Major Events
- Jan 22 Spain cedes Falkland Islands to Britain
- Feb 12 Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden after the death of predecessor Adolf Frederick
- Feb 16 French astronomer Charles Messier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy
- Feb 19 French astronomer Charles Messier adds M46-M49 to his catalog (galactic clusters in Puppis & Hydra & galaxy in Virgo)
- May 7 Samuel Hearne explores Copper Mine River of Canada
- May 16 The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called "The Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
- Jun 2 "Armida", an operatic 'dramma per musica' by Antonio Salieri debuts at the Vienna Burgtheater
- Jul 12 HMS Endeavour captained by James Cook, with Joseph Banks aboard, returns from its first voyage to the Pacific after two years
- Jul 14 Mission San Antonio de Padua founded in California
- Jul 31 Dutch painter of animals Paulus Potters' "Great Ox Herd" sold for Ÿ9050 in Amsterdam
- More 1771 Events
More People Born in 1771
Who Died in 1771
- Jan 5 John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (b. 1710)
- Jan 11 Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, French author, dies at 66
- Feb 12 Adolf Frederik, King of Sweden (1751-70), dies at 60
- Feb 20 Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist, dies at 92
- Mar 1 Isfrid Kayser, German composer, dies at 58
More 1771 Deaths
Famous Weddings in 1771
- Mar 26 Political activist Thomas Paine (34) weds second wife Elizabeth Ollive
- May 14 King of France Louis XVIII weds princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy at the Palace of Versailles
- Dec 16 Chemist Antione Lavoisier (28) marries Marie-Anne Paulze (13), the couple go on to make major discoveries in chemistry together