1756 in Great Britain
Great Britain-related events during the year of 1756
Events from the year 1756 in Great Britain
Incumbents
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
Events
16 January – Treaty of Westminster signed between Britain and Prussia guaranteeing the neutrality of Hanover , the German province controlled by King George II .[ 2]
12 April – Siege of Fort St Philip begins when the French under Armand de Vignerot du Plessis , Duke of Richelieu, land near Port Mahón on Menorca and besiege the British garrison here in a prelude to the Seven Years' War.
17 May – Seven Years' War formally begins when Britain declares war on France .[ 2]
20 May – Seven Years' War: Battle of Minorca : The British fleet under John Byng is defeated by the French under Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière .
20 June – a garrison of the British Army in India is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta .[ 2]
25 June – foundation of The Marine Society in London, the world's oldest seafarers' charity.[ 3]
29 June – Seven Years' War : Siege of Fort St Philip at Port Mahón ends when the British garrison in Menorca surrenders to the French under the Duke of Richelieu after two months' siege.
6 October – hurricane hits Britain causing large losses of corn and other crops.[ 4]
16 November – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , resigns as Prime Minister after British failure in the Battle of Minorca . He is succeeded by the Pitt–Devonshire ministry formed by William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire , and William Pitt .[ 5]
4 December – Pitt becomes Secretary of State for the Southern Department .[ 5]
Undated – completion of William Edwards ' Old Bridge, Pontypridd . With a 140 ft (43 m) span it becomes (by 10 ft) the longest single-span bridge in Great Britain, remaining so for 40 years.[ 6] [ 7]
Publications
Births
Unknown date – Peter William Baker , politician (died 1815)
3 March – William Godwin , writer (died 1836 )
4 March – Henry Raeburn , Scottish painter (died 1823 )[ 8]
April – William Gifford , satirist, critic, editor, poet, and controversialist(died 1826 )
13 June – Edmund Lodge , writer (died 1839 )
21 September – John Loudon McAdam , highway engineer (died 1836 )
7 October – Jemmy Wood , banker and miser (died 1836 )
13 November – Edward Rushton , abolitionist and pioneer of education for the blind (died 1814 )
18 November – Thomas Burgess , Bishop, author and philosopher (died 1837 )
22 November – Gilbert Wakefield , scholar (died 1801 )
Deaths
See also
References
^ Bryant, Christopher (2014). Parliament: The Biography ISBN 978-0-85752-224-5 ^ a b c Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History 318 . ISBN 0-304-35730-8 ^ "History of the Marine Society" . Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-03 .^ Urban, Sylvanus, ed. (1756), The Gentleman's Magazine , D. Henry & R. Cave, p. 462 ^ a b c Everett, Jason M., ed. (2006). "1756". The People's Chronology . Thomson Gale. ^ Ruddock, Ted (2008). "The Theory of Arches and Pontypridd" . Arch Bridges and their Builders 1735–1835 . Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-09021-6 . Retrieved 2009-01-19 . ^ Skempton, A. W.; Chrimes, Mike (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500 to 1830 ISBN 0-7277-2939-X ^ "Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)" . National Records of Scotland . 31 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2022 .
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