Centuries: 17th century - 18th century - 19th century
Decades: 1690s 1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s - 1740s - 1750s 1760s 1770s 1780s 1790s
Years: 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 - 1745 - 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750
Events
- May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.
- August 19 - Beginning of the third Jacobite Rebellion at Glenfinnan
- September 12 - Francis I is elected Holy Roman Emperor with the support of his wife, Maria Theresia of Austria. He is the successor of Charles VII Albert of Bavaria, an enemy of Habsburg, who died on January 20 of this year.
- February 18 - Alessandro Volta, physicist, eponym for the unit of electric potential (+ 1827)
- March 18 - Sir Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of Great Britain
- January 20 - Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
- October 19 - Jonathan Swift, Irish writer
- China - Qianlong Emperor of China, Qing Dynasty (reigned from October 18, 1735 to February 9, 1796)
- France - Louis XV King of France (reigned from 1715 to 1774)
- Great Britain - George II King of Great Britain (reigned from June 11, 1727 to October 25, 1760)
- Kingdom of Prussia - Frederick II King of Prussia (reigned from 1740 to 1786)
- Russia - Elizabeth Empress of Russia (reigned from 1741 to January 5, 1762)
- Saxony - Frederick Augustus II Elector of Saxony (from 1733 to 1763) (also King of Poland)
- third version of the manners book Der höfliche Schüler released