Births on March 2

Nicholas Pocock, English sea painter (d.1821)

Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the age of sail.

8 Apr

Action of 8 April 1740
War of Jenkins' Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
13 Jun

Siege of St. Augustine (1740)
Georgia provincial governor James Oglethorpe begins an unsuccessful attempt to take Spanish Florida during the Siege of St. Augustine.
11 Jul

Jews
Pogrom: Jews are expelled from Little Russia.
9 Oct

1740 Batavia massacre
Dutch colonists and various slave groups begin massacring ethnic Chinese in Batavia, eventually killing 10,000 and leading to a two-year-long war throughout Java.
20 Oct

War of the Austrian Succession
Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.