Historical eventDecember 101768

First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica

The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was released in Edinburgh.

Everything on December 10Original source

In context

When
Saturday, December 10 1768258 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
18th century · 1760s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1768.

What happened

The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was released in Edinburgh.

December 10 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1768First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. 1996Constitution of South Africa
  3. 1999Helen Clark
  4. 2005Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145
  5. 2014Ziad Abu Ein
  6. 2015Rojava Revolution
  7. 20162016 Beşiktaş bombings
  8. 2017Islamic State
  9. 2019Ostrava hospital shooting
  10. 2021Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021
  11. 2021Edwardsville Amazon warehouse collapse

Sources

Cite this page

“First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/first-edition-of-the-encyclop-dia-britannica-1768-december-10, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica happen?

December 10 1768 — 258 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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