1881 – February 11, 1963) was an American sport shooter who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1920 he won the gold medal in the individual free pistol event. And he won two gold medals as member ...

. *

February 21 Events Pre-1600 * 452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine. * 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. * 1440 – The ...

– Manuel II (Mpanzu a Nimi) becomes the new monarch of the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...

(located in western Africa in present day

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

) when King Pedro IV (Nusamu a Mvemba) dies after a reign of 22 years. Manuel reigns until 1743. *

March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of th ...

–

Anton Florian Anton Florian (28 May 1656 – 11 October 1721) was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1718 and 1721. Anton Florian was born in Wilfersdorf, in what is now Lower Austria. During the War of the Spanish Succession, he went to Spain, where he was ...

becomes the new

Prince of Liechtenstein The monarchy of Liechtenstein is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of Liechtenstein. The current monarch is Prince Hans-Adam II. The House of Liechtenstein, after which the sove ...

, succeeding Joseph Wenzel *

March 13 Events Pre-1600 * 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander. * 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Mu ...

–

Daniel Overbeek Daniel Overbeek or Overbeke (13 March 1695, Amsterdam - 29 July 1751, Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a popu ...

becomes the new Dutch Governor of Ceylon (now the nation of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

), arriving after a 10-month sea voyage from the Netherlands. *

March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ar ...

– Edward Wortley Montagu, the four-year-old son of the British Ambassador to Turkey, becomes the first British person to be inoculated with the smallpox vaccine, administered by Dr. Charles Maitland at the request of Edward's mother,

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, medical pioneer, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, ...

. *

March 20 Events Pre-1600 *1206 – Michael IV of Constantinople, Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. *1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish n ...

– The

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

, at the time the British Government prior to the creation of the officer of Prime Minister, is reorganized, with a reorganized

Second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry The second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry (1718–1721) was a continuation of the British Whig government headed by Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland and James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope. These had taken power in 1717 to form the first St ...

. Secretary of State for the Northern Department

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC (23 April 167519 April 1722), known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was a British statesman from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1714–1717), Lord Privy Seal ( ...

succeeds James Stanhope as the new

First Lord of the Treasury The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Traditional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Mi ...

, and Stanhope takes Sunderland's job.

April – June

April 4 Events Pre-1600 * 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines. * 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. * 611 &nd ...

– Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic agree on the phasing out of the authority of the

House of Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo de' Medici, Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first h ...

over the semi-independent

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

by declaring that

Gian Gastone de' Medici Gian Gastone de' Medici (born Giovanni Battista Gastone; 25 May 1671 – 9 July 1737) was the seventh and last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. His sister, Elect ...

will be the last of the Medici family to rule the Italian duchy and that Spain's House of Borbón will eventually control the Tuscan monarchy. Don Carlos of Spain, the two-year old son of King Philip V, is designated as the eventual heir, despite the objections of the 75-year old Grand Duke,

Cosimo III de' Medici Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder s ...

. *

May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. * 1169 & ...

–

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

is founded by Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares with the construction of the initial Mission San Antonio de Valero. *

May 7 Events Pre-1600 * 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch. * 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I im ...

– The settlement of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

is founded in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. *

May 22 Events Pre-1600 * 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. * 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. ...

– Sailing the ''

Queen Anne's Revenge ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. The date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, and there is no record of its action ...

'' English

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

Edward Teach ("

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

") leads 400 sailors in four ships, and blockades the port of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

for an entire week, plundering all arriving ships. After their departure, ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' and ''Adventure'' are both lost at Beaufort Inlet,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

; a week later. Blackbeard allows

Stede Bonnet Stede Bonnet (c. 1688 – 10 December 1718) was an English pirate who was known as the Gentleman Pirate because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the is ...

to command the ''Revenge'' (which is renamed the ''Royal James'') once again. Bonnet rescues 25 sailors abandoned by Blackbeard on a sandbar and continues his life of piracy. *

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 Empire, Byzantine emperor Philippikos Ba ...

– Pirates "Blackbeard" and Stede Bonnet accidentally run aground in the ship ''

'' after sailing into Topsail Inlet in the British colony of

. Learning of the royal pardon available to all pirates who surrender before September 5, Teach negotiates a settlement with Colonial Governor Charles Eden for a pardon for himself, Bonnet and the rest of his crew in return for the Governor receiving some of the pirates' plunder. *

June 16 Events Pre-1600 * 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (''shah'') of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran). *1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son K ...

– The Treaty of Baden is signed, ending the

Toggenburg War The Toggenburg War, also known as the Second War of Villmergen or the Swiss Civil War of 1712, was a Swiss civil war during the Old Swiss Confederacy from 12 April to 11 August 1712. The Catholic "inner cantons" and the Imperial Abbey of Saint ...

. *

June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. * 1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle cha ...

– A 7.5 earthquake shakes

Tongwei County Tongwei County is located in the middle of Gansu province, the People's Republic of China, with east longitude between 104°57' and north latitude between 34°55' and 35°29'. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Dingxi. ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, killing 73,000 people.

July–September

July 21 Events Pre-1600 * 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson. * 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became th ...

– The

Treaty of Passarowitz The Treaty of Passarowitz, or Treaty of Požarevac, was the peace treaty signed in Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, , ), a town that was in the Ottoman Empire but is now in Serbia, on 21 July 1718 between the Ottoman Empire and its ad ...

, ending the Austro-Turkish War, is signed. *

July 25 Events Pre-1600 * 306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops. * 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridg ...

– At the behest of Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, the construction of

Kadriorg Palace Kadriorg Palace (, ) is an 18th-century Petrine Baroque palace in Kadriorg, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Both the Estonian and the German names for the palace mean "Catherine's valley". It was built in 1718–1725 to Nicola Michetti's desi ...

, dedicated to his wife

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, began in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. *

August 11 Events Pre-1600 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and foun ...

–

Battle of Cape Passaro The Battle of Cape Passaro (also known as the Battle of Avola or the Battle of Syracuse) was a naval battle fought on 11 August 1718 between a fleet of the British Royal Navy under Admiral Sir George Byng and a fleet of the Spanish Navy under ...

: a Spanish fleet is defeated by the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

under Admiral George Byng, off

Capo Passero Capo Passero or Cape Passaro (; Greek: ; Latin: Pachynus or Pachynum) is a celebrated promontory of Sicily, forming the extreme southeastern point of the whole island, and one of the three promontories which were supposed to have given to it the ...

, Sicily, a prelude to the

War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance, 1718 to 1720, was a conflict between Spain and a coalition of Austria, Great Britain, France, and Savoy, joined in 1719 by the Dutch Republic. Most of the fighting took place in Sicily and Spain, with minor engag ...

. *

September 10 Events Pre-1600 * 506 – The bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. * 1089 – The first synod of pope Urban II starts in Melfi, with seventy bishops and twelve abbots in attendance. The synod issues several decree ...

– In France, Armande Félice de La Porte Mazarin and the Vicomtesse de Polignac, both mistresses of the Duc de Richelieu, fight a duel with pistols at the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park that is the western half of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by the Em ...

near Paris. Lady Mazarin, who had initiated the duel, is wounded in the shoulder and both survive. Richelieu, though impressed by the willingness of the ladies to fight over his affections, comments ''Je ne sacrifierai pas un de mes cheveux, ni à l’une, ni à l’autre'' ("I will not sacrifice anything, not to one, nor to the other.") *

September 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England. * 1331 – The Battle of Płowce is fought, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teut ...

– The Battle of Cape Fear River begins as pirate

and his crew on the ''Royal James'' are confronted in

by Colonel

William Rhett Colonel William Rhett (4 September 1666 – 12 January 1723) was an English-born planter, politician and military officer who moved to the Carolinas, where he spent the majority of his life. Born in London, Rhett emigrated to North America in 1 ...

and the ships ''Henry'' and ''Sea Nymph''. *

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

– In

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, forces of the Tibetan

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...

destroys an advancing expedition of the Chinese Imperial Army, under the command of General Erentei, in the

Battle of the Salween River The Battle of the Salween River () was fought in September 1718 close to the Nagqu (i.e., Salween River) in Tibet, between an expedition of the Qing dynasty to Lhasa and a Dzungar Khanate force that blocked its path. After Tsering Dhondup co ...

October –December

October 3 Events Pre-1600 * 2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day. * 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius ...

–

and his crew are captured near the mouth of the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

and taken to Charleston, South Carolina, where they are tried for piracy. All but four are found guilty and sentenced to death (with 22 hanged on November 8), but Bonnet escapes from prison on October 24. *

October 31 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. * 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down. * 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Consp ...

– The Mughal Emperor of India,

Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar (; 20 August 16839 April 1719), also spelled as Farrukh Siyar, was the tenth Mughal emperors, Mughal Emperor from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after deposing his uncle Jahandar Shah. He was an emperor only in name, with all ...

, restores the titles and responsibilities of his chief adviser, Mir Jumla III, almost three years after dismissing him. *

November 11 Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, '' Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of th ...

– Lightning strikes the powder magazine at the

Old Fortress, Corfu The Old Fortress of Corfu (, ) is a Venetian fortress in the city of Corfu. The fortress covers the promontory which initially contained the old town of Corfu that had emerged during Byzantine times. Before the Venetian era the promontory, ...

, causing an explosion that kills a large number of people on the island. *

November 18 Events Pre-1600 * 326 – The old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated by Pope Sylvester I. * 401 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy. * 1095 – The Council of Clermont begins: ca ...

–

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

's first play, ''

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

'', premières at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

in Paris. This is his first use of the pseudonym. *

November 22 Events Pre-1600 * 498 – After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius is elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore. * 845 – The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Fran ...

– Citing violations of the amnesty agreement with Blackbeard,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Governor

Alexander Spotswood Major-General Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British army officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. After an unsatisfactory military career, in 1710 ...

sends a

contingent to North Carolina, where they battle Blackbeard and his crew in

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

. Blackbeard is killed in action, after receiving five musketball wounds and twenty sword lacerations. *

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 ...

– Fifty people are killed, and 150 houses burned, when a fire breaks out in

Wapping Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The blaze comes two days after a fire at the

Spring Gardens Spring Gardens is a dead-end street at the south east extreme of St. James's, London, England, that crosses the east end of The Mall between Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square. Part of the old liberty of Westminster and the current City of ...

St. James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of it is still owned ...

, London, which destroyed the French Chapel there and which was put out by several rescuers, including the future King George II. *

December 5 Events Pre-1600 *63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations. * 633 – Fourth Council of Toledo opens, presided over by Isidore of Seville. *1033 – The 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake, Jordan Rift Val ...

– Following the death of Charles XII on

November 30 Events Pre-1600 * 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900 *1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of t ...

, his sister

Ulrika Eleonora Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of Frederick, her husband. Upon his ...

proclaims herself Queen regnant of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, as the news of her brother's death reaches Stockholm. *

December 10 Events Pre-1600 *1317 – The Nyköping Banquet: King Birger of Sweden treacherously seizes his two brothers, dukes Valdemar and Erik, who are subsequently starved to death in the dungeon of Nyköping Castle. * 1508 – The Leag ...

– Stede Bonnet is hanged at Charleston, after being recaptured. *

December 17 Events Pre-1600 * 497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. * 546 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Eastern Roman garrison. * 920 – Romanos I ...

– The

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

and

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

join the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

in formally declaring war on Spain, launching the

Date unknown

Islamization of Sudan The Islamization of the Sudan region (Sahel) encompasses a prolonged period of religious conversion, through military conquest and trade relations, spanning the 8th to 16th centuries. Following the 7th century Muslim conquest of Egypt and ...

: The

Funj The Funj Sultanate, also known as Funjistan, Sultanate of Sennar (after its capital Sennar) or Blue Sultanate (due to the traditional Sudanese convention of referring to black people as blue) (), was a monarchy in what is now Sudan, northwestern ...

warrior aristocracy deposes the reigning '' mek'' and places one of their own ranks on the throne of

Sennar Sennar ( ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. For several centuries it was the capital of the Funj Kingdom of Sennar and until at least 2011, Sennar was the capital of Sennar State. Histo ...

. * The white potato reaches

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

from England. *

Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

is grown in

Surinam (Dutch colony) Surinam (), also unofficially known as Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, Dutch Guiana, was a Dutch plantation economy, plantation colony in the Guianas and the predecessor polity of modern country of Suriname. It was bordered by the fellow Dut ...

.Wild, Antony (2005). '' Coffee: A Dark History''. .

Births

–

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

, American Revolutionary War general (d.

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took pa ...

) *

January 29 Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler ...

–

Paul Rabaut Paul Rabaut (29 January 1718 – 25 September 1794) was a French pastor of the Huguenot "Church of the Desert". He was regarded by many as the leader and director of the proscribed church. He was a peacemaker and a scholar despite, due to pers ...

, French Huguenot pastor (d.

1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United St ...

) *

February 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau. * 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons ...

–

Matthew Tilghman Matthew Tilghman (February 17, 1718 – May 4, 1790) was an American Planter class, planter, and Revolutionary leader from Maryland. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, where he signed the 1774 Continental Asso ...

, American delegate to the Continental Congress (d.

) *

March 31 Events Pre-1600 * 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian. * 1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging ...

–

Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain Mariana Victoria of Spain (; 31 March 1718 – 15 January 1781) was an '' Infanta of Spain'' by birth and was later the Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Joseph I. She acted as regent of Portugal in 1776–1777, during the last months of he ...

, queen regent of Portugal (d.

1781 Events January–March * January – William Pitt the Younger, later Prime Minister of Great Britain, enters Parliament of Great Britain, Parliament, aged 21. * January 1 – Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens ...

) *

–

Benjamin Kennicott Benjamin Kennicott (4 April 171818 September 1783) was an English churchman and Hebrew scholar. Life Kennicott was born at Totnes, Devon where he attended Totnes Grammar School. He succeeded his father as master of a charity school, but the ge ...

, English churchman and Hebrew scholar (d.

1783 Events January–March * January 20 – At Versailles, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain signs preliminary peace treaties with the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain. * January 23 – The Confederation Congress ...

) *

April 7 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. * 529 – First '' Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Em ...

–

Hugh Blair Hugh Blair FRSE (7 April 1718 – 27 December 1800) was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse. As a minister of the Church of Scotland, and occupant of the C ...

, Scottish preacher and man of letters (d.

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

) *

April 20 Events Pre-1600 * 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. 1601–1900 * 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament. * 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroy ...

–

David Brainerd David Brainerd (April 20, 1718October 9, 1747) was an American Presbyterian minister and missionary to the Native Americans among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. Missionaries such as William Carey and Jim Elliot, and Brainerd's cousin, the ...

, American missionary (d.

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II ...

) *

April 24 Events Pre-1600 * 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty). * 1183 BC – Traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy ...

– Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d.

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

) * April 26 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (d. 1802) * April 27 – Thomas Lewis (Virginia politician), Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (d.

) * May 16 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician (d. 1799) * May 17 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat and politician (d. 1778) * May 23 – William Hunter (anatomist), William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d.

) * May 30 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician (d. 1793) * May 31 – Jacob Christian Schäffer, German inventor, botanist and professor (d.

) * June 5 – Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker (d. 1779) * June 17 – George Howard (British Army officer), George Howard, British field marshal (d. 1796) * July 5 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, Viceroy of Ireland (d.

) * July 18 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian writer (d. 1808) * July 31 – John Canton, English physicist (d. 1772) *

– Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born British colonial governor (d. 1791) * September 18 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian statesman (d.

) * October 19 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, Marshal of France (d. 1804) * October 2 – Louisa Catharina Harkort, German ironmaster (d. 1795) * October 28 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary and geographer (d. 1793) * November 3 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English statesman (d. 1792) * November 28 – Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht, Swedish writer (d. 1763) * ''date unknown'' ** István Hatvani, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1786) ** Salomée Halpir, Lithuanian oculist (year of death unknown)

Deaths

* January 6 ** Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (b. 1664) ** Richard Hoare (banker), Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648) *

– Empress Xiaohuizhang, Qing Dynasty empress and consort of the Shunzhi Emperor of China (b. 1641) *

– Benjamin Church (ranger), Captain Benjamin Church, Plymouth Colony settler and military officer (b. c. 1639) * February 1 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician (b. 1660) * February 5 – Elizabeth Capell, Countess of Essex, British countess (b. 1636) *

** Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, illegitimate daughter of King Charles II of England (b. 1664) ** Prince George William of Great Britain, member of the British Royal Family (b. 1717) * February 18 – Pierre Antoine Motteux, French-born English dramatist (b. 1663) * March 9 – Marko Gerbec, Carniolan physician, scientist (b. 1658) *

– Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns, German organist and composer (b. 1637) * March 28 – Thomas Micklethwaite, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (d. 1678) * April 3 – Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician (b. 1640) * April 18 – Michael Wening, German engraver (b. 1645) * April 21 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1640) * April 23 – Sir Edward Blackett, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1649) Mary of Modena Pietersz

– Mary of Modena, queen of James II of England (b. 1658) * May 19 – Juan Andrés de Ustariz, Royal Governor of Cuba (b. 1656) * May 16 – Jonas Danilssønn Ramus, Norwegian priest and historian (b. 1649) * May 24 – Jeremiah Dummer (silversmith), Jeremiah Dummer, American silversmith (b. 1643) * May 30 ** Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch favorite of William III of England (b. 1670) ** Bernard Nieuwentyt, Dutch mathematician and philosopher (b. 1654) * June 9 – Jonathan Corwin, American judge of the Salem witch trials (b. 1640) * June 13 – Louis, Count of Armagnac, French noble (b. 1641) * June 17 ** Margherita Maria Farnese, Italian noblewoman (b. 1664) ** James Tyrrell (writer), James Tyrrell, English barrister and writer (b. 1642) *

– Shabbethai Bass, Polish Rabbi, author of Siftei Chachamim and founder of Jewish bibliography (b. 1641) * July 28 – Étienne Baluze, French scholar (b. 1630) * July 30 – William Penn, American settler, founder of Pennsylvania (b. 1644) * August 2 – Al-Mahdi Muhammad, Yemeni imam (b. 1637) * August 4 – René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, lord-founder of Rimouski in eastern Quebec, Canada (b. 1656) * September 11 – Domenico Martinelli, Italian architect (b. 1650) * September 12 – Louise de Maisonblanche, illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV of France (b. 1676) * September 20 – George St Lo, Royal Navy officer and administrator (b. 1655) * October 9 – Richard Cumberland (philosopher), Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (b. 1631) * October 19 – Alphonse Henri, Count of Harcourt, French noble (b. 1648) * November 3 – Karl, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (b. 1652) *

, English pirate (b. 1680) ** Durgadas Rathore, Indian ruler (b. 1638) Karl XII 1706

* c. December – Black Caesar (pirate), Black Caesar, African pirate (hanged) * December 6 – Nicholas Rowe (writer), Nicholas Rowe, English poet and dramatist (b. 1674) * December 9 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encyclopedist (b. 1650) * December 11 (November 30 Old Style) – King Charles XII of Sweden (b. 1682) *

–

, Barbadian "gentleman pirate" (b. 1688) * December 28 – Jan Brokoff, German sculptor (b. 1652) * ''date unknown'' – Marie Grubbe, Danish countess (b. 1643)

References

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