Chapman

Male Est 1872 - Bef 1903  (30 years)  


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Timeline


   Date  Event(s)
1693 
  • 4 Aug 1693—4 Aug 1693: Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Pierre P?rignon 's invention of Champagne
1694 
  • 1694—1694: National Debt came into effect in England
  • 1694—1694: Stamp Duties introduced into Britain from Holland
  • 1694—1694: Mary II death leaves William III as sole ruler
  • 1694—1694: Triennial Act, new Parliamentary elections every three years
  • 1694—1694: Scotland: Poll Tax imposed on all over sixteen, except the destitute and insane (-1699)
  • 27 Jul 1694—27 Jul 1694: Bank of England founded by William Paterson (a Scot)
1695 
  • 1695—1695: Freedom of Press in England granted
  • 1695—1695: Bank of Scotland founded
  • 1695—1695: Act of Parliament imposes a fine on all who fail to inform the parish minister of the birth of a child (repealed 1706)
  • 1695—1695: Start of Dissenters' lists in parish registers - children born but not christened in the parish church - some were named 'Papist' and others 'Protestants'
1697 
  • 2 Dec 1697—2 Dec 1697: Official opening of St Paul's Cathedral
1698 
  • 1698—1698: Invention of steam engine by Capt Thomas Savery
  • 1698—1698: Darien Expedition: a disastrous attempt to establish a Scots settlement in Panama
  • 1698—1698: Duties (taxes) on entries in parish registers - repealed after five years
  • 4 Jan 1698—4 Jan 1698: Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London destroyed by fire
  • 14 Nov 1698—14 Nov 1698: Eddystone Lighthouse (Henry Winstanley's) first lit; completed 10 days earlier
1700 
  • 1700—1700: Population in England and Scotland approx 7.5 million
1701 
  • 1701—1701: Act of Settlement bars Catholics from the British throne
  • 23 May 1701—23 May 1701: After being convicted of piracy and murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd hanged in London
1702 
  • 8 Mar 1702—8 Mar 1702: Anne Stuart becomes Queen
  • 11 Mar 1702—11 Mar 1702: First English daily newspaper The Daily Courant (till 1735)
1703 
  • 4 Aug 1703—4 Aug 1703: British take Gibraltar
  • 24 Nov 1703—24 Nov 1703: Climate: Most violent storms of the millennium cause vast damage across southern England - about a third of Britain's merchant fleet lost, and Eddystone lighthouse destroyed on 27 November (Nov 24 - Dec 2)
10 1704 
  • 1704—1704: Penal Code enacted - Catholics barred from voting, education and the military
  • 13 Aug 1704—13 Aug 1704: Battle of Blenheim
11 1705 
  • 1705—1705: First workable steam pumping engine devised by Thomas Newcomen (some say c1710 or 1711)
  • 1705—1705: Isaac Newton knighted (for his work at the Royal Mint)
12 1706 
  • 1706—1706: First evening newspaper The Evening Post' issued in London
13 1707 
  • 16 Jan 1707—16 Jan 1707: Union with Scotland - Scots agree to send 16 peers and 45 MPs to English Parliament in return for full trading privileges - Scottish Parliament meets for the last time in March
  • 1 May 1707—1 May 1707: English and Scottish Parliaments united by an Act of the English Parliament - The Kingdom of Great Britain established - largest free-trade area in Europe at the time
14 1708 
  • 1708—1708: First Jacobite rising in Scotland
  • 1708—1708: Earliest Artillery Muster Rolls
15 1709 
  • 1709—1709: Second Eddystone lighthouse completed
  • 1709—1709: First Copyright Act pass
  • 1709—1709: Bad harvests throughout Europe - bread riots in Britain
  • 2 Feb 1709—2 Feb 1709: Alexander Selkirk rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe (published in 1719) by Daniel Defoe
16 1710 
  • 1710—1710: Tax on Apprentice Indentures introduced
17 1711 
  • 1711—1711: Incorporation of South Sea Company, in London
  • 11 Aug 1711—11 Aug 1711: First race meeting at Ascot
18 1712 
  • 1712—1712: Imposition of Soap Tax (abolished 1853)
  • 1712—1712: Last trial for witchcraft in England (Jane Wenham)
  • 1712—1712: Toleration Act passed - first relief to non-Anglicans
19 1713 
  • 1713—1713: By this year there are some 3,000 coffee houses in London
20 1714 
  • 1714—1714: Longitude Act: prize of ?20,000 offered to the inventor of a workable method of determining a ship's longitude (won by John Harrison in 1773 for his chronometer).
  • 1714—1714: Schism Act, prevents Dissenters from being schoolmasters in England
  • 1714—1714: Landholders forced to take the Oath of Allegiance and renounce Roman Catholicism
  • 1 Aug 1714—1 Aug 1714: Queen Anne Stuart dies - George I Hanover becomes king (1714-1727).
21 1715 
  • 1715—1715: Second Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, under the Old Pretender ('The Fifteen')
  • 1 Aug 1715—1 Aug 1715: Riot Act passed
22 1716 
  • 1716—1716: The Septennial Act of Britain leads to greater electoral corruption - general elections now to be held once every 7 years instead of every 3 (until 1911)
  • 1716—1716: Climate: Thames frozen so solid that a spring tide lifted the ice bodily 13ft without interrupting the frost fair
23 1717 
  • 1717—1717: First Masonic Lodge opens in London
  • 1717—1717: Value of the golden guinea fixed at 21 shillings
24 1719 
  • 1719—1719: Third abortive Jacobite rising
25 1720 
  • 1720—1720: South Sea Bubble, a stock-market crash on Exchange Alley - government assumes control of National Debt
  • 1720—1720: Manufacturing towns start to increase in population - rise of new wealth
  • 1720—1720: Wallpaper becomes fashionable in England
26 1721 
  • 2 Apr 1721—2 Apr 1721: Robert Walpole (Whig) becomes first Prime Minister (to 1742)
27 1722 
  • 1722—1722: Last trial for witchcraft in Scotland
  • 1722—1722: Knatchbull's Act, poor laws
28 1723 
  • 1723—1723: Excise tax levied for coffee, tea, and chocolate
  • 1723—1723: The Waltham Black Acts add 50 capital offences to the penal code - people could be sentenced to death for theft and poaching - repealed in 1827
  • 1723—1723: The Workhouse Act or Test - to get relief, a poor person has to enter Workhouse
29 1724 
  • 1724—1724: Rapid growth of gin drinking in England
  • 1724—1724: Longman's founded (Britain's oldest publishing house)
30 1726 
  • 1726—1726: First circulating library opened in Edinburgh
  • 1726—1726: Invention of the chronometer by John Harrison
31 1727 
  • 1727—1727: Board of Manufacturers established in Scotland
  • 11 Jun 1727—11 Jun 1727: George I dies - George II Hanover becomes king
32 1729 
  • 9 Nov 1729—9 Nov 1729: Treaty of Seville signed between Britain, France and Spain - Britain maintained control of Port Mahon and Gibraltar
33 1730 
  • 1730—1730: Irish famine
34 1731 
  • 1731—1731: Invention of seed drill by Jethro Tull [others say 1701]
  • 1731—1731: Invention of sextant by John Hadley
35 1732 
  • 7 Dec 1732—7 Dec 1732: Covent Garden Opera House opens
36 1733 
  • 1733—1733: Excise crisis: Sir Robert Walpole wanted to add excise tax to tobacco and wine - Pulteney and Bolingbroke oppose the excise tax
  • 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in Latin for a few years
  • 1733—1733: John Kay invents the flying shuttle, revolutionised the weaving industry
37 1734 
  • 1734—1734: Kent's Directory published
38 1737 
  • 1737—1737: Licensing Act restricts the number of London theatres and subects plays to censorship of the Lord Chamberlain (till 1950s)
39 1738 
  • 24 May 1738—24 May 1738: John Wesley has his conversion experience
40 1739 
  • 1739—1739: Wesley and Whitefield commence great Methodist revival
  • 7 Apr 1739—7 Apr 1739: Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York
  • 23 Oct 1739—23 Oct 1739: War of Jenkins' Ear starts: Robert Walpole reluctantly declares war on Spain
41 1741 
  • 1741—1741: Benjamin Ingham founded the Moravian Methodists or Inghamites - Earliest Moravian registers
42 1742 
  • 1742—1742: England goes to war with Spain - incited by William Pitt the Elder (Earl of Chatham) for the sake of trade
43 1743 
  • 16 Jun 1743—16 Jun 1743: (June 27 in Gregorian calendar): Battle of Dettingen - last time a British sovereign (George II) led troops in battle
44 1744 
  • 1744—1744: Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
45 1745 
  • 1745—1745: Jacobite rebellion in Scotland ('The Forty-five')
  • 19 Aug 1745—19 Aug 1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie (The Young Pretender) lands in the western Highlands - raises support among Episcopalian and Catholic clans - The Pretender's army invades Perth, Edinburgh, and England as far as Derby
46 1746 
  • 16 Apr 1746—16 Apr 1746: Battle of Culloden - last battle fought in Britain - 5,000 Highlanders routed by the Duke of Cumberland and 9,000 loyalists Scots - Young Pretender Charles flees to Continent, ending Jacobite hopes forever - the wearing of the kilt prohibited
47 1747 
  • 1747—1747: Abolition of Heritable Jurisdictions in Scotland
  • 1747—1747: Act for Pacification of the Highlands
48 1749 
  • 27 Apr 1749—27 Apr 1749: First performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (in Green Park, London)
49 1750 
  • Feb 1750—Feb 1750: Series of earthquakes in London and the Home Counties cause panic with predictions of an apocalypse (Feb/Mar)
  • 16 Nov 1750—16 Nov 1750: Original Westminster Bridge opened (replaced in 1862 due to subsidence)
50 1751 
  • Mar 1751—Mar 1751: Chesterfield's Calendar Act passed - royal assent to the bill was given on 22 May 1751 - decision to adopt Gregorian Calendar in 1752: In and throughout all his
51 1752 
  • 1752—1752: Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning conductor
  • 1 Jan 1752—1 Jan 1752: Beginning of the year 1752 [Scotland had adopted January as the start of the year in 1600, and some other countries in Europe had adopted the Gregorian calendar as early as 1582]
  • 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and Scotland, making this Sep 14
52 1753 
  • 1753—1753: Private collection of Sir Hans Sloane forms the basis of the British Museum
  • 1 May 1753—1 May 1753: Publication of ?Species Plantarum' by Linnaeus and the formal start date of plant taxonomy
53 1754 
  • 1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be used - Quakers & Jews exempt
  • 1754—1754: In the General Election, the Cow Inn at Haslemere, Surrey caused a national scandal by subdividing the freehold to create eight votes instead of one
  • 1754—1754: First British troops not belonging to the East India Company despatched to India
54 1755 
  • 1755—1755: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language' by Dr Samuel Johnson
  • 1755—1755: Period of canal construction began in Britain (till 1827)
  • 2 Dec 1755—2 Dec 1755: Second Eddystone Lighthouse destroyed by fire
55 1756 
  • 15 May 1756—15 May 1756: The Seven Years War with France (Pitt's trade war) begins
  • Jun 1756—Jun 1756: Black Hole of Calcutta - 146 Britons imprisoned, most die according to British sources
56 1757 
  • 1757—1757: The foundation laid for the Empire of India
  • 14 Mar 1757—14 Mar 1757: Admiral Byng shot at Portsmouth for failing to relieve Minorca
  • 23 Jun 1757—23 Jun 1757: The Nawab of Bengal tries to expel the British, but is defeated at the battle of Plassey (Palashi, June 23) - the East India Company forces are led by Robert Clive
57 1758 
  • 1758—1758: India stops being merely a commercial venture - England begins dominating it politically - The East India Company retains its monopoly although it ceased to trade
58 1759 
  • 1759—1759: Wesley builds 356 Methodist chapels
  • 15 Jan 1759—15 Jan 1759: British Museum opens to the public in London
  • 16 Oct 1759—16 Oct 1759: Third Eddystone Lighthouse (John Smeaton's) completed
59 1760 
  • 1760—1760: Carron Iron Works in operation in Scotland
  • 5 May 1760—5 May 1760: First use of hangman's drop
  • 25 Oct 1760—25 Oct 1760: George II dies - George III Hanover, his grandson, becomes king. The date conventionally marks the start of the so-called first Industrial Revolution'
60 1761 
  • 16 Jan 1761—16 Jan 1761: British capture Pondicherry, India from the French
61 1762 
  • 1762—1762: Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
62 1763 
  • 1763—1763: Treaty of Paris - gives back to France everything Pitt fought to obtain - (Newfoundland [fishing], Guadaloupe and Martininque [sugar], Dakar [gum]) - but English displaces French as the international language
63 1764 
  • 1764—1764: Lloyd's Register of shipping first prepared
  • 1764—1764: Practice of numbering houses introduced to London
  • 1764—1764: James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768)
  • 1764—1764: Mozart produces his first symphony at age eight
64 1765 
  • 1765—1765: The potato becomes the most popular food in Europe
  • 22 Mar 1765—22 Mar 1765: Stamp Act passed - imposed a tax on publications and legal documents in the American colonies (repealed the following year)
65 1766 
  • 1766—1766: Start of 'composite' national records on rainfall in the UK
  • 5 Dec 1766—5 Dec 1766: Christie's auction house founded in London by James Christie
66 1767 
  • 1767—1767: Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
67 1768 
  • 9 Jan 1768—9 Jan 1768: Philip Astley starts his circus in London
  • 6 Dec 1768—6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica' published in Edinburgh by William Smellie
68 1769 
  • 1769—1769: Arkwright invents water frame (textile production)
  • 1769—1769: Capt James Cook maps the coast of New Zealand
  • 6 Sep 1769—6 Sep 1769: David Garrick organises first Shakespeare festival at Stratford-upon-Avon
69 1770 
  • 1770—1770: Clyde Trust created to convert the River Clyde, then an insignificant river, into a major thoroughfare for maritime communications
  • 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims Australia for Britain
70 1771 
  • 1771—1771: Right to report Parliamentary debates established in England
71 1772 
  • 1772—1772: First Travellers' Cheques issued by the London Credit Exchange Company
  • 1772—1772: Morning Post' first published (until 1937)
  • 14 May 1772—14 May 1772: Judge Mansfield rules that there is no legal basis for slavery in England
72 1774 
  • 13 Sep 1774—13 Sep 1774: Cook arrives on Easter Island
73 1775 
  • 19 Apr 1775—19 Apr 1775: Battle of Lexington: first action in American War of Independence (1775- 1783)
74 1776 
  • 1776—1776: Somerset House in London becomes the repository of records of population
  • 1776—1776: Watt and Boulton produce their first commercial steam engine
  • 4 Jul 1776—4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence
  • 7 Sep 1776—7 Sep 1776: First attack on a warship by a submarine - David Bushnell's ?Turtle' attacked HMS Eagle in New York harbour. The attack was perhaps spectacular (a charge did detonate beneath the ship) but was nevertheless unsuccessful. 'Turtle' was a one man Affair man-powered [Les Moore]
75 1777 
  • 1777—1777: Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.
76 1779 
  • 1779—1779: Marc Isambard Brunel opens the first steamdriven sawmill at Chatham Dockyard in Kent
  • 1779—1779: First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson
  • 1779—1779: First Spinning Mills operational in Scotland
  • 14 Feb 1779—14 Feb 1779: Capt James Cook killed on Hawaii
  • 23 Sep 1779—23 Sep 1779: Naval engagement between Britain and USA off Flamborough Head
77 1780 
  • 1780—1780: Male Servants Tax
  • 1780—1780: The English Reform Movement - until now, only landowners and tenants (freeholders with 40 shillings per year or more) allowed to vote, and in open poll books
  • 1780—1780: Fountain pen invented
  • 1780—1780: About this time the word 'Quiz' entered the language, said to have been invented as a wager by Mr Daly, a Dublin theatre manager
  • 4 May 1780—4 May 1780: First Derby run at Epsom (some say 2nd June)
  • 2 Jun 1780—2 Jun 1780: Jun 2- 8: The Gordon Riots - Parliament passes a Roman Catholic relief measure - for days, London is at the mercy of a mob and destruction is widespread
78 1782 
  • 1782—1782: Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief - the way of life of the poor beginning to alter due to industrialisation - New factories in rapidly expanding towns required a workforce that would adjust to new work patterns
  • 1782—1782: James Watt patents his steam engine
79 1783 
  • 1783—1783: Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in entries!
  • 3 Sep 1783—3 Sep 1783: Treaty of Versailles (Britain/US)
  • 3 Nov 1783—3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)
80 1784 
  • 1784—1784: Pitt's India Act - the Crown (as opposed to officers of the East India Company) has power to guide Indian politics
  • 1784—1784: Wesley breaks with the Church of England
  • 1784—1784: First golf club founded at St Andrews
  • 1784—1784: Invention of threshing machine by Andrew Meikle
  • 2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
81 1785 
  • 1785—1785: Sunday School Society founded to educate poor children (by 1851, enrols more than 2 million)
  • 1 Jan 1785—1 Jan 1785: John Walter publishes first edition of The Times (called The Daily Universal Register for 3 years)
82 1787 
  • 1787—1787: MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
83 1788 
  • 1788—1788: First steamboat demonstrated in Scotland
  • 1788—1788: Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be a minimum of 8 years old (not enforced)
  • 1788—1788: First slave carrying act, the Dolben Act of 1788, regulates the slave trade - stipulates more humane conditions on slave ships
  • 1788—1788: King George III's mental illness occasions the Regency Crisis - Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox attack ministry of William Pitt - trying to obtain full regal powers for the Prince of Wales
  • 1788—1788: Gibbon completes Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
  • 26 Jan 1788—26 Jan 1788: First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New South Wales (left Portsmouth 13 May 1787) ? the 'First Fleet'; eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip
84 1789 
  • 28 Apr 1789—28 Apr 1789: Mutiny on HMS Bounty - Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew ends up on Pitcairn Island
85 1790 
  • 1790—1790: Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
86 1791 
  • 1791—1791: John Bell, printer, abandons the long s' (the 's' that looks like an 'f')
  • 1791—1791: Establishment of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain
  • 4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper
87 1792 
  • 1792—1792: Repression in Britain (restrictions on freedom of the press) - Fox gets Libel Act through Parliament, requiring a jury and not a judge to determine libel
  • 1792—1792: Boyle's Street Directory published
  • 1792—1792: Coal-gas lighting invented by William Murdock, an Ayrshire Scot
  • 1 Oct 1792—1 Oct 1792: Introduction of Money Orders in Britain
  • 1 Dec 1792—1 Dec 1792: King's Proclamation drawing out the British militia
88 1793 
  • 11 Feb 1793—11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802)
  • 15 Apr 1793—15 Apr 1793: ?5 notes first issued by the Bank of England
89 1794 
  • 1794—1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties
  • 6 Oct 1794—6 Oct 1794: The prosecutor for Britain, Lord Justice Eyre, charges reformers with High Treason - he argued that, since reform of parliament would lead to revolution and revolution to executing the King, the desire for reform endangered the King's life and was therefore treasonous
90 1795 
  • 1795—1795: The Famine Year
  • 1795—1795: Foundation of the Orange Order
  • 1795—1795: Speenhamland Act proclaims that the Parish is responsible for bringing up the labourer's wage to subsistence level - towards the end of the eighteenth century, the number of poor and unemployed increased dramatically - price increases during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) far outstripped wage rises - many small farmers were bankrupted by the move towards enclosures and became landless labourers - their wages were often pitifully low
  • 1795—1795: Pitt and Grenville introduce The Gagging Acts' or 'Two Bills' (the Seditious Meetings and Treasonable Practices Bills) - outlawed the mass meeting and the political lecture.
  • 1795—1795: Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy
91 1796 
  • 1796—1796: Pitt's Reign of Terror': More treason trials - leading radicals emigrate
  • 1796—1796: Legacy Tax on sums over ?20 excluding those to wives, children, parents and grandparents
  • 14 May 1796—14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
92 1797 
  • 1797—1797: England in Crisis, Bank of England suspends cash payments
  • 1797—1797: Mutinies in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore
  • 1797—1797: Tax on newspapers (including cheap, topical journals) increased to repress radical publications
  • 1797—1797: The first copper pennies were produced ('cartwheels') by application of steam power to the coining press
  • 22 Feb 1797—22 Feb 1797: French invade Fishguard, Wales; last time UK invaded; all captured 2 days later
  • 26 Feb 1797—26 Feb 1797: First ?1 (and ?2) notes issued by Bank of England
93 1798 
  • 1798—1798: First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner
  • Feb 1798—Feb 1798: The Irish Rebellion; 100,000 peasants revolt; approximately 25,000 die - Irish Parliament abolished (Feb-Oct)
  • 1 Aug 1798—1 Aug 1798: Battle of the Nile (won by Nelson)
94 1799 
  • 1799—1799: Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York
  • 1799—1799: Foundation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain
  • 9 Jan 1799—9 Jan 1799: Pitt brings in 10% income tax, as a wartime financial measure
  • 12 Jul 1799—12 Jul 1799: 'Combination Laws' in Britain against political associations and combinations
  • 15 Jul 1799—15 Jul 1799: ?Rosetta Stone' discovered in Egypt made possible the deciphering (in 1822) of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
95 1800 
  • 1800—1800: Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy
  • 1800—1800: Use of high pressure steam pioneered by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833)
  • 1800—1800: Royal College of Surgeons founded
  • 1800—1800: Herschel discovers infra-red light
  • 1800—1800: Volta makes first electrical battery
  • 2 Jul 1800—2 Jul 1800: Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland
96 1801 
  • 1801—1801: Grand Union Canal opens in England
  • 1801—1801: Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London
  • 1 Jan 1801—1 Jan 1801: Union Jack becomes the official British flag
  • 10 Mar 1801—10 Mar 1801: First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural)
  • 24 Dec 1801—24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
97 1802 
  • 25 Mar 1802—25 Mar 1802: Treaty of Amiens signed by Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands ? the 'Peace of Amiens' as it was known brought a temporary peace of 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars ? one of its most important cultural effects was that travel and correspondence across the English Channel became possible again
98 1803 
  • 1803—1803: Poaching made a Capital offense in England if capture resisted
  • 1803—1803: Richard Trevithick built another steam carriage and ran it in London as the first self-propelled vehicle in the capital and the first London bus
  • 1803—1803: Semaphore signaling perfected by Admiral Popham
  • 30 Apr 1803—30 Apr 1803: Louisiana Purchase: Napoleon sells French possessions in America to United States
  • 12 May 1803—12 May 1803: Peace of Amiens ends ? resumption of war with France ? The Napoleonic Wars (1803-18l5)
  • 23 Jul 1803—23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to Croydon, horse-drawn)
99 1804 
  • 1804—1804: Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed 'Australia'
  • 21 Feb 1804—21 Feb 1804: Richard Trevithick runs his railway engine on the Penydarren Railway (9.5 miles from Pen-y-Darren to Abercynon in South Wales) this hauled a train with 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers. It was commemorated by the Royal Mint in 2004 in the form of A ?2 coin.
  • 3 Mar 1804—3 Mar 1804: John Wedgwood (eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood) founds The Royal Horticultural Society
  • 2 Dec 1804—2 Dec 1804: Napoleon declares himself Emperor of the French
  • 12 Dec 1804—12 Dec 1804: Spain declares war on Britain
100 1805 
  • 1805—1805: London docks opened
  • 21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
  • 2 Dec 1805—2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians
101 1806 
  • 1806—1806: Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners)
  • 9 Jan 1806—9 Jan 1806: Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London
102 1807 
  • 25 Mar 1807—25 Mar 1807: Parliament passes Act prohibiting slavery and the importation of slaves from 1808 ? but does not prohibit colonial slavery
103 1808 
  • 1808—1808: Gas lighting in London streets
  • 13 Jul 1808—13 Jul 1808: 'Hot Wednesday' ? temperature of 101?F in the shade recorded in London
  • 20 Dec 1808—20 Dec 1808: Beethoven premieres his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy together in Vienna
104 1809 
  • 12 Feb 1809—12 Feb 1809: Birth of Charles Darwin
  • 18 Sep 1809—18 Sep 1809: Royal Opera House opens in London
105 1810 
  • 1810—1810: John McAdam begins road construction in England, giving his name to the process of road metalling
106 1811 
  • 5 Feb 1811—5 Feb 1811: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane
107 1812 
  • 11 May 1812—11 May 1812: Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, assassinated ? shot as he entered the House of Commons by a bankrupt Liverpool broker, John Bellingham, who was subsequently hanged
  • 18 Jun 1812—18 Jun 1812: Start of American 'War of 1812' (to 1814) against England and Canada
  • Oct 1812—Oct 1812: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses
108 1813 
  • 1813—1813: Ireland: First recorded '12th of July' sectarian riots in Belfast
  • 1813—1813: Jane Austen wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'
109 1814 
  • 1 Jan 1814—1 Jan 1814: Invasion of France by Allies
  • 6 Apr 1814—6 Apr 1814: Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba
  • 13 Aug 1814—13 Aug 1814: Convention of London signed, a treaty between the UK and the Dutch
  • 24 Aug 1814—24 Aug 1814: The British burn the White House
  • 29 Nov 1814—29 Nov 1814: 'The Times' first printed by a 'mechanical apparatus' (at 1100 sheets per hour)
  • 24 Dec 1814—24 Dec 1814: Treaty of Ghent signed ending the 1812 war between Britain and the US
110 1815 
  • 1815—1815: Trial by Jury established in Scotland
  • 1815—1815: Davy develops the safety lamp for miners
  • 18 Jun 1815—18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena
111 1816 
  • 1816—1816: Income tax abolished
  • 1816—1816: For the first time British silver coins were produced with an intrinsic value substantially below their face value ? the first official 'token' coinage
  • 1816—1816: Climate: the 'year without a summer' ? followed a volcanic explosion of the mountain 'Tambora in Indonesia the previous year the biggest volcanic explosion in 10000 years
  • 1816—1816: Large scale emigration to North America
  • 1816—1816: Trans-Atlantic packet service begins
112 1817 
  • 1817—1817: March of the Manchester Blanketeers; Habeas Corpus suspended
  • 1817—1817: Constable painted 'Flatford Mill'
113 1818 
  • 1818—1818: Manchester cotton spinners' strike
  • 20 Oct 1818—20 Oct 1818: 'Convention of 1818' signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the US-Canada border on the 49th parallel for most of its length
114 1819 
  • 1819—1819: Primitive bicycle, the Dandy Horse, becomes popular
  • 1819—1819: Britain returns to gold standard
  • 1819—1819: Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles
  • May 1819—May 1819: SS 'Savannah' first steamship to cross Atlantic reaching Liverpool 20 June 1819 (26 Days reaching Liverpool 20 June 1819 (26 Days mostly under sail)
  • 16 Aug 1819—16 Aug 1819: Peterloo Massacre at Manchester ? a large, orderly group of 60,000 meets at St. Peter's Fields, Manchester ? demand Parliamentary Reform ? mounted troops charge on the meeting, killing 11 people and and maiming many others
115 1820 
  • 1820—1820: Cato Street Conspiracy ? plot to assissinate British cabinet
  • 1820—1820: Abolition of the Spanish Inquisition
  • 29 Jan 1820—29 Jan 1820: Accession of George IV, previously Prince Regent
  • 1 Aug 1820—1 Aug 1820: Regent's Canal in London opens
  • 17 Aug 1820—17 Aug 1820: Trial of Queen Caroline to prove her infidelities so George IV can divorce her ? George tries to secure a Bill of Pains and Penalties against her ? Caroline is virtually acquitted because bill passed by such a small majority of Lords
116 1821 
  • 1821—1821: Faraday publishes 'Principles of electro-magnetic rotation'
  • 1821—1821: Constable paints 'The Hay Wain'
  • 5 May 1821—5 May 1821: Napoleon Bonaparte dies on St Helena
117 1822 
  • 14 Jun 1822—14 Jun 1822: Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society
118 1823 
  • 1823—1823: New laws concerning marriage by license ? 'very troublesome' according to some the Act was repealed all in a hurry at the beginning of the next session
  • 1823—1823: Peel begins penal reforms ? death penalty abolished for over 100 crimes
  • 1823—1823: Rugby Football 'invented' at Rugby School
  • 1823—1823: Rubberised waterproof material produced by MacIntosh
  • 2 Dec 1823—2 Dec 1823: US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts (the 'Monroe Doctrine')
119 1824 
  • 1824—1824: RSPCA established
  • 1824—1824: Portland cement patented
  • 4 Mar 1824—4 Mar 1824: Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) founded (called the 'National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck' until 1854)
  • 10 May 1824—10 May 1824: National Gallery in London opens to the public
120 1825 
  • 27 Sep 1825—27 Sep 1825: Stockton to Darlington Railway opens ? world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains
121 1827 
  • 1827—1827: Ohm's Law published
122 1828 
  • 25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828: St Katharine Docks in London opened (designed by Thomas Telford)
123 1829 
  • 1829—1829: London Metropolitan Police Force formed, nicknamed 'Bobbies' after Sir Robert Peel
  • 1829—1829: Louis Braille invents his system of finger-reading for the blind
  • 10 Jun 1829—10 Jun 1829: First Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race
  • 6 Oct 1829—6 Oct 1829: George Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill trials (it was the only one to complete the trial!)
124 1830 
  • 1830—1830: Uprisings and agitation across Europe: the Netherlands are split into Holland and Belgium
  • Jul 1830—Jul 1830: Revolution in France, fall of Charles X and the Bourbons ? Louis Philippe (the Citizen King) on the throne
  • 15 Sep 1830—15 Sep 1830: George Stephenson's Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened by the Duke of Wellington ? first mail carried by rail, and first death on the railway as William Huskisson, a leading politician, is run over!
125 1831 
  • 1831—1831: A list of all parish registers dating prior to 1813 compiled
  • 1 Jun 1831—1 Jun 1831: James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole
  • 1 Aug 1831—1 Aug 1831: 'New' London Bridge opens (replaced 1973) ? old bridge (which had existed for over 600 years) then demolished
126 1832 
  • 1832—1832: Electoral Registers introduced
  • 1832—1832: Electric telegraph invented by Morse
  • 7 Jun 1832—7 Jun 1832: Reform Bill passed ? Representation of the People Act
127 1833 
  • Jan 1833—Jan 1833: Britain invades the Falkland Islands
  • 29 Aug 1833—29 Aug 1833: Factory Act forbids employment of children below age of 9
128 1834 
  • 1834—1834: Babbage invents forerunner of the computer
  • 18 Mar 1834—18 Mar 1834: 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' transported (to Australia) for Trades Union activities
  • 1 May 1834—1 May 1834: Slavery abolished in British possessions
129 1835 
  • 1835—1835: Christmas becomes a national holiday
  • 1835—1835: First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway
130 1836 
  • 1836—1836: First Potato famine in Ireland
  • 30 Jan 1836—30 Jan 1836: Telford's Menai Straits Bridge opened ? considered the world's first modern suspension bridge
  • 25 Feb 1836—25 Feb 1836: Samuel Colt patented the 'revolver'
  • 6 Mar 1836—6 Mar 1836: The Alamo falls to Mexican troops - death of Davy Crockett
  • Jul 1836—Jul 1836: Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
131 1837 
  • 1837—1837: Pitman introduces his shorthand system
  • 1837—1837: P&O Founded
  • 20 Jun 1837—20 Jun 1837: William IV dies - accession of Queen Victoria (to 1901)
  • 1 Jul 1837—1 Jul 1837: 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—13 Jul 1837: Queen Victoria moves into the first Buckingham Palace
  • 20 Jul 1837—20 Jul 1837: Euston Railway station opens - first in London
132 1838 
  • 28 Jun 1838—28 Jun 1838: Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey
133 1839 
  • 1839—1839: First Opium War between Britain and China (to 1842) - Britain captures Hong Kong
  • 1839—1839: 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—1839: Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber
134 1840 
  • 1840—1840: Population Act relating to taking of censuses in Britain
  • 1840—1840: Last convicts landed in NSW (some say 1842 or 1849, but these probably landed elsewhere)
  • 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
135 1841 
  • 1841—1841: Thomas Cook starts package tours
  • 10 Feb 1841—10 Feb 1841: Penny Red replaces Penny Black postage stamp
  • 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
136 1842 
  • 1842—1842: Income Tax reintroduced in Britain
  • 30 Mar 1842—30 Mar 1842: Ether used as an anesthetic for the first time (by Dr Crawford Long in America)
  • 29 Aug 1842—29 Aug 1842: Treaty of Nanking - End of First Opium War - Britain gains Hong Kong
137 1843 
  • 1843—1843: First Christmas card in England
  • 27 May 1843—27 May 1843: The Great Hall of Euston station opened in London
  • 19 Jul 1843—19 Jul 1843: Brunel's 'Great Britain' launched
138 1844 
  • 6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844: YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
139 1845 
  • 1845—1845: Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
  • 17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845: The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
140 1846 
  • 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846: The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
141 1847 
  • 1847—1847: US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre
  • Jan 1847—Jan 1847: An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)
142 1848 
  • 1848—1848: First commercial production of chewing gum
  • 24 Jan 1848—24 Jan 1848: Gold found at Sutter's Mill, California - starts the California gold rush
  • 11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848: Waterloo railway station in London opens
143 1849 
  • 1849—1849: Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally occurred in 1971!
144 1851 
  • 1851—1851: Gold discovered in Australia
  • 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
145 1852 
  • 1852—1852: Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
  • 1852—1852: Wells Fargo established in USA
146 1853 
  • 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
147 1854 
  • 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
  • 27 Mar 1854—27 Mar 1854: Britain declares war on Russia (Crimean War)
  • 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
148 1856 
  • 1856—1856: End of Crimean War
  • 29 Jan 1856—29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)
149 1857 
  • 1857—1857: Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
150 1858 
  • 1858—1858: 'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work
  • 1858—1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
151 1859 
  • 1859—1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain
  • 25 Apr 1859—25 Apr 1859: Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869)
  • 4 May 1859—4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon and Cornwall
  • 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
152 1860 
  • 29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
153 1861 
  • 25 May 1861—25 May 1861: American Civil War begins
154 1862 
  • 1862—1862: Lincoln issues first legal US paper money (Greenbacks)
  • 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
155 1863 
  • 1863—1863: Football Association founded (UK)
  • 1863—1863: Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England
  • 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
156 1864 
  • 1864—1864: 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—11 Mar 1864: The Great Sheffield Flood - over 250 died when a new dam broke while it was being filled for the first time
  • 20 Aug 1864—20 Aug 1864: Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention
  • 8 Dec 1864—8 Dec 1864: Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon officially opened
157 1865 
  • 1865—1865: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) becomes first woman doctor in England [she later became the first woman mayor in England, in Aldeburgh 1908]
  • 1865—1865: First concrete roads built in Britain
  • 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
  • 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
  • 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865: William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
158 1867 
  • 1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867: The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
159 1868 
  • 1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
160 1869 
  • 1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
  • 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
161 1870 
  • 1870—1870: GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
  • 1870—1870: Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children
  • 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
  • 1870—1870: Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa
  • 1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870: First British postcard - halfpenny post
162 1871 
  • 27 Mar 1871—27 Mar 1871: First Rugby Football international, England v Scotland, played in Edinburgh
  • 29 Mar 1871—29 Mar 1871: Opening of Royal Albert Hall, London
  • 29 Jun 1871—29 Jun 1871: Trades Unions legalised in Britain, but picketing made illegal
163 1872 
  • 1872—1872: Licensing hours introduced
  • 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
  • 4 Dec 1872—4 Dec 1872: American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean
164 1874 
  • 1874—1874: Factory Act introduces 56-hour week
  • 5 Apr 1874—5 Apr 1874: Birkenhead Park opened, said to be the first civic public park in the world - features of it later copied in Central Park, New York
165 1875 
  • 1875—1875: London's main sewage system completed
  • 1 Jan 1875—1 Jan 1875: 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)
166 1876 
  • 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
167 1877 
  • 1877—1877: Edison invents microphone and phonograph
168 1878 
  • 1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
  • 1878—1878: Red Flag Act in Britain limits mechanical road vehicles to 4mph
  • 1878—1878: CID established at New Scotland Yard
169 1879 
  • 18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879: Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
170 1880 
  • 1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
  • 1880—1880: Mosquito found to be the carrier of malaria
  • 2 Aug 1880—2 Aug 1880: Greenwich Mean Time adopted throughout UK
171 1881 
  • 1881—1881: Postal Orders introduced
  • 1881—1881: Flogging abolished in Army and Royal Navy
  • Sep 1881—Sep 1881: Godalming in Surrey became the first town in England to have a public electricity supply installed (but in 1884 it reverted to gas lighting until 1904)
  • 26 Oct 1881—26 Oct 1881: Gunfight at OK Corral
172 1882 
  • 1882—1882: Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed
173 1883 
  • 1883—1883: Statue of Liberty presented to USA by France
  • 24 May 1883—24 May 1883: Brooklyn Bridge, New York opens (crosses East River)
  • 1 Aug 1883—1 Aug 1883: Parcel post starts in Britain
  • 27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883: Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave
174 1884 
  • 31 May 1884—31 May 1884: John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes
  • 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
175 1885 
  • 1885—1885: Carl Benz builds the 'Motorwagen', a single-cylinder motor car
  • 1885—1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle
  • 1885—1885: Eastman makes first coated photographic paper
  • 1885—1885: Canadian Pacific Railway completed
  • Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
  • 5 Sep 1885—5 Sep 1885: The first train runs through the Severn Tunnel
  • 29 Sep 1885—29 Sep 1885: First electric tramcar used at Blackpool
176 1886 
  • 20 Jan 1886—20 Jan 1886: Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales
  • May 1886—May 1886: Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage later named 'Coca-Cola'
  • 29 May 1886—29 May 1886: Putney Bridge opens in London
177 1887 
  • 1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
178 1888 
  • 1888—1888: Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace
  • 1888—1888: Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year
  • 1888—1888: County Councils set up in Britain
  • 1888—1888: Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre
  • 1888—1888: First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film
  • 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
179 1889 
  • 1889—1889: Celluloid film produced
  • 1889—1889: Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies
  • 31 Mar 1889—31 Mar 1889: Eiffel Tower completed (to mark centenary of French Revolution)
  • 14 May 1889—14 May 1889: Children's charity NSPCC launched in London
  • 3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast
  • 28 Sep 1889—28 Sep 1889: Length of a metre defined
180 1890 
  • 4 Mar 1890—4 Mar 1890: Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build
  • 4 Nov 1890—4 Nov 1890: City & South London Railway opens - London's first deep-level tube railway and first major railway in the world to use electric traction
181 1891 
  • 1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory
  • 18 Mar 1891—18 Mar 1891: First telephone link between London & Paris
  • 4 May 1891—4 May 1891: Fictional date when Sherlock Holmes throws Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, then disappears for 3 years! (published in 1893)
  • 24 Aug 1891—24 Aug 1891: Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera
182 1892 
  • 1892—1892: Electric oven invented
  • 1892—1892: Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's
  • 6 Oct 1892—6 Oct 1892: Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
183 1893 
  • 1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car
  • 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
184 1894 
  • 1894—1894: Picture postcard introduced in Britain
  • 1 Jan 1894—1 Jan 1894: Manchester Ship Canal opens
  • 1 Mar 1894—1 Mar 1894: Blackpool Tower opens
  • 30 Jun 1894—30 Jun 1894: Tower Bridge first opens
  • 2 Aug 1894—2 Aug 1894: Death duties first introduced in Britain
185 1895 
  • 1895—1895: Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London
  • 12 Jan 1895—12 Jan 1895: The National Trust founded in England
  • 24 May 1895—24 May 1895: Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted
  • 28 May 1895—28 May 1895: Oscar Wilde sent to prison
  • 12 Jul 1895—12 Jul 1895: First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain
  • 17 Oct 1895—17 Oct 1895: First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey
  • Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
186 1896 
  • 5 Apr 1896—5 Apr 1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
  • 2 Jun 1896—2 Jun 1896: Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
187 1897 
  • 1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
188 1898 
  • 1898—1898: First photograph using artificial light
  • 1898—1898: Zeppelin builds airship
  • 1898—1898: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded
  • 17 Mar 1898—17 Mar 1898: USS Holland launched, the first practical submarine
  • 27 Jun 1898—27 Jun 1898: The first solo circumnavigation of the globe completed at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray (started from Boston, Mass on Apr 24, 1895)
189 1899 
  • 6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer
  • 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899: Start of Second Boer War
190 1900 
  • 1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
  • 1900—1900: Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified
  • 1900—1900: Escalator shown at Paris exhibition
  • 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900: Davis Cup tennis competition established
  • 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900: Labour Party formed
191 1901 
  • 1901—1901: Commonwealth of Australia founded
  • 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner
  • 22 Jan 1901—22 Jan 1901: Queen Victoria dies - Edward VII king
  • 2 Feb 1901—2 Feb 1901: Queen Victoria's funeral - interred beside Prince Albert in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park
  • Jun 1901—Jun 1901: Denunciation of use of concentration camps by British in Boer War
  • 2 Oct 1901—2 Oct 1901: Britain's first submarine launched
  • 12 Dec 1901—12 Dec 1901: First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
192 1902 
  • 1902—1902: Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education
  • 1902—1902: Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued
  • 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
  • 24 May 1902—24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated
  • 31 May 1902—31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War
  • 9 Aug 1902—9 Aug 1902: Coronation of Edward VII