1769 in Great Britain
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Events from the year 1769 in Great Britain. This year sees several key events in the Industrial Revolution.
Incumbents
Events
- 21 January â first of the Letters of Junius, criticising the government, appears in the Public Advertiser.[2]
- FebruaryâApril â John Wilkes is expelled from Parliament three times in the Middlesex election affair.
- 23 March â Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, the Prime Minister, and his wife, Anne, are divorced; on 24 June the Duke remarries.
- 8 April â the Theatre Royal, York, reopens under this title having been granted a Royal Patent.[3] (The manager, Tate Wilkinson, also obtains a patent for his theatre in Hull.)
- 13 April â first voyage of James Cook: James Cook arrives in Tahiti on the ship HM Bark Endeavour, preparing to observe the transit of the planet Venus, which takes place on 3 June.[4] After the voyage, the data is found to be inaccurate in determining the distance between the Sun and Earth.
- 25 Aprilâ27 May â first Royal Academy summer exhibition held.
- 29 April â James Watt is granted a British patent for "A method of lessening the consumption of steam in steam engines" â the separate condenser,[5] a key improvement (first devised by Watt in 1765) which stimulates the Industrial Revolution.[2]
- 3 & 29 May â Eclipse runs his first races, giving rise to the phrase "Eclipse first and the rest nowhere."
- 13 June â Josiah Wedgwood opens his Etruria Works for the manufacture of pottery.
- 28 June â The Morning Chronicle newspaper begins publication in London.
- 3 July â Richard Arkwright patents a spinning frame able to weave fabric mechanically.[6]
- 5â7 September â actor-manager David Garrick stages a Shakespeare Jubilee festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, disrupted by rain and with no performances of Shakespeare's works.[7]
- 7 October â James Cook reaches New Zealand.[2]
- 19 November â Blackfriars Bridge across the River Thames in London opens to traffic.[8]
Undated
- Gordon's London dry gin first produced.[9]
- Elizabeth Raffald's cookery book The Experienced English Housekeeper, published in Manchester, contains a recipe for "Bride Cake" covered in marzipan and royal icing that is recognisable as a modern wedding cake[10] and the earliest printed recipe for crumpet.
- Work on Syon House, Middlesex, to the design of Robert Adam, ceases.[11]
- Approximate date â Britannia metal is first produced, in Sheffield.[12]
Publications
- Authorized King James Version of the Bible in the Oxford standard text edited by Benjamin Blayney.
- Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage first published as The New Peerage.[6]
- William Robertson's The History of the Reign of Charles V.[13]
Births
- 1 January â Jane Marcet, science writer (died 1858)
- 6 January â Lord Charles Townshend, Member of Parliament (died 1796)
- 2 March â Walter Fawkes, writer and Member of Parliament (died 1825)
- 4 March â Ellen Sharples, painter (died 1849)
- 23 March â William Smith, geologist and cartographer (died 1839)
- 3 April â Josiah Wedgwood II, Member of Parliament (died 1843)
- 5 April â Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, naval officer (died 1839)
- 13 April â Thomas Lawrence, painter (died 1830)
- 14 April â William Rae, Member of Parliament (died 1842)
- 1 May â Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, general and Prime Minister (died 1852)
- 2 May â John Malcolm, soldier, statesman and historian (died 1833)
- 21 May â John Hookham Frere, diplomat and author (died 1846)
- 18 June â Viscount Castlereagh, statesman, diplomat and soldier (suicide 1822)
- 14 August â Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore, noble (died 1793)
- 10 September â Charles Bullen, admiral (died 1853)
- 19 September â George Raper, naval officer and illustrator (died 1797)
- 28 September â John Jackson, boxer (died 1845)
- 6 October â Isaac Brock, general and administrator (died 1812)
- 23 October â James Ward, painter and engraver (died 1859)
- 7 November â William Sturges Bourne, politician (died 1845)
- 12 November â Amelia Opie, author (died 1853)
- 13 December â James Scarlett Abinger, judge (died 1844)
- 23 December
- William Henry Clinton, general (died 1846)
- Martin Archer Shee, portrait painter (died 1850)
- date unknown
- Maria Bland, singer (died 1838)
- James Dadford, English canal engineer (year of death unknown)
- Charles Ewart, Scottish soldier (died 1846)
- Francis Gore, officer and colonial administrator (died 1852)
- Robert Hetrick, Scottish poet (died 1849)
Deaths
- 25 February â Henry Flitcroft, architect (born 1697)
- 2 August â Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, politician (born 1689)
- 19 August â Matthew Brettingham, architect (born 1699)
- 29 August â Edmond Hoyle, game expert (born 1672)