29 January – after a month's absence, Elizabeth Canning returns to her mother's home in London and claims that she was abducted. The following criminal trial causes uproar.
7 June – the British Museum is established in London by Act of Parliament.[3]
7 July – Parliament's Jewish Naturalization Act, a measure to end discrimination against Jews, receives royal assent, but widespread opposition leads to its repeal in 1754.[2]
23 October – first naval patients admitted to Royal Hospital Haslar in Hampshire. When the main building is completed in 1762 this will be the world's largest hospital and Europe's largest brick building.[5]
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