1700–1799(A.D.)World History French Revolution (1789–1799) Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) Frederick the Great (1712–1786) Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) George Washington (1732–1799) Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804) Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821) 1701 War of the Spanish Successionbegins—the last of Louis XIV's wars for domination of the continent. The Peace of Utrecht (1714) will end the conflict and mark the rise of the British Empire. Called Queen Anne's War in America, it ends with the British taking New Foundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay Territory from France, and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain. 1704 Deerfield (Mass.) Massacre of English colonists by French and Indians. Bach's first cantata. Jonathan Swift'sTale of a Tub.Boston News Letter—first newspaper in America. 1707 United Kingdom of Great Britain formed—England, Wales, and Scotland joined by parliamentary Act of Union. 1729 Bach'sSt. Matthew Passion. Isaac Newton'sPrincipiatranslated from Latin into English. 1732 Benjamin Franklinbegins publishingPoor Richard's Almanack.James Oglethorpe and others found Georgia. 1735 John Peter Zenger, New York editor, acquitted of libel in New York, establishing press freedom. 1740 Capt. Vitus Bering, Dane employed by Russia, discovers Alaska. Frederick II “the Great” crowned king of Prussia. 1746 British defeat Scots under Stuart Pretender Prince Charles at Culloden Moor. Last battle fought on British soil. 1751 Publication of theEncyclopédiebegins in France, the “bible” of the Enlightenment. 1755 Samuel Johnson'sDictionaryfirst published. Great earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal—over 60,000 die. U.S. postal service established. 1756 Seven Years' War(French and Indian Wars in America) (to1763), in which Britain and Prussia defeat France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. France loses North American colonies; Spain cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. In India, over 100 British prisoners die in “Black Hole of Calcutta.” 1757 Beginning of British Empirein India as Robert Clive, British commander, defeats Nawab of Bengal at Plassey. 1759 British capture Quebec from French. Voltaire'sCandide. Haydn'sSymphony No. 1. 1762 Catherine II(“the Great”) becomes czarina of Russia. Jean Jacques Rousseau'sSocial Contract. Mozarttours Europe as six-year-old prodigy. 1765 James Watt invents the steam engine. Britain imposes the Stamp Act on the American colonists. 1769 Sir William Arkwright patents a spinning machine—an early step in the Industrial Revolution. 1770 The Boston Massacre. 1772 Joseph Priestleyand Daniel Rutherford independently discover nitrogen. Partition of Poland—in1772, 1793,and1795,Austria, Prussia, and Russia divide land and people of Poland, end its independence. 1773 The Boston Tea Party. 1774 First Continental Congressdrafts “Declaration of Rights and Grievances.” 1775 The American Revolutionbegins with battle of Lexington and Concord. Second Continental Congress. Priestley discovers hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. 1776 Declaration of Independence. Gen. George Washingtoncrosses the Delaware Christmas night. Adam Smith'sWealth of Nations.Edward Gibbon'sDecline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Thomas Paine'sCommon Sense.Fragonard'sWasherwoman.Mozart'sHaffner Serenade. 1778 Capt. James Cookdiscovers Hawaii. Franz Mesmer uses hypnotism. 1781 Immanuel Kant'sCritique of Pure Reason.Herschel discovers Uranus. 1783 Revolutionary War ends with Treaty of Paris. William Blake's poems. Beethoven's first printed works. 1784 Crimea annexed by Russia. John Wesley'sDeed of Declaration,the basic work of Methodism. 1785 Russians settle Aleutian Islands. 1787 The Constitution of the United Statessigned. Lavoisier's work on chemical nomenclature. Mozart'sDon Giovanni. 1788 FrenchParlementpresents grievances to Louis XVI who agrees to convening of Estates-General in1789—not called since1613. Goethe'sEgmont.Laplace'sLaws of the Planetary System. 1789 French Revolutionbegins with the storming of the Bastille. (For detailed chronology, see French Revolution (1789–1799).) In U.S., Washington elected president with all 69 votes of the Electoral College, takes oath of office in New York City. Vice President: John Adams. Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson. Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton. 1790 H.M.S.Bountymutineers settle on Pitcairn Island. Aloisio Galvani experiments on electrical stimulation of the muscles. Philadelphia temporary capital of U.S. as Congress votes to establish new capital on Potomac. U.S. population about 3,929,000, including 698,000 slaves. Lavoisier formulatesTable of 31 chemical elements. 1791 U.S. Bill of Rights ratified. Boswell'sLife of Johnson. 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft'sVindication of the Rights of Woman. 1793 Louis XVIand Marie Antoinetteexecuted. Reign of Terror begins in France. Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, spurring the growth of the cotton industry and helping to institutionalize slavery in the U.S. South.