1775 in Great Britain
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Events from the year 1775 in Great Britain.
Incumbents
Events
- 17 January â first performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners The Rivals at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.
- 9 February â American Revolution: British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
- 22 March â American Revolution: Edmund Burke's speech before the British Parliament on conciliation with the American colonies.
- 3 April â Muzio Clementi makes his London debut as a harpsichordist.
- 19 April â the American Revolutionary War begins with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.[2]
- 10 May â American Revolution: Capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Patriot forces.[3]
- 12 May â American Revolution: Battle of Crown Point.
- 12 June â American Revolution: British forces offer a pardon to all colonists who would lay down their arms.
- 16 June â American Revolution: Battle of Bunker Hill.[2]
- 5 July â American Revolution: the Continental Congress sends the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, hoping for a reconciliation.
- 30 July â second voyage of James Cook: HMS Resolution (1771) anchors at Spithead, Captain Cook having completed the first eastabout global circumnavigation.
- 12 Augustâ3 November â American Revolution: Battle of Fort St. Jean.
- 23 August â American Revolution: refusing even to look at the Olive Branch Petition, King George issues a Proclamation of Rebellion against the American colonies.
- 24 September â American Revolution: Battle of Longue-Pointe.
- 9 December â American Revolution: Battle of Great Bridge â victory by the Virginia's Second Regiment and the Culpeper (Virginia) Minuteman Battalion, leads to withdrawal of the British from the port of Norfolk Borough.
- 30â31 December â American Revolution: Battle of Quebec â British forces repulse an attack by the American Continental Army.
- 1775â76 Winter â Unusually deadly influenza epidemic in London kills nearly 40,000.[4]
Undated
- Industrial Revolution
- John Wilkinson (industrialist) invents and patents a new kind of boring machine.
- The 1769 Watt steam engine patent is extended to June 1800 by Act of Parliament and the first engines are built under it.[5][6]
- Josiah Wedgwood introduces jasperware pottery.
- Actress Sarah Siddons makes her debut at the Drury Lane Theatre as Portia in The Merchant of Venice but is not well received.[3]
Publications
- Samuel Johnson's A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.[3]
- Augustus Toplady's hymn "Rock of Ages" (first version, in The Gospel Magazine, October).
Births
- 24 January â John Buonarotti Papworth, architect (died 1847)
- 30 January â Walter Savage Landor, writer (died 1864)
- 10 February
- Charles Lamb, writer (died 1834)
- James Smith, author (died 1839)
- 12 February â Louisa Adams, First Lady of the United States (died 1852 in the United States)
- 12 March â Joseph Chitty, lawyer and legal writer (died 1841)
- 23 April â J. M. W. Turner, painter (died 1851)
- 13 May â Henry Crabb Robinson, man of letters, lawyer and diarist (died 1867)
- 5 July â William Crotch, composer (died 1847)
- 31 August â Agnes Bulmer, poet (died 1836)
- 25 November â Charles Kemble, actor (died 1854)
- 14 December â Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, admiral (died 1860)
- 16 December â Jane Austen, novelist (died 1817)
Deaths
- 8 January â John Baskerville, printer (born 1707)
- 6 February â William Dowdeswell, politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1721)
- 7 March â Thomas Nuthall, politician and attorney
- 28 May â Barlow Trecothick, merchant and politician (born c. 1719)
- 17 June â Major John Pitcairn, marine (killed in battle) (born 1722)
- 16 September â Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst, privy councillor (born 1684)
- 21 November â John Hill, botanist and writer (born c. 1716)
- 7 December â Charles Saunders, admiral (born c. 1715)