Events January–March January 15 – James Macrae, a former captain of a freighter for the British East India Company, is hired by the Company to administer the Madras Presidency (at the time, the "Presidency of Fort St. George"), and begins major reforms. At the time, the area administered is most of Southern India, including what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, parts the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha and the union territory of Lakshadweep. January 20 – James Figg hosts the first recorded international boxing match, fought between English livestock drover Bob Whitaker and Venetian gondolier Alberto di Carni in London. January 25 – The Spanish corsair Amaro Pargo receives the title of Hidalgo (nobleman). January – In Japan, the policy of the Gonin-gumi organizing groups of every five households in a town into units collectively responsible for the good behavior of everyone in the unit, goes into effect as the register of units is completed by the Tokugawa shogunate. February 8 – (January 28 Old Style) Catherine I becomes Empress of Russia, on the death of her husband, Peter the Great. February 20 – The first reported case of white men scalping Native Americans takes place in New Hampshire colony. March 2 – In London, a night watchman finds a severed head by the River Thames; it is later recognized to be that of the husband of Catherine Hayes. She and an accomplice are later executed. March 30 – The second performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion, BWV 245 (including 5 movements from his Weimarer Passion), takes place at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. April–June April 30 – Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and King Philip V of Spain sign the Treaty of Vienna. May 12 – The Black Watch is raised as a military company, as part of the pacification of the Scottish Highlands under General George Wade. May 21 – On the day of the grand wedding of her daughter Anna to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Empress Catherine I of Russia creates the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky May 24 – Jonathan Wild, fraudulent Thief-Taker General, is hanged at Tyburn in London, for actually aiding criminals. June 23 – The Malt tax riots begin in Scotland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, after the price of beer and scotch whiskey increases. Earlier in the year, the British government extended the taxes in England