8 January –
Frederick, the eldest son of
George II, is made
Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in
Hanover. For 23 years, he will be heir apparent to the British throne but dies of a lung injury in 1751.
25 February –
James Oglethorpe M.P. begins service as the
Chairman of the Gaols Committee to investigate the conditions of Britain's gaols and prisons after the death in
Fleet Prison of his friend, Robert Castell. The Oglethorpe Committee's report propels him to notability and marks a start to British penal reforms.[3]
26 April – the
House of Commons is adjourned for lack of a
quorum for the first time since one of 40 was fixed in 1640.[4]
12 May – six English pirates, including
Mary Critchett, seize control of the sloop John and Elizabeth while being transported to America to complete their criminal sentences. They overpower their captors but are later taken in
Chesapeake Bay by HMS Shoreham and hanged in August.
28 November – theologian
Thomas Woolston is convicted of
blasphemy and sentenced to prison for the remaining four years of his life on account of his published Discourses on
Biblical literalism.
^Townsend, George H. (1877). "Regents (England and France)". The Manual of Dates: A Dictionary of Reference to All the Most Important Events in the History of Mankind to be Found in Authentic Records. London: Frederick Warne. p. 805.