Sydney
Sydney Cove named in honour of Townshend, the settlement becomes known as Sydney
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1788 in Great Britain
Explore 25 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1788.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1788
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 25 of 25 unique records.
25Unique records
1 of 1Page
25Named events on this page
18Named people on this page
6Places on this page
January
May
Marriage
William Herschel marries the widow Mary Pitt (nee Baldwin) at St Laurence's Church
August
Triple Alliance
Agreed between Britain, Prussia & Holland against France, the Empire & Russia
October
John Soane Appointed Bank Architect
John Soane is appointed architect to the Bank of England and begins a long programme of expansion and rebuilding at Threadneedle Street.
Other events (month unknown)
Aide-de-Campe
Appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Viceroy
All Religions Are One Composed
Blake composed the aphoristic work All Religions Are One as part of his early experiments in illuminated writing.
Begins Analytical Review Contributions
Wollstonecraft began writing literary reviews for the Analytical Review, assessing contemporary books and ideas.
Birth of FitzRoy Somerset
Birth of FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, eighth and youngest son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort
Birth of Robert Peel
Birth of Robert Peel
Defense of Indian Rights
During the Hastings impeachment, Burke argued that imperial power was subject to universal moral obligations.
Health of George IV
Suffers 1st bout of insanity
Iron Bridge Design Publicity
Paine promoted his iron bridge project in Britain, presenting engineering innovation alongside his political interests.
Linnean Society
Founds the Linnean Society which specializes in botany & zoology
Mary a Fiction Published
Wollstonecraft published Mary a Fiction, a novel exploring emotional independence and the constraints on women.
Opening Speech at Hastings Impeachment
Burke opened the impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings with a wide ranging denunciation of abuses of power in India.
Original Stories from Real Life
Wollstonecraft published Original Stories from Real Life, a didactic book written for young readers.
Pity for Poor Africans Written
Cowper wrote Pity for Poor Africans, a poem challenging indifference to the slave trade.
Rear Admiral
Appointed Rear Admiral
Slave Trade Evidence
Clarkson gathers evidence in Bristol against the slave trade.
Slavery
Support for slave trade abolition results in the passage of the 1788 Bill brought by Sir William Dolben to improve the conditions for slaves by limiting the capacity of slave-carrying ships which crossed the Atlantic
Soho Mint
Boulton establishes the steam-powered Soho Mint for mechanised coin production.
Sweet Meat Has Sour Sauce
Cowper composed Sweet Meat Has Sour Sauce, using satirical verse against the slave trade.
There Is No Natural Religion
Blake created There Is No Natural Religion, a series of philosophical propositions on perception and imagination.
Translates Neckers Religious Opinions
Wollstonecraft translated Jacques Necker's Of the Importance of Religious Opinions into English.
Writes Antislavery Verse
Cowper contributed poems to British antislavery debate, using verse to criticize human bondage.
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.