1708

Events

• March 23 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth
• July 1 - Tewoflos becomes Emperor of Ethiopia
• September 28 - Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya

• Kandahar conquered by Mir Wais
• In Masuria one third of the population die during the plague
• J.S. Bach appointed as chamber musician and organist at the court in Weimar, Germany

Ongoing events

• Great Northern War (1700 - 1721)
• War of the Spanish Succession (1702 - 1713)

Births

• April 23 - Friedrich von Hagedorn, German poet (d. 1754)
• October 16 - Albrecht von Haller, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (d. 1777)
• October 22 - Frederic Louis Norden, Danish explorer (d. 1742)
• November 15 - William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, British politician (d. 1778)
• December 8 - Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1765)
• Pompeo Batoni, Italian painter (d. 1787)
• Richard Dawes, British classical scholar (d. 1766)

Deaths

• March 29 - John Partridge, English astrologer and almanack-maker (b. 1644)
• May 6 - François de Laval, first bishop of New France (b. 1623)
• May 11 - Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (b. 1646)
• May 12 - Adolf Friedrich II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
• June 30 - Emperor Tekle Haymanot I of Ethiopia (stabbed to death)
• September 6 - John Morden, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1623)
• October 1 - John Blow, British composer (b. 1649)
• October 2 - Anne-Jules, 2nd duc de Noailles, French general (b. 1650)
• October 7 - Guru Gobind Singh, Indian religious leader (b. 1666)
• October 10 - David Gregory, Scottish astronomer (b. 1659)
• October 11 - Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician (b. 1651)
• October 22 - Hermann Witsius, Dutch theologian (b. 1636)
• October 24 - Seki Kowa, Japanese mathematician
• October 28 - Prince George of Denmark, consort of Anne of England (b. 1653)
• November 17 - Ludolf Backhuysen, Dutch painter (b. 1631)
• December 22 - Hedwig Sophia, duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish writer (b. 1681)
• December 28 - Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist (b. 1656)