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John Henderson as Hamlet

1 of 166 portraits by Robert Dunkarton

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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John Henderson as Hamlet

by Robert Dunkarton
pastel, 1776
17 3/4 in. x 16 1/4 in. (451 mm x 413 mm) oval
Given by Ernest E. Leggatt, 1921
Primary Collection
NPG 1919

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  • Robert Dunkarton (circa 1744-circa 1815), Engraver and portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 166 portraits.

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The actor John Henderson made his first appearance as Hamlet in Bath in 1772 and his London debut as Shylock at the Haymarket in 1777.

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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.

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