Prehistory
Mosasaurus of Maastricht: The Sea Lizard Seized by France
The skull taken to Paris in 1795 was recognised as an extinct giant marine lizard, later named Mosasaurus, and became key evidence that species can die out.
Region
Europe
Early Modern
Lunar Society of Birmingham (c. 1765): Science Meets Industry
The informal society linked scientific research with manufacturing and helped shape the early Industrial Revolution, before declining after the Priestley Riots of 1791.
Early Modern
Stamp Act (1765): The Taxation Without Representation Crisis
Colonial resistance made the act unenforceable; Parliament repealed it in March 1766 but passed the Declaratory Act asserting its full authority over the colonies.
Early Modern
Townshend Acts (1767): Duties That Revived Colonial Resistance
Colonial boycotts led Parliament to repeal most of the duties in 1770, keeping only the tax on tea.
Early Modern
Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition (1768-1771), Edinburgh
A three-volume reference work was completed in 1771 and grew, through many later editions, into the best-known English-language encyclopedia.
Early Modern
James Watt's Steam Engine (1769): The Separate Condenser
Watt's separate condenser cut the fuel use of steam engines dramatically, and the Boulton and Watt firm made steam power practical across British industry.
Early Modern
Battle of Chesma (1770): Russia Destroys the Ottoman Fleet
Decisive Russian victory; almost the entire Ottoman battle fleet in the Aegean was destroyed.
Early Modern
Cromford Mill (1771): Richard Arkwright and the Factory System
Arkwright's Cromford Mill became the first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill and a model for factories in Britain, Europe and America.
Early Modern
Moscow Plague Riot (1771): Epidemic and Revolt in Russia
The riot was crushed by troops; Grigory Orlov's commission restored order and the epidemic faded with the winter cold.
Early Modern
Partitions of Poland (1772-1795): A Country Erased from the Map
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided completely among Russia, Prussia and Austria and ceased to exist as a state until 1918.
Early Modern
Somerset v Stewart (1772): Lord Mansfield's Slavery Ruling
James Somerset was discharged; the court held that a master could not forcibly remove an enslaved person from England to be sold abroad.
Early Modern
Pugachev's Rebellion (1773-1775): Russia's Great Peasant Revolt
The rebellion was crushed; Pugachev was betrayed by his own followers and executed in Moscow in January 1775.