1759
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January 1, 1759 Ye Guardian Powers, an ode by William Boyce (47) to words of Whitehead, is performed for the first time.
January 2, 1759 French cannons begin shelling
January 3, 1759 A British invasion force destined for Martinique arrives in
January 5, 1759 Voltaire states that “Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.”
January 6, 1759 The French bombardment of
January 11, 1759 French bombardment of
January 13, 1759 The conspirators who were found guilty of attempting to kill King José of
With only 5,000 of the original 9,000 invasion force, the British begin a naval bombardment of
Melite riconosciuto, an opera seria by Baldassare Galuppi (52) to words of Roccaforte, is performed for the first time, in Teatro delle Dame,
January 15, 1759 The
January 16, 1759 British marines capture the battery at Negro Point on the west of
January 17, 1759 French forces on
January 19, 1759 British ships begin bombarding
Believing the Society of Jesus to be complicitous in the attack on the King last September, the Portuguese government confines all Jesuit priests to their quarters.
January 22, 1759 British ships begin attacking the French fortifications at
January 23, 1759 British troops land at
January 30, 1759 A Royal Navy frigate runs the French blockade of
February 1, 1759 The Ambitious Stepmother, a play by Rowe with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (48), is performed for the first time, at the
February 3, 1759 Solimano, an opera seria by Tommaso Traetta (31) to words of Migliavacca, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Ducale,
Etienne-François de Stainville, Duc de Choiseul, French Foreign Minister, meets with the Scottish pretender Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) at Choiseul’s home in
February 7, 1759 Les aveux indiscrets, an intermède by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny (29) to words of La Ribardière after de La Fontaine, is performed for the first time, in Foire St.-Germain,
February 11, 1759 Nitteti, an opera seria by Niccolò Jommelli (44) to words of Metastasio, is performed for the first time, in the Opera House,
February 13, 1759 Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (23) enters upon duties as organist in Melk.
A British amphibious assault on
February 15, 1759 Cymbeline, a play by Hawkins after Shakespeare, with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (48), is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden,
February 16, 1759 Six British ships arrive at
John Wesley declares this to be a day of prayer and fasting to support
February 28, 1759 Pope Clement XIII grants permission for the Bible to be translated into the languages of all Catholic countries.
March 2, 1759 The Lenten oratorio season begins in
March 9, 1759 Blaise le savetier, an opéra comique by François André Danican-Philidor (32) to words of Sedaine after Lafontaine, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Foire St.Laurent,
Gerusalemme sconoscente ingrata, a cantata by Giovanni Battista Sammartini (58), is performed for the first time, in San Fedele,
March 11, 1759 The British leave 500 men at Basse Terre, Guadeloupe and transfer the rest of their force to
March 29, 1759 Two oratorios by Georg Philipp Telemann (78) are performed for the first time, in the Drillhaus,
April 3, 1759 Les fureurs de Saül, a motet français by Jean-Joseph Cassanea de Mondonville (47), is performed for the first time, in
April 6, 1759 L’Addolorata Divina Madre, a cantata by Giovanni Battista Sammartini (58), is performed for the first time, in San Fedele,
After the final concert of the oratorio season, a performance of Messiah, George Frideric Handel (74) is confined to his bed by illness.
April 7, 1759 British forces capture Masulipatam on the Coromandel Coast of India.
April 9, 1759 After 18 months of service, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (23) leaves his position as organist at the pilgrimage
April 12, 1759 British forces land at Arnouville and defeat the French defenders.
April 13, 1759 French forces gain a victory at
April 14, 1759 8 a.m. George Frideric Handel dies at his home in
April 20, 1759 Evening. The mortal remains of George Frideric Handel are laid to rest in the south transept of Westminster Abbey. The
April 21, 1759 The French defenders of
April 22, 1759 French reinforcements arrive at Ste. Anne,
May 2, 1759 So träufelt, ihr Himmel, a cantata by Georg Philipp Telemann (78), is performed for the first time, for the installation of Christian Adolf Fiebing as priest in the Waisenhaus,
Ippolito ed Aricia, a tragedia by Tommaso Traetta (32) to words of Frugoni after Pellegrin and Racine, is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Ducale,
May 12, 1759 Louis Antoine de Bougainville arrives at
May 16, 1759 Montcalm brings his French troops to
May 20, 1759 5,000 British troops depart
May 28, 1759 Le diable à quatre, ou La double métamorphose, an opéra comique by Christoph Willibald Gluck (44) to words of Sedaine and Baurans after Coffey, is performed for the first time, in the Laxenburg,
May 31, 1759 Baptists in
June 5, 1759 The first fighting between the British invasion force and French defenders of
June 9, 1759 William Boyce (47) marries Hannah Nixon at St. Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney.
June 17, 1759 When British troops attempt to land on the Ile d’Orléans in the St. Lawrence they are met by French defenders. After capturing a small boat, the French withdraw when the entire British fleet makes its appearance.
June 27, 1759 The British expedition from
June 28, 1759 A large number of British troops land on Ile d’Orléans in the
July 1, 1759 The British force from
July 8, 1759 3,000 British troops take up positions opposite
July 9, 1759 British troops begin the siege of the French garrison at
July 7, 1759 Thomas Augustine Arne (49) receives a doctorate from
July 11, 1759 French forces capture
July 16, 1759 Constant British bombardment of
July 18, 1759 British ships run the blockade of the St. Lawrence and reach up river from
July 19, 1759 Fire destroys hundreds of houses in
July 22, 1759 A British force lands at
The Upper Town of Quebec is destroyed by fire caused by the British bombardment.
July 23, 1759 Russian forces defeat the Prussians at Paltzig. The defeated army loses one-quarter of its total strength.
About 1,600 French irregulars from
July 24, 1759 The British and Iroquois ambush the French irregulars to besieged
July 25, 1759 After a siege of two weeks, the French defenders of
July 26, 1759 French troops retreating from
July 28, 1759 British and Brunswickers defeat the French at Lübbecke.
The French defenders of
July 31, 1759 British troops begin disembarking on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence by
August 1, 1759 An allied army (United Kingdom-Prussia-Hanover-Hesse) decisively defeats the French at
August 4, 1759
August 8, 1759 Karl Heinrich Graun dies in
Another massive fire destroys 152 homes and the Cathedral in the Lower Town of Quebec.
August 10, 1759 Fernando VI, King of Spain, dies at Villaviciosa de Odón, and is succeeded by his brother, Carlos III.
August 12, 1759 Russian and Imperial troops crush the Prussians at Kunersdorf (
August 13, 1759 As a result of the defeat at Kunersdorf, some members of the Prussian government leave
Prince Ferdinand of
Les amours de Flore et Zéphire, a ballet by Christoph Willibald Gluck (45) to a choreography by Angiolini, is performed for the first time, in the
August 15, 1759 The French fleet returns to
August 17, 1759 British ships catch up with the French fleet sneaking past Gibraltar and attack their rear off
August 18, 1759 British ships press their advantage as the French fleet attempts to shelter close to the neutral Portuguese shore at
August 30, 1759 Two works by Georg Philipp Telemann (78) are performed for the first time, in
September 3, 1759 On the first anniversary of the event, a Portuguese royal edict implicates the Jesuits in the attempted regicide of 1758. They are henceforth outlawed and expelled. It is a treasonable act to attempt communication with them.
September 4, 1759 Austrian forces enter
September 6, 1759 News of the victory at
September 10, 1759 British and French fleets join battle off
September 12, 1759 During the night, 4,600 British troops land at L’Anse au Foulon, just up river from
September 13, 1759 British forces defeat the French on the Plains of Abraham, near
September 17, 1759 L’huître et les plaideurs, ou Le tribunal de la chicane, an opéra comique by François André Danican-Philidor (33) to words of Sedaine, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Foire St.Laurent, Paris. The work is quickly withdrawn and rewritten.
September 18, 1759 After a siege of three months, the French garrison of
September 26, 1759 French forces defeat the British at
September 29, 1759 The Jorullo volcano erupts in
October 1, 1759 The French fleet once again quits Indian waters for
October 3, 1759 Christoph Willibald Gluck’s (45) opéra comique L’arbre enchanté, ou Le tuteur dupé to words after Vadé is performed for the first time, in the Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna for the nameday of Emperor Franz (tomorrow).
October 6, 1759
In the Pragmatic Sanction, King Carlos III of
British colonial forces under Robert Rogers attack the French-Indian settlement of
October 10, 1759 The Beggar’s Opera, a ballad opera by Thomas Augustine Arne (49) to words of Gay is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden,
October 11, 1759 François-Joseph Gossec (25) marries Marie-Elizabeth Georges in
October 17, 1759 Ten months without pay causes the beginning of mutinies in the French army in
October 22, 1759 Heinrich VIII von Bibra replaces Adalbert II Freiherr von Walderdorf as Prince-Bishop of
October 30, 1759 William Boyce’s (48) ode Begin the Song to words of Whitehead is performed for the first time, in honor of the birthday of King George II. This is the last birthday ode written to honor this king.
October 31, 1759 A detachment of
November 4, 1759 Achille in Sciro, an opera by Johann Adolf Hasse (60) to words of Metastasio, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo,
November 5, 1759 Ippolito ed Aricia, a dramma per musica by Ignaz Holzbauer (48) to words of Frugoni, is performed for the first time, at the Mannheim Hoftheater.
November 19, 1759 British forces take the French forts of Wandiwash and Carangoly in
November 20, 1759 In a raging gale, British naval forces defeat the French off
November 21, 1759 A Prussian corps of 15,000 men surrenders to Imperial forces at Maxen on the
November 24, 1759 Der neue krumme Teufel. Eine Opera Comique, a newly written stage work by Joseph Kurz with music from Der krumme Teufel, an earlier Singspiel by Franz Joseph Haydn (27), is performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater,
November 25, 1759 The planned French invasion of
November 27, 1759 The town corporation of
November 28, 1759 Kaspar Friedrich Wolff receives a doctorate from the
December 1, 1759 Incidental music to Hawkesworth’s (after Southerne) play Oroonoko by John Stanley (47) is performed for the first time, in
December 11, 1759 Emperor Aziz ad-Din Abu’l-Adl Mohammad Alamgir Padshah-e Ghazi of India dies and is succeeded by Mohyi-e Millat Sha Jahan III Sani ebn Mohyi-e Sannat Mohammad.
December 25, 1759 Emperor Mohyi-e Millat Sha Jahan III Sani ebn Mohyi-e Sannat Mohammad of
The cantata Hier schläft es TWV I: 797 by Georg Philipp Telemann (78) to words of Ramler, is performed for the first time, in
December 26, 1759 Ciro riconosciuto, an opera seria by Niccoló Piccinni (31) to words of Metastasio, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo,
December 31, 1759 Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000 year lease for an abandoned brewery in
Harlequin’s Invasion, or A Christmas Gambol, a pantomime by David Garrick with two songs by William Boyce (48), is performed for the first time, in