1702 in England

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See also:	Other events of 1702

Events from the year 1702 in the Kingdom of England.

Incumbents

• Monarch - William III (to 8 March), Anne

Queen Anne c.1702

Events

• 20 February - William III falls from his horse, Sorrel, in Richmond Park after it stumbles on a molehill and breaks his clavicle.^[1]
• 8 March (19 March N.S.) - William III dies of complications following his accident; his sister-in-law Anne Stuart, Princess of Denmark, becomes Queen Anne of England.^[2]
• 11 March (22 March N.S.) - The first regular English language national newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published for the first time^[2] in Fleet Street in the City of London; it covers only foreign news.
• 23 April - Coronation of Queen Anne in Westminster Abbey.^[3]
• 4 May (14 May N.S.) - War of the Spanish Succession: England, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire declare war on France as part of the Grand Alliance.^[4]
• June - War of the Spanish Succession: Queen Anne's Captain-General John Churchill forces the surrender of Kaiserswerth on the Rhine.
• July - General election results in victory for the Tories.^[3]
• September - War of the Spanish Succession: Churchill forces the surrender of Venlo on the River Meuse.
• 27 October - English troops plunder St. Augustine in Florida.^[4]
• October - War of the Spanish Succession: George Rooke fails to take Cádiz, but captures a Spanish treasure fleet and destroys French and Spanish warships.
• 23 October - War of the Spanish Succession:
  • Churchill forces the surrender of Liège.^[4]
  • At the Battle of Vigo Bay, the Anglo-Dutch fleet defeats that of France and Spain.
• December - Daniel Defoe publishes his satiric pamphlet The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (anonymously).
• 14 December - John Churchill is created Duke of Marlborough.

Undated

• Castle Howard in Yorkshire completed, to the design of John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor.^[3]
• George Sorocold erects machinery at Cotchetts' silk spinning mill in Derby, making it one of the earliest examples of a factory.^[5]
• John Kersey publishes A New English Dictionary; or, a complete collection of the most proper and significant words, commonly used in the language.

Births

• 4 March - Jack Sheppard, burglar and escapee (died 1724)
• 26 June - Philip Doddridge, religious leader (died 1751)
• 5 November - Edward Stone, polymath (died 1768)
• Undated - Benjamin Stillingfleet, botanist (died 1771)

Deaths

• 8 March - King William III (born 1650 in The Hague, Netherlands)
• 23 April - Margaret Fell, Quaker leader (born 1614)
• 28 September - Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, statesman (born 1640)
• 15 October - Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond, courtier (born 1647)
• 4 November - John Benbow, admiral (born 1653)

References

1. "History of King William III of England". Outline of Great Books. 2003. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
2. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
3. Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 201–202. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
4. Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 290. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
5. Fairclough, K. R. (September 2004). "Sorocold, George (c.1668–1738?)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47971. Retrieved 2010-07-05. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

See also