1820 in the United Kingdom
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 1820 in the United Kingdom: |
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| 1818 1818 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1818 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:* 6 January - Treaty of Mundosir annexes Indore and the Rajput states to Britain.... | 1819 1819 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1819 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — King George III*Prime Minister — Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:... | 1820 | 1821 1821 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1821 in the United Kingdom. This is a Census year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Earl of Liverpool, Tory-Events:... | 1822 1822 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1822 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:... |
Events from the year 1820 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...
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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...
(until 29 January), King George IVGeorge 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... - Prime Minister - Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolRobert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolRobert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool KG PC was a British politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since the Union with Ireland in 1801. He was 42 years old when he became premier in 1812 which made him younger than all of his successors to date...
, 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
- 29 January - George IV of the United KingdomGeorge 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...
ascends the Throne on the death of his father George III, ending the period known as the English RegencyEnglish RegencyThe Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811—when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent—and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father....
which began in 1811. George IV had served as 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 ....
during this time due to his father's mental deterioration. - 23 February - A plot to murder the CabinetCabinet (government)A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
, the Cato Street conspiracyCato Street ConspiracyThe Cato Street Conspiracy was an attempt to murder all the British cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool in 1820. The name comes from the meeting place near Edgware Road in London. The Cato Street Conspiracy is notable due to dissenting public opinions regarding the punishment of the...
, is exposed. - March - General electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1820The 1820 UK general election, held shortly after the Radical War in Scotland and the Cato Street Conspiracy. In this atmosphere, the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool were able to win a substantial majority over the Whigs....
increases Tory party majority. - April - Radical WarRadical WarThe Radical War, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820, was a week of strikes and unrest, a culmination of Radical demands for reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which had become prominent in the early years of the French Revolution, but had then been repressed...
in 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...
, and in the West Riding of YorkshireWest Riding of YorkshireThe West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. - 1 May - The Cato Street conspirators are the last to suffer decapitationDecapitationDecapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
following their hangingHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
for treason outside Newgate PrisonNewgate PrisonNewgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
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...
. - 11 May - Launch of HMS BeagleHMS BeagleHMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
, the ship that will take the young Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
on his scientific voyage. - June - Pains and Penalties BillPains and Penalties Bill 1820The Pains and Penalties Bill 1820 was a bill introduced to the British Parliament in 1820, at the request of King George IV, which aimed to dissolve his marriage to Caroline of Brunswick, and deprive her of the title of Queen of the United Kingdom....
put before Parliament to deprive Caroline of BrunswickCaroline of BrunswickCaroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
, George IV's wife, of the title of Queen ConsortQueen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
. The bill is withdrawn after her public trial. - July 26 - Opening of Union Chain BridgeUnion Bridge (Tweed)The Union Bridge is a suspended-deck suspension bridge that spans the River Tweed between Horncliffe, Northumberland, England and Fishwick, Borders, Scotland...
across the River TweedRiver TweedThe River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
between EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and 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...
, designed by Captain Samuel Brown. Its span of 449 ft (137 metres) is the longest in the Western worldWestern worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
at this time, and it is the first wrought ironWrought ironthumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
vehicular suspension bridgeSuspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
bridge of its type in Britain.
Undated
- Foundation of the Astronomical Society of LondonRoyal Astronomical SocietyThe Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
. - Foundation of the Royal Society of LiteratureRoyal Society of LiteratureThe Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
by George IV. - Foundation of the 'Cambridge ApostlesCambridge ApostlesThe Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
' (Cambridge Conversazione Society) by George Tomlinson. - William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
completes his painting The Ghost of a FleaThe Ghost of a FleaThe Ghost of a Flea is a minature tempera mixture with gold painting on mahogany type tropical hardwood panel by the English poet, painter and printmaker William Blake, held in the Tate Gallery, London...
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Publications
- John KeatsJohn KeatsJohn Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
' collection Lamia and Other PoemsLamia and Other Poems"Lamia" is a narrative poem written by English poet John Keats.Believing himself a failure as a poet, Keats asked for his tombstone to read "Here lies one whose name was writ in water"...
. - Walter ScottWalter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's novels The AbbotThe AbbotThe Abbot is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. A sequel to The Monastery, it is one of Scott's Tales from Benedictine Sources and is set in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots...
and The MonasteryThe MonasteryThe Monastery: a Romance is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Along with The Abbot, it is one of Scott's Tales from Benedictine Sources and is set in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Elizabethan period.-Plot introduction:...
. - Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
's lyrical drama Prometheus UnboundPrometheus UnboundPrometheus Unbound is a four-act play by Percy Bysshe Shelley first published in 1820, concerned with the torments of the Greek mythological figure Prometheus and his suffering at the hands of Zeus. It is inspired by Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and concerns Prometheus' release from captivity...
. - The 6th Edition of Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
. - HoneWilliam HoneWilliam Hone was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom.-Biography:...
and CruickshankGeorge CruickshankGeorge Alexander Cruickshank was an Australian politician. Born near Dubbo, New South Wales, he attended Collegiate School in Bathurst, and was a grazier in northern New South Wales from 1878. In 1889 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Inverell, a position...
's satirical work The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder
Births
- 17 January - Anne BrontëAnne BrontëAnne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
, author (died 18491849 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1849 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:* 13 January — Second Anglo-Sikh War: British forces retreat from the Battle of Chillianwala....
) - 28 February - John TennielJohn TennielSir John Tenniel was a British illustrator, graphic humorist and political cartoonist whose work was prominent during the second half of England’s 19th century. Tenniel is considered important to the study of that period’s social, literary, and art histories...
, illustrator (died 19141914 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1914 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the start of World War I.-Incumbents:* Monarch - King George V* Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 30 March - Anna SewellAnna SewellAnna Sewell was an English novelist, best known as the author of the classic novel Black Beauty.-Biography:Anna Mary Sewell was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England into a devoutly Quaker family...
, writer (died 1878) - 27 April - Herbert SpencerHerbert SpencerHerbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
, philosopher and political theorist (died 19031903 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1903 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Arthur Balfour, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India....
) - 4 May - Joseph Whitaker, publisher (died 18951895 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1895 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Rosebery, Liberal , Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:* January–February — ”Great Frost”....
) - 12 May - Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
, nurse (died 19101910 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1910 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII , King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 23 November - Isaac TodhunterIsaac TodhunterIsaac Todhunter FRS , was an English mathematician who is best known today for the books he wrote on mathematics and its history.- Life and work :...
, mathematician (died 18841884 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1884 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 4 January — The Fabian Society is founded in London....
) - 10 December - Princess Elizabeth of Clarence (died 18211821 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1821 in the United Kingdom. This is a Census year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George IV*Prime Minister - Earl of Liverpool, Tory-Events:...
)
Deaths
- 23 January - Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and StrathearnPrince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and StrathearnThe Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria...
(born 17671767 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1767 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Elder, Whig-Events:...
) - 29 January - King George III of the United KingdomGeorge 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...
(born 17381738 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1738 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George II of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:...
) - 1 May - Arthur ThistlewoodArthur ThistlewoodArthur Thistlewood was a British conspirator in the Cato Street Conspiracy.-Early life:He was born in Tupholme the extramarital son of a farmer and stockbreeder. He attended Horncastle Grammar School and was trained as a land surveyor. Unsatisfied with his job, he obtained a commission in the army...
, conspirator (born 17741774 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1774 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 31 March - American Revolutionary War: Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed in the Boston Port Act.* 17 April - The first avowedly Unitarian congregation,...
) - 30 May - William BradleyWilliam Bradley (giant)William Bradley , known more commonly as Giant Bradley or the Yorkshire Giant, is the tallest recorded British man that ever lived, measuring 7 feet 9 inches....
, Britain's tallest ever man (born 17871787 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1787 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 19 June - Sir Joseph BanksJoseph BanksSir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
, naturalist and botanist (born 17431743 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1743 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, Whig , Henry Pelham, Whig-Events:...
) - 3 September - Benjamin LatrobeBenjamin LatrobeBenjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was a British-born American neoclassical architect best known for his design of the United States Capitol, along with his work on the Baltimore Basilica, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States...
, architect (born 17641764 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1764 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - George Grenville, Whig-Events:...
) - 11 October - James KeirJames KeirJames Keir FRS was a Scottish chemist, geologist, industrialist, and inventor, and an important member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham.- Life and work :...
, geologist, chemist and industrialist (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....
) - William DrennanWilliam DrennanWilliam Drennan ,a physician, poet, educationalist and political radical, was one of the chief architects of the Society of United Irishmen...
, poet (born 17541754 in Ireland-Births:*15 January - Richard Martin, "Humanity Dick", politician and animal rights activist .-Full date unknown:*William Drennan, physician, poet, educationalist and one of the chief architects of the Society of United Irishmen ....
)