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William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

2 of 33 portraits of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

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William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

by Joseph Wilton
marble bust, circa 1766 or after
28 3/4 in. (730 mm) high
Purchased, 1990
Primary Collection
NPG 6081

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Joseph Wilton (1722-1803), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 7 portraits, Sitter in 9 portraits.

Linked publicationsback to top

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Subject/Themeback to top

Events of 1766back to top

Current affairs

Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie') becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain and figurehead for Jacobitism on the death of his father James Stuart, Pretender since 1701.
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham is dismissed as Prime Minister and succeeded by William Pitt the Elder.
Stamp Act, passed the previous year, is repealed.

Art and science

Swiss painter Angelica Kauffmann settles in London.
Oliver Goldsmith publishes his novel The Vicar of Wakefield.
Chemist Henry Cavendish publishes his paper 'On Factitious Airs' which is generally credited with showing the discovery of hydrogen.
First golf club in England opens at Blackheath in Kent.
Christie's auction house is founded in London.

International

Navigator and Royal Navy officer John Byron returns to England after his circumnavigation of the globe; the first to be completed in under two years. He takes possession of the Falkland Islands on behalf of Britain during his voyage.
German writer Gotthold Ephraim Lessing publishes his important work of literary criticism Laokoon; An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry.

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