1743 in Great Britain
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Events from the year 1743 in Great Britain.
Incumbents
- Monarch â George II
- Prime Minister â Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (Whig) (until 2 July);[1] Henry Pelham (Whig) (starting 27 August)[2]
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Events
- 21 February â premiere in London of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, Samson.
- 2 March â War of Jenkins' Ear: Battle of La Guaira â A British expeditionary fleet under Sir Charles Knowles is defeated by the Spanish off the South American coast.
- 13 April â British East India Company ship Princess Louisa is wrecked off the coast of Maio Island in the Cape Verde Islands, killing 49 of her 179 crew.
- 16 June (27 June New Style) â War of the Austrian Succession: The Battle of Dettingen is fought in Bavaria. King George II leads the troops of Britain and Brunswick to victory over the French â the last time a reigning British monarch participates in a battle. The Prime Minister, Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, is also present, observing from a carriage. George Frideric Handel writes the oratorio Dettingen Te Deum in celebration of the King's victory.[3]
- 13 July â all 276 people on board the Dutch East India Company ship Hollandia drown after the ship strikes a rock off Annet, Isles of Scilly.
- 20 July â Lord Anson captures the Philippine galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga and its treasure of 1,313,843 Spanish dollars at Manila.[4]
- 27 August â Henry Pelham becomes Prime Minister, following the death of Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, on 2 July.[5][6]
- 13 September â Treaty of Worms signed between Great Britain, the Holy Roman Emperor and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
- 25 October â France and Spain form the Alliance of Fontainebleau with the aim of recapturing Gibraltar from Britain.[3]
- 11 December â Princess Louise, the King's daughter, marries Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway.[7]
Undated
- Gin Act 1743 attempts to increase taxation on gin provoking riots in London.
- Dr Christopher Packe produces the first geological map of south-east England.[8]
- Last wolf said to be killed in Scotland.[9]
- William Hogarth begins painting his Marriage à -la-mode series.[3]
Publications
- Robert Blair's poem The Grave is published.[10]
- The final edition of Alexander Pope's The Dunciad is published.[3]
Births
- 1 January â William Parker, admiral (died 1802)
- 13 February â Joseph Banks, naturalist and botanist (died 1820)
- 14 March â Hannah Cowley, dramatist and poet (died 1809)
- 24 April â Edmund Cartwright, clergyman and inventor of the power loom (died 1823)
- July â William Paley, philosopher (died 1805)
Deaths
- 4 April â Daniel Neal, English historian (born 1678)
- 23 May â Thomas Archer, baroque architect (born 1668)
- 2 July â Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1674)[11]
- 1 August â Richard Savage, writer (born c. 1697)
- 5 August â John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English statesman and writer (born 1696)
- 23 August â Mary Edwards, heiress (born 1705)
- 4 October â John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (born 1678)
- 5 October â Henry Carey, poet, dramatist and songwriter, suicide (born 1687)