| Year |
World Events |
Significant Musical Events |
Composer Births & Deaths |
| 1700 |
· Berlin levies a tax on unmarried women
· Saxons invade Livonia, start Great Northern War |
· Joseph Sauveur publishes study of musical tone vibrations
· Jeremiah Clarke: Trumpet Voluntary
· Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Te Deum |
|
| 1701 |
· Captain William Kidd hanged for piracy
· War of Succession begins
· Daniel Defoe: The True-Born Englishman
· Yale founded |
Henry Playford begins weekly concert series in Oxford |
|
| 1703 |
· The city of St. Petersberg founded by Peter the Great
· Delaware becomes colony
· Sir Isaac Newton elected to presidency of Royal Society
· Death of diarist Samuel Pepys |
|
Nicolas de Grigny died |
| 1704 |
· While in prison, Daniel Defoe starts a weekly newspaper
· Inhabitants of Deefield (Connecticut) are massacred by mercenary Indians and French soldiers
· Founding of first public library in Europe (Berlin) |
· Handel: St. John Passion
· J. S. Bach: Cantata #1 'Denn Du Wirst Meine Seele' |
Heinrich I. Franz von Biber died |
| 1705 |
· Edmund Halley correctly predicts that the 1682 comet will return in 1758
· Emperor Leopold I dies and is succeeded by his eldest son, Joseph I |
· J. S. Bach walks 200 miles to hear a performance by Buxtehude's Abendmusiken
· Handel: Almira |
|
| 1706 |
· London claims first evening paper 'The Evening Post'
· Spanish Netherlands conquered by Marlborough |
|
Johann Pachelbel died |
| 1707 |
· Physician John Floyer begins modern practice of taking pulse of a patient
· Denis Papin invents high-pressure boiler
· Isaac Watts publishes Hymns and Spiritual Songs
· England and Scotland form Great Britain |
· Handel meets Domenico Scarlatti in Venice
· Tomaso Albinoni: Adagio in G Minor |
Dietrich Buxtehude died |
| 1708 |
· Peter the Great divides Russia into eight administrative districts
· Oxford establishes Professor of Poetry faculty position |
J.S. Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 |
John Blow died |
| 1709 |
· Copyright Act is passed in Britain
· First cologne is produced in Cologne, Germany
· Charles XII defeated by Peter the Great |
· Invention of the pianoforte
· The Battle of Malplaquet makes 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow' a popular tune throughout Europe |
|
| 1710 |
Three-color printing invented |
· Handel becomes Kapellmeister
· Handel: Rinaldo |
· Thomas Arne, born
· W. F. Bach born
· William Boyce born
· Giovanni Battista Pergolesi born |
| 1711 |
· More than 200 North Carolina settlers killed by Tuscarora Indians
· Turkey and Russia are at war
· Alexander Pope: Essay on Criticism |
· The clarinet makes its orchestral debut in the opera Croesus by J. A. Hasse
· John Shore credited with inventing the tuning fork
· Antonio Vivaldi: L'Estro Armonico, Op. 3 |
|
| 1712 |
· Slave revolts in New York
· Swiss war ends with Treaty of Aarau |
· Archangelo Corelli: 12 Concerti Grossi
· Handel: Il Pastor Fido
· Antonio Vivaldi: La Stravaganza, Op. 4 |
|
| 1713 |
Prussia's King Frederick I dies and is succeeded by Frederick William I |
· Handel: Utrecht Te Deum
· Francois Couperin: Pieces for Clavecin, Book 1 |
Archangelo Corelli died |
| 1714 |
· Mercury thermometer with numerical scale invented by D. G. Fahrenheit
· Prussia abolishes witchcraft trials
· England's Queen Anne dies and is succeeded by George I |
|
· Christoph Willibald Gluck born
· C. P. E. Bach born |
| 1715 |
· Indian uprising in South Carolina
· Jacobite rebellion in Scotland
· First dock in Liverpool built |
· The first vaudevilles appear in Paris
· Domenico Scarlatti: Stabat Mater
· Tomaso Albinoni: Oboe Concerti, Op. 7 |
|
| 1716 |
· China prohibits Christian teaching
· Peter the Great makes second European trip
· Williamsburg, Virginia is site of first appearance on American soil by English actors |
Francois Couperin: L'Art de Toucher de Clavecin |
|
| 1717 |
· French exile James III
· Lady Mary Montagu responsible for starting smallpox innoculations in England |
· J. S. Bach: 46 Organ Chorales
· Handel: Water Music Suites |
Johann Stamitz born |
| 1718 |
· England and Spain go to war
· Peter the Great murdered
· Voltaire imprisoned in Bastille
· Death of William Penn |
· Handel is named Kappellmeister to Duke of Chandos
· Handel: Acis & Galatea
· Handel: Chandos Anthems |
|
| 1719 |
· Spain and France go to war
· Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe
· Russia expels Jesuits |
Handel appointed Director of Royal Academy of Music (London) |
Leopold Mozart born |
| 1720 |
· France goes bankrupt
· Texas occupied by Spain
· China declares protectorate status on Tibet |
· Handel: Harmonious Blacksmith
· J. S. Bach: Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue |
|
| 1721 |
· Formosa revolt crushed by Chinese
· Rifles introduced in America by Swiss immigrants
· First encyclopedia, Allegmeines Lexikon by Jablonski, is published |
· J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerti
· Telemann becomes Hamburg director of music |
|
| 1722 |
· British journalists forbidden from reporting Parliamentary debates
· Count Zinzendorf founds first Moravian settlement (Saxony) |
· J. S. Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
· J. S. Bach: French Suites
· J. S. Bach: English Suites
· Tomaso Albinoni: Oboe Concerto, Op. 9 |
|
| 1723 |
· Death of Sir Christopher Wren
· England and Prussia enter into Treaty of Charlottenburg |
· J. S. Bach: St. John Passion
· Handel: Ottone
· J. S. Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
· J. S. Bach: Two- and Three-Part Inventions
· J. S. Bach: Magnificat |
|
| 1724 |
· Spain's King Philip V abdicates but his successor (Luis I) dies shortly thereafter so Philip re-takes the throne
· Peter the Great II declares his wife Catherine to be Czarina
· Oxford and Cambridge Universities found professorships in history and languages |
· Handel: Giulio Cesare
· Archangelo Corelli: 'Christmas' Concerto |
|
| 1725 |
· Peter the Great II dies & his widow Catherine assumes power
· Alexander Pope translates 'The Odyssey' by Homer from Greek to English |
· Founding of Prague opera house
· J. S. Bach: Anna Magdalena Notebook
· Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
· Handel: Rodelinde |
Alessandro Scarlatti died |
| 1726 |
· Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels
· Quakers demand abolition of slavery |
Handel becomes citizen of Great Britain |
|
| 1727 |
· Death of Sir Isaac Newton
· Coffee first planted as crop in Brazil
· Spain and England war over Gibraltar
· Czarina Catherine dies and is succeeded by the grandson of Peter the Great |
|
Francesco Gasparini died |
| 1728 |
Spain's 14-month siege of Gibraltar ends |
· John Gay: Beggar's Opera
· Telemann: St. John Passion |
Nicola Piccini born |
| 1729 |
· Founding of Baltimore
· China prohibits smoking of opium |
J. S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion |
|
| 1730 |
John and Charles Wesley found Methodism |
Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas |
|
| 1731 |
· Salzburg Catholics expel Protestants
· Building of 10 Downing Street to serve as prime minister's residence
· First public library established in Philadelphia by Ben Franklin |
· J. S. Bach: Sleepers, Awake
· First compositions for pianoforte are published
· J.A. Haase is Kappellmeister at Dresden Opera |
|
| 1732 |
· Salzburg Protestants that were expelled last year are forcibly resettled in E. Prussia
· Royal Colony Charter for Georgia granted to James Oglethorpe
· Ben Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanac |
· London's Covent Garden Opera House opens
· Academy of Ancient Music (London) founded |
Franz Josef Haydn born |
| 1733 |
· Savannah (Georgia) founded by Oglethorpe
· Polish Succession War begins
· Essay on Man by Alexander Pope is published
· Trade between American colonies and the French West Indies prohibited by the Molasses Act |
· Giovanni Pergolesi: La Serva Padrona
· Jean-Philippe Rameau: Hippolyte and Aricie
· Telemann: Table Music
· Pietro Locatelli: The Art of the Violin |
Francois Couperin died |
| 1734 |
· Danzig occupied by Russians
· Turkey and Persia are at war
· South Carolina is site of first horse race held on American soil
· George Sale translates Koran into English |
· J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio
· Handel: Six Concerti Grossi |
|
| 1735 |
· Persian-Turkey conflict ends
· Liquor sales prohibited in Georgia colony |
· Handel: Alcina
· Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Indes Galantes
· J. S. Bach: Coffee Cantata |
Johann Christian Bach born |
| 1736 |
· Freemasonry condemned by Pope Clement XII
· First successful appendicitis operation performed |
· Handel: Alexander's Feast
· Giovanni Pergolesi: Stabat Mater |
Giovanni Pergolesi died |
| 1737 |
Richmond (Virginia) founded
|
· Jean-Philippe Rameau: Castor and Pollux
· Handel: Berenice
· John Wesley: Psalms and Hymns |
Antonio Stradivari died |
| 1738 |
· Spain and England in border dispute (Georgia colony)
· Germany is site of first cuckoo clocks |
· J. S. Bach: Mass in B Minor
· Handel: Organ Concerti, Op. 4 |
|
| 1739 |
· Emperor Charles VI signs peace treaty with Turks
· Moravian Church founded in America |
· Handel: Saul
· Handel: Israel in Egypt
· Handel: St. Cecelia's Day Ode
· Handel: Cuckoo & Nightingale
· Jean-Philippe Rameau: Dardanus |
Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf born |
| 1740 |
· Emperor Charles VI dies and is succeeded by his daughter, Maria Theresa
· Frederick the Great founds Berlin Academy of Science |
Thomas Arne: Rule, Brittania |
|
| 1741 |
'Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God' by Jonathan Edwards sparks First Great Awakening |
· J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations
· Jean Philippe Rameau: Concert Pieces
· Handel: Messiah
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Artaserse |
· Andre Gretry born
· Antonio Vivaldi died
· Giovanni Paisiello born |
| 1742 |
· Charles VII crowned Emperor
· Centigrade thermometer invented by Celsius |
J. S. Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 |
|
| 1743 |
Saxony and Austria form alliance |
· C.P.E. Bach: Six Prussian Sonatas
· Handel: Samson |
Luigi Boccherini born |
| 1744 |
England and France are at war (again) |
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphigenie en Aulide
· Publication of 'God Save The Queen'
· Founding of London's Madrigal Society |
|
| 1745 |
· England withdraws protection from Empress Maria Theresa after heavy defeats by French
· The electrical capacitor is invented
· Japan gets a new Shogun: Ishege |
· Johann Stamitz: Mannheim Symphonies |
|
| 1747 |
Swedes and Prussians form mutual defense alliance |
· Handel: Judas Maccabeus
· J. S. Bach: The Musical Offering |
|
| 1748 |
· Russia invades Bohemia
· Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle
· First Parisian salon opens and entry is restricted to 'men of letters' |
· J. S. Bach: The Art of the Fugue
· Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pygmalion |
|
| 1749 |
· First settlements of Ohio
· Sign language invented by Pereire |
· Handel: Solomon
· Handel: Royal Fireworks Music |
Domenico Cimarosa died |
