istoryworld
All Events
Holland and England are now producing the magnificent ocean-going merchant vessels known as East Indiamen
Charles II, the childless king of Spain. leaves all his territories to Philip of Anjou, a grandson of the French king, Louis XIV
The Banqueting House at Hampton Court is built with carving by Grinling Gibbons and a painted interior which is the work, at least in part, of Antonio Verrio
Poland, Russia and Denmark attack Sweden, beginning the 21-year Northern War
Peter the Great sets up numerous schools and commercial enterprises to enable Russia to compete in Europe
Boston merchant Samuel Sewall publishes The Selling of Joseph, a very early anti-slavery tract
The original medieval Milbourne House is largely rebuilt
The Act of Settlement declares that no Catholic may inherit the English crown
The War of the Spanish Succession breaks out between French and Austrian claimants to the Spanish throne
The Augustan Age begins in English literature, claiming comparison with the equivalent flowering under Augustus Caesar
On the death of her brother-in-law, William III, Anne becomes queen of England and Scotland
German chemist Georg Stahl coins the name phlogiston for the substance believed to be released in the process of burning
Work begins on a house for Richard Hill, brother of Queen Anne's confidante Mrs Masham, which is named for two stone trumpeters either side of the portico
Peter the Great falls for a Lithuanian serf, Catherine, who becomes his life-long companion
Peter the Great founds the port and city of St Petersburg, giving Russia access to the Baltic
The Mortlake Tapestry workshops are closed
The tenth Sikh guru, Gobind Rai, names as his successor the sacred book known as the Granth
The duke of Marlborough wins a major victory over the French at Blenheim, capturing twenty-four battalions and four regiments
The Act of Union merges England and Scotland as 'one kingdom by the name of Great Britain', a century after the union of the crowns
The death of Aurangzeb introduces the long period of decline of the Mughal empire
The secret of true porcelain is at last discovered in the west, at Dresden, by Johann Friedrich Böttger
The Swedish king Charles XII suffers his first major defeat in a brilliant career, when he faces the Russians at Poltava
The Tatler launches a new style of journalism in Britain's coffee houses, followed two years later by the Spectator
Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, is discovered on a Pacific island where he has survived alone for nearly five years
Abraham Darby at Coalbrookdale discovers the use of coke in the smelting of pig iron
