1748
Buried Roman city of Pompeii discovered.

1751
Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d'Alembert publish first volumes of their Encyclopédie.

1752
Pope Benedict XIV issues brief condemning the philosophes, including philosophers Diderot, Charles de Secondat, and Baron de Montesquieu.
Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning rod.

1755
German Art Historian J. J. Winckelmann publishes Reflections on the Imitation of Greek Art in Paintings and Sculpture.

1758
Francis Harwood: Bust of a Man, sculpture.

1759
The British Museum opens to the public.

1760
George III of England becomes king.
Josiah Wedgwood founds pottery works at Staffordshire, England.

1762
Catherine II (the Great) of Russia becomes czarina.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (at six) tours Europe as a musical prodigy.

1764
French philosopher Voltaire writes Philosophical Dictionary.
J. J. Winckelmann publishes History of Ancient Art.

1765
British Parliament passes Stamp Act to tax American colonies.
In New York, delegates from nine colonies draw up a declaration of rights and liberties.
Potato becomes most popular European foodstuff.

1768
Boston citizens refuse to house British troops.
Founding of the Royal Academy, London.
Thomas Jefferson begins work on his home, Monticello.

1769
Excavations of Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, Italy, uncover some of the most important antiquities found in the 18th century.

1770
Boston Massacre: five civilians killed in confrontation with British troops.
Industrial Revolution in England begins its slow spread over the world.
François Boucher, master of Rococo style, dies (b. 1703).
First public restaurant opens in Paris.

1771
Encyclopedia Britannica first published.

1774
Louis XVI of France becomes king.
Joseph Priestly discovers oxygen.

1775
American Revolution begins; Paul Revere rides from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts.
Jane Austen, English novelist, born (d. 1817).
James Watt perfects the steam engine.

1776
Declaration of Independence signed in Philadelphia.

1778
Jean Baptiste Greuze: The Father's Curse, drawing.
French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau dies (b. 1712).
Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) dies (b. 1694).

1783
Joseph Wright of Derby: Penelope Unraveling Her Web, painting, commissioned by Josiah Wedgwood.
Peace of Versailles: Great Britain recognizes independence of the U.S.
Montgolfier brothers ascend in hot air balloon at Annonay.

1785
Jean-Antoine Houdon travels to America to sculpt George Washington.
Domenicho Salsano, Italian priest, invents seismograph for measuring earthquakes.

1786
David Roentgen: Long Case Musical Clock.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart writes The Marriage of Figaro, opera.

1789
French Revolution: Bastille prison stormed and church property nationalized.
George Washington inaugurated as first president of the United States.

1790
Joseph Chinard: Allegorical Portrait of the van Risamburgh Family, sculpture.
Joseph-Benoït Suvée: The Invention of Drawing, drawing.

1792
James Hoban and Benjamin Henry Latrobe begin building the White House, Washington, D.C.

1793
Louis XVI of France and Marie-Antoinette executed during Reign of Terror.
Jean-Paul Marat murdered.
Construction of William Thornton's Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., begins.
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin.

1799
Napoleon Bonaparte established as First Consul in Paris; conquers Italy.

1800
Thomas Jefferson elected president of U.S.
Alessandro Volta invents electrochemical battery.

1804
Napoleon proclaimed emperor by French Senate.
Alexander Hamilton killed in duel by Aaron Burr.

1812
U.S. declares war on Britain.
Grimm Brothers publish their collection of fairy tales.
Parthenon marbles brought to England by Lord Elgin.

1814
Napoleon abdicates the throne and is banished to Elba.
Francis Scott Key writes poem that will become U.S. national anthem.

1818
Jacques-Louis David: The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis, painting.
Gérard-Jean Galle: Chandelier.
Chile declared independent from Spain.
Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein.

1820
Revolutions in Spain and Portugal.
Missouri Compromise: Maine enters Union as a free state; Missouri as a slave state.
Discovery of the Venus de Milo, sculpture.
Liberia founded to repatriate former American slaves to Africa.

1823
Mexico becomes a republic.
Charles Macintosh invents waterproof fabric.

1826
Invention of photography: Joseph Niépce fixes camera's image.
James Fenimore Cooper publishes The Last of the Mohicans.

1830
Revolution in Paris; Louis Philippe, "the Citizen King," becomes king.
Emily Dickinson, American poet, is born (d. 1886).
Eugène Delacroix paints Liberty Guiding the People.