| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1618 | - 1618—1618:
Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I
|
| 2 | 1619 | - 4 Dec 1619—4 Dec 1619:
(Nov 24 old style): Colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in
Virginia and give thanks to God (considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the
Americas)
|
| 3 | 1620 | - 1620—1620:
Manufacture of coke (the fuel, not the drink!) patented by Dud Dudley
- 21 Dec 1620—21 Dec 1620:
(Dec 16 old style): The Mayflower reaches America - founds Plymouth, New
England (had initially set sail from Southampton on Aug 5)
|
| 4 | 1621 | - 1621—1621:
Chimneys to be made of brick and to be four and a half feet above the roof
|
| 5 | 1622 | - 1622—1622:
First English newspaper appeared - Weekly News'
|
| 6 | 1624 | - 1624—1624:
Monopoly Act in England: patents protected
- 1624—1624:
Edmund Gunter introduces the surveyor's chain (measurement of length)
|
| 7 | 1625 | - 1625—1625:
The size of bricks standardised in England around this time
- 27 Mar 1625—27 Mar 1625:
Death of King James VI & I
|
| 8 | 1628 | - 1 Mar 1628—1 Mar 1628:
Writs issued by Charles I that every county in England (not just seaport towns)
pay ship tax by this date
|
| 9 | 1629 | - 10 Mar 1629—10 Mar 1629:
Parliament dissolved by King Charles I - did not meet for another 11 yea
|
| 10 | 1633 | - Jun 1633—Jun 1633:
Galileo summoned by Inquisition for publishing in favour of Copernican theory
|
| 11 | 1635 | - 1635—1635:
Letter Office of England & Scotland started
- 1635—1635:
Flintlock small arms invented around this time (replaces matchlock)
|
| 12 | 1636 | - 1636—1636:
Hackney Carriages in use by now in London
|
| 13 | 1638 | - 1638—1638:
King Charles regarded protests against the prayerbook as treason - forced Scots to choose
between their church and the King - a ?Covenant' swearing to resist these changes to the
Death was signed in Greyfriars Church Edinburgh and was accepted by hundreds of
thousands of Scots (revival of Presbyterian Church)
|
| 14 | 1639 | - 1639—1639:
Act of Toleration in England established religious toleration
|
| 15 | 1640 | - 3 Nov 1640—3 Nov 1640:
Charles I forced to recall Parliament (the 'Long Parliament') due to Scottish
invasion
|
| 16 | 1641 | - 1641—1641:
Charles I's policies cause insurrection in Ulster and Civil War in England
- 1641—1641:
Charles I and the English Parliament acknowledge the Prebyterian Church in Scotland
- 23 Oct 1641—23 Oct 1641:
50,000 Irish killed in an uprising in Ulster
|
| 17 | 1642 | - 1642—1642:
The Civil War interrupted the keeping of parish registers
- 1642—1642:
English theatres closed by Puritans (till 1660)
- 22 Aug 1642—22 Aug 1642:
Charles I raises his standard at Nottingham - First Civil War in England (to
1649)
- 13 Nov 1642—13 Nov 1642:
Battle of Turnham Green - Royalist forces withdraw in face of the
Parliamentarian army and fail to take London
- 24 Nov 1642—24 Nov 1642:
Abel Janszoon Tasman discovers Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania)
- 18 Dec 1642—18 Dec 1642:
Abel Janszoon Tasman first European to set foot in New Zealand
|
| 18 | 1643 | - 13 Dec 1643—13 Dec 1643:
Battle of Alton - victory for Parliamentarians - Sir Richard Bolle killed in St
Lawrence's church
|
| 19 | 1644 | - 29 Jun 1644—29 Jun 1644:
Battle of Cropredy Bridge - Royalists beat the Parliamentarian forces
- 2 Jul 1644—2 Jul 1644:
Battle of Marston Moor, near York - Parliamentarian forces beat the Royalists
|
| 20 | 1645 | - 1645—1645:
Battle of Philiphaugh in Scotland
- 1645—1645:
Scotland: Each county and burgh ordered to raise and maintain a number of foot
soldiers, according to population, to serve as militia - population of Scotland estimated at
420,000
- 1645—1645:
Plague made its last appearance in Scotland
- 14 Jun 1645—14 Jun 1645:
Battle of Naseby: Parliament's New Model Army crushes the Royalist forces
|
| 21 | 1646 | - 5 May 1646—5 May 1646:
Charles I surrenders to the Scottish Army at Newark
- 20 Jun 1646—20 Jun 1646:
Royalists sign articles of surrender at Oxford
|
| 22 | 1648 | - 1648—1648:
Society of Friends (Quakers) founded by George Fox
- 1648—1648:
First practical thermometers made
|
| 23 | 1649 | - 1649—1649:
Cromwell's Irish campaign starts
- 1649—1649:
King Charles II proclaimed King of Scots and England in Scotland
- 6 Jan 1649—6 Jan 1649:
'Rump' Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial
- 30 Jan 1649—30 Jan 1649:
King Charles I executed
- 19 May 1649—19 May 1649:
Commonwealth declared
- 20 Dec 1649—20 Dec 1649:
Theatres banned by Cromwell
- 20 Dec 1649—20 Dec 1649:
Christmas banned by Cromwell
|
| 24 | 1650 | - 1650—1650:
Coffee brought to England about this time
|
| 25 | 1651 | - 1651—1651:
The second English Civil War (1651-1652)
- 1651—1651:
Scottish prisoners transported to the British settlements in America
- 3 Sep 1651—3 Sep 1651:
Battle of Worcester
|
| 26 | 1652 | - 6 Apr 1652—6 Apr 1652:
SA - The first white settlers, led by Jan van Riebeeck, arrive in Table Bay. The Cape Colony is governed by the Dutch East India Company(VOC)until 1795.
|
| 27 | 1653 | - 1653—1653:
Commonwealth registers start
- 1653—1653:
Under the Act of Settlement Cromwell's opponents stripped of land
- 1653—1653:
Provincial probate courts abolished - probates granted only in London
- 20 Apr 1653—20 Apr 1653:
Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament
- 16 Dec 1653—16 Dec 1653:
Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England,
Scotland and Ireland
|
| 28 | 1654 | - 1654—1654:
SA - Asian convicts brought to Cape as slaves
|
| 29 | 1657 | - 1657—1657:
SA - Settlement in Liesbeeck Valley (Rondebosch) by first 9 free white burghers. Slaves imported from Madagascar and Java.
- 1657—1657:
SA - First Free Burghers settle on Khoekhoe land
- 1657—1657:
Post Office established by Act of Parliament [others say 1660]
- 1657—1657:
A few Jews permitted to settle in England
|
| 30 | 1658 | - 1658—1658:
Richard Cromwell (son of Oliver) Lord Protector (-1660)
- 3 Sep 1658—3 Sep 1658:
Death of Oliver Cromwell
|
| 31 | 1659 | - 1659—1660:
SA - Armed Khoekhoe resist Dutch seizure of land
- 1659—1659:
Start of national meteorological Temperature records in the UK
- 6 Feb 1659—6 Feb 1659:
Date of first known bank cheque to be drawn
|
| 32 | 1660 | - 1660—1679:
SA - Expansion of Cape settlement
- 1660—1660:
SA - Almond hedge planted to protect the settlement from the Hottentots (Khoikhoi). First horses arrive at the Cape from Batavia, circa 1660s.
- 1660—1660:
Commonwealth registers ended, Parish Registers resumed
- 1660—1660:
Provincial Probate Courts re-established
- 1660—1660:
Clarendon code restricts Puritans' religious freedom
- 1660—1660:
Composition of light discovered by Newton
- 1660—1660:
Honourable East India Company founded by British
- 1 Jan 1660—1 Jan 1660:
Samuel Pepys starts his diary
- 29 May 1660—29 May 1660:
Restoration of British monarchy (Charles II) - 'Oak Apple Day' - theatres
reopened
- 17 Oct 1660—17 Oct 1660:
Ten Regicides are executed at Charing Cross or Tyburn
- 28 Nov 1660—28 Nov 1660:
Twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir
Robert Moray decide to found what is later known as the Royal Society
- 8 Dec 1660—8 Dec 1660:
First actress plays in London (Margaret Hughes as Desdemona)
|
| 33 | 1661 | - 1661—1661:
SA - Rumours noted at Cape concerning "Briqua" - later known to be Tswana
- 1661—1661:
Restoration of Episcopacy in Scotland
- 1661—1661:
Board of Trade founded in London
- 1661—1661:
Hand-struck postage stamps first used
- 1661—1661:
Corporation Act prevents non-Anglicans from holding municipal office
- 30 Jan 1661—30 Jan 1661:
Oliver Cromwell formally 'executed', having been dead for over two years!
|
| 34 | 1662 | - 1662—1662:
'Hearth Tax' introduced - until 1689 (1690 in Scotland)
- 1662—1662:
Poor Relief Act or Act of Settlement' - gave JPs the power to return any wandering
poor to the parish of origin (repealed 1834)
- 1662—1662:
Tea introduced to Britain
- May 1662—May 1662:
SA - Jan van Riebeeck leaves the Cape for Malacca.
- 24 Aug 1662—24 Aug 1662:
Act of Uniformity - Acceptance of Book of Common Prayer required - About
2,000 vicars and rectors driven from their parishes as nonconformists (Presbyterians and
Independents) - Persecution of all non-conformists - Presbyterianism dis-established -
Episcopalian Church of England restored
|
| 35 | 1663 | - 1663—1663:
SA - Outposts set up at Saldanha Bay and Hottentots Holland.
|
| 36 | 1664 | - 29 May 1664—29 May 1664:
Oak Apple Day - the birthday of Charles II and the day when he entered
London at the Restoration; commanded by Act of Parliament in 1664 to be observed as a day
of thanksgiving. A special service (expunged in 1859) was inserted in the Book of Common
Prayer and people wore sprigs of oak with gilded oak-apples on that day.
- 27 Aug 1664—27 Aug 1664:
Nieuw Amsterdam becomes New York as 300 English soldiers under Col.
Mathias Nicolls take the town from the Dutch under orders from Charles II. The town is
renamed after the King's brother James, Duke of York
|
| 37 | 1665 | - 1665—1665:
SA - The first Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded at the Cape and the first minister appointed, Rev. J. van Arkel.
- 1665—1665:
Great Plague of London (July-October) kills over 60,000
- 1665—1665:
Five-mile Act restricts non-conformist ministers in Britain
- 7 Nov 1665—7 Nov 1665:
The ?London Gazette' first published - one of the official journals of record of the
United Kingdom government and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the
United Kingdom
|
| 38 | 1666 | - 1666—1666:
SA - The Castle (or Fort) building started in Cape Town
- 1666—1666:
SA - Settlements in Saldanha Bay and Vishoek (Fish Hoek). First Calvinist church built in Cape Town.
- 1666—1666:
Use of semaphore signalling pioneered by Lord Worcester
- 1666—1666:
Newton formulated Laws of Gravity
- 2 Sep 1666—2 Sep 1666:
Great Fire of London, after a drought beginning 27 June (2-6 Sep)
|
| 39 | 1667 | - 1667—1667:
SA - Indians arrive at the Cape.
|
| 40 | 1668 | - 1668—1668:
British East India Company obtains control of Bombay
- 1668—1668:
Newton constructs reflecting telescope
|
| 41 | 1669 | - 31 May 1669—31 May 1669:
Last entry in Pepys's diary
|
| 42 | 1670 | - 26 May 1670—26 May 1670:
King Charles II and King Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover
|
| 43 | 1671 | - 9 May 1671—9 May 1671:
Thomas Blood caught stealing the Crown Jewels
|
| 44 | 1672 | - 1672—1672:
High Court of Justiciary established in Scotland
- 1672—1672:
War with Holland (to 1674) - British Army increased to 10,000 men
|
| 45 | 1673 | - 1673—1673:
SA - Second Dutch-Khoekhoe war
- 1673—1673:
First Test Act deprives British Catholics and Non-conformists of Public Office
|
| 46 | 1674 | - 10 Nov 1674—10 Nov 1674:
Treaty of Westminster - Netherlands cedes New Netherlands (on the eastern
coast of North America) to Britain
|
| 47 | 1675 | - 1675—1675:
Beginning of Whig party under Shaftsbury
- 1675—1675:
Rebuilding of St Paul's started by Wren (completed 1710)
- 4 Mar 1675—4 Mar 1675:
John Flamsteed appointed first Astronomer Royal of England
- 10 Aug 1675—10 Aug 1675:
Building of Royal Greenwich Observatory started
|
| 48 | 1676 | - 1676—1676:
Compton Census, named after its initiator Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was
intended to discover the number of Anglican conformists, Roman Catholic recusants and
Protestant dissenters in England and Wales from enquiries made in individual parishes
|
| 49 | 1677 | - 1677—1677:
Lee's Collection of Names of Merchants in London' published
|
| 50 | 1678 | - 1678—1678:
SA - Settlement of Hottentots-Holland.
- 1678—1678:
Extension of Test Act to peers
|
| 51 | 1679 | - 1679—1679:
SA - Simon van der Stel arrives with orders to expand colony
- 1679—1679:
SA - Stellenbosch founded. Castle in Cape Town is completed. First farmers settle along the Eerste River.
- 1679—1679:
Tories first so named
- 27 May 1679—27 May 1679:
Habeas Corpus Act becomes law in England - (later repealed from time to
time)
|
| 52 | 1680 | - 1680—1680:
William Dockwra(y) begins his London Penny Post
- 1680—1680:
Dodo becomes extinct in Mauritius through over-hunting
|
| 53 | 1681 | - 1681—1681:
Second Test Act (against non-conformists) passed by Westminster Parliament
- 1681—1681:
Oil lighting first used in London streets
|
| 54 | 1682 | - 1682—1682:
Pennsylvania founded by William Penn
- 1682—1682:
Library of Advocates founded in Edinburgh - later National Library of Scotland
- 1682—1682:
Halley observes the comet which bears his name
|
| 55 | 1683 | - 1683—1683:
Wild boar become extinct in Britain
- 6 Jun 1683—6 Jun 1683:
Ashmolean Museum opened at Oxford - first museum in Britain
|
| 56 | 1685 | - 1685—1685:
James the Second (1685-1689, died 1701) - Monmouth rebellion and battle of
Sedgemoor - British Army raised to 20,000 men
- 1685—1685:
Earl of Argyll's Invasion of Scotland
- 1685—1685:
Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assizes - 320 executed, 800 transported
- 1685—1685:
SA - Simon van der Stel visits Namaqualand
- 1685—1685:
SA - Commissioner Hendrik van Reede (VOC) decrees that male slaves can buy their freedom for 100 guilders on reaching the age of 25 years, provided that they have been confirmed in the Dutch Reformed Church and can speak Dutch. The same conditions apply to female slaves, who can buy their freedom at age 22 years.
|
| 57 | 1686 | - 1686—1686:
Release of all prisoners held for their religious beliefs
- 1686—1686:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Stellenbosch.
|
| 58 | 1687 | - 1687—1687:
SA - Settlements along Berg River (Drakenstein, Paarl).
- 4 Apr 1687—4 Apr 1687:
James II issues the Declaration of Indulgence, suspending laws against Catholics
and non-conformists
- 5 Jul 1687—5 Jul 1687:
Newton published his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica' - written
in Latin
|
| 59 | 1688 | - 1688—1688:
British Army raised to 40,000
- 1688—1688:
Bill of Rights limits the powers of the monarchy over parliament
- 1688—1688:
Hearth Tax abolished
- 1688—1688:
Mutiny Act
- Feb 1688—Feb 1688:
Edward Lloyd's Coffee House opens - later became Lloyd's of London
- Apr 1688—Apr 1688:
SA - Approximately 200 French Huguenots arrive at the Cape, settle mostly in Fransch Hoek.
- Nov 1688—Nov 1688:
The Glorious Revolution: James II abdicates
- 5 Nov 1688—5 Nov 1688:
William of Orange lands at Torbay
- Dec 1688—Dec 1688:
Siege of Londonderry (began Dec 1688; ended 28 Jul 1689)
|
| 60 | 1689 | - 1689—1689:
Devonport naval dockyard established
- 13 Feb 1689—13 Feb 1689:
William III and Mary II, daughter of James II, jointly take the throne (only William, however, has regal power)
- 12 Mar 1689—12 Mar 1689:
Deposed James VII & II flees to Ireland - defeated at the Battle of the Boyne (1
Jul 1690)
- 24 May 1689—24 May 1689:
Toleration Act passed for Protestant non-conformists
- 27 Jul 1689—27 Jul 1689:
Battle of Killiecrankie in Scotland - Jacobites defeated Government troops but
at high cost
- 16 Dec 1689—16 Dec 1689:
Bill of Rights passed by Parliament, ending King's divine right to raise taxes or
wage war
|
| 61 | 1690 | - 20 May 1690—20 May 1690:
England passes Act of Grace, forgiving Roman Catholic followers of James II
|
| 62 | 1691 | - 1691—1691:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregations founded in Drakenstein and Paarl.
|
| 63 | 1692 | - 1692—1692:
Land Tax introduced - originally designed as an annual tax on personal estate, public
offices and land. For practical purposes, however, assessors tended to avoid assessing items of
wealth other than landed property so that it became known as the Land Tax.
- 1692—1692:
French intention to invade England came to nothing
- 13 Feb 1692—13 Feb 1692:
The massacre of Glencoe - Clan Campbell sides with King William and
murders members of Clan McDonald
|
| 64 | 1693 | - 4 Aug 1693—4 Aug 1693:
Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Pierre P?rignon 's invention of Champagne
|
| 65 | 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)
|
| 66 | 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'
|
| 67 | 1697 | - 2 Dec 1697—2 Dec 1697:
Official opening of St Paul's Cathedral
|
| 68 | 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
- 1698—1698:
SA - Settlement of Wagenmaker's Vallei (Wellington).
- 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
|
| 69 | 1700 | - 1700—1700:
Population in England and Scotland approx 7.5 million
- 1700—1799:
SA - VOC slave trading in Mozambique; Zanzibar and Madagascar
- 1700—1700:
SA - Settlement in Land van Waveren (Tulbagh).
|
| 70 | 1701 | - 1701—1701:
Act of Settlement bars Catholics from the British throne
- 1701—1701:
SA - Cattle raids by Khoisan commence against Dutch
- 23 May 1701—23 May 1701:
After being convicted of piracy and murdering William Moore, Captain
William Kidd hanged in London
|
| 71 | 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)
|
| 72 | 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)
|
| 73 | 1704 | - 1704—1704:
Penal Code enacted - Catholics barred from voting, education and the military
- 13 Aug 1704—13 Aug 1704:
Battle of Blenheim
|
| 74 | 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)
|
| 75 | 1706 | - 1706—1706:
First evening newspaper The Evening Post' issued in London
|
| 76 | 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
|
| 77 | 1708 | - 1708—1708:
First Jacobite rising in Scotland
- 1708—1708:
Earliest Artillery Muster Rolls
|
| 78 | 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
|
| 79 | 1710 | - 1710—1710:
Tax on Apprentice Indentures introduced
|
| 80 | 1711 | - 1711—1711:
Incorporation of South Sea Company, in London
- 11 Aug 1711—11 Aug 1711:
First race meeting at Ascot
|
| 81 | 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
|
| 82 | 1713 | - 1713—1713:
By this year there are some 3,000 coffee houses in London
- 1713—1713:
SA - Smallpox epidemic in the Cape, introduced from India, decimates Hottentots, kills many whites.
|
| 83 | 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).
|
| 84 | 1715 | - 1715—1715:
Second Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, under the Old Pretender ('The Fifteen')
- 1 Aug 1715—1 Aug 1715:
Riot Act passed
|
| 85 | 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
|
| 86 | 1717 | - 1717—1717:
SA - System of freehold title to land ends, by which time about 400 farms granted.
- 1717—1717:
First Masonic Lodge opens in London
- 1717—1717:
Value of the golden guinea fixed at 21 shillings
|
| 87 | 1719 | - 1719—1719:
Third abortive Jacobite rising
|
| 88 | 1720 | - 1720—1749:
SA - Western Cape Khoekhoe reduced to labouring class
- 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
|
| 89 | 1721 | - 2 Apr 1721—2 Apr 1721:
Robert Walpole (Whig) becomes first Prime Minister (to 1742)
|
| 90 | 1722 | - 1722—1722:
SA - Groot Constantia is built.
- 1722—1722:
Last trial for witchcraft in Scotland
- 1722—1722:
Knatchbull's Act, poor laws
|
| 91 | 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
|
| 92 | 1724 | - 1724—1724:
Rapid growth of gin drinking in England
- 1724—1724:
Longman's founded (Britain's oldest publishing house)
|
| 93 | 1726 | - 1726—1726:
First circulating library opened in Edinburgh
- 1726—1726:
Invention of the chronometer by John Harrison
|
| 94 | 1727 | - 1727—1727:
Board of Manufacturers established in Scotland
- 11 Jun 1727—11 Jun 1727:
George I dies - George II Hanover becomes king
|
| 95 | 1729 | - 9 Nov 1729—9 Nov 1729:
Treaty of Seville signed between Britain, France and Spain - Britain maintained
control of Port Mahon and Gibraltar
|
| 96 | 1730 | - 1730—1730:
SA - The VOC imports slaves from Mozambique and Zanzibar. First Boers reach George area, trek inland into Langkloof.
- 1730—1730:
Irish famine
|
| 97 | 1731 | - 1731—1731:
Invention of seed drill by Jethro Tull [others say 1701]
- 1731—1731:
Invention of sextant by John Hadley
|
| 98 | 1732 | - 1732—1732:
SA - Annual rental of a leningplaats doubled to 24 rixdollars. Quitrent system of land tenure introduced.
- 7 Dec 1732—7 Dec 1732:
Covent Garden Opera House opens
|
| 99 | 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
|
| 100 | 1734 | - 1734—1734:
SA - Great Brak River proclaimed eastern boundary of Cape.
- 1734—1734:
Kent's Directory published
|
| 101 | 1737 | - 1737—1743:
SA - Short-lived Moravian mission to Khoekhoe
- 1737—1737:
Licensing Act restricts the number of London theatres and subects plays to censorship
of the Lord Chamberlain (till 1950s)
|
| 102 | 1738 | - 24 May 1738—24 May 1738:
John Wesley has his conversion experience
|
| 103 | 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
|
| 104 | 1741 | - 1741—1741:
Benjamin Ingham founded the Moravian Methodists or Inghamites - Earliest Moravian
registers
|
| 105 | 1742 | - 1742—1742:
England goes to war with Spain - incited by William Pitt the Elder (Earl of Chatham)
for the sake of trade
|
| 106 | 1743 | - 1743—1743:
SA - First recorded Trekboer loan farms in Roggeveld
- 1743—1743:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregations founded in Roodezand and Tulbagh.
- 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
|
| 107 | 1744 | - 1744—1744:
Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
|
| 108 | 1745 | - 1745—1745:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregations founded in Swartland (Malmesbury).
- 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
|
| 109 | 1746 | - 1746—1746:
SA - Swellendam is founded.
- 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
|
| 110 | 1747 | - 1747—1747:
Act for Pacification of the Highlands
- 1747—1747:
Abolition of Heritable Jurisdictions in Scotland
|
| 111 | 1749 | - 27 Apr 1749—27 Apr 1749:
First performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (in Green Park,
London)
|
| 112 | 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)
|
| 113 | 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
|
| 114 | 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
|
| 115 | 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
|
| 116 | 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
- 1754—1754:
SA - First recorded Xam San resistance to Roggeveld Trekboers
|
| 117 | 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)
- 1755—1755:
SA - Smallpox epidemic in the Cape. Foundation stone of Old Town House in Cape Town is laid.
- 2 Dec 1755—2 Dec 1755:
Second Eddystone Lighthouse destroyed by fire
|
| 118 | 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
|
| 119 | 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
|
| 120 | 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
|
| 121 | 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
|
| 122 | 1760 | - 1760—1760:
Carron Iron Works in operation in Scotland
- 1760—1760:
SA - Jansz; Coetse with Klaas Barends and others cross Gariep River
- 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'
|
| 123 | 1761 | - 1761—1762:
SA - Hendrik Hop travels to Gariep River
- 16 Jan 1761—16 Jan 1761:
British capture Pondicherry, India from the French
|
| 124 | 1762 | - 1762—1762:
Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
|
| 125 | 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
|
| 126 | 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
|
| 127 | 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)
|
| 128 | 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
|
| 129 | 1767 | - 1767—1767:
Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
|
| 130 | 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
|
| 131 | 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
|
| 132 | 1770 | - 1770—1770:
Clyde Trust created to convert the River Clyde, then an insignificant river, into a major
thoroughfare for maritime communications
- 1770—1799:
SA - Intensive Khoisan resistance to Trekboer occupation
- 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770:
Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims
Australia for Britain
|
| 133 | 1771 | - 1771—1771:
Right to report Parliamentary debates established in England
- 1771—1771:
SA - Clashes between Trekboers and Xhosa begin as trekkers cross the Gamtoos River in the east
|
| 134 | 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
|
| 135 | 1774 | - 1774—1774:
SA - General Commando mounted against San: 503 killed; 241 captured
- 13 Sep 1774—13 Sep 1774:
Cook arrives on Easter Island
|
| 136 | 1775 | - 19 Apr 1775—19 Apr 1775:
Battle of Lexington: first action in American War of Independence (1775- 1783)
|
| 137 | 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]
|
| 138 | 1777 | - 1777—1777:
Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.
|
| 139 | 1778 | - 1778—1778:
SA - Colonial boundary extended to Buffels; Zak; and Fish Rivers
- 1778—1779:
SA - Hendrik Jacob Wikar and Robert Jacob Gordon meet Khoekhoe; Geisiqua and Tswana groups along lower and middle Gariep which Gordon names Orange River in honour of the Netherlands Stadtholder
|
| 140 | 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
|
| 141 | 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
- 1780—1780:
SA - First Frontier War between Xhosa and whites.
- 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
|
| 142 | 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
- 1782—1782:
SA - First issue of paper rix dollars.
|
| 143 | 1783 | - 1783—1783:
Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in
entries!
- 1783—1792:
SA - Le Vaillant and Van Reenen travel in Namaqualand and north of Orange River
- 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)
|
| 144 | 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)
|
| 145 | 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)
|
| 146 | 1786 | - 1786—1786:
SA - Graaff-Reinet founded
|
| 147 | 1787 | - 1787—1787:
MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
|
| 148 | 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
|
| 149 | 1789 | - 1789—1789:
SA - Merino (wool-producing) sheep brought from Holland
- 1789—1793:
SA - Second Frontier War between Xhosa and whites.
- 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
|
| 150 | 1790 | - 1790—1790:
Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
- 1790—1799:
SA - In documented raids on "Bosjesmen" 2000 - 3000 Khoisan are killed
|
| 151 | 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
|
| 152 | 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
- 1792—1792:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Graaff-Reinet.
- 1792—1792:
SA - Morovian Mission founded at Genadendal.
- 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
|
| 153 | 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
|
| 154 | 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
|
| 155 | 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
- 1795—1795:
SA - Xhosa at Prieska
- 1795—1802:
SA - British occupy Cape on behalf of William of Orange. Slaves outnumber European settlers at this time
- 1795—1795:
SA - Revolt in Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet.
|
| 156 | 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
- 1796—1796:
SA - Pieter Pienaar murdered by Jager Afrikaner at Hantam. Afrikaner becomes frontier leader
- 14 May 1796—14 May 1796:
Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
|
| 157 | 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
|
| 158 | 1798 | - 1798—1798:
First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner
- 1798—1798:
SA - First Post Office. Liquidation of Dutch East India Company. First mosque in southern Africa established in Dorp Street by Tuan Guru. Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded at Swellendam.
- 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)
|
| 159 | 1799 | - 1799—1799:
Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York
- 1799—1799:
Foundation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain
- 1799—1802:
SA - Eastern Cape Khoekhoe revolt
- 1799—1799:
SA - First London Missionary Society (LMS) station - to |Xam - on Zak River.
- 1799—1799:
SA - Fort Frederick built in Algoa Bay by British soldiers. Third Frontier War between the Xhosa and whites. Beginning of London Missionary Society work in South Africa.
- 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
|
| 160 | 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
- 1800—1800:
SA - First printing press in Cape Town. Government Gazette started.
- 2 Jul 1800—2 Jul 1800:
Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland
|
| 161 | 1801 | - 1801—1801:
Grand Union Canal opens in England
- 1801—1801:
Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London
- 1801—1801:
SA - Official expedition of Truter; Somerville; Barrow and Daniell; with missionaries Jan Matthys Kok and William Edwards; reaches Dithakong
- 1801—1801:
SA - William Anderson established mission at Aakaap and then Klaarwater (later Griquatown). Khoisan spelling book printed by LMS
- 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
|
| 162 | 1802 | - Feb 1802—Jan 1806:
SA - Batavian Republic rules the Cape.
- 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
|
| 163 | 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)
|
| 164 | 1804 | - 1804—1804:
Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed 'Australia'
- 1804—1806:
SA - Heinrich Lichtenstein travels to Dithakong
- 1804—1804:
SA - Uitenhage founded.
- 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
|
| 165 | 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
|
| 166 | 1806 | - 1806—1806:
Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners)
- 1806—1806:
SA - LMS station at Warmbad; Great Namaqualand
- 1806—1806:
SA - First regular inland postal service.
- 1806—1806:
SA - Second British occupation of the Cape
- 9 Jan 1806—9 Jan 1806:
Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London
|
| 167 | 1807 | - 1807—1807:
SA - British ban slave trade, importation of slaves to the Cape ends
- 25 Mar 1807—25 Mar 1807:
Parliament passes Act prohibiting slavery and the importation of slaves from 1808 ? but does not prohibit colonial slavery
|
| 168 | 1808 | - 1808—1808:
SA - Clanwilliam founded.
- 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
|
| 169 | 1809 | - 1809—1809:
SA - Gola's Xhosa community settles at Pramberg.
- 1809—1809:
SA - Severe drought in eastern frontier.
- 12 Feb 1809—12 Feb 1809:
Birth of Charles Darwin
- 18 Sep 1809—18 Sep 1809:
Royal Opera House opens in London
|
| 170 | 1810 | - 1810—1810:
SA - Montshiwa of Rolong born
- 1810—1810:
John McAdam begins road construction in England, giving his name to the process of
road metalling
|
| 171 | 1811 | - 1811—1812:
SA - William John Burchell travels in the interior
- 1811—1811:
SA - Caledon and George founded. Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Caledon. Regular circuit courts introduced.
- 1811—1812:
SA - Fourth Frontier War between Xhosa and whites.
- 5 Feb 1811—5 Feb 1811:
Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane
|
| 172 | 1812 | - 1812—1812:
SA - Molehabangwe of Tlhaping died; succeeded by son Mothibi
- 1812—1812:
SA - Cradock and Grahamstown founded.
- 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
|
| 173 | 1813 | - 1813—1813:
SA - Revd John Campbell conducts mission inspection in the interior
- 1813—1813:
SA - Adam Kok's people assert the name Griqua
- 1813—1813:
SA - Court proceedings opened to the public.
- 1813—1813:
Ireland: First recorded '12th of July' sectarian riots in Belfast
- 1813—1813:
Jane Austen wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'
|
| 174 | 1814 | - 1814—1814:
SA - The Cape Colony is formally ceded to Britain. Mail packet service started between Britain and the Cape.
- 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
|
| 175 | 1815 | - 1815—1815:
SA - Slagter's Nek Rebellion.
- 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
|
| 176 | 1816 | - 1816—1816:
SA - Missionaries Read and Hamilton; with Hendriks; Kakkerlak and Sedras establish Kuruman Mission (LMS)
- 1816—1816:
SA - Wesleyan Mission to Nama at Leliefontein
- 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
|
| 177 | 1817 | - 1817—1817:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Uitenhage.
- 1817—1817:
SA - Approximately 200 Scottish artisan immigrants brought to Cape by Benjamin Moodie.
- 1817—1817:
March of the Manchester Blanketeers; Habeas Corpus suspended
- 1817—1817:
Constable painted 'Flatford Mill'
|
| 178 | 1818 | - 1818—1818:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Cradock. Settlement of land beyond Orange River. Beaufort West founded.
- 1818—1819:
SA - Fifth Frontier War between Xhosa and whites. Grahamstown attacked.
- 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
|
| 179 | 1819 | - 1819—1819:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregations founded in Beaufort West and Somerset West.
- 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
|
| 180 | 1820 | - 1820—1820:
SA - James Read produces first book in SeTswana
- 1820—1820:
SA - Andries Waterboer elected Griqua Captain at Griquatown
- 1820—1820:
SA - Port Elizabeth named by Sir Rufane Donkin. Worcester founded.
- 1820—1821:
SA - Approximately 4000 British settlers arrive in Port Elizabeth as part of the 1820 Settlers immigration scheme, they are settled in the Eastern Cape.
- 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
|
| 181 | 1821 | - 1821—1821:
SA - Robert Moffat; in Namaqualand from 1817; moves to Kuruman
- 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
|
| 182 | 1822 | - 1822—1828:
SA - English becomes the official language of the Cape Colony.
- 14 Jun 1822—14 Jun 1822:
Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society
|
| 183 | 1823 | - 1823—1823:
SA - Difaqane (1820s) Battle of Dithakong - MaNthatisi repulsed by Tlhaping with help from Griquas. Tswana to north and east heavily disrupted by Difaqane raids. 1824 Bergenaar rebellion
- 1823—1823:
SA - Approximately 146 Irish settlers brought to the Cape by John Ingram.
- 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
- 1 Jul 1823—1823:
SA - Lewis Broadbent born to the wife of the Methodist missionary Samuel Broadbent at Leeudoringstad, 16km from Wolmaranstad, on the 1st July 1823. Lewis later became a missionary to India.
- 2 Dec 1823—2 Dec 1823:
US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in
future European conflicts (the 'Monroe Doctrine')
|
| 184 | 1824 | - 1824—1824:
SA - George Thompson travels inland - naming Augrabies Falls "Cataract of King George"
- 1824—1824:
SA - Construction of road through Fransch Hoek Pass. First Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church. Mission station at Lovedale founded. First lighthouse opened.
- 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
|
| 185 | 1825 | - 1825—1825:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Somerset East.
- 1825—1825:
SA - First steamship in Table Bay. Depreciated rix dollar converted into British sterling. The Anglican St. Mary's Collegiate Church started in Port Elizabeth. The Jubilee Park Cemetery in Uitenhage in use circa 1825.
- 27 Sep 1825—27 Sep 1825:
Stockton to Darlington Railway opens ? world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains
|
| 186 | 1826 | - 1826—1826:
SA - Adam Kok II establishes Philippolis Griqua Captaincy
- 1826—1826:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregations founded in Clanwilliam, Colesberg, Durbanville and Tijgerberg.
|
| 187 | 1827 | - 1827—1827:
Ohm's Law published
|
| 188 | 1828 | - 1828—1828:
SA - Ordinance 50 repeals pass laws
- 1828—1828:
SA - Circa 1828, the Union Chapel (London Missionary Society - i.e. Congregational) in Port Elizabeth is founded, records start in 1831. St. Mary's Cemetery started in Port Elizabeth circa 1828.
- 25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828:
St Katharine Docks in London opened (designed by Thomas Telford)
|
| 189 | 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!)
|
| 190 | 1830 | - 1830—1830:
SA - Moffat's printing press transported to Kuruman by ox wagon
- 1830—1830:
SA - Full civil privileges granted to Roman Catholics in the Cape. Colesberg founded. Road over Sir Lowry's Pass opened.
- 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!
|
| 191 | 1831 | - 1831—1831:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Albany. First publication of De Zuid Afrikaan (ons Land). First issue of Grahamstown Journal.
- 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
|
| 192 | 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
|
| 193 | 1833 | - 1833—1833:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish in Piquetberg (Piketberg) founded.
- 1833—1839:
SA - Approximately 750 juveniles brought to the Cape as apprentices.
- 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
|
| 194 | 1834 | - 1834—1834:
SA - Abolition of legal slavery; but slaves apprenticed for four years
- 1834—1835:
SA - Andrew Smith with artist Charles Davidson Bell travels in the interior
- 1834—1834:
SA - Berlin Mission Society establishes station at Bethulie; and out-station among Korana at Pniel in 1845.
- 1834—1834:
SA - The Anglican St. John's Church is built in Bathurst, but its burial records go back to 1823. King William's Town founded. Slaves officially freed but apprenticed for next 4 years.
- 1834—1834:
SA - Kommissie treks from Cape begins. Port Natal renamed Durban.
- 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
- 21 Dec 1834—Sep 1835:
SA - Sixth Frontier War between Xhosa and whites.
|
| 195 | 1835 | - 1835—1836:
SA - Louis Trichardt, Hans van Rensburg and Andries Potgieter trek north.
- 1835—1835:
Christmas becomes a national holiday
- 1835—1835:
First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway
|
| 196 | 1836 | - 1836—1836:
SA - James Alexander travels through Namaqualand
- 1836—1836:
SA - The Great Trek has reached the Transvaal and the Free State areas.
- 1836—1836:
SA - Potgieter's trekkers defeat Ndebele at the Battle of Vegkop.
- 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
|
| 197 | 1837 | - 1837—1837:
SA - Piet Retief publishes his "Manifesto".
- 1837—1837:
SA - Andries Potgieter and Piet Uys, helped by Rolong and Griqua tribes, defeat Ndebele at Mosega. Louis Trichardt arrives in Lourenco Marques. Seperate administrative districts granted to Port Elizabeth, Cradock and Colesburg.
- 1837—1837:
SA - Victoria
- 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
|
| 198 | 1838 | - 1838—1838:
SA - Russell Road (Hyman's Kloof) Cemetery established in Port Elizabeth. Pietermaritzburg founded in 1838. Boers found Republic of Natal.
- Feb 1838—1838:
SA - Piet Retief and his people are murdered by Dingaan's soldiers at Dingaan's kraal and Weenen.
- 28 Jun 1838—28 Jun 1838:
Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey
- 16 Dec 1838—1838:
SA - Battle of Blood River fought between Zulus and Boers.
|
| 199 | 1839 | - 1839—1839:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parishes founded in Bredasdorp and Riversdale. Potchefstroom founded.
- 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
|
| 200 | 1840 | - 1840—1849:
SA - Expansion of commercial wool farmers in Karoo transforms colonial economy. Pedi migrate to work on Cape farms
- 1840—1840:
SA - The Anglican St. Katherine's Church is founded in Uitenhage.
- 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
|
| 201 | 1841 | - 1841—1841:
SA - Missionary David Livingstone arrives in South Africa - proceeds to Kuruman before journeying through Central Africa
- 1841—1841:
SA - Circa 1841, the Methodist Church founded in Port Elizabeth. Trekkers council set up in Potchefstroom.
- 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)
|
| 202 | 1842 | - 1842—1842:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Prince Albert. Dick King's ride from Durban to Grahamstown.
- 1842—1843:
SA - War between the British and the Boers in Natal.
- 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
|
| 203 | 1843 | - 1843—1843:
SA - Natal annexed as a British Colony.
- 1843—1843:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Richmond.
- 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
|
| 204 | 1844 | - 1844—1844:
SA - Access to land is changed from leasehold to free hold
- 1844—1844:
SA - Victoria West established
- Apr 1844—1844:
SA - Boers from Natal settle at Potchefstroom, after crossing the Drakensberg Mountains. Hendrik Potgieter settles at Delagoa Bay.
- 6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844:
YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
|
| 205 | 1845 | - 1845—1845:
SA - Mothibi of Tlhaping dies
- 1845—1845:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded at Mossel Bay. Ohrigstad founded. Natal becomes autonomous district of Cape Colony.
- 1845—1845:
SA - Battle of Zwartkoppies.
- 1845—1845:
Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
- 17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845:
The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
|
| 206 | 1846 | - 1846—1854:
SA - Orange River Sovereignty
- 1846—1846:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Burgersdorp. Bloemfontein founded.
- 1846—1848:
SA - Seventh Frontier War between Xhosa and whites, this war was also known as the War of the Axe.
- 1846—1847:
SA - Approximately 103 settlers arrive in Port Elizabeth from war-torn Buenos Aires, Argentinia.
- 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846:
The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
|
| 207 | 1847 | - 1847—1847:
SA - Colonial boundary extended to Orange River
- 1847—1847:
SA - Rhenish Missionary Christoph Alheit moves to Schietfontein (Carnarvon)
- 1847—1847:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Calvinia. Opening of Montagu Pass. Sugar cane plantations started in Natal. East London founded. Districts of Victoria East and British Kaffraria annexed as part of the Cape Colony.
- 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)
|
| 208 | 1848 | - 1848—1848:
SA - Boers cross the Vaal River. Orange River Sovereignty established. Battle of Boomplaats.
- 1848—1848:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Napier. Soutpansberg (later Schoemansdal) founded.
- 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
- 23 Mar 1848—1848:
SA - Approximately 163 German settlers, known as the Bergthiel Settlers, arrive in Natal.
- 11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848:
Waterloo railway station in London opens
|
| 209 | 1849 | - 1849—1849:
SA - Circa 1849 the first Jewish Congregation founded in Cape Town.
- 1849—1850:
SA - The Byrne Settlers arrive in Natal.
- 1849—1849:
Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally
occurred in 1971!
|
| 210 | 1850 | - 1850—1859:
SA - First Afrikaans book written by an imam (Muslim prayer leader) of slave descent
- 1850—1850:
SA - Wesleyan Settlers arrive in Natal. Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Namaqualand.
- 1850—1853:
SA - Eighth Frontier War.
|
| 211 | 1851 | - 1851—1851:
SA - Sugar first produced from cane in Natal.
- 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
|
| 212 | 1852 | - 1852—1852:
SA - Copper mining in Namaqualand - migrant labour on small scale
- 1852—1852:
SA - The Transvaal Republic established. Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Middelburg. The New Church (Congregational / Presbyterian) established in Port Elizabeth. Copper mining begins at Springbokfontein. Wreck of the Birkenhead.
- 1852—1852:
Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
- 1852—1852:
Wells Fargo established in USA
|
| 213 | 1853 | - 1853—1853:
SA - Hopetown established
- 1853—1853:
SA - Nicholas Waterboer succeeds as Griqua Captain
- 1853—1853:
SA - Settlement of Queenstown and Seymour. Union Steamship Line founded.
- 1853—1853:
Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
|
| 214 | 1854 | - 1854—1854:
SA - Orange Free State Republic proclaimed
- 1854—1854:
SA - Dutch Reformed Church parishes established in Montagu and Queenstown. First Cape Colony Parliament. Boers defeat Ndebele at Makapansgat.
- 1854—1854:
SA - Crimean War
- 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)
|
| 215 | 1855 | - 1855—1855:
SA - Pretoria founded. 20 Irish miners arrive to work in the Namaqualand copper mines.
|
| 216 | 1856 | - 1856—1856:
SA - The Anglican St. Paul's Church in Port Elizabeth founded. Approximately 3000 Crimean War veterans (German Legionaires) settled in Kaffraria, later joined by 2700 German civilians. Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Murraysburg.
- 1856—1856:
SA - Natal becomes a seperate colony.
- 1856—1857:
SA - Self-destruction of Xhosa tribe by cattle-killing.
- 1856—1862:
SA - Approximately 700 juveniles arrive from Holland.
- 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)
|
| 217 | 1857 | - 1857—1857:
SA - Moffat completes Old Testament Bible translation into Setswana
- 1857—1857:
SA - Xhosa enter Karoo following Eastern Cape Cattle Killing.
- 1857—1857:
SA - Approximately 157 Irish girls arrive on the ship Lady Kennaway, settle in British Kaffraria. First Legislative Council in Natal. First mail contract with Union Steamship Company for regular mail service between Britain and South Africa.
- 1857—1862:
SA - Assisted immigration schemes bring about 12 000 settlers.
- 1857—1857:
Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
|
| 218 | 1858 | - 1858—1858:
SA - Circa 1858, Jewish congregation founded in Port Elizabeth. The Anglican Holy Trinity Church built in Port Elizabeth. War between Orange Free State and Basuto tribe.
- 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
|
| 219 | 1859 | - 1859—1859:
SA - Dopper Church leaves the Dutch Reformed Church. First railway in the Cape Colony commenced.
- 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'
|
| 220 | 1860 | - 1860—1860:
SA - Boer republics north of Vaal unite as South African Republic
- 1860—1860:
SA - Indians arrive in Natal to work on sugar cane farms as indentured labourers. Between 1860-1911 about 152 000 Indians arrive and about 50% stay.
- 1860—1860:
SA - First telegraph service in South Africa, between Cape Town and Simonstown.
- 1860—1860:
SA - Start of penny post in Cape Town. Work began on Table Bay Docks. The Catholic St. Augustine's Church established in Port Elizabeth.Circa 1860, the first Baptist Church started in Port Elizabeth.
- 26 Jun 1860—1860:
SA - First railway in South Africa, between Market Square and Point, Durban, opens.
- 29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860:
First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
|
| 221 | 1861 | - 1861—1862:
SA - Griqua trek under Adam Kok III from Philippolis to Nomansland
- 1861—1861:
SA - American Civil War
- 25 May 1861—25 May 1861:
American Civil War begins
|
| 222 | 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
|
| 223 | 1863 | - 1863—1863:
SA - The Hill Presbyterian Church started in Port Elizabeth.
- 1863—1863:
SA - North End Cemetery started in Port Elizabeth.
- 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
|
| 224 | 1864 | - 1864—1864:
SA - St. George's Cemetery established in Port Elizabeth.
- 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
|
| 225 | 1865 | - 1865—1866:
SA - Albania Settlement Scheme
- 1865—1865:
SA - Ostriches first domesticated.
- 1865—1866:
SA - Economic depression throughout South Africa. War between Orange Free State and Basutos.
- 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
|
| 226 | 1866 | - 1866—1866:
SA - India officially stops sending Indian labourers to Natal.
|
| 227 | 1867 | - Apr 1867—1867:
SA - 21.25 carat diamond found near Hopetown.
- 1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867:
The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
|
| 228 | 1868 | - 1868—1869:
SA - Korana War along Orange River
- 1868—1868:
Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
|
| 229 | 1869 | - 1869—1869:
SA - Railway from Port Nolloth to O'Kiep
- 1869—1869:
SA - Star of South Africa diamond discovered. Gold and diamond rush starts.
- 1869—1869:
Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
- 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869:
Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
|
| 230 | 1870 | - 1870—1870:
SA - Galeshewe of Tlhaping born
- 1870—1884:
SA - |Xam prisoners at Cape Town interviewed by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd
- 1870—1871:
SA - The Anglican St. Peter's Church started in Port Elizabeth.
- 1870—1870:
SA - Opening of Cape Town Docks.
- 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
|
| 231 | 1871 | - 1871—1871:
SA - Diamonds found at New Rush; renamed Kimberley; 1873. Griqua claim to Diamond Fields recognised and Waterboer seeks British protection. Diamond mining stimulates migrant labour on unprecedented scale. Two thirds of black workforce comes from Limpopo valley
- 1871—1871:
SA - Gold discovered in Eastern Transvaal. Britain annexes the diamond fields of Kimberley and Griqua West. First mail from Cape Town to the diamond fields.
- 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
|
| 232 | 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
|
| 233 | 1873 | - 1873—1873:
SA - Griqualand West proclaimed Crown Colony
- 1873—1873:
SA - Griqualand West established as a British colony. Gold discovered in Lydenburg district of Transvaal.
- 1873—1875:
SA - Approximately 3300 men, women and children arrive as agricultural settlers or labourers for public works.
|
| 234 | 1874 | - 1874—1874:
SA - College founded at Stellenbosch (later Victoria College, today University of Stellenbosch). Railway line opened from Port Elizabeth to Uitenhage.
- 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
|
| 235 | 1875 | - 1875—1875:
SA - Black Flag Rebellion by white diggers at Kimberley
- 1875—1875:
SA - Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners (Association for True Afrikaners) formed
- 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)
|
| 236 | 1876 | - 1876—1876:
SA - Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje born
- 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876:
Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
|
| 237 | 1877 | - 1877—1877:
SA - Native Locations for Tswana established in Griqualand West
- 1877—1877:
SA - Britain annexes the Transvaal Republic. Ninth Frontier War.
- 1877—1877:
Edison invents microphone and phonograph
|
| 238 | 1878 | - 1878—1879:
SA - Griqualand West Rebellion and Korana War coincide with similar conflicts elsewhere in South Africa.
- 1878—1879:
SA - Griqualand West and Tswana Rebellion
- 1878—1878:
SA - Koegas atrocities
- 1878—1878:
SA - Walvis Bay proclaimed British territory. Telegraph service between Natal and Transvaal.
- 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
|
| 239 | 1879 | - 1 Sep 1879—1879:
SA - Zulu War starts, battles at Isandhlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi.
- 18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879:
Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
|
| 240 | 1880 | - 1880—1880:
SA - Griqualand West annexed to Cape Colony
- 1880—1880:
SA - First Legislative Council in Transvaal. Formation of De Beers Company. Formation of the Afrikander Bond.
- 1880—1881:
SA - First Anglo-Boer War, Boers defeat Britain.
- 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
|
| 241 | 1881 | - 1881—1881:
SA - Jantje Mothibi of Tlhaping dies
- 1881—1882:
SA - Tswana-Kora wars with white mercenary involvement
- 1881—1881:
SA - Battle of Laing's Nek, 28 January. Battle of Majuba, 27 February. Britain recognises South African Republic (ZAR).
- 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
|
| 242 | 1882 | - 1882—1882:
SA - Abraham September (freed slave) begins Orange River irrigation
- 1882—1882:
SA - Approximately 4645 settlers arrive. South End Cemetery in Port Elizabeth started. Use of Dutch recognised in Cape Parliament.
- 1882—1882:
Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed
- 29 Aug 1882—1882:
SA - 229 Norwegians arrive aboard the "Lapland" and settle at the mouth of the Umzimkulu river (Port Shepstone), Natal.
|
| 243 | 1883 | - 1883—1890:
SA - Germans occupy South West Africa and German East Africa
- 1883—1883:
SA - Revd Gwayi Tyamzashe; last black man to hold a claim in Kimberley mines; loses his claim
- 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
|
| 244 | 1884 | - 1884—1885:
SA - Warren takes over Stellaland and Goshen; establishes Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland and Bechuanaland Protectorate
- 1884—1884:
SA - The Anglican St. Cuthbert's Church built in Port Elizabeth. Barberton goldfields opened.
- 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
|
| 245 | 1885 | - 1885—1885:
SA - Railway line opened from Cape to Kimberley.
- 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
|
| 246 | 1886 | - 1886—1886:
SA - Gold found on Witwatersrand
- 1886—1886:
SA - Gold discovered in the Transvaal (Witwatersrand)
- 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
|
| 247 | 1887 | - 1887—1887:
Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
|
| 248 | 1888 | - 1888—1888:
SA - C.J. Rhodes amalgamates Kimberley mining companies as De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
- 1888—1888:
SA - 'Rudd concession' signed by Lobengula
- 1888—1888:
SA - British South Africa Company founded.
- 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
|
| 249 | 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
|
| 250 | 1890 | - 1890—1890:
SA - Pioneer Column of Rhodes's British South Africa Company departs from Kimberley to occupy Rhodesia
- 1890—1890:
SA - Railway line reaches from Cape to Bloemfontein. First railway line in Transvaal, from Johannesburg to Boksburg.
- 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
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1848 - 1890 (42 years)