| 1714 |
|
Hannoverian line begins with coronation of George I |
| 1716 |
|
First Freemason Grand Lodge established |
| 1719 |
|
Daniel Defoe writes "Robinson Crusoe" (first "real" novel) |
| 1720 |
|
Collapse of "South Sea Bubble" trading empire |
| 1720 |
|
Sir Edmund Halley becomes Astronomer Royal |
| 1721 |
|
Sir Robert Walpole becomes first British Prime Minister |
| 1723 |
|
Death of Sir Christopher Wren (architect) |
| 1727 |
|
Death of Sir Isaac Newton (scientist) |
| 1733 |
|
Jethro Tull advances new agricultural practices |
| 1734 |
|
Death of Rob Roy (Scottish hero) |
| 1744 |
|
Death of Alexander Pope (poet) |
| 1746 |
|
Jacobite Rebellion crushed at Culloden |
| 1755 |
|
Samuel Johnson publishes his "Dictionary" |
| 1757 |
|
Robert Clive ("Clive of India") conquers Bengal for Britain |
| 1759 |
|
Halley's Comet - Sir Edmund Halley proves periodic return of comets |
| 1763 |
|
British Empire at its height after Treaty of Paris |
| 1763 |
|
Josiah Wedgewood patents Wedgewood pottery |
| 1764 |
|
Death of William Hogarth (caricaturist) |
| 1769 |
|
Watt's steam engine and Arkright's spinning mill invented |
| 1770 |
|
Captain James Cook "discovers" Australia |
| 1776 |
|
America declares independence from Britain |
| 1776 |
|
Adam Smith publishes "Weath of Nations" (economic treatise) |
| 1779 |
|
Death of David Garrick (actor and theatrical manager) |
| 1779 |
|
First cast iron bridge built at Coalbrookdale, England |
| 1781 |
|
British finally surrender to Americans at Yorktown |
| 1783 |
|
Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister |
| 1791 |
|
Death of John Wesley (founder of Methodist Church) |
| 1796 |
|
Death of Robbie Burns (Scottish poet) |
| 1798 |
|
Edward Jenner discovers vaccination for smallpox |
| 1800 |
|
Parliamentary union of Britain and Ireland |
| 1801 |
|
Richard Trevithick developes high-pressure steam engine |
| 1805 |
|
British under Lord Horatio Nelson defeat Napoleon at Trafalgar |
| 1807 |
|
Slave trade abolished in Britain |
| 1811 |
|
Luddite riots against new technologies |
| 1814 |
|
George Stevenson builds first steam locomotive |
| 1815 |
|
British under Duke of Wellington finally defeat Napoleon at Waterloo |
| 1817 |
|
Death of Jane Austen (writer) |
| 1819 |
|
Sir Stanford Raffles founds British settlement at Singapore |
| 1820 |
|
Death of King George III of England |
| 1820 |
|
Charles Babbage's Difference Engine - pre-cursor to computer |
| 1824 |
|
Repeal of Combination Acts - trade unions now legal in Britain |
| 1824 |
|
Death of Lord Byron (poet) |
| 1825 |
|
First railway (Stockton to Darligton) opened |
| 1827 |
|
Death of John Dalton (chemist) |
| 1827 |
|
Death of William Blake (poet and artist) |
| 1829 |
|
Catholic Emancipation Act passed in Britain |
| 1829 |
|
London Police Force established by Sir Robert Peel |
| 1830 |
|
Death of George IV - accession of William IV |
| 1832 |
|
Death of Sir Walter Scott (poet) |
| 1832 |
|
First Parliamentary Reform Bill passed |
| 1833 |
|
Death of Edmund Keane (Shakespearean actor) |
| 1834 |
|
Tolpuddle Martyrs victimised to discourage trade unions |
| 1835 |
|
Conservative Party established by Sir Robert Peel |
| 1836 |
|
People's Charter published by Chartists |
