1740

Years: 1737 1738 1739 - 1740 - 1741 1742 1743
Decades: 1710s 1720s 1730s - 1740s - 1750s 1760s 1770s
Centuries: 17th century - 18th century - 19th century

Events

May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I.
October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). However, her succession to the Holy Roman Empire is contested widely because she is a woman.
December 16 - Friedrich II of Prussia invades the Habsburg possession of Silesia, starting the War of the Austrian Succession.
By the act of English parliament, alien immigrants (including Huguenots and Jews) in the colonies receive British citizenship
Adam Smith enters Balliol College, Oxford
George Whitefield founds the Bethesda orphanage
The song Rule Britannia is first performed at Cliveden