The following is a timeline of British history which may be of use to family historians in order to set their family events in their historical context. As far as possible it includes regnal dates for English, Welsh and Scottish monarchs; major battles; the births and deaths of major religious and artistic figures; the founding of major universities, schools etc; the founding of orders of chivalry; the founding of major organisations; sporting, ceremonial and religious events; inventions; and general British history.
PART 2 1500 to 1900 AD
1501 = Palace of Holyroodhouse built
1505 = Incorporation of Barber-Surgeons of Scotland founded in Edinburgh
1509 = Brasenose College,Oxford founded
1509 = John Calvin born
1509 = Establishment of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms by King Henry VIII
21 Apr 1509 = end of reign of Henry VII of England
22 Apr 1509 = Henry VIII King of England
1512 = The Corporation of Trinity House founded
9 Sep 1513 = Battle of Flodden
9 Sep 1513 = end of reign of James IV, of the Iron Belt, of Scotland
10 Sep 1513 = James V King of Scotland
1517 = Corpus Christi College,Oxford founded
1518 = Royal College of Physicians founded by Thomas Linacre with charter from King Henry VIII
1525 = Christ Church College,Oxford founded by Cardinal Wolsey
1528 = Office of Gold Stick-in-Waiting instituted
1531 = King Henry VIII becomes head of the church & establishes the Church of England
1532 = Society of Writers to the Signet, Edinburgh, founded (for solicitors)
1532 = Institution of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland
1534 = Founding of Cambridge University Press (Grant of Letters Patent by King Henry VIII)
1538 = Introduction of Parish Registers by Thomas Cromwell
1539 = First Criminal Court established at Old Bailey
1539 = Office of Lord Lieutenant of the County instituted by King Henry VIII
1540 = United Company of Barber-Surgeons founded in London
1540 = Office of Secretary of State instituted
1541 = King Henry VIII of England declared King of Ireland
1542 = John Speed (Map Maker) born
14 Dec 1542 = end of reign of James V of Scotland
15 Dec 1542 = Mary Queen of Scots
1543 = Publication of study of human anatomy by Andreas Vesalius
17 Feb 1545 = Battle of Ancrum Moor
28 Jan 1547 = end of reign of Henry VIII of England
29 Jan 1547 = Edward VI King of England
10 Sep 1547 = Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
1549 = Formulation of first Book of Common Prayer by Thomas Cranmer
1550 = Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London formed
6 Jul 1553 = end of reign of Edward VI of England
3 Aug 1553 = Mary I Queen of England
1555 = St.John's College,Oxford founded
1555 = Trinity College,Oxford founded
1555 = Founding of the Muscovy Company
1557 = Thousands die in famine as crops fail for 3rd year1
7 Nov 1558 = end of reign of Mary I of England
15 Jan 1559 = Elizabeth I Queen of England
1561 = Mary Queen of Scots returns to Scotland
1564 = John Calvin died
23 Apr 1564 = William Shakespeare born
1567 = In Scotland an Act passed making profession of the Protestant faith a condition of public office
24 Jul 1567 = Mary Queen of Scots forced to abdicate
25 Jul 1567 = James VI King of Scotland
Jul 1570 = Elizabeth I excommunicated by Pope Pius V
1571 = Jesus College,Oxford founded
1571 = Royal Exchange founded
1571 = Harrow School founded by John Lyon
1571 = Opening of the Royal Exchange in London
1572 = Tyco Brahe produces first star catalogue
1581 = Foumding of the Levant Company
1583 = Edinburgh University established
1585 = Oxford University Press founded
1585 = Sir Richard Grenville establishes first colony in Virginia
17 Oct 1586 = Sir Philip Sidney died
8 Feb 1587 = Mary Queen of Scots beheaded
1588 = First Welsh Bible published
19 Jul 1588 = Spanish Armada sighted off the Lizard
1590 = Invention of compound microscope by Z Janssen
1590 = Law of falling bodies postulated by Galileo
Jul 1597 = Witch-hunt hysteria grips Scotland
1598 = Establishment of the Bodleian Library at Oxford Univrsity
1599 = Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow founded
1600 = Founding of the East India Company
24 Mar 1603 = end of reign of Elizabeth I of England
25 Mar 1603 = Union of the Crowns
1603 = Union Jack designed
May 1603 = James VI of Scotland crowned James I of England
Dec 1603 = Bubonic plague kills a quarter of London's population
6 Nov 1605 = Guy Fawkes discovered plotting to blow up Parliament
Feb 1607 = More English settlers arrive in Virginia
1608 = Plantation of Ulster by Presbyterian Scots farmers
1608 = Invention of the telescope by H Lippershey
1609 = Establishment of first Baptist Church in Amsterdam
1611 = King James version of the Bible published
22 May 1611 = Establishment by Letters Patent of Order of Baronets by King James I (VI)
1612 = St.Andrew's University library
1612 = Wadham College,Oxford founded
1614 = John Napier discovers logarithms
1615 = Invention of clinical thermometer by S Santorio
23 Apr 1616 = William Shakespeare died
1618 = George Villiers appointed first Lord High Admiral by King James II
1620 = Founding of the Plymouth Colony at Cape Cod by emigrants on the Mayflower
1624 = Statute of Monopolies makes monopolies illegal in England
1624 = Pembroke College,Oxford founded
1624 = George Fox (Founder of the Quaker movement) born in Leicestershire
1625 = Bubonic plague decimates London's population
27 Mar 1625 = end of reign of James VI of Scotland (& I of England)
28 Mar 1625 = Charles I King of Great Britain
1626 = Nicholas Lanier appointed first Master of the King's Music
1629 = John Speed (Map Maker) died
1631 = John Dryden born
1632 = Invention of slide rule by W. Oughtred
1635 = Royal postal sevice first made available to the public by King Charles I
27 Feb 1638 = Scots sign first National Covenant
1639 = Production of first commercial steam engine
28 Aug 1640 = Battle of Newburn Ford
1641 = Impressing of crews for the Royal Navy made illegal
9 Dec 1641 = Sir Anthony Van Dyck died
30 Dec 1641 = First clash between Roundheads and Cavaliers
23 Oct 1642 = Start of English Civil War
23 Oct 1642 = Battle of Edge Hill
1643 = Excise Duty introduced by Parliament to finance the Cilvil War
19 Jan 1643 = Battle of Bradock Down
16 May 1643 = Battle of Stratton
5 Jul 1643 = Battle of Lansdown Hill
13 Jul 1643 = Battle of Roundway Down
21 Mar 1644 = Battle of Newark
29 Jun 1644 = Battle of Cropredy Bridge
2 Jul 1644 = Battle of Marston Moor
2 Sep 1644 = Battle of Lostwithiel
28 Oct 1644 = Battle of Newbury
9 May 1645 = Battle of Auldearn
14 Jun 1645 = Battle of Naseby
2 Jul 1645 = Battle of Alford
13 Sep 1645 = Battle of Philiphaugh
17 Aug 1648 = Battle of Preston
30 Jan 1649 = Charles I beheaded
31 Jan 1649 = Charles II King of Great Britain
1650 = The name Quaker applied to George Fox
3 Sep 1650 = Battle of Dunbar
3 Sep 1651 = Charles II flees to France
3 Sep 1651 = Battle of Worcester
1653 = The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton published
16 Dec 1653 = Oliver Cromwell declared Lord Protector
1656 = Invention of pendulum clock by C Huygens
1657 = General Post Office (GPO) founded
1657 = First Jewish Synagogue opened in London
29 May 1660 = Charles II restored to the throne
28 Nov 1660 = Inaugural meeting of the Royal Society at Gresham College, London
1661 = The Corporation Act introduced (restricting offices of state to members of the Church of England)
1662 = Act of Uniformity re-establishment of episcopy under King Charles II
1662 = Punch & Judy Show first known to have been performed
1664 = The Conventicle Act outlawed Nonconformist worship in gatherings of more than 5 people
1664 = Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot formed (Origin of Royal Marines)
1665 = Five Mile Act barred Nonconformist ministers from major towns
1665 = London Gazette founded
Dec 1665 = Plague kills 20% of London's population
2 Sep 1666 = Great Fire of London
1669 = First importation of tea from India by East India Company
1670 = John Dryden appointed first Poet Laureate
1670 = Formation of the Hudson's Bay Company
1673 = First Test Act (requiring all holders of offices to repudiate Catholicism and Dissent)
1675 = Quaker Monthly Meeting for Sufferings established
1675 = Greenwich Observatory founded by King Charles II
1675 = Appointment of John Flamsteed as first Astronomer Royal
1676 = First publication of the Oxford Amanack giving information about the University
1676 = Robert Barclay's Apology (an explanation of Quaker theology) published
1676 = Royal Company of Archers founded (Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland since 1822)
1678 = Second Test Act (barring all Catholics from parliament)
16 Aug 1678 = Andrew Marvell died
13 May 1679 = Archbishop Sharp murdered near St Andrews
1680 = Penny Post started in London
1681 = Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh founded
1682 = National Library of Scotland founded
1682 = William Penn left England and founded Pennsylvania
1682 = Foundation of the Royal Hospital,Chelsea by King Chatles II for veteran soldiers
1683 = Rye House Plot to kill King Charles II and the future King James II
1683 = Establishment of the Asmolean Museum in Oxford based on the collection of Elias Ashmole
6 Feb 1685 = end of reign of Charles II
7 Feb 1685 = James II (VII) King of Great Britain
Jun 1685 = Duke of Monmouth lands at Lyme Regis - Monmouth Rebellion
6 Jul 1685 = Battle of Sedgemoor
1687 = Order of the Thistle reinstituted by King James II (VII)
1687 = Sir Isaac Newton publishes law of gravitation
1688 = John Dryden dismissed as Poet Laureate for his adherence to Catholicism
9 Nov 1688 = William of Orange invades England
11 Dec 1688 = James II (VII) flees the country
1689 = Toleration Act re-introduced a level of toleration of Nonconformists(excl. Catholics & Unitarians)
1689 = Bill of Rights passed to protect Members of Parliament from court action
28 Jan 1689 = end of reign of James II (VII)
14 Feb 1689 = William III and Mary II King & Queen of Great Britain
27 Jul 1689 = Battle of Killiecrankie
1690 = Introduction of Stamp Duty
1 Jul 1690 = Battle of The Boyne
1691 = George Fox (Quaker leader) died
13 Feb 1692 = MacDonalds massacred at Glencoe
1693 = White's (Club) opened in London
1694 = Foundation of Bank of England
1696 = Lloyd's News first published by Edward Lloyd
1698 = St.James' Palace became main royal residence in London
1698 = Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) founded by Thomas Bray
1700 = John Dryden died
1 Apr 1700 = Scottish colony on Darien fails
1701 = Act of Settlement barred Catholics from the throne
8 Mar 1702 = end of reign of William III and Mary II
9 Mar 1702 = Anne Queen of Great Britain
1703 = Restoration of the Order of the Thistle by Queen Anne
1703 = John Wesley born
1704 = Establishment of Queen Anne's Bounty to augment stipends of poor clergy
1705 = Her Majesty's Theatre opened in London
1705 = Edmund Halley discovers Halley's comet
1706 = Dick Turpin born at Hempstead, Essex
1707 = Charles Wesley born
1707 = Act of Union
1709 = The Tatler (Magazine) founded
1709 = Abraham Darby invents coke smelting process
1709 = Invention of piano (hammerklavier)
1710 = William Boyce (Composer) born
1711 = The Spectator (Newspaper) founded
1712 = Publication of The History of John Bull by Arbuthnot introduced the character of John Bull
1714 = Worcester College,Oxford founded
1714 = Howell Harris born (Religious leader)
1 Aug 1714 = end of reign of Queen Anne
2 Aug 1714 = George I King of Great Britain
1715 = Institution of Doggett's Coat and Badge Race (Rowing) on the River Thames by Thomas Doggett
13 Nov 1715 = Battle of Sheriffmuir
13 Nov 1715 = Battle of Preston 2
1716 = Lancelot "Capability" Brown born
1717 = David Garrick (Actor-Manager) born
1717 = Freemasons Grand Lodge of England founded
1718 = Machine gun invented by James Puckle
1719 = John Flamsteed, Astronomer Royal, died
10 Jun 1719 = Battle of Glen Shiel
1720 = The Haymarket (Theatre) opened in London
1720 = Edmund Halley appointed Astronomer Royal
Sep 1720 = Collapse of the "South Sea Bubble"
1721 = Sir Robert Walpole effectively the first Prime Minister
1721 = Captain James Cook born
3 Apr 1721 = Robert Walpole appointed first Prime Minister
3 Aug 1721 = Grinling Gibbons died
16 Jun 1722 = Duke of Marlborough died
1723 = Sir Joshua Reynolds born
1724 = First use of Portland cement
1725 = Freemasons Grand Lodge of Ireland founded
1725 = Creation of Order of the Bath by King George I
1725 = Invention of mine pump steam engine by Newcomen
25 Jun 1725 = Troops fire on tax rioters in Glasgow
1726 = Lloyd's List first published (replacing Lloyd's News)
1726 = Rob Roy MacGregor sent to Newgate prison
28 Oct 1726 = Jonathan Swift publishes "Gulliver's Travels"
1727 = Repeal of the Corporation Act
22 Jun 1727 = end of reign of George I
23 Jun 1727 = George II King of Great Britain
26 Apr 1730 = Daniel Defoe died
ABT 1730 = Scarborough, Yorkshire becomes the first seaside resort, offering sea bathing
1732 = 10 Downing Street,London presented by King George II to Sir Robert Walpole as residence for the First Lord of the Treasury (Prime Minister)
22 Feb 1732 = George Washington born
1733 = Flying shuttle loom invented by John Kay
1736 = Freemasons Grand Lodge of Scotland founded
7 Sep 1736 = Capt. Porteous lynched at the Tollbooth in Edinburgh
1738 = General Wade completes military road building in the Highlands
1739 = Building of the Mansion House in London started
10 Apr 1739 = Dick Turpin hanged for murder
1740 = Hertford College,Oxford founded
1740 = Calvanistic Methodists split from Wesleyan Methodists
1741 = Foundling Hospital built at Hatton Garden by Captain Thomas Coram
1741 = 13% of Ireland's population die in famine
14 Jan 1742 = Sir Edmund Halley died
1744 = War between Britain and France
1744 = First National conference of Methodist ministers
1745 = God Save the King first performed
1745 = Surgeon's Company splits from the Barber-Surgeons Company
1745 = Henry Holland (Architect) born
1745 = Jacquard draw-loom invented
18 Mar 1745 = Sir Robert Walpole died
19 Aug 1745 = Stuart standard raised at Glenfinnan
19 Aug 1745 = Start of Jacobite rebellion (the '45)
21 Sep 1745 = Battle of Prestonpans
19 Oct 1745 = Jonathon Swift died
18 Dec 1745 = Battle of Clifton Moor
17 Jan 1746 = Battle of Falkirk
16 Apr 1746 = Battle of Culloden - last true battle on British soil
17 Apr 1747 = Parliament prohibits wearing of tartan
1749 = Bow Street Runners formed
1750 = Jockey Club formed to regulate horse racing
1752 = London Mansion House completed
1752 = Howell Harris established religious community at Trevecca
1752 = John Nash (Architect) born
2 Sep 1752 = UK adopts Gregorian calendar - next day is 14 September
1753 = Formation of the British Museum Library (Now part of the British Library)
1753 = Sir Hans Sloane died
1754 = Royal and Ancient golf club founded
15 Apr 1755 = Dr Johnson publishes dictionary
1756 = Start of Seven Years' War
20 Jun 1756 = 123 Britons die in the Black Hole of Calcutta
1757 = Thomas Telford (Engineer) born
23 Jun 1757 = Clive defeats Bengalis at Battle of Plassey - start of Empire in India
29 Jun 1757 = William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
1759 = William Wilberforce born
1759 = Princess Augusta started the botanic gardens at Kew
13 Sep 1759 = General Wolfe died
1760 = Hamley's Toyshop opened as "Noah's Ark"
1760 = Board of Deputies of British Jews established
1760 = Foundation of the Hambledon Club (Cricket) - first cricket club
1760 = Turnpikes improve travelling by road
25 Oct 1760 = end of reign of George II
26 Oct 1760 = George III King of Great Britain
1761 = John Rennie (Engineer) born
1761 = Link between tobacco and cancer established
1763 = End of Seven Years' War
1764 = Invention of the spinning jenny by J Hargreaves
26 Oct 1764 = Hogarth died
1765 = The Isle of Man reverts from the Earls of Derby to the British Crown
1767 = Construction of Edinburgh's New Town begins
1768 = Royal Academy of Arts founded
1768 = Office of Secretary of State for the American Colonies instituted
1769 = First Sunday school started by Hannah Ball, Methodist
1769 = Arkwright's Waterframe invented
1770 = Tax on distillation of spirits introduced
1770 = William Wordsworth born at Cockermouth,Cumbs.
6 May 1770 = Capt. Cook discovers Botany Bay
1771 = Richard Trevithick born in Cornwall
1771 = Lloyd's founded as Marine Insurance Company
1772 = Slavery declared illegal in Britain
1772 = Samuel Taylor Coleridge born
1773 = Howell Harris died (Religious leader)
1774 = First Unitarian church opened at Essex Chapel, London
1774 = Robert Southey born
1774 = First Journal of the House of Commons (Hansard) printed by Luke Hansard
1774 = Isolation of oxygen by J Priestley
22 Nov 1774 = Lord Clive (Clive of India) died
1775 = J M W Turner born
Sep 1776 = Establishment of the St.Leger (Horse Race) by Col. Barry St.Leger at Doncaster
1778 = Catholic Relief Act
1778 = Sir Humphrey Davy born
24 Apr 1778 = John Paul Jones captures the Drake at Carrickfergus
11 May 1778 = Earl of Chatham (William Pitt) died
1779 = William Boyce (Composer) died
1779 = Captain James Cook died
1779 = David Garrick (Actor-Manager) died
1779 = First Iron Bridge in the World built near Colebrookdale, Shropshire
1779 = Invention of spinning mule by Samuel Crompton
1780 = Elizabeth Fry born (Quaker prison reformer)
1780 = First running of the Derby (Horse Race) at Epsom Downs,Surrey
2 Jul 1780 = "Gordon" riots in London
1781 = George Stephenson born
1781 = Sir Walter Scott born
1 Jan 1781 = World's first iron bridge completed over the River Severn
1782 = The Home Office established
1782 = Foundation of the Foreign Office
1782 = Invention of modern steam engine by James Watt
1783 = Tyburn last used as a place of execution
1783 = Lancelot "Capability" Brown died
1783 = Foundation of the Glasgow Herald (Newspaper) by John Mennons
1783 = First steam powered ship built by d'Abbans
1783 = First flight of hot-air balloon by Montgolfier brothers
4 Feb 1783 = Parliament proclaims an end to hostilities in America
3 Sep 1783 = UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the US sign the Treaty of Paris
1784 = Cort invent Iron puddling and rolling process
2 Aug 1784 = First mail coach runs from Bristol to London
1785 = The Times founded
1785 = First insubmersible boat designed by Lionel Lukin of London
1785 = First power-driven loom invented by E Cartwright
1786 = Church of England Sunday School Society started
1786 = HMSO founded
1786 = Robert Burns publishes "Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect"
1787 = Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) founded
1787 = Irish Police force established
1787 = Edmund Kean (Actor-Manager) born
1787 = Foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
1787 = Transportation of criminals to Botany Bay begins
1788 = Charles Wesley died
1788 = Lord Byron born
1788 = Linnaean Society founded
26 Jan 1788 = Foundation Day - Australia
1789 = First Modern National Eisteddfod held at Corwen
28 Apr 1789 = Mutiny aboard HMS Bounty
17 Jul 1790 = Adam Smith died
2 Mar 1791 = John Wesley died
1791 = Michael Faraday born
1791 = Royal Veterinary College established
1791 = Society of United Irishmen founded by Wolfe Tone
1791 = General Stud Book (Horse Racing) published by the Jocket Club
1791 = The Ordnance Survey of Great Britain is founded
1792 = John Keble born
1792 = Percy B Shelley born
1792 = Sir Joshua Reynolds died
1793 = William Macready (Actor-Manager) born
1793 = Invention of cotton gin by Eli Whitney
1 Feb 1793 = France declares war on Britain and the Netherlands
1794 = Office of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies instituted
16 Jan 1794 = Edward Gibbon died
1795 = Battle of the Diamond - violent confontation between Catholics and Protestants in Co.Armagh
1795 = Formation of the Orange Society in Ireland as a result of Battle of the Diamond
1795 = Methodists secede from Church of England
1795 = John Keats born
1795 = Thomas Carlyle born
1795 = Congregational Union of Scotland formed by James and Robert Haldane
1795 = Poor Law devised
1796 = Discovery of Smallpox vaccine by E Jenner
21 Jul 1796 = Robert Burns died
1797 = Methodist New Connexion founded
1797 = Hatchard's Bookshop opened in London by John Hatchard
21 Feb 1797 = French landing in Wales repulsed at Fishguard
15 Apr 1797 = First naval mutiny at Spithead
30 Jun 1797 = Second naval mutiny at the Nore
1798 = Battle of the Nile
1798 = Irish Rebellion
1798 = Typhus epidemic kills thousands
1799 = Combination Acts described trade unions as criminal conspiracies
1799 = Royal Institution founded by Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford
1799 = Foundation of the Church Missionary Society
9 Jan 1799 = Parliament passes the first income tax
14 Dec 1799 = George Washington died
1800 = Royal College of Surgeons of London founded by charter
1801 = First National Census held
1801 = Surrey Iron Railway, first public railway in the world to carry general freight, opened
1801 = Battle of Copenhagen
1801 = General Enclosure Act
1801 = Irish Parliament abolished. Ireland incorporated in the UK
1801 = Electric arc lamp invented by Sir Humphrey Davy
1802 = First Stock Exchange opened on present site at Capel Court, London
1802 = First publication of Debrett's Peerage by John Debrett
1803 = Sunday School Union set up as an interdenominational society
1804 = Foundation of the Royal Horticultural Society by John Wedgewood
13 Feb 1804 = Inaugural run of Trevithick's locomotive on Penydarren Tramroad
21 Oct 1805 = Nelson dies victorious at Trafalgar
1806 = Isambard Kingdom Brunel born
1806 = Henry Holland (Architect) died
1807 = Slavery abolished in the British Empire
1808 = First publication of Debrett's Baronetcies
21 Aug 1808 = Sir Arthur Wellesley leads campaign in Peninsular War
1809 = Establishment of the Two Thousand Guinea Stakes (Horse Race) at Newmarket
28 Jul 1809 = French driven from Portugal
1810 = First organized Steeplechase run at Bedford
1811 = Primitive Methodists founded
1811 = First ordination of ministers of the Presbyterian Church of Wales
1811 = William Makepeace Thackeray born
1811 = Regent's Park designed by John Nash
1811 = Luddites attack textile machinery
Feb 1811 = Prince of Wales becomes Prince Regent due to King's insanity
1812 = French retreat from Moscow
12 Aug 1812 = Wellington takes Madrid
1813 = First Pier built at Ryde,Isle of Wight
1813 = David Livingstone born
1814 = Lords Cricket Ground established on present site
1814 = Establishment of the One Thousand Guinea Stakes (Horse Race) at Newmarket
1815 = Buiding of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, commenced (designed by John Nash)
1815 = Humphry Davy invents mining safety lamp
18 Jun 1815 = Napoleon defeated at Waterloo
1816 = Income Tax abolished
1816 = Foundation of FitzWilliam Museum, Cambridge
1816 = Invention of phosphorous match by F Derosne
1816 = Invention of bicycle by K D von Sauerbronn
7 Jul 1816 = Rchard B Sheridan died
1817 = Potato famine kills thousands in Ireland
1818 = Order of St.Michael and St.George instituted
1818 = Leander Rowing Club formed
1818 = Mary Shelley publishes "Frankenstein"
22 Aug 1818 = Warren Hastings died
1819 = Charles (Karl) Halle born in Westphalia,Germany
1819 = John Ruskin (Art Critic) born
1819 = MacAdam revolutionises road building
1819 = Invention of stethoscope by R Laennec
24 May 1819 = Queen Victoria born.
ABT 1820 = Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (Buffs) formed
29 Jan 1820 = end of reign of George III
30 Jan 1820 = George IV King of Great Britain
1821 = The Manchester Guardian (Newspaper) founded
1821 = John Keats died
1821 = John Rennie (Engineer) died
1822 = Percy B Shelley died
1822 = Royal Academy of Music founded
1822 = Royal Irish Constablary formed by charter (disbanded 1922)
1822 = Invention of electric motor by Michael Faraday
1823 = First Burmese War
1824 = Repeal of Combination Acts against trade unions
1824 = National Gallery founded
1824 = Lord Byron died
1824 = Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) founded by Sir William Hillary
1824 = Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) founded
1824 = The Athenaeum (Club) opened in London
27 Sep 1825 = First passenger train service from Stockton to Darlington
1826 = Presbyterian Church of Wales fully constituted
1826 = Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Edinburgh, founded
1826 = First Publication of Burke's Peerage
1826 = First Royal Yacht Club Cowes Regatta on Isle of Wight
30 Jan 1826 = Telford's Menai suspension bridge completed
1827 = William Holman Hunt born
1827 = G S Ohm postulates Ohm's Law
1828 = Nonconformists allowed into Public Office
1828 = Dante Gabriel Rosetti born
1828 = Thomas Arnold becomes headmaster of Rugby School
22 Jan 1828 = Wellington becomes Prime Minister
1829 = Metropolitan Police formed
1829 = John Everett Millais born
1829 = Sir Humphrey Davy died
1829 = 'D'ye ken John Peel' written about John Peel of Cumberland
1829 = First UK horse drawn omnibus service introduced by George Shillibeer in London
1829 = Catholic Emancipation
1829 = George Stephenson builds first steam locomotive
28 Jan 1829 = William Burke hanged for murder in Edinburgh
26 Sep 1829 = First proper police force established in London
1830 = Geographical Society of London founded (origin of Royal Geographical Society)
1830 = Royal Navy Training School, Portsmouth opened
1830 = Formation of the Conservative Party from the Tory Party
26 Jun 1830 = end of reign of George IV
27 Jun 1830 = Wlliam IV King of Greta Britain
15 Sep 1830 = Liverpool to Manchester railway opens
1831 = The Law Society founded
1831 = The Garrick Club opened in London
1831 = Congregational Union of England and Wales formed (Congregational Church)
1831 = First Church of the Plymouth Bretheren founded in Plymouth
1831 = Invention of the friction match by C Sauria
1832 = Sir Walter Scott died
1832 = Great Reform Act - The Representation of the People Act
1832 = Formation of the Liberal Party from the Whigs
1832 = The Reform Club opened in London
1832 = The Carlton Club opened in London
1832 = Foundation of the Provincial Medical & Surgical Association (BMA)
1832 = First publication of Dod's Parliamentary Companion
1832 = M Faraday invents electric dynamo
Jun 1832 = Cholera epidemic strikes Britain
7 Jun 1832 = Parliament passes Reform Act
1833 = Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers founded at Tolpuddle, Dorest
1833 = Edward Burne-Jones born
1833 = Richard Trevithick died
1833 = Brunel appointed Chief Engineer of Great Western Railway
15 May 1833 = Edmund Kean (Actor-Manager) died
1833 = William Wilberforce died
1833 = Judicial Committee of the Privy Council established
1833 = Crown Agents for the Colonies formed
14 Jul 1833 = John Keble launched the Oxford Movement by a sermon on "National Apostasy"
29 Jul 1833 = Slavery abolished throughout British Empire
1834 = Royal Observatory, Edinburgh founded
1834 = Thomas Henderson appointed first Astronomer Royal for Scotland
1834 = Samuel Taylor Coleridge died
1834 = William Morris (Artist) born
1834 = Establishment of the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey)
Mar 1834 = Tolpuddle Martyrs sentenced to transportation
1835 = Wesleyan Methodist Association founded
1835 = John Nash (Architect) died
1835 = Bull baiting made illegal
1835 = Thomas Telford (Engineer) died
1835 = Samuel Colt invents the revolver
1836 = Tolpuddle Martyrs pardoned
1836 = Marriage in deissenting chapels legalised
1836 = Founding of the Paymaster General's Office
1836 = General Register Office established
1836 = Sir W S Gilbert (Composer) born
1836 = First running of the Grand National Steeplechase (Horse Race)
1836 = Formation of the London Working Men's Association
1836 = Establishment of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
1836 = Charles Darwin returns from South America
1836 = Invention of screw propeller by F P Smith
1837 = Invention of telegraph by S F B Morse
20 Jun 1837 = end of reign of William IV
21 Jun 1837 = Victoria Queen of Great Britain
1838 = Public Record Office (PRO) established by statute
1838 = Sir Henry Irving (Actor-Manager) born
1838 = The People's Charter published (origins of the Chartist Movement)
Apr 1838 = First steam crossing of the Atlantic
Sep 1838 = Grace Darling rescues survivors of the "Forfarshire"
1839 = William Robinson (Gardener) born
1839 = Henley Royal Regatta founded
1839 = Rubber vulcanisation developed by C Goodyear
1840 = Reform of the postal service by Rowland Hill. First Postage Stamps issued
1840 = First screw propellor driven Royal Navy ship
1840 = Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra founded
ABT 1840 = Development of photography
6 May 1840 = Penny Post introduced
2 Jun 1840 = Britain annexes New Zealand
1841 = Punch (Magazine) first published
1841 = The Botanic Gardens at Kew given to the Nation
1841 = London Library founded by Thomas Carlyle
6 Jul 1841 = First national census taken
Sep 1841 = Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister
9 Nov 1841 = King Edward VII born
1842 = Afghan revolt
1842 = Income Tax reintroduced
1842 = The Illustrated London News founded
1842 = Royal Commission on Children's Employment
1842 = Sir Arthur Sullivan (Composer) born
1842 = Establishment of a detective department of the Metropolitan Police (origin of CID)
1842 = First use of ether as anesthetic by CW Long
1843 = The News of the World (Newspaper) founded
1843 = William Wordsworth appointed Poet Laureate
1843 = Royal College of Surgeons of England formed from Royal College of Surgeons of London
1843 = Guy's Hospital Rugby Club formed (first rugby club)
1843 = Foundation of The Economist (Newspaper) by James Wilson
1843 = Robert Southey died
1843 = Christmas cards invented by Sir Henry Cole
1843 = Formation of the Free Church of Scotland
31 Dec 1843 = Charles Dickens publishes "A Christmas Carol"
1844 = Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) founded
1844 = the Rochdale Pioneers set up the first Co-operative retail shop
Jun 1844 = Mines Act prohibits use of women and boys in mines
1 Dec 1844 = Queen Alexandra born
1845 = First use of The Oval at Kennington,London for Cricket
1845 = Elizabeth Fry died (Quaker prison reformer)
1845 = Royal College of Science founded
1845 = Invention of pneumatic tyre by R W Thompson
Jul 1846 = Potato famine hits Ireland and Scotland
Apr 1847 = Thousands emigrate from Ireland on "Coffin" ships
1848 = Board of Health formed
1848 = Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood formed
1848 = George Stephenson died
1848 = Rising in Ireland by the Youth of Ireland movement
1849 = Wesleyan Reform Union founded
1849 = Harrods founded
28 May 1849 = Anne Bronte died
Nov 1849 = Cholera epidemic takes 2000 lives a week
1850 = Alfred, Lord Tennyson appointed Poet Laureate
1850 = Queen's University of Iteland founded with colleges at Belfast,Cork and Galway
1850 = Royal Meteorological Society founded (as British Meteorological Society)
1850 = William Wordsworth died
1850 = Invention of refrigerator by Twining / Harrison
1851 = Amagamated Society of Engineers the first union to represent a single trade Nationally
1851 = J M W Turner died
1851 = Great Exhibition
1851 = First Fortnum & Mason hampers supplied to visitors to the Great Exhibition
1851 = Royal School of Mines founded
31 Mar 1851 = 1851 national census taken
1 May 1851 = Great Exhibition opened in Hyde Park
1852 = Victoria & Albert Museum (V & A) opened at Marlborough House
1852 = The Patent Office set up by Act of Parliament
1852 = Second Burmese War
1853 = Cheltenham Ladies College founded
1853 = Appointment of first Charity Commissioners
1853 = Smallpox vaccination becomes compulsory
ABT 1853 = Transportation of criminals to Australia ends
1854 = Meteorological Office established
1854 = Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, founded
26 Mar 1854 = Britain and France declare war on Russia (Crimean War)
Sep 1854 = Battle of Alma
Oct 1854 = Allies lay seige to Sebastopol
25 Oct 1854 = Battle of Balaclava
25 Oct 1854 = Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava
7 Nov 1854 = Battle of Inkerman
1855 = First use of Field Telegraph in War in the Crimea
1855 = Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) founded
1855 = The Scotsman (Newspaper) founded
1855 = Appointment of the first Civil Service Commissioners
1855 = Invention of the safety match by J E Lundstrom
1855 = First use of Field Telegraph in War in the Crimea
May 1855 = Florence Nightingale arrived in the Crimea
1856 = Coastguard Service Act establishes H M Coastguard as a reserve body of the Royal Navy to save lives at sea
29 Jan 1856 = Victoria Cross instituted by Queen Victoria
30 Mar 1856 = End of Crimean War
1857 = Victoria & Albert Museum moved to present site
1857 = Old Trafford, Manchester first used as a cricket ground by Manchester Cricket Club
1857 = United Methodist Free Churches founded
1857 = Sir Edward Elgar born
1857 = The Savage Club opened in London
1857 = Halle Orchestra founded at Free Trade Hall,Manchester by Charles Halle
1857 = Establishment by Parliament of the Court of Probate
10 May 1857 = Sepoy mutiny at Meerut in India
26 Jun 1857 = Surrender of Cawnpore to Indian mutineers
30 Jun 1857 = Seige of Lucknow by Indian mutineers started
14 Sep 1857 = British storm Delhi
25 Sep 1857 = British fight their way to Lucknow
17 Nov 1857 = Alambagh garrisoned by British troops
17 Nov 1857 = Relief of Lucknow by Lord Clyde
1858 = Medical Act - Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Surgeons start to offer diplomas
1858 = Office of Secretary of State for India instituted
1858 = Fenian Society formed in Ireland by James Stephens
1858 = Establihment of the General Medical Council & Registration of Medical Pactitioners
1858 = First Publication of Crockford's Clerical Directory by Edward William Cox
Jun 1858 = Fall of Jhansi to British (end of Indian Mutiny)
1 Nov 1858 = East India Company wound up - India transferred to control of British Crown
1859 = The Sporting Life (Newspaper) founded (as Penny Bell's Life)
1859 = National Gallery of Scotland founded
1859 = National Portrait Gallery established
1859 = Royal Geographical Society incorporated by Royal Charter
1859 = First oil well sunk by E L Drake in Pennsylvania
15 Sep 1859 = Isambard .Kingdom Brunel died
24 Nov 1859 = Charles Darwin publishes "The Origin of Species"
1860 = First "Pleasure" pier built at Southport,Lancs
ABT 1860 = First Royal Garden Party
1860 = First Royal Navy Ironclad Battleships launched
1860 = First Open Golf Championship held at Prestwick, Scotland
1861 = Star of India (Order of Chivalry) instituted by Queen Victoria
1861 = First UK horse drawn tram service introduced from America by George Train
1861 = Founding of Morris & Co. (Arts & Crafts Movement)
1861 = Gatling gun invented by R J Gatling
8 Apr 1861 = 1861 national census taken
1862 = National Working Men's Cluband Institute Union created
1862 = Source of the River Nile discovered by John Hanning Speke
1862 = Purchase of Sandringham, Norfolk by the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII)
10 Feb 1862 = Royal Victoria and Albert (decoration) instituted
1863 = David Lloyd George born
1863 = William Makepeace Thackeray died
1863 = Formation of the Football Association
1863 = Lillywhite's store opened
1863 = Metropolitan Line opened as first tube train service
10 Jan 1863 = London Underground opens
24 Dec 1863 = Thackeray died
1864 = The Statesman's Year Book first published
1864 = Wisden Cricketer's Almanack first published
1864 = John Hanning Speke died
1864 = Albert Memorial erected
1864 = First County Cricket Championship held
1865 = Lancashire County Cricket Club first paly at Old Trafford, Manchester
1865 = Roedean (girl's public school) founded
1865 = Salvation Army founded by William & Catherine Booth in Whitechapel, London
3 Jun 1865 = King George V born
18 Oct 1865 = Viscount Palmerston died
1866 = John Keble died
1866 = National Hunt Committee formed
1866 = Institution of the Albert Medal for gallantry in the saving of life
ABT 1866 = Invention of the breech-loading rifle
Sep 1866 = Cholera sweeps London
25 Aug 1867 = Michael Faraday died
1867 = Fenian rising in Ireland
1867 = First Croquet Championships played at Evesham, Worcestershire
1867 = Invention of the typewriter by Sholes and Glidden
1867 = Alfred Nobel invents dynamite
1867 = Joseph Lister pioneers antiseptic techniques
1868 = Trades Union Congress (TUC) formed
1868 = Welsh National Anthem written
1868 = Last public hanging in Britain
1868 = Robert Falcon Scott born
1868 = Royal National Institute for the Blind founded (as the British and Foreign Blind Association)
1868 = ounding of Exchange and Mart (Newspaper) by Edward William Cox
1868 = The Savile Club opened in London
Feb 1868 = Disraeli becomes Prime Minister
1869 = Whittaker's Almanack first published
1869 = Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts started
1869 = Edwin Lutyens born
1869 = Sainsbury's started as a dairy in Drury Lane,London
1869 = Founding of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
1869 = Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland
1869 = D Mendeleev constructs Periodic Table of elements
1870 = Elementary Education Act set up state elementary schools
1870 = Marie Lloyd (Music Hall Entertainer) born
1870 = One of the first point-to-point meetings held by Atherstone Hunt
1870 = Irish Home Rule Association formed by Isaac Butt to promote self government for the Irish
1870 = Electric incandescent lamp invented by T A Edison
9 Jun 1870 = Charles Dickens died
1871 = Trade Union Act legaised trade unions
1871 = First Rugby International match between England and Scotland
1871 = First Durham Miners' Gala
1871 = Formation of the Rugby Football Union
1871 = Bank Holidays Act establishes Bank Holidays
3 Apr 1871 = 1871 national census taken
16 Mar 1872 = First Football Cup Final at Kennington Oval, London between Wanderers and Royal Engineers
May 1872 = Gladstone becomes Prime Minister
Dec 1872 = "Marie Celeste" discovered abandoned
1873 = Supreme Court of Judicature established
1873 = David Livingstone died
1873 = Royal Navy Training School, Greenwich opened
1873 = William Macready (Actor-Manager) died
1873 = Formation of the Scottish Football Association
1873 = Irish Republican Brotherhood formed
1873 = Establishment of the Kennel Club of Great Britain
1873 = Invention of pianoforte by J Broadwood
1874 = Institution of the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM)
25 Jan 1874 = W Somerset Maugham born
30 Nov 1874 = Sir Winston Churchill born
1875 = Snooker invented at Kabul by Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain
1875 = Captain Webb first person recorded to have swum the English Channel
1875 = Establishment of the High Court of Justice
1875 = Liberty's opened by Arthur Liberty as "East India House"
1876 = Foundation of Cardiff Rugby Football Club
1876 = Invention of the telephone by A G Bell
11 Sep 1876 = First recorded Greyhound Race at Hendon,London
1877 = St.John Ambulance Association and Brigade founded
1877 = Order of the Indian Empire instituted
1877 = First Wimbledon Championships (Tennis) held
1877 = Phonograph invented by Thomas Edison
1877 = Invention of reinforced concrete by J Monier
Mar 1877 = First cricket test match between Australia and England at Melbourne
1878 = Lady Margaret Hall,Oxford founded for ladies
1878 = Salvation Army adopts uniforms and military style hierarchy
1878 = Charles Stewart Parnell replaces Isaac Butt as leader of the Home Rule Association
1878 = Establishment of Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
1879 = Somerville College,Oxford founded for ladies
1879 = Green College,Oxford founded
1879 = Queen's University of Ireland suppressed at instigation of Catholic Bishops
1879 = Royal University of Ireland founded to replace Queen's University
1879 = Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) founded
1879 = Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon opened
1879 = Hamilton Harty (Composer) born
1879 = Creation of the office of Director of Public Prosecutions
4 Jan 1879 = Augustus John born
29 Apr 1879 = Sir Thomas Beecham born
27 Aug 1879 = Sir Rowland Hill died
28 Dec 1879 = Tay Bridge disaster
1880 = Manchester University founded
1880 = Royal Tournament first held
1880 = Founding of the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA)
1881 = Revised version of the Bible punlished jointly by Oxford & Cambridge Presses
1881 = Thomas Carlyle died
1881 = Opening of the British Museum (Natural History
1881 = Foundation of the Welsh Rugby Football Union (WRFU)
3 Apr 1881 = 1881 national census taken
1882 = First Polytechnic opened in Regent Street,London by Quintin Hogg
1882 = Dante Gabriel Rosetti died
1882 = Foundation of the Church Army by Rev.Prebendary Wison Carlile
1882 = Isolation of tuberculosis bacteria by R Koch
18 Jan 1882 = A A Milne born
19 Apr 1882 = Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield) died
6 Dec 1882 = Anthony Trollope died
1883 = John Maynard Keynes born
1883 = Primrose League founded by Lord Randolph Churchill
1883 = Royal College of Music (RCM) founded
1883 = Royal Red Cross (Nursing decoration) instituted
1883 = Irish Special Branch formed (origin of Special Branch)
1883 = Foundation of the Boys Brigade by Sir Wlliam Alexander Smith in Glasgow
1883 = Cholera bacteria isolated by Robert Koch
26 Aug 1883 = Krakatoa erupts
8 Nov 1883 = Sir Arnold Bax born
BEF 1884 = Treorchy Male Choir started
1884 = Toynbee Hall founded in Whitechapel, London
1884 = First Volume of Oxford English Dictionary published
1884 = National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) set up
1884 = Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes
1884 = Foundation of the Fabian Society
1884 = Foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association (Gaelic Football)
1884 = City & Guilds College founded
1884 = Fountain pen invented by L E Waterman
13 Mar 1884 = Sir Hugh Walpole died
1885 = Tower Bridge approved
1885 = First British Amateur Golf Championship
1885 = Vaccine against rabies discovered by Louis Pasteur
1885 = First internal combustion carriage built by K. Benz
26 Jan 1885 = General Gordon killed at Khartoum
1886 = First Crufts Dog Show held at Islington, Middx. by Charles Cruft
1886 = Institution of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for officers of the Army, RN, RAF and Merchant Marine
1887 = First British submarine tested
1887 = First All Ireland Gaelic Football Championship
1887 = Sherlock Holmes created by Arthur Conan Doyle
17 Nov 1887 = General Montgomery born
1888 = Lawn Tennis Association formed
1888 = Invention of the pneumatic tyre by John Dunlop
1888 = Invention of hand-held camera by George Eastman
Oct 1888 = Jack the Ripper terrorises London's East End
1889 = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) founded in Manchester
1889 = Invention of the bolt-action rifle by P von Mauser
8 Apr 1889 = Sir Adrian Boult born
14 Nov 1889 = Completion of the Forth Bridge - first large steel structure
1890 = First steam powered lifeboat entered service
1890 = Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, founded
1890 = First Rugby County Championship held
1890 = The Cavalry & Guards Club opened in London
1890 = Discovery of diphtheria vaccine by E von Behring
1891 = Invention of the zip fastener by W L Judson
1 Apr 1891 = 1891 national census taken
1892 = Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London founded (previously Royal Italian Opera House)
1892 = Smallholdings Act to enable Local Authorities to buy farmland to let as smallholdings
6 Oct 1892 = Alfred Lord Tennyson died
1893 = Harold Laski born
1893 = Camanachd Association formed to regulate Shinty (Scottish game)
1893 = Alexander Korda (Film Producer) born
1893 = The Imperial Institute founded
1893 = Thomas Edison invents motion pictures
15 Jan 1893 = Fanny Kemble died
1894 = Albion Colliery disaster, Cilfynydd, Pontypridd, Glam.
1894 = J B Priestley born
1894 = General Council of the Bar (Bar Council) founded
1894 = Tower Bridge opens in London
14 May 1894 = Blackpool Tower opened
23 Jun 1894 = King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) born
8 Dec 1894 = James Thurber born
29 Dec 1894 = Christina Rossetti died
1895 = National Trust founded
1895 = The Proms (The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts) established
1895 = Northern Rugby Football Union formed (origin of Rugby League)
1895 = Birt Acres invents the cine camera and projector
1895 = London School of Economics founded by Sidney and Beatrice Webb
1895 = Charles Halle died
1895 = Discovery of x-rays by W K Roentgen
1895 = Wireless telegraphy invented by G Marconi
29 Apr 1895 = Sir Malcolm Sargent born
14 Dec 1895 = King George VI born
1896 = Who's Who first published
1896 = The Daily Mail (Newspaper) founded
1896 = Royal National Homing Union of Great Britain (Pidgeon racing) formed
1896 = John Everett Millais died
1896 = Wycombe Abbey School (girl's public school) founded
1896 = William Morris (Artist) died
1896 = Discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel
21 Apr 1896 = Royal Victorian Order instituted
22 Apr 1896 = George du Maurier died
19 May 1896 = Sir Michael Balcon born
10 Dec 1896 = Alfred Nobel died
1897 = Tate Gallery opened
1897 = Women's Institute started in Canada
1897 = Royal Automobile Club (RAC) founded as the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland
1897 = Foundation of Country Life Magazine
22 Jun 1897 = Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee
1898 = Edward Burne-Jones died
1898 = Scottish National Orchestra founded in Glasgow
29 Nov 1898 = C S Lewis born
1899 to 1902 = British National Antarctic Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott
1899 = Ruskin College founded at Oxford as a working man's college
1899 = Alfred Hitchcock (Film Producer) born
1899 = Sir John Barbirolli born
1899 = Invention of first tape recorder by V Poulsen
1899 = Introduction of aspirin by Felix Hoffman
1899 = Start of the Boer War