David Hume died on 25 August 1776 in Edinburgh, aged 65. A Scottish philosopher, historian and essayist from Edinburgh, Hume is one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment and of empiricism. His A Treatise of Human Nature, published in 1739 when he was in his twenties, argued that all knowledge comes from experience and that ideas such as causation and the self are products of habit and imagination rather than rational certainty. His analysis of the problem of induction and his scepticism about miracles and religious belief were highly controversial. He also wrote a popular History of England and essays on economics, which influenced his friend Adam Smith. Kant said that Hume woke him from his dogmatic slumber.
Before and after
- from 18 May 1776 to 27 May 1776Battle of The Cedars
- 29 June 1776Founding of San Francisco
- 4 July 1776United States Declaration of Independence
- 9 August 1776Birth of Amedeo Avogadro
- 25 August 1776Death of David Hume
- 27 August 1776Battle of Long Island
- 1777Discovery of sulfur
- 30 April 1777Birth of Carl Friedrich Gauss
- from 14 June 1777 to 17 October 1777Saratoga campaign
More in Art, literature & culture
- from 18th century to 19th centuryRomanticism
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1907Rise of cubism
- c. 1910sRise of Dada
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.