1759 in literature
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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of1759.
Events
[edit]- By January 15 –Voltaire'ssatirical novellaCandide, ou l'Optimismeis published simultaneously in five countries.
- January 15– TheBritish Museumopens in London.
- March 5–Denis Diderot'sEncyclopédieis proscribed by the Vatican and (on March 8) temporarily suppressed by the French government. The ban is lifted in September to allow publication of a revised version.[1]
- July 27– The earliest known professional performance ofShakespeare'sHamletin North America (inGarrick's version) is given by theAmerican CompanyinPhiladelphia,withLewis Hallam Jr.as Hamlet.[2]
- August 12– In theSeven Years' WarBattle of Kunersdorf,the German poet MajorEwald Christian von Kleistis fatally injured.
- December –Laurence Sternehas the first two volumes of his comicmetafictionalnovelThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemanprinted inYork,in a shop owned by Ann Ward.
- December 22– The writer and criticWilliam Warburtonis nominatedAnglicanBishop of Gloucester.[3]
- unknown dates
- Rev.Hugh Blairbegins to teach a course on the principles of literary composition at theUniversity of Edinburgh,the first held in the field ofEnglish literature.[4]
- Johann Ernst Immanuel Walchbecomes a professor of rhetoric and poetry at theUniversity of Jena.
New books
[edit]Fiction
[edit]- Anonymous –The History of Some of the Penitents in the Magdalen-House(dated 1760)
- Sarah Fielding–The History of the Countess of Dellwyn
- Samuel Johnson–The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia(onWikisource).
- Gotthold Lessing–Fables
- Madame Riccoboni–Lettres de Milady Juliette Catesby
- William Rider–Candidus(translation ofCandide)
- Laurence Sterne–The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,vols 1–2
- Voltaire–Candide
Drama
[edit]- William Hawkins–Cymbeline(adapted fromWilliam Shakespeare)
- Arthur Murphy–The Orphan of China
- James Townley–High Life Below Stairs
Poetry
[edit]- Samuel Butler–The Genuine Remains(collected works)
- Edward Capell–Prolusions
- John Gilbert Cooper–Ver-Vert(transl.)
- William Mason–Caractacus
- Augustus Montague Toplady–Poems on Sacred Subjects
Non-fiction
[edit]- Franz Aepinus–Tentamen Theoriae Electricitatis et Magnetismi(An Attempt at a Theory of Electricity and Magnetism)
- Edmund Burke–The Annual Register
- Angélique du Coudray–Abrégé de l'art des accouchements(The Art of Obstetrics)
- Alexander Gerard–An Essay on Taste
- Oliver Goldsmith
- The Bee(periodical solely by Goldsmith)
- An Enquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe
- David Hume–The History of England, Under the House of Tudor
- Richard Hurd–Moral and Political Dialogues
- Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon–The Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon Written by Himself
- Rai Chatar Man Kayath –Chahar Gulshan
- William Robertson–The History of Scotland during the Reigns of Queen Mary and of King James
- Adam Smith–The Theory of Moral Sentiments
- Arthur Young–Reflections on the Present State of Affairs at Home and Abroad
- Edward Young–Conjectures on Original Composition
Births
[edit]- January 25–Robert Burns,Scottish poet writing inBraid Scotsand English (died1796)[5]
- March 5–John Jamieson,Scottish lexicographer (died1838)[6]
- March 29–Alexander Chalmers,Scottish biographer and editor (died1834)
- April 27–Mary Wollstonecraft,English political writer and advocate of women's rights (died1797)[7]
- May 4(baptism) –Isabella Kelly,Scottish novelist and poet (died1857)[8]
- June 17–Helen Maria Williams,English novelist, poet and translator from French (died1827)
- October 13–Mary Hays,English writer and advocate of women's rights (died1843)
- November 10–Friedrich Schiller,German poet and dramatist (died1805)
- December 25–Richard Porson,English classicist (died1808)
- unknown date–Deen Mahomet,author of first book in English by an Indian (died1851)[9]
Deaths
[edit]- June 12–William Collins,English poet (born1721)
- June 26–Arthur Young,English religious writer and cleric (born1693)
- July 27–Pierre Louis Maupertuis,French philosopher (born1698)
- July 29–Kata Bethlen,Hungarian memoirist and correspondent (born1700)
- August 16–Eugene Aram,English philologist and murderer, hanged (born1704)
- August 24–Ewald Christian von Kleist,German poet (born1715)
- September 5–Lauritz de Thurah,Danish architectural historian (born1706)
- October 7–Joseph Ames,English bibliographer and antiquary (born1680)
- unknown date–Francis Coventry,English clergyman and novelist (born1725)[10]
- probable–Anton Wilhelm Amo,West African-born German philosopher (born1703)
References
[edit]- ^Margaret Bald (14 May 2014).Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds.Infobase Publishing. p. 93.ISBN978-0-8160-7148-7.
- ^Stanley Wells; Sarah Stanton; Wells Stanley (30 May 2002).The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage.Cambridge University Press. p. 231.ISBN978-0-521-79711-5.
- ^John Selby Watson (1863).The Life of William Warburton, Lord Bishop of Gloucester from 1760 to 1779: with Remarks on His Works.Longman. p. 495.
- ^William Cowper (1968).The Correspondence of William Cowper.Ardent Media. p. 188.
- ^"Pistols belonging to Robert Burns".National Museums Scotland.Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2019.Retrieved25 March2019.
- ^"Biography of John Jamieson".universitystory.gla.ac.uk.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^"Mary Wollstonecraft | Biography, Works, & Facts".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved25 March2019.
- ^"Kelly [née Fordyce; other married name Hedgeland], Isabella (bap. 1759, d. 1857), poet and novelist".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37626.Retrieved25 March2019.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^Michael H. Fisher, "Mahomed, Deen (1759–1851)",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(Oxford, UK: OUP), 2004Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^The Monthly Magazine: Or, British Register...1808. p. 588.