Events
- 1 February - Protests over the price of bread culminate in Queen Charlotte being hit by a stone as she and King George return from a trip to the theatre.
- 16 February - Britain takes control of Ceylon from the Dutch.
- 14 May - Edward Jenner successfully administers the smallpox vaccine to James Phipps.
- 21 June - Explorer Mungo Park becomes the first European to reach the Niger River.
- 9 August - Opening to traffic of Wearmouth Bridge, designed by Thomas Paine in cast iron. Its span of 237 feet (72 m) makes it the world's longest single-span vehicular bridge extant at this date.
- 19 August - By the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain and France form an alliance against Great Britain.
- 22 September - Mary Lamb commits matricide.
- 5 October - Anglo-Spanish War: Spain declares war on Britain.
- Undated
- Summer - Ribchester Hoard and helmet found in Lancashire.
- Last resident family leaves St Ninian's Isle.
- Earliest known reference to the sea song Spanish Ladies.
Read more about this topic: 1796 In Great Britain
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child’s loss of a doll and a king’s loss of a crown are events of the same size.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)