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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1839 | - 1839—1839: First Opium War between Britain and China (to 1842) - Britain captures Hong Kong
- 1839—1839: Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan refines the primitive bicycle adding a
mechanical crank drive to the rear wheel,thus creating the first true 'bicycle' in the modern
Sense
- 1839—1839: Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber
|
| 2 | 1840 | - 1840—1840: Population Act relating to taking of censuses in Britain
- 1840—1840: Last convicts landed in NSW (some say 1842 or 1849, but these probably landed
elsewhere)
- 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
|
| 3 | 1841 | - 1841—1841: Thomas Cook starts package tours
- 10 Feb 1841—10 Feb 1841: Penny Red replaces Penny Black postage stamp
- 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
|
| 4 | 1842 | - 1842—1842: Income Tax reintroduced in Britain
- 30 Mar 1842—30 Mar 1842: Ether used as an anesthetic for the first time (by Dr Crawford Long in America)
- 29 Aug 1842—29 Aug 1842: Treaty of Nanking - End of First Opium War - Britain gains Hong Kong
|
| 5 | 1843 | - 1843—1843: First Christmas card in England
- 27 May 1843—27 May 1843: The Great Hall of Euston station opened in London
- 19 Jul 1843—19 Jul 1843: Brunel's 'Great Britain' launched
|
| 6 | 1844 | - 6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844: YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
|
| 7 | 1845 | - 1845—1845: Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
- 17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845: The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
|
| 8 | 1846 | - 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846: The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
|
| 9 | 1847 | - 1847—1847: US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre
- Jan 1847—Jan 1847: An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)
|
| 10 | 1848 | - 1848—1848: First commercial production of chewing gum
- 24 Jan 1848—24 Jan 1848: Gold found at Sutter's Mill, California - starts the California gold rush
- 11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848: Waterloo railway station in London opens
|
| 11 | 1849 | - 1849—1849: Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally
occurred in 1971!
|
| 12 | 1851 | - 1851—1851: Gold discovered in Australia
- 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
|
| 13 | 1852 | - 1852—1852: Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
- 1852—1852: Wells Fargo established in USA
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| 14 | 1853 | - 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
|
| 15 | 1854 | - 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
- 27 Mar 1854—27 Mar 1854: Britain declares war on Russia (Crimean War)
- 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
|
| 16 | 1856 | - 1856—1856: End of Crimean War
- 29 Jan 1856—29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts
during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)
|
| 17 | 1857 | - 1857—1857: Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
|
| 18 | 1858 | - 1858—1858: 'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work
- 1858—1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
|
| 19 | 1859 | - 1859—1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain
- 25 Apr 1859—25 Apr 1859: Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869)
- 4 May 1859—4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon
and Cornwall
- 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
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Abt 1839 - 1840 (1 year)