1720s — in history
entries
By year
Highlights
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1720
Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
Kingdom of Prussia · Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War)
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1720
Caribbean pirate Calico Jack is captured by the Royal Navy.
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1720
Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on 24 March.
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1720
Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February
Frederick I of Sweden · Swedish Empire · Riksdag of the Estates
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1720
Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded Whitbread (d. 1796)
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1720
Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, Baron Munchausen (d. 1797)
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1720
The synagogue of Judah HeHasid is burned down by Arab creditors, leading to the expulsion of the Ashkenazim from Jerusalem.
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1720
Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
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1720
Maximilian Hell, Hungarian priest and astronomer (d. 1792)
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1720
Bernard de Bury, French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1785)
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1720
Johann Uz, German poet and judge (d. 1796)
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1720
Justus Möser, German jurist and theorist (d. 1794)
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1720
Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (d. 1793)
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1720
The Battle of Grengam marks the second important victory of the Russian Navy.
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1720
Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1803)
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1720
Charles Bonnet, Swiss historian and author (d. 1793)
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1720
The Spanish military Villasur expedition is wiped out by Pawnee and Otoe warriors near present-day Columbus, Nebraska.
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1720
William Ashhurst, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1647)
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1720
Charles De Geer, Swedish entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1778)
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1720
Samuel Parris, English-American minister (b. 1653)
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1720
Anne Dacier, French scholar and translator (b. 1654)
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1720
Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer and educator (b. 1670)
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1720
Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
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1720
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian harpsichord player and composer (d. 1795)
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1720
Charles Edward Stuart, Italian husband of Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern (d. 1788)
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1720
Richard Hurd, English bishop (d. 1808)
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1720
Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (d. 1796)
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1720
Carlo Gozzi, Italian playwright (d. 1804)
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1720
Guillaume Amfrye de Chaulieu, French poet and author (b. 1639)
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1720
Anthonie Heinsius, Dutch politician (b. 1641)
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1720
Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician (d. 1760)
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1720
John Woolman, American-English preacher, journalist, and activist (d. 1772)
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1720
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire · Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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1720
Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (d. 1788)
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1720
Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1654)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford · Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
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1720
Joseph Dudley, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1647)
Joseph Dudley · Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
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1720
Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi and author (d. 1797)
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1720
Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect, designed the Yellow Palace and Bernstorff Palace (d. 1799)
Nicolas-Henri Jardin · Yellow Palace, Copenhagen · Bernstorff Palace
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1720
Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, French general and diplomat (b. 1648)
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1720
Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor (b. 1640)
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1720
Antoine Hamilton, Irish-French soldier and author (b. 1646)
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1720
Simon Ockley, English orientalist and academic (b. 1678)
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1720
Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Italian sculptor and illustrator (d. 1778)
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1720
Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (d. 1791)
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1721
A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
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1721
James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
James Murray (British Army officer, born 1721) · Governor of Minorca
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1721
Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051.
Johann Sebastian Bach · Concerto · Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt
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1721
Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
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1721
Jean-Philippe Baratier, German scholar and author (d. 1740)
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1721
Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
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1721
George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1775)
George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol · Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
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1721
Johann Nikolaus Götz, German poet and author (d. 1781)
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1721
Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch-English organist, violinist, and composer (d. 1799)
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1721
Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, Swedish admiral and shipbuilder (d. 1808)
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1721
The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings.
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1721
John Reid, Scottish general (d. 1807)
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1721
Tobias Smollett, Scottish-Italian poet and author (d. 1771)
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1721
Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1792)
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1721
Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (b. 1665)
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1721
William Robertson, Scottish historian (d. 1793)
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1721
Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1640)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough · Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
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1721
François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher and author (d. 1790)
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1721
James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1686)
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
James Craggs the Younger · Secretary of State for the Southern Department
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1721
David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
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1721
Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
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1721
John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (d. 1807)
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1721
Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French minister and politician (d. 1794)
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1721
Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1649)
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1721
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres, Swiss-Canadian cartographer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (d. 1824)
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres · List of lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia
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1721
James Elphinston, Scottish philologist and linguist (d. 1809)
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1721
John McKinly, Irish-American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (d. 1796)
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1721
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1803)
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford · Lord President of the Council
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1721
Edward Colston, English merchant and politician (b. 1636)
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1721
Peter Pelham, English-American organist and composer (d. 1805)
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1721
John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1648)
John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby · Lord President of the Council
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1721
Grinling Gibbons, Dutch-English sculptor and woodcarver (b. 1648)
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1721
Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1807)
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1721
Matthew Prior, English poet, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (b. 1664)
Matthew Prior · List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France
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1721
Joseph de Guignes, French orientalist and sinologist (d. 1800)
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1721
Mark Akenside, English physician and poet (d. 1770)
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1721
Jacques Lelong, French priest and author (b. 1665)
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1721
Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (b. 1647)
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1721
Michael Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1686)
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1721
Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor (b. 1676)
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1721
James Craggs the Elder, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1657)
James Craggs the Elder · Postmaster General of the United Kingdom
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1721
Michel Chamillart, French politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1652)
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1721
Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
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1721
Pope Clement XI (b. 1649)
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1722
Richard Brocklesby, English physician (d. 1797)
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1722
Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)