Dashed left edge = started before October 1740 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond October 1740
Events in October 1740 5
1685 – 1740Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1685-1740)Died 20 October 1740, aged 55Charles VI ruled as Holy Roman Emperor and head of the Habsburg monarchy from 1711, issuing the Pragmatic Sanction to secure his daughter Maria Theresa's succession. His death without a male heir triggered the War of the Austrian Succession.
1693 – 1740Anna of Russia (1693-1740)Died 28 October 1740, aged 47Anna ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730, continuing westernizing reforms and strengthening central authority while relying heavily on her unpopular advisor Ernst Johann von Biron. She died in Saint Petersburg and was succeeded by her infant great-nephew, Ivan VI.
1740Bering expedition founds Petropavlovsk-KamchatskyRussian outpost established on the Kamchatka PeninsulaVitus Bering's Great Northern Expedition established the settlement of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in October 1740 as a base for further exploration of the North Pacific. The outpost supported Bering's subsequent voyage to Alaska in 1741.
1740Maria Theresa inherits the Habsburg monarchyCharles VI's death triggers a succession crisisEmperor Charles VI died on 20 October 1740 without a male heir, leaving his domains to his daughter Maria Theresa under the Pragmatic Sanction. Other European powers contested her succession, setting the stage for the War of the Austrian Succession.
1740 – 1795James Boswell (1740-1795)Died 19 May 1795, aged 54The Scottish lawyer and writer was best known for his monumental biography "The Life of Samuel Johnson," regarded as one of the greatest biographies in the English language. He had accompanied Johnson on a tour of Scotland and kept extensive journals that later proved historically invaluable. He died in London after a long illness.