Rulers:
• Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (1762-1796)
Events:
• The Wellington Museum opens in Apsley House, London.
Deaths:
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712-1778)
• Voltaire (1694-1778)
Art:
• Canova, Antonio (1757-1822): Dedalo e Icaro (1778-79)
• Fragonard, Jean-Honoré (1732-1806): Le bluff de l’aveugle (c.1775-80)
• Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788): Portrait of Margaret Gainsborough (1778)
• Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788): Tristram and Fox (c.1775-85)
• Goya, Francisco (1746-1828): El ciego de la guitarra (1778)
• Goya, Francisco (1746-1828): Juego de niños: El paso o el marro (c.1770-80)
• Goya, Francisco (1746-1828): Los borrachos (1778)
• Guardi, Francesco (1712-1793): Veduta della Piazzetta verso San Giorgio Maggiore (c.1770-80)
• Guardi, Francesco (1712-1793): Veduta sul Canale di Cannaregio, Venezia (c.1775-80)