1740s

The 1740s was a decade that began on 1 January 1740 and ended on 31 December 1749. It is distinct from the decade known as the 175th decade which began on January 1, 1741 and ended on December 31, 1750.

• The War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748)

• Louis XV of France (king from 1715 to 1774)
• Afsharid dynasty of Persia
  • Nadir Shah, 1736–1747
  • Adil Shah, 1747–1748
  • Ebrahim Afshar, 1748
  • Shah Rukh, 1748–1750
• George II of Great Britain (king from 1727 to 1760)
• Philip V of Spain (king from 1700 to 1746)
• Ferdinand VI of Spain (king from 1746 to 1759)
• Pope Benedict XIV

• Marquis de Sade, French writer
• Pope Pius VII
• Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States (d. 1826)

• Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the last of the Medicis
• Alexander Pope, English writer
• Jonathan Swift, Irish writer