Editing 1772

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2011}}
{{Year dab|1772}}
{{Year nav|1772}}
[[File:Destruction of the schooner gaspee.jpg|thumb|250px|[[June 9]]: [[Gaspee Affair|American protesters burn British ship HMS ''Gaspee'']].]]
{{C18 year in topic}}
[[File:Jan Matejko - Upadek Polski (Reytan).jpg|thumb|[[August 5]]: [[First Partition of Poland]]]]
{{Year article header|1772}}

== Events ==
=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 10]] &ndash; [[Shah Alam II]], the Mughal Emperor of India, makes a triumphant return to [[Delhi]] 15 years after having been forced to flee.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=From Miniatures to Monuments: Picturing Shah Alam's Delhi (1771-1806)|first=Yuthika|last=Sharma|title=Indo-Muslim Cultures in Transition|editor=Patel, Alka |editor2=Leonard, Karen |publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|year=2012|page=111}}</ref> 
* [[January 17]] &ndash; [[Johann Friedrich Struensee]] and Queen [[Caroline Matilda of Great Britain|Caroline Matilda]] are arrested, leading to his execution and her banishment from [[Denmark]].
* [[February 12]]
** [[Bretons|Breton]]-French explorer [[Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec]] discovers the uninhabited [[Kerguelen Islands]] in the Southern Indian Ocean.
** The [[Virginia General Assembly|Virginia Assembly]] amends an act to describe the punishments for the practice of [[Gouging (fighting style)|gouging]].<ref name="Hening">{{cite web|url=http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol08-25.htm|title=Hening's Statutes at Large|first=William Walter|last=Hening|access-date=2011-04-09}}</ref>
* [[February 17]] &ndash; The [[First Partition of Poland]] is agreed to by [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and [[Prussia]], later including [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]].
* [[March 8]] &ndash; [[Biela's Comet]] is first discovered by French astronomer Jacques Leibax Montaigne, but not proven to be a periodic comet until 1826, when [[Wilhelm von Biela]] correctly identifies its return.<ref>{{cite book|first=George Frederick|last=Chambers|title=A Handbook of Descriptive Astronomy|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofdescri00chamrich|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1877|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofdescri00chamrich/page/299 299]}}</ref>
* [[March 20]] &ndash; [[Pedro Fages]], the Spanish Governor of [[Alta California]], and [[Juan Crespí]], a Catholic priest, set off from the capital at [[Monterey, California|Monterey]] with a party of 12 soldiers and begin the first European exploration of the lands around [[San Francisco Bay]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=The Camino Real: California's Mission Trail|first=W. Michael|last=Mathes|title=Pioneer Trails West|publisher=Caxton Press|year=1985|page=82}}</ref>

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 8]] &ndash; [[Massachusetts]] legislator [[Samuel Adams]] persuades his colleagues to approve his plan for creating a Committee of Correspondence to begin a dialogue with the other American colonies concerning mutual problems with England.<ref>"The Revenue Administration of Bengal, 1765-86", by R. B. Ramsbotham, in ''The Cambridge History of the British Empire'', H. H. Dodwell, ed.  (Cambridge University Press Archive, 1929) p. 413</ref><ref>Samuel Fallows, ''Samuel Adams: A Character Sketch, with Anecdotes, Characteristics and Chronology'' (The University Association, 1898) p. 110</ref>
* [[April 13]] &ndash; [[Warren Hastings]] begins his service for the [[British East India Company]] as [[List of governors of Bengal|Governor of Bengal]], arriving at the company's headquarters at [[Fort William, India|Fort William]], outside of [[Calcutta]], and including what are now parts of northeast [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]].<ref>Jaswant Lal Mehta, ''Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813'' (Sterling Publishers, 2005) p. 510</ref> Hastings serves for two years, then later becomes Governor-General of India.
* [[May 8]] &ndash; The [[Watauga Association]] Compact is signed in what is now East [[Tennessee]] by a group of white settlers led by William Bean, creating the first non-colonial government body in British North America.<ref>Lewis L. Laska, ''The Tennessee State Constitution: A Reference Guide'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1990) p. 1</ref>
* [[June 9]] &ndash; [[Gaspee Affair|''Gaspee'' Affair]]: In an act of defiance against the British [[Navigation Acts]], [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriots]], led by [[Abraham Whipple]], attack and burn the British customs [[schooner]] HMS ''Gaspee'' off of [[Rhode Island]].
* [[June 10]] &ndash; The [[crisis of 1772]] is triggered when, following the flight of their partner [[Alexander Fordyce]] to France, the London banking house of [[Neal, James, Fordyce and Down]] (which has been speculating in [[East India Company]] stock) suspends payment. The resultant panic causes other banks to fail, extends to Scotland, Amsterdam and the [[Thirteen Colonies]] and threatens the East India Company with [[bankruptcy]].
* [[June 22]] &ndash; [[Somersett's Case]]: [[William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield|Lord Mansfield]], the [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales]], delivers the decision that leads to the end of [[slavery]] in England.<ref name="Cassell's Chronology327">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Hywel|title=Cassell's Chronology of World History|url=https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/327|url-access=registration|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=2005|isbn=0-304-35730-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will/page/327 327]}}</ref>
* [[June 23]]–[[June 28|28]] &ndash; [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)]]: First of two [[Russian occupations of Beirut]], following a naval bombardment which began on June 18.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Russian occupations of Beirut, 1772–74|last=Persen|first=William|journal=Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society|year=1955|volume=42|issue=3–4|pages=275–286|doi=10.1080/03068375508731555}}</ref>

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 13]] &ndash; The [[second voyage of James Cook]] departs from [[Plymouth]] on Captain Cook's new ship, [[HMS Resolution (1771)|HMS ''Resolution'']] and the companion ship [[HMS Adventure (1771)|HMS ''Adventure'']] in an attempt to prove the existence of an uncharted [[continent]] even further south than [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite book|editor=Price, A. Grenfell|title=The Explorations of Captain James Cook in the Pacific, as Told by Selections of His Own Journals, 1768-1779|publisher=Courier Corporation|year=1971|page=107}}</ref>
* [[August 5]] &ndash; The [[First Partition of Poland|first Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] begins. The [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]] becomes part of the [[crown land]]s of the [[Habsburg monarchy]].
* [[August 12]] &ndash; The [[volcano]] [[Mount Papandayan]] in [[West Java]] erupts and partially collapses, the debris avalanche killing several thousand.<ref>{{cite web|title=Papandayan|work=Global Volcanism Program|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|access-date=2010-09-09|url=http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0603-10=}}</ref>
* [[August 21]] &ndash; A [[Revolution of 1772|coup d'état]] by King [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]] is completed by adopting a new [[Instrument of Government (1772)|Constitution]], ending [[Age of Liberty|half a century of parliamentary rule]] in [[Sweden]], and making him an [[Enlightened absolutism|enlightened despot]].
* [[September 1]] &ndash; [[Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa]] is founded in [[San Luis Obispo, California]].

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 28]] &ndash; [[Basques|Basque]]-Spanish explorer [[Domingo de Bonechea]], in the ''Aguila'', sights [[Tauere]] [[atoll]], which he names ''San Simon y Judas''.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/descargaPdf/un-diario-inedito-sobre-la-presencia-espanola-en-tahiti-1774-1775/ |title=Un diario inédito sobre la presencia española en Tahití (1774-1775) |first=Francisco |last=Mellén Blanco |pages=109–182 |access-date=24 May 2019 |via=[[Cervantes Virtual]] |language=es |year=1992 |journal=Revista Española del Pacífico |issue=2}}</ref>
* [[November 2]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Samuel Adams]] and [[Joseph Warren]] form the first [[committee of correspondence|Committee of Correspondence]].
* [[December 14]] 
** Russian government offices reopen at [[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg]] after being closed for 15 months because of an [[1770–1772 Russian plague|epidemic of bubonic plague]].<ref>John T. Alexander, ''Catherine the Great: Life and Legend'' (Oxford University Press, 1989) p159</ref>
** [[Second voyage of James Cook]]: The crew of {{HMS|Resolution|1771|6}} finds that the [[ice floe]]s encountered on their journey south are a source of fresh water, a "discovery... of utmost importance to the success of the voyage."<ref>"Anders Sparrman, 1748—1820", in ''Oceanographic History: The Pacific and Beyond'', ed. by Keith R. Benson and Philip F. Rehbock (University of Washington Press, 2002) p230</ref>

=== Date unknown ===
* Scottish scientist [[Daniel Rutherford]] discovers [[nitrogen]] gas, isolating it from air.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roza|first=Greg|title=The Nitrogen Elements: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8JCi0AVVpsC|year=2009|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|isbn=978-1-4358-5335-5|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=H8JCi0AVVpsC&pg=PA7 7–8]}}</ref>
* [[Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]], demands that all bodies remain unburied for three days to ensure that death has actually taken place.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Ami Magazine]]|issue=352|date=January 24, 2018|title=The Shul Chronicles|author=Rabbi Moshe Taub|pages=106–107}}</ref>

== Births ==
* [[January 20]] &ndash; [[Angélique Brûlon]], French soldier, first female Knight of the French Legion of Honour (d. [[1859]]) 
* [[January 30]] &ndash; [[Godfrey Higgins]], British archaeologist (d. [[1833]])
* [[February 24]] &ndash; [[William H. Crawford]], American politician, judge (d. [[1834]])
* [[March 10]] &ndash; [[Friedrich von Schlegel]], German poet (d. [[1829]])
* [[March 15]] &ndash; [[József Ficzkó]], Burgenland Croatian writer (d. [[1843]])
* [[April 4]] &ndash; [[Nachman of Breslov]], Hasidic rabbi and founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement (d. [[1810]])
* [[April 5]] &ndash; [[Domenico Puccini]], Italian composer (d. [[1815]])
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[Charles Fourier]], French philosopher (d. [[1837]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Fourier {{!}} French philosopher |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Fourier |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=13 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[April 18]] &ndash; [[David Ricardo]], British economist (d. [[1823]])
* [[April 30]] &ndash; [[Karl Gustav Himly]], German surgeon, ophthalmologist (d. [[1837]])
* [[May 2]] &ndash; [[Novalis]], German poet (d. [[1801]])
* [[May 20]] &ndash; [[Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet|William Congreve]], British rocket pioneer (d. [[1828]])
* [[May 22]] &ndash; [[Ram Mohan Roy]], Hindu religious and social reformer (d. [[1833]])
* [[June 7]] &ndash; [[Aurora Liljenroth]], Swedish scholar (d. [[1836]])
* [[July 11]] &ndash; [[John Rodgers (1772–1838)|John Rodgers]], American naval officer (d. [[1838]])
* [[August 2]] &ndash; [[Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien]] (d. [[1804]])
* [[August 15]] &ndash; [[Johann Nepomuk Mälzel]], German inventor (d. [[1838]])
[[File:William I of the Netherlands.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[William I of the Netherlands]]]]
* [[August 24]] &ndash; King [[William I of the Netherlands]] (d. [[1843]])
* [[September 27]] &ndash; [[Martha Jefferson Randolph]], Acting [[First Lady of the United States]] (1801-1809) (d. [[1836]])
* [[October 6]] &ndash; [[Anna Maria Rüttimann-Meyer von Schauensee]], politically active Swiss salonist (d. [[1856]]) 
[[File:SamuelTaylorColeridge.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]]]
* [[October 21]] &ndash; [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], English poet and philosopher (d. [[1834]])
* [[October 25]] &ndash; [[Géraud Duroc]], French general (d. [[1813]])
* [[November 5]] &ndash; [[Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière]], French admiral (d. [[1849]])
* [[November 8]] &ndash; [[William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]], 9th [[United States Attorney General]] (d. [[1834]])
* [[November 18]] &ndash; [[Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1772–1806)|Louis Ferdinand of Prussia]], German prince (d. [[1806]])
* ''date unknown''
** [[Thomas Noble (poet)|Thomas Noble]], English poet and translator (d. [[1837]])
** [[Tuanku Imam Bonjol]], Indonesian religious and military leader (d. [[1864]])
* ''approximate date''
** [[Charlotte Dacre]], English Gothic novelist (d. [[1825]])
** [[Lalon]], Bengali philosopher, Baul saint, mystic, songwriter, social reformer and thinker (d. [[1890]])

== Deaths ==
* [[February 4]] &ndash; [[Princess Victoria Charlotte of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym]], Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (b. [[1715]])
* [[February 8]] &ndash; [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]], Princess of Wales (b. [[1719]])
* [[February 11]] &ndash; [[Caterina Sagredo Barbarigo]], Venetian aristocrat and salon holder (b. [[1715]])
* [[February 15]] &ndash; [[Mitromaras]], Greek rebel and pirate<ref>{{cite book | last=Kargakos | first = Sarantos I. | title = Αλβανοί, Αρβανίτες, Ελληνες | year = 1999 | publisher = I. Sideris | location = Athens | language = el | isbn = 9789600801729 | url = {{Gbooks|EpovAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=yes}} | page = 170 }}</ref>
* [[February 18]] &ndash; [[Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff]], Danish statesman (b. [[1712]])
* [[February 20]] &ndash; [[Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein]] (b. [[1694]])
* [[March 21]] &ndash; [[Jacques-Nicolas Bellin]], French cartographer (b. [[1703]])
* [[March 22]] &ndash; [[John Canton]], English physicist (b. [[1718]])
* [[March 26]] &ndash; [[Charles Pinot Duclos]], French writer (b. [[1704]])
* [[March 27]] &ndash; [[Taylor White]], British judge (b. [[1701]])
[[File:Emanuel Swedenborg.PNG|thumb|right|110px|[[Emanuel Swedenborg]]]]
* [[March 29]] &ndash; [[Emanuel Swedenborg]], Swedish philosopher and mathematician (b. [[1688]])
* [[April 28]] &ndash; [[Johann Friedrich Struensee]], Danish royal physician and ''de facto'' regent, executed (b. [[1737]])
* [[May 1]] &ndash; [[Gottfried Achenwall]], German statistician (b. [[1719]])
* [[May 22]] &ndash; [[Durastante Natalucci]], Italian historian (b. [[1687]])
* [[June 15]] &ndash; [[Louis-Claude Daquin]], French composer (b. [[1694]])
* [[June 18]] 
** [[Gerard van Swieten]], Dutch-born Austrian physician (b. [[1700]])
** [[Johann Ulrich von Cramer]], German judge, philosopher (b. [[1706]])
* [[June 22]] &ndash; [[François-Vincent Toussaint]], French writer most famous for ''Les Mœurs'' (The Manners) (b. [[1715]])
* [[August 31]] &ndash; [[William Borlase]], English naturalist (b. [[1695]])
* [[September 30]] &ndash; [[James Brindley]], English canal builder (b. [[1716]])
* [[October 7]] &ndash; [[John Woolman]], American Quaker preacher, abolitionist (b. [[1720]])
[[File:Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (original replica) by Maurice Quentin de La Tour.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Jean-Joseph de Mondonville]]]]
* [[October 8]] &ndash; [[Jean-Joseph de Mondonville]], French violinist, composer (b. [[1711]])
* [[October 14]] &ndash; [[Benjamin Green (merchant)|Benjamin Green]], Canadian merchant and judge (b. [[1713]])
* [[October 16]] &ndash; [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], Afghan founder of the Durrani Empire (cancer) (b. [[1724]])
* [[October 19]] &ndash; [[Andrea Belli]], Maltese architect, businessman (b. [[1703]])
* [[November 10]] &ndash; [[Pedro Antonio Joaquim Correa da Serra Garção]], Portuguese poet (b. [[1724]])
* [[November 18]] &ndash; [[Madhavrao I]], ruler of India (b. [[1745]])
* [[November 19]] &ndash; [[William Nelson (governor)|William Nelson]], American colonial governor of Virginia (b. [[1711]])
*[[December 4]] &ndash; [[Dov Ber of Mezeritch]], the Great Maggid, a preacher and founder of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]].
* [[December 7]] &ndash; [[Martín Sarmiento]], Spanish writer, scholar (b. [[1695]])<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ruc.udc.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/2183/8985/CC82art4ocr.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Fr. Martín Sarmiento (1695-1772) |first=Eduardo |last=Pardo de Guevara y Valdés |date=23 October 2002 |access-date=24 May 2019 |page=99 |journal=DSpace Home |publisher=[[Universidade da Coruña]] |language=es}}</ref>
* ''date unknown'' &ndash; [[Panna Cinka]], Hungarian violinist (b. [[1711]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Blair's Chronological Tables |author1=John Blair |author-link=John Blair (priest) |author2=J. Willoughby Rosse|location= London |publisher=[[Henry George Bohn|H.G. Bohn]] |year=1856 |via=Hathi Trust |chapter-url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6349vh5n?urlappend=%3Bseq=688 |chapter=1772 |hdl=2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6349vh5n?urlappend=%3Bseq=688 }}

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[[Category:Leap years in the Gregorian calendar]]