| Year |
World Events |
Significant Musical Events |
Composer Births & Deaths |
| 1750 |
· New York City gets its first playhouse
· London's Westminster Bridge finished |
First New York performance of Gay's 'Beggar's Opera' |
· J. S. Bach died
· Antonio Salieri born |
| 1751 |
· China invades Tibet
· England joins alliance against Prussia
· Parliament declares Jan. 1 official start of New Year on future British calendars |
Handel: Jephtha |
|
| 1752 |
· Great Britain adopts Gregorian Calendar
· Lightning rod invented by Ben Franklin |
|
Muzio Clementi born |
| 1753 |
· Canadian French troops invade Ohio Valley
· Parliament allows naturalization of Jews |
|
Giovanni Viotti born |
| 1754 |
· Founding of St. Andrews Golf Club, Scotland
· Columbia University founded
· Carbonic gas acid discovered by J. Black |
Francesco Geminiani: The Enchanted Forest |
Vincente Martin y Soler born |
| 1755 |
· German mercenaries sold to England by Landgrave of Hesse
· 30,000+ die in Lisbon earthquake
· Samuel Johnson: Dictionary of the English Language |
C.P.E. Bach: Flute Concerto in G |
|
| 1756 |
· France and Britain are at war
· More than 100 British soldiers die in jail in Calcutta, India
· Seven Years War begins in Bohemia |
|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born |
| 1757 |
Unsuccessful assassination attempt on Louis XV |
First public concert in Philadelphia |
· Ignaz Pleyel born
· Domenico Scarlatti died
· Johann Stamitz died |
| 1758 |
· Russians and Prussians fight to a draw in the Battle of Zorndorf
· Fort Duquesne (later Pittsburgh) taken from French by George Washington |
First manual for playing guitar published |
|
| 1759 |
· Quebec falls into British hands
· Portugal expels Jesuits |
Haydn: Symphony #1 |
George Frederick Handel died |
| 1760 |
· Berlin burned by occupying Russian armies
· Wedgwood pottery works founded in England |
· William Boyce: Eight Symphonies, Op. 2
· Haydn: Symphonies #2-5 |
Luigi Cherubini born |
| 1761 |
· Lyons is site of first French veterinary school
· Atmosphere of Venus discovered by Russian scientist/poet Lomonosov |
· Haydn: Symphonies #6 (Morning), #7 (Noon) & #8 (Evening)
· Haydn appointed Kappelmeister to the Esterhazy family
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Don Juan |
|
| 1762 |
· Peter III becomes Russian Czar after death of Czarina Elizabeth: only to be assassinated shortly thereafter
· Opening of the Sorbonne Library (Paris)
· William Falconer: The Shipwreck |
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orpheus and Eurydice
· Telemann: The Day of Judgment
· Thomas Arne: Artaxerxes
· 6-year-old Mozart tours Europe as prodigy |
|
| 1763 |
· Indian uprising near Detroit
· Voltaire: Treatise on Tolerance |
|
Nicolas Etienne Mehul born |
| 1764 |
· Britain's Sugar Act amended to tax American colonies
· France suppresses Jesuits
· Founding of Brown University
· Invention of condenser by James Watt |
· Haydn: Symphony #22 (Philosopher)
· Probable year of Mozart's first symphony |
Jean-Philippe Rameau died |
| 1765 |
· Parliament's passage of the Stamp Act prompts protests and challenges in American colonies
· Frederick the Great founds Bank of Prussia |
· Haydn: Cello Concerto #1 in C
· C.P.E. Bach: Oboe Concerto in E Flat |
|
| 1766 |
· Stamp Act repealed but Parliament retains right to tax American colonies
· Mason-Dixon line drawn
· Freedom of worship granted in Russia |
Haydn: Great Mass in E Flat |
|
| 1767 |
· Britain levies tax on American colonies for tea, glass, paper and dyes: public protest meetings in Boston
· New York Assembly refuses to pay for quartering British troops and is suspended
· Spain expels Jesuits |
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Alceste
· C.P.E. Bach becomes church music director in Hamburg upon Telemann's death |
Georg Philipp Telemann died |
| 1768 |
· Massachusetts Assembly refuses to aid in tax collection and is dissolved
· Boston refuses to house British troops |
Mozart: Bastien and Bastienne |
|
| 1770 |
· Boston Massacre
· Parliament repeals glass, paper and dye tax in colonies but tea tax remains in place
· Immanuel Kant made philosophy professor at Konigsberg University
· Gainsborough: The Blue Boy |
· Haydn: La Pescatrice
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Paride ed Elena |
· Ludwig van Beethoven born
· Giuseppe Tartini died |
| 1771 |
· Poland partitioned by Russia and Prussia
· First edition of Encyclopedia Britannica published |
· Luigi Boccherini: Minuet in G
· Haydn: 'Sun' String Quartets |
|
| 1772 |
· Boston Assembly threatens secession
· France abolishes Inquisition
· Discovery of nitrogen |
· Mozart: Lucio Silla
· Haydn: Symphony #45 (Farewell) |
|
| 1773 |
· Boston Tea Party
· Jesuits expelled from Austrian Empire under order of Joseph II
· Goethe: first version of Faust |
· Mozart: Symphony #25 in G Minor
· C.P.E. Bach: Hamburg Symphonies
· In Vienna, the waltz becomes popular |
|
| 1774 |
· British troops close port of Boston
· Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
· France's Louis XV dies and is succeeded by his grandson, Louis XIV |
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphegnie en Aulide
· Mozart: Symphony #29 |
|
| 1775 |
· James Watt perfects steam engine
· Beaumarchais writes Barber of Seville
· Paul Revere's ride
· George Washington named commander-in- chief of American forces |
· Mozart: La Finta Giardiniera
· Mozart: Violin Concerti #3, #4 & #5 |
Francois-Adrien Boieldieu born |
| 1776 |
· Bill of Rights
· Declaration of Independence
· Defeat of Benedict Arnold |
Mozart: Serenade, K. 250 (Haffner) |
|
| 1777 |
· Continental Congress adopts Stars and Stripes as its flag
· British general surrenders to Washington at Saratoga, NY
· Invention of the torpedo |
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Armide
· Haydn: Symphony #63 (Roxelane) |
|
| 1778 |
· British capture Savannah, Georgia
· British are routed at Monmouth, N.J.
· Continental Congress outlaws importation of slaves into colonies
· Hawaii discovered by James Cook |
· La Scala opera house opens
· Mozart: Les Petits Riens
· Mozart: Flute/Harp Concerto in C
· Mozart: Symphony #31 (Paris) |
Thomas Arne died |
| 1779 |
British forces lose succession of key battles to American army |
· J. C. Bach: Amadis de Gaule
· Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphigenie en Aulide
· Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante
· Mozart: 'Coronation' Mass |
|
| 1780 |
· Charleston, SC surrenders to British
· American army officer Benedict Arnold is revealed to be traitor
· Invention of the circular saw |
· Bolero dance invented
· Haydn: 'Toy' Symphony
· Giovanni Paisiello: Barber of Seville
· Ditters von Dittersdorf: Job |
|
| 1781 |
· American Revolution ends when British forces surrender at Yorktown
· Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason
· Discovery of planet Uranus |
· Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 33
· Mozart: Idomeneo, King of Crete |
|
| 1782 |
· Florida conquered by Spain
· Ben Franklin appointed Ambassador to Great Britain
· Air balloon built by Montgolfier brothers |
· Mozart: Abduction from the Seraglio
· Mozart: Symphony #35 (Haffner) |
· Daniel Francois Auber born
· Nicolo Paganini born
· John Field born
· Johann Christian Bach died |
| 1783 |
· Britain acknowledges U.S. independence
· Thousands die in Japanese famine |
· First works by Beethoven printed
· Mozart: Turkish Rondo (Piano Sonata #11)
· Mozart: Mass in C Minor (Great)
· Mozart: Symphony #36 (Linz)
· Haydn: Cello Concerto #2 in D
|
|
| 1784 |
· Beaumarchais writes Marriage of Figaro: the play is promptly banned by Austrian Emperor Joseph II
· Treaty of Constantinople
· Threshing machine invented |
· Gretry: Richard the Lionhearted
· Salieri: Les Danaides
· Mozart: Piano Concerto #17 |
· Louis Spohr born
· Wilhelm Friedemann Bach died |
| 1785 |
· Russians settle the Aleutian Isles
· Prussia signs the Commercial Treaty with US
· Tests of religion abolished in Virginia
· Invention of seismograph |
· Haydn: Symphonies #82 (Bear) & 83 (Hen)
· Mozart: Fantasia in C Minor
· Mozart: Piano Concerto #20 in D Minor
· Mozart: Piano Concerto #21 in C
· Mozart: Six 'Haydn' string quartets |
|
| 1786 |
· Shays Rebellion in Massachusetts
· Death of Frederick the Great (Prussia)
· Design of first mechanically powered boat by James Rumsey
· Robert Burns: Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect |
· Ditters von Dittersdorf: Metamorphosen Symphonies
· Haydn: Symphony #85 (Queen)
· Mozart: Marriage of Figaro
· Mozart: Piano Concerti #23-25
· Mozart: Symphony #38 (Prague) |
Carl Maria von Weber born |
| 1787 |
· U.S. Constitution signed
· U.S. federal government established
· The dollar is named official U.S. currency |
· Mozart: Don Giovanni
· Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
· Haydn: The Seven Last Words |
· Leopold Mozart died
· Christoph Willibald Gluck died |
| 1788 |
· Louis XVI is presented with 'list of grievances' from French parliament
· Upon ratification by New Hampshire, U.S. Constitution becomes binding
· New York City is first U.S. capitol |
· Mozart: Symphony #39 in E Flat
· Mozart: Symphony #40 in G Minor
· Mozart: Symphony #41 (Jupiter)
· Mozart: Piano Concerto #26 |
C.P.E. Bach died |
| 1789 |
· George Washington named US President
· French Revolution begins
· Mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty |
· Haydn: Symphony #92 (Oxford)
· Mozart: Clarinet Quintet |
|
| 1790 |
· Austrian Emperor Joseph II dies and is succeeded by brother Leopold II
· Louis XVI accepts new French constitution
· Death of Ben Franklin
· Philadelphia becomes US capitol |
· Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte
· Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 64 (Lark) |
|
| 1791 |
· Bill of Rights ratified
· Louis XVI and family attempt (and fail) to escape Paris |
· Mozart: Piano Concerto #27 in B Flat
· Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A
· Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus
· Mozart: The Magic Flute
· Mozart: Titus
· Mozart: Requiem
· Haydn: Symphony #94 (Surprise) |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died |
| 1792 |
· The French royal family is imprisoned
· Thomas Jefferson forms the Republican party
· John Adams & Alexander Hamilton form the Federalist party
· Dollar coins are minted in the States |
· Haydn: Symphony #96 (Miracle)
· Cimarosa: The Secret Marriage
· Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle writes 'La Marseillaise': the future French national anthem |
Gioacchino Rossini born |
| 1793 |
· Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette beheaded
· Robespierre begins Reign of Terror
· Napoleon takes Touron
· Marquis de Sade: Philosophy of the Bedroom
· Invention of the cotton gin |
· In Genoa, Italy, 11-year-old Paganini makes his debut as violin virtuoso
· Haydn: Symphonies #100 (Military) & #101 (Clock) |
|
| 1794 |
· Reign of Terror results in mass executions, including that of Robespierre
· Whiskey Insurrection (Pennsylvania)
· U.S. Navy established
· Thomas Paine: The Age of Reason |
· Publication of 'Auld Lang Syne'
· Haydn: Symphony #102
· Haydn: Piano Sonata #52 in E Flat |
|
| 1795 |
· Bread riots in Paris
· Napoleon named commander-in-chief
· France adopts metric system
· Hydraulic press invented |
· Haydn: Symphonies #103 (Drum Roll) & #104 (London)
· Beethoven: Piano Concerto #1
· Viotti: Violin Concerto #22
· Paris Music Conservatory founded |
|
| 1796 |
· Napoleon marries Josephine, wins several strategic battles against Austrian army
· John Adams becomes 2nd US President
· First smallpox vaccination manufactured |
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E Flat |
|
| 1797 |
· Napoleon's army marches through Austria and enters France
· Iron exports begin in England
· Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Kubla Khan |
· Haydn: 'Emperor' String Quartet
· Cherubini: Guitar Quintet (Fandango)
· Cherubini: Medea |
· Gaetano Donizetti born
· Franz Schubert born |
| 1798 |
· Napoleon becomes Master of Egypt after the Battle of the Pyramids
· England introduces war-time income tax |
· Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass
· Beethoven: Piano Sonata #8 (Pathetique)
· Beethoven: Piano Concerto #2 |
|
| 1799 |
· Austria declares war on France as Napoleon's armies continue to march throughout Europe
· Rosetta Stone discovered
· Preserved mammoth found in Siberia
· Death of George Washington |
· Beethoven: Symphony #1
· Haydn: The Creation |
Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf died |
