1759
| Years: 1756 1757 1758 – 1759 – 1760 1761 1762 | |
| Decades: 1720s 1730s 1740s – 1750s – 1760s 1770s 1780s | |
| Centuries: 17th century – 18th century – 19th century 1759 in art List of state leaders in 1759 | |
1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar).
Table of contents |
Events
- January 11 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first American life insurance company is incorporated.
- January 13 – The Távora family is executed following the accusation of attempted regicide on Joseph I of Portugal
- January 15 – The British Museum opens
- April 13 – a French army defeats Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick at Brunswick
- June 27 – British Troops under Jeffrey Amherst take Fort Ticonderoga
- July 25 – Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): In Canada, British forces capture Fort Niagara from French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
- Ferdinand VI of Spain is succeeded by his half-brother Carlos III of Spain
- September 13 – Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): French Canada falls to British forces following General Wolfe's victory in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec. Both the French Commander (the Marquis de Montcalm) and the British General James Wolfe are fatally wounded.
- George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis
- Adam Smith publishes Theory of Moral Sentiments, embodying some of his Glasgow lectures
- Publication of Voltaire's Candide
- The town of Egedesminde (modern Aasiaat) is founded in Greenland.
Ongoing events
Births
- January 25 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796)
- February 15 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and archaeologist (d. 1824)
- May 20 – William Thornton, American architect (d. 1828)
- May 28 – William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
- September 19 – William Kirby, English entomologist (d. 1850)
- October 25 – Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg, empress of Paul I of Russia (d. November 5, 1828)
- October 26 – Georges Danton, French Revolutionary leader (d. 1794)
- November 10 – Friedrich Schiller, German writer (d. 1805)
Deaths
- March 11 – John Forbes, British general (b. 1710)
- April 14 – George Friderich Handel, German composer (b. 1685)
- July 27 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (b. 1698)
- August 10 – King Ferdinand VI of Spain (b. 1713)
- September 13 – James Wolfe, British general (b. 1727)
- September 14 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (b. 1712)
Categories: 1759