1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events

• January 25 - Moscow University established.
• July 9 - French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition - British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.
• November 1 - 1755 Lisbon earthquake: In Portugal, Lisbon is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing 60,000 - 90,000 people.
• November 18 - An earthquake occurs in the vicinity of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, causing extensive damage.
• December 2 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire.
• The first English dictionary is published by Samuel Johnson
• Great Expulsion of the Acadians.
• The sultanate of Mataram on Java is divided in two, creating the sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta.

Ongoing events

• French and Indian War (1754-1763)

Births

• February 11 - Albert Christoph Dies, composer.
• April 16 - Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, French painter
• September 9 - Benjamin Bourne, politician (d. 1808)
• November 2 - Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of France (d. 1793)
• November 17 - Louis XVIII of France
• Charles Manners-Sutton, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1828)

Deaths