1768 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1768.

Events

March â John Wilkes, returning from exile in France, is elected to the Parliament of Great Britain.
May 10 â John Wilkes is imprisoned for attacking King George III of Great Britain in print.
July 28 â Thomas Gray succeeds Lawrence Brockett as Regis Professor of History at the University of Cambridge.^[1]
December 12 â Walter Butler, 16th Earl of Ormonde, father of Lady Eleanor Butler, inherits Kilkenny Castle in Ireland. This brings about the first meeting of the Ladies of Llangollen.^[2]
unknown dates
- John Murray (publisher) is established in London.
- The Theatre Royal, Bath (Old Orchard Street Theatre) and Theatre Royal, Norwich assume these titles on being granted Royal Patents, making them officially England's only legal provincial theaters.^[3]^[4]
- The Leeds Library is founded, becoming the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in Britain.^[5]

John Cleland â The Woman of Honour (attributed)
Alexander Dow (translated) â Tales Translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi
Voltaire â La Princesse de Babylone
JosÃ© Francisco de Isla â Historia del famoso predicador fray Gerundio de Campazas, alias Zotes (second part)
Anonymous â Fumoto no iro (Japanese: éºã®è², romanized: Sex in the Foothills)

Abraham Booth â The Reign of Grace
James Boswell â An Account of Corsica
William Gilpin â An Essay upon Prints, containing remarks upon the principles of picturesque beauty
Oliver Goldsmith â The Present State of the British Empire in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia
Richard Gough â Anecdotes of British Topography
Joseph Priestley â An Essay on the First Principles of Government
Tobias Smollett â The Present State of all Nations
Laurence Sterne â A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy
Gilbert Stuart â An Historical Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the English Constitution
Emanuel Swedenborg â Deliciae Sapientiae de Amore Conjugiali
Abraham Tucker (as Edward Search) â The Light of Nature Pursued
Horace Walpole â Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III
Arthur Young â A Six Weeks' Tour Through the Southern Counties of England and Wales

March 1 â Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher (born 1694)
March 18 â Laurence Sterne, Irish-born novelist and cleric (born 1713)
April 9 â Sarah Fielding, English novelist and children's author (born 1710)
May 30 â Eggert Ãlafsson, Icelandic writer and linguist (drowned, born 1726)
July 4 â Willem van Haren, Dutch poet (born 1710)
August 20 â Joseph Spence, English memoirist and professor of poetry (born 1699)
November 25 â Alexander Russell, Scottish physician and naturalist (born c. 1715)
December 20 â Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (born 1692)