View source for 1769

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2011}}
{{About year|1769}}
{{Year nav|1769}}
[[File:Endeavour replica in Cooktown harbour.jpg|thumb|[[April 13]]: [[James Cook]] arrives in [[Tahiti]] on the [[HM Bark Endeavour|''Endeavour'']].]]
[[File:CugnotAppleton.jpg|thumb|[[October 23]]: [[Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot]] demonstrates first steam-powered vehicle.]] 
{{C18 year in topic}}
{{Year article header|1769}}

== Events ==

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[February 2]] &ndash; [[Pope Clement XIII]] dies, the night before preparing an order to dissolve the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]].<ref name=DeLucca>Denis De Lucca, ''Jesuits and Fortifications: The Contribution of the Jesuits to Military Architecture in the Baroque Age'' (BRILL, 2012) pp315-316</ref> 
* [[February 17]] &ndash; The British House of Commons votes not to allow MP [[John Wilkes]] to take his seat after he wins a by-election, on the grounds that he was an outlaw when standing.<ref>"The Ethics and Philosophy of By-Elections", by J.G. Swift MacNeill, in ''The Fortnightly Review'' (April 1, 1920) p557</ref>
* [[March 4]] &ndash; [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] [[Mozart in Italy|departs Italy]], after the last of his three tours there.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Gutman|first= Robert W.|title= Mozart: A Cultural Biography|publisher= Harcourt|location= San Diego|year=1999|page=309|isbn=0-15-601171-9}}</ref>
* [[March 16]] &ndash; [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville]] returns to [[Saint-Malo]], following a three-year [[circumnavigation]] of the world with the ships ''[[French frigate Boudeuse (1766)|Boudeuse]]'' and ''[[French fluyt Étoile (1767)|Étoile]]'', with the loss of only seven out of 330 men; among the members of the expedition is [[Jeanne Baré]], the first woman known to have circumnavigated the globe.  She returns to France some time after Bougainville and his ships.

=== 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]].

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 3]] &ndash; [[Richard Arkwright]] patents a [[spinning frame]] in England, able to spin threads mechanically.<ref name="Cassell's Chronology325">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Hywel|title=Cassell's Chronology of World History|location=London|publisher=Weidenfeld & çNicolson|year=2005|isbn=0-304-35730-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/325 325]|url=https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/325}}</ref>
* [[July 16]] &ndash; Father [[Junípero Serra]] founds [[Mission San Diego de Alcalá]], the first of the 21 [[California missions]].
* [[July 20]] &ndash; Recently appointed as the Governor of [[Spanish Louisiana]], Irish-born soldier of fortune [[Alejandro O'Reilly]] sails into the French fort of [[La Balize, Louisiana|La Balize]] with 21 Spanish ships, along with 2,056 soldiers, cannons and ammunition, and informs [[French Louisiana]] Governor [[Charles Philippe Aubry]] of his royal commission to take Louisiana on behalf of the King of Spain.<ref>Joan Garvey and Mary Lou Widmer, ''Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans'' (Pelican Publishing,  2012) pp62-63</ref> 
* [[August 3]] &ndash; The party of [[Gaspar de Portolà]] becomes the first [[White people|white]] group to set foot in the area now known as [[Santa Monica, California]].
* [[August 18]] &ndash; [[Brescia Explosion]]: The city of [[Brescia]], Italy is devastated when the Church of San Nazaro is struck by lightning. The resulting fire ignites 200,000&nbsp;lb (90,000&nbsp;kg) of [[gunpowder]] being stored there, causing a massive explosion, which destroys 1/6 of the city and kills 3,000 people.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYQEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA659 |title=The Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs |date=1857 |publisher=Brown, Son and Ferguson |pages=659 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[September]] &ndash; Massive droughts in [[Bengal]] lead to the [[Bengal famine of 1770]], in which ten million people, a third of the population, will die, the worst natural disaster in human history (in terms of lives lost).
* [[September 6]]&ndash;[[September 9|9]] &ndash; [[David Garrick]] holds a ''[[Shakespeare Jubilee]]'' festival at [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] in England.
* [[September 10]] &ndash; [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–74)]]: Russian forces take the Ottoman fortress of [[Chocim]] in [[Bukovina]].

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 1]] &ndash; [[James Cook]] names [[Whakaari / White Island|White Island]], off the coast of New Zealand.
* [[October 7]] &ndash; James Cook lands in New Zealand, at [[Turanganui-a-kiwa|Poverty Bay]].
* [[October 9]] &ndash; In the first encounter between the [[Māori people]] and Europeans (at the future site of [[Gisborne, New Zealand]]), one Maori is shot and killed after he steals a sword from one of the officers of the Cook expedition. Several more Māori are killed in fighting the next day.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Martin|last1=Terry|first2=Susan|last2=Hall|title=Cook's Endeavour Journal: The Inside Story|publisher=National Library of Australia|location=Canberra|year=2008|page=90}}</ref>
* [[October 23]] &ndash; [[Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot]] demonstrates a steam-powered artillery tractor (''see drawing'') in [[Kingdom of France|France]].
* [[November 1]] &ndash; A party of the expedition of Spanish explorer [[Gaspar de Portola]] becomes the first Europeans to reach [[San Francisco Bay]]. Sergeant Jose Francisco de Ortega and his group accidentally discover the area while searching for [[Drakes Bay]] in [[Alta California]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Spanish Penetrations to the North of New Spain|first=Oakah L. Jr. |last=Jones|title=North American Exploration, Volume '''2''': A Continent Defined|editor=Allen, John Logan|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|year=1997|page=62}}</ref> 
* [[November 12]] &ndash;The  Gorkhali Army conquer the last standing Malla Kingdom of Bhaktapur marking the end of The Malla dynasty in Nepal.
* [[November 21]] &ndash; Ireland's House of Commons rejects a spending bill passed by Great Britain's parliament, by a 94–71 margin.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Barrow|author-link=Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet|title=Some Account of the Public Life, and a Selection from the Unpublished Writings of the Earl of Macartney|volume=II|location=London|publisher=Cadell and Davies|year=1807|page=151}}</ref> 
* [[December 13]] &ndash; [[Dartmouth College]] is established in [[Hanover, New Hampshire]], as [[John Wentworth (governor)|John Wentworth]], the Royal Governor, conveys a charter from [[King George III]] of Great Britain.
* [[December 22]] &ndash; The [[Sino-Burmese War (1765–69)]] is ended by a truce.

=== Date unknown ===
* The [[Authorized King James Version]] of the [[Bible]] is published in England in the Oxford standard text, edited by [[Benjamin Blayney]].
* First recorded use of 'literally' as a metaphorical intensifier.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/misuse-of-literally Merriam-Webster - Did We Change the Definition of 'Literally'?]</ref>

== Births ==
[[File:Pauline01.jpg|thumb|110px|right|[[Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg]]]]
[[File:Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png|thumb|right|110px|[[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]]]]
[[File:Napoleon - 2.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Napoleon]]]]
[[File:Stieler, Joseph Karl - Alexander von Humboldt - 1843.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Alexander von Humboldt]]]]
* [[January 1]]
** [[Marie Lachapelle]], French [[obstetrician]] (d. [[1821]])
** [[Jane Marcet]], British science writer (d. [[1858]])
* [[January 2]] &ndash; [[Nannette Streicher]], German piano maker, composer, music educator and writer (d. [[1833]])
* [[January 10]] &ndash; [[Michel Ney]], French marshal (d. [[1815]])
* [[February 23]] &ndash; [[Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg]]; German regent and social reformer (d. [[1820]]) 
* [[March 1]] &ndash; [[François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers]], French general (d. [[1796]])
* [[March 2]] &ndash; [[DeWitt Clinton]], American politician and naturalist, 6th [[Governor of New York]] (d. [[1828]])
* [[March 4]] &ndash; [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]], Egyptian ruler (d. [[1849]])
* [[March 8]] &ndash; [[Samuel Richards (ironmaster)|Samuel Richards]], American ironmaster (d. [[1842]])
* [[March 10]] &ndash; [[Joseph Williamson (philanthropist)|Joseph Williamson]], English philanthropist, builder of the [[Williamson Tunnels]] (d. [[1840]])
* [[March 23]] &ndash; [[William Smith (geologist)|William Smith]], English geologist, cartographer (d. [[1839]])
* [[March 29]] &ndash; [[Jean-de-Dieu Soult]], French marshal (d. [[1851]])
* [[April 3]] &ndash; [[Christian Günther von Bernstorff]], Danish and Prussian statesman and diplomat (d. [[1835]])
* [[April 9]] &ndash; [[Jakob Heinrich Laspeyres]], German [[lepidopterist]] (d. [[1809]])
* [[April 10]] &ndash; [[Jean Lannes]], French marshal (d. [[1809]])
* [[April 13]] &ndash; [[Thomas Lawrence]], English painter (d. [[1830]])
* [[April 14]] &ndash; [[Barthélemy Catherine Joubert]], French general (d. [[1799]]) 
* [[April 25]] &ndash; [[Marc Isambard Brunel]], French-British engineer (d. [[1849]])
* [[May 1]] &ndash; [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]], British general, [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] (d. [[1852]])
* [[May 6]] &ndash; [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany]] (d. [[1824]])
* [[June 5]] &ndash; [[Marianne Kirchgessner]], German musician (d. [[1808]]) 
* [[June 18]] &ndash; [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh]], British statesman, diplomat, and soldier (suicide [[1822]])
* [[July 28]] &ndash; [[Hudson Lowe]], Irish-born soldier and future jailer of Napoleon on [[Saint Helena]] (d. [[1831]])
* [[August 15]] &ndash; [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]], French Emperor (d. [[1821]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Napoleon I {{!}} Biography, Achievements, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Napoleon-I |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=11 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[August 23]] &ndash; [[Georges Cuvier]], French naturalist and zoologist; known as the ''Father of Paleontology'' (d. [[1832]])
* [[August 31]] &ndash; [[David Hosack]] American physician and botanist, a Hamilton family doctor (d. [[1835]])
* [[September 14]] 
** [[Alexander von Humboldt]], German explorer, scientist (d. [[1859]]) 
** [[Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal]], German jurist (d. [[1843]])
* [[October 6]] &ndash; [[Isaac Brock]], British general, administrator (d. [[1812]])
* [[December 13]] &ndash; [[James Scarlett Abinger]], English judge (d. [[1844]])
* [[December 23]] &ndash; [[Martin Archer Shee]], Irish painter (d. [[1850]])
* [[December 26]] &ndash; [[Ernst Moritz Arndt]], German writer, poet (d. [[1860]])
* ''date unknown'' 
** [[James Dadford]], English canal engineer
** [[John Bellingham]], assassin of British Prime Minister [[Spencer Perceval]] (d. [[1812]])
** [[Howqua]], Chinese merchant (d. [[1843]])
* ''probable''
** [[John Henry Colclough]], Irish revolutionary (d. 1798)

== Deaths ==
[[File:Anton Raphael Mengs - Portrait of pope Clement XIII, c. 1760.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Pope Clement XIII]]]]
[[File:Constantine Maurocordato.JPG|thumb|right|110px|Prince [[Constantine Mavrocordatos]]]]
[[File:JosefFriedrErnstHohenzSig.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Joseph Friedrich Ernst, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]]]]
* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset]], English cricketer (b. [[1711]])
* [[February 2]] &ndash; [[Pope Clement XIII]] (b. [[1693]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Clement XIII {{!}} Pope, Italian Statesman & Patron of the Arts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clement-XIII |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=11 March 2025 |language=en |date=3 March 2025}}</ref>
* [[March 6]] &ndash; [[Andrew Lauder (burgess)|Andrew Lauder]], Burgess of the Royal Burgh of Lauder (1 August 1737) (b. [[1702]])
* [[March 28]] &ndash; [[Johann Friedrich Endersch]], German cartographer (b. [[1705]])
* [[April 5]] &ndash; [[Marc-Antoine Laugier]], French Jesuit priest, architectural theorist (b. [[1713]])
* [[April 13]] &ndash; [[Anna Canalis di Cumiana]], [[Morganatic marriage|morganatic]] spouse of [[Victor Amadeus II of Savoy]] (b. [[1680]])
* [[April 20]] &ndash; [[Chief Pontiac]], Ottawa chief (murdered) (b. c. [[1719]])
* [[April 21]] &ndash; [[John Gilbert Cooper]], British poet and writer (b. [[1722]])
* [[May 14]] &ndash; [[Iyoas I]], Emperor of Ethiopia.
* [[June 1]] &ndash; [[Edward Holyoke]], American President of Harvard University (b. [[1689]])
* [[June 28]] &ndash; [[Elisabeth Stierncrona]], Swedish noble (b. [[1714]])
* [[August 1]] &ndash; [[Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche]], French astronomer (b. [[1722]])
* [[August 2]] &ndash; [[Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea]], English politician (b. [[1689]])
* [[August 29]] &ndash; [[Edmond Hoyle]], English game expert (b. [[1672]])
* [[September 22]] &ndash; [[Antonio Genovesi]], Italian philosopher (b. [[1712]])
* [[September 23]] &ndash; [[Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly]], French astronomer (b. [[1714]])
* [[September 27]] &ndash; [[Anna Karolina Orzelska]], Polish adventurer (b. [[1707]])
* [[November 3]] &ndash; [[Diane Adélaïde de Mailly]], third of the five famous French ''de Nesle'' sisters (b. [[1713]])
* [[November 16]] &ndash; [[Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge]] (b. [[1719]])
* [[November 23]] &ndash; [[Constantine Mavrocordatos]], Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia (b. [[1711]])
* [[November 27]] &ndash; [[Kamo no Mabuchi]], Japanese poet, philologist (b. [[1697]])
* [[December 8]] &ndash; [[Joseph Friedrich Ernst, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] (b. [[1702]])
* [[December 13]] &ndash; [[Christian Fürchtegott Gellert]], German poet (b. [[1715]])
* [[December 30]] &ndash; [[Nicholas Taaffe, 6th Viscount Taaffe]], Austrian soldier (b. [[1685]])
* ''date unknown'' 
** King [[Suremphaa]] of [[Assam]]
** [[Birgitte Sofie Gabel]], Danish noble (b. [[1746]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Blair's Chronological Tables |author1=John Blair |author-link=John Blair (priest) |author2=J. Willoughby Rosse|location= London |publisher=[[Henry George Bohn|H.G. Bohn]] |year=1856 |via=Hathi Trust |chapter-url= http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6349vh5n?urlappend=%3Bseq=684 |chapter=1769 |hdl=2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6349vh5n?urlappend=%3Bseq=684 }}

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