Editing 1759

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2011}}
{{Year dab|1759}}
{{Year nav|1759}}
[[File:The North Prospect of Mountague House JamesSimonc1715.jpg|thumb|300px|[[January 15]]:The [[British Museum]] opens in London.]] 
[[File:Benjamin West 005.jpg|thumb|300px|[[September 13]]: [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham|Britain defeats France in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham to capture Quebec, but the commanders of both sides (General Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm) are killed.]]]]
{{C18 year in topic}}
[[File:The Victory of Montcalms Troops at Carillon by Henry Alexander Ogden.JPG|thumb|July 6-8: [[Battle of Carillon]]]]
[[File:Fort Carillon 1.jpg|thumb|[[July 26]]/[[July 27|27]]: [[Fort Carillon]]/[[Fort Ticonderoga]].]]
{{Year article header|1759}} In [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], this year was known as the ''[[Annus Mirabilis of 1759|Annus Mirabilis]]'', because of British victories in the [[Seven Years' War]].

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>
=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 6]] &ndash; [[George Washington]] marries [[Martha Dandridge Custis]].
* [[January 11]] &ndash; In [[Philadelphia]], the first American [[life insurance]] company is incorporated.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Acquisition of a Life Insurance Company|last=Newman|first=Frank G.|journal=The Business Lawyer|volume=20|issue=2|publication-date=January 1965|pages=411–416|publisher=American Bar Association|url=http://www.austinlibrary.com:2138/stable/40683978|access-date=2016-04-04|quote=The first life insurance company in America was organized in 1759 under the corporate title 'The Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers, and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers'.}}</ref>
* [[January 13]] &ndash; [[Távora affair]]: The Távora family is executed, following accusations of the attempted regicide of [[Joseph I of Portugal]].
* [[January 15]]
** The [[British Museum]] opens at [[Montagu House, Bloomsbury|Montagu House]] in London after six years of development.
**[[Voltaire]]'s satire ''[[Candide]]'' is published simultaneously in five countries.
* [[January 27]] &ndash; [[Battle of Río Bueno (1759)|Battle of Río Bueno]]: Spanish forces, led by [[Juan Antonio Garretón]], defeat indigenous [[Huilliche people|Huilliche]]s of southern Chile.<ref>{{cite book
 | last       = Barros Arana
 | first      = Diego
 | author-link1 = Diego Barros Arana 
 | title      = Historia General de Chile
 | volume     = VI
 | url        = http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-9008.html
 | year       = 2000
 | orig-year   = 1886
 | edition    = 2
 | publisher  = [[Editorial Universitaria]]
 | location   = Santiago, Chile
 | language   = es
 |page = 310 
  }}</ref>
* [[February 12]] &ndash; [[Ali II ibn Hussein]] becomes the new [[Bey of Tunis|Ruler of Tunisia]] upon the death  of his brother, [[Muhammad I ar-Rashid]]. Ali reigns for 23 years until his death in 1782.
* [[February 16]] &ndash; The [[Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally|Comte de Lally]] (Thomas Lally) ends the French Army's two-month siege of the British Indian fort at [[Madras]] and retreats.<ref name=Bhattacherje>S. B. Bhattacherje, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates'' (Sterling Publishers, 2009) p94</ref>
* [[February 17]] &ndash; "The greatest fleet that had ever put out for America"<ref>George M. Wrong, ''The Conquest of New France: A Chronicle of the Colonial Wars'' (Yale University Press, 1921) p214</ref> departs from [[Portsmouth]] with 250 ships (including 49 [[Royal Navy]] warships under the command of [[Charles Saunders (Royal Navy officer)|Vice Admiral Charles Saunders]], on a mission to capture French-controlled [[Quebec]].<ref name=Quebec>"Quebec, Capture of", in ''Encyclopedia of Naval History'', ed. by Anthony Bruce and William Cogar (Routledge, 2014) p297</ref> The ships bring 14,000 sailors, marines and [[British Army]] troops under the command of Major General [[James Wolfe]], along with another 7,000 men in merchant service.  
* [[March 4]]&ndash;[[November 20]] &ndash; [[Étienne de Silhouette]] serves as Controller-General of France and attempts major financial reforms.

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 13]] &ndash; [[Seven Years' War]] &ndash; [[Battle of Bergen (1759)|Battle of Bergen]]: A French army defeats [[Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick]] in Hesse. 
* [[May 1]] &ndash; [[Josiah Wedgwood]] founds the [[Wedgwood]] pottery in England.
* [[May 10]] &ndash; The [[Macedonian Hussar Regiment]] is formed and starts to assist the Russian Empire in the [[Seven Years' War]].
* [[June 4]] &ndash; After arriving at Canada, the Royal Navy fleet sails out of British-controlled [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] toward the [[St. Lawrence River]] to prepare the invasion of French Quebec.<ref>Richard Middleton and Anne Lombard, ''Colonial America: A History to 1763'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2011)</ref>
* [[June 15]] &ndash; The first [[vascular surgery]] in history is performed by a Dr. Hallowell (whose first name has been lost) at [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] in England, who uses suture repair rather than a tying off with a [[Ligature (medicine)|ligature]] to repair an aneurysm on a patient's [[brachial artery]]. The case is reported in [[1761]] by Dr. Richard Lambert in the paper "A new technique of treating an aneurysm", published in the journal ''Medical Observations and Inquiries''.<ref>"History of Microsurery", by Yoshikazu Ikuta, in ''Telemicrosurgery: Robot Assisted Microsurgery'' (Springer, 2012) p5</ref> The new procedure of reconstructing a damaged artery replaces the practice of ligation that had risked the amputation of a limb or organ failure.<ref>Steven G. Friedman, MD, ''A History of Vascular Surgery'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2008) p ix</ref> 
* [[June 26]] &ndash; After their fleet finishes navigation of the St. Lawrence and arriving at the [[Île d'Orléans]], British troops go ashore on France's North American territory and begin the siege of [[Quebec City]].<ref name=Quebec/>

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 19]] &ndash; The [[Great Stockholm Fire 1759]] breaks out at [[Södermalm]] in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]].
* [[July 25]] &ndash; [[Seven Years' War]] ([[French and Indian War]]): In Canada, British forces capture [[Fort Niagara]] from the French, who subsequently abandon [[Fort Rouillé]]. 
* [[July 26]]&ndash;[[July 27|27]] &ndash; [[Seven Years' War]] ([[French and Indian War]]) &ndash; [[Battle of Ticonderoga (1759)|Battle of Ticonderoga]]: At the southern end of [[Lake Champlain]], French forces withdraw from [[Fort Carillon]], which is taken by the British under [[Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst|General Amherst]], and renamed [[Fort Ticonderoga]].
* [[August 1]] &ndash; [[Battle of Minden]]: Anglo–Hanoverian forces under [[Ferdinand of Brunswick]] defeat the French army of the [[Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie|Duc de Broglie]], but due to the disobedience of the English cavalry commander [[George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville|Lord George Sackville]], the French are able to withdraw unmolested.
* [[August 10]] &ndash; [[Ferdinand VI of Spain]] dies, and is succeeded by his half-brother [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]]. Charles resigns the thrones of [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]] and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] to his third son, [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand IV]].
[[File:Alexander von Kotzebue - Battle of Kunersdorf on 1 August 1759.jpg|thumb|[[August 12]]: [[Battle of Kunersdorf]].]]
* [[August 12]] &ndash; [[Battle of Kunersdorf]]: [[Frederick the Great]] is rebuffed in bloody assaults, by the combined Austro–Russian army of [[Pyotr Saltykov]] and [[Ernst Gideon von Laudon|Ernst von Laudon]]. This is one of Frederick's greatest defeats.
* [[August 18]] &ndash; [[Battle of Lagos]]: The British fleet of [[Edward Boscawen]] defeats a French force under Commodore Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran off the Portuguese coast.
* [[September 10]] &ndash; [[Battle of Pondicherry]]: An inconclusive naval battle is fought off the coast of India, between the [[Kingdom of France|French]] Admiral d'Aché and the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] under [[George Pocock]]. The French forces are badly damaged and sail home, never to return.
* [[September 13]] &ndash; [[Seven Years' War]] ([[French and Indian War]]) &ndash; [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]]: [[Quebec]] falls to British forces, following [[James Wolfe|General Wolfe]]'s victory just outside the city. Both the French Commander (the [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm|Marquis de Montcalm]]) and the British General [[James Wolfe]] are fatally wounded.<ref name=Quebec/>
* [[September 14]] &ndash; Carrington Bowles publishes ''[[A Journey Through Europe]]'', a board game designed by [[John Jefferys]], the earliest board game whose designer's name is known.

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 16]] &ndash; [[Smeaton's Tower]], [[John Smeaton]]’s [[Eddystone Lighthouse]] off the coast of [[South West England]], is first illuminated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eddystone Lighthouse|url=http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/eddystone.html|publisher=[[Trinity House]]|access-date=2006-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909043743/http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/eddystone.html |archive-date=September 9, 2006<!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref>
* [[October 18]] &ndash; A fire destroys the Macedonian city of [[Salonika]], reducing 4,000 houses to ashes.<ref> "Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance'', Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876) p53</ref>
* [[October 30]] &ndash; [[Near East earthquakes of 1759]]:   The first event in an [[earthquake doublet]] occurs to the north of the [[Sea of Galilee]], with a [[surface wave magnitude]] of 6.6 and a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VIII–IX (''Severe–Violent''). About 2,000 are killed in [[Safed]].
* [[November 20]] &ndash; [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]]: The British fleet of [[Edward Hawke|Sir Edward Hawke]] defeats a French fleet under [[Marshal de Conflans]], near the coast of [[Brittany]].  This is the decisive naval engagement of the [[Seven Years' War]] &ndash; after this, the French are no longer able to field a significant fleet.
[[File:Quibcardinaux2.jpg|thumb|[[November 20]]: [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]]]]
* [[November 21]] &ndash; [[Battle of Maxen]]: The Austrian army of Marshal von Daun cuts off and forces the surrender of a Prussian force, under [[Friedrich August von Finck|Friedrich von Finck]].
* [[November 25]] &ndash; [[Near East earthquakes of 1759]]:    The second and stronger event in an [[earthquake doublet]] occurs to the east of [[Beirut]], with a [[surface wave magnitude]] of 7.4 and a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of IX (''Violent''), destroying all the villages in the [[Beqaa Valley]]. 
* [[November 29]] &ndash; [[Alamgir II]], the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Emperor of India]], is assassinated in a conspiracy orchestrated by his Prime Minister, [[Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung III|Imad-ul-Mulk]].  The [[Shah Alam II]], a grandson of the 17th century Emperor [[Aurangzeb]], is made the new Mughal Emperor.<ref name=Bhattacherje/>
* [[December 6]] &ndash; The [[Germantown Union School]] (later called [[Germantown Academy]]), America's oldest nonsectarian day school, is founded.
* [[December 10]] &ndash; [[Shah Jahan III]] is installed as the puppet ruler of [[India]]'s [[Mughal Empire]] eleven days after the death of [[Alamgir II]], but is removed after a reign of only ten months.
* [[December 31]] &ndash; The [[Guinness Brewery]] is leased by [[Arthur Guinness]] in [[St. James's Gate]], [[Dublin]], Ireland, for the brewing of [[Guinness]].

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Adam Smith]] publishes his ''[[Theory of Moral Sentiments]]'', embodying some of his Glasgow lectures.
* The town of [[Egedesminde]] (modern [[Aasiaat]]) is founded in [[Greenland]].
* English [[clockmaker]] [[John Harrison]] produces his "No. 1 sea watch" (''H4''), the first successful [[marine chronometer]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Royal Observatory Greenwich souvenir guide|year=2012|isbn=978-1-906367-51-0|pages=34–35|publisher=National Maritime Museum |quote=the first precision watch and considered by many today as the most important timekeeper ever.}}</ref> 
* The [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Kew Gardens]] are established in England by [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]], the mother of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1084|title=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|work=[[World Heritage]]|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817210717/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1084 | archive-date=August 17, 2010<!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref>
* Churton Town, the [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange County]], [[Royal Colony of North Carolina|North Carolina]] county seat laid out in [[1754]], is renamed Childsburgh, in honor of North Carolina attorney general Thomas Child. It is later renamed [[Hillsborough, North Carolina|Hillsborough]] in [[1766]].
* Fire destroys 250 houses in [[Stockholm]].
* [[Angélique du Coudray|Madame du Coudray]] publishes ''Abrégé de l'art des accouchements'' (''The Art of Obstetrics''), and the French government authorizes her to carry her instruction "throughout the realm" and promises financial support.</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
* [[January 25]] &ndash; [[Robert Burns]], Scottish poet (d. [[1796]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Burns (1759-1796) |url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-a-z/burns-robert |website=National Records of Scotland |access-date=27 January 2023 |language=English |date=31 May 2013}}</ref>
* [[January 29]] &ndash; [[Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc]], French botanist (d. [[1828]]) 
* [[February 15]] &ndash; [[Friedrich August Wolf]], German philologist, archaeologist (d. [[1824]])
* [[February 22]] &ndash; [[Claude Lecourbe]], French general (d. [[1815]])
* [[April 19]] &ndash; [[August Wilhelm Iffland]], German actor (d. [[1814]])
* [[April 22]] &ndash; [[James Freeman (clergyman)|James Freeman]], first clergyman in America to call himself a Unitarian (d. [[1835]])
[[File:Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie (c. 1797).jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Mary Wollstonecraft]]]]
* [[April 27]] &ndash; [[Mary Wollstonecraft]], English [[feminist]] author (d. [[1797]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Mary Wollstonecraft {{!}} Biography, Works, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=10 April 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[May 15]] &ndash; [[Maria Theresia von Paradis]], Austrian musician, composer (d. [[1824]])
* [[May 20]] &ndash; [[William Thornton]], American architect (d. [[1828]])
* [[May 21]] &ndash; [[Joseph Fouché]], French statesman (d. [[1820]])
* [[May 28]] &ndash; [[William Pitt the Younger]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] (d. [[1806]])<ref>{{cite web |title=History of William Pitt 'The Younger' - GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/william-pitt |website=www.gov.uk |access-date=1 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[June 21]] &ndash; [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander J. Dallas]], American statesman and financier (d. [[1817]])
* [[June 25]] &ndash; [[William Plumer]], American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician (d. [[1850]])
* [[July 2]] &ndash; [[Nathan Read]], American engineer and politician (d. [[1849]])
* [[July 31]] &ndash; [[Ignaz Anton von Indermauer]], Austrian nobleman and government official (d. [[1796]])
[[File:William wilberforce.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[William Wilberforce]]]]
* [[August 24]] &ndash; [[William Wilberforce]], British abolitionist (d. [[1833]])
* [[September 10]] &ndash; [[Lemuel Cook]], [[American Revolutionary War]] veteran, [[centenarian]] (d. [[1866]])
* [[September 19]] &ndash; [[William Kirby (entomologist)|William Kirby]], English entomologist (d. [[1850]])
* [[October 25]] 
** [[Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg]], empress of [[Paul I of Russia]] (d. [[1828]])
** [[William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] (d. [[1834]])
* [[October 26]] &ndash; [[Georges Danton]], French Revolutionary leader (d. [[1794]])
[[File:Friedrich Schiller by Ludovike Simanowiz.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Friedrich Schiller]]]]
* [[November 10]] &ndash; [[Friedrich Schiller]], German writer (d. [[1805]])
* [[November 27]] &ndash; [[Franz Krommer]], Czech composer (d. [[1831]])
* [[November 23]] &ndash; [[Felipe Enrique Neri]], legislator and colonizer of Texas (d. [[1820]])
* [[December 2]] &ndash; [[James Edward Smith (botanist)|James Edward Smith]], English botanist (d. [[1828]])
* Date unknown – [[Maria Petraccini]], Italian anatomist, physician (d. [[1791]])
** [[Salomea Deszner]], Polish actress, singer and theater director (d. [[1806]])
** [[Alice Flowerdew]], British teacher, religious poet, hymnwriter (d. [[1830]])

== Deaths ==
* [[January 12]] &ndash; [[Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange]], regent of Friesland (b. [[1709]])
* [[February 9]] &ndash; [[Louise Henriette of Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans]], mother of [[Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe Égalité]] (b. [[1726]])
* [[February 20]] &ndash; [[Georg Anton Urlaub]], German painter (b. [[1713]])
* [[February 27]] &ndash; [[Jacob Theodor Klein]], German scholar (b. [[1685]])
* [[March 11]] &ndash; [[John Forbes (British Army officer)|John Forbes]], British general (b. [[1707]])
* [[April 6]] &ndash; [[Johann Gottfried Zinn]], German anatomist, botanist (b. [[1727]])
[[File:George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[George Frideric Handel]]]]
* [[April 14]] &ndash; [[George Frideric Handel]], German composer (b. [[1685]])
* [[May 12]] &ndash; [[Lambert-Sigisbert Adam]], French sculptor (b. [[1700]])
* [[May 23]] &ndash; [[Landgravine Eleonore of Hesse-Rotenburg]], Countess (b. [[1712]])
* [[June 3]] &ndash; [[Didier Diderot]], French craftsman (b. [[1685]])
* [[June 20]] &ndash; [[Margareta Capsia]], Finnish artist (b. [[1682]])
* [[June 27]] &ndash; [[Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay]], French economist (b. [[1712]])
* [[July 6]] &ndash; [[William Pepperrell]], English colonial soldier (b. [[1696]])
* [[July 27]] &ndash; [[Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis]], French mathematician (b. [[1698]])
* [[August 8]] &ndash; [[Carl Heinrich Graun]], German composer (b. [[1704]])
* [[August 10]] &ndash; King [[Ferdinand VI of Spain]] (b. [[1713]])
* [[August 16]] &ndash; [[Eugene Aram]], English philologist and murderer, hanged (b. [[1704]])
* [[August 24]] &ndash; [[Ewald Christian von Kleist]], German poet (b. [[1715]])
* [[September 10]] &ndash; [[Ferdinand Konščak]], Croatian explorer (b. [[1703]])
* [[September 13]] &ndash; [[James Wolfe]], British general (b. [[1727]])
* [[September 14]] &ndash; [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm]], French general (b. [[1712]])
* [[September 16]] &ndash; [[Nicolas Antoine Boulanger]], French philosopher (b. [[1722]])
* [[October 10]] &ndash; [[Granville Elliott]], Army General, British military expert, working for Britain and Palatine forces (b. [[1713]])
* [[October 27]] &ndash; [[Konstancja Czartoryska (1700–1759)|Konstancja Czartoryska]], Polish noblewoman politician (b. [[1700]])
* [[November 14]] &ndash; [[Grégoire Orlyk]], Ukrainian-born French [[Lieutenant General]] (b. [[1702]])
* [[November 29]] &ndash; [[Nicolaus I Bernoulli]], Swiss mathematician (b. [[1687]])
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[Princess Louise-Élisabeth of France]], daughter of King [[Louis XV of France]] (b. [[1727]])
* ''date unknown''
** [[Alberto Pullicino]], Maltese painter (b. [[1719]])
** King [[Thipchang]] of the [[Realm of Lampang]] (b. c. [[1675]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:1759| ]]