1746 in Great Britain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Events from the year 1746 in Great Britain.
Incumbents
- Monarch â George II
- Prime Minister â Henry Pelham (Whig)[1]
Events
- 8 January â Jacobite rising: Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie" or "The Young Pretender") occupies Stirling.
- 17 January â Government forces suffer a defeat to Jacobite forces at the Battle of Falkirk.[2]
- 10 February â William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath forms the Short-lived Ministry following the resignation of Henry Pelham. It lasts a mere two days.
- 21 February â Jacobite rising: Siege of Inverness ends with government forces surrendering Fort George to the Jacobite army.[3]
- 16 April â Battle of Culloden brings an end to the Jacobite rising.[4] Culloden is the last pitched battle fought on British soil. George Frideric Handel composes the oratorio Judas Maccabaeus to commemorate the Duke of Cumberland's victory.[5]
- 3 May â "Battle of Loch nan Uamh": Royal Navy sloops attack French privateers which have landed money (and brandy) intended to aid the Jacobite cause in the Sound of Arisaig.[6]
- 6 May â William Pitt the Elder appointed Paymaster of the Forces and Henry Fox appointed Secretary at War.[5]
- 18 June â Samuel Johnson is contracted to write his A Dictionary of the English Language.
- 27 June â Charles Edward Stuart escapes to the Isle of Skye with the aid of Flora MacDonald.[4]
- 30 July â Francis Towneley, with fellow members of the Jacobite Manchester Regiment convicted of treason, is hanged, drawn and quartered at Kennington Common in London; the heads of two of them become the last to be publicly displayed on Temple Bar, London.
- 1 August â wearing of the kilt is banned in Scotland by the Dress Act.
- 18 August â two of the four rebellious Scottish lords, the Earl of Kilmarnock and Lord Balmerinoch, are beheaded in the Tower (Lord Lovat executed 1747).
- 20 September â Charles Edward Stuart escapes to France with the aid of Flora MacDonald.[5]
- 21 September â in India, Madras is captured by the French led by Joseph François Dupleix.[5]
Undated
- William Cookworthy discovers kaolin in Cornwall.[7]
- An act to enforce the execution of an act of this session of parliament, for granting to his Majesty several rates and duties upon houses, windows, or lights includes a general provision confirming that all statutes naming England apply equally to Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed.[8]
Births
- 3 June â James Hook, composer (died 1827)
- 28 September â William Jones, philologist (died 1794)
- 22 October â James Northcote, painter (died 1831)
- Isaac Swainson, botanist (died 1812)
Deaths
- 4 February â Robert Blair, poet (born 1699)
- 14 June â Colin Maclaurin, mathematician (born 1698)
- 2 July â Thomas Baker, antiquarian (born 1656)
- 2 October â Josiah Burchett, Secretary of the Admiralty (born c. 1666)
- 6 December â Lady Grizel Baillie, poet (born 1665)
- 8 December â Charles Radclyffe, politician (born 1693)