- Jan 3 East Indies invasion "Geldermalsen" leaves at Malacca: 92 killed
- Jan 15 Tobias Smollett publishes pamphlet accusing Henry Fielding of plagiarism
- Feb 3 Dutch States-General forbids export of windmills
- Mar 23 Canada's first newspaper "Halifax Gazette" published in Halifax by John Bushell [1]
- Mar 23 Pope Stephen II elected to succeed Zacharias, dies 2 days later
- May 11 1st US fire insurance policy issued, in Philadelphia
- Jun 3 Moscow houses and churches destroyed by fire
- Jun 5 Prince William of Orange becomes Knight of Garter
- Jun 6 3rd great fire in Moscow in 2 weeks; 1/3 of city destroyed
- Jun 9 French army surrenders to the British in Trichinopoly, India
Franklin's Kite Experiment
Jun 10 Benjamin Franklin tests the lightning conductor with his kite-flying experiment
Liberty Bell
Sep 1 Pennsylvania's new State House bell (known today as the Liberty Bell) arrives in Philadelphia from Whitechapel Foundry in London, England
Gregory Conquers Julius Caesar
Sep 2 Last Julian calendar day in Great Britain and British colonies including America. To sync to the Gregorian calendar, 11 days are skipped and the next date is Sep 14.
- Sep 3 Britain and the British Empire (including the American colonies) adopt the Gregorian Calendar, losing 11 days. People riot thinking the government stole 11 days of their lives
- Sep 14 Britain and the British Empire (including the American colonies) adopt the Gregorian Calendar after skipping the 11 days between September 3 and September 13
- Oct 18 Premiere of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's opera "Le Devin du Village" (The Village Soothsayer), before the royal court at Fontainebleau, France
Handel's Failed Operation
Nov 3 George Frideric Handel undergoes (failed) eye operation
- Nov 11 Theresianische Military Academy opens in Vienna
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists