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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1831 | - 1831: A list of parish registers compiled
A list of all parish registers dating prior to 1813 compiled
- 1 Jun 1831: North Magnetic Pole
James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole
- 1 Aug 1831: 'New' London Bridge opens
'New' London Bridge opens (replaced 1973) old bridge (which had existed for over 600 years) then demolished
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| 2 | 1832 | - 1832: Electoral Register
Electoral Registers introduced
- 1832: Electric telegraph invented
Electric telegraph invented by Morse
- 7 Jun 1832: Representation of the People Act
Reform Bill passed - Representation of the People Act
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| 3 | 1833 | - Jan 1833: Falkland Islands
In December 1832, two naval vessels were sent by the United Kingdom to reassert British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), after the United Provinces of South America (part of which later became Argentina) ignored British diplomatic protests over the appointment of Luis Vernet as governor of the Falkland Islands and a dispute over fishing rights.
- 29 Aug 1833: Factory Act
Factory Act forbids employment of children below age of 9
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| 4 | 1834 | - 1834: Babbage
Babbage invents forerunner of the computer
- 18 Mar 1834: Tolpuddle Martyrs
'Tolpuddle Martyrs' transported (to Australia) for Trades Union activities
- 1 May 1834: Slavery abolished
Slavery abolished in British possessions
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| 5 | 1835 | - 1835: First railway boom
First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway
- 25 Dec 1835: Christmas
Christmas becomes a national holiday
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| 6 | 1836 | - 1836: First Potato famine
First Potato famine in Ireland
- 30 Jan 1836: Menai Straits Bridge opened
Telford's Menai Straits Bridge opened, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge
- 25 Feb 1836: Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt patented the 'revolver'
- 6 Mar 1836: Death of Davy Crockett
The Alamo falls to Mexican troops - death of Davy Crockett
- Jul 1836: Arc de Triomphe
Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
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| 7 | 1837 | - 1837: Pitman shorthand
Pitman introduces his shorthand system
- 1837: P&O Founded
P&O Founded
- 20 Jun 1837: King William IV dies
William IV dies - accession of Queen Victoria (to 1901)
- 1 Jul 1837: Compulsory registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths in England & Wales
Compulsory registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths in England & Wales -
Registration Districts were formed covering several parishes; initially they had the same boundaries as the Poor Law boundaries set up in 1834
- 13 Jul 1837: Buckingham Palace
Queen Victoria moves into the first Buckingham Palace
- 20 Jul 1837: Euston Railway station
Euston Railway station opens - first in London
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| 8 | 1838 | - 28 Jun 1838: Coronation of Queen Victoria
Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey
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| 9 | 1839 | - 1839: First Opium War
First Opium War between Britain and China (to 1842) - Britain captures Hong Kong
- 1839: Kirkpatrick MacMillan
Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan refines the primitive bicycle adding a mechanical crank drive to the rear wheel,thus creating the first true 'bicycle' in the modern Sense
- 1839: Charles Goodyear
Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber
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| 10 | 1840 | - 1840: Census
Population Act relating to taking of censuses in Britain
- 1840: Last convicts landed in NSW
Last convicts landed in NSW (some say 1842 or 1849, but these probably landed
elsewhere)
- 10 Jan 1840: Penny Postage
Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
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| 11 | 1841 | - 1841: Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook starts package tours
- 10 Feb 1841: Penny Red
Penny Red replaces Penny Black postage stamp
- 6 Jun 1841: First full census
June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded(Population 18.5M)
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| 12 | 1842 | - 1842: Income Tax reintroduced
Income Tax reintroduced in Britain
- 30 Mar 1842: Ether used as an anesthetic
Ether used as an anesthetic for the first time (by Dr Crawford Long in America)
- 29 Aug 1842: Treaty of Nanking
Treaty of Nanking - End of First Opium War - Britain gains Hong Kong
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| 13 | 1843 | - 1843: First Christmas card
First Christmas card in England
- 27 May 1843: Great Hall of Euston station opens
The Great Hall of Euston station opened in London
- 19 Jul 1843: SS Great Britain
Brunel's 'Great Britain' launched
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| 14 | 1844 | - 6 Jun 1844: YMCA founded
YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
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| 15 | 1845 | - 1845: Tarmac laid for first time
Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
- 17 Mar 1845: Rubber band patented
The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
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| 16 | 1846 | - 10 Sep 1846: Sewing machine is patented
The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
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| 17 | 1847 | - 1847: Mormons
US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre
- Jan 1847: Anesthetic used for the first time in England
An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)
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| 18 | 1848 | - 1848: Chewing gum
First commercial production of chewing gum
- 24 Jan 1848: California gold rush
Gold found at Sutter's Mill, California - starts the California gold rush
- 11 Jul 1848: Waterloo station opens
Waterloo railway station in London opens
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| 19 | 1849 | - 1849: Florin introduced
Florin(2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally occurred in 1971!
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| 20 | 1851 | - 1851: Gold Rush
Gold discovered in Australia
- 1 May 1851: 'Crystal Palace' exhibition
Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
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| 21 | 1852 | - 1852: Tasmania
Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
- 1852: Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo established in USA
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| 22 | 1853 | - 1853: Vaccination against smallpox
Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
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| 23 | 1854 | - 1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
Cigarettes introduced into Britain
- 27 Mar 1854: Crimean War
Britain declares war on Russia (Crimean War)
- 25 Oct 1854: charge of the Light Brigade
Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
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| 24 | 1856 | - 1856: End of Crimean War
End of Crimean War
- 29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warran
Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts
during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)
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| 25 | 1857 | - 1857: Transatlantic cable
Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
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| 26 | 1858 | - 1858: The great stink
'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work
- 1858: Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
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| 27 | 1859 | - 25 Apr 1859: Work Started on the Suez canal
Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869)
- 4 May 1859: Royal Albert Bridge opened
Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon
and Cornwall
- 24 Nov 1859: The Origin of Species published
Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
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| 28 | 1860 | - 29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts
First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
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| 29 | 1861 | - 25 May 1861: American Civil War begins
American Civil War begins
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| 30 | 1862 | - 20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test
First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
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| 31 | 1863 | - 1863: Football Association founded
Football Association founded (UK)
- 1863: Broadmoor opens
Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England
- 10 Jan 1863: London Underground
First section of the London Underground Railway opens - In 1855 an Act of Parliament was passed approving the construction of an underground railway between Paddington Station and Farringdon Street via King's Cross which was to be called the Metropolitan Railway.
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| 32 | 1864 | - 1864: First recorded successful attack by a submarine on a surface ship
A man-powered submarine, 'Hunley' sank a Federal steam ship USS Housatonic at the entrance to Charleston harbour in 1864 - the first recorded successful attack by a submarine on a surface ship
- 11 Mar 1864: Great Sheffield Flood
The Great Sheffield Flood - over 250 died when a new dam broke while it was being filled for the first time
- 20 Aug 1864: Red Cross established
Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention
- 8 Dec 1864: Clifton Suspension Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon officially opened
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| 33 | 1865 | - 1865: First woman doctor in England
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) becomes first woman doctor in England [she later became the first woman mayor in England, in Aldeburgh 1908]
- 1865: Last convicts landed in NSW
First concrete roads built in Britain
- 14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War
End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
- 14 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated
Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
- 5 Jul 1865: Salvation Army founded
William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
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| 34 | 1867 | - 1 Jul 1867: Canadian Confederation
The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
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| 35 | 1868 | - 1868: Last convicts landed in Australia
Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
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| 36 | 1869 | - 1869: Washing machines
Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
- 23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
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| 37 | 1870 | - 1870: General Post Office
GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
- 1870: Dr Thomas Barnardo
Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children
- 1870: Water closets
Water closets come into wide use
- 1870: Diamonds
Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa
- 1 Oct 1870: First British postcard
First British postcard - halfpenny post
|
| 38 | 1871 | - 27 Mar 1871: First Rugby Football international
First Rugby Football international, England v Scotland, played in Edinburgh
- 29 Mar 1871: Royal Albert Hall
Opening of Royal Albert Hall, London
- 29 Jun 1871: Trades Unions legalised
Trades Unions legalised in Britain, but picketing made illegal
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| 39 | 1872 | - 1872: Licensing hours introduced
Licensing hours introduced
- 1872: Penalties introduced
Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
- 4 Dec 1872: Mary Celeste
American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean
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| 40 | 1874 | - 1874: 56-hour week
Factory Act introduces 56-hour week
- 5 Apr 1874: Birkenhead Park opened
Birkenhead Park opened, said to be the first civic public park in the world - features of it later copied in Central Park, New York
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| 41 | 1875 | - 1875: London's main sewage system completed.
Joseph Bazalgette, a civil engineer and Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, was given responsibility for the work. He designed an extensive underground sewerage system that diverted waste to the Thames Estuary, downstream of the main centre of population. Six main interceptor sewers, totalling almost 100 miles (160 km) in length, were constructed, some incorporating stretches of London's 'lost' rivers. Three of these sewers were north of the river, the southernmost, low-level one being incorporated in the Thames Embankment.
- 1 Jan 1875: Second Class passenger facilities abolished
Midland Railway abolishes Second Class passenger facilities, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies followed during the rest of the year. (Third Class was renamed Second Class in 1956)
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| 42 | 1876 | - 14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
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| 43 | 1877 | - 1877: Edison invents microphone
Edison invents microphone and phonograph
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| 44 | 1878 | - 1878: Electric lamp invented
Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
- 1878: Red Flag Act in
Red Flag Act in Britain limits mechanical road vehicles to 4mph
- 1878: CID established
Criminal Investigation Department established at New Scotland Yard
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| 45 | 1879 | - 18 Sep 1879: Blackpool illuminations
Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
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1831 - 1879 (48 years)