1811 in the United Kingdom
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 1811 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1809 1809 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1809 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Tory , Spencer Perceval, Tory-Events:... | 1810 1810 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1810 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Spencer Perceval, Tory-Events:... | 1811 | 1812 1812 in the United Kingdom | | 1810 | 1811 | 1812 | 1813 | 1814The United Kingdom was still at war with France. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington was involved with the Peninsular War in Spain. Britain's attempts to stop trade with France led to conflict with the United States in the War of 1812... | 1813 1813 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1813 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:* 1 June - War of 1812: HMS Shannon captures the USS Chesapeake.... |
Events from the year 1811 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This is a Census
Census in the United Kingdom
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
year and the start of the British Regency.
Incumbents
- Monarch - King George IIIGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
- Prime Minister - Spencer PercevalSpencer PercevalSpencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and First Lord of the Treasury, making him de facto Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated...
, ToryToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Events
- 1 February - Bell Rock LighthouseBell Rock LighthouseBell Rock Lighthouse is the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse and was built on Bell Rock in the North Sea, off the coast of Angus, Scotland, east of the Firth of Tay...
begins operation off the coast of ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - 5 February - George, Prince of WalesGeorge IV of the United KingdomGeorge IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
becomes Regent because of the perceived insanity of his father, King George IIIGeorge III of the United KingdomGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. He is known as the Prince RegentPrince RegentA prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
and this is the beginning of the Regency period. - 13 March - Battle of LissaBattle of Lissa (1811)The Battle of Lissa was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...
- British fleet defeats the French. - 4 April - Huddersfield Narrow CanalHuddersfield Narrow CanalThe Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
completed by opening of Standedge Tunnel under the PenninesPenninesThe Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
, the longest (5413 yards (4,949.6 m)), deepest and highest canal tunnel in Britain. - 27 May - The second national CensusCensus in the United KingdomCoincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
reveals that the population of England and WalesEngland and WalesEngland and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
has increased in ten years by over a million to 10.1 million. - 18 June - The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists leave the established Church of England by ordaining their own ministers in Bala, North Wales.
- 16 October - National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church in England and WalesNational Society for Promoting Religious EducationThe National Society for Promoting Religious Education, often just referred to as the National Society, is a Church of England body in England and Wales for the promotion of church schools and Christian education....
established by the Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
to promote a system of National SchoolNational school (England and Wales)A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
s. - November - LudditeLudditeThe Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life...
uprisings begin in northern EnglandNorthern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
and MidlandsEnglish MidlandsThe Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. - 7–19 December - Ratcliff Highway murdersRatcliff Highway murdersThe Ratcliff Highway murders were two vicious attacks that resulted in multiple fatalities, and occurred over twelve days in the year 1811, in homes half a mile apart near Wapping in London.-Murders:...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Ongoing
- Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, 1803–1815 - Anglo-Russian War, 1807–1812
- Anglo-Swedish War 1810–1812
- Peninsular WarPeninsular WarThe Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, 1808–1814
Undated
- Highland ClearancesHighland ClearancesThe Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
: The DukeGeorge Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of SutherlandGeorge Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG, PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as The Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner and patron of the arts. He is estimated to have been the...
and Duchess of SutherlandElizabeth Leveson-Gower, Duchess of SutherlandElizabeth Sutherland Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland , also suo jure 19th Countess of Sutherland, was a Scottish peeress, best remembered for her involvement in the Highland Clearances....
begin mass expulsion of croftCroft (land)A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer.- Etymology :...
ing tenants from their Scottish HighlandScottish HighlandsThe Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
estates. - Building of Regent StreetRegent StreetRegent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
begins John NashJohn Nash (architect)John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
's development of the West End of LondonWest End of LondonThe West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. - The first complete ichthyosaurIchthyosaurIchthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
is found by Mary AnningMary AnningMary Anning was a British fossil collector, dealer and palaeontologist who became known around the world for a number of important finds she made in the Jurassic age marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis where she lived...
at Lyme RegisLyme RegisLyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...
.
Publications
- Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's novel Sense and SensibilitySense and SensibilitySense and Sensibility, published in 1811, is a British romance novel by Jane Austen, her first published work under the pseudonym, "A Lady." Jane Austen is considered a pioneer of the romance genre of novels, and for the realism portrayed in her novels, is one the most widely read writers in...
('by a lady'). - Francis PlaceFrancis PlaceFrancis Place was an English social reformer.-Early career and influence:Born in the debtor's prison which his father oversaw near Drury Lane, Place was schooled for ten years before being apprenticed to a leather-breeches maker. At eighteen he was an independent journeyman, and in 1790 was...
's Illustrations and Proofs of the Principles of Population, including an examination of the proposed remedies of Mr. Malthus, and a reply to the objections of Mr. Godwin and others, the first significant text in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
to advocate contraceptionContraceptionContraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
.
Births
- 9 January - Gilbert Abbott à BeckettGilbert Abbott à BeckettGilbert Abbott à Beckett was an English humorist.He was born in London, the son of a lawyer, and belonged to a family claiming descent from Thomas Becket...
, writer (died 18561856 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1856 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Palmerston, Liberal-Events:...
) - 6 February - Henry George LiddellHenry LiddellHenry George Liddell was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, dean of Christ Church, Oxford, headmaster of Westminster School , author of A History of Rome , and co-author of the monumental work A Greek-English Lexicon, which is still used by students of Greek...
, clergyman (died 18981898 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1898 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 13 June - Owen StanleyOwen StanleyCaptain Owen Stanley FRS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and surveyor.-Life:Stanley was born in Alderley, Cheshire the son of Edward Stanley, rector of Alderley and later Bishop of Norwich...
, Royal Navy officer (died 18501850 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1850 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 18 July - William Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
, novelist (died 18631863 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1863 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 8 January — Yorkshire County Cricket Club is founded at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield....
) - 21 December - Archibald Campbell TaitArchibald Campbell TaitArchibald Campbell Tait was a priest in the Church of England and an Archbishop of Canterbury.-Life:Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Tait was educated at the Royal High School and at the Edinburgh Academy, where he was twice elected dux. His parents were Presbyterian but he early turned towards the...
, Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
(died 18821882 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1882 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 25 January — London Chamber of Commerce founded....
)
Deaths
- 9 February - Nevil MaskelyneNevil MaskelyneThe Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...
, Astronomer Royal (born 17321732 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1732 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 7 December - The original Covent Garden Theatre Royal is opened....
) - 14 March - Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of GraftonAugustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of GraftonAugustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, KG, PC , styled Earl of Euston between 1747 and 1757, was a British Whig statesman of the Georgian era...
, Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
(born 17351735 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1735 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 8 January - Premiere of George Frideric Handel's opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden....
) - 7 May - Richard CumberlandRichard Cumberland (dramatist)Richard Cumberland was a British dramatist and civil servant. In 1771 his hit play The West Indian was first staged. During the American War of Independence he acted as a secret negotiator with Spain in an effort to secure a peace agreement between the two nations. He also edited a short-lived...
, dramatist (born 17321732 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1732 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 7 December - The original Covent Garden Theatre Royal is opened....
) - 28 May - Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount MelvilleHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount MelvilleHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom....
, minister (born 17421742 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1742 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig , Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, Whig-Events:...
) - 27 November - Andrew MeikleAndrew MeikleAndrew Meikle was an early mechanical engineer credited with inventing the threshing machine, a device used to remove the outer husks from grains of wheat. This was regarded as one of the key developments of the British Agricultural Revolution in the late 18th century...
, engineer (born 17191719 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1719 in Great Britain.-Events:* April - Bank rate set at 5%, at which it will remain for more than a century.* 28 April - A Peerage Bill, proposed by Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, to prevent the creation of peers in the House of Lords is defeated in the House of...
)