Events <onlyinclude> January–March January 1 – The hymn that becomes known as Amazing Grace, at this time titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", is first used to accompany a sermon led by curate John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. January 12 – The first museum in the American colonies is established in Charleston, South Carolina; in 1915, it is formally incorporated as the Charleston Museum. January 17 – Second voyage of James Cook: Captain Cook in HMS Resolution (1771) becomes the first European explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle. January 18 – The first opera performance in the Swedish language, Thetis and Phelée, performed by Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin in Bollhuset in Stockholm, Sweden, marks the establishment of the Royal Swedish Opera. February 8 – The Grand Council of Poland meets in Warsaw, summoned by a circular letter from King Stanisław August Poniatowski to respond to the Kingdom's threatened partition between three foreign powers. February 27 – The construction of Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia), known for being the house of worship for George Washington and the visiting site for subsequent U.S. presidents, is completed. March 9–19 – Second voyage of James Cook: Tobias Furneaux in explores the coast of Van Diemen's Land.<ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Cook|title=The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook round the World, Vol. III: Being the First of the Second Voyage|publisher=Longman, Hurst and Rees|location=London|year=1821|pages=122–128}}</ref> March 15 – The popular (and enduring) comedy She Stoops to Conquer, by Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith, is performed for the first time, premiering at London's Covent Garden Theatre. April–June April 27 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act (coming into force on May 10), designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade. May 8 – In Egypt, Ottoman rebels revolt, killing Ali Bey, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. June 4 – 1773 Phipps expedition towards the North Pole sets out from Britain. June 10 – The Regulating Act is given royal assent by King George III, creating the office of Governor General, with an advising council, to exercise political authority over the territory under British East India Company rule in India. July–September July 14 – The first annual conference of American Methodists is convened at Philadelphia in St. George's Church. July 21 – Under pressure from the Bourbon courts, Pope Clement XIV suppresses the Society of Jesus (brief Dominus ac