1861 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1861 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1859 1859 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1859 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl of Derby, Conservative , Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:... | 1860 1860 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1860 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Cray Wanderers Football Club formed in St Mary Cray, north Kent.... | 1861 | 1862 1862 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1862 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 6 January — French and British forces arrive in Mexico, beginning the French intervention in Mexico.... | 1863 1863 in the United Kingdom Events 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.... |
| Sport |
| 1861 English cricket season 1861 English cricket season The 1861 English cricket season saw the creation of the match fund committee that would become Yorkshire CCC.-First-class matches:* -Events:... |
Events from the year 1861 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 — Queen Victoria
- Prime Minister — Viscount PalmerstonHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, LiberalLiberal Party (UK)The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Events
- 1 January — First steam-powered merry-go-round recorded, in BoltonBoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. - 15 February — About 350 convicts held on St Mary's Island at Chatham DockyardChatham DockyardChatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
take over their prison in a riot. - 20 February — Storms damage the Crystal PalaceThe Crystal PalaceThe Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
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...
and cause the collapse of the steeple of Chichester CathedralChichester CathedralThe Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, otherwise called Chichester Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England...
. - 21 March to 26 March — Major fire in SouthwarkSouthwarkSouthwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
destroys several buildings. - 30 March — William CrookesWilliam CrookesSir William Crookes, OM, FRS was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, London, and worked on spectroscopy...
announces his discovery of thalliumThalliumThallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. This soft gray poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. The two chemists William Crookes and Claude-Auguste Lamy discovered thallium independently in 1861 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy...
. - 13 May — British government pledges to remain neutral in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. - 17 May — Thomas CookThomas CookThomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
runs the first package holidayPackage holidayA package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country...
from 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...
to ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. - 31 July — Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act codifies company law.
- 27 August — Last execution in Britain for attempted murderAttempted murderAttempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
— Martin Doyle in ChesterChesterChester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. - 16 September — Post Office Savings BankNational Savings and InvestmentsNational Savings and Investments , formerly called the Post Office Savings Bank and National Savings, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is an executive agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer...
opens. - 24 October — HMS WarriorHMS Warrior (1860)HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French Gloire, launched a year earlier....
, the world's first ocean-going (all) iron-hulled armored battleship is completed and commissioned. - 8 November — Trent AffairTrent affairThe Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
: UnionUnion (American Civil War)During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
captained ship USS San JacintoUSS San Jacinto (1850)The first USS San Jacinto was an early screw frigate in the United States Navy during the mid-19th century. She was named for the San Jacinto River, site of the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. She is perhaps best known for her role in the Trent Affair of 1861.San Jacinto was laid...
intercepts the British mail packetPacket shipA "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers...
TrentRMS TrentRMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
at sea and removes two ConfederateConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
diplomats. - 25 November — A tenementTenementA tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
collapses in the Old Town of EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
killing 35 with 15 survivors. - 1 December — Trent Affair: British government dispatches its response, partly drafted by the Prince Consort.
Undated
- Start of Lancashire Cotton Famine (1861–1865).
- James Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
demonstrates the principle of three-colour photography (see picture). - Criminal law consolidation ActsCriminal law consolidation Acts 1861The criminal law consolidation Acts 1861 were Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. They consolidated provisions from a large number of earlier statutes which were then repealed. Their purpose was to simplify the criminal law...
: The death penalty is limited to murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, embezzlementEmbezzlementEmbezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
, piracyPiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, high treasonHigh treason in the United KingdomUnder the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
and to acts of arsonArsonArson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
perpetrated upon docks or ammunition depots; the age of consentAge of consentWhile the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
is codified as twelve. The Home SecretaryHome SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
takes over the power to reprieve or commute sentences from the judiciaryJudiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
and Privy CouncilPrivy Council of the United KingdomHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
. - British EmpireBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
establishes bases in LagosLagosLagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
to stop the slave trade. - Construction commences on Royal Museum in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. - William MorrisWilliam MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
founds the influential furnishing company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
Publications
- Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ManagementMrs Beeton's Book of Household ManagementMrs Beeton's Book of Household Management was a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton. It was originally entitled "Beeton's Book of Household Management", in line with the other guide-books published by Beeton.Previously published as a part...
. - Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' novel Great ExpectationsGreat ExpectationsGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
complete in book form. - George EliotGeorge EliotMary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
's novel Silas MarnerSilas MarnerSilas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is a dramatic novel by George Eliot. Her third novel, it was first published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a reclusive weaver, in its strong realism it represents one of Eliot's most sophisticated treatments of her attitude to religion.-Plot summary:The...
. - F. T. PalgraveFrancis Turner PalgraveFrancis Turner Palgrave was a British critic and poet.He was born at Great Yarmouth, the eldest son of Sir Francis Palgrave, the historian and his wife Elizabeth Turner, daughter of the banker Dawson Turner. His brothers were William Gifford Palgrave, Inglis Palgrave and Reginald Palgrave...
's anthology Golden Treasury of English Songs and LyricsPalgrave's Golden TreasuryThe Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics is a popular anthology of English poetry, originally selected for publication by Francis Turner Palgrave in 1861. It was considerably revised, with input from Tennyson, about three decades later...
, 1st edition. - Charles ReadeCharles ReadeCharles Reade was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth.-Life:Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring; William Winwood Reade the influential historian , was his nephew. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford,...
's novel The Cloister and the HearthThe Cloister and the HearthThe Cloister and the Hearth is a historical novel by the English author Charles Reade. Set in the 15th century, it relates the story revolving about the travels of a young scribe and illuminator, Gerard Eliassoen, through several European countries. The Cloister and the Hearth often describes the...
. - Anthony TrollopeAnthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
's novel Framley ParsonageFramley ParsonageFramley Parsonage is the fourth novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire". It was first published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine in 1860.-Synopsis:...
. - Mrs Henry WoodEllen Wood (author)Ellen Wood , was an English novelist, better known as "Mrs. Henry Wood". She is best known for her 1861 novel East Lynne.-Life:...
's 'sensation novelSensation novelThe sensation novel was a literary genre of fiction popular in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s, following on from earlier melodramatic novels and the Newgate novels, which focused on tales woven around criminal biographies, also descend from the gothic and romantic genres of fiction...
' East LynneEast LynneEast Lynne is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood. East Lynne was a Victorian bestseller. It is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centering on infidelity and double identities...
. - The anthology Hymns Ancient and ModernHymns Ancient and ModernHymns Ancient and Modern was a hymnal in common use within the Church of England. Over the years it has grown into a large family of hymnals....
. This includes the setting "Eventide" by the music editor William Henry MonkWilliam Henry MonkProbably better known in his day as an organist, church musician, and music editor, William Henry Monk composed a fair number of popular hymn tunes, including one of the most famous from nineteenth century England, "Eventide", used for the hymn Abide with Me...
for the hymnHymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
Abide with MeAbide With MeThe hymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by William Henry Monk in 1861.Alternate tunes include:* "Abide with Me," Henry Lyte, 1847* "Morecambe", Frederick C...
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Births
- 12 June — William AttewellWilliam AttewellWilliam Attewell was a cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and England. Attewell was a medium pace bowler who was renowned for his extraordinary accuracy and economy...
, cricketer (died 19271927 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1927 in the United Kingdom.1927 saw the renaming of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising in name the Irish free state's independence, it having come into existence with the Anglo-Irish Treaty...
) - 19 June — Douglas Haig, 1st Earl HaigDouglas Haig, 1st Earl HaigField Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
, soldier (died 19281928 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1928 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 20 June — Frederick HopkinsFrederick HopkinsSir Frederick Gowland Hopkins OM FRS was an English biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins. He also discovered the amino acid tryptophan, in 1901...
, biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (died 19471947 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1947 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Clement Attlee, Labour-Events:* January – One of the most severe winters on record in the UK....
) - 23 September — Mary Elizabeth ColeridgeMary Elizabeth ColeridgeMary Elizabeth Coleridge was a British novelist and poet, who also wrote essays and reviews. She taught at the London Working Women's College for twelve years from 1895 to 1907...
, poet and novelist (died 19071907 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1907 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:* January - The steamship Pengwern founders in the North Sea: crew and 24 men lost....
) - 16 October — J. B. BuryJ. B. BuryJohn Bagnell Bury , known as J. B. Bury, was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Byzantinist and philologist.-Biography:...
, historian (died 19271927 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1927 in the United Kingdom.1927 saw the renaming of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising in name the Irish free state's independence, it having come into existence with the Anglo-Irish Treaty...
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Deaths
- 29 January — Catherine GoreCatherine GoreCatherine Grace Frances Gore was a British novelist and dramatist, daughter of a wine merchant at Retford, where she was born. She is amongst the well-known of the silver fork writers - authors of the Victorian era depicting the gentility and etiquette of high society.-Biography:Gore was born in...
, novelist and dramatist (born 17991799 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1799 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 16 March — Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
, Duchess of Kent and mother of Queen Victoria (born 1786, Germany) - 29 June — Elizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
, poet (born 18061806 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1806 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory , Lord Grenville coalition-Events:...
) - 14 December — Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria (born 18191819 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1819 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — King George III*Prime Minister — Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:...
)