Events from the year 1703 in literature.

Events

July 29 Events Pre-1600 *587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple. * 615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12. * 904 – Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo o ...

– 31 –

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

pilloried The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

Temple Bar, London Temple Bar was the principal ceremonial entrance to the City of London from the City of Westminster. In the Middle Ages, London expanded city jurisdiction beyond its London wall, walls to gates, called 'bars', which were erected across thoroughf ...

, as part of a sentence for seditious

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

, after publishing his

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

'' The Shortest Way with the Dissenters'' (

1702 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 – A total solar eclipse is visible from the southern ...

). He is released from

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

in mid-November. *''unknown date'' –

Richard Mead Richard Mead, FRSFRCP (11 August 1673 – 16 February 1754) was an English physician. His work, ''A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it'' (1720), was of historic importance in advancing t ...

is appointed physician at St Thomas's Hospital, London.

New books

Prose

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 May 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with w ...

– ''A Letter from Italy'' *

Abel Boyer Abel Boyer (1667? – 16 November 1729) was a French-English lexicographer, journalist and miscellaneous writer. Biography Abel Boyer was probably born on 24 June 1667 at Castres, in Upper Languedoc, southern France. His father, Pierre Boyer, o ...

– ''The History of the Reign of Queen Anne'' *

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish people, Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch language, Dutch, French language, French, Latin language, Latin, Greek language, Gree ...

– ''A Third Collection of Several Tracts and Discourses'' * Edmund Calamy – ''A Defence of Moderate Non-Conformity'' *

Jeremy Collier Jeremy Collier (; 23 September 1650 – 26 April 1726) was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian. Life Born Jeremiah Collier, in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambri ...

– ''Mr Collier's Dissuasive from the Play-House'' *

William Dampier William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavig ...

– ''A Voyage to New Holland, &c. in the Year 1699'' *

**''A Brief Explanation of a Late Pamphlet, entitled, The Shortest Way with the Dissenters'' **''A Dialogue Between a Dissenter and the Observator'' **''A Hymn to the Funeral Sermon'' **''Hymn to the Pillory'' **''More Reformation: A satyr upon himself'' **''The Shortest Way to Peace and Union'' **''A True Collection of the Writings of the Author of the True-Born English-man'' * John Dunton – ''The Shortest Way with Whores and Rogues'' (satire on Defoe) * Thomas Hearne – ''Reliquiae Bodleianae'' *

George Hickes George Hickes may refer to: * George Hickes (divine) (1642–1715), English divine and scholar * George Hickes (Manitoba politician) (born 1946), Canadian politician * George Hickes (Nunavut politician) (born 1968/69), Canadian politician, son of t ...

– ''Linguarum veterum septentrionalium thesaurus grammatico-criticus et archæologicus'' *

Benjamin Hoadly Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 167617 April 1761) was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy. Life ...

– ''The Reasonableness of Conformity to the Church of England'' *

Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan Louis Armand, Baron de Lahontan (9 June 1666 – before 1716) was a French aristocrat, writer, and explorer who served in the French military in Canada, where he traveled extensively in the Wisconsin and Minnesota region and the upper Mississip ...

– '' New Voyages to North America'' * Bernard de Mandeville – ''Some Fables After the Easie and Familiar Method of Monsieur de la Fontaine'' * Leonty Magnitsky – ''

Arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...

'' (Арифметика) * Henry Maundrell – ''A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter A.D. 1697'' * Ned Ward – ''The Secret History of the Calves-head Clubb'' (against Republicanism) *

Benjamin Whichcote Benjamin Whichcote (March 1609 – May 1683) was an English Establishment and Puritan divine, Provost of King's College, Cambridge and leader of the Cambridge Platonists. He held that man is the "child of reason" and so not completely depra ...

– ''Moral and Religious Aphorisms''

Drama

* Thomas Baker – '' Tunbridge Walks'' * Charles Boyle – '' As You Find It'' * Marie-Anne Barbier – ''Cornélie, mère des Gracques'' * William Burnaby – '' Love Betrayed'' *

Susanna Centlivre Susanna Centlivre (c. 1669 (baptised) – 1 December 1723), born Susanna Freeman, and also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress, and "the most successful female playwright of the eighteenth century". Centlivre's ...

– '' Love's Contrivance'' *

Chikamatsu Monzaemon , real name , was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' has written that he is "widely regarded as the greatest Jap ...

– ''

The Love Suicides at Sonezaki ''The Love Suicides at Sonezaki'' (曾根崎心中, ''Sonezaki Shinjū'') is a jōruri play by the Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. The double suicides that occurred on May 22, 1703, inspired Chikamatsu to write this play and thus ''Th ...

(曾根崎心中, Sonezaki Shinjū)'' * Thomas d'Urfey – '' The Old Mode and the New'' *

Richard Estcourt Richard Estcourt (1668–1712) was an English actor, who began by playing comedy parts in Dublin. His first London appearance was in 1704 as Dominick, in John Dryden, Dryden's ''Spanish Friar'', and he continued to take important parts at Drury ...

– ''

The Fair Example ''The Fair Example, or the Modish Citizen'' is a 1703 comedy play by the English writer Richard Estcourt, originally staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Drury Lane Theatre. It was part of a growing trend of plays to feature a plot of an hone ...

'' * Charles Gildon – ''The Patriot'' (adapted by

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth; Dr Lee was chaplain to George Monck, afterw ...

) * John Oldmixon – '' The Governour of Cyprus'' *

Mary Pix Mary Pix (1666 – 17 May 1709) was an English novelist and playwright. As an admirer of Aphra Behn and colleague of Susanna Centlivre, Pix has been called "a link between women writers of the Stuart Restoration, Restoration and Augustan litera ...

– ''

The Different Widows ''The Different Widows'' is a 1703 comedy by the British writer Mary Pix.Nicoll p.350 It premiered at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. The original cast included George Powell (playwright), George Powell as Sir James Belmont, John Cor ...

'' * Nicholas Rowe – '' The Fair Penitent'' (published) *

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steel ...

– ''

The Lying Lover ''The Lying Lover; Or, The Lady's Friendship'' is a 1703 comedy play by the Irish writer Richard Steele. It was his second play, written while he was an army office doing garrison duty in Harwich during the War of the Spanish Succession. It is d ...

'' * William Walker – '' Marry, or Do Worse'' * Richard Wilkinson – ''

Vice Reclaimed ''Vice Reclaimed'' is a 1703 comedy play by Richard Wilkinson. It is also known by the longer title ''Vice Reclaim'd: Or, the Passionate Mistress''. It premiered at the Drury Lane Theatre included Benjamin Johnson as Sir Feeble Goodwill, Rober ...

Poetry

* Lady Mary Chudleigh – ''Poems on Several Occasions'' *

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...

**''A Hymn to Harmony'' **''The Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas'' * Sarah Fyge Egerton – ''Poems on Several Occasions'' *

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and printe ...

– '' Plorantis Croatiae saecula duo'' (Two centuries of Croatia in mourning) *''See also

1703 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish poetry, Irish or French poetry, France). Events Works published * Lady Mary Chudleigh, ''Poems upon Several Occasions'' * William Con ...

Births

March 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official. * 1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the las ...

–

Cajsa Warg Anna Christina Warg (23March 17035February 1769), better known as Cajsa (or Kajsa) Warg, was a Swedish list of women cookbook writers, cookbook author and one of the best-known cooks in the Swedish cuisine, Swedish culinary history. Born in Ör ...

, Swedish cookbook author (died

1769 Events January–March * February 2 – Pope Clement XIII dies, the night before preparing an order to dissolve the Jesuits.Denis De Lucca, ''Jesuits and Fortifications: The Contribution of the Jesuits to Military Architecture ...

) *

May 18 Events Pre-1600 * 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. * 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47 ...

– İbrahim Hakkı Erzurumi, Turkish Sufi philosopher (died

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

) *

June 28 Events Pre-1600 *1098 – Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha, Kerbogha of Mosul at the Battle of Antioch (1098), battle of Antioch. *1360 – Muhammed VI, Sultan of Granada, Muhammed VI becomes the tenth Nasrid dynasty, Nas ...

–

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

, English writer of sermons and hymns (died

1791 Events January–March * January 1 – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England, to perform a series of concerts. * January 2 – Northwest Indian War: Big Bottom Massacre – The war begins in the Ohio Count ...

) *

October 5 Events Pre-1600 * 610 – Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor. * 816 – King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope. * 869 – The Fourth Co ...

–

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

, American theologian (died

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

) *

November 26 Events Pre-1600 * 783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. * 1161 – Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dy ...

–

Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber (25 or 26 November 1703 – October 1758) was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber. He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alex ...

, English playwright (died

) *''unknown dates'' ** Henry Brooke, Irish novelist and dramatist (died

1783 Events January–March * January 20 – At Versailles, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain signs preliminary peace treaties with the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain. * January 23 – The Confederation Congress ...

) ** Charles Clémencet, French historian (died

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Sea captain, Captain James Cook, with ships HMS Resolution (1771), HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS Discovery (1774), HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu, Oʻahu th ...

) ** Thomas Cooke, English writer and translator (died

1756 Events January–March * January 16 – The Anglo-Prussian alliance (1756)#Treaty, Treaty of Westminster is signed between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Electorate of Hanover, c ...

) ** John Ranby, English surgeon and writer on surgery (died

1773 Events January–March * January 1 – The hymn that becomes known as '' Amazing Grace'', at this time titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", is first used to accompany a sermon led by curate John Newton in the town of Olney, Buck ...

) ** Ando Shoeki (安藤昌益), Japanese philosopher (died

1762 Events January–March * January 4 – Seven Years' War: Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain declares war against Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of Naples, Naples, following their Treaty of Paris (1761), recent alliance ...

) ** Gilbert West, English poet and translator (died

)

Deaths

January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his ...

– Johann Georg Graevius, German critic (born

1632 Events January–March * January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. * January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried o ...

) *

February 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau. * 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons ...

– Philippe Goibaud-Dubois, French translator (born

1626 Events January–March * January 7 – Polish–Swedish War (1625–1629), Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army. * January 9 – Peter Minuit sail ...

) *

March 3 Events Pre-1600 * 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. * 1575 ...

–

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...

, English natural philosopher (born

1635 Events January–March * January 23 – 1635 Capture of Tortuga: The Spanish Navy captures the Caribbean island of Tortuga off of the coast of Haiti after a three-day battle against the English and French Navy. * January 25 & ...

) *

March 5 Events Pre-1600 * 363 – Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. * 1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Easte ...

– Gabrielle Suchon, French moral philosopher (born

1631 Events January–March * January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany. * February 5 &ndas ...

) *

April 20 Events Pre-1600 * 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. 1601–1900 * 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament. * 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroy ...

–

Lancelot Addison Lancelot Addison (1632 – 20 April 1703) was an English writer and Church of England clergyman. He was born at Crosby RavensworthJohn Julian: ''Dictionary of Hymnology'', 2nd edition, p. 19. London: John Murray, 1907. in Westmorland. He was ed ...

, English writer and cleric (born

) *

May 8 Events Pre-1600 * 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. * 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...

– Vincent Alsop, English religious writer and wit (born c. 1630) *

May 16 Events Pre-1600 * 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan. * 1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. *13 ...

–

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...

, French writer of fairy tales (born

1628 Events January–March * January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 Islamic calendar, A.H.) The reign of Shahryar Mirza, Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than tw ...

) *

May 26 Events Pre-1600 * 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe. * 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire ta ...

–

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

, English diarist (born

1633 Events January–March * January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, wher ...

) *

August 21 Events Pre-1600 * 959 – Eraclus becomes the 25th bishop of Liège. *1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song War ...

– Thomas Tryon, English self-help author (born

1634 Events January–March * January 12 – After suspecting that he will be dismissed, Albrecht von Wallenstein, supreme commander of the Holy Roman Empire's Army, demands that his colonels sign a declaration of personal loyalty ...

) *

September 29 Events Pre-1600 * 61 BC – Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday. * 1011 – Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah ...

–

Charles de Saint-Évremond Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis, seigneur de Saint-Évremond (1 April 16139 September 1703) was a French soldier, hedonist, essayist and literary critic. After 1661, he lived in exile, mainly in England, as a consequence of his attack on F ...

, French essayist and literary critic (born

) *''unknown date'' –

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, English pamphleteer (born

1649 Events January–March * January 4 – In England, the Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice, to try Charles I for high treason. * January 17 – The Second Ormonde Peace concludes an allian ...

)

References

{{Year in literature article categories