1875 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1875 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1873 1873 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1873 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:... | 1874 1874 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1874 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:... | 1875 | 1876 1876 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1876 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:... | 1877 1877 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1877 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1875 English cricket season 1875 English cricket season -Events:* 18 August – formation of Somerset CCC by a team of amateurs at a meeting in Sidmouth, Devonshire, immediately after a match against a local side.-External sources:* -Annual reviews:... |
 1874–75 in English football |
Events from the year 1875 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 — Benjamin Disraeli, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Events
- 1 January — Midland RailwayMidland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
abolishes Second Class passenger facilities, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow this lead during the year. (Third Class was renamed Second Class in 1956). - 21 January - Preston North EndPreston North End F.C.Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
move into their new stadium at DeepdaleDeepdaleDeepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...
. - 25 March — Trial by JuryTrial by JuryTrial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
, the first surviving Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
opera, premières. - 1 April — The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
publishes the first daily weather mapWeather mapA weather map displays various meteorological features across a particular area at a particular point in time. Such maps have been in use since the mid-19th century and are used for research and weather forecasting purposes. Maps using isotherms show temperature gradients, which can help locate...
. - 7 May — SS SchillerSS SchillerSS Schiller was a 3,421 ton German ocean liner, one of the largest vessels of her time. She plied her trade across the Atlantic Ocean, carrying passengers between New York and Hamburg for the German Transatlantic Steam Navigation Line...
wrecked on rocks off the Isles of ScillyIsles of ScillyThe Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
with the loss of 311 lives. - 29 May — British Arctic ExpeditionBritish Arctic ExpeditionThe British Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, led by Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the British Admiralty to attempt to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound. Two ships, HMS Alert and HMS Discovery , sailed from Portsmouth on 29 May 1875...
: George NaresGeorge NaresVice-Admiral Sir George Strong Nares KCB FRS was a British naval officer and Arctic explorer. He commanded both the Challenger Expedition and the British Arctic Expedition, and was highly thought of a leader and a scientific explorer...
sets sail on an expedition to attempt to reach the North PoleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
via Smith SoundSmith SoundSmith Sound is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait....
. - 6 July — Opening of first passenger funicularFunicularA funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
in the UK, the South Cliff Lift at Scarborough, North Yorkshire. - 31 July — Public Health Act 1875Public Health Act 1875The Public Health Act 1875 was established in the United Kingdom to combat filthy urban living conditions, which caused various public health threats, including the spread of many diseases such as cholera and typhus. Reformers wanted to resolve sanitary problems, because sewage was flowing down the...
establishes a code of practice for sanitationSanitationSanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
across the country. - August — Scottish football team Hibernian F.C.Hibernian F.C.Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
founded. - 13 August
- Food and Drugs Act makes adulteration of food or drugs an offence.
- Offences against the Person ActOffences against the Person Act 1875The Offences against the Person Act 1875 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
effectively raises 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...
from twelve to thirteen.
- 25 August — Captain Matthew WebbMatthew WebbCaptain Matthew Webb was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours.-Early life and career:...
becomes the first person to swim the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. - September — Joseph BazalgetteJoseph BazalgetteSir Joseph William Bazalgette, CB was an English civil engineer of the 19th century. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics, while...
completes the 30-year construction of London's sewerSanitary sewerA sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
system. - 6 December
- Passenger steamship DeutschlandDeutschland (1866)Deutschland was an iron passenger steamship of the Norddeutscher Lloyd line, built by Caird & Company of Greenock, Scotland in 1866.-History:...
runs aground at Kentish KnockKentish KnockKentish Knock may refer to:* Kentish Knock, an area off the coast of Kent and Essex in England* Battle of the Kentish Knock, fought in October 1652* London Array, a wind farm near the Kentish Knock....
resulting in the death of 157 passengers and crew and inspiring Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
' poem The Wreck of the DeutschlandThe Wreck of the DeutschlandThe Wreck of the Deutschland is a long poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins with Christian themes, composed in 1875 and 1876, though not published until 1918. The poem depicts the shipwreck of the SS Deutschland...
. - FiredampFiredampFiredamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous...
explosionExplosionAn explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
at Swaithe Main Colliery in the South Yorkshire CoalfieldSouth Yorkshire CoalfieldThe South Yorkshire Coalfield is defined by a triangle lying between Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield, though a few mines within the coalfield lie outside this area. It is part of the larger Midland coal field which stretches from Nottingham in the south to Bradford and Leeds in the north...
resulting in the death of 143 miners.
- Passenger steamship Deutschland
Publications
- Helen MathersEllen Buckingham MathewsEllen Buckingham Mathews was a popular female English novelist during the late 19th and early 20th century. She was also known as Mrs Reeves after her marriage to Dr. Henry Reeves but was best known under her pen name, Helen Mathers....
' novel Comin' thro' the Rye. - 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 The Way We Live NowThe Way We Live NowThe Way We Live Now is a satirical novel published in London in 1875 by Anthony Trollope, after a popular serialisation. In 1872 Trollope returned to England from abroad and was appalled by the greed which was loose in the land. His scolding rebuke was his longest novel.Containing over a hundred...
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Births
- 4 January — William WilliamsWilliam Williams (Crwys)William Williams , better known by his bardic name of "Crwys", was a Welsh poet in the Welsh language. He served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1939 to 1947....
, poet and Archdruid (died 19681968 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1968 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch – Elizabeth II* Prime Minister – Harold Wilson, Labour Party-Events:* January – Ford Escort car introduced....
) - 1 April — Edgar WallaceEdgar WallaceRichard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
, writer (died 19321932 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1932 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:* 8 January - The Archbishop of Canterbury forbids church remarriage of divorcees....
) - 15 August — Samuel Coleridge-TaylorSamuel Coleridge-TaylorSamuel Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer who achieved such success that he was once called the "African Mahler".-Early life and education:...
, composer (died 19121912 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1912 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - Post Office takes over National Telephone Company....
) - 26 August — John BuchanJohn Buchan, 1st Baron TweedsmuirJohn Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation....
, novelist and politician (died 19401940 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1940 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.- Incumbents :* Monarch - King George VI* Prime Minister - Neville Chamberlain, national coalition , Winston Churchill, coalition- Events :...
) - 10 September — John EvansJohn Evans (Welsh politician)John Evans was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ogmore at a by-election in 1946, but stood down at the 1950 general election.- References :...
, Welsh politician (died 19611961 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1961 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Harold Macmillan, Conservative Party-Events:*1 January...
) - 18 September — Arthur Henry Knighton-HammondArthur Henry Knighton-HammondArthur Henry Knighton-Hammond was born in Arnold, Nottinghamshire as Arthur Henry Hammond. Knighton-Hammond was an English painter best known for landscapes, society portraits and industrial paintings. Knighton-Hammond used a variety of styles but is most famous as a water-colourist...
, water-colourist (died 19701970 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1970 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year with a change of government.-Incumbents:* Monarch - Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Harold Wilson , Labour Party ; Edward Heath, Conservative Party...
) - 12 October — Aleister CrowleyAleister CrowleyAleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, occultist (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....
) - 26 October — Sir Lewis CassonLewis CassonSir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
, artist (died 19691969 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1969 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the beginnings of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.-Incumbents:* Monarch - Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Harold Wilson, Labour Party-Events:...
) - 11 November — Johnny JenkinsJohnny Jenkins (racing driver)Johnny Jenkins was an American racecar driver.-Indy 500 results:...
, racing driver (died 19451945 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1945 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the end of World War II and a landslide General Election victory for the Labour Party.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI...
) - 20 December — T. F. PowysT. F. PowysTheodore Francis Powys was a British novelist and short story writer, born in Shirley, Derbyshire on the 20 December, 1875, the son of the Reverend Charles Francis Powys , vicar of Montacute, Somerset for thirty-two years, and Mary Cowper Johnson, a descendent of the poet William Cowper. He came...
, Anglo-Welsh writer (died 19531953 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1953 in the United Kingdom. This is the year of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the North Sea flood.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Winston Churchill, Conservative Party-Events:...
)
Deaths
- 23 January — Charles KingsleyCharles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
, writer (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:...
) - 22 February — Sir Charles LyellCharles LyellSir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
, geologist (born 17971797 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1797 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 3 January - Three of the stones making up Stonehenge fall due to heavy frosts....
) - 7 March — James Hope GrantJames Hope GrantGeneral Sir James Hope Grant GCB , British general, was the fifth and youngest son of Francis Grant of Kilgraston, Perthshire, and brother of Sir Francis Grant, President of the Royal Academy.-Military career:...
, military leader (born 18081808 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1808 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Portland, Tory-Events:* 1 January - Sierra Leone becomes a British Crown Colony....
) - 22 March — Alexander ThomsonAlexander ThomsonAlexander "Greek" Thomson was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was little appreciated outwith Glasgow during his lifetime...
, architect (born 18171817 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1817 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord Liverpool, Tory-Events:* February - Last major Luddite attack, against lace-making machines in Loughborough....
) - 27 July — Connop ThirlwallConnop ThirlwallConnop Thirlwall was an English bishop and historian.-Early life:Thirlwall was born at Stepney, London, of a Northumbrian family. He was a prodigy, learning Latin at three, Greek at four, and writing sermons at seven.He went to Charterhouse School, where George Grote and Julius Hare were among...
, bishop (born 17971797 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1797 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 3 January - Three of the stones making up Stonehenge fall due to heavy frosts....
) - 19 August — Robert Elis, writer (born 18121812 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...
) - 19 October — Charles WheatstoneCharles WheatstoneSir Charles Wheatstone FRS , was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope , and the Playfair cipher...
, physicist (born 18021802 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1802 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Henry Addington, Tory-Events:...
)