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| 1758 | Halley's Comet returns, as calculated by Edmond Halley in1705 |
| 1759 | British conquer Quebec from the French; death of Montcalm and Wolfe |
| 1760 | Britain: accession of George III, the first British Hanoverian monarch |
| 1761 | Transit of Venus on 6 June helps understanding of the movement of planets |
| 1762 | Russia: assassination of Tsar Peter III; accession of Catherine the Great |
| 1763 | Peace of Paris ends Seven Years' War; British control in Canada and India |
| 1764 | Stanislaus Poniatowski elected King of Poland |
| 1765 | British Parliament passes Stamp Act, to tax American colonies |
| 1766 | Repeal of Stamp Act in face of American opposition |
| 1767 | Expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish dominions |
| 1768 | France purchases Corsica from Genoa; conquest of island |
| 1769 | Britain imposes Tea Duties on American colonies |
| 1770 | The "Boston Massacre": casualty list 4 dead, 7 wounded |
| 1771 | Dispute between Britain and Spain over Falkland Islands |
| 1772 | First Partition of Poland by Russia, Prussia and Austria |
| 1773 | "Boston Tea Party" staged as protest against Tea Duty |
| 1774 | Continental Congress in Philadelphia draws together the American colonies |
| 1775 | American victories over British forces at battles of Lexington and Concord |
| 1776 | American Declaration of Independence, 4 July |
| 1777 | Publication of A Voyage towards the South Pole and round the World by James Cook |
| 1778 | Death of Voltaire, 30 May |
| 1779 | Spanish and French forces begin siege of Gibraltar |
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| 1780 | Gordon Riots in London: "No Popery!" |
| 1781 | Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown; decisive defeat for British in America |
| 1782 | Admiral Rodney's victory over the French at the Saints; British naval recovery |
| 1783 | Treaty of Versailles: Britain recognises American independence |
| 1784 | Pitt the Younger becomes British prime minister at age 24 |
| 1785 | Flight of Blanchard and Jeffries by balloon from Dover to Calais |
| 1786 | Death of Frederick the Great, the creator of the new Kingdom of Prussia |
| 1787 | France: Louis XVI convenes Assembly of Notables; dissolved without result |
| 1788 | Russo-Turkish war: Potemkin besieges Ochakov |
| 1789 | Revolution in France; storming of the Bastille, 14 July |
| 1790 | Death of Benjamin Franklin, statesman and polymath |
| 1791 | France: Feast of the National Confederation to acclaim the Revolution |
| 1792 | Battle of Valmy, 20 September; victory of French revolutionary army |
| 1793 | Execution of Louis XVI of France |
| 1794 | Erasmus Darwin publishes Zoonomia, foreshadowing the idea... |