1748 in Great Britain

Other years

* 1746
* 1747
* 1748
* 1749
* 1750

Countries of the United Kingdom

* Scotland
* Wales

Sport
1748 English cricket season

Events from the year 1748 in Great Britain.

## Incumbents

[edit]

* Monarch – George II
* Prime Minister – Henry Pelham (Whig)[1]

## Events

[edit]

* 28 March – a fire in the City of London causes over a million pounds worth of damage.[2]
* April – first uniforms of the Royal Navy introduced for commissioned officers and midshipmen.
* August – Admiral Edward Boscawen commands a Royal Navy siege of Pondicherry.[3]
* 18 October – the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession, by which Madras in India is restored to British rule in exchange for the fortress of Louisbourg in Canada with France.[4]

### Undated

[edit]

* Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh.
* Henry Fielding organises the forerunner of the Bow Street Runners, with eight men at first.[3]
* John Fothergill's pamphlet Account of the Sore Throat attended with Ulcers contains the first description of diphtheria.[3]
* Holywell Music Room, Oxford, the first purpose-built concert hall in Europe, is opened.[5]

## Publications

[edit]

* While in debtor's prison, John Cleland writes the erotic novel Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure), the first part of which is published anonymously on 21 November.
* David Hume's philosophical treatise An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding.
* Samuel Richardson's anonymous epistolary novel Clarissa.[3]
* Tobias Smollett's anonymous picaresque novel The Adventures of Roderick Random.[3]
* James Thomson's poem The Castle of Indolence, shortly before his death.[3]

## Births

[edit]

* 15 February – Jeremy Bentham, philosopher and writer (died 1832)
* 5 March – William Shield, violinist and composer (died 1829)
* 10 March – John Playfair, scientist (died 1819)
* 13 April – Joseph Bramah, inventor and locksmith (died 1814)
* 28 May – Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle (died 1825)
* August – James Sayers, caricaturist (died 1823)
* 14 December – William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (died 1811)

### Unknown date

[edit]

* George Dixon, sea captain and explorer (died 1796)
* Matchem, racehorse (died 1781)

## Deaths

[edit]

* 14 March – George Wade, military leader (born 1673 in Ireland)
* 12 April – William Kent, architect, landscape architect and furniture designer (born c. 1685)
* 12 May – Thomas Lowndes, astronomer (born 1692)
* 27 August – James Thomson, poet (born 1700 in Scotland)
* 6 September – Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London and scholar (born 1669)
* 12 September – Anne Bracegirdle, actress (born c.1671)
* 21 September – John Balguy, philosopher (born 1686)
* 26 October – Donald Cameron of Lochiel, exiled Jacobite clan chief (born 1700 in Scotland)
* 25 November – Isaac Watts, hymn writer (born 1674)
* 2 December – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, politician (born 1662)

## See also

[edit]

* 1748 in Wales

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "History of Henry Pelham - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
2. ^ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (995). The London Encyclopaedia. Macmillan. p. 287\. ISBN 0-333-57688-8. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
3. ^ a b c d e f "1748." The People's Chronology. Ed. Jason M. Everett. Thomson Gale, 2006.
4. ^ Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 312–313. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
5. ^ Tyack, Geoffrey (1998). Oxford: An architectural guide. Oxford University Press. pp. 187–188\. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.

* v
* t
* e

Years in Great Britain (1707–1800) → 1801–present

1707–1800|

* 1707
* 1708
* 1709
* 1710
* 1711
* 1712
* 1713
* 1714
* 1715
* 1716
* 1717
* 1718
* 1719
* 1720
* 1721
* 1722
* 1723
* 1724
* 1725
* 1726
* 1727
* 1728
* 1729
* 1730
* 1731
* 1732
* 1733
* 1734
* 1735
* 1736
* 1737
* 1738
* 1739
* 1740
* 1741
* 1742
* 1743
* 1744
* 1745
* 1746
* 1747
* 1748
* 1749
* 1750
* 1751
* 1752
* 1753
* 1754
* 1755
* 1756
* 1757
* 1758
* 1759
* 1760
* 1761
* 1762
* 1763
* 1764
* 1765
* 1766
* 1767
* 1768
* 1769
* 1770
* 1771
* 1772
* 1773
* 1774
* 1775
* 1776
* 1777
* 1778
* 1779
* 1780
* 1781
* 1782
* 1783
* 1784
* 1785
* 1786
* 1787
* 1788
* 1789
* 1790
* 1791
* 1792
* 1793
* 1794
* 1795
* 1796
* 1797
* 1798
* 1799
* 1800

* v
* t
* e

1748 in Europe

Sovereign states|

*   * Andorra
*   *   * Austria
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   * Denmark–Norway
* Denmark
* Norway
*   *   *   *   * France
*   *   * Great Britain
*   *   * Holy Roman Empire
* Hungary
*   * Ireland
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   * Malta
*   *   * Monaco
*   *   *   *   * Netherlands
*   *   * Ottoman Empire
* Papal States
*   * Portugal
* Prussia
*   * Russia
* San Marino
*   *   *   *   *   *   * Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Dependencies, colonies
and other territories

*   *   *   *   * Guernsey
* Isle of Man
* Jersey

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template