Death of James Cook
Stabbed to death by the natives of Kealakekua Bay in the Hawaiian Islands
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1779 in Great Britain
Explore 19 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1779.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1779
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 19 of 19 unique records.
19Unique records
1 of 1Page
18Named events on this page
12Named people on this page
6Places on this page
February
March
Birth of William Lamb
Birth of William Lamb, son of the 1st Lord Melbourne
June
Post Captain
Is promoted post captain at a young age.
Other events (month unknown)
Begins Royal Academy Studies
Blake enrolled as a student at the Royal Academy, while continuing to develop his independent visual imagination.
Commander in Chief
Appointed Commander in Chief, Neopolitan Navy
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Published
Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion appeared posthumously, presenting a dialogue on arguments for divine existence.
God Moves in Mysterious Way
Cowper's hymn God Moves in a Mysterious Way appeared in Olney Hymns, expressing faith amid suffering.
HMS Hinchinbrook
Commands HMS Hinchinbrook on the Jamaica station.
Hospital Chapel Fire Legacy
The Greenwich Hospital chapel was damaged by fire decades after Wren's original hospital planning, leading to a major rebuilding of its interior.
Industrial Revolution
Samuel Cromptons Spinning Mule, introduced in 1779, was a combination of the spinning jenny and the water frame in which the spindles were placed on a carriage, which went through an operational sequence during which the rollers.
Industrial Revolution
stopped while the carriage moved away from the drawing roller to finish drawing out the fibres as the spindles started rotating, Cromptons mule was able to produce finer thread than hand spinning and at a lower cost.
Invention of Spinning Mule
Invents the spinning mule, a combination of the ideas of Cartwright & Hargreaves
Lord President
Appointed Lord President of the Council
O For Closer Walk with God
Cowper's hymn O for a Closer Walk with God appeared in the Olney Hymns collection.
Olney Hymns Collection Published
Olney Hymns appeared with contributions from Cowper and John Newton, bringing Cowper's devotional poetry to readers.
Rebellion of Rebels in Bengal
Breaks up the coalition between Haidar Ali, the Marathas & the Nizam
Silas Deane Controversy
Paine became involved in a public controversy over diplomat Silas Deane and lost his congressional secretarial position.
Spinning Mule
Crompton develops the spinning mule, combining features of earlier spinning machines.
There Is a Fountain Published
The hymn There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood was included among Cowper's contributions to Olney Hymns.
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.