Elizabeth Thurston Smith

Elizabeth Thurston Smith

Female 1852 - 1947  (95 years)


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   Date  Event(s)
1383 
  • 1383—99 9999: Regular series of wills starts in Prerogative Court of Canterbury
1750 
  • 1750—1805: Neo-Classical Period (Art and Antiques)
1755 
  • 1755—1827: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language by Dr, Johnson
    Period of canal construction began in Britian
1760 
  • 1760—1820: King George III
    King George III ( 1760 - 1820 ) {\n}{\n}1760 - George becomes king on the death of his grandfather, George II.{\n}1762 - The Earl of Bute is appointed Prime Minister. Bute proves so unpopular that he needs to have a bodyguard.{\n}1763 - Peace of Paris end
  • 10 1760—29 Jan 1820: George III
    House of Hanover: Grandson of George II, married Charlotte of Mecklenburg
1763 
  • 1763—1884: POST-DEPORTATION PERIOD
1764 
  • 8 1764—1862: Indian treaties transferring land to Britain
1773 
  • 1773—1858: East India Company governs Hindustan
1784 
  • 1784—1789: Mass migration of Loyalists
    Migration starts with 6,000 Americans & 1,000 Iroquois led by Joseph Brant. Total reaches 10,000 by end of decade
1785 
10 1787 
  • 1787—1787: MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
  • 1787—1787: Earliest known Swedenborgian (Church of the New Jerusalem or Jerusalemite) registers
  • 1787—1787: The first population census of genealogical value was taken
  • 12 Jul 1787—7 Dec 1787: Delaware
    1st State
  • 12 Jul 1787—7 Dec 1787: Delaware ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was Unanimous.
  • 12 Dec 1787—12 Dec 1787: Pennsylvania
    2nd State
  • 12 Dec 1787—12 Dec 1787: Pennsylvania ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 46-23.
  • 7 1787—18 Feb 1803: Ohio Territory Organized
  • 12 1787—18 Dec 1787: New Jersey
    3rd State
  • 12 1787—18 Dec 1787: New Jersey ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was unanimous.
  • 9 1787—28 Sep 1787: New Constitution sent to for ratification
    The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia proposed, debated and drafted the new U.S. Constitution during hte summer of 1787. Ratification by nine states was required for the Constitution to take effect. James Madison was the primary author.
11 1788 
  • 1788—1788: Gibbon completes Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
  • 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: 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: First steamboat demonstrated in Scotland
  • 1788—1788: 26th January, First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New Soputh Wales
    First steamboat demonstration in Scotland (but see 1802){\n}Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be minimum of 9 years old (not enforced)\First slave carrying act, The Dolben Act of 1788, regulates the slave trade - stipulated more humane conditions
  • 1788—1788: The Scarce Year
    Upper Canada's 1787 crop failures result in famine
  • 1788—1788: The abolition of the "stavnsbaand" (compulsory residence by the peasant and farming classes.)
  • 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
  • 1 Feb 1788—2 Jan 1788: Georgia
    4th State
  • 1 Feb 1788—2 Jan 1788: Georgia ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was unanimous.
  • 2 Jun 1788—6 Feb 1788: Massachusetts
    6th State
  • 2 Jun 1788—6 Feb 1788: Massachusetts ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 187-168.
  • 1 Sep 1788—9 Jan 1788: Connecticut
    5th State
  • 1 Sep 1788—9 Jan 1788: Connecticut ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 128-40.
  • 6 1788—21 Jun 1788: New Hampshire
    9th State
  • 6 1788—21 Jun 1788: New Hampshire ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 57-47.
  • 6 1788—21 Jun 1788: United States Constitution in effect
  • 5 1788—23 May 1788: South Carolina
    8th State
  • 5 1788—23 May 1788: South Carolina ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 149-73.
  • 7 1788—24 Jul 1788: New York ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 30-27.
  • 6 1788—25 Jun 1788: Virginia
    10th State
  • 6 1788—26 Jun 1788: New York
    11th State
  • 6 1788—26 Jun 1788: Virginia ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 89-79.
  • 4 1788—28 Apr 1788: Maryland
    7th State
  • 4 1788—28 Apr 1788: Maryland ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 63-11.
12 1789 
13 1790 
  • 1790—1790: Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
  • 1790—1790: Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
  • 1790—1790: The United States issued its first patent to William Pollard of Philadelphia for a machine that roves and spins cotton
  • 5 1790—31 May 1796: Tennessee Territory Organized
  • 5 1790—29 May 1790: Rhode Island
    13th State
  • 5 1790—29 May 1790: Rhode Island ratified U.S. Constitution
    The vote was 34-32.
14 1791 
  • 1791—1791: Establishment of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain
  • 1791—1791: John Bell, printer, abandons the long s' (the 's' that looks like an 'f')
  • 1791—1791: Sugar prices rise steeply
    John Bell, printer, abandons the "long s" (the 's' that looks like an 'f'){\n}Establishment of the Ordinance Survey of Great Brittain{\n}4th December - First publication of The Observer - oldest Sunday newspaper
  • 1791—1791: John Barber invents the gas turbine
  • 1791—1791: Early bicycles invented in Scotland
  • 3 Apr 1791—4 Mar 1791: Vermont
    14th State
  • 6 Oct 1791—10 Jun 1791: Constitutional Act
    Lower Canada (now Québec) and Upper Canada (now Ontario) established
  • 4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper
  • 1 1791—24 Jan 1791: District of Columbia
    President George Washington selects a site that includes portions of Maryland and Virginia. It becomes the seat of government 1 Dec 1800
15 1792 
  • 1792—1792: Coal-gas lighting invented by William Murdock, an Ayrshire Scot
  • 1792—1792: Boyle's Street Directory published
  • 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: Repression in Britian (restrictions on freedom of the press)
    Fox gets Libel Act through Parliament, requiring a jury and not a judge to determine libel{\n}Boyle's Street Directory published{\n}1st October - Introduction of Money Orders in Britain{\n}Coal-gas lightening invented by William Murdock, and Ayshire Scot{
  • 1792—1792: George Vancouver exploration
    exploration of Pacific Coast
  • 1792—1792: William Murdoch invents gas lighting
  • 1792—1792: The first ambulance
  • 6 Jan 1792—1 Jun 1792: Kentucky
    15th State
  • 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
16 1793 
  • 1793—1793: 11th February - England declares war on France (1793-1802)
    Execution of Louis XVI{\n}15th April - £5 notes first issue by the Bank of England
  • 1793—20 Jul 1793: Alexander MacKenzie crosses Canada by land
    first crossing of Canada by land and exploration of Pacific Coast
  • 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
  • 7 Sep 1793—9 Jul 1793: Upper Canada's Abolition Act
    Forbade any new slaves, and gave freedom to children of slaves at least 25 years of age if born after 1793
17 1794 
  • 1794—1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties
  • 1794—1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties
    Battle of Glorious First of June{\n}6th october - 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
  • 1794—1794: Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin
  • 1794—1794: Welshmen, Philip Vaughan invents ball bearings
  • 3 Apr 1794—4 Mar 1794: 11th Amendment passed by Congress
  • 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 theref
18 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 Napoleo
  • 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: The Famine Year
    Foundation of the Orange Order{\n}Speenhamland Act proclaims that the Parish is responsible for bringing up the labourer's wage to substitence level{\n}Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the number of poor and umemployed increased dramatically - p
  • 1795—1795: Francois Appert invents the preserving jar for food
  • 2 Jul 1795—7 Feb 1795: 11th Amendment ratified
19 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: Holden's Triennial Directory published
    Pitt's "Reign of Terror" - more treason trials - leading radicals emigrate
  • 1796—1796: Town of York (Toronto) becomes capital of Upper Canada
  • 1796—1796: Edward Jenner creates a smallpox vaccination
  • 6 Jan 1796—1 Jun 1796: Tennessee
    16th State
  • 14 May 1796—14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
20 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
  • 1797—1797: England in Crisis
    Bank of England suspends cash payments{\n}26th February - First £1 note issued by Bank of England{\n}Apr-Jun Mutinees in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore{\n}Tax on Newspapers (including cheap, topical journals) increased to repress radical publicatio
  • 1797—1797: A British inventor, Henry Maudslay invents the first metal or precision lathe
  • 1797—1797: Wittemore patents a carding machine
  • 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
  • 4 Mar 1797—4 Mar 1801: John Adams
    John Adams U.S. Presidency John Adams U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1797—4 Mar 1801: John Adams
21 1798 
  • 1798—1798: First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner
  • 1798—1800: Franco-American Naval War
    United States vs France
  • 1798—1798: Feb-Oct The Irish Rebellion, -
    100,000 peasants revolt, approximately 25,000 die - Irish Parliament abolished{\n}First planned human experiment with Vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner.
  • 1798—1798: Marriage Act
    allows marriages to be legally performed by the Church of Scotland and Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, Calvinist and Lutheran Churches
  • 1798—1798: Prince Edward Island created
    Ile St. Jean renamed to Prince Edward Island
  • 1798—1798: Aloys Senefelder invents lithography
  • 1798—1798: The first soft drink invented
  • 9 Jan 1798—30 Sep 1800: Franco-American War
    Franco-American War Franco-American War
  • Feb 1798—Feb 1798: The Irish Rebellion; 100,000 peasants revolt; approximately 25,000 die - Irish Parliament abolished (Feb-Oct)
  • 4 Jul 1798—9 Dec 1817: Mississippi Territory Organized
  • 1 Aug 1798—1 Aug 1798: Battle of the Nile (won by Nelson)
22 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—1799: 9th January - Pitt brings in 10% income tax
    12th July - Repressive legislation in Britain against political associations and combinations{\n}Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York{\n}Foundation of the Roayl Institution of Great Britain{\n}Post Office New Annual Directory
  • 1799—1799: Alessandro Volta invents the battery
  • 1799—1799: Louis Robert invents the Fourdrinier Machine for sheet paper making
  • 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
23 1800 
  • 1800—1800: Volta makes first electrical battery
    Volta makes first electrical battery
  • 1800—1800: Herschel discovers infra-red light
    Herschel discovers infra-red light
  • 1800—1800: High pressure steam
    Use of high pressure steam pioneered by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833)
  • 1800—1800: Royal College of Surgeons founded
    Royal College of Surgeons founded
  • 1800—1800: First Electric Light
    Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy
  • 1800—1800: Count Alessandro Volta invents the battery
  • 1800—1800: Frenchmen, J.M. Jacquard invents the Jacquard Loom
  • 2 Jul 1800—2 Jul 1800: Parliamentary Union
    Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland
  • 5 Jul 1800—10 Dec 1816: Indiana Territory Organized
    Effective date 4 Jul 1800
24 1801 
  • 1801—1801: Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London
    Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London
  • 1801—1801: Grand Union Canal opens in England
    Grand Union Canal opens in England
  • 1801—1805: Tripolitan War
  • 1801—1805: Barbary Wars
    Also fought in 1815. United States vs Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli
  • 1 Jan 1801—1 Jan 1801: Union Jack becomes the official British flag
    Union Jack becomes the official British flag
  • 4 Mar 1801—4 Mar 1809: Thomas Jefferson
    Thomas Jefferson U.S. Presidency Thomas Jefferson U.S. Presidency
  • 10 Mar 1801—10 Mar 1801: First Census
    First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural)
  • 1 Apr 1801—4 Jan 1805: First Barbary War
    First Barbary War First Barbary War
  • 3 Apr 1801—4 Mar 1809: Thomas Jefferson
  • 24 Dec 1801—24 Dec 1801: First passenger Train
    Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
25 1802 
  • 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 correspondenc
26 1803 
  • 1803—1803: Semaphore signaling perfected by Admiral Popham
  • 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
  • 12 1803—9 Dec 1803: 12th Amendment passed by Congress
  • 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)
  • 2 1803—19 Feb 1803: Ohio
    17th State
27 1804 
  • 1804—1804: Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed 'Australia'
  • 1804—1804: Richard Trevithick, an English mining engineer, developed the first steam-powered locomotive
  • 1804—1804: Freidrich Winzer (Winsor) was the first person to patent gas lighting
  • 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 c
  • 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
  • 6 1804—15 Jun 1804: 12th Amendment ratified
28 1805 
  • 1805—1805: London docks opened
  • 3 Mar 1805—29 Apr 1812: Louisiana Territory Organized
    Effective date 4 July 1805
  • 21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
  • 1 Nov 1805—25 Jan 1837: Michigan Territory Organized
    Effective date 30 Jun 1805
  • 2 Dec 1805—2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians
29 1806 
  • 1806—1806: Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners)
  • 1806—1806: Le Canadien newspaper founded
    First Québec nationalist newspaper
  • 9 Jan 1806—9 Jan 1806: Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London
30 1807 
  • 25 Mar 1807—25 Mar 1807: Parliament passes Act prohibiting slavery and the importation of slaves from 1808 ? but does not prohibit colonial slavery
  • 3 1807—25 Mar 1807: British abolish slave trade
31 1808 
  • 1808—1808: Gas lighting in London streets
  • 1808—1808: Simon Fraser to Vancouver
    Fraser explores the river to the Pacific
  • 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
32 1809 
  • 1809—1809: Humphry Davy invents the first electric light - the first arc lamp
  • 12 Feb 1809—12 Feb 1809: Birth of Charles Darwin
  • 2 Mar 1809—2 Dec 1818: Illinois Territory Organized
    Effective date 1 Mar 1809
  • 4 Mar 1809—4 Mar 1817: James Madison
    James Madison U.S. Presidency James Madison U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1809—4 Mar 1817: James Madison
  • 18 Sep 1809—18 Sep 1809: Royal Opera House opens in London
33 1810 
  • 1810—1810: John McAdam begins road construction in England, giving his name to the process of road metalling
  • 1810—1810: German, Frederick Koenig invents an improved printing press
  • 1810—1810: Peter Durand invents the tin can
34 1811 
  • 1811—1811: David Thomson charts Columbia River
    Thomson explores and charts Columbia River to the coast
  • 5 Feb 1811—5 Feb 1811: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane
  • 11 Jul 1811—7 Nov 1811: Battle of Tippecanoe
    Indian defeat causes Tecumseh to align with British
35 1812 
  • 1812—1815: War of 1812
    United States vs Great Britain
  • 1812—1812: A printed format for parish registers begins
  • 6 Apr 1812—9 Aug 1821: Missouri Territory Organized
    Effective date 7 Dec 1812
  • 8 Apr 1812—4 Aug 1812: Battle of Brownstown
    Ohio Militia from Detroit defeated by Tecumseh's Indians
  • 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
  • 12 Jun 1812—16 Feb 1815: War of 1812
    War of 1812 War of 1812
  • 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
  • 10 1812—13 Oct 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights
    General Brock killed but U.S. forces defeated after heavy fighting
  • 8 1812—14 Aug 1812: Surrender of Fort Detroit
    General Brock commanding British & Canadian forces with Tecumseh's Indians cause U.s. forces to surrender
  • 6 1812—24 Dec 1814: War of 1812
    United States declares war on Great Britain (and Canada)
  • 11 1812—20 Nov 1812: Battle of Lacolle Mills
    Two groups of U.S forces fight each other by mistake
  • 9 1812—21 Sep 1812: Raid on Gananoque
    U.S. forces enter town, destroy food supplies and remove ammunition
  • 11 1812—28 Nov 1812: Battle of Frenchman's Creek
    U.S forces from Black Rock (Buffalo, NY) invade Fort Erie and are repulsed
  • 8 1812—29 Aug 1812: Earl of Selkirk establishes Red River Colony (Winnipeg)
  • 4 1812—30 Apr 1812: Louisiana
    18th State. Counties known as Parishes.
36 1813 
  • 1813—1813: Jane Austen wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'
  • 1813—1813: Ireland: First recorded '12th of July' sectarian riots in Belfast
  • 1813—1814: Creek War
    United States vs Creek Indians
  • 12 1813—Dec 1813: U.S forces reoccupy Queenston and Chippawa (Niagara)
    Canadian Volunteers (traitors) send Loyalists to U.S. prisons
  • 8 Feb 1813—2 Aug 1813: Battle of Fort Stephenson
    British/Canadian/Indian forces fail in attempt to take fort from U.S. forces
  • 10 May 1813—5 Oct 1813: Battle of the Thames
    U.S. (Harrison) defeats British/Indian forces - Tecumseh dies
  • 6 Jun 1813—6 Jun 1813: Battle of Stoney Creek
    confused fighting results in heavy losses on both sides
  • 6 Aug 1813—8 Jun 1813: Battle of Forty Mile Creek
    U.S forces routed and retreat to Fort George
  • 6 Aug 1813—8 Jun 1813: Skirmish of Butler's Farm (Two Mile Creek)
    U.S Lt. Eldridge and his men ambushed by combined British/Canadian/Indian forces
  • 9 Sep 1813—9 Sep 1813: Battle for Lake Erie
    U.S. naval squadron of 9 ships defeats British 6-ship flotilla
  • 9 Oct 1813—10 Sep 1813: Battle of Lake Erie (Put-in-Bay)
    U.S. navy defeats British ships and takes control of Lake Erie
  • 12 Oct 1813—10 Dec 1813: Burning of Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
    Canadian Volunteers (traitors) and U.S militia burn Newark to the ground
  • 11 Nov 1813—11 Nov 1813: Battle of Crysler's Farm
    U.S forces defeated in attempted invasion of Lower Canada. U.S. forces defeated near Morrisburg by combined Canadian-British forces.
  • 2 1813—22 Feb 1813: Battle of Ogdensburg, NY
    Glengarry Light Infantry attack and take Ogdensburg
  • 6 1813—24 Jun 1813: Battle of Beaver Dam
    Laura Secord warns British of impending attack resulting in surrender of U.S forces at Thorold
  • 5 1813—27 May 1813: Capture of Fort George
    U.S. forces invade Niagara
  • 10 1813—26 Oct 1813: Battle of Chateauguay
    U.S forces defeated in attempted invasion of Lower Canada
  • 4 1813—2 May 1813: Battle of Fort York (Toronto)
    U.S. forces take fort and occupy York for 5 days, plundering and destroying the town by burning
  • 5 1813—24 Jun 1813: Battles of Niagara frontier
    U.S. forces advance into Upper Canada
37 1814 
  • 1814—1814: At the Treaty of Kiel, Denmark is compelled to cede Norway to Sweden
  • 1814—1814: George Stephenson designs the first steam locomotive
  • 1814—1814: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce was the first person to take a photograph
  • 1814—1814: German, Joseph von Fraunhofer invents the spectrocope for the chemical analysis of glowing objects
  • 1814—1814: The first plastic surgery is performed in England
  • 1 Jan 1814—1 Jan 1814: Invasion of France by Allies
  • 7 Mar 1814—3 Jul 1814: Capture of Fort Erie
    British forces manning Fort Erie surrender to overwhelming U.S. odds
  • 3 Apr 1814—20 Aug 1814: U.S. raids into Western Upper Canada
    U.S. forces raid western Lake Erie communities
  • 6 Apr 1814—6 Apr 1814: Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba
  • 7 May 1814—5 Jul 1814: Battle at Chippawa
    U.S. forces take over entire Niagara frontier
  • 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
  • 8 1814—17 Sep 1814: Siege at Fort Erie
    British forces fail in their attempt to recover Fort Erie from U.S. forces
  • 7 1814—19 Jul 1814: Battle for Prarie du Chien
    British forces comprised mainly of Indians capture U.S. garrison
  • 7 1814—18 Jul 1814: Burning of St. Davids
    U.S. militia capture St. Davids then loot and burn most buildings
  • 10 1814—20 Oct 1814: Battle of Cook's Mills (Lyons Creek)
    The last battle on Canadian soil
  • 12 1814—24 Dec 1814: Treaty of Ghent
    End of United States - British war of 1812
  • 7 1814—26 Jul 1814: Battle of Lundy's Lane
    The fiercest battle of the U.S.-British war
  • 3 1814—30 Mar 1814: Battle of Lacolle Mills
    U.S. forces defeated in attempted invasion
38 1815 
  • 1815—1815: Trial by Jury established in Scotland
  • 1815—1815: Davy develops the safety lamp for miners
  • 1815—1815: Humphry Davy invents the miner's lamp
  • 2 1815—Feb 1815: British incentive to emigrate to Upper Canada
    Britain encourages 5,000 settlers to leave Britain
  • 3 Mar 1815—24 Sep 1816: Second Barbary War
    Second Barbary War Second Barbary War
  • 18 Jun 1815—18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena
39 1816 
  • 1816—1816: Trans-Atlantic packet service begins
  • 1816—1816: Large scale emigration to North America
  • 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: 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
  • 12 Nov 1816—11 Dec 1816: Indiana
    19th State
40 1817 
  • 1817—1817: Constable painted 'Flatford Mill'
  • 1817—1817: March of the Manchester Blanketeers; Habeas Corpus suspended
  • 1817—1898: Indian Wars
  • 1817—1817: Census of Nova Scotia
    Nova Scotia census adds place-of-birth question
  • 3 Mar 1817—13 Dec 1819: Alabama Territory Organized
  • 4 Mar 1817—4 Mar 1825: James Monroe
    James Monroe U.S. Presidency James Monroe U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1817—3 Mar 1825: James Monroe
  • 12 Oct 1817—10 Dec 1817: Mississippi
    20th State
41 1818 
  • 1818—1818: Manchester cotton spinners' strike
  • 1818—1819: First Seminole War
  • 1818—1818: The 49th parallel becomes border
    Canada-US border officially set from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains
  • 12 Mar 1818—3 Dec 1818: Illinois
    21st State
  • 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
42 1819 
  • 1819—1819: Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles
  • 1819—1819: Britain returns to gold standard
  • 1819—1819: Primitive bicycle, the Dandy Horse, becomes popular
  • 1819—1819: René Laënnec invents the stethoscope
  • 1819—1819: Samuel Fahnestock patents a "soda fountain"
  • 3 Feb 1819—14 Jun 1836: Arkansas Territory Organized
    Effective 4 July 1819
  • 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
  • 12 1819—14 Dec 1819: Alabama
    22nd State
43 1820 
  • 1820—1820: Abolition of the Spanish Inquisition
  • 1820—1820: Cato Street Conspiracy ? plot to assissinate British cabinet
  • 1820—1820: Cape Breton Island re-annexed to Nova Scotia
  • 1820—1820: Militia land grants
    1812-1814 militiamen entitled to land grants
  • 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
  • 3 1820—15 Mar 1820: Maine
    23rd State
  • 1 1820—20 Jun 1830: George IV
    House of Hanover: Eldest son of George III, Prince Regent, from Feb 1811
44 1821 
  • 1821—1821: Constable paints 'The Hay Wain'
  • 1821—1821: Faraday publishes 'Principles of electro-magnetic rotation'
  • 5 May 1821—5 May 1821: Napoleon Bonaparte dies on St Helena
  • 8 Oct 1821—10 Aug 1821: Missouri
    24th State
45 1822 
  • 14 Jun 1822—14 Jun 1822: Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society
  • 3 1822—2 Mar 1845: Florida Territory Organized
46 1823 
  • 1823—1823: Rubberised waterproof material produced by MacIntosh
  • 1823—1823: Rugby Football 'invented' at Rugby School
  • 1823—1823: Peel begins penal reforms ? death penalty abolished for over 100 crimes
  • 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: Mackintosh (raincoat) invented by Charles Mackintosh of Scotland
  • 2 Dec 1823—2 Dec 1823: US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts (the 'Monroe Doctrine')
47 1824 
  • 1824—1824: Portland cement patented
  • 1824—1824: RSPCA established
  • 1824—1824: Canada (Land) Company formed
    acquires outstanding Crown reserves
  • 1824—1824: First annual numerical census of Upper Canada
    Census counts 150,066 individuals
  • 1824—1824: Professor Michael Faraday invents the first toy balloon
  • 1824—1824: Englishmen, Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement, the modern building material
  • 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
48 1825 
  • 1825—1825: William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet
  • 4 Mar 1825—4 Mar 1829: John Quincy Adams
    John Quincy Adams U.S. Presidency John Quincy Adams U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1825—4 Mar 1829: John Quincy Adams
  • 10 May 1825—5 Oct 1825: The Miramichi Fire
    200-500 people killed in fire that destroys the New Brunswick towns of Newcastle and Douglastown
  • 27 Sep 1825—27 Sep 1825: Stockton to Darlington Railway opens ? world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains
  • 6 1825—20 Sep 1825: Lower Canada (Quebec} census
    count of population by family
49 1826 
  • 1826—1826: Red River flooding
    High waters force the complete evacuation of the 10-year-old Red River Colony -- the future Winnipeg, Manitoba
50 1827 
  • 1827—1827: Ohm's Law published
  • 1827—1827: Charles Wheatstone invents the microphone
  • 1827—1827: John Walker invents the modern matches
51 1828 
  • 1828—1828: Naturalization commences
    Naturalization required for non-British persons
  • 11 Jul 1828—1829: Military rolls taken in Canada West (Ontario)
    military records name every soldier from 19 to 39 years of age
  • 25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828: St Katharine Docks in London opened (designed by Thomas Telford)
52 1829 
  • 1829—1829: Louis Braille invents his system of finger-reading for the blind
  • 1829—1829: London Metropolitan Police Force formed, nicknamed 'Bobbies' after Sir Robert Peel
  • 1829—1829: Roman Catholics are permitted by law to buy and inherit property and keep records.
  • 1829—1829: Welland Canal opens
    Lake Ontario to Lake Erie canal opens
  • 1829—1829: William Austin Burt patents a typographer, a predecessor to the typewriter
  • 1829—1829: Frenchmen, Louis Braille invents braille printing
  • 1829—1829: American, W.A. Burt invents a typewriter
  • 5 1829—May 1829: Guelph, Ontario, tornado
    tornado destroys many homes
  • 4 Mar 1829—4 Mar 1837: Andrew Jackson
    Andrew Jackson U.S. Presidency Andrew Jackson U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1829—4 Mar 1837: Andrew Jackson
  • 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!)
53 1830 
  • 1830—1830: Uprisings and agitation across Europe: the Netherlands are split into Holland and Belgium
  • 1830—1830: Frenchmen, B. Thimonnier invents a sewing machine
  • 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!
  • 6 1830—20 Jun 1837: William IV
    House of Hanover: 3rd son of George III, married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
54 1831 
  • 1831—1831: A list of all parish registers dating prior to 1813 compiled
  • 1831—1831: Marriage Act amended
    allows Baptist, Congregationalist, Methodist, Mennonite, Independent, Dunkers and Moravian clergy to legally perform marriages
  • 1831—1831: American, Cyrus H. McCormick invents the first commercially successful reaper
  • 1831—1831: Michael Faraday invents an electric dynamo
  • 6 Jan 1831—1 Oct 1831: Lower Canada (Quebec) census
    count of population by family
  • 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
55 1832 
  • 1832—1832: Electric telegraph invented by Morse
  • 1832—1832: Electoral Registers introduced
  • 1832—1836: Texas Revolutionary War
    Texas vs Mexico
  • 1832—1832: Englishmen, Louis Braille invents the stereoscope
  • 4 Jan 1832—1937: Immigrants quarantined at Grosse Isle
    Canada's immigrant quarantine station opens at Grosse Isle
  • 14 May 1832—2 Aug 1832: Black Hawk War
    Black Hawk War Black Hawk War
  • 7 Jun 1832—7 Jun 1832: Reform Bill passed ? Representation of the People Act
  • 6 1832—Sep 1832: Cholera epidemic - Canada West
    First province-wide cholera epidemic
56 1833 
  • 1833—1833: Abolition of slavery
  • 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
57 1834 
  • 1834—1834: Babbage invents forerunner of the computer
  • 1834—1834: Jacob Perkins invents an early refrigerator (really an ether ice machine)
  • 1834—1834: Henry Blair patents a corn planter, he is the second black person to receive a U.S. patent
  • 7 1834—15 Sep 1834: Cholera epidemic - Canada West
    Second province-wide cholera epidemic
  • 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
58 1835 
  • 1835—1835: First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway
  • 1835—1835: Christmas becomes a national holiday
  • 1835—1842: Second Seminole War
  • 1835—1835: Englishmen, Francis Pettit Smith invents the propeller
  • 1835—1835: Englishmen, Henry F. Talbot invents Calotype photography
  • 1835—1835: Solymon Merrick patents the wrench
  • 1835—1835: Charles Babbage invents a mechanical calculator
  • 2 Oct 1835—21 Apr 1836: Texas War of Independence
    Texas War of Independence Texas War of Independence
  • 3 Nov 1835—11 Mar 1835: First formal police force
    Canadian police force established in Toronto
59 1836 
  • 1836—1836: First Potato famine in Ireland
  • 1836—1836: Samuel Colt invented the first revolver
  • 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
  • 11 May 1836—2 Feb 1848: Mexican-American War
    Mexican-American War Mexican-American War
  • Jul 1836—Jul 1836: Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
  • 6 1836—15 Jun 1836: Arkansas
    25th State
  • 4 1836—28 May 1848: Wisconsin Territory Organized
    Effective date 3 Jul 1836
60 1837 
  • 1837—1837: P&O Founded
  • 1837—1837: Pitman introduces his shorthand system
  • 1837—1837: Samuel Morse invents the telegraph
  • 1837—1837: English schoolmaster, Rowland Hill invents the postage stamp
  • 11 1837—Dec 1837: Lower Canada Rebellion
    French and English rebel against British colonial government
  • 12 1837—Dec 1837: Upper Canada Rebellion
    An uprising against the ruling clique -- the Family Compact
  • 4 Mar 1837—4 Mar 1841: Martin Van Buren
    Martin Van Buren U.S. Presidency Martin Van Buren U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1837—4 Mar 1841: Martin van Buren
  • 12 Apr 1837—7 Dec 1837: Mackenzie Rebellion
    U.S. patriotic rebels fight Loyalists in Toronto
  • 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
  • 6 1837—22 Jan 1901: Victoria
    House of Hanover: Daughter of Edward, 4th son of George III; married (1840) Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who became Prince Consort
  • 1 1837—26 Jan 1837: Michigan
    26th State
61 1838 
  • 1838—1838: Samual Morse invents Morse Code
  • 28 Jun 1838—28 Jun 1838: Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey
  • 11 Nov 1838—16 Nov 1838: Rebellion of Hastings County, Ontario
    U.S. patriots raid Prescott
  • 6 Dec 1838—27 Dec 1846: Iowa Territory Organized
    Effective date 3 July 1838
62 1839 
  • 1839—1839: Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber
  • 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: First Opium War between Britain and China (to 1842) - Britain captures Hong Kong
  • 1839—1839: Frenchmen, Louis Daguerre and J.N. Niepce co-invent Daguerreotype photography
  • 1839—1839: Kirkpatrick Macmillan invents a bicycle
  • 1839—1839: American, Charles Goodyear invents rubber vulcanization
  • 1839—1839: Welshmen, Sir William Robert Grove conceives of the first hydrogen fuel cell
  • 1839—1839: American, Thaddeus Fairbanks invents platform scales
  • 1 1839—Jan 1839: Durham Report
    Proposal to unite Upper and Lower Canada and assimilate the French
63 1840 
  • 1840—1840: Last convicts landed in NSW (some say 1842 or 1849, but these probably landed elsewhere)
  • 1840—1840: Population Act relating to taking of censuses in Britain
  • 1840—1840: Englishmen, John Herschel invents the blueprint
  • 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
64 1841 
65 1842 
  • 1842—1842: Income Tax reintroduced in Britain
  • 1842—1842: Joseph Dart builds the first grain elevator
  • 2 Jan 1842—1 Feb 1842: First major census taken
    Canada West (Ontario) census counts 487,053 individuals
  • 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
66 1843 
  • 1843—1843: First Christmas card in England
  • 1843—1843: Alexander Bain of Scotland, invents the facsimile
  • 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
67 1844 
  • 1844—1844: Englishmen, John Mercer invents mercerized cotton
  • 6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844: YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
68 1845 
  • 1845—1845: Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
  • 1845—1845: USA doubles cost of passage to American ports
    USA passage fees encourage immigrants to choose Canada as their destination
  • 1845—1845: American, Elias Howe invents a sewing machine
  • 1845—1845: Robert William Thomson patents the first vulcanised rubber pneumatic tire
  • 3 Mar 1845—3 Mar 1845: Florida
    27th State
  • 4 Mar 1845—4 Mar 1849: James K. Polk
    James K. Polk U.S. Presidency James K. Polk U.S. Presidency
  • 17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845: The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
  • 3 Apr 1845—5 Mar 1849: James Polk
  • 12 1845—29 Dec 1845: Texas
    28th State
  • 5 1845—28 Jan 1861: Kansas Territory Organized
69 1846 
  • 1846—1846: Canada-U.S. Boundary Completed
  • 1846—1846: Dr. William Morton, a Massachusetts dentist, is the first to use anesthesia for tooth extraction
  • 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846: The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
  • 4 1846—2 Feb 1848: Mexican-American War
  • 12 1846—28 Dec 1846: Iowa
    29th State
70 1847 
  • 1847—1847: US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre
  • 1847—1847: Longfellow writes the poem Evangeline
    The poem Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longefellow is published. A spirit of pride and hope is rekindled among the Acadians.
  • 1847—1847: Typhus epidemic
    The height of the typhus and cholera epidemic brought by immigrants - the black year of emigration
  • 1847—1848: Influenza epidemic
    worldwide influenza kills millions
  • 1847—1847: Hungarian, Ignaz Semmelweis invents antisceptics
  • Jan 1847—Jan 1847: An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)
71 1848 
  • 1848—1848: First commercial production of chewing gum
  • 1848—1848: 1842's followup census completed
    Canada West (Ontario) counts 725,897 individuals
  • 1848—1848: Waldo Hanchett patents the dental chair
  • 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
  • 8 1848—13 Feb 1859: Oregon Territory Organized
  • 5 1848—29 May 1848: Wisconsin
    30th State
72 1849 
  • 1849—1849: Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally occurred in 1971!
  • 1849—1849: Canada's 49th parallel border is extended to the Pacific Ocean
  • 1849—1849: Official bilingualism
    All Canadian parliament bills are now in both English and French
  • 1849—1849: Walter Hunt invents the safety pin
  • 3 Mar 1849—10 Nov 1858: Minnesota Territory Organized
  • 4 Mar 1849—9 Jul 1850: Zachary Taylor
    Zachary Taylor U.S. Presidency Zachary Taylor U.S. Presidency
  • 3 May 1849—9 Jul 1850: Zachary Taylor
    Zachary Taylor died while in office
  • 10 Nov 1849—11 Oct 1849: Annexation Manifesto
    Montreal's businessmen call for Canada's annexation by the U.S.
73 1850 
  • 1850—1850: Joel Houghton was granted the first dishwasher patent
  • 1 Jan 1850—1 Jan 1850: County government
    Counties become official units of local government
  • 9 Jul 1850—4 Mar 1853: Millard Fillmore
    Millard Fillmore U.S. Presidency Millard Fillmore U.S. Presidency
  • 6 Sep 1850—3 Jan 1896: Utah Territory Organized
  • 9 Sep 1850—5 Jan 1912: New Mexico Territory Organized
  • 9 Sep 1850—9 Sep 1850: California
    31st State
  • 7 Oct 1850—4 Mar 1853: Millard Fillmore
    Millard Fillmore, vice president under Zachary Taylor, sworn in as president after Taylor's death
74 1851 
  • 1851—1851: Gold discovered in Australia
  • 1851—1851: First Canadian postage stamp
    Orange-red stamp is created by Sir Sandford Fleming, sells for three pence and features a beaver
  • 1851—1851: Toronto-Buffalo rail line constructed
    Great Western Railway creates Toronto-Buffalo line
  • 1851—1851: Isaac Singer invents a sewing machine
  • 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
75 1852 
  • 1852—1852: Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
  • 1852—1852: Wells Fargo established in USA
  • 1852—1852: Jean Bernard Léon Foucault invents a gyroscope
  • 1852—1852: Henri Giffard builds an airship powered by the first aircraft engine - unsuccessful design
  • 1 Dec 1852—12 Jan 1852: First "thorough" Canadian census
    "1851" census includes Canada West, Canada East, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but was not completed until 1853
76 1853 
  • 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
  • 1853—1853: George Cayley invents a manned glider
  • 3 Feb 1853—10 Nov 1889: Washington Territory Organized
  • 4 Mar 1853—4 Mar 1857: Franklin Pierce
    Franklin Pierce U.S. Presidency Franklin Pierce U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1853—4 Mar 1857: Franklin Pierce
77 1854 
  • 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
  • 1854—1854: John Tyndall demonstrates the principles of fiber optics
  • 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)
  • 5 1854—28 Feb 1867: Nebraska Territory Organized
78 1855 
  • 1855—1855: Civil registration begins.
  • 1855—1855: Ice Hockey
    The first game of ice hockey is believed to have been played in Kingston, Ontario
  • 1855—1855: Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine motor
  • 1855—1855: Georges Audemars invents rayon
  • 1 Jan 1855—1 Jan 1855: Ottawa named
    The logging town of Bytown is renamed to Ottawa
79 1856 
  • 1856—1856: End of Crimean War
  • 1856—1856: Louis Pasteur invents pasteurisation
  • 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)
80 1857 
  • 1857—1857: Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
  • 1857—1857: Ottawa is declared the capital of Canada by Queen Victoria
  • 1857—1857: George Pullman invents the Pullman Sleeping Car for train travel
  • 4 Mar 1857—4 Mar 1861: James Buchanan
    James Buchanan U.S. Presidency James Buchanan U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1857—4 Mar 1861: James Buchanan
81 1858 
  • 1858—1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
  • 1858—1858: 'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work
  • 1858—1858: Jean Lenoir invents an internal combustion engine
  • 1858—1858: Hamilton Smith patents the rotary washing machine
  • 5 Nov 1858—11 May 1858: Minnesota
    32nd State
82 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'
  • 2 1859—14 Feb 1859: Oregon
    33rd State
83 1860 
  • 1860—1860: The Maple Leaf
    first used as official emblem of Canada during visit from the Prince of Wales
  • 29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
84 1861 
  • 1861—1861: Elisha Otis patents elevator safety brakes, creating a safer elevator
  • 1861—1861: Pierre Michaux invents a bicycle
  • 1861—1861: Linus Yale invents the Yale lock or cylinder lock
  • 2 Feb 1861—1 Nov 1889: North Dakota Territory Organized
  • 3 Feb 1861—1 Nov 1889: South Dakota Territory Organized
  • 3 Feb 1861—30 Oct 1864: Nevada Territory Organized
  • 4 Mar 1861—15 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln
    Abraham Lincoln U.S. Presidency Abraham Lincoln U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1861—15 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln
    Abraham Lincoln shot by John Wilkes Booth on 14 Apr 1865 and dies the next day
  • 12 Apr 1861—9 Apr 1865: American Civil War
    American Civil War American Civil War
  • 25 May 1861—25 May 1861: American Civil War begins
  • 1 1861—14 Jan 1861: Canadian census
    1861 census includes Canada West, Canada East, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
  • 4 1861—9 Apr 1865: Civil War
    Union vs Confederacy
  • 2 1861—31 Jul 1876: Colorado Territory Organized
  • 1 1861—29 Jan 1861: Kansas
    34th State
85 1862 
  • 1862—1862: Lincoln issues first legal US paper money (Greenbacks)
  • 1862—1862: Alexander Parkes invents the first man-made plastic
  • 1862—1862: Dr. Richard Gatling patents the machine gun
  • 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
86 1863 
  • 1863—1863: Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England
  • 1863—1863: Football Association founded (UK)
  • 1863—1863: Denmark goes to war against Prussia and Austria. In the Treaty of Prague (1866), Denmark cedes Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia (Ge
  • 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
  • 3 Mar 1863—2 Jul 1890: Idaho Territory Organized
  • 6 1863—20 Jun 1863: West Virginia
    35th State
  • 2 1863—13 Feb 1912: Arizona Territory Organized
87 1864 
  • 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
  • 5 1864—7 Nov 1889: Montana Territory Organized
  • 10 1864—31 Oct 1864: Nevada
    36th State
88 1865 
  • 1865—1865: First concrete roads built in Britain
  • 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]
  • 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
  • 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
  • 15 Apr 1865—4 Mar 1869: Andrew Johnson
    Andrew Johnson U.S. Presidency Andrew Johnson U.S. Presidency
  • 12 Jun 1865—6 Dec 1865: 13th Amendment ratified
  • 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865: William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
  • 4 1865—4 Mar 1869: Andrew Johnson
    Andrew Johnson, vice president under Abraham Lincoln, sworn in as president upon Lincoln's death
  • 1 1865—31 Jan 1865: 13th Amendment passed by Congress
89 1866 
  • 1866—1866: Fenian Raids
    Irish Americans raid Canada
  • 1866—1866: Ontario Gold Rush
    Gold discovered in Eldorado, Hastings County, Ontario
  • 1866—1866: Englishmen Robert Whitehead invents a torpedo
  • 1866—1866: J. Osterhoudt patents the tin can with a key opener
  • 1866—1866: Alfred Nobel invents dynamite
  • 6 1866—13 Jun 1866: 14th Amendment passed by Congress
90 1867 
  • 1867—1867: Christopher Scholes invents the first practical and modern typewriter
  • 3 Jan 1867—1 Mar 1867: Nebraska
    37th State
  • 7 Jan 1867—1 Jul 1867: 10-year census taking becomes a legal requirement
    the first census of The Dominion of Canada is scheduled for 1871 and every 10 years after
  • 7 Jan 1867—1 Jul 1867: Confederation
    British North America Act creates the Dominion of Canada from the provinces of Canada (Upper and Lower), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
  • 1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867: The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
91 1868 
  • 1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
  • 1868—1868: Vote given to male British subjects
    British males, 21 years of age or older who own, rent or occupy property of specified values are entitled to vote
  • 1868—1868: J P Knight invents traffic lights
  • 1868—1868: George Westinghouse invents air brakes
  • 1868—1868: Robert Mushet invents tungsten steel
  • 7 1868—19 Jul 1868: 14th Amendment ratified
  • 7 1868—9 Jul 1890: Wyoming Territory Organized
92 1869 
  • 1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
  • 7 Jan 1869—1 Jul 1869: Ontario begins BMD registration
    Start of Ontario's registration of births, marriages and deaths
  • 4 Mar 1869—4 Mar 1877: Ulysses S. Grant
    Ulysses S. Grant U.S. Presidency Ulysses S. Grant U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1869—5 Mar 1877: Ulysses Grant
  • 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
  • 11 1869—15 Jul 1870: Rupert's Land joins Canada
    Canada purchases Rupert's Land from Hudson's Bay Company. Some of this land is added to Ontario, and the rest is later divided into the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories
  • 2 1869—26 Feb 1869: 15th Amendment passed by Congress
93 1870 
  • 1870—1870: Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa
  • 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
  • 1870—1870: Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children
  • 1870—1870: GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
  • 1870—1870: First census of British Columbia
  • 2 Mar 1870—3 Feb 1870: 15th Amendment ratified
  • 1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870: First British postcard - halfpenny post
  • 7 1870—15 Jul 1870: Manitoba created
    Part of Rupert's Land becomes Manitoba -- the fifth province
  • 7 1870—15 Jul 1870: Northwest Territories created
    Part of Rupert's Land becomes the Northwest Territories
94 1871 
  • 4 Feb 1871—2 Apr 1871: Dominion of Canada Census
    The first national census after Confederation includes Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia - counts 3,689,257
  • 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
  • 7 1871—20 Jul 1871: British Columbia joins Canada
    British Columbia becomes Canada's sixth province
95 1872 
  • 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
  • 1872—1872: Licensing hours introduced
  • 1872—1872: Chinese and First Nations banned from voting in BC
    The British Columbia Qualifications of Voters Act denies the Chinese and First Nations peoples the right to vote
  • 1872—1872: Dominion Land Act
    Prairies opened for settlement by offer of 160 acres of land to each settler, resident for 3 years and paying a $10 filing fee
  • 1872—1872: A.M. Ward issues the first mail-order catalog
  • 1872—1872: J.S. Risdon patents the metal windmill
  • 4 Dec 1872—4 Dec 1872: American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean
96 1873 
  • 1873—1873: North-West Mounted Police created
    "Mounties" formed from civilians to patrol the west
  • 1873—1873: Joseph Glidden invents barbed wire
  • 7 Jan 1873—1 Jul 1873: Prince Edward Island joins Canada
    Prince Edward Island becomes Canada's seventh province
  • 5 1873—13 May 1873: Nova Scotia coal mine explosion
    60 men die in Westville, Nova Scotia when a coal mine is destroyed by fire and explosion
  • 8 1873—25 Aug 1873: The Great Nova Scotia Cyclone
    500 killed by cyclone
97 1874 
  • 1874—1874: Factory Act introduces 56-hour week
  • 1874—1874: Voting rights extended
    male British subjects 21 years old and over, with annual income of $400 and 'enfranchised Indians' given the right to vote
  • 1874—1874: American, C. Goodyear, Jr. invents the shoe welt stitcher
  • 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
98 1875 
  • 1875—1875: London's main sewage system completed
  • 1875—1875: Supreme Court of Canada established
  • 1875—1875: Western Indian treaties signed
  • 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)
99 1876 
  • 1876—1876: Nicolaus August Otto invents the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine
  • 1876—1876: Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
  • 1876—1876: Melville Bissell patents the carpet sweeper
  • 8 Jan 1876—1 Aug 1876: Colorado
    38th State
  • 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
100 1877 
101 1878 
  • 1878—1878: CID established at New Scotland Yard
  • 1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
  • 1878—1878: Red Flag Act in Britain limits mechanical road vehicles to 4mph
  • 1878—1878: Sir Joseph Wilson Swan was the first person to invent a practical and longer-lasting electic lightbulb
102 1879 
  • 18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879: Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
103 1880 
  • 1880—1880: Mosquito found to be the carrier of malaria
  • 1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
  • 1880—7 Nov 1885: Chinese build railroad
    The construction of the western section of the Canadian Pacific Railway employs thousands of Chinese workers
  • 1880—1880: Englishmen, John Milne invents the modern seismograph
  • 1880—1880: The British Perforated Paper Company invents a form of toilet paper
  • 2 Aug 1880—2 Aug 1880: Greenwich Mean Time adopted throughout UK
104 1881 
  • 1881—1881: Postal Orders introduced
  • 1881—1881: Flogging abolished in Army and Royal Navy
  • 1881—1881: First Acadian Convention at Memramcook
    First Acadian Convention at Memramcook. The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother is voted as the Acadian National holiday and is celebrated each year on August 15th.
  • 1881—1881: David Houston patents the roll film for cameras
  • 1881—1881: Alexander Graham Bell invents the first crude metal detector
  • 1881—1881: Edward Leveaux patents the automatic player piano
  • 4 Mar 1881—19 Sep 1881: James A. Garfield
    James A. Garfield U.S. Presidency James A. Garfield U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1881—19 Sep 1881: James Garfield
    James Garfield wounded by assassin's bullet on 3 Jul 1881 and dies 19 Sep 1881
  • 4 Apr 1881—4 Apr 1881: Census of Canada
    counts 4,324,810 individuals
  • 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)
  • 19 Sep 1881—4 Mar 1885: Chester A. Arthur
    Chester A. Arthur U.S. Presidency Chester A. Arthur U.S. Presidency
  • 26 Oct 1881—26 Oct 1881: Gunfight at OK Corral
  • 9 1881—4 Mar 1885: Chester A. Arthur
    Chester A. Arthur, vice president under James Garfield, sworn in as president upon the death of Garfield
105 1882 
  • 1882—1882: Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed
  • 1882—1882: Home children arrive
    First shipload of sponsored immigrant children arrive in Canada (Dr. Barnardo Homes etc.)
  • 1882—1882: Northwest Territories divided
    Athabasca, Assiniboia, Alberta and Saskatchewan created
106 1883 
  • 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
107 1884 
  • 1884—1884: Second Acadian Convention at Miscouche
    Second Acadian Convention at Miscouche on Prince Edward Island. The tri-color with gold star is approved as the Acadian flag and the hymn Ave Maris Stella becomes the national anthem of the Acadians.
  • 1884—1884: Voting rights extended
    Spinsters and widows permitted to vote in municipal elections
  • 1884—1884: James Ritty invents the first working, mechanical cash register
  • 1884—1884: Charles Parson patents the steam turbine
  • 1884—1884: Lewis Edson Waterman invents the first practical fountain pen
  • 1884—1884: George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film
  • 1884—1884: Frenchmen, H. de Chardonnet invents rayon
  • 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
108 1885 
  • 1885—1885: Canadian Pacific Railway completed
  • 1885—1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle
  • 1885—1885: Eastman makes first coated photographic paper
  • 1885—1885: Carl Benz builds the 'Motorwagen', a single-cylinder motor car
  • 1885—1885: Karl Benz invents the first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine
  • 1885—1885: Harim Maxim invents the machine gun
  • 1885—1885: Gottlieb Daimler invents the first gas-engined motorcycle
  • Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
  • 4 Mar 1885—4 Mar 1889: Grover Cleveland
    Grover Cleveland U.S. Presidency Grover Cleveland U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1885—4 Mar 1889: Grover Cleveland
  • 11 Jul 1885—7 Nov 1885: Canadian Pacific Railway Completed
    'Here on November 7, 1885, a plain iron spike welded East to West', says a plaque in Craigellachie, Eagle Pass, BC
  • 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
  • 11 1885—16 Nov 1885: Louis Riel hanged
    Accused of treason for leading the Métis resistance, Louis Riel's hanging in Regina further degrades English-French relations
109 1886 
  • 1886—1886: Gottlieb Daimler builds the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle
  • 1886—1886: John Pemberton invents Coca Cola
  • 1886—1886: Josephine Cochrane invents the dishwasher
  • 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
110 1887 
  • 1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
  • 1887—1887: German, Heinrich Hertz invents radar
  • 1887—1887: Rowell Hodge patents barbed wire
  • 1887—1887: Emile Berliner invents the gramophone
  • 1887—1887: F.E. Muller and Adolph Fick invent the first wearable contact lenses
  • 5 Mar 1887—3 May 1887: Coal mine explosion in Nanaimo, BC
    148 killed in mine explosion
111 1888 
  • 1888—1888: First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film
  • 1888—1888: Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre
  • 1888—1888: County Councils set up in Britain
  • 1888—1888: Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year
  • 1888—1888: Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace
  • 1888—1888: Voting rights extended
    All adult male British subjects except unenfranchised Indians living on reserves are permitted to vote
  • 1888—1888: John Boyd Dunlop patents a commercially successful pneumatic tire
  • 1888—1888: Nikola Tesla invents the AC motor and transformer
  • 1888—1888: Marvin Stone patents the spiral winding process to manufacture the first paper drinking straws
  • 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
112 1889 
  • 1889—1889: Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies
  • 1889—1889: Celluloid film produced
  • 1889—1889: Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act
    Ontario's western boundary extended to west of Lake Superior
  • 1889—1889: Sir James Dewar and Sir Frederick Abel co-invent Cordite - a type of smokeless gunpowder
  • 1889—1889: Joshua Pusey invents the matchbook
  • 11 Feb 1889—2 Nov 1889: South Dakota
    40th State
  • 11 Feb 1889—2 Nov 1889: North Dakota
    39th State
  • 4 Mar 1889—4 Mar 1893: Benjamin Harrison
    Benjamin Harrison U.S. Presidency Benjamin Harrison U.S. Presidency
  • 31 Mar 1889—31 Mar 1889: Eiffel Tower completed (to mark centenary of French Revolution)
  • 3 Apr 1889—4 Mar 1893: Benjamin Harrison
  • 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
  • 11 Aug 1889—8 Nov 1889: Montana
    41st State
  • 28 Sep 1889—28 Sep 1889: Length of a metre defined
  • 11 Nov 1889—11 Nov 1889: Washington
    42nd State
113 1890 
  • 5 Feb 1890—15 Nov 1907: Indian Territory Organized
    The most of the area that is present day Oklahoma was divided into Oklahoma and Indian Territory
  • 5 Feb 1890—15 Nov 1907: Oklahoma Territory Organized
    The most of the area that is present day Oklahoma was divided into Oklahoma and Indian Territory
  • 4 Mar 1890—4 Mar 1890: Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build
  • 7 Mar 1890—3 Jul 1890: Idaho
    43rd State
  • 7 Oct 1890—10 Jul 1890: Wyoming
    44th State
  • 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
114 1891 
  • 1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory
  • 1891—1891: First Children's Aid Society is established in Toronto
  • 1891—1891: Jesse W. Reno invents the escalator
  • 18 Mar 1891—18 Mar 1891: First telephone link between London & Paris
  • 4 May 1891—4 May 1891: Fictional date when Sherlock Holmes throws Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, then disappears for 3 years! (published in 1893)
  • 4 Jun 1891—6 Apr 1891: Census of Canada
    counts 4,833,239 individuals
  • 24 Aug 1891—24 Aug 1891: Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera
115 1892 
  • 1892—1892: Electric oven invented
  • 1892—1892: Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's
  • 1892—1892: Sir James Dewar invents the Dewar flask or vacuum flask
  • 1892—1892: Rudolf Diesel invents the diesel-fueled internal combustion engine
  • 6 Oct 1892—6 Oct 1892: Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
116 1893 
  • 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
  • 1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car
  • 1893—1893: American, W.L. Judson invents the zipper
  • 1893—1893: Edward Goodrich Acheson invents carborundum
  • 4 Mar 1893—4 Mar 1897: Grover Cleveland
    Grover Cleveland U.S. Presidency Grover Cleveland U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1893—4 Mar 1897: Grover Cleveland
117 1894 
  • 1894—1894: Picture postcard introduced in Britain
  • 1 Jan 1894—1 Jan 1894: Manchester Ship Canal opens
  • 1 Mar 1894—1 Mar 1894: Blackpool Tower opens
  • 30 Jun 1894—30 Jun 1894: Tower Bridge first opens
  • 2 Aug 1894—2 Aug 1894: Death duties first introduced in Britain
118 1895 
  • 1895—1895: Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London
  • 1895—1895: Lumiere Brothers using their Cinematographe are the first to present a projected motion picture to an audience of more that one
  • 1895—1895: Lumiere Brothers invent a portable motion-picture camera, film processing unit and projector called the Cinematographe
  • 12 Jan 1895—12 Jan 1895: The National Trust founded in England
  • 24 May 1895—24 May 1895: Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted
  • 28 May 1895—28 May 1895: Oscar Wilde sent to prison
  • 12 Jul 1895—12 Jul 1895: First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain
  • 17 Oct 1895—17 Oct 1895: First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey
  • Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
119 1896 
  • 1896—1896: Gold discovered in Yukon
    Gold found in Bonanza Creek, Klondike River, Yukon
  • 1896—1896: American, H. O'Sullivan invents the rubber heel
  • 1 Apr 1896—4 Jan 1896: Utah
    45th State
  • 5 Apr 1896—5 Apr 1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
  • 2 Jun 1896—2 Jun 1896: Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
120 1897 
  • 1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
  • 4 Mar 1897—14 Sep 1901: William McKinley
    William McKinley U.S. Presidency William McKinley U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1897—14 Sep 1901: William McKinley
    William McKinley dies in Buffalo, NY.
121 1898 
  • 1898—1898: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded
  • 1898—1898: Zeppelin builds airship
  • 1898—1898: First photograph using artificial light
  • 1898—1898: Klondike gold rush
    Gold rush along the upper Yukon River
  • 1898—1898: Yukon gold rush
  • 1898—1898: Rudolf Diesel receives patent #608,845 for an "internal combustion engine" the Diesel engine
  • 1898—1898: Edwin Prescott patents the roller coaster
  • 17 Mar 1898—17 Mar 1898: USS Holland launched, the first practical submarine
  • 25 Apr 1898—12 Aug 1898: Spanish-American War
    Spanish-American War Spanish-American War
  • 27 Jun 1898—27 Jun 1898: The first solo circumnavigation of the globe completed at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray (started from Boston, Mass on Apr 24, 1895)
  • 7 Jul 1898—20 Aug 1959: Territory of Hawaii was Oraganized
  • 6 1898—13 Jun 1898: The Yukon joins Canada
    Yukon becomes an entity separate from the North-West Territories
  • 4 1898—10 Dec 1898: Spanish-American War
    United States vs Spain
122 1899 
  • 1899—1899: J.S. Thurman patents the motor-driven vacuum cleaner
  • 1899—1899: I.R. Johnson patents the bicycle frame
  • 6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer
  • 2 Jun 1899—4 Jul 1902: Philippine-American War
    Philippine-American War Philippine-American War
  • 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899: Start of Second Boer War
  • 2 Nov 1899—7 Sep 1901: Boxer Rebellion
    Boxer Rebellion Boxer Rebellion
  • 10 1899—30 Oct 1899: Boer War
    Canadian troops sent overseas for the first time to fight in the Boer War, but this is opposed by Quebec
123 1900 
  • 1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
  • 1900—1900: Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified
  • 1900—1900: Escalator shown at Paris exhibition
  • 1900—1900: The zeppelin invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin
  • 1900—1900: Charles Seeberger redesigned Jesse Reno's escalator and invented the modern escalator
  • 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900: Davis Cup tennis competition established
  • 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900: Labour Party formed
124 1901 
125 1902 
  • 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
  • 1902—1902: Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued
  • 1902—1902: Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education
  • 1902—1902: Willis Carrier invents the air conditioner
  • 1902—1902: French physicist George Claude invents neon light
  • 1902—1902: The lie detector or polygraph machine is invented by James Mackenzie
  • 1902—1902: The birth of the Teddy Bear
  • 24 May 1902—24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated
  • 31 May 1902—31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War
  • 9 Aug 1902—9 Aug 1902: Coronation of Edward VII
126 1903 
  • 1903—1903: Women's Social and Political Union formed in Britain by Emmeline Pankhurst
  • 1903—1903: Henry Ford sets up his motor company
  • 1903—1903: Workers' Education Association (WEA) formed in Britain
  • 1903—1903: Canada loses the Alaska Boundary Dispute to the USA
  • 1903—1903: Edward Binney and Harold Smith co-invent crayons
  • 1903—1903: Bottle-making machinery invented by Michael J. Owens
  • 1903—1903: The Wright brothers invent the first gas motored and manned airplane
  • 1903—1903: Mary Anderson invents windshield wipers
  • 1903—1903: William Coolidge invents ductile tungsten used in lightbulbs
  • 14 Dec 1903—14 Dec 1903: First flight of Wilbur & Orville Wright
  • 4 1903—29 Apr 1903: Frank Slide, Alberta
    Turtle Mountain landslide, caused by mining, buries town and population of Frank in Alberta
127 1904 
  • 1904—1904: Leeds University established
  • 1904—1904: Teabags invented by Thomas Suillivan
  • 1904—1904: Benjamin Holt invents a tractor
  • 1904—1904: John A Fleming invents a vacuum diode or Fleming valve
  • 8 Apr 1904—8 Apr 1904: France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale
  • 4 May 1904—4 May 1904: America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
128 1905 
  • 1905—1905: Germany lays down the first Dreadnought battleship
  • 1905—1905: Aliens Act in Britain: Home Office controls immigration
  • 1905—1905: The title 'Prime Minister' noted in a royal warrant for the first time - placed the Prime Minister in order of precedence in Britain immediately after the Archbishop of York
  • 1905—1905: Albert Einstein published the Theory of Relativity and made famous the equation, E = mc2
  • 1905—1905: Mary Anderson receives a patent for windshield wipers
  • 9 Jan 1905—1 Sep 1905: Alberta and Saskatchewan join Canada
    Alberta and Saskatchewan become Canada's eighth and ninth provinces
  • 11 Apr 1905—11 Apr 1905: Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity
129 1906 
  • 1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children
  • 1906—1906: Amundsen traverses the North-West Passage
  • 1906—1906: William Kellogg invents Cornflakes
  • 1906—1906: Lewis Nixon invents the first sonar like device
  • 1906—1906: Lee Deforest invents electronic amplifying tube (triode)
  • 10 Feb 1906—10 Feb 1906: Launching of HMS Dreadnought, first turbine-driven battleship
  • 15 Mar 1906—15 Mar 1906: Rolls-Royce Ltd registered
  • 26 May 1906—26 May 1906: Vauxhall Bridge opened in London
  • 20 Sep 1906—20 Sep 1906: Launching of Cunard's RMS Mauretania on the Tyne
  • 6 1906—24 Jun 1906: Census of Northwest Provinces
    Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Quinquennial censuses instituted
130 1907 
  • 1907—1907: Lumiere develops a process for colour photography
  • 1907—1907: First airship flies over London
  • 1907—1907: New Zealand becomes a Dominion
  • 1907—1907: Imperial College, London, is established
  • 1907—1907: Leo Baekeland invents the first synthetic plastic called Bakelite
  • 1907—1907: Color photography invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiere
  • 1907—1907: The very first piloted helicopter was invented by Paul Cornu
  • Jul 1907—Jul 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated
  • 1 Aug 1907—1 Aug 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island
  • 9 Nov 1907—9 Nov 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
  • 11 1907—16 Nov 1907: Oklahoma
    46th State. The area that had been Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were united to become one state.
131 1908 
  • 1908—1908: Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement
  • 1908—1908: Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain
  • 1908—1908: Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day
  • 1908—1908: Border Ports established
    Ports of entry established for customs and immigration
  • 1908—1908: The gyrocompass invented by Elmer A. Sperry
  • 1908—1908: Cellophane invented by Jacques E. Brandenberger
  • 1908—1908: Model T first sold
  • 1908—1908: J W Geiger and W Müller invent the geiger counter
  • 1908—1908: Fritz Haber invents the Haber Process for making artificial nitrates
  • 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress
  • 12 Aug 1908—12 Aug 1908: First 'Model T' Ford made
132 1909 
133 1910 
  • 1910—1910: Halley's comet reappears
  • 1910—1910: Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe
  • 1910—1910: Madame Curie isolates radium
  • 1910—1910: Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville
  • 1910—1910: Constitutional crisis in Britain
  • 1910—1910: Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain
  • 1910—1910: Thomas Edison demonstrated the first talking motion picture
  • 1910—1910: Georges Claude displayed the first neon lamp to the public on December 11, 1910, in Paris
  • 6 May 1910—6 May 1910: Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
  • 5 Jun 1910—20 Jan 1936: George V
    House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917): 2nd son of Edward VII, married Princess Mary of Teck. Accession, Jan 20, abdication, Dec 10.
134 1911 
  • 1911—1911: Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912)
  • 1911—1911: Rutherford: theory of atomic structures
  • 1911—1911: First British Official Secrets Act
  • 1911—1911: British MPs receive a salary
  • 1911—1911: Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords
  • 1911—1911: Charles Franklin Kettering invents the first automobile electrical ignition system
  • 6 Jan 1911—1 Jun 1911: Census of Canada
    Census of 9 Provinces and 2 Territories counts 7,206,643 individuals
  • 2 Apr 1911—2 Apr 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
  • 22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911: Coronation of George V
  • 14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
135 1912 
  • 1912—1912: Britain nationalises the telephone system
  • 1912—1912: Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' - hoax, exposed in 1953
  • 1912—1912: Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain
  • 1912—1912: Motorized movie cameras invented, replaced hand-cranked cameras
  • 1912—1912: The first tank patented by Australian inventor De La Mole
  • 1912—1912: Clarence Crane created Life Savers candy in 1912
  • 18 Jan 1912—18 Jan 1912: Captain Scott's last expedition - he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November
  • 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives
  • 13 May 1912—13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
  • 1 Jun 1912—6 Jan 1912: New Mexico
    47th State
  • 5 1912—13 May 1912: 17th Amendment passed by Congress
  • 2 1912—14 Feb 1912: Arizona
    48th State
  • 8 1912—2 Jan 1959: Alaska Territory Organized
  • 6 1912—30 Jun 1912: Saskatchewan tornado
    The worst tornado in Canadian history claims 28 lives in Regina
136 1913 
  • 1913—1913: Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity
  • 1913—1913: Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield
  • 1913—1913: Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes
  • 1913—1913: Suffragette demonstrations in London - Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned
  • 1913—1913: Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords - threat of civil war in Ireland - formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule
  • 1913—1913: The crossword puzzle invented by Arthur Wynne
  • 1913—1913: The Merck Chemical Company patented, what is now know as, ecstasy
  • 1913—1913: Mary Phelps Jacob invents the bra
  • 1913—1913: Gideon Sundback invents the modern zipper
  • 2 Mar 1913—3 Feb 1913: 16th Amendment ratified
  • 4 Mar 1913—4 Mar 1921: Woodrow Wilson
    Woodrow Wilson U.S. Presidency Woodrow Wilson U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1913—3 Mar 1921: Woodrow Wilson
  • 4 Jun 1913—4 Jun 1913: Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby and dies
  • 4 Aug 1913—8 Apr 1913: 17th Amendment ratified
137 1914 
  • 1914—1914: Chaplin and De Mille make their first films
  • 1914—1914: Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster to be decided after the War
  • 1914—1918: World War One
    Canadian forces fight in Europe during World War 1
  • 1914—1914: Garrett A. Morgan invents the Morgan gas mask
  • 6 Jan 1914—11 Nov 1918: World War I
    Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia. The United States joined on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917.
  • 28 Jun 1914—28 Jun 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo
  • 4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason
  • 5 Aug 1914—5 Aug 1914: British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph links to the outside world
  • 15 Aug 1914—15 Aug 1914: Panama Canal opened, the Canal cement boat 'Ancon' making the first official transit (plans for a grand opening were cancelled due to the start of WW1)
  • Oct 1914—Oct 1914: Battle of Ypres - beginning of trench warfare on western front
  • 27 Nov 1914—27 Nov 1914: First policewoman goes on duty in Britain
  • 16 Dec 1914—16 Dec 1914: German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
  • 6 1914—19 Jun 1914: Alberta coal mine disaster
    The worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history claims 189 lives in Hillcrest
  • 5 1914—30 May 1914: Empress of Ireland sinks
    1,014 lives are lost when ship sinks in Gulf of St. Lawrence
138 1915 
  • 1915—1915: Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane
  • 1915—1915: First automatic telephone exchange in Britain
  • 1915—1915: A new constitution establishes a two-chamber parliament elected by universal suffrage
  • 1915—1915: Eugene Sullivan and William Taylor co-invented Pyrex in New York City
  • 19 Jan 1915—19 Jan 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia - four killed
  • Feb 1915—Feb 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain starts
  • Apr 1915—Apr 1915: Second Battle of Ypres - poison gas used for first time
  • 25 Apr 1915—25 Apr 1915: Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916)
  • 7 May 1915—7 May 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland - 1,198 died
  • 16 May 1915—16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
139 1916 
  • 1916—1916: Compulsory military service introduced in Britain
  • 1916—1916: Women get vote in Manitoba
    Manitoba is the first province to give women the right to vote
  • 1916—1916: Radios tuners invented, that received different stations
  • 1916—1916: Stainless steel invented by Henry Brearly
  • Feb 1916—Feb 1916: Battle of Verdun - appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues
  • 24 Apr 1916—24 Apr 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland - after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs independence
  • 21 May 1916—21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK
  • 31 May 1916—31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland - only major naval battle between the British and German fleets
  • 5 Jun 1916—5 Jun 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener
  • 3 Aug 1916—3 Aug 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason
  • 15 Sep 1916—15 Sep 1916: First use of tanks in battle, but of limited effect (Battle of the Somme 1 July to 18 Nov: over 1 million casualties)
  • 7 Dec 1916—7 Dec 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
  • 6 1916—29 Jun 1916: Ontario forest fire
    A forest fire in northern Ontario claims 233 lives
140 1917 
  • 1917—1917: Ministry of Labour is established in Britain
  • 1917—1917: Battle of Cambrai - first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual
  • 1917—1917: Income Tax introduced
  • 1917—1917: Gideon Sundback patented the modern zipper (not the first zipper)
  • Feb 1917—Feb 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates
  • 6 Apr 1917—11 Nov 1918: World War I
    World War I World War I
  • 16 Apr 1917—16 Apr 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile
  • 17 Apr 1917—17 Apr 1917: USA declares war on Germany
  • 26 May 1917—26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal proclamation on 17 July)
  • 12 Jun 1917—6 Dec 1917: The Halifax Explosion
    Canada's worst single disaster, claims 1600 lives, injures 9000 and leaves 6000 homeless in Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • Jul 1917—Jul 1917: Battle of Passchendaele - little gained by either side (Jul-Nov)
  • 4 Sep 1917—12 Apr 1917: WW1 - Vimy Ridge
    Canadian Corps take Vimy Ridge in France but 3,600 die and another 5,000 wounded
  • 7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government; Lenin becomes Chief Commissar
  • 6 Dec 1917—6 Dec 1917: Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, one of the world's largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to date: a ship loaded with wartime explosives blew up after a collision, obliterating buildings and structures within two square kilometres of the explosion
  • 9 Dec 1917—9 Dec 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
  • 12 1917—17 Dec 1917: 18th Amendment passed by Congress
141 1918 
  • 1918—1918: War of Independence in Ireland
  • 1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
  • 1918—1918: The superheterodyne radio circuit invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong
  • 1918—1918: Charles Jung invented fortune cookies
  • 18 Jan 1918—18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded
  • 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic
  • Jul 1918—Jul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug)
  • 1 Oct 1918—1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus
  • 11 Nov 1918—11 Nov 1918: Armistice signed
  • Dec 1918—Dec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein member refused to take her seat
142 1919 
  • 1919—1919: Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom
  • 1919—1919: Britain adopts a 48-hour working week
  • 1919—1919: Soldier Settlement Act
    Land grants awarded to 25,000 veteran soldiers
  • 1919—1919: The pop-up toaster invented by Charles Strite
  • 1919—1919: Short-wave radio invented
  • 1919—1919: The flip-flop circuit invented
  • 1919—1919: The arc welder invented
  • 6 Apr 1919—4 Jun 1919: 19th Amendment passed by Congress
  • 15 Jun 1919—15 Jun 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic
  • 28 Jun 1919—28 Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
  • 1 1919—16 Jan 1919: 18th Amendment ratified
143 1920 
  • 1920—1920: Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun)
  • 1920—1920: Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain
  • 1920—1920: Regular cross-channel air service starts
  • 1920—1920: After a referendum, northern Schleswig is returned to Denmark
  • 1920—1920: The tommy gun patented by John T Thompson
  • 1920—1920: The Band-Aid (pronounced 'ban-'dade) invented by Earle Dickson
  • Feb 1920—Feb 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK - opened by the Automobile Association at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
  • 8 1920—18 Aug 1920: 19th Amendment ratified
144 1921 
  • 1921—1921: First birth control clinic
  • 1921—1921: Insulin discovery announced
  • 1921—1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained
  • 1921—1921: Newfoundland census
    Census taken in Newfoundland
  • 1921—1921: Artificial life begins -- the first robot built
  • 1921—1921: John Larson invented the lie detector
  • 6 Jan 1921—1 Jun 1921: Census of Canada
    counts 8,787,949 individuals
  • 4 Mar 1921—2 Aug 1923: Warren G. Harding
    Warren G. Harding U.S. Presidency Warren G. Harding U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1921—2 Aug 1921: Warren Harding
    Warren Harding dies of an embolism in San Francisco. He had taken ill on 31 Jul 1921
  • 19 Jun 1921—19 Jun 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
  • 6 Dec 1921—6 Dec 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
  • 11 1921—21 Nov 1921: Canada's Coat of Arms proclaimed by George V
145 1922 
  • 1922—1922: Law of Property Act - the manorial system effectively ended
  • 1922—1922: Insulin invented by Sir Frederick Grant Banting
  • 1922—1922: The first 3-D movie (spectacles with one red and one green lens) is released
  • 1 Jun 1922—1 Jun 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary founded
  • Oct 1922—Oct 1922: BBC established as a monopoly, and begins transmissions in November (2LO in London on 14 Nov; 5IT in Birmingham and 2ZY in Manchester on 15 Nov)
146 1923 
  • 1923—1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain
  • 1923—1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way
  • 1923—1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers
  • 1923—1923: Garrett A. Morgan invents a traffic signal
  • 1923—1923: The television or iconoscope (cathode-ray tube) invented by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin
  • 1923—1923: John Harwood invented the self-winding watch
  • 1923—1923: Clarence Birdseye invents frozen food
  • 1 Jan 1923—1 Jan 1923: The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR - lasted until nationalisation in 1948
  • 16 Feb 1923—16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun
  • 8 Mar 1923—4 Mar 1929: Calvin Coolidge
    Calvin Coolidge, vice president under Warren Harding, sworn in as president the day after Harding dies
  • 28 Apr 1923—28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem
  • 2 Aug 1923—4 Mar 1929: Calvin Coolidge
    Calvin Coolidge U.S. Presidency Calvin Coolidge U.S. Presidency
  • 28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
147 1924 
  • 1924—1924: The dynamic loudspeaker invented by Rice and Kellogg
  • 1924—1924: Notebooks with spiral bindings invented
  • 4 Jan 1924—4 Jan 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald
  • 5 Feb 1924—5 Feb 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast by the BBC
  • 31 Mar 1924—31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
148 1925 
  • 1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard
  • 1925—1925: The mechanical television a precursor to the modern television, invented by John Logie Baird
  • 18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
149 1926 
  • 1926—1926: Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood
  • 1926—1926: Kodak produces 16mm movie film
  • 1926—1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain
  • 1926—1926: First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird
  • 1926—1926: Robert H. Goddard invents liquid-fueled rockets
  • 21 Apr 1926—21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth born
  • 3 May 1926—3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more)
  • 31 Oct 1926—31 Oct 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
150 1927 
  • 1927—1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer)
  • 1927—1927: Eduard Haas III invents PEZ candy
  • 1927—1927: JWA Morrison invents the first quartz crystal watch
  • 1927—1927: Philo Taylor Farnsworth invents a complete electronic TV system
  • 1927—1927: Technicolor invented
  • 1927—1927: Erik Rotheim patents an aerosol can
  • 1927—1927: Warren Marrison developed the first quartz clock
  • 1927—1927: Philip Drinker invents the iron lung
  • 7 Jan 1927—7 Jan 1927: First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London
  • 22 Jan 1927—22 Jan 1927: First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury)
  • 1 May 1927—1 May 1927: First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from London to Paris
  • 20 May 1927—20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33? hours
  • 31 May 1927—31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line
  • 24 Jul 1927—24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
151 1928 
  • 1928—1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes
  • 1928—1928: Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
  • 1928—1928: Bubble gum invented by Walter E. Diemer
  • 1928—1928: Jacob Schick patented the electric shaver
  • 26 Apr 1928—26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London
  • 15 Sep 1928—15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
152 1929 
  • 1929—1929: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
  • 1929—1929: Minimum age for a marriage in Britain (which had been 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl) now 16 for both sexes, with parental consent (or a licence) needed for anyone under 21
  • 1929—1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain
  • 1929—1939: The Great Depression
    Canada hit hardest by the depression
  • 1929—1929: American, Paul Galvin invents the car radio
  • 1929—1929: Yo-Yo re-invented as an American fad
  • 4 Mar 1929—4 Mar 1933: Herbert Hoover
    Herbert Hoover U.S. Presidency Herbert Hoover U.S. Presidency
  • 3 Apr 1929—4 Mar 1933: Herbert Hoover
  • 10 1929—18 Oct 1929: The 'Persons' Case Decision
    Women are declared 'persons' by the British Privy Council
153 1930 
  • 1930—1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain
  • 1930—1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag
  • 1930—1930: Scotch tape patented by 3M engineer, Richard G. Drew
  • 1930—1930: The frozen food process patented by Clarence Birdseye
  • 1930—1930: Wallace Carothers and DuPont Labs invents neoprene
  • 1930—1930: The "differential analyzer", or analog computer invented by Vannevar Bush at MIT in Boston
  • 1930—1930: Frank Whittle and Dr Hans von Ohain both invent a jet engine
  • 30 Jan 1930—30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany
  • 31 Jan 1930—31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape
  • 6 Mar 1930—6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas
  • 5 Oct 1930—5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
154 1931 
  • 1931—1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close
  • 1931—1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states
  • 1931—1931: Statute of Westminster
    The British Dominions are formally recognized by British Parliament
  • 1931—1931: Harold Edgerton invented stop-action photography
  • 1931—1931: Germans Max Knott and Ernst Ruska co-invent the electron microscope
  • 14 Apr 1931—14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued
  • 26 Apr 1931—26 Apr 1931: Census: Population - England and Wales; 40 Million; Scotland: 4.8 Million; N Ireland: 1.24 Million (Unfortunately, the census was destroyed by fire in WW2)
  • 21 Oct 1931—21 Oct 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis - Britain comes off gold standard
155 1932 
  • 1932—1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra
  • 1932—1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus
  • 1932—1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists
  • 1932—1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London
  • 1932—1932: Polaroid photography invented by Edwin Herbert Land
  • 1932—1932: The zoom lens and the light meter invented
  • 1932—1932: Carl C. Magee invents the first parking meter
  • 1932—1932: Karl Jansky invents the radio telescope
  • 3 Feb 1932—2 Mar 1932: 20th Amendment passed by Congress
  • 21 May 1932—21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot
  • 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain
  • 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
156 1933 
157 1934 
  • 1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany
  • 1934—1934: Englishmen, Percy Shaw invents cat eyes or roads reflectors
  • 1934—1934: Charles Darrow claims he invented the game Monopoly
  • 1934—1934: Joseph Begun invents the first tape recorder for broadcasting - first magnetic recording
  • 18 Jul 1934—18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel
  • 26 Sep 1934—26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched
  • 30 Nov 1934—30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
158 1935 
  • 1935—1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell
  • 1935—1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme
  • 1935—1935: Newfoundland census
    Census taken in Newfoundland
  • 1935—1935: Wallace Carothers and DuPont Labs invents nylon ( polymer 6.6.)
  • 1935—1935: The first canned beer made
  • 1935—1935: Robert Watson-Watt patented radar
  • 28 Feb 1935—28 Feb 1935: Nylon first produced by Gerard J. Berchet of Wallace Carothers' research group at DuPont (there is no evidence to the widely-supposed story that the name derives from New York-London)
  • 12 Mar 1935—12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas in Britain
  • 1 Jun 1935—1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK
  • 30 Jul 1935—30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
159 1936 
  • 1936—1936: Jet engine first tested
  • 1936—1936: Bell Labs invents the voice recognition machine
  • 1936—1936: Samuel Colt patents the Colt revolver
  • 20 Jan 1936—20 Jan 1936: George V dies
  • 5 May 1936—5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire
  • 24 Jul 1936—24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK
  • 2 Nov 1936—2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's first public TV transmission
  • 12 Nov 1936—6 Feb 1952: George VI
    House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917): 2nd son of George V, Duke of York; married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
  • 30 Nov 1936—30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire
  • 5 Dec 1936—5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) - popular carol that Christmas: 'Hark the Herald Angels sing Mrs Simpson's got our King'
  • 1 1936—11 Dec 1936: Edward VIII
    House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917): Eldest son of George V
160 1937 
  • 1937—1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp
  • 1937—1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London
  • 1937—1937: Chester F. Carlson invents the photocopier
  • 1937—1937: The first jet engine is built
  • 12 Apr 1937—12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft
  • 12 May 1937—12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI
  • 28 May 1937—28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister - policy of appeasement towards Hitler
  • 3 Jun 1937—3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson
  • 4 Dec 1937—4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
161 1938 
  • 1938—1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro
  • 1938—1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar
  • 1938—1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain
  • 1938—1938: The ballpoint pen invented by Ladislo Biro
  • 1938—1938: Strobe lighting invented
  • 1938—1938: Roy J. Plunkett invented tetrafluoroethylene polymers or Teflon
  • 1938—1938: Nescafe or freeze-dried coffee invented
  • 1938—1938: The first working turboprop engine
  • 12 Mar 1938—12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria
  • 3 Jul 1938—3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive
  • 27 Sep 1938—27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank
  • 29 Sep 1938—29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time'
  • 30 Oct 1938—30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
162 1939 
  • 1939—1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time
  • 1939—1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London
  • 1939—1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia
  • 1939—1945: World War II
    huge involvement of Canadian supplies and troops
  • 1939—1939: Igor Sikorsky invents the first successful helicopter
  • 1939—1939: The electron microscope invented
  • 9 Jan 1939—2 Sep 1945: World War II
    Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia
  • 12 Jul 1939—7 Dec 1939: Troops leave Canada
    First group of Canadian troops sail to Britain -- 7,400 on 5 ships
  • 1 Sep 1939—1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland
  • 3 Sep 1939—3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
  • 6 Sep 1939—6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain
  • 11 Sep 1939—11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France
  • 9 Oct 1939—10 Sep 1939: Canada declares war on Germany
  • 14 Oct 1939—14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives
  • 7 Dec 1939—7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships
  • 17 Dec 1939—17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
163 1940 
  • 1940—1940: Québec permits women to vote
    The last province to give women the right to vote
  • 1940—1946: National Registration
    Compulsory registration of all persons 16 years of age or older
  • 1940—1945: German occupation of Denmark
  • 1940—1940: Dr William Reich invents the orgone accumulator
  • 1940—1940: Peter Goldmark invents modern color television system
  • 1940—1940: Karl Pabst invents the jeep
  • 1 Apr 1940—1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd
  • 11 May 1940—11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill
  • 13 May 1940—13 May 1940: Germany invades France
  • 27 May 1940—27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun)
  • 25 Jun 1940—25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany
  • 7 Sep 1940—7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing
  • 15 Sep 1940—15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain
  • 14 Nov 1940—14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
164 1941 
  • 1941—1941: First use of antibiotics
  • 1941—1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge
  • 1941—1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle
  • 1941—1941: Britain introduces severe rationing
  • 1941—1941: Konrad Zuse's Z3, the first computer controlled by software
  • 1941—1941: Aerosol spray cans invented by American inventors, Lyle David Goodloe and W.N. Sullivan
  • 1941—1941: Enrico Fermi invents the neutronic reactor
  • 12 1941—Dec 1941: Canadian forces defend south coast of England
  • 10 May 1941—10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland
  • 27 May 1941—27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk
  • 22 Jun 1941—22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
  • 1 Jul 1941—1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain
  • 12 Jul 1941—7 Dec 1941: Canada declares war on Japan
    Attack on Pearl Harbour causes Canada to declare war on Japan
  • Dec 1941—Dec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America
  • Dec 1941—Dec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England
  • 7 Dec 1941—7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour
  • 7 Dec 1941—2 Sep 1945: World War II
    World War II World War II
  • 8 Dec 1941—8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII
  • 24 Dec 1941—24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
  • 6 1941—14 Jun 1941: Census of Canada
    Census date changed to prevent clash with Victory Bond campaign. Sampling is initiated
165 1942 
  • 1942—1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam
  • 1942—1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with Max Neumann - used to crack German codes
  • 1942—1942: John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry built the first electronic digital computer
  • 1942—1942: Max Mueller designs a turboprop engine
  • 30 May 1942—30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne
  • 4 Jun 1942—4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway
  • 19 Aug 1942—19 Aug 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops
  • 6 Sep 1942—6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad
  • 3 Oct 1942—3 Oct 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany - first man-made object to reach space
  • 23 Oct 1942—23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery defeats Rommel
  • 2 Dec 1942—2 Dec 1942: 'Manhattan Project' - a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
166 1943 
  • 1943—1943: Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins
  • 1943—1943: Synthetic rubber invented
  • 1943—1943: Richard James invents the slinky
  • 1943—1943: James Wright invent silly putty
  • 1943—1943: Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann discovered the hallucinogenic properties of LSD
  • 1943—1943: Emile Gagnan and Jacques Cousteau invent the aqualung
  • 16 May 1943—16 May 1943: 'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF
  • 24 Jul 1943—24 Jul 1943: Allies invade Italy - Benito Mussolini resigns as Italian Dictator, 24 July
167 1944 
  • 1944—1944: The kidney dialysis machine invented by Willem Kolff
  • 1944—1944: Synthetic cortisone invented by Percy Lavon Julian
  • 6 Apr 1944—6 Apr 1944: PAYE income tax begins
  • 4 Jun 1944—4 Jun 1944: Allies enter Rome
  • 6 Jun 1944—6 Jun 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy
  • 12 Jun 1944—12 Jun 1944: First V1 flying bombs hit London
  • 8 Sep 1944—8 Sep 1944: First V2 rocket bombs hit London
  • 11 Sep 1944—11 Sep 1944: Allies enter Germany
  • 16 Dec 1944—16 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
168 1945 
  • 1945—1945: Newfoundland census
    Census taken in Newfoundland
  • 1945—1945: Vannevar Bush proposes hypertext
  • 1945—1945: The atomic bomb invented
  • 4 Feb 1945—4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
  • 29 Mar 1945—29 Mar 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack
  • 12 Apr 1945—20 Jan 1953: Harry S. Truman
    Harry S. Truman U.S. Presidency Harry S. Truman U.S. Presidency
  • 25 Apr 1945—25 Apr 1945: Berlin surrounded by Russian troops
  • 30 Apr 1945—30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide
  • 8 May 1945—8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe)
  • 9 May 1945—9 May 1945: Channel Islands liberated
  • 26 Jun 1945—26 Jun 1945: UN Charter signed in San Francisco
  • 16 Jul 1945—16 Jul 1945: First ever atomic bomb exploded in a test in New Mexico (although there were other forms of atomic device before that, such as the Pile at Stagg Field, first critical on 2nd Dec 1942)
  • 26 Jul 1945—26 Jul 1945: Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office
  • 29 Jul 1945—29 Jul 1945: BBC Light Programme starts
  • 6 Aug 1945—6 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
  • 9 Aug 1945—9 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
  • 15 Aug 1945—15 Aug 1945: VJ Day (Victory in Japan)
  • 2 Sep 1945—2 Sep 1945: Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri
  • 24 Oct 1945—24 Oct 1945: United Nations Organisation comes into existence
  • 4 Nov 1945—4 Nov 1945: UNESCO founded
  • 4 Dec 1945—20 Jan 1953: Harry Truman
  • 6 1945—26 Jun 1945: Canada joins the United Nations
169 1946 
  • 1946—1946: Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004
  • 1946—1946: Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948)
  • 1946—1946: The microwave oven invented by Percy Spencer
  • 1 Jan 1946—1 Jan 1946: First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport
  • 7 Jan 1946—1 Jul 1946: Canadian Citizenship Act
    Parliament proclaims an act providing for the creation of Canadian citizens to take effect 1 January 1947
  • 1 Mar 1946—1 Mar 1946: Bank of England nationalised
170 1947 
  • 1947—1947: First British nuclear reactor developed
  • 1947—1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much flooding later
  • 1947—1947: British/Hungarian scientist, Dennis Gabor, developed the theory of holography
  • 1947—1947: Mobile phones first invented
  • 1947—1947: Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley invent the transistor
  • 1947—1947: Earl Silas Tupper patented the Tupperware seal
  • 1 Jan 1947—1 Jan 1947: Coal Mines nationalised
  • 23 Feb 1947—23 Feb 1947: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded
  • 1 Mar 1947—1 Mar 1947: International Monetary Fund begins financial operations
  • 1 Apr 1947—1 Apr 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain
  • 26 Oct 1947—26 Oct 1947: British military occupation ends in Iraq
  • 20 Nov 1947—20 Nov 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey
  • 3 1947—21 Mar 1947: 22nd Amendment passed by Congress