1764 in literature - Definition and Overview

See also: 1763 in literature, other events of 1764, 1765 in literature, list of years in literature.

Events

• October 15 - While visiting Rome, Edward Gibbon observes a group of barefoot friars singing vespers in the ruined Temple of Jupiter, a sight which inspires him to begin work on a history that will be published as The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
• The Hartford Courant begins publication.

New Books

• Bywyd a Marwolaeth Theomemphus (Welsh language) - William Williams Pantycelyn
• The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
• - Edward Jerningham
• Philosophic Dictionary - Voltaire
• The Surprises of Love - John Cleland

Births

• February 11 : Joseph Chénier, French poet (+ 1811)
• April 20 : Rudolph Ackermann, publisher
• July 9 : Ann Radcliffe

Deaths

• September 23 : Robert Dodsley
• November 4 : Charles Churchill, poet and satirist