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Year
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Hint
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Answer
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1799
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HMS Lutine sinks in the North Sea. Her salvaged bell is now used for ceremonial purposes at the headquarters of this major insurance market in London.
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Lloyd's
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1798
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This scientist publishes "An Inquiry Into the Causes and Effects of the Variolæ Vaccinæ". He goes on to become a pioneer of the smallpox vaccine.
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Edward Jenner
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1797
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Three of the stones making up this prehistoric monument fall due to heavy frosts.
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Stonehenge
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1796
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This Scottish explorer reaches the Niger River at Ségou, the first European to do so. He became well known for his influential book 'Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa'.
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Mungo Park
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1795
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This person is born; he will later be known as 'The Sporting Parson' and will become an enthusiastic dog breeder, developing this terrier breed that carries his name.
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Jack Russell
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1794
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British troops capture this Caribbean island from the French.
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Martinique
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1793
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During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Royal Navy boards and captures French warships sheltering in this neutral port in northern Italy.
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Genoa
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1792
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This household name high street retailer begins life as a news vendor in London.
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W.H. Smith
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1791
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The Constitutional Act is enacted in London giving this future independent country its first parliamentary constitution.
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Canada
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1790
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A bill become law to establish this port and town in South Wales, now the site of a major gas and oil terminal.
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Milford Haven
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1789
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Captain William Bligh is cast adrift after a mutiny on this Royal Navy ship.
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HMS Bounty
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1788
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Claimant to the throne, Charles Edward Stuart, also known by this name, dies in exile.
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
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1787
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Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth with this group of 11 ships, carrying around 700 convicts to this destination in Australia.
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Botany Bay
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1786
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This poem by Robert Burns is first published in the Caledonian Mercury.
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Address to a Haggis
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1785
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The first successful crossing of this stretch of water in a balloon is accomplished.
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English Channel
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1784
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A tax is introduced, charging per thousand of these items which are used in house building.
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Bricks
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1783
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This famous figure, remembered as 'England's greatest gardener' dies in London.
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'Capability' Brown
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1782
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David Tyrie becomes the last person in Britain to suffer this punishment.
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Hanging, drawing and Quartering
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1781
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At this battle General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington, ending the armed struggle of the American Revolutionary War.
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Yorktown
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1780
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Robert Raikes promotes this national, christian, educational movement from his home in Gloucester.
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Sunday Schools
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1779
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The first ever 'Oaks' horse race is run at this Surrey race course.
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Epsom
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1778
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Joseph Bramah registers a patent for this household sanitary device.
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Flush toilet
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1777
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A 93 mile long canal is completed connecting the Trent with this other river.
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Mersey
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1776
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This book by Economist Adam Smith is published for this first time.
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The Wealth of Nations
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1775
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Inventor Richard Arkwright receives a patent for his carding machine used for converting this raw material to a form suitable for spinning.
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Cotton
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1774
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Yorkshire born chemist Joseph Priestley isolates what he called dephlogisticated air for the first time. We now know it by this name.
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Oxygen
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1773
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This future governor of New South Wales is born in Scotland. He is remembered today in the name of an Australian city.
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Thomas Brisbane
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1772
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This future Lake Poet and founder of the Romantic Movement is born in Devon.
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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1771
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James Cook returns to Britain on this ship after his first global circumnavigation.
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HMS Endeavour
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1770
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The future politician William Huskisson is born. He later gains lasting posterity when run over by this means of public transport, becoming its first casualty.
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Railway locomotive
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1769
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This brand of London dry gin is produced for the first time.
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Gordon's
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1768
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This art institution is founded for the purpose of promoting the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts.
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Royal Academy of Arts
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1767
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The final volume of this novel by Laurence Sterne, inspired by Don Quixote, is published
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Tristram Shandy
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1766
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The paper "On Factitious Airs", is published by this scientist, and is credited as showing the discovery of hydrogen.
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Henry Cavendish
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1765
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This ship is launched. In the 21st century it remains the oldest naval ship still in commission.
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HMS Victory
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1764
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Artist William Hogarth dies. He is perhaps best known for this series of eight paintings.
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A Rake's Progress
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1763
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George Grenville, representing this political faction, becomes Prime Minister.
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Whig
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1762
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The first recorded mention occurs of this food item, named after a British earl.
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Sandwich
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1761
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This house is acquired by King George III as a private residence for Queen Charlotte.
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Buckingham Palace
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1760
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This period of great technological and economic change begins, bringing in novel ways of working and living, resulting in a fundamentally transformed society.
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Industrial Revolution
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1759
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A new lighthouse is lit for the first time on these dangerous rocks off the coast of Cornwall.
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Eddystone
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1758
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British and French fleets fight at the Battle of Negapatam during this global conflict.
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Seven Years' War
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1757
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This future Scottish civil engineer is born. He goes on to establish himself as arguably the greatest builder of roads, bridges and canals Britain has ever seen.
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Thomas Telford
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1756
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The Treaty of Westminster is signed between Britain and this German state, intended to guarantee the neutrality of Hanover.
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Prussia
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1755
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This lexicographer's book, "A Dictionary of the English Language" is finally published.
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Samuel Johnson
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1754
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This English author, remembered for his comic novel 'Tom Jones', dies in Lisbon.
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Henry Fielding
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1753
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The Cornish Stannary Parliament, responsible for governing the mining of this metal, is discontinued after more than 500 years.
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Tin
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1752
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Britain adopts this calendar to realign the date of Easter to that defined by the Church.
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Gregorian
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1751
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The first factory of what will become this well-known porcelain manufacturing company is established in the West Midlands.
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Royal Worcester
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1750
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This society is founded, catering for those who share a passion for horseracing.
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Jockey Club
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1749
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This law enforcement body, London's first professional police force, is founded.
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Bow Street Runners
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1748
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These items, resulting in a standard sartorial appearance, are issued to the Royal Navy for the first time.
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Uniforms
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1747
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James Lind undertakes experiments on the effect of citrus fruit as a cure for this disease.
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Scurvy
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1746
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This conflict, the final pitched battle on British soil, brings an end to the Jacobite Rising.
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Culloden
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1745
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The dominant west towers of the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, the site of many coronations, and known by this more famous name, are finally completed.
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Westminster Abbey
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1744
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The earliest known laws for this popular sport are drafted.
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Cricket
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1743
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Scottish folklore tells of how an old man named MacQueen of Findhorn kills the very last of these animals to be found living wild in Britain.
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Wolf
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1742
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James Bradley is appointed to this senior position, simultaneously becoming director of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
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Astronomer Royal
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1741
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This influential actor, playwright, manager and producer makes his London stage debut. His legacy is to have venues named after him in multiple countries.
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David Garrick
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1740
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The patriotic song is first performed in an open-air performance at Cliveden.
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Rule, Britannia
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1739
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This highwayman is hanged after which his exploits are romanticised in fiction.
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Dick Turpin
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1738
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John Wesley's evangelical conversion essentially launches this Protestant denomination.
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Methodism
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1737
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Construction begins on this iconic circular library building in the University of Oxford.
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Radcliffe Camera
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1736
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This Act comes into effect making it a crime to claim that someone has magical powers and abolishes the hunting and execution of anyone believed to possess them.
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Witchcraft
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1735
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George Hadley publishes the first explanation of these equatorial east to west winds.
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Trade winds
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1734
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The Bank of England moves to this location in London which it still occupies.
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Threadneedle Street
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1733
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John Kay patents this device to greatly speed up the process of weaving cloth.
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Flying Shuttle
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1732
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Trinity House moors the world's first of these navigation aids in the Thames Estuary.
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Lightship
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1731
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An incident involving an assault on the captain of a British ship off the coast of Florida gives its name to this later conflict between Britain and Spain.
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War of Jenkins' Ear
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1730
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The future pottery manufacturer is born in Staffordshire.
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Josiah Wedgwood
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1729
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This Dartmouth born inventor dies. He is best known for creating the atmospheric engine that still bears his name - the first practical fuel-burning engine.
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Thomas Newcomen
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1728
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This type of bank account credit is offered to a customer for the very first time.
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Overdraft
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1727
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George II is crowned at Westminster Abbey for which this Handel anthem was composed.
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Zadok the Priest
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1726
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This French Enlightenment writer and philosopher begins a three year exile in Britain.
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Voltaire
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1725
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This future statesman is born. He will later be known for his association with India.
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Robert Clive
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1724
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George Stubbs is born. He goes on to be best known for his paintings of this animal.
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Horses
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1723
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The Black Act is passed making this rural crime a capital offence.
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Poaching
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1722
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This muzzle-loading musket becomes the British Army's standard infantry firearm.
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Brown Bess
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1721
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This person becomes de facto first Prime Minister of Great Britain.
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Robert Walpole
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1720
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This future brewer and M.P. is born. His early brewery develops into a major company that still bears his name.
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Samuel Whitbread
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1719
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This novel by Daniel Defoe is published for the first time.
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Robinson Crusoe
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1718
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Lieutenant Robert Maynard kills this infamous pirate in hand to hand combat..
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Blackbeard
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1717
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This music by Handel is performed on a barge on the River Thames for the king.
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Water Music
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1716
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William Wake is appointed to this position in the Church of England.
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Archbishop of Canterbury
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1715
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London enjoys 3 minutes 33 seconds of totality during this natural phenomenon.
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Solar Eclipse
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1714
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This Queen dies and is succeeded by George I.
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Anne
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1713
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The Treaty of Utrecht cedes this Mediterranean territory to Britain.
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Gibraltar
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1712
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This character is created as a national personification of England, and Britain in general.
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John Bull
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1711
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On Christmas Day this cathedral is declared officially complete by Parliament.
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St. Paul's
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1710
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The world's first legislation of this form comes into effect, giving protection for creative work.
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Copyright
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1709
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Abraham Darby successfully uses coke in a blast furnace to produce this material.
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Cast iron
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1708
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The Scottish Militia Bill is denied this approval by Queen Anne making it the last time this has been withheld at Westminster.
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Royal Assent
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1707
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Great Britain becomes a sovereign country after ratification of these Acts of Parliament.
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Acts of Union
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1706
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This tea marketer opens its first shop in London, still operating today at the same premises.
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Twinings
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1705
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Edmond Halley publishes a paper on the astronomical movements of this type of object.
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Comet
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1704
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The major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession sees the Grand Alliance, led by the Duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy secure an overwhelming victory.
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Blenheim
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1703
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This scientist is elected president of the Royal Society in London.
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Isaac Newton
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1702
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Britain's first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, begins publication in this London street.
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Fleet Street
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1701
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This agriculturalist invents a drill for efficiently planting seeds in rows.
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Jethro Tull
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1700
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This treaty is signed in an attempt to resolve disagreements between England and Spain.
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Treaty of London
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Just as a FYI, there is a memorial to the shooting of the last wolf in a parking area on the A9 road north of Inverness.