Events

• January 18 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
• May 23 - After being convicted of murdering William Moore and for piracy, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
• July 24 - Detroit, Michigan founded.
• September 16 - Prince James Francis Edward Stuart becomes the new claimant to the thrones of Scotland as King James VIII and England as King James III.
• October 9 - The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
• Philharmonic Society (Academia philharmonicorum) established in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
• In Japan, a young daimyo Asano Naganori is ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). 47 samurai of his service begin planning to avenge his death.
• The English Parliament passes the Act of Settlement 1701, passing the crown of Great Britain to Sophia, Electress of Hanover and her descendants on the death of Queen Anne

Births

• November 27 - Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer (died 1744)

Deaths

• April 4 - Joseph Haines, entertainer and author
• May 23 - Captain Kidd, pirate (born 1645)
• September 16 -Deposed King James II of England/James VII of Scotland (born 1633)