1739 (MDCCXXXIX) was acommon year starting on Thursday of theGregorian calendar and acommon year starting on Monday of theJulian calendar, the 1739th year of theCommon Era (CE) andAnno Domini (AD) designations, the 739th year of the2nd millennium, the 39th year of the18th century, and the 10th and last year of the1730s decade. As of the start of 1739, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

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• January 1 –Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorerJean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, in the South Atlantic Ocean.
• January 3 – A7.6 earthquake shakes theNingxia Hui Autonomous Region inChina killing 50,000 people.
• February 24 –Battle of Karnal: The army ofIranian rulerNader Shah defeats the forces of theMughal emperor ofIndia,Muhammad Shah.
• March 20 –Nader Shah occupiesDelhi, India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of thePeacock Throne, including theKoh-i-Noor.

• April 7 – English highwaymanDick Turpin is executed by hanging forhorse theft.
• May 12 –John Wesley lays the foundation stone of theNew Room, Bristol in England, the world's firstMethodist meeting house.^[1]
• June 13 – (June 2Old Style); TheRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences is founded inStockholm,Sweden.^[2]

• July 9 – The first group purporting to represent anall-England cricket team, consisting of 11 players from various parts of England, comes toKent and loses to the renowned Kent team, led byLord John Sackville.^[3]
• July 12 – TheBritish East India Company signs a treaty with theMaratha Empire to gain the right of free trade within the territory.^[4]
• July 22 – TheOttoman Empire retakesBelgrade fromAustria'sHabsburg monarchy after winning theBattle of Grocka.^[5]
• August 20 – TheViceroyalty of New Granada, incorporating modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela is re-established by the royalcedula of KingPhilip V of Spain, 16 years after it had been dissolved, and adds the territory ofPanama as well.^[6]
• September 9 – TheStono Rebellion, aslave rebellion, erupts nearCharleston, South Carolina.
• September 18 – TheTreaty of Belgrade brings theAustro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–39) to an end.

• October 3 – TheTreaty of Niš is signed.
• October 12 – The town ofUtuado, Puerto Rico was founded by Sebastian de Morfi.
• October 17 – TheFoundling Hospital is created in London byroyal charter.
• October 23 –War of Jenkins' Ear: Great Britain declares war on Spain.
• November 20–22 –War of Jenkins' Ear –Battle of Porto Bello: British marine forces capture thePanamanian silver-exporting town ofPortobelo from the Spanish.
• December 30– Months of unseasonably cold weather begin in Ireland, precipitating theIrish Famine of 1740, known asBliain an Áir ("The Year of Slaughter"). A January 5 dispatch from Dublin to theStamford Mercury says "Since last Wednesday we have had the most violent cold Weather that was ever known in this Kingdom; hard Frost began that evening, which has continued ever since with a very stormy Wind at South-East."^[7] At least 13% of Ireland's population dies of starvation in the year that follows.^[8]

• Ecuador, part ofReal Audiencia of Quito, becomes a part ofNew Granada, instead ofPeru.
• 84,000 farmers revolt in the province ofIwaki in Japan.
• APlinian eruption ofMount Tarumaevolcano occurs in Japan.
• The first Bible inEstonian is published.

• January 25 –Charles François Dumouriez, French general (d.1823)
• February 15 –Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d.1813)
• March 16 –George Clymer,American politician andFounding Father (d.1813)
• March 19 –Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, Third Consul of France (d.1824)
• August 31 –Johann Augustus Eberhard, German theologian, philosopher (d.1809)
• September 12 –Mary Bosanquet Fletcher,Methodist preacher and philanthropist (d. 1816)
• October 11 –Grigory Potemkin, Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favourite of Catherine the Great (d.1791)
• November 2 –Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian composer (d.1799)
• November 8 –Henrik Gabriel Porthan, Finnish professor and historian (d.1804)^[9]
• November 20 –Jean-François de La Harpe, French critic (d.1803)
• December 14 –Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, French politician (d.1817)
• date unknown
  • Antonio Cachia, Maltese architect, engineer and archaeologist (d.1813)
  • Bénédict Chastanier, French surgeon (d.1816)
  • Margherita Dalmet, Venetian dogaressa (d.1817)
  • Paul François Ignace de Barlatier de Mas, French naval captain (d.1807)
  • Samuel Mason, Revolutionary War soldier, early American outlaw (d.1803)
  • Karoline Kaulla, German banker (d.1809)
  • Yelizaveta Belogradskaya, Russian singer and musician

• January 20 –Francesco Galli Bibiena, Italianarchitect/designer (b.1659)
• March 5 –John Joseph of the Cross, Italian saint (b.1654)
• March 7 –Anton Maria Maragliano, Italian artist (b.1664)

• April 7 –Dick Turpin, English highwayman (hanged) (b.1705)
• April 19 –Nicholas Saunderson, English scientist and mathematician (b.1682)
• May 10 –Cosmas Damian Asam, German painter and architect during the late Baroque period (b.1686)
• June 18 –Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish nobleman (b.1700)
• June 20 –Edmond Martène, French Benedictine historian and liturgist (b.1654)
• July 24 –Benedetto Marcello, Italian composer (b.1686)
• September 8 –Yuri Troubetzkoy, Governor of Belgorod (b.1668)
• September 12 –Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b.1667)
• September 19 –Anne Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne, French princess (b.1722)
• October 6 –Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné, French noble (b.1684)
• October 18 –Antônio José da Silva, Brazilian-born dramatist (b.1705)
• November 14 –Juan de Galavís, Spanish Catholic archbishop (b.1683)
• November 16 –Harry Grey, 3rd Earl of Stamford, English peer (b.1685)
• date unknown –Anne Dodd,English news seller,pamphlet shop proprietor (b.1685)