1761 Lisbon earthquake, Tectonic setting
The Azores-Gibraltar Fault forms part of the complex and poorly defined plate boundary between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, which converge at a rate of 3.8 mm/yr. Here, a collection of strike-slip and thrust faults accommodate motion between the two plates, including the Horseshoe Fault, Marques Pombal Fault, Gorringe Bank Fault and Cádiz Subduction Zone.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Tectonic setting
The earthquake is thought to have originated in a thrust fault located beneath the Coral Patch Seamount with an estimated rupture dimension of 200 km by 50 km. The Coral Patch Thrust Fault is a component in the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary. From an analysis of the reported duration of shaking, the rupture was suggested to propagate northwards, from the northern end of the 1755 rupture. This earthquake is likely to be a result of stress transfer from the 1755 event. Based on measuring the tsunami run-up height, the estimated tsunami magnitude for this earthquake is 8.5, and is unlikely to be larger than the 1755 event.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake
At noon on March 31, the Portuguese city of Lisbon was rocked by an earthquake that lasted up to three minutes. Ruins in the city left by the 1755 earthquake collapsed while frightened residents ran outside. Shipping vessels offshore felt jolts during the earthquake. It was felt in many Spanish cities including Madrid and Aranjuez. Other European locations that felt the earthquake include Bayonne, Bordeaux and Roussillon in France, Amsterdam in The Netherlands, Cork in Ireland, and the Azores Islands.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake
Much of the damage in Lisbon was to older houses and to buildings already compromised by the 1755 earthquake. The city shook for at least five minutes. Piles of debris from the previous quake collapsed. The nearby mountain ranges were affected by rockslides. Shaking damaged a prison, and some 300 inmates managed to escape. Surprisingly, no lives were lost in Lisbon but the damage was greater than 20,000 moidores. On the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, the earthquake reached an estimated VI (Strong) to VII (Very strong). The greatest destruction was in Setúbal and Vila Franca. In Porto, the city suffered heavy damage worse than that sustained in 1755, resulting in several people being killed. In Madeira, rockfalls were triggered, tumbling into the sea and destroying a church. Four people died as a result, with two being crushed while fishing when boulders tumbled on them.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake
In Madrid, ground motions went on for five to 23 minutes. Some houses shook violently causing furniture to topple. Frightened residents ran out of their houses for fear of them collapsing. This prompted an inquiry from the Council of Castile and Diocese of Cartagena to obtain more information about the earthquake.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake
In Fort Augustus, Scotland, the water level at Loch Ness rose some two feet (0.61 m) and then subsided. The unusual lake behavior continued for forty-five minutes to an hour. In Amsterdam, the chandelier of a church started vibrating in the afternoon, possibly caused by the earthquake.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake
Cork, Ireland saw strong shaking, more violent than the 1755 quake.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake, Tsunami
One hour and 25 minutes after the earthquake was felt in Lisbon, waves measuring up to eight feet (2.4 m) were observed approaching the coast and damaging ships. The sea retreated and advanced repeatedly even 13 hours after the earthquake, continuing into the night.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake, Tsunami
Along the coasts of Spain, changes to the sea were witnessed but there were no records of the tsunami arriving, nor their heights.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake, Tsunami
In Barbados, waves between 18 inches (0.46 m) and four feet (1.2 m) that swept along the coast were attributed to the earthquake.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake, Tsunami
On Terceira Island in the Azores, the tsunami picked up boats and smashed them against the rocky coastline.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake, Tsunami
At Mount's Bay in Cornwall, a tsunami of up six feet (1.8 m) advanced five times at 5 p.m. for an hour. In the Isles of Scilly, the sea rose up to four feet (1.2 m) at the time waves were seen in Cornwall. Penzance saw waves up to six feet (1.8 m) arriving in the early evenings five times. At Newlyn, the sea rose nearly six feet. Along the Irish coasts, the same phenomena were observed.


1761 Lisbon earthquake, Earthquake, Tsunami
At Kinsale, at about 6 p.m., the sea rose suddenly 2 feet (0.61 m) and retreated rapidly in 4 minutes, this being repeated, though to a less extent, several times. At Carrick, at 4 pm, the surface of the River Suir rose one foot (0.30 m). in five minutes. At Dungarvan, the sea ebbed and flowed five times between 4 and 9 pm. At Waterford, the sea advanced 30 feet (9.1 m) along the shore, while at Ross, County Wexford, a violent agitation of the river occurred at 7 p.m.


1761 Milestone
The 1761 Milestone is a mile marker located at 640 South Main Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The stone originally marked the junction of a Colonial highway from Great Road and an east-west route from Boston, Massachusetts to Connecticut. It was rediscovered during the installation of an electrical road (likely a tram). In 1898, it was restored to its original location by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The stone is embedded in a low retaining wall at the corner of South Main Street and Smithfield Road. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1982, and is historically significant as a Colonial-era highway marker.


1761 Milestone, History
The 1761 Milestone is a historic marker that marked the junction of a Colonial highway. In 1761, it was located at the intersection of Great Road from Providence, Rhode Island to Mendon, Massachusetts, and an east-west route from Boston, Massachusetts into Connecticut. Currently, it rests near the intersection of South Main Street and Smithfield Road (previously Great Road) and occupies the land designated by the Woonsocket Assessor as plat 4-C, lot 69.


1761 Milestone, History
The 2 feet (0.61 m) by 3 feet (0.91 m) marker is described by the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination form as an "odd-shaped piece of grey slate, somewhat broken and effaced". It bears a boldly cut inscription of an unknown stonecutter; the inscription is likened to 18th-century handwriting and lacks a calligraphic pattern. The marker reads "...Miles to Boston 1761".


1761 Milestone, History
The stone was unearthed during the installation of an "electrical road", according to a report to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which probably refers to a tramway; the Woonsocket chapter of the DAR restored it to its original location. Sometime later, the DAR placed a bronze plaque on the stone, but it was absent at the time of its nomination in 1982. The marker is currently mortared into a retaining wall at the edge of the sidewalk on 640 South Main Street at the intersection.


1761 Milestone, Importance
The National Register of Historic Places nomination states that the marker is at its original site and is historically important because it is "the only extant Woonsocket property which well recalls this era in the early history of American overland transportation," and that there are "but a handful" of stones in Rhode Island which marked colonial highways. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1982.


1761 in Wales
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1761 to Wales and its people.


1761 in architecture
The year 1761 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.


1761 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1761.


1761 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1761 in poetry, Events, Charles Churchill terrorises the London stage
In March, poet Charles Churchill's Rosciad was published at his own expense, after several publishers refused it. The reckless and amusing satire described with disconcerting accuracy the faults of various actors on the London stage, and the poem immediately became popular, both for its personal character, vigour and raciness. No leading London actor, with the exception of David Garrick, had escaped censure, and in the Apology Garrick was clearly threatened. The actor deflected criticism by showing every possible civility to Churchill, who became a terror to the stage. Actor Thomas Davies, in a letter to Garrick, wrote that he blundered in the part of Cymbeline owing "to my accidentally seeing Mr. Churchill in the pit, it rendering me confused and unmindful of my business".


1761 in poetry, Events, Charles Churchill terrorises the London stage
Churchill's satire made him many enemies, and brought reprisals. In Night, an Epistle to Robert Lloyd (also published this year), be answered the attacks made on him, offering by way of defence the argument that any faults were better than hypocrisy. Churchill received a considerable sum from sales of the poem, paid off all of his old creditors, and gave an allowance to his wife.


1761 in poetry, Events, James Macpherson "finds" the work of "Ossian"
This year James Macpherson announced the discovery of an epic on the subject of Fingal which Macpherson claimed was written by Ossian. In December he published Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books, together with Several Other Poems composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal, translated from the Gaelic Language, written in the musical measured prose of which Macpherson had made use in his earlier volume.


1761 in poetry, Events, James Macpherson "finds" the work of "Ossian"
The authenticity of these so-called translations from the works of a 3rd-century bard was immediately challenged in England, and Samuel Johnson, after some local investigation, would assert (in A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, 1775) that Macpherson had found fragments of ancient poems and stories, then wove into a romance of his own composition. Macpherson is said to have challenged Johnson, who replied that he was not to be deterred from detecting what he thought a cheat by the menaces of a ruffian. Macpherson never produced his originals, which he refused to publish on the grounds of expense. Modern scholars tend to agree with Johnson's assessment.


1761 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1761 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1761 in science
The year 1761 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.


1761 in science, Astronomy
Guillaume Le Gentil, who had hoped to observe from Pondicherry in India, is prevented from doing so due to the Seven Years' War and Ruđer Bošković arrives late in Constantinople.


1761 to 1765 in sports
Events in world sport through the years 1761 to 1765.


1762
1762 (MDCCLXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1762nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 762nd  year of the 2nd millennium, the 62nd  year of the 18th century, and the  3rd   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1762, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1762 Arakan earthquake
The 1762 Arakan earthquake occurred at about 17:00 local time on 2 April, with an epicentre somewhere on the coast from Chittagong (modern Bangladesh) to Arakan in modern Burma. It had an estimated magnitude of as high as 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum estimated intensity of XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a local tsunami in the Bay of Bengal and caused at least 200 deaths. The earthquake was associated with major areas of both uplift and subsidence. It is also associated with a change in course of the Brahmaputra River to from east of Dhaka (Old Brahmaputra River) to 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the west via the Jamuna River.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Tectonic setting
The eastern part of Bangladesh and the southwestern part of Burma lie along the highly oblique convergent boundary between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The degree to which this deformation is partitioned into zones of thrust tectonics (accommodating that part of the motion perpendicular to the boundary) and strike-slip tectonics (accommodating the northward movement of the Indian Plate) varies along the boundary.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Tectonic setting
A pure strike-slip boundary that strike parallel to the plate vector runs along the Western Burma Scarp, that is replaced to the north by  the Indo-Burmese Wedge fold and thrust belt, at the western edge of the boundary zone, and a series of major dextral (right lateral) strike-slip faults, particularly the Kabaw Fault and Sagaing Fault further to the east. The presence of active subduction along the eastern margin of the Bay of Bengal is disputed.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Earthquake
The earthquake lasted for about four minutes at Chittagong. The epicentre is not well-constrained and likely locations have varied from near Chittagong to along the Arakan coast. The extent of the rupture is uncertain but may have been as much as 700 km along the plate interface. This is based both on the extent of uplift, which was recorded along the coast of Burma from Foul Island to Ramree Island, and the area of subsidence around Chittagong, further north.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Earthquake
The 700 km extent combined with an estimated displacement of ten metres gives a maximum estimated magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale. Other workers have pointed out that neither the subsidence, which could be due to lateral spreading, nor the uplift, which is not unequivocally linked to the 1762 earthquake, necessarily provide a reasonable estimate for the size of this event and prefer to regard this as a magnitude 7–8 earthquake.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Earthquake
Studies of uplifted marine terraces along the Burmese coast have found evidence for three uplifts, the most recent of which is interpreted to be from the 1762 earthquake. The Saint Martin's Island has been uplifted by 2- 2.5 m during that earthquake. A repeat period of about 500 – 700 years has been suggested for earthquakes similar to that in 1762.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Tsunami
A tsunami was reported along the northeastern coast of the Bay of Bengal and at Dhaka and Kolkata. This is regarded as a local tsunami, as no effects were recorded on the western side of the bay.


1762 Arakan earthquake, Damage
In Chittagong, it was reported that no buildings or walls built of brick had escaped either destruction or serious damage. The East India Company's factory inside the fort was so badly damaged that it could no longer be safely used. An area of about 60 square miles (160 km2) permanently subsided beneath the sea along the coast near Chittagong. At Bar Chara, just north of Cox's Bazar, the land sank and 200 people were killed. Chittagong was said to have "suffered severely" with soil liquefaction effects such as sand volcanoes and ground fissures.


1762 Russell
1762 Russell, provisional designation 1953 TZ, is a stony Koronian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, on 8 October 1953. The asteroid was named after American astronomer Henry Norris Russell.


1762 Russell, Orbit and classification
Russell is a member of the Koronis family (605), a very large outer asteroid family with nearly co-planar ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,781 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.


1762 Russell, Orbit and classification
The asteroid was first identified as 1947 LM at Lowell Observatory in June 1947. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery at Goethe Link Observatory in February 1950, more than 3 years prior to its official discovery observation.


1762 Russell, Physical characteristics
Russell is an assumed stony S-type asteroid, which agrees with the overall spectral type of the Koronis family.


1762 Russell, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
In April 2014, a rotational lightcurve of Russell was obtained from photometric observations at the Sonoita Research Observatory (G93) and Etscorn Campus Observatory (719). Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 12.797 hours with a brightness variation of 0.46 magnitude (U=3-).


1762 Russell, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Russell measures between 16.576 and 17.033 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.118 and 0.201.


1762 Russell, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 and calculates a diameter of 15.61 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.2.


1762 Russell, Naming
This minor planet was named after distinguished American astronomer Henry Norris Russell (1877–1957), noted for the H–R diagram and research on a variety of topics in fundamental astronomy, astrophysics, and the analysis of atomic spectra (see Russell–Saunders coupling).


1762 Russell, Naming
The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3143). Russell is also honored by both a lunar and a Martian crater.


1762 in Canada, Births
July 17 : Alexander Macdonell, Roman Catholic bishop (died 1840 in Scotland)


1762 in Canada, Deaths
August 28 : Augustin de Boschenry de Drucour, governor of Isle Royale.


1762 in Wales
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1762 to Wales and its people.


1762 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1762.


1762 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1762 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1762 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1762 in science
The year 1762 in science and technology involved some significant events.


1762 leto
"1762 leto" (Macedonian: 1762 лето [ xiˈʎada i sɛdɛmˈstɔtin ˈʃɛstdɛsɛt i ˈftɔro ˈlɛto] or Песен за унищожението на Охридската патриаршия; Macedonian: 1762 лето [ilˈjada i sɛdɛmˈstɔtin ˈʃɛɛsɛt i ˈftɔrɔ ˈlɛtɔ] or Песна за патрикот, English: The year of 1762) is a song written by Grigor Parlichev, a  writer from Macedonia.


1762 leto
The song was originally published in the Bulgarian periodical science magazine "Collection of folklore, science and literature" in Sofia, Bulgaria (1894).


1762 leto
The song describes the abolition of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, which took place in 1767, and the departure of its last archbishop Arsenius II from Ohrid. It was very popular in Macedonia, and especially in Ohrid, in the last decades of the nineteenth century. It was first performed in Ohrid shortly after Parlichev's wedding c. 1870. According to Parlichev and other contemporaries, the song contributed more to the final victory of the Macedonian movement in Macedonia against the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople than many of the previous efforts of the Bulgarians.


1762 leto
In 1953 the song was translated and published for the first time in Macedonian by Todor Dimitrovski in "Avtobiografija; Serdarot, Skopje, 1953, Kočo Racin", to mark the 60th anniversary of his death.


1762 leto
Numerous versions of the song have been recorded by Macedonian and Bulgarian performers over the years. Popular performances include those by the Macedonian folk band Ansambl Biljana in 1974 and the alternative band Mizar in 1991.


1763
1763 (MDCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1763rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 763rd  year of the 2nd millennium, the 63rd  year of the 18th century, and the  4th   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1763, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1763 Komárom earthquake
The 1763 Komárom earthquake occurred in or near the town of  Komárom in Komárom County in the Kingdom of Hungary on 28 June between 5 and 6 in the morning. The earthquake has been estimated at 6.2 to 6.5 on the moment magnitude scale.


1763 Komárom earthquake, Background
The Komárom earthquake was an intraplate earthquake in the Pannonian Basin associated with the Rába-Hurbanovo tectonic line. Earthquakes in the region are caused by deformation resulting from the movement of the Adriatic Plate relative to the Eurasian Plate. The 1763 earthquake accounts for about 80% of all the seismic moment released in the Komárom area since 1599. Due to the lack of seismologic instruments in 1763, the mechanism of and depth of the earthquake is not known, though most earthquakes in the region occur in the upper 20 km of crust.


1763 Komárom earthquake, Casualties and damage
The earthquake killed 83 people and 102 people were wounded. Damage in Komárom was extensive – contemporary reports note that the newly constructed Jesuit church and college were heavily damaged, including the collapse of two towers which killed several people. According to reports, 102 people were wounded and 7 churches, 279 dwelling fully and 353 partially collapsed. Other reports indicate that soil liquefaction occurred due to the earthquake.


1763 Williams
1763 Williams, provisional designation 1953 TN2, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 October 1953, by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after Kenneth P. Williams, professor of mathematics at Indiana University.


1763 Williams, Orbit and classification
Based on its osculating Keplerian orbital elements, Williams qualifies as a member of the Flora family (402), a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt (according to Zappalà but not Nesvorý). However, analysis using proper orbital elements in a hierarchical clustering method showed that Williams is a background asteroid, not belonging to any known family (Nesvorý, Milani and Knežević).


1763 Williams, Orbit and classification
The asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,183 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.


1763 Williams, Orbit and classification
The asteroid was first identified as 1939 EO at Nice Observatory in March 1939. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation in October 1953.


1763 Williams, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
In October 2008, a rotational lightcurve of Williams was obtained from photometric observations by Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of at least 36 hours with a brightness amplitude of more than 0.30 magnitude (U=2). Another observation by Pierre Antonini gave a period of 8 hours (U=1+).


1763 Williams, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Williams measures 6.38 and 6.982 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.32 and 0.3305, respectively.


1763 Williams, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the Flora family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 7.47 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.8.


1763 Williams, Naming
This minor planet was named in honor of Kenneth P. Williams (1887–1958), long-time professor of mathematics at Indiana University. He was known for his textbook, the calculation of the orbits of asteroids and comets, and his detailed analysis of the transits of Mercury from 1723 to 1927. He also wrote Lincoln Finds a General, a five volume book about the American Civil War.


1763 Williams, Naming
The name was proposed by Frank K. Edmondson, who initiated the Indiana Asteroid Program. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3143).


1763 in Canada, Events
With the Royal Proclamation of 1763 Lower Canada was renamed the "Province of Quebec".


1763 in Canada, Births
December 23 – John Kinzie, Fur trader from Quebec City who was responsible for the "first murder in Chicago" (d. June 6, 1828)


1763 in Scotland, Events
[ Boswell:] "Mr. Johnson, I do indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it." [Johnson:] "That, Sir, I find, is what a very great many of your countrymen cannot help."


1763 in architecture
The year 1763 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.


1763 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1763.


1763 in paleontology
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1763.


1763 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1763 in poetry, Works published, United Kingdom, Charles Churchill's poems of controversy
Poet Charles Churchill became a close ally of politician John Wilkes in the early 1760s, and assisted him with the North Briton newspaper. In addition to Poems (see above), these poems were all published this year:


1763 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1763 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1763 in science
The year 1763 in science and technology involved some significant events.


1764
1764 (MDCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1764th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 764th  year of the 2nd millennium, the 64th  year of the 18th century, and the  5th   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1764, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1764 Cogshall
1764 Cogshall, provisional designation 1953 VM1, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 26 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 November 1953, by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after Wilbur Cogshall, professor of astronomy at Indiana University.


1764 Cogshall, Orbit and classification
Cogshall is a Themistian asteroid that belongs to the Themis family (602), a very large family of carbonaceous asteroids, named after 24 Themis. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 5 months (1,987 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.


1764 Cogshall, Orbit and classification
The asteroid was first identified as 1935 MF at Johannesburg Observatory in June 1935. The body's observation arc begins with its identification as 1939 CC at Turku Observatory in February 1939, more than 14 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.


1764 Cogshall, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
In May 2005, a rotational lightcurve of Cogshall was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer Pierre Antonini. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 3.62417 hours with a brightness variation of 0.21 magnitude (U=3).


1764 Cogshall, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
Observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in 2012, gave a concurring period of 3.624 and 3.630 hours with an amplitude of 0.22 and 0.20 magnitude in the R- and S-band, respectively (U=2/2).


1764 Cogshall, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Cogshall measures between 25.14 and 29.671 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.0606 and 0.109.


1764 Cogshall, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0712 and a diameter of 26.13 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.4.


1764 Cogshall, Naming
This minor planet was named after American astronomer Wilbur A. Cogshall, who was a professor of astronomy at Indiana University and director of the Kirkwood Observatory for more than four decades (1900–1944). His research included visual binary stars and the photography of solar eclipses. The name was proposed by Frank K. Edmondson, who initiated the Indiana Asteroid Program. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3143).


1764 Imperial election
The imperial election of 1764 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Frankfurt on March 27.


1764 Imperial election, Background
The Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor called for the election of his successor. The prince-electors called to Frankfurt were:


1764 Imperial election, Elected
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, the eldest son of Francis and Maria Theresa, was elected.


1764 Imperial election, Aftermath
Joseph came to the throne on the death of his father on August 18, 1765.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
The Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763, established a new pattern of political alliances in Europe. The Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Russian Empire emerged as great powers, while the position of Austria, France, Spain, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire was weakened. As a result of the war, the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, was in almost complete control of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Catherine was supported by the Prussian monarch, Frederick the Great, who hoped to eventually annex Polish provinces of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
After the death of Augustus III of Poland,  two dominant political camps of Poland expressed their interest in the Polish throne. The Potocki family promoted Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki, while the Czartoryski family backed its leader, Duke Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. Under pressure of Catherine, the Czartoryskis, however, withdrew candidacy of Adam Kazimierz, and replaced him with Stolnik from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who had been one of Catherine’s lovers. Russian support however, did not mean that Poniatowski would automatically become new monarch of the Commonwealth. Polish–Lithuanian szlachta was at that time strongly anti-Russian, and in case of a free election, Branicki’s victory was secure.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
The Czartoryski family, fearing a civil war, asked the Russian Empress for military assistance. They were not aware of the fact that the Russians and their Prussian allies had previously signed a secret pact, which stipulated use of a military force to support Poniatowski. As early as October 17, 1763, Catherine wrote a letter to Frederick, in which she express the opinion that from all candidates to the Polish crown, Poniatowski was the least popular one, therefore, he would be most grateful to those who had made him the monarch. On April 11, 1764, Russia and Prussia signed the pact, in which both sides pledged to promote Poniatowski. He was the most convenient candidate for the Russians: as former lover of Catherine he would guarantee submission to his Russian sponsor.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
The Czartoryskis, who called themselves Familia, regarded themselves as patriots, who saw the need for urgent reforms of the declining Commonwealth. At the same time, they were of the opinion that all reforms were to be carried out with Russian permission only, as the Russian Empire was the dominant force in Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, leaders of the Familia, Andrzej Zamoyski and August Aleksander Czartoryski urged Catherine to send Russian army. The Empress did so, issuing an announcement that wanted to protect all freedoms of the Commonwealth. The Potockis, who called themselves the Republicans, on the other hand, supported the notion of Golden Liberty, together with liberum veto.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
First clash between the two camps took place during the Convocation Sejm, which began on May 7, 1764. The Republicans vetoed all bills brought forward by the Czartoryskis. Russian army, stationed near Warsaw, intervened and ordered the Republicans to leave the Polish capital. Remaining Sejm deputies called a confederation, but failed to carry out any significant changes in the government of the Commonwealth. Poniatowski himself was an envoy to the Convocation Sejm, he represented the Land of Warsaw.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
The Election Sejm, which as usual took place in early September 1764 in Wola near Warsaw, was attended by some 5,000 nobles. Poniatowski, backed by Russian and Prussian envoys, as well as diplomats from England and Denmark, was unanimously elected on September 7. The election itself was affected by a large Russian military contingent, which was stationed around Warsaw. On September 13 Poniatowski signed the pacta conventa, in which he pledged to marry a Roman - Catholic.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
On November 25, 1764, following the order of Catherine the Great, Primate Władysław Łubieński crowned Poniatowski as King of Poland. The ceremony took place at St. John's Archcathedral, Warsaw, and the new king, to dismay of conservatives, did not put on traditional Polish clothes, preferring to wear a 16th-century Spanish outfit.


1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
Poniatowski’s election was not at first recognized by several European states, such as France, Austria and Turkey, which saw the new monarch as Catherine’s tool. This changed after several interventions of Russian and Prussian diplomats.


1764 in literature
This article is a summary of literary events and publications during 1764.


1764 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1764 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1764 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1764 in science
The year 1764 in science and technology involved some significant events.


1765
1765 (MDCCLXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1765th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 765th  year of the 2nd millennium, the 65th  year of the 18th century, and the  6th   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1765, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1765 Wrubel
1765 Wrubel, provisional designation 1957 XB, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 December 1957, by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after Marshal Henry Wrubel, professor at Indiana University.


1765 Wrubel, Orbit and classification
Wrubel is a background asteroid that does not belong to any known asteroid family. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 8 months (2,065 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic.


1765 Wrubel, Orbit and classification
The asteroid was first identified as A906 XA at Lowell Observatory in December 1906. The body's observation arc begins with its identification as A917 XA at Heidelberg Observatory in December 1917, almost 40 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.


1765 Wrubel, Physical characteristics
Wrubel is a dark, carbonaceous asteroid. In the Tholen classification, its spectral type is ambiguous. Based on a numerical color analysis, it is closest to the dark D-type asteroid with some resemblance to the X-type asteroids (which encompass the primitive P-types).


1765 Wrubel, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
In July 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Wrubel was obtained from photometric observations. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 5.260 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.33 magnitude (U=3).


1765 Wrubel, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Wrubel measures between 37.704 and 42.20 kilometers in diameter  and its surface has an albedo between 0.113 and 0.1360.


1765 Wrubel, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopt the results obtained by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, that is, an albedo of 0.1061 and a diameter of 42.33 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 9.92.


1765 Wrubel, Naming
This minor planet was named after Marshal Henry Wrubel (1924–1968), professor of astronomy and faculty member at Indiana University, who was co-founder of the Indiana University Research Computing Center pioneering the use of high speed computers for astrophysical computations.


1765 Wrubel, Naming
The name was proposed by Frank K. Edmondson, who initiated the Indiana Asteroid Program. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3143).


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Nova Scotian describes Stamp Act unrest in Boston and calm in Halifax


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Gov. James Murray describes difficulty ruling Quebec given hostility among military, magistrates and merchants in Montreal


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Ship-based fishery, source of seamen for wartime, "is now wholly dropt and excluded by Encroachers and Monopolizers" in Newfoundland


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
"Fair to the eye [and] grateful to the taste" - Profile of Nova Scotia includes description of cod processing


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
"Advantages[...]would be derived from laying open this trade" - Reasons to end Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Huge territories won in Seven Years War will ruin Britain with depopulation and trade rivalry (Note: "savages" used)


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Protestant missionaries in Nova Scotia speak English, French, Mi'kmaw and German (Note: "savages" used)


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
"If the English would be more honest, we should be more generous" - Haudenosaunee tell William Johnson they are cheated of their lands


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Servants who desert their employers are liable to work twice length of their absence, unless they can prove they were abused


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Montreal fire of 18 May destroys one-fourth (one-third by value) of city of 7,000, leaving 215 families homeless


1765 in Canada, Historical documents
Scottish Jacobite writer has ghosts of Wolfe and Montcalm discuss their final, fatal and flawed campaigns in Seven Years War


1765 in architecture
The year 1765 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.


1765 in literature
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1765.


1765 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1765 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1765 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1765 in science
The year 1765 in science and technology involved some significant events.


1766
1766 (MDCCLXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 1766th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 766th  year of the 2nd millennium, the 66th  year of the 18th century, and the  7th   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1766, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1766 Istanbul earthquake
The 1766 Istanbul earthquake was a strong earthquake with epicenter in the eastern part of the Sea of Marmara, in the Çınarcık Basin (or near the Princes' Islands, north of the basin) which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, 22 May 1766. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale, and caused effects in a vast area extending from Izmit to Rodosto (now Tekirdağ). In this area, the earthquake was followed by a tsunami which caused significant damage. The earthquake of 1766 was the last major earthquake to rock Constantinople (now known in English under its Turkish name, Istanbul) because of a rupture of the North Anatolian Fault in the Marmara region.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Geology
The Sea of Marmara is a pull-apart basin formed at a releasing bend in the North Anatolian Fault ("NAF"), a right-lateral strike-slip fault. East of the Sea of Marmara the NAF splits in three major branches; while the sinuous southern branch goes inland in direction SW up to Ayvacik, where it reaches the Aegean Sea near the southern mouth of the Dardanelles, the other two major branches (northern and central) of the NAF, being under the sea of Marmara about 100 km (62 mi) apart, form the Marmara pull-apart basin, meeting again under the NE Aegean.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Geology
This local zone of extension occurs where this transform boundary between the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian Plate steps northwards to the west of Izmit from the Izmit Fault to the Ganos Fault. Inside the Sea of Marmara there is a smaller pull-apart basin, named the North Marmara fault System ("NMFS"), which connect the three submarine basins (from W to E: Tekirdağ, Central and Çınarcık) with the Izmit and Ganos Fault (both inland).


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Geology
Near Istanbul the northern side of the NMFS pull-apart coincides with the northern branch of the NAF and is a single main fault segment with a sharp bend. To the west, the fault trends W-E and is pure strike-slip in type. To the east, the fault is NW-SE trending and shows evidence of both normal and strike-slip motion.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Geology
In 1766, the rupture of the fault happened either under the Princes' Islands or, more probably, under the Çınarcık Basin, since a more central break could not have caused the great tsunami that struck Istanbul and the Gulf of Izmit, although this had been produced by a submarine landslide.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Geology
The 1766 event has been the last one caused by a rupture of the NAF in the Marmara region; successive large events which caused extensive damages in Istanbul, like the earthquake of 10 July 1894 (with epicenter in the gulf of Izmit) and that of 9 August 1912 (with epicenter NW of Marmara Island), have to be considered isolated events caused by the non uniform stress relief during the 18th century earthquake sequence, to which the 1766 event belongs. Since the second last major event with an epicenter in the Istanbul region occurred in 1509, a recurrence interval of 200–250 years has been hypothesized.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Characteristics
The earthquake began half an hour after sunrise, at 5:10 a.m. on May 22, 1766, which was the third day of the Kurban Bairam. The first shock, accompanied by a loud roar, lasted two minutes:  it was followed by a less intense shock lasting four minutes, and aftershocks continued for eight minutes. In the following weeks there were also several aftershocks, and the duration of the whole sequence amounted to one year. Mathematical models of this event using Coulomb stress transfer are consistent with a fault rupture whose length ranges from 70 to 120 km (43 to 75 mi).


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Characteristics
The earthquake was felt as far away as Aydin, Thessaloniki, on Mount Athos, Aytos in eastern Bulgaria and along the west coast of the Black Sea. This earthquake was compared to the catastrophic one in Lisbon, which occurred 11 years earlier.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Damage
The estimated area of significant damage (greater than the MCS VII grade (Very Strong)) extends from Bursa to Küçükçekmece, but destruction occurred from Tekirdağ and Gelibolu to the west, Izmit to the east and Edirne to the north. The settlements on the Gulf of Mudanya also suffered damage, while Galata and Büyükçekmece were severely damaged. In Constantinople the intensity of the earthquake was estimated between grade VII  and VIII-IX; many houses and public buildings collapsed.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Damage
Furthermore, part of the underground water distribution system was destroyed; the Ayvad dam, on the upper Kâğıthane, was damaged, and in Istanbul the vault of an underground cistern subsided. In Istanbul, most of the mosques and churches were damaged, as was the Topkapi palace: the sultan had to live in temporary housing until his home was restored. The panicking populace was unable to go back home, and people sheltered themselves in tents pitched in wide and open spaces.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Damage
Among the imperial mosques, the dome of that of Bayezid was damaged, while the minaret and the main dome of the mosque of Mihrimah collapsed. The Süleymaniye Mosque was also damaged, while the Fatih mosque suffered the collapse of the minarets, the main dome and several secondary domes, and 100 students in the Koran school of the Külliye died; so the complex had to be rebuilt. The Kariye Mosque was also seriously damaged, but the mosque of Ayasofya survived instead almost unharmed.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Damage
The castle of Yedikule, Eğrikapı, Edirnekapı and the city walls were also damaged, while there were damages to Galata and Pera and to the Grand Bazaar. At Çatalca and in the surrounding villages all the masonry buildings collapsed. Since the earthquake struck the eastern part of the Sea of Marmara, serious damage was also recorded on the southern shore, from Mudanya to Karamürsel, and the tsunami waves made the ports unusable. The highest level of the tsunami was observed in the Bosphorus region; the flood was also strong on the shores of Galata and Mudanya, while some small islands in the Marmara Sea were partially submerged.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, Damage, Casualties
The number of deaths was estimated at 4,000, of which 880 were in Istanbul.


1766 Istanbul earthquake, August earthquake
In August of the same year, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the Dardanelles region. On that occasion the damage in Istanbul was slight.


1766 Slipher
1766 Slipher, provisional designation 1962 RF, is a Paduan asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 18 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 September 1962, by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after American astronomers Vesto Slipher and his brother Earl C. Slipher.


1766 Slipher, Classification and orbit
Slipher is member of the mid-sized Padua family (507), an asteroid family named after 363 Padua and at least 25 million years old. It consists of mostly X-type asteroids, that were previously associated to 110 Lydia (the Padua family is therefore also known as Lydia family).


1766 Slipher, Classification and orbit
Slipher orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,665 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.


1766 Slipher, Classification and orbit
The body's observation arc begins with its first identification as 1953 UR at the discovering Goethe Link observatory in October 1953, or 9 years prior to its official discovery observation.


1766 Slipher, Physical characteristics
In the SMASS classification, Slipher is a carbonaceous C-type asteroid. PanSTARRS photometric survey characterized the asteroid as an X-type asteroid, which is in line with the overall spectral type of the Padua family.


1766 Slipher, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
In 2012, two rotational lightcurves of Slipher were obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 7.677 and 7.693 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 and 0.19 magnitude in the S- and R-band, respectively (U=2/2).


1766 Slipher, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Slipher measures between 14.37 and 20.29 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.044 and 0.11.


1766 Slipher, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 20.21 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.2.


1766 Slipher, Naming
This minor planet was named after the brothers Vesto Slipher (1876–1969) and Earl C. Slipher (1883–1964), both graduates of Indiana University. Vesto Slipher was a pioneer investigator of the spectra of the planets, and was the first to measure the redshifts of galaxies, which was instrumental for Hubble's discovery of the expanding Universe. Earl Slipher developed and improved the direct photography of the planets. His photographs are the only continuous and systematic record of the appearance of the planets for a period of more than half a century.


1766 Slipher, Naming
The lunar and Martian Slipher craters were also named after the two brothers. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3144).


1766 food riots
The 1766 food riots took place across England in response to rises in the prices of wheat and other cereals following a series of poor harvests. Riots were sparked by the first largescale exports of grain in August and peaked in September–October. Around 131 riots were recorded, though many were relatively non-violent. In many cases traders and farmers were forced by the rioters to sell their wares at lower rates. In some instances, violence occurred with shops and warehouses looted and mills destroyed. There were riots in many towns and villages across the country but particularly in the South West and the Midlands, which included the Nottingham cheese riot.


1766 food riots
The Whig government of the Marquess of Rockingham implemented tax cuts on imported grain and prohibited exports in an attempt to lower the price of food. Rockingham's successor William Pitt the Elder went further, prohibiting the use of grains in distilling and suspending more import duties. The public responded to the riots by raising subscriptions to provide charitable relief. These were used mainly to subsidise food for the poor but some subscriptions sought to build public mills and granaries. The Secretary at War, Viscount Barrington, had anticipated trouble and positioned troops at key points across the country. These acted as a deterrent and to support local magistrates, who read the Riot Act seven times in 1766 to attempt to compel rioters to disperse. Eight people were shot dead in the course of quelling the riots.


1766 food riots
The riots were largely over by October due to the effects of charitable relief and the use of military force. Hundreds of arrests were made with 59 convicted at special commissions of assize and 68 at the January 1767 court of quarter sessions. Many were sentenced to death at the assizes, but most of these sentences were commuted to penal transportation or the defendant pardoned; only eight men were hanged. Many of the following years also experienced poor harvests and further rioting occurred, though on a much reduced scale.


1766 food riots, Background
Bread was a key foodstuff in 18th-century England; the main cereals used for bread flour were rye and wheat, south of the River Trent, and oats north of it. Riots over the supply of food were relatively common in the 18th century, with at least 12 major outbreaks. Prior to 1766 the last major riots were in 1756–57, during which food stores and shipments were looted. Throughout this period the price of wheat remained relatively stable at £1 14s 11d (equivalent to £236 in 2019) per 0.25 long hundredweight (13 kg).


1766 food riots, Background
The government attempted, to some effect, to keep prices affordable after the 1757 riots and until 1759 passed acts to regulate grain prices. They also sought to maintain the quantity of supply by prohibitions on the export of grain (lifted on 25 March 1759) and on the use of corn and flour in distilling (lifted on 21 April 1760).


1766 food riots, Background
Grain harvests were poor each year from 1763 and prices rose again from 1764, reaching around £2 15s (equivalent to £372 in 2019) per 0.25 long hundredweight (13 kg) by 1766. The government again intervened, removing the duty payable on imported wheat and flour and the bounties it paid for exported wheat. In March 1766 the Esquilache Riots broke out in Madrid, Spain, partly caused by high grain prices and market liberalisation.


1766 food riots, Riots
The riots of 1766 were sparked by the first largescale exports of harvested grain in August. Over the following 12 weeks there were more than 60 incidents of rioting across the country and the Annual Register described 30 riots in September by "the poor; who have been driven to desperation and madness, by the exorbitant prices of all manner of provisions". By the year's end some 131 incidents would be recorded.


1766 food riots, Riots
The riots of 1766 showed a movement away from attacks on food stores and shipments in cities to marching on farms in the countryside, particularly those known to be involved in the export trade. In many cases self-restraint was shown by rioters but in other instances attacks on shops and warehouses were made and some mills and their machinery were destroyed. Many of the riots started as attempts to force traders to sell foodstuffs at lower prices, though some deteriorated into violence and property damage. Of the 131 recorded riots traders were forced to sell their products at lower prices on 39 occasions and goods were seized in 31 cases, in 14 incidents both actions were taken. Some 46 of the riots began as attempts to enforce market regulation rules.


1766 food riots, Riots, South West
The South West saw a number of disturbances, with weavers often implicated. In Exeter, Devon, a mob, objecting to wheat priced at 9s 6d (equivalent to £67 in 2019) per 1 imperial bushel (36 L), seized cheese from a warehouse. At Honiton local lace-workers seized corn from farmers, transported it to market, sold it at a lower than market price and gave the money and empty sacks to the farmers. Elsewhere in the county violence flared and mills, valued at £1,000, were burnt down.


1766 food riots, Riots, South West
In Gloucestershire the wool workers from the Stroudwater Navigation area were said to make up the core of the rioters. A large expedition roamed the countryside around Cirencester, seizing and foraging for food and there were riots in Tetbury in October. At Beckington, Somerset, a mill was burnt down and two rioters shot by the miller.


1766 food riots, Riots, Midlands
In the Midlands there were riots in and around Birmingham and the Black Country but disturbances also occurred in the East Midlands at Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Derby, where warehouses were looted. The 2 October Nottingham cheese riot saw thousands of pounds of cheese seized by rioters. Riots in Birmingham began in September; butter at the market on sale for 10 pence (equivalent to £6 in 2019) per 1 pound (450 g) was seized and sold for 7 pence (equivalent to £4 in 2019).


1766 food riots, Riots, Midlands
At the Michaelmas fair a common labourer, possibly a Dudley miner,  erected a mop as a standard and called for a "redress of grievances" to take place. Parties of men afterwards accosted traders at the fair and forced them to sell bread and cheese at lower rates. Order was restored by magistrate John Wyrley Birch and 80 special constables, armed with staffs, and the threat of military intervention. The rioters stood down after receiving agreement that bakers would provide bread at the rate of one penny (equivalent to £1 in 2019) per 1 pound (450 g). Similar actions took place across the Black Country where parties of miners and nail makers also attacked millers, maltsers, butchers and bakers.


1766 food riots, Riots, Midlands
In October rioters from Birmingham accosted wagons at Stratford upon Avon, seizing wheat and selling it at a reduced rate. Later that month a party of Black Country miners led by "Irish Tom" and "Barley Will" and accompanied by nail makers and spinners travelled to Birmingham. Reaching the Bull Ring (where the town's markets were traditionally held) at 4 pm on 17 October they negotiated with local leaders to fix prices of malt, flour, cheese, butter and other foodstuffs before withdrawing. Local residents met afterwards and agreed to raise a party of 140 special constables to prevent any further disorder but also agreed to pay to subsidise the price of bread.


1766 food riots, Riots, Elsewhere
In East Anglia many of the rioters were weavers. A riot at Norwich in September was described as a "general insurrection". Rioters threatened to burn down the mayor's house but order was restored after two of their number were sentenced to death and the towns people raised £20,000 to fund subsidised food for the poor. In October riots broke out at Ipswich and Burnham Market.


1766 food riots, Riots, Elsewhere
The remainder of the country was less troubled. In Berkshire mills worth around £1,000 were destroyed and in October there were riots at St Albans (Hertfordshire), Aylesbury (Berkshire), Scarborough (North Yorkshire) and Leeds (West Yorkshire).


1766 food riots, Response, Tax relief
The British government, under the Marquess of Rockingham attempted to reduce food prices in early 1766 by means of three acts that removed import duty on grain from the Thirteen Colonies (until 29 September); removed duties on oats (until 29 September) and prohibited the export of grain and flour (until 26 August). A parliamentary committee was set up to investigate the corn trade which recommended that farmers should be permitted to sell direct to consumers to cut out middlemen. Rockingham's successor William Pitt the Elder, implemented further measures in late 1766. The use of wheat and flour for distilling was prohibited from 14 November 1766 until 10 September 1767. Pitt also suspended the duty on wheat and flour, barley and barley meal, oats and oatmeal, rye and rye meal and pulses until September 1767.


1766 food riots, Response, Charity
The 1766 riots saw a greater number of public subscriptions for charitable relief than had happened in previous food riots. Subscriptions took place amid unrest at Birmingham, Cheltenham, Great Yarmouth, Newbury, Reading, Steeple Ashton, Abingdon, Barnstaple, Chippenham, Exeter, Ipswich, Norwich, Gloucester, Exeter, Oxford, Salisbury and Wootton Bassett but also at Ashburton, Buckingham, Cirencester, Devizes, High Wycombe, King's Lynn, Northampton, Wallingford, and Woodstock where there was no trouble. Local members of parliament (MPs), or those seeking election, were often leading contributors; MPs in Bath contributed £200 and those in Wells £150.


1766 food riots, Response, Charity
Robert Palk donated £50 in Ashburton and Matthew Wyldbore supplied free coal to residents in Peterborough, outdoing the sitting MPs who donated £100, both were elected to these constituencies in 1767. Local gentry were also prominent with Pitt (the Earl of Chatham) subsidising wheat at Urchfont, Lord Bathurst at Cirencester, Lord Weymouth at Warminster and Earl Fortescue at South Molton, probably helping to stave off unrest in those places.


1766 food riots, Response, Charity
Some of the subscriptions subsidised foodstuffs such as flour, bread and rice or arranged to import it from abroad. Other subscriptions took more practical measures, in Stroud and Durseley low-cost wheat was supplied to bakers to allow them to sell cheaper bread. At Lyme millers allowed their machinery to be used at no cost to grind flour and a subscription in Wolverhampton proposed funding a publicly-owned mill. Public granaries were constructed in Cheshire and Shropshire.


1766 food riots, Response, Charity
The subscription funds probably pacified the rioters better than a military intervention could have. In some cases a link was made explicit; at Ipswich funds were provided to the poor on the condition that relief would cease if rioting started in the area. The riots may have led to a rise in philanthropic spending generally, with four charitably-funded infirmaries opened in the following years.


1766 food riots, Response, Law enforcement
The Secretary at War, Viscount Barrington anticipated the difficulties of 1766 in the preceding year. In January 1766 he dispatched a number of cavalry and infantry units to known trouble spots and ordered them to be ready to intervene at the direction of local magistrates should riots erupt. Barrington had large numbers of troops available as the country was at peace, unlike during the riots of 1756-7 which had occurred during the Seven Years' War. When the rioting began in September Barrington deployed more troops, even where requests had not been received from magistrates.


1766 food riots, Response, Law enforcement
Barrington billeted his troops together; this meant that they were sometimes unable to respond quickly to remote uprisings (sometimes mobs roamed the countryside for several days) but prevented individual units from being overwhelmed by numbers. As the West Country emerged as an epicentre of unrest Barrington established a military district, commanding nine cavalry troops and sixteen infantry companies, to coordinate efforts. In spite of the relatively wide unrest the Riot Act only had to be read seven times, though on occasions when it was read without troops on hand it proved ineffective at restoring order. Rioting largely ceased by October partly due to the effective response of the military and partly due to government tax relief and the charitable activities. While suppressing unrest some eight rioters were shot dead by the military.


1766 food riots, Response, Law enforcement
To try the large number of people arrested during the riots special commissions of assize were held in Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Norfolk. Of the 204 people arrested for rioting some 108 were brought to trial, of which 59 were convicted. The rate of conviction was affected by a decision to release many of the prisoners awaiting trial at Gloucester Castle after an outbreak in the gaol. Many of those convicted were sentenced to death but most of these sentences were later reduced to penal transportation or the prisoner pardoned completely.


1766 food riots, Response, Law enforcement
Seven hangings were carried out in Reading, Salisbury and Gloucester in January 1767 with a further man hanged later that year. Other rioters were tried at the January 1767 court of quarter sessions, which saw 29 defendants sentenced to transportation to America, 30 imprisoned and 3 sentenced to flogging. Six defendants were convicted but received pardons, including two pregnant women.


1766 food riots, Aftermath
England suffered another poor harvest in 1767, causing a scarcity of flour. Parliament acted by again lifting duties on imported corn, banning the use of grain in distilleries and allowing duty-free imports of barley, pulse, wheat, oats and rye. The harvests were better in 1768 and 1769 but were poor in 1770-74 and food riots, on a much reduced scale, occurred every year until 1773. Despite wheat prices rising to £6 8s (equivalent to £865 in 2019) per 0.25 long hundredweight (13 kg) by 1800 riots became increasingly rare and more localised in England.


1766 food riots, Aftermath
John Bohstedt, a professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, who is the author of the 2016 book, Riots and Community Politics in England and Wales, 1790-1810, and the 2010 book, The Politics of Provisions: Food Riots, Moral Economy, and Market Transition in England, C. 1550-1850, builds on the work of  E.P. Thompson, specifically his 1971 essay on the 'moral economy' with more recent studies in the history of economics. Bohstedt described the 1766 food riots as "quite restrained".


1766 food riots, Aftermath
Walter Shelton (1973) considered them the most serious of the 18th century, though a reviewer of his work considered those of 1756-57 were almost certainly on an equal level and possibly those of 1740 were as well.


1766 in Ireland
The year 1766 in Ireland is characterised by certain events, arts and literature occurrences, births and deaths.


1766 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1766.


1766 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1766 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1766 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1766 in science
The year 1766 in science and technology involved some significant events.


1766 to 1770 in sports
Events in world sport through the years 1766 to 1770.


1767
1767 (MDCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1767th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 767th  year of the 2nd millennium, the 67th  year of the 18th century, and the  8th   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1767, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1767 Lampland
1767 Lampland, provisional designation 1962 RJ, is an Eoan asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 September 1962, by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after American astronomer Carl Lampland.


1767 Lampland, Orbit and classification
Lampland a member the Eos family (606), the largest asteroid family in the outer main belt consisting of nearly 10,000 asteroids. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,915 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.


1767 Lampland, Orbit and classification
The asteroid was first identified as 1941 SP at Uccle Observatory in September 1941. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery at Palomar Observatory in August 1951, more than 11 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.


1767 Lampland, Physical characteristics
In the Tholen classification, its spectral type is ambiguous, closest to the X-type asteroid and with some resemblance to the C-type asteroids, while the overall spectral type of the Eos family is that of a K-type.


1767 Lampland, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
As of 2017, no rotational lightcurve of Lampland has been obtained from photometric observations. The asteroid's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.


1767 Lampland, Physical characteristics, Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Lampland measures 15.448 kilometers in diameter  and its surface has an albedo of 0.116.


1767 Lampland, Naming
This minor planet was named after American astronomer Carl Lampland (1873–1951), a graduate of Indiana University, best known for his radiometric measurements of planetary temperatures.


1767 Lampland, Naming
Lampland is also honored by a lunar and by a Martian crater. The name was proposed by Frank K. Edmondson, who initiated the Indiana Asteroid Program. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3144).


1767 Milestones
The 1767 Milestones are historic milestones located along the route of the Upper Boston Post Road between the cities of Boston and Springfield in Massachusetts. The 40 surviving milestones were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Massachusetts has a total of 129 surviving milestones including those along the upper Post Road. The stones are so named, despite having been placed in many different years, because of a 1767 directive of the Province of Massachusetts Bay that such stones be placed along major roadways. The state highway department was directed in 1960 to undertake their preservation. Many of them underwent a major restoration in 2018.


1767 Milestones
The first stone was erected by Paul Dudley, one of the prominent citizens of early 18th century Massachusetts, in Roxbury, which was at the time a separate community. Roxbury was located at the end of the Boston Neck, a narrow isthmus separating the mainland from the Shawmut Peninsula, where Boston was located. Travelers going by land from Boston to other areas had to travel over the neck and through Roxbury to reach their destinations. The Roxbury junction where Dudley placed the first stone was where several routes branched, heading south and west across New England.


1767 Milestones
Dudley erected several stones along the road from Boston to Cambridge which wound its way from Beacon Hill along what is now Washington Street through the Dudley Square area to what is now Huntington Avenue, then along Harvard Street through Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner, and Allston crossing into Cambridge at the Great Bridge, where modern JFK Street in Cambridge becomes North Harvard Street in Allston. The stones that Dudley erected have the initial PD on them, usually at the bottom of the stone. The most chatty of these milestones (not part of this collection), is inscribed P Dudley rather than PD, and is located on the corner of Centre and South Streets in Jamaica Plain.


1767 Milestones
The stones listed for miles 23 through 29 in Wayland and Sudbury are actually guideposts rather than milestones, and do not list any mileage. They were erected at road intersections rather than at the mile marks. The stones are quarried granite posts with plug & feather tool marks and post-date 1800.


1767 in literature
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1767.


1767 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1767 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1767 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1767 in science
The year 1767 in science and technology involved some significant events.


1768
1768 (MDCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1768th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 768th  year of the 2nd millennium, the 68th  year of the 18th century, and the  9th   year of the 1760s decade. As of the start of 1768, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.


1768 Appenzella
1768 Appenzella (prov. designation: 1965 SA) is a rare-type Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 23 September 1965, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland. It was later named after the Swiss canton of Appenzell.


1768 Appenzella, Classification and orbit
Appenzella is a dark carbonaceous asteroid and a member of the Polanian subgroup of the Nysa family. On the Tholen taxonomic scheme, it belongs to the small group of 28 bodies known to have a F-type spectrum.


1768 Appenzella, Classification and orbit
It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,402 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The first used observation was made at the Finnish Turku Observatory in 1942, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 23 years prior to its discovery.


1768 Appenzella, Lightcurve
In November 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Appenzella was obtained by French astronomer René Roy at his Blauvac Observatory (627) in southeastern France. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined a rotation period of 5.1839 hours with a brightness variation of 0.53 magnitude (U=3). In 2016, remodeled photometric data from the Lowell database gave in a very similar period of 5.18335 hours.


1768 Appenzella, Diameter and albedo
Based on the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures between 19.0 and 21 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.03 and 0.04. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the results obtained by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, which found an albedo of 0.034 and a mean diameter of 20.9 kilometers, with an absolute magnitude of 12.7.


1768 Appenzella, Naming
In 1971, Appenzella was named by the discoverer in honor of the rural Swiss canton of Appenzell, during the treat of the 150th anniversary of the public middle school "Kantonsschule Trogen", Appenzell Ausserrhoden, founded in 1821. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 July 1972 (M.P.C. 3297).


1768 British general election
The 1768 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.


1768 British general election
The election took place amid continuing shifts within politics which had occurred the accession of George III in 1760. The Tories who had long been in parliamentary opposition having not won an election since 1713 had disintegrated with its former parliamentarians gravitating between the various Whig factions, the Ministry, or continued political independence as a Country Gentleman. No Tory party existed at this point, though the label of Tory was occasionally used as a political insult by opposition groups against the government.


1768 British general election
Since the last general election the Whigs had lost cohesion and had split into various factions aligned with leading political figures. The leading figures around the period of the prior election, namely the Earl of Bute, the Duke of Newcastle and the Earl of Chatham, were all retiring from political life for various reasons. While Chatham remained the nominal figurehead leader of the Ministry, the administration was centred on the First Lord of the Treasury; the Duke of Grafton, and his leader in the commons; Lord North.


1768 British general election
The election took place during a lull in political conflict, with there being a lack of any real political debate over policy or principle between the main factions. The major opposition factions, the Rockingham Whigs under the Marquess of Rockingham and the Grenvillites under George Grenville owed their origins and strength to the periods when their respective leaders had led Ministries in the early-to-mid part of the decade.


1768 British general election
Owing to these conditions the exact makeup of the new House of Commons was unclear, though estimates suggest that the opposition gained slightly on the Ministry in the months immediately after the election. Potentially the most important part of the election was the election of the radical John Wilkes in the metropolitan constituency of Middlesex. Wilkes's election triggered a major political crisis, and marked the beginning of political radicalism in Britain.


1768 British general election, Background
During the lifetime of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain five men held office as Prime Minister leading to the description of the period as one of ministerial instability. By 1766 the successive ministries of Newcastle, Bute, Grenville and Rockingham had collapsed, resulting in the King, George III appointed William Pitt, subsequently created the Earl of Chatham as Prime Minister. George III in commissioning Chatham to form an administration had sought to find a stable Administration which would command the confidence of both the Crown and Parliament, something that Chatham appeared to possess unlike his two immediate predecessors. Despite enjoying the confidence of the Crown, Parliamentary goodwill, and genuine popularity for his role during the Seven Years' War, Chatham had squandered these opportunities amid poor health resulting in his First Lord, Grafton, taking on increasing responsibilities within government, despite his own reluctance to hold Ministerial power.


1768 British general election, Background
By 1767 Chatham had increasingly alienated the hitherto cordial Rockinghamites through his dismissal of Lord Edgcumbe as Treasurer of the Household. While some Rockinghamites, namely Henry Seymour Conway remained part of the Ministry, many others who did not hold cabinet-level offices resigned their positions in response. This, coupled with the replacement of these individuals by individuals formerly close to Bute assisted in increasing the unpopularity of the Ministry. To further complicate matters the Ministry was divided over what would become the Townshend Duties, proposed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in relation to the American colonies. Chatham, who was sympathetic to the American colonists and their concerns, suffered a nervous breakdown in early 1767, prompting Grafton to assume increasing levels of authority within the government.


1768 British general election, Background
In response the opposition factions had moved to form a union among themselves which only further amplified the problems of the Ministry. After unsuccessful negotiations between the Ministry and the Rockinghamites, the Bedfordites joined the Ministry with several Bedfordites, namely Lord Gower, Viscount Weymouth and the Earl of Hillsborough becoming members of the cabinet. Over the course of the summer of 1767 Conway was gradually superseded as the government's Commons leader by Townshend who appeared in the political ascendant until his premature death in September 1767. He was ultimately replaced by Lord North who became increasingly prominent within the Ministry. By this point a general election was increasingly on the horizon resulting in numerous Independent Members of Parliament reducing their attendance, while affording opposition MPs the opportunity to raise popular political questions ahead of facing their electors. Parliament ultimately dissolved on 11 March 1768 ahead of the general election.


1768 British general election, Parties before election
The size and strength of Parliamentary factions during the lifetime of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain were rather fluid. The 1761 general election had returned a sizable Whig majority with the opposition formed by a cohort of over 100 Tories and a number of malcontent Independent Whigs notably including Francis Dashwood and Lord Strange. While the exact point of the demise of the Tory party is debated among historians of 18th-century politics, it is clear that by the end of the Parliamentary term no Tory party existed.


1768 British general election, Parties before election
While several dozen Tories did remain in the Commons even as late as the early 19th-century, their number gradually dwindled and no coherent unified Tory 'party' can be argued to have existed after the 1761 general election. By the time of the Chatham Administration it was clear that politics was formed along factional rather than party lines. An indication of the strength and state of parties in the period before the election is indicated in parliamentary lists created by Rockingham in November 1766, Townshend in January 1767, and Newcastle in March 1767. These lists differ greatly in various aspects especially among the classification of Independent Country Gentlemen ex-Tories, though the lists do demonstrate that the Ministry held around 220 seats, the Opposition factions around 150, while around 180 Members were Independents of varying degrees.


1768 British general election, Course of the election
The general election was held over a period between 16 March 1768 and 6 May 1768. During this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date (see hustings for details of the conduct of the elections). Parliamentary oppositions during this period never had a significant chance of winning power outright at a general election where the government's patronage and ability to hand out sinecure appointments and pensions were enough to maintain power. Indeed during this period no government was ever defeated for re-election. Little material exists for the Ministry's activities with Grafton's papers being relatively bare, and no papers relating to the secret service accounts or those of the government's election agents have been found to date.


1768 British general election, Course of the election
Despite the clear advantage afforded to the Ministry, the inertness of Grafton ensured that the election in various constituencies was far more competitive that it realistically should have been. This was seen in various constituencies where the Treasury nominally held significant influence but due to Grafton's inaction, Lord Newcastle was able to maintain a hold on these seats in favour of the Rockingham Whigs at the general election. The increasing competitiveness of the election was demonstrated by the fact that 83 constituencies went to the polls, an increase of 30 on the figure from 1761.


1768 British general election, Course of the election
8 contests occurred in English county constituencies, 60 in English borough constituencies of varying sizes, 1 at Oxford University, 5 in Welsh constituencies, and 9 in Scottish seats. This was therefore among the most competitive general elections of the period with borough managers being seen to have increasingly difficult times managing smaller boroughs against the attacks of outsiders and insurgent candidates.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Essex
The contest in Essex was still fought along nominal Tory and Whig partisan lines, as Edmund Burke noted 'on the business of a century ago'. Ancestral partisan alignments had persisted to the point of fossilization, though until a decade prior the constituency had been a Tory stronghold. At a by-election in 1759 the Essex Whigs had been so weak that they had resolved to run a Tory under the Whig label.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Essex
The confusion of the period of Ministerial instability is reflected in a by-election in 1763 when the local Tories ran John Conyers and the Whigs ran John Luther who both professed themselves to be supporters of the Grenvillite faction. At the by-election Luther narrowly prevailed over Conyers by a margin of just over one-hundred votes.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Essex
The contest in 1768 was confusing and featured a contest between supporters of the government, Luther and the ex-Tory Sir William Maynard who were opposed by the remnants of the local Tories, who ran Jacobin Houblon, Jr. and Eliab Harvey as their candidates for the by-election. At the poll the Tory candidates were soundly defeated with local landlord influences assisting the pro-government Essex Whigs in finally defeating the old Tory interest in the constituency.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, City of London
The City of London was among the most politically conscious constituencies in the nation with a sizable franchise and its own elective local government system that enabled the constituency to be particularly susceptible to political movements. Politics had a class-element to an extent, with larger merchants leaning towards the government, while smaller merchants, artisans, crafters and shopkeepers who lacked government financial connections had traditionally supported local 'Patriot' Opposition Whigs and Tories.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, City of London
The constituency's four seats had been won by nominal Tories of varying stripes in 1761: the Pittite and increasingly prominent radical William Beckford, fellow Pitt supporter Richard Glyn, Ministerial-leaning Thomas Harley, and Robert Ladbroke, who appealed to all interests in the constituency out of a principle of 'independence'. Pitt had enjoyed considerable support in the City prior to his resignation from the government in 1761 and his failure to cultivate support. Opposition to government economic policies had enable the slow increase in anti-government and 'radical' political sympathies among voters.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, City of London
The contest in 1768 saw all four incumbents run for re-election, joined by American merchant and Rockinghamite Barlow Trecothick, independent John Paterson, and the last minute bid by radical John Wilkes who had recently returned from exile in France. Wilkes had neither a programme nor a party and was unable to gain a foothold during the election. Ultimately Harley, Ladbroke and Beckford were easily returned, while Glyn was narrowly defeated by Trecothick. Wilkes polled just over a thousand votes in this constituency. Radicalism would increasingly become more prominent in the constituency with none of the four incumbents standing for re-election in 1774 (Beckford and Ladbroke were dead, Trecothick retired and Harley contested Herefordshire instead) paving the way for anti-government radicals to win all four seats.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Middlesex
The most prominent constituency contest of the election was that in Middlesex. The constituency had since a 1750 by-election been held as a compromise between the local Tories and Whigs by Whig William Beauchamp-Proctor and Tory George Cooke. The two had held their seats without a contest at the 1754 and 1761 general elections with the assumption that this tranquility would likely be maintained in the coming 1768 election. In February 1768 radical John Wilkes had returned from his self-imposed exile in France where he had remained for four years after being convinced for libel and blasphemy.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Middlesex
Wilkes' financial situation had become desperate necessitating him to return to reclaim a seat at Westminster. Wilkes' attempt to win one of the four seats in the City of London had fallen considerably short several days prior. Undeterred he opted to campaign in the neighbouring Middlesex county seat, challenging the Courtier Whig Beauchamp-Proctor and the ailing, gout-ridden Chathamite Cooke. With around two-thousand electors turning out to vote, Wilkes topped the poll and unseated Beauchamp-Proctor, being returned with Cooke.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Middlesex
Some residual Tory support may explain Wilkes' success with the St. James Chronicle noting that Wilkes and Cooke polled well in the Tory east of the constituency where small freeholders were prevalent. Wilkes' support from the old Tory Half Moon Club and the Independent Electors of Westminster, in addition to his employing of blue ribbons for his campaign, are telling. Regardless of the psephological points, Wilkes had polled strongly, much to the chagrin of prominent political figures. As the historian John Cannon noted:


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Middlesex
"The main reason for Wilkes’s success in Middlesex is that he had, either by accident or design, hit on the one county in the kingdom where his campaign might produce a response. Middlesex was by far the most urbanised of all the counties, and Wilkes’s victory demonstrated the extent to which Middlesex was dominated by London. The voting strength of the hundred of Ossulstone, in which the urban development had taken place, was more than twice that of the other five hundreds combined. Moreover, a very large proportion of the freeholders of Middlesex were in business.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Middlesex
The London voters included not only merchants, brewers, attorneys, distillers, and manufacturers, but also what contemporaries called ‘the little freeholders’—cheese-mongers, upholsterers, grocers, booksellers, weavers, ironmongers, undertakers, apothecaries, plumbers, drapers, watchmakers, turners, cashiers, and carpenters. These shopkeepers and small tradesmen provided the bulk of Wilkes’s following: they were less subject to intimidation and control than the tenant farmers in the other county constituencies."


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Middlesex
Wilkes' election prompted the Ministry to unseat him only for Wilkes to win a series of three by-elections, until finally the Ministry controversially sat a rival, Henry Luttrell as the new Member of Parliament instead.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Oxford University
The constituency where the traditional party alignments persisted the longest and most strongly was Oxford University. The constituency had been resolutely Tory in its politics since before the Hanoverian succession and jealously guarded its political independence and Tory identity, leading Horace Walpole to brand Oxfordshire 'a little Kingdom of Jacobitism'. Since a 1762 by-election the representation of the constituency had been shared by two old Tories, William Bagot and Roger Newdigate, who both enjoyed prior Parliamentary experience before being returned by the University.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Oxford University
The University Whigs were well aware that the stood little chance of wrestling control of the seat from the Tories except if the Tory interest was divided. An opportunity for a contest emerged after Bagot's death in spring 1768. The Whigs desired to run Charles Jenkinson, a former close ally of Bute as their candidate. Jenkinson hailed from a Tory family but had played a role in the infamous Oxfordshire election of 1754 which had soured Tories considerably towards him.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Oxford University
The Tory meanwhile returned William Dolben as a stopgap MP until the general election, Dolben would meanwhile win office in the general election in Northamptonshire. At the general election the popular and respected Newdigate's position was secure, while there was a genuine contest for the second seat. The Tories were initially split between the candidacies of Amersham (UK Parliament constituency) MP William Drake, Sr. and squire Francis Page. Yet the fear of a split and the victory of Jenkinson resolved them to unify behind Page.


1768 British general election, Notable contests, Oxford University
The Tories were bolstered by a fear that a victory by a pro-government candidate, namely Jenkinson would result in the constituency losing its independence and become a government borough. Additional candidates included Thomas Fitzmaurice and the jurist George Hay whose quixotic bid mystified many and attracted little support. Fitzmaurice, shortly before polling, dropped out and backed Page after being assured of support at a future election. Ultimately the Tory interest would hold firm at the University with Newdigate and Page being easily returned over Jenkinson and Hay.


1768 British general election, Results
The overall result of the general election remains unclear to historians owing to the confused nature of politics and partisanship during the 1760s. Nevertheless some precise electoral facts are clear. 167 Members of Parliament were returned who had not formerly sat in Parliament. Of these Members during their first years in office, they tended to lean towards the Opposition as seen by their stances with relation to the Middlesex election affair.


1768 British general election, Results
Yet over the course of the Parliamentary term this preference began to wear off resulting in the Ministry, especially after Lord North assumed its leadership in 1770; being assured of the confidence of the Commons on most matters. That Grafton's ineptitude cost the Ministry various winnable seats and extra support in Parliament is demonstrated by the clear fact that the Opposition, be it factional or Independent MPs, increased in size to some degree as a result of the 1768 general election. Figures for several of the factions and tendencies in the Commons are available.


1768 British general election, Results
Around 140 factional MPs are estimated to have been returned. Of this figure it is known that the Rockinghamites increased their number of MPs from 54 to 57. The Grenvillites entered the election with 41 MPs and incurred nineteen loses and gained ten seats, winning them 31 seats. The Bedfordites according to an overview of their MPs held around 23 seats prior to the election and ultimately won around 20 seats.


1768 British general election, Results
While no coherent Tory party remained of the Tories elected in 1761 or at by-elections during the Parliament, 53 were re-elected, though of these MPs, 28 became regular Opposition voters, 14 'pure' Independents, 26 government-leaning 'Hopeful' Independents, 4 Ministerialists, 2 Grenvillites, and 1 Bedfordite.


1768 British general election, Results
With regards to the overall figure of MPs aligned with the Ministry this is generally unclear, though the May 1769 division to seat Luttrell as the Member for Middlesex, the Ministry mustered 221 votes, which should be judged as the core of the Ministry's support, not including the aforementioned 'Hopeful' Independents who could be expected to lean in the Ministry's favour.


1768 British general election, Bibliography
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1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance
The constitutional history of opposition to taxation is sufficiently interesting to be abstracted from broader contexts. Key action occurred in the Colony of Virginia in the decade before 1776. A particular protest document, arguably the most eloquent and most effective among many colonial protests, merits special attention.


1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance
A remarkable 1769 imprint, with parts called , , and , surfaced in a 1994 New York auction. This document, called "PMR" below, records a Virginia House of Burgesses April 1768 protest sent to the British Government by Acting Lt. Governor John Blair.


1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance
This particular imprint had been owned by , sometime Member of Parliament and a long-time friend of Benjamin Franklin. He probably received it from G.W. Fairfax, a George Washington friend, who returned to England in 1773. Hartley was the sole official British signatory of the 1783 Treaty of Paris formally ending the American Revolution. Hartley had long supported freedoms for all Englishmen, at home and in the colonies: freedoms sought in the PMR and later reflected in the Declaration of Independence.


1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance
History texts say little about this Virginia protest or what British government thought of it; it elicited no formal response. However, in mid-1768, Virginia Governor General Sir Jeffrey Amherst was unceremoniously replaced by Lord Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt, who promptly came to Virginia, with a royal instruction "to reside constantly within the Colony" and to call for military aid if there was any "sudden commotion of the populace".


1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance
Virginia had notified the other colonies of its PMR, seeking support for . This letter, together with the Massachusetts Circular Letter, stimulated further protests. By December 69, all the American colonies had formally protested taxation called for by the Townshend Acts.


1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance, Constitutional Chronology
Modern notions of political independence and citizens' rights descend from the 1689 English Bill of Rights. "No taxation without representation" comes from its fourth provision.


1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance, Constitutional Chronology
This English Bill of Rights was not the first such manifesto. In 1683, the Assembly of New York had passed a similar Charter of Liberties and Privileges asserting that "supreme legislative power should forever be and reside in the Governor, council and people, met in general assembly", and enumerated citizen's rights—taxation voted only by citizen's representatives, trial by peers, exemption from martial law and quartering of soldiers, and religious toleration.