1756 
The Seven Years War with France (Pitt's trade war) begins 

1757 
Mar 14: Admiral Byng shot at Portsmouth for failing to relieve Minorca – or as the French put it: "Les anglais tuent de temps à temps un amiral pour encourager les autres" 
India: The Nawab of Bengal tries to expel the British, but is defeated at the battle of Plassy – the East India Company forces are led by Robert Clive 
Black Hole of Calcutta – 146 Britons imprisoned, most die 
The foundation laid for the Empire of India 

1758 
India stops being merely a commercial venture – England begins dominating it politically – The East India Company retains its monopoly although it ceased to trade 

1759 
Jan 15: British Museum opens to the public in London 
Mar: First predicted return of Halley's comet 
Sep 13: Gen James Woolfe killed at Quebec 
Wesley builds 356 Methodist chapels 

1760 
Oct 25: George II dies – George III Hanover, his grandson, becomes king 
The date conventionally marks the start of the so-called "first Industrial Revolution" 
Carron Iron Works in operation in Scotland 
May 5: First use of hangman's drop – last nobleman to be executed (Laurence, Earl Ferrers) at Tyburn 
Beginning of intense Enclosure Acts in England 

1762 
Earliest Unitarian registers 
France surrenders Canada and Florida 
Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba 

1763 
Treaty of Paris – gives back to France everything Pitt fought to obtain – (Newfoundland [fishing], Guadaloupe and Martininque [sugar], Dakar [gum]) – but English displaces French as the international language

 
1764 
Lloyd's Register of shipping first prepared 
Practice of numbering houses introduced to London 
James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768) 
Mozart produces his first symphony at age eight 

1765 
Stamp Act passed – imposed a tax on publications and legal documents in the American colonies 
The potato becomes the most popular food in Europe 

1767 
First iron railroads built for mines by John Wilkinson 
Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt 

1768 
The first edition of the "Encyclopedia Britannica" published in Edinburgh by William Smellie 

1769 
Sep 6: David Garrick organizes first Shakespeare festival at Stratford-upon-Avon 
Arkwright invents water frame (textile production) 

1770 
Apr 28: James Cook discovers New South Wales 
Clyde Trust created to convert the River Clyde, then an insignificant river, into a major thoroughfare for maritime communications 

1771 
Right to report Parliamentary debates established in England 

1772 
May 14: Judge Mansfield rules that there is no legal basis for slavery in England 
First Navy Lists published 
Morning Post first published (until 1937) 

1773-1858 
The East India Company governs Hindustan 

1773 
Dec 16: Boston Tea Party 
Waltz becomes fashionable in Vienna 

1774 
First recorded cricket match (some say 1719, Londoners v Kentish Men) 

1775 
Apr 19: Battle of Lexington: first action in American War of Independence (1775-1783) – Irish unrest

 
1776 
Jul 4: American Declaration of Independence 
Somerset House in London becomes the repository of records of population 

1779 
Crompton's mule invented (textile production) 
First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson 
First Spinning Mills operational in Scotland 
Sep 23: Naval engagement between Britain and USA off Flamborough Head 

1780 
May 4: First Derby run at Epsom 
Jun 2–8: The Gordon Riots – Parliament passes a Roman Catholic relief measure – for days, London is at the mercy of a mob and destruction is widespread 
Earliest Wesleyan registers 
Male Servants Tax 
The English Reform Movement – until now, only landowners and tenants--freeholders with 40 shillings per year or more--allowed to vote, and in open poll books 
Circular saw and Fountain pen invented 

1782 
Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief – the way of life of the poor beginning to alter due to industrialization – New factories in rapidly expanding towns required a workforce that would adjust to new work patterns 
James Watt patents his steam engine 

1783 
Duty on Parish Register entries (3d per entry – repealed 1794) 
Montgolfier brothers launch first hot-air balloon 
Jul: Climate: hottest month on record until 1983 
Sep 3: Treaty of Versailles (England/U.S.) 
Blake Poetical Sketches 

1784 
Pitt's India Act – the Crown (as opposed to officers of the East India Company) has power to guide Indian politics 
Wesley breaks with the Church of England 
First edition of The Times (called The Daily Universal Register for 3 years) 
Aug 2: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol/8am London) 
First golf club founded at St Andrews 
Invention of threshing machine by Andrew Meikle