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Births on February 17

1740Feb, 17

Horace-Bénédict de Saussure

Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
Horace Bénédict de Saussure (17 February 1740 – 22 January 1799) was a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, and considered to be the first person to build a successful solar oven.

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Events on 1740

  • 8Apr

    Action of 8 April 1740

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

    Siege of St. Augustine (1740)

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

    Jews

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

    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.
  • 20Oct

    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.