1720

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	17th century 18th century 19th century
Decades:	1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s 1740s
Years:	1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723

September 30:The British stock market crashes with the collapse of theSouth Sea Company.

1720 in variouscalendars

Gregorian calendar	1720 MDCCXX
Ab urbe condita	2473
Armenian calendar	1169 ԹՎ ՌՃԿԹ
Assyrian calendar	6470
Balinese saka calendar	1641–1642
Bengali calendar	1127
Berber calendar	2670
British Regnal year	6Geo. 1– 7Geo. 1
Buddhist calendar	2264
Burmese calendar	1082
Byzantine calendar	7228–7229
Chinese calendar	Kỷ hợiNiên (EarthPig) 4417 or 4210 — to — Canh tử niên (MetalRat) 4418 or 4211
Coptic calendar	1436–1437
Discordian calendar	2886
Ethiopian calendar	1712–1713
Hebrew calendar	5480–5481
Hindu calendars
-Vikram Samvat	1776–1777
-Shaka Samvat	1641–1642
-Kali Yuga	4820–4821
Holocene calendar	11720
Igbo calendar	720–721
Iranian calendar	1098–1099
Islamic calendar	1132–1133
Japanese calendar	Kyōhō5 ( hưởng bảo ５ niên )
Javanese calendar	1644–1645
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 11 days
Korean calendar	4053
Minguo calendar	192 beforeROC Dân tiền 192 niên
Nanakshahi calendar	252
Thai solar calendar	2262–2263
Tibetan calendar	Âm thổ trư niên (female Earth-Pig) 1846 or 1465 or 693 — to — Dương kim thử niên (male Iron-Rat) 1847 or 1466 or 694

February 24:Battle of Nassau

1720(MDCCXX) was aleap year starting on Mondayof theGregorian calendarand aleap year starting on Fridayof theJulian calendar,the 1720th year of theCommon Era(CE) andAnno Domini(AD) designations, the 720th year of the2nd millennium,the 20th year of the18th century,and the 1st year of the1720sdecade. As of the start of 1720, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Events

January–March

• January 21–SwedenandPrussiasign theTreaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War).
• February 10–Edmond Halleyis appointed asAstronomer Royalfor England.
• February 17– TheTreaty of The Hagueis signed betweenSpain,Britain,France,Austriaand theDutch Republic,ending theWar of the Quadruple Alliance.
• February 24–Battle of Nassau:Spanish forces assault theBritishsettlement ofNassau, Bahamasduring theWar of the Quadruple Alliance.
• March 11(February 29Old Style) – QueenUlrika Eleonora of Swedenresigns, to let her husbandFrederick Itake over as king of Sweden. She had desired a joint rule, in a similar manner toWilliam IIIandMary IIin Britain, but as the SwedishRiksdag of the Estatesrefuses this, she abdicates in her husband's favour instead.

April–June

• April 4– The Riksdag of the Estates elects Frederick I new King of Sweden.
• April 17–Bajirao Iappointed as thePeshwaof theMaratha EmpirebyChhatrapati Shahusucceeding his father PeshwaBalaji Vishwanath.
• May 3– The coronation of KingFrederick I of Swedentakes place in Stockholm, six weeks after his rule began.
• May 20– TheTreaty of The Hague,signed between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, the Netherlands and Austria) on February 17, goes into effect. Spain renounces its claims to the Italian possessions of the French throne, and Austria and the Duchy of Savoy tradeSicilyforSardinia.
• May 25– The British privateerSpeedwell,captained byGeorge Shelvocke,is wrecked on the uninhabited island ofMás a Tierra,the same island where Alexander Selkirk was marooned for five years; the island off of the coast ofChileis later calledRobinson Crusoe Island.The crew is marooned for five months but is able to build a boat from timbers salvaged from the wreck, and is able to escape the island on October 6.
• June 1– British silversmiths are once again allowed to usesterling silverafter 24 years of being limited to a higher quality (but softer)Britannia silver.
• June 11– The British Parliament approves theBubble Act(officially the Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719), prohibiting the formation of joint-stock companies without prior approval by royal charter.
• June 19– AtBurhanpur(in the modern-day Indian state ofMadhya Pradesh), the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad survives an attempted ambush byMughal Empireforces dispatched by the Sayyid brothers (Syed Abdullah Khan and Syed Husain Ali Khan Barha) and goes on to establish a rival state in southern India.
• June 25– The "South Sea Bubble",the phenomenal growth of theSouth Sea Company,reaches its peak as South Sea stock is priced at £1,060 a share. By the end of September, as panic sales are made, the price falls to £150.

July–September

• July 12– Under the authority of theBubble Act,the Lords Justices in Great Britain attempt to curb some of the excesses of the stock markets during the "South Sea Bubble".They dissolve a number of petitions for patents and charters, and abolish more than 80 joint-stock companies of dubious merit, but this has little effect on the creation of" Bubbles ", ephemeral joint-stock companies created during the hysteria of the times.
• July 14– (July 3 O.S.) TheTreaty of Frederiksborgis signed between Denmark-Norway and Sweden, ending theGreat Northern War.
• July 27– TheBattle of Grengamtakes place in the Ledsund strait between the island communities of Föglö and Lemland. It is the last major naval battle in the Great Northern War taking place in the Åland Islands, marking the end of Russian and Swedish offensive naval operations in Baltic waters.
• August 14– The SpanishVillasur expedition,which set out onJune 16fromNew Mexico,with the intention of checking French influence on theGreat Plainsof North America, ends in failure, as it is ambushed by aPawneeandOtoeforce.
• September 30– "South Sea Bubble": The English stock market crashes, with dropping prices for stock in theSouth Sea Company.

October–December

• October 8–Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha,one of the powerfulSayyid brothersof the Mughal Empire in India, is stabbed to death by Turkish nobleman Haider Beg Dughlat after Dughlat distracts him by giving him a petition to read. The assassination is ordered by Nizam ul-Mulk in retaliation for Sayyid Hussain's attempted ambush on June 19.
• October 15–Muhammad Ibrahim,a grandson of the late EmperorBahadur Shah I,is freed from prison by conspirators and declared the Mughal Emperor as a rival of his brotherMuhammad Shah,beginning a 32-day reign that is described as being "like a drop of dew upon a blade of grass".
• November 13– India's Mughal EmperorMuhammad Shahdefeats his brother, pretenderMuhammad Ibrahimin a battle atHasanpur(inUttar Pradesh). Ibrahim is returned to incarceration at the citadel ofShahjahanabad,part of modern-dayDelhi.
• November 16– English-born pirate "Calico Jack"Rackham (captured around October 31) is brought to trial atSpanish TowninJamaica;he ishangedatPort Royaltwo days later. Most of his crew is also hanged but female piratesMary ReadandAnne Bonnyare spared.
• December 8–Fath-Ali Khan Daghestaniis deposed from his position asGrand Vizier of Iran(at this time, part of theSafavid Empire) and tortured by Mohammadqoli Khan, the bodyguard of the Safavid Shah,Sultan Husayn.

Date unknown

• TheTuscarora peopleleaveNorth Carolinaas a result of European colonization.
• The Town on Queen Anne's Creek,North Carolinais renamedEdenton,in honor of North Carolina GovernorCharles Eden;it is incorporated in1722.
• TheGuild Regulation of 1720is introduced in Sweden.
• TheKangxi Emperorannounces that all western businessmen in China can trade only inGuangzhou.
• TheAcademia Real da Historiais founded inLisbon,Portugal.
• Jonathan Swiftbegins major composition work onGulliver's Travelsin Ireland.
• Il teatro alla moda,a satirical pamphlet byBenedetto Marcello,is published anonymously inVenice.
• The first yacht club in the world, theRoyal Cork Yacht Club,is founded in Ireland.
• Parallel to the English South Sea Bubble France experiences the Mississippi Bubble. Market shares of theMississippi Companyhad reached a peak price of over 10,000 livres in spring just to plummet to 1,000 by the end of the year. Monthly inflation in France reaches 23 percent and a bank rush ensues when investors try in vain to convert paper notes issued by the Banque Royale into gold and siilver.John Law,the Scottish architect of the Bubble, is forced to flee the country.

Births

• January 2–José de Gálvez,Spanish politician (d.1787)
• January 4–Johann Friedrich Agricola,German composer (d.1774)
• January 13–Richard Hurd,English bishop and writer (d.1808)
• January 27–Samuel Foote,English dramatist and actor (d.1777)
• January 30–Charles De Geer,Swedish industrialist, entomologist (d.1778)
• February 8–Emperor Sakuramachiof Japan (d.1750)
• February 15–Philippe Macquer,French historian (d.1770)
• March 9–Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke,English politician (d.1790)
• March 13–Charles Bonnet,Swiss naturalist and writer (d.1793)
• March 15–Philip, Duke of Parma,Spanish prince (d.1765)
• March 22–Nicolas-Henri Jardin,French architect (d.1799)
• April 23–Vilna Gaon,Lithuanian rabbi (d.1797)
• May 8–William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d.1764)
• May 15–Maximilian Hell,Slovakian astronomer (d.1792)
• July 18–Gilbert White,English naturalist and cleric (d.1793)
• August 8–Carl Fredrik Pechlin,Swedish politician (d.1796)
• August 12–Konrad Ekhof,German actor (d.1778)
• August 18–Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers,English murderer (d.1760)
• August 30–Samuel Whitbread,English brewer, politician (d.1796)
• October 3–Johann Peter Uz,German poet (d.1796)
• October 4–Giovanni Battista Piranesi,Italian artist (d.1778)
• October 8–Jonathan Mayhew,American minister, patriot (d.1766)
• October 8–Geneviève Thiroux d'Arconville,French novelist, translator and chemist (d.1805)
• October 19–John Woolman,American Quaker preacher, abolitionist (d.1772)
• November 1–Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte,French admiral (d.1791)
• November 8–Madeleine de Puisieux,French writer and active feminist (d.1798)
• November 16–Carlo Antonio Campioni,French-born composer (d.1788)
• December 14–Justus Möser,German statesman (d.1794)
• December 24–Anna Maria Mozart(née Pertl; d.1778), wife ofLeopold Mozartand mother ofWolfgang Amadeus MozartandMaria Anna Mozart
• December 26–Gian Francesco Albani,Italian Catholic cardinal (d.1803)
• December 31–Charles Edward Stuart,pretender to the British throne (d.1788)

Charles Edward Stuart

• "date unknown" –Jane Gomeldon,English writer, poet and adventurer (d.1779)
• "date unknown" –Sheikh Lamech,Persian banker and accountant (d. 1813)
• "date unknown" –Madame de Beaumer,French editor and writer (d.1766)

Deaths

• January–Francis Daniel Pastorius,founder ofGermantown, Pennsylvania(b.1651)
• January 4–Harry Mordaunt,British politician (b.1663)
• January 10–Ramon Perellos,Spanish 64th Grandmaster of theKnights Hospitaller(b.1637)
• January 12–William Ashhurst,Lord Mayor of London (1693–1694) (b.1647)
• January 19–Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg,Holy Roman Empress (b.1655)
• January 20
  • Giovanni Maria Lancisi,Italian physician (b.1654)
  • Angelo Paoli,Italian beatified (b.1642)
• January 31–Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford,Englishprivy councilor (b. c.1645)
• February 4–Robert Wroth,British politician (b.1660)
• February 27–Samuel Parris,English-born Puritan minister (b.1653)
• March 6–Pieter van Bloemen,Flemish painter (b.1657)
• March 13–William Sewel,Dutch historian (b.1653)

Joseph Dudley

• April 2–Joseph Dudley,colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b.1647)
• April 12–Balaji Vishwanath,Peshwa of the Maratha Empire (b.1662)
• April 20–George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen,Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b.1637)
• April 21–Antoine Hamilton,French writer (b.1646)
• June 19–Robert Knox,English sea captain (b.1641)
• June 27–Guillaume Amfrye de Chaulieu,French poet (b.1639)
• July 6–Isaac Milles,English minister (b.1638)
• July 7–Juan Romero de Figueroa,Spanish priest (b.1646)

• July 12– KingSukjong of Joseon(b.1661)
• August 3
  • Anthonie Heinsius,Dutch politician (b.1641)
  • Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea,English poet (b.1661)
• August 9–Simon Ockley,English orientalist (b.1678)
• August 17–Anne Lefèvre,French scholar (b.1654)
• August 21–John Leake,English Royal Navy admiral (b.1656)
• August 23–Sybilla Masters,American inventor (b. c.1676)
• August 26–Johann Christoph Volkamer,German botanist (b.1644)
• September 3–Henri de Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny, 1st Viscount Galway,French soldier and diplomat (b.1648)
• September 9–Philippe de Courcillon,French officer and author (b.1638)
• September 20–Pierre de La Broue,American bishop (b.1644)
• October 10–Antoine Coysevox,French sculptor (b.1640)
• November 12–Peder Tordenskjold,Norwegian naval hero (b.1690)

John Rackham

• November 18–John Rackham,English pirate, also known asCalico Jack(b.1682)
• November 27
  • Willem van Outhoorn,Dutch colonial governor (b.1635)
  • Diego de Salinas,Governor of Gibraltar (b.1649)
• December 29–Maria Margarethe Kirch,German astronomer (b.1670)
• date unknown
  • Shahzada Assadullah Khan Abdali, Persian Governor of Herat (b.1687)
  • Demoiselle Conradi,German opera singer