|
Date |
Event(s) |
1 | 1851 | - 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
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2 | 1853 | - 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
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3 | 1854 | - 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
- 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
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4 | 1859 | - 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
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5 | 1862 | - 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
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6 | 1863 | - 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
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7 | 1865 | - 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
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8 | 1868 | - 1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
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9 | 1869 | - 1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
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10 | 1870 | - 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
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11 | 1872 | - 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
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12 | 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
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13 | 1876 | - 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
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14 | 1878 | - 1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
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15 | 1880 | - 1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
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16 | 1883 | - 27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883: Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave
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17 | 1884 | - 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
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18 | 1885 | - Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
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19 | 1887 | - 1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
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20 | 1888 | - 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
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21 | 1889 | - 3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast
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22 | 1891 | - 1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory
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23 | 1893 | - 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
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24 | 1895 | - Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
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25 | 1897 | - 1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
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26 | 1900 | - 1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
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27 | 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
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28 | 1902 | - 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
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29 | 1906 | - 1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children
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30 | 1907 | - 1907—1907: First airship flies over London
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31 | 1908 | - 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress
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32 | 1909 | - 25 Jul 1909—25 Jul 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
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33 | 1912 | - 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives
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34 | 1914 | - 4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason
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35 | 1917 | - 7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government;
Lenin becomes Chief Commissar
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36 | 1918 | - 1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
- 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic
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