Events

• Astronomical aberration discovered by the astronomer James Bradley
• Swedish academy of sciences founded at Uppsala

Births

• January 9 - Thomas Warton, English poet (d. 1790)
• February 21 - Emperor Peter III of Russia, husband of Catherine the Great (d. 1762)
• August 28 - John Stark, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1822)
• September 14 - Mercy Otis Warren, American playwright (d. 1814)
• October 27 - James Cook, British naval captain and explorer. (d. 1779)

Deaths

• February 13 - Cotton Mather, New England Puritan minister (b. 1663)
• Marin Marais, French bass viol player and composer (born 1656)
• François Duval , French violinist and composer (born c1673)
• Père Gabriel Daniel , French writer and Jesuit theologian (born 1649)
• Agostino Steffani, Italian diplomat and composer (born 1654)
• Giovanni Maria Crescimbeni , Italian poet and critic (born 1663)