| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1679 | - 27 May 1679—27 May 1679: Habeas Corpus Act becomes law in England - (later repealed from time to
time)
|
| 2 | 1681 | - 1681—1681: Oil lighting first used in London streets
|
| 3 | 1682 | - 1682—1682: Halley observes the comet which bears his name
|
| 4 | 1687 | - 5 Jul 1687—5 Jul 1687: Newton published his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica' - written
in Latin
|
| 5 | 1688 | - Feb 1688—Feb 1688: Edward Lloyd's Coffee House opens - later became Lloyd's of London
|
| 6 | 1692 | - 13 Feb 1692—13 Feb 1692: The massacre of Glencoe - Clan Campbell sides with King William and
murders members of Clan McDonald
|
| 7 | 1697 | - 2 Dec 1697—2 Dec 1697: Official opening of St Paul's Cathedral
|
| 8 | 1698 | - 1698—1698: Invention of steam engine by Capt Thomas Savery
|
| 9 | 1702 | - 11 Mar 1702—11 Mar 1702: First English daily newspaper The Daily Courant (till 1735)
|
| 10 | 1703 | - 4 Aug 1703—4 Aug 1703: British take Gibraltar
|
| 11 | 1705 | - 1705—1705: First workable steam pumping engine devised by Thomas Newcomen (some say c1710
or 1711)
|
| 12 | 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
|
| 13 | 1712 | - 1712—1712: Last trial for witchcraft in England (Jane Wenham)
|
| 14 | 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).
|
| 15 | 1726 | - 1726—1726: Invention of the chronometer by John Harrison
|
| 16 | 1731 | - 1731—1731: Invention of sextant by John Hadley
|
| 17 | 1733 | - 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in
Latin for a few years
|
| 18 | 1739 | - 7 Apr 1739—7 Apr 1739: Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York
|
| 19 | 1744 | - 1744—1744: Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
|
| 20 | 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
|
| 21 | 1752 | - 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and
Scotland, making this Sep 14
|
| 22 | 1754 | - 1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be
used - Quakers & Jews exempt
|
| 23 | 1755 | - 1755—1755: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language' by Dr Samuel Johnson
|
| 24 | 1762 | - 1762—1762: Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
|
| 25 | 1764 | - 1764—1764: James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768)
|
| 26 | 1767 | - 1767—1767: Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
|
| 27 | 1768 | - 6 Dec 1768—6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica' published in Edinburgh by
William Smellie
|
| 28 | 1769 | - 1769—1769: Arkwright invents water frame (textile production)
|
| 29 | 1770 | - 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims
Australia for Britain
|
| 30 | 1776 | - 4 Jul 1776—4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence
|
| 31 | 1779 | - 1779—1779: First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson
|
| 32 | 1782 | - 1782—1782: James Watt patents his steam engine
|
| 33 | 1783 | - 3 Nov 1783—3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)
|
| 34 | 1784 | - 2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
|
| 35 | 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
|
| 36 | 1791 | - 4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper
|
| 37 | 1793 | - 11 Feb 1793—11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802)
|
| 38 | 1795 | - 1795—1795: Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy
|
| 39 | 1796 | - 14 May 1796—14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
|
| 40 | 1800 | - 1800—1800: Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy
|
| 41 | 1801 | - 24 Dec 1801—24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
|
| 42 | 1803 | - 23 Jul 1803—23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to
Croydon, horse-drawn)
|
| 43 | 1804 | - 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.
|
| 44 | 1805 | - 21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
|
| 45 | 1812 | - Oct 1812—Oct 1812: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses
|
| 46 | 1815 | - 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
|
| 47 | 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
|
| 48 | 1830 | - 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!
|
| 49 | 1834 | - 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
|
| 50 | 1836 | - 1836—1836: First Potato famine in Ireland
|
| 51 | 1837 | - 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
|
| 52 | 1840 | - 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
|
| 53 | 1841 | - 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
|
| 54 | 1843 | - 1843—1843: First Christmas card in England
|
| 55 | 1851 | - 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
|
| 56 | 1853 | - 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
|
| 57 | 1854 | - 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
- 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
|
| 58 | 1859 | - 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
|
| 59 | 1862 | - 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
|
| 60 | 1863 | - 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
|
| 61 | 1865 | - 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
|
| 62 | 1868 | - 1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
|
| 63 | 1869 | - 1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
|
| 64 | 1870 | - 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
|
| 65 | 1872 | - 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
|
| 66 | 1874 | - 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
|
| 67 | 1876 | - 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
|
| 68 | 1878 | - 1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
|
| 69 | 1880 | - 1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
|
| 70 | 1883 | - 27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883: Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave
|
| 71 | 1884 | - 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
|
| 72 | 1885 | - Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
|
| 73 | 1887 | - 1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
|
| 74 | 1888 | - 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
|
| 75 | 1889 | - 3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast
|
| 76 | 1891 | - 1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory
|
| 77 | 1893 | - 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
|
| 78 | 1895 | - Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
|
| 79 | 1897 | - 1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
|
| 80 | 1900 | - 1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
|
| 81 | 1901 | - 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner
- 12 Dec 1901—12 Dec 1901: First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse
code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
|
| 82 | 1902 | - 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
|
| 83 | 1906 | - 1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children
|
| 84 | 1907 | - 1907—1907: First airship flies over London
|
| 85 | 1908 | - 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress
|
Bef 1752 - Bef 1828 (< 75 years)
