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EVENTS |
| 1812 |
Charles
Dickens born.
Britain at war with France and United States. |
| 1815 |
Napoleon
Bonaparte defeated by Wellington at Waterloo.
Corn Laws enacted in Britain, preventing entry of cheap grain
and keeping farm wages low and bread prices high. |
| 1819 |
Birth
of Victoria. |
| 1820 |
Death
of old, mad King George III. The Prince Regent becomes George
IV. |
| 1829 |
Opening
of Liverpool-Manchester Railway, the first railway between two
major cities and the beginning of railroad expansion
First police force -- the "Bobbies." |
| 1830 |
Death
of George IV. Ascension of William IV, "Sailor Billy." |
| 1832 |
Reform
Bill enacted, eliminating rotten boroughs and corruption in
Parliament elections and giving votes to £10 householders,
thereby extending power to the middle class. |
| 1833 |
Slavery
abolished in British Empire. |
| 1836 |
Dickens
writes Pickwick, receives instant fame. |
| 1837 |
William
IV dies.
Victoria ascends throne; Victorian age begins. |
| 1840 |
Victoria
marries Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who brings to England the
first Tannenbaum, or Christmas tree. |
| 1842 |
Dickens
visits America, returns disillusioned. |
| 1843 |
Dickens
writes A Christmas Carol.
Beginning of music halls. |
| 1846 |
Corn
Laws repealed. |
| 1847 |
Potato
famine in Ireland; thousands starve and emigrate.
Ten Hours Bill enacted, limiting the work day to 10 hours. |
| 1848 |
First
Public Health Act in Britain.
Gold discovered in California.
Europe is rocked by short-lived revolutions; Paris, Berlin,
and Vienna run with blood.
Louis Napoleon, nephew of the Emperor, becomes President of
France.
England remains stable, and 1846-1866 is a period of quiet Whig
rule. |
| 1851 |
Gold
discovered in Australia.
The Great Exhibition opens near London in the Crystal Palace. |
| 1852 |
Dickens
begins public readings.
Duke of Wellington dies.
Louis Napoleon declares himself Emperor Napoleon III; he is
not taken seriously. |
| 1854 |
Yorkshire
mill owner builds "model village" near his factory
for his workers.
Crimean War begins, Britain versus Russia over Turkey (Charge
of the Light Brigade, Florence Nightingale, abysmal hospital
conditions with death rate of wounded at 42%). |
| 1857 |
Great
mutiny in India; British outrage over massacres sends troops
to crush vestiges of Indian independence; India ruled by Britain
until 1948.
Transatlantic Telegraph cable between England and America. |
| 1859 |
Charles
Darwin publishes Origin of Species to general uproar. |
| 1860 |
The
Civil War begins in America. Britain is divided between economic
sympathy for the South (which supplies cotton to British mills)
and moral sympathy for the North (which is battling a slave
society). Lincoln is considered a backwoods geek. |
| 1861 |
Prince
Albert dies; Victoria mourns until her death in 1901.
Italy becomes a United Kingdom.
Russian serfs are emancipated. |
| 1863 |
Lincoln
emancipates slaves. |
| 1865 |
Founding
of the Salvation Army. |
| 1867 |
Reform
Bill enacted, extending voting rights to most working-class
males. |
| 1868 |
Dickens
' second trip to America; his readings net him £20,000. |
| 1870 |
Charles
Dickens dies of a stroke at age 58, having completed 14 major
novels. |
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INVENTIONS |
| 1830 |
First
railroad and long distance telegraph line within England |
| 1838 |
First
steamship crosses Atlantic
Beginning of Daguerreotypes |
| 1840 |
Vulcanized
rubber developed |
| 1843 |
First
Christmas card |
| 1846 |
First
operation performed under anesthesia in Britain |
| 1847 |
First
toy rubber balloons
First municipal water supply (Manchester) |
| 1850s |
Steam-powered
ships beginning to overtake sailing ships |
| 1854 |
Bessemer
process for production of steel |
| 1855 |
First
safety matches |
| 1858 |
First
ironclad ship completed |
| 1859 |
First
asphalt street surface |
| 1860 |
First
practical internal combustion engine |
| 1862 |
Pasteur's
work proved connection between bacteria and disease |
| 1866 |
Transatlantic
telegraph cable |
| 1869 |
First
bicycle manufacturing plant |
| 1870 |
First
typewriter |
