* 1740 – Jean Baptiste Camille Canclaux, French general ( d. 1817 )

* 1688 – Frederick William I of Prussia ( d. 1740 )

* 1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet ( d. 1815 )

The last maker of the family was Nicolo's son, Girolamo Amati, known as Hieronymus II ( February 26, 1649 – February 21, 1740 ).

* 1740 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English merchant banker ( d. 1810 )

* 1752 – Start of Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in Burmese Civil War ( 1740 – 1757 )

* 1740 – War of Jenkin's Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa.

* 1740 – Samuel Arnold, English composer and organist ( d. 1802 )

* 1652 – Pope Clement XII ( d. 1740 )

In 1740, Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great ( 1740 – 1786 ), came to power.

( 1739 – 1740 )

Meanwhile, under the direction of Benedict XIV ( pope 1740 – 1758 ), a special congregation collected much material for an official revision, but nothing was published.

1710 – 14 October 1740 ) was an Italian singer, harpsichordist, and composer whose works bridge the Baroque and Classical periods.

* 1814 – Marquis de Sade, French writer ( b. 1740 )

* 1740 – Arthur Lee, American diplomat ( d. 1792 )

In 1757, he married Mary ( Polly ) Howard ( 1740 – 1770 ).

Elias Boudinot ( ; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821 ) was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and was elected as a U. S. Congressman for New Jersey following the American Revolutionary War.

* 1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal ( b. 1667 )

* 1693 – Empress Anna of Russia ( d. 1740 )

* 1740 – Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher and engraver ( d. 1813 )

The Royal Navy captured a handful of the new French frigates during the War of the Austrian Succession ( 1740 – 1748 ) and were impressed by them, particularly for their inshore handling capabilities.

Frederick William I () ( 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740 ) was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg ( as Frederick William II ) from 1713 until his death.

Pope Benedict XIV ( 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758 ), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.

He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme on 10 May 1728 and was elected Pope in 1740.

Pope Clement XII ( 7 April 1652 – 6 February 1740 ), born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.

Ganganelli became a friend of Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 58 ).

* August 20 – Pope Pius VII ( b. 1740 )

* April 7 – Pope Clement XII ( d. 1740 )

His skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 58 ), who appointed him one of his secretaries, 1753, and canon of St Peter's.

At the instance of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 1758 ) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874.

* Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 1758 )

Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 1758 ) made frequent visits to Castel Gandolfo, overseeing construction of the Papal Palace main façade bell tower and widened the road that leads to Marino, now State Route 216.

Three popes have been elected from former conclavists, including Pope Pius VI ( a conclavist in the 1740 conclave ).

It remained on the Index until 1758, when Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 58 ) removed the uncorrected book from his revised Index.

* 1740 – 1758: Pope Benedict XIV, appointed first women as professors to Papal Universities in Bologna, reformed canonization procedures, intellectual open to all sciences ;

* Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740 – 1758 )

* Pope Clement XII ( 1730 – 1740 )

Gotti was seen as a serious contender to be elected Pope at the Papal conclave of 1740, when Cardinal Lambertini said to the College of Cardinals " If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti ; a statesman, Aldrovandi ; an honest man, me ".

Due to illness, the 1740 announcement for Pope Benedict XIV was given by Cardinal Carlo Maria Marini in his stead.

To obviate the inconvenience of this arrangement Pope Benedict XIV ( 13 December 1740 ) united East and West Lisbon into one single archdiocese under Patriarch Almeida, who ruled the see until his death in 1754.

The Austrians had supplied the Emperor's for centuries until 1740, when Charles VII of Bavaria had been elected triggering the War of the Austrian Succession.

***** Johann Christoph Bach VII ( 1689 – 1740 )

Empress Maria Theresa released Seckendorff from prison in 1740, but, denied his arrears of pay, he laid down all his Austrian and imperial offices and accepted from the new Holy Roman emperor, Bavarian Charles VII, the rank of field marshal in the Bavarian service.

He left France, according to the gossip of the time, because of a duel ; served under the Elector Palatine ; fought for Hungary against the Turks, and on the outbreak of the war of the Austrian Succession ( 1740 ) joined the army of the elector of Bavaria ( who later became emperor under the name of Charles VII ), displaying such bravery that he was promoted to the grade of lieutenant field-marshal.