William Doyle; Samuel Sone; William Foster; with three celebrated beauties
4 of 288 portraits by John Kay
William Doyle; Samuel Sone; William Foster; with three celebrated beauties
by John Kay
etching and aquatint, 1784
4 3/4 in. x 3 3/4 in. (120 mm x 95 mm) plate size; 10 3/8 in. x 8 in. (262 mm x 204 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D32327
Sittersback to top
- William Doyle (active 1784), Lieutenant in 24th Regiment. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
- William Foster (active 1784), Captain in the 24th Regiment. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
- Samuel Sone (active 1784), 'The Little Doctor'; Surgeon in the 24th Regiment. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
Artistback to top
- John Kay (1742-1826), Miniature painter and caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 288 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- John Kay: Portraits of curious characters (15 December 2007 - 13 July 2008)
Events of 1784back to top
Current affairs
Theatre proprietor and postal reformer John Palmer runs the first mail coach in England, between Bristol and London. A three day journey is now completed in 16 hours.Commutation Act reduces punitive duties on tea to combat smuggling.
Art and science
Aeronaut James Sadler makes the first hot air balloon flight in Britain, from Oxford to Woodeaton.Chemist Henry Cavendish's paper Experiments on Air reveals the composition of water.
Writer Samuel Johnson dies.
Joshua Reynolds succeeds Allan Ramsay as Painter to the King.
International
Thomas Jefferson's Land Ordinance passed by the United States' Continental Congress, coming into effect the following year. It allows for the sale of land in the largely unmapped west of the country.Britain receives its first bales of cotton from the United States since before the War of American Independence.
William Pitt's India Act creates a Board of Control to oversee the affairs of the British East India Company and centralise power.
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