January–March •
January 14 –
Third Battle of Panipat: In India, the armies of the
Durrani Empire from Afghanistan, led by
Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the
Maratha Confederacy, killing over 100,000 Maratha soldiers and civilians in battle and in a subsequent massacre, regaining territory lost by the
Mughal Empire and restoring the Mughal Emperor,
Shah Alam II, to the throne in
Delhi as the nominal ruler. •
January 16 – In India, the
Siege of Pondicherry ends as the
British Empire captures
Pondichéry from the
French colonial empire. •
February 8 – An
earthquake in
London breaks chimneys in
Limehouse and
Poplar. •
March 8 – A second earthquake occurs in
North London,
Hampstead and
Highgate. •
March 31 – An
8.5 magnitude earthquake strikes
Lisbon in the
Kingdom of Portugal, with effects felt as far north as Scotland, but few deaths are reported because of censorship by the Portuguese government.
April–June •
April 1 – The
Austrian Empire and the
Russian Empire sign a new treaty of alliance. •
April 4 – A severe epidemic of
influenza breaks out in
London and "practically the entire population of the city" is afflicted; particularly contagious to pregnant women, the disease causes an unusual number of miscarriages and premature births. •
April 14 –
Thomas Boone is transferred south to become the Royal Governor of South Carolina after proving to be unable to work with the local assembly as the Royal Governor of New Jersey. •
May 4 – The first multiple death tornado in the 13 American colonies strikes
Charleston, South Carolina, killing eight people and sinking five ships in harbor. •
May 9 –
Exhibition of 1761, the innaugaral exhibition of the
Society of Artists of Great Britain opens at
Spring Gardens in London •
June 6 – (May 26 old style); A
transit of Venus occurs, and is observed from 120 locations around the Earth. In his observations by telescope at
St. Petersburg,
Mikhail Lomonosov notes a ring of light around the planet's silhouette as it begins the transit, and becomes the first astronomer to discover that the planet Venus has an atmosphere.
July–September •
July 17 – The first section of the
Bridgewater Canal is opened, for the transportation of coal from local mines to
Manchester. •
August 6 – The
Parlement of Paris votes to close all colleges, associations and seminaries associated with the
Jesuit Order, following a long campaign by Louis-Adrien Le Paige. •
August 11 – Two years after his marriage to
Martha Custis and his move to
Mount Vernon, American military officer and politician
George Washington advertises a reward in the
Maryland Gazette for the capture of four fugitive slaves who ran away from him: Cupid, Peros, Jack and Neptune, claiming in the gazette that they had escaped "without the least suspicion, provocation, or difference with anybody". •
August 15 – The
Third Family Compact is executed by King
Charles III of Spain and King
Louis XV of France, as well as representatives of members of the
House of Bourbon, King
Ferdinand IV of Naples and
Philip, Duke of Parma. •
August 29 – Cherokee chief
Attakullakulla and
British Army officer Major
James Grant meet at
Fort Prince George in the
Province of South Carolina and begin negotiations to end the
Anglo-Cherokee War. •
September 8 –
George III marries
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. •
September 19 –
Slavery in Portugal is abolished. •
September 22 – George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned.
October–December •
October 1 – Austrian field marshal
Ernst Gideon von Laudon captures the Prussian town of
Schweidnitz (now
Świdnica in
Poland) during the Seven Years' War. •
October 5 –
William Pitt is dismissed from his position as
Secretary of State for the Southern Department after having been a powerful part of a coalition government with the Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle. •
October 30 – Colonel
Henry Bouquet issues the first proclamation against Anglo-American settlement on Indian lands in America. •
November 7 – The
New London Harbor Light is first lit to guide ships into the Connecticut harbor; the lighthouse, only the fourth to be built has been in continuous operation for more than 250 years. •
November 11 – The
Earl of Egremont, serving as
Secretary of State for the Southern Department, initiated a policy which forbids the issuing of any land grants to white settlers in territory occupied by the American Indian tribes. •
November 26 – A 500-man force from the Army of
Spain brings the revolt of Mexico's
Maya population to an end, capturing the
Yucatan village of Cisteil, killing about 500 of the 2,500 Mayan defenders and losing 40 of their own. The Spaniards arrest 254 people, including
Jacinto Canek, who had proclaimed himself as King Canek Montezuma of the Mayas. Canek and eight other rebellion leaders are executed less than three weeks later. •
December 16 –
Seven Years' War: After four months of
siege, the Russians under
Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of
Kolberg.
Date unknown • The
Halifax Treaties are concluded between the various bands of the
Miꞌkmaq, other
First Nations people and the
British in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, notably in the
Burying the Hatchet ceremony on June 25. • In
Dutch Guyana, a "state" formed by escaped slaves signs a treaty with the local governor. •
Marine chronometer invented as a means to accurately determine longitude. •
Matthew Boulton's
Soho Manufactory opens in the midlands of England. • The music for "
Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" ("Ah, would I tell you Mom?") is first published in
France by a Monsieur Bouin in his book ''Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy
; in 1806, English poet Jane Taylor publishes her poem, The Star'', whose words fit the rhythm of the tune and become the children's song
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. •
Faber-Castell Company is founded by Kasper Faber in
Nuremberg,
Germany. •
Johann Heinrich Lambert finds a
proof that π is irrational. • ''
l'Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Élus Coëns de l'Univers'' is founded. == Births ==