| January 22 | Spain cedes Falkland Islands to Britain |
| February 16 | Messier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy |
| February 19 | Messier adds M46-M49 to his catalog (galactic clusters in Puppis and Hydra and galaxy in Virgo) |
| May 7 | Samuel Hearne explores Copper Mine River of Canada |
| July 12 | James Cook sails Endeavour back to Downs England |
| July 14 | Mission San Antonio de Padua founded in California |
| September 8 | Mission San Gabriel Archangel forms in California |
| September 26 | Denis Diderot's "Le Fils Naturel," premieres in Paris |
| November 4 | Carlo Goldoni's "Le Bourru Bienfaisant," premieres in Paris |
| November 16 | West Indian Company and Amsterdam divide up Suriname |
