Editing 1740

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2011}}
{{Year dab|1740}}
{{Year nav|1740}}
[[File:Chinezenmoord van stolk (2).jpg|300px|thumb|[[October 9]]: The [[1740 Batavia massacre|Batavia Massacre]] by the Dutch East India Company of at least 5,000 Chinese Indonesians begins in what is now [[Jakarta]].]]
{{C18 year in topic}}
<!--[[File:Battle of Fontenoy 1745.PNG|thumb|right|[[December 16]]: Start of the [[War of the Austrian Succession]].]]
This image of a 1745 battle does not represent the 1740 start of a war  -->
{{Year article header|1740}}

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>
=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 8]] &ndash; All 237 crewmen on the [[Dutch East India Company]] ship ''[[Rooswijk]]'' are drowned when the vessel strikes the shoals of [[Goodwin Sands]], off of the coast of England, as it is beginning its second voyage to the Indies. The wreckage is discovered more than 250 years later, in 2004.<ref>Wendy van Duivenvoorde, ''Dutch East India Company Shipbuilding: The Archaeological Study of Batavia and Other Seventeenth-Century VOC Ships'' (Texas A&M University Press, 2015) p145</ref>
* [[February 20]] &ndash; The [[North Carolina General Assembly]] incorporates the town of Newton as [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]], [[Royal Colony of North Carolina|North Carolina]], named for [[Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington]] and patron of Royal Governor [[Gabriel Johnston]].
* [[March 16]] &ndash; [[Edward I (Moskito)|King Edward of the Miskito Indians]] signs a treaty making his kingdom, located on the coast of modern-day [[Nicaragua]], a protectorate of Great Britain.<ref>"Mosquito Coast", in ''Historical Dictionary of the British Empire'', ed. by Kenneth J. Panton (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) p384</ref>
* [[March 25]] &ndash; Construction begins on [[Bethesda Orphanage]] for boys near [[Savannah, Georgia]], founded by [[George Whitefield]].

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 8]] &ndash; [[War of the Austrian Succession]]: The [[Royal Navy]] captures the Spanish ship of the line ''[[HMS Princess (1740)|Princesa]]'' off [[Cape Finisterre]] and takes her into British service.
* [[May 31]] &ndash; [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II]] becomes [[King in Prussia]] upon the death of his father, [[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]].
* [[June 1]] &ndash; [[Plantation Act 1740]] or Naturalization Act 1740 of the [[Parliament of Great Britain]] comes into effect providing for Protestant [[Alien (law)|alien]] immigrants (including [[Huguenots]], and also [[Jew]]s) residing in the [[British America|American colonies]] for 7 years to receive British [[nationality]].
* [[June 16]] &ndash; ''[[Pour le Mérite]]'' first awarded in Prussia as a military honour.
* [[June 26]] &ndash; [[War of Jenkins' Ear]]: [[Siege of Fort Mose]] &ndash; A Spanish column of 300 regular troops, free Black militia and Indian auxiliaries storms Britain's strategically crucial position of [[Fort Mose Historic State Park|Fort Mose]], [[Florida]].

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 7]] &ndash; [[Adam Smith]] sets out from Scotland to take up a scholarship at [[Balliol College, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web|title=On this day in 1740...|url=https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/tax-spending/on-this-day-in-1740|date=2010-07-07|publisher=[[Adam Smith Institute]]|access-date=2019-11-19}}</ref>
* [[July 11]] &ndash; [[Pogrom]]: [[Jews]] are expelled from [[Little Russia]].
* [[August 1]] &ndash; The song ''[[Rule, Britannia!]]'' is first performed at [[Cliveden]], the country home of [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]], in England.<ref name="Cassell's Chronology308">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Hywel|title=Cassell's Chronology of World History|url=https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/308|url-access=registration|location=London|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=2005|isbn=0-304-35730-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/308 308]}}</ref>
* [[August 17]] &ndash; [[Pope Benedict XIV]] succeeds [[Pope Clement XII]], as the 247th pope.
* [[September 8]] &ndash; [[Hertford College, Oxford]], England, is founded for the first time.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sidney Graves|last=Hamilton|title=Hertford College|url=https://archive.org/details/hertfordcollege00hamigoog|location=London|publisher=Robinson|year=1903|series=University of Oxford college histories}}</ref>

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 9]]&ndash;[[October 22|22]] &ndash; [[1740 Batavia massacre|Batavia Massacre]]: Troops of the [[Dutch East India Company]] massacre 5,000–10,000 [[Chinese Indonesians]] in [[Jakarta|Batavia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaalarchief.nl/amh/detail.aspx?page=dafb&lang=en&id=1897|title=Image: Bird's eye view of Batavia showing the massacre of the Chinese<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=November 12, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090921072106/http://www.nationaalarchief.nl/amh/detail.aspx?page=dafb&lang=en&id=1897#tab0|archive-date=September 21, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* [[October 20]] &ndash; [[Maria Theresa]] inherits the hereditary dominions of the [[Habsburg monarchy]] (Austria, [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] and modern-day Belgium) under the terms of the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1713]] on the death of her father, [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]]. Her succession to the [[Holy Roman Empire]] is contested widely because she is a woman, but she will reign for 40 years.
* [[November 6]] &ndash; [[Samuel Richardson]]'s popular and influential [[epistolary novel]], ''[[Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded]]'', is published anonymously in London.
* [[November 14]] &ndash; The [[University of Pennsylvania]] is officially established.
* [[December 16]] &ndash; [[Frederick II of Prussia]] invades the Habsburg possession of [[Silesia]], starting the [[War of the Austrian Succession]].

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Enfield, North Carolina]], is founded.
* Spain begins construction on [[Fort Matanzas]] in the [[Matanzas Inlet]], approximately {{convert|15|mi|km}} south of [[St. Augustine, Florida]].</onlyinclude>
* The fairy-tale [[Beauty and the Beast]] by French novelist [[Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve]] was published.

== Births ==
* [[February 4]] &ndash; [[Carl Michael Bellman]], Swedish poet, composer (d. [[1795]])
* [[February 15]] &ndash; [[Juan Andrés]], Spanish Jesuit (d. [[1817]])
* [[February 16]] &ndash; [[Giambattista Bodoni]], Italian publisher and engraver (d. [[1813]])
* [[February 17]] &ndash; [[John Sullivan (general)|John Sullivan]], American General in the [[American Revolutionary War]], delegate in the [[Continental Congress]] (d. [[1795]])
* [[March]] &ndash; [[Johann van Beethoven]], German musician, father of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] (d. [[1792]])
* [[March 16]] &ndash; [[Johann Jacob Schweppe]], German-born inventor, founder of the Schweppes Company (d. [[1821]])
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[Haym Salomon]], Polish-Jewish American financier of the [[American Revolution]] (d. [[1785]])
* [[April 14]] &ndash; [[Anna Strong (spy)|Anna Strong]], Patriot spy during the American Revolutionary War (d. [[1812]])
* [[May 7]] &ndash; [[Nikolai Arkharov]], Russian police chief (d. [[1814]])
[[File:Marquis de Sade portrait.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Marquis de Sade]]]]
* [[June 2]] &ndash; [[Marquis de Sade]], French author, for whom sadism is named (d. [[1814]])
* [[June 24]] &ndash; [[Juan Ignacio Molina]], Spanish-Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist and linguist (d. [[1829]])
* [[June 27]] &ndash; [[James Woodforde]], English clergyman and [[diarist]] (d. [[1803]])
* [[July 27]] &ndash; [[Jeanne Baré]], French explorer (d. [[1803]])
* [[August 23]] &ndash; Emperor [[Ivan VI of Russia]] (d. [[1764]])
* [[August 26]] &ndash; [[Joseph-Michel Montgolfier]], French inventor (d. [[1810]])
* [[September 12]] &ndash; [[Johann Heinrich Jung]], German writer (d. [[1817]])
* [[September 23]] &ndash; [[Empress Go-Sakuramachi]] of Japan (d. [[1813]])
* [[September 25]] &ndash; [[Hercules Mulligan]], tailor and spy during the [[American Revolutionary War]] (d. [[1825]])
* [[October 29]] &ndash; [[James Boswell]], Scottish author (d. [[1795]])
* [[October 31]] &ndash; [[Philip James de Loutherbourg]], English artist (d. [[1812]])
* [[December]] &ndash;  [[Elisabeth Olin]], Swedish opera singer  (d. [[1828]])

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Ali Pasha of Ioannina]], Albanian ruler (d. [[1822]])
* [[Margaret Bingham]], Countess of Lucan, born Margaret Smith, English portrait miniature painter and writer (d. [[1814]])<ref name="Radford">{{DNB|wstitle=Bingham, Margaret|volume=5}}</ref>
* [[John Milton (Georgia politician)|John Milton]], American politician and officer of the [[Continental Army]] (d. [[1817]]) (earliest estimated date of birth)
* [[Septimanie d'Egmont]], French [[Salon (gathering)|salonist]] (d. [[1773]])

== Deaths ==
[[File:Pope Clement XII, portrait.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Pope Clement XII]]]]
[[File:Friedrich Wilhelm I 1713.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]], [[King in Prussia]]]]
[[File:Alando st Théophile de Corte.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Saint Theophilus of Corte]]]]
[[File:Charles VI (1685-1740), Holy Roman Emperor.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]]]]
[[File:Louis Caravaque, Portrait of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730).jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Anna of Russia|Anna, Empress of Russia]]]]
* [[January]] &ndash; [[Louise Élisabeth de Joybert]], politically active Canadian governors' wife (b. [[1673]])
* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[Antonio Lotti]], Italian composer (b. [[1667]])
* [[January 17]] &ndash; [[Matthias Buchinger]], German artist (b. [[1674]])
* [[January 20]] &ndash; [[Niccolò Comneno Papadopoli]], Italian jurist of religious law and historian (b. [[1655]])
* [[January 21]] &ndash; [[Nicholas Trott]], colonial magistrate, South Carolina Chief Justice (b. [[1663]])
* [[January 27]] &ndash; [[Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon]], [[Prime Minister of France]] (b. [[1692]])
* [[January 29]] &ndash; [[Richard Lumley, 2nd Earl of Scarbrough]] (b. [[1686]])
* [[February 6]] &ndash; [[Pope Clement XII]] (b. [[1652]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Clement XII {{!}} pope |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clement-XII |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=22 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[February 23]] &ndash; [[Massimiliano Soldani Benzi]], Italian artist (b. [[1656]])
* [[February 29]] &ndash; [[Pietro Ottoboni (cardinal)|Pietro Ottoboni]], Italian cardinal (b. [[1667]])
* [[March 23]] &ndash; [[Olof Rudbeck the Younger]], Swedish scientist and explorer (b. [[1660]])
* [[April 28]] &ndash; [[Bajirao I]], Great Maratha warrior and Prime Minister of Marartha Empire (b.[[1700]])
* [[April 23]] &ndash; [[Thomas Tickell]], English writer (b. [[1685]])
* [[May 17]] &ndash; [[Jean Cavalier]], French Protestant rebel leader (b. [[1681]])
* [[May 31]] &ndash; [[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]], [[King in Prussia]] (b. [[1688]])
* [[June 1]] &ndash; [[Samuel Werenfels]], Swiss theologian (b. [[1657]])
* [[June 6]] &ndash; [[Alexander Spotswood]], British governor of Virginia Colony (b. [[1676]])
* [[June 17]]
** [[Theophilus of Corte]], Italian [[Roman Catholic]] priest, preacher and missionary, canonized (b. [[1676]])
** [[Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet|William Wyndham]], English politician (b. [[1687]])
* [[June 18]] &ndash; [[Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye]], Anglo-Irish nobleman (b. [[1652]])
* [[July 2]] &ndash; [[Thomas Baker (antiquarian)|Thomas Baker]], English antiquarian (b. [[1656]])
* [[October 5]] &ndash; [[Johann Philipp Baratier]], German scholar (b. [[1721]])
* [[October 11]] &ndash; [[Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]], Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. [[1679]])
* [[October 20]] &ndash; [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]] (b. [[1685]])
* [[October 28]] &ndash; [[Anna of Russia|Anna, Empress of Russia]] (b. [[1693]])
* [[December 1]] &ndash; [[John Abernethy (minister)|John Abernethy]], Irish Protestant minister (b. [[1680]])
* [[December 20]] &ndash; [[Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon]], British military officer and statesman (b. [[1675]])
* [[December 30]] &ndash; [[John Senex]], English geographer (b. ca. 1678)<ref name="WDL">{{cite web|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11745/|title=The Historical Theater in the Year 400 AD, in Which Both Romans and Barbarians Resided Side by Side in the Eastern Part of the Roman Empire|website=[[World Digital Library]]|year=1725|access-date=2013-07-27}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:1740| ]]
[[Category:Leap years in the Gregorian calendar]]