Benjamin Hopkins
1 portrait by John Best
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Benjamin Hopkins
by and published by James Delegal, after John Best
mezzotint, published 1776
19 3/4 in. x 14 in. (502 mm x 357 mm) paper size
Bequeathed by (Frederick) Leverton Harris, 1927
Reference Collection
NPG D15453
Artistsback to top
- John Best (active 1750-1792). Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
- James Delegal (active 1776). Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
Events of 1776back to top
Current affairs
Tahitian visitor to London Omai returns home with Captain James Cook on his third voyage. During his two-year stay he inspired a play and was painted by Joshua Reynolds.Member of Parliament David Hartley unsuccessfully introduces a motion to the House of Commons calling for the abolition of the slave trade.
Art and science
Edward Gibbon produces the first volume of his monumental The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.Artist John Constable is born.
Scottish economist Adam Smith analyses the nature and causes of prosperity in his magnum opus The Wealth of Nations.
International
American War of Independence: George Washington raises a new American flag on Prospect Hill, Boston. In an anonymous pamphlet entitled Common Sense, English immigrant Thomas Paine is the first to argue that the American colonies should be independent. Declaration of American Independence on 4 July.Comments back to top
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