1799 in Great Britain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Events from the year 1799 in Great Britain.
Incumbents
Events
- 9 January â Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound[2] to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
- 20 Marchâ21 May â British troops lend aid to the Ottoman defenders against the French Siege of Acre.[3]
- 4 May â Battle of Seringapatam: British forces defeat the Sultan of Mysore; his kingdom is divided between the Honourable East India Company and Hyderabad.[4]
- 1 July â Britain allies with Russia, Austria, Portugal, Naples, and the Ottoman Empire against France.[4]
- 12 July â Parliament passes:
- The Combination Act to outlaw trade unions.[5]
- Unlawful Societies Act to outlaw clandestine radical societies and require a printer's imprint on all published material.[6]
- 15â19 August â A combined French and Spanish fleet stands off the south west coast of England.[7]
- 27 August â Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland: Britain and Russia send an expedition to the Batavian Republic.
- 30 August â Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland: Vlieter Incident â A squadron of the Batavian Republic's navy, commanded by Rear-Admiral Samuel Story, surrenders to the British Royal Navy under Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell near Wieringen without joining action.
- 6 October â Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland: Battle of Castricum â Franco-Dutch forces defeat the Russo-British expedition force.
- 9 October â Sinking of HMS Lutine (1793), a famous treasure wreck, in the West Frisian Islands.
- 16 October â Action of 16 October 1799: A Spanish treasure convoy worth more than £600,000 is captured by the Royal Navy off Vigo.
- 18 October â Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland: Capitulation of Anglo-Russian expedition forces in North Holland.
- 23 October â The River Severn ferry at The Tuckies, Jackfield, Shropshire capsizes and 28 workers from Coalport China Works are drowned.[8]
- 5 November â HMS Sceptre is wrecked in a storm in Table Bay, South Africa, with the loss of 349 and 41 survivors.[9]
- The Religious Tract Society is established as an evangelical publisher in Paternoster Row, London; as The Lutterworth Press the imprint continues into the 21st century.
Ongoing
Births
- January â James Meadows Rendel, civil engineer (died 1856)
- 12 January â Priscilla Susan Bury, botanist (died 1872)
- 8 February â John Lindley, botanist (died 1865)
- 16 March â Anna Atkins, botanist and photographer (died 1871)[10]
- 29 March â Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, Prime Minister (died 1869)
- 17 April â Eliza Acton, cookery writer (died 1859)
- 13 May â Catherine Gore, author (died 1861)
- 21 May â Mary Anning, paleontologist (died 1847)
- 23 May â Thomas Hood, poet (died 1845)
- 18 June â William Lassell, astronomer (died 1880)
- 25 June â David Douglas, Scottish botanist (died 1834 in Hawaii)
- 8 September â James Bowman Lindsay, Scottish inventor (died 1862)
- 21 December â Ignatius Spencer, priest (died 1864)
- James Townsend Saward, barrister and forger (date of death unknown)
- Approximate date â William Simson, Scottish-born painter (died 1847)
Deaths
- 26 January â Gabriel Christie, Scottish-born general and settler in Montreal (born 1722)
- 26 May â James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge and comparative linguist (born 1714)
- 14 June â Sir Patrick Warrender, Scottish soldier and politician (born 1731)[11]
- 4 August â John Bacon, sculptor (born 1740)
- 5 August â Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, admiral (born 1726)
- 25 August â John Arnold, watchmaker (born 1736)
- 3 September â William Thomas, academic and Chancellor of Llandaff Cathedral (born 1726)[12]
- 6 October â William Withering, physician (born 1741)
- 4 November â Josiah Tucker, economist (born 1713)[13]