1777 in Great Britain
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Events from the year 1777 in Great Britain.
Incumbents
Events
- 3 January – American Revolution: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.[1]
- 1 May – legal case of Goodright v. Stevens decides that the declaration of either parent cannot be accepted to prove that a child born in wedlock is a bastard.
- 8 May – first performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy of manners The School for Scandal at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.[2]
- May – completion of the Trent and Mersey Canal.[3]
- 21 July – Holmfirth Flood in the Holme Valley of West Yorkshire: three drowned.
- 16 August – American Revolution: at the Battle of Bennington British and Brunswicker forces are decisively defeated by American troops.[2]
- 8 September – inauguration of Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.[4]
- 11 September – American Revolution: Battle of Brandywine is a major victory for British in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
- 19 September – American Revolution: first Battle of Saratoga[2]/Battle of Freeman's Farm/Battle of Bemis Heights.
- 4 October – American Revolution: at the Battle of Germantown, troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.[2]
- 17 October – American Revolution: American victory at the Battle of Saratoga.[2]
- 24 December – Kiritimati discovered by James Cook.
Undated
- William Bass establishes the Bass Brewery at Burton upon Trent.
Publications
- Encyclopædia Britannica Second Edition begins publication.
- Laws Respecting Women, as they Regard Their Natural Rights is published by Joseph Johnson.
- John Howard's study The State of the Prisons in England and Wales.
- Clara Reeve’s Gothic novel The Champion of Virtue (anonymously), later known as The Old English Baron.[5]
Births
- 22 January – Joseph Hume, doctor and politician (died 1855)
- 3 February – John Cheyne, physician (died 1836)
- 16 February – Benjamin D'Urban, general and colonial administrator (died 1849)
- 1 April – William Gell, archaeologist (died 1836)
- 24 June – John Ross, Arctic explorer (died 1856)
- 9 July – Henry Hallam, historian (died 1859)
- 3 November – Princess Sophia, fifth daughter of King George III (died 1848)
Deaths
- 12 January – Hugh Mercer, soldier and physician, dies in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (born 1726)
- 11 May – George Pigot, Baron Pigot, governor of Madras (born 1719)
- 19 or 27 May – Button Gwinnett, 2nd Governor of Georgia, dies near Savannah, Georgia, United States (born 1735)
- 27 July – William Hayes, composer (bapt. 1708)
- 7 October – Simon Fraser, general (born 1729)
- 21 October – Samuel Foote, dramatist and actor (born 1720)
- 26 December – Dolly Pentreath, last-known fluent native speaker of the Cornish language (born 1692)
References
- ^ Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
- ^ a b c d e Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 331. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
- ^ Lindsay, Jean. The Trent & Mersey Canal. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 48. ISBN 0-7153-7781-7.
- ^ "The early history of the Institution". Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution. Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ^ Leavis, Q. D. (1965). Fiction and the Reading Public (rev. ed.). London: Chatto & Windus.
Further reading
- Annual Register...1777, London: J. Dodsley, 1785