Frederick William II, King of Prussia
1 portrait by Edward Francis Cunningham (Calze)
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Frederick William II, King of Prussia
by Charles Townley, published by Jean Marc Pascal, after Edward Francis Cunningham (Calze)
mezzotint, published circa 1784
19 3/4 in. x 13 7/8 in. (502 mm x 354 mm) paper size
Bequeathed by (Frederick) Leverton Harris, 1927
Reference Collection
NPG D15610
Sitterback to top
- Frederick William II, King of Prussia (1744-1797), Reigned 1786-97. Sitter in 2 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Edward Francis Cunningham (Calze) (circa 1741-1793?), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 11 portraits.
- Jean Marc Pascal (active 1784). Artist or producer associated with 2 portraits.
- Charles Townley (1746-circa 1800), Painter and engraver. Artist or producer associated with 23 portraits.
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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