| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 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
|
| 2 | 1852 | - 1852: Tasmania
Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
- 1852: Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo established in USA
|
| 3 | 1853 | - 1853: Vaccination against smallpox
Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
|
| 4 | 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)
|
| 5 | 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)
|
| 6 | 1857 | - 1857: Transatlantic cable
Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
|
| 7 | 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
|
| 8 | 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'
|
| 9 | 1860 | - 29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts
First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
|
| 10 | 1861 | - 25 May 1861: American Civil War begins
American Civil War begins
|
| 11 | 1862 | - 20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test
First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
|
| 12 | 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.
|
| 13 | 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
|
| 14 | 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
|
| 15 | 1867 | - 1 Jul 1867: Canadian Confederation
The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
|
| 16 | 1868 | - 1868: Last convicts landed in Australia
Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
|
| 17 | 1869 | - 1869: Washing machines
Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
- 23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
|
| 18 | 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
|
| 19 | 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
|
| 20 | 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
|
1850 - Aft 1871 (> 22 years)