Editing 1769 (section)

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 13]] &ndash; [[James Cook]] arrives in [[Tahiti]], on the ship [[HM Bark Endeavour|HM Bark ''Endeavour'']], preparing for the [[1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti]] on [[June 3]]. After the voyage, the data is found to be inaccurate in determining the distance between the Sun and Earth.
* [[April 29]] &ndash; Scottish inventor [[James Watt]] is granted a [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] [[patent]] for "A method of lessening the consumption of steam in [[Watt steam engine|steam engine]]s" – the separate condenser,<ref>Patent 913; specification accepted January 5.</ref> a key improvement (first devised by Watt in 1765) and the basis for the [[Watt steam engine]] which stimulates the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Palmer|first1=Alan|last2=Palmer|first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=224–225|isbn=0-7126-5616-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Eric|last=Roll|author-link=Eric Roll, Baron Roll of Ipsden|title=An Early Experiment in Industrial Organization: History of the Firm of Boulton and Watt 1775-1805|location=London|publisher=Frank Cass and Company|year=1930|page=13}}</ref>
* [[May 9]] &ndash; [[Kingdom of France|France]] [[French conquest of Corsica|conquers]] [[Corsican Republic|Corsica]].
* [[May 14]] &ndash; [[Charles III of Spain]] sends Spanish missionaries, who found [[Spanish missions in California|California missions]] in [[San Diego]], [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]], [[San Francisco]] and [[Monterey, California|Monterey]], and begin the settlement of [[California]].
* [[May 19]] &ndash; Cardinal Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli is elected as the 249th pope, succeeding the late Clement XIII and choosing to take the regnal name of [[Pope Clement XIV]].<ref name=DeLucca/>
* [[June 3]] &ndash; A [[transit of Venus]] is followed five hours later by a total [[solar eclipse]], the shortest such interval in historical times. The transit is viewed by King [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III of Great Britain]], at the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Kew Observatory]].
* [[June 7]] &ndash; [[Frontiersman]] [[Daniel Boone]] first begins to explore modern-day [[Kentucky]].