1747 in Great Britain

Events from the year 1747 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Incumbents

*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom
*Prime Minister - Henry Pelham, Whig

Events

* 31 January - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 9 April - The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat was beheaded by axe on Tower Hill in London for high treason; he was the last man to be executed in this way in Britain.
* May - Abolition of Hereditable Jurisdictions Act breaks the power of the Scottish clans.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 219-220|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 14 May - War of the Austrian Succession: First battle of Cape Finisterre between French and British fleets.
* June - Britain forms an alliance with Russia.cite book|last=Williams|first=Hywel|title=Cassell's Chronology of World History|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=2005|isbn=0-304-35730-8|pages=311–312]
* July - Snap general election reinforces Henry Pelham's position as Prime Minister.
* 2 July
** War of the Austrian Succession: British forces led by the Duke of Cumberland defeated by Marshal Maurice de Saxe's French army at the Battle of Lauffeld near Maastricht in the Netherlands.
** Benjamin Robins presents a paper to the Royal Society describing the physics of a spinning projectile following his investigation of rifle barrels. [cite web|url=http://www.lrml.org/historical/longrange/history02.htm|title=Long Range Shooting, An Historical Perspective (2)|accessdate=2007-07-27]
* 25 October - War of the Austrian Succession: Second battle of Cape Finisterre between French and British fleets.

Undated

* Thomas Herring is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
* James Lind discovers that citrus fruits prevent scurvy.
* Samuel Johnson begins work on "A Dictionary of the English Language".
* Liverpool becomes the busiest slave trading port in Britain, overtaking Bristol. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_british.shtml|title=BBC History British History Timeline|accessdate=2007-09-03]

Births

* 15 January - John Aikin, doctor and writer (died 1822)
* 18 January - John Gillies, historian and classical scholar (died 1836)
* 26 January - Samuel Parr, schoolmaster (died 1825)
* 12 December - Anna Seward, writer (died 1809)

Deaths

* 8 February - Thomas Chubb, Deist (born 1679)
* 9 April - Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish clan chief (born c.1667)
* 9 May - John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish soldier and diplomat (born 1673)
* 10 October - John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury (born c.1674)
* 2 December - Vincent Bourne, English classical scholar (born 1695)

References

ee also