360The 1750s: the first great encyclopedia
In 1751, France's Encyclopédie began gathering the world's knowledge for ordinary readers, a landmark of the Enlightenment. Benjamin Franklin showed lightning is electricity, Samuel Johnson published his famous English dictionary, and the British Museum opened as one of the first free public museums. A great earthquake struck Lisbon in 1755.
The first volume of the Encyclopédie appeared in Paris in 1751, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Over the next two decades it grew to more than 70,000 articles, covering science, trades, crafts and ideas. It aimed to make knowledge useful and available to all, the same goal as encyclopedias today.
In 1752, Benjamin Franklin proposed and carried out experiments, including his famous kite test in a thunderstorm, showing that lightning is a form of electricity. He went on to invent the lightning rod, which still protects buildings.
In 1755, Samuel Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language after nine years of work. With about 42,000 entries and quotations showing how words were used, it remained the leading English dictionary for over a century.
The British Museum was founded in 1753 and opened in 1759, free to 'all studious and curious persons'.
On 1 November 1755, a powerful earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, destroyed much of Lisbon. Its rebuilding, with earthquake-resistant designs, was an early example of modern urban planning. In 1756, the Seven Years' War began, involving most of Europe's powers.
- 1751
- First volume of the Encyclopédie
- 1752
- Franklin's lightning experiments
- 1755
- Johnson's Dictionary; Lisbon earthquake
- 1759
- British Museum opens
Sources: Britannica · British Museum · Franklin Institute.