1st Prime Minister
Britains 1st Prime Minister
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1721 in Great Britain
Explore 17 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1721.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1721
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 17 of 17 unique records.
17Unique records
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17Named events on this page
7Named people on this page
2Places on this page
April
Constitution of Great Britain
Britains 1st Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Great Britain
Appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1st term
Birth of William Augustus
Birth of William Augustus, 2nd surviving son of George II & Caroline of Ansbach
Other events (month unknown)
First Lord of the Treasury
Appointed First Lord of the Treasury
Greenwich Lunar Observation Programme Expanded
Halley continued long series of measurements intended to improve lunar tables for navigation.
Halley Starts Systematic Lunar Observations
At Greenwich Halley pursued repeated observations of the Moon to improve predictions relevant to longitude.
Lord Treasurer
Appointed Lord of the Treasury
Lottery Satire Engraved
Hogarth produced The Lottery, an engraved commentary on public speculation and commercial folly.
Lunar Position Observations Intensified
Halley undertook sustained observations of the Moon because its motion was important to finding longitude at sea. The measurements helped reduce uncertainties in celestial reference positions.
Paymaster General
Appointed Paymaster General
Public Credit Stabilisation
Walpole's government restructures liabilities and restores confidence in British public credit.
Shakespeare Edition Preparation
Pope worked on an edition of Shakespeare's plays which would be published later in the decade.
South Sea Scheme Satire
Hogarth created a satirical print about the South Sea Bubble, using allegorical imagery to criticize speculation.
Stanhope Dies After Parliamentary Debate
Stanhope died after a stroke following intense parliamentary controversy about the South Sea financial disaster.
Walpole Reorganises Public Credit
Walpole's administration helped arrange financial measures to restore confidence in obligations damaged by the speculative crash.
Walpole Returns as First Lord
Walpole took control of the Treasury as the government sought to recover from the South Sea scandal.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.