1742

Events

January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
February 16 - Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain.
February 18 - British attack La Guayra.
April 8 - The first peformance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio The Messiah, in Dublin.
May 25 - A battle is fought at Sahay.
December 2 - The Pennsylvania Journal first appears in print.
Daniel le Pelley succeeds Nicolas le Pelley as Seigneur of Sark.
Kingdom of Prussia captures Jihlava.
Christian Goldbach formulates Goldbach's conjecture.
Colin Maclaurin publishes his Treatise on Fluxions.
Anders Celsius proposes the Celsius temperature scale.
James Bradley succeeds Edmond Halley as Astronomer Royal.
Henry Fielding publishes Joseph Andrews.
John Carteret, 2nd Lord Carteret becomes Secretary of State for the Northern Department.
Rigging of Chippenham by-election causes a political scandal.
William Pulteney created as 1st Earl of Bath.
University of Erlangen is founded.
Molde in Norway becomes a city.
Construction starts on the Foundling Hospital in London.
Eisenach builds its Stadtschloss (city castle).

Ongoing events

Births

Deaths

Monarchs/Presidents

China - Qianlong Emperor of China, Qing Dynasty (reigned from October 18, 1735 to February 9, 1796)
France - Louis XV King of France (reigned from 1715 to 1774)
Great Britain - George II King of Great Britain (reigned from June 11, 1727 to October 25, 1760)
Kingdom of Prussia - Frederick II King of Prussia (reigned from 1740 to 1786)
Russia - Elizabeth Empress of Russia (reigned from 1741 to January 5, 1762)
Saxony - Frederick Augustus II Elector of Saxony (from 1733 to 1763) (also King of Poland)