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 1840 in the United Kingdom: |
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Events from the year 1840 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
Incumbents
- Monarch - Victoria of the United Kingdom
- Prime Minister - William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Whig
Events
- 10 January - Uniform Penny Post introduced.
- 22 January - British colonists reach New Zealand. Official founding date of Wellington.
- 6 February - Treaty of Waitangi, document granting British sovereignty in New Zealand, is signed.1
- 10 February - Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha.1
- 15 April - King's College Hospital opens in Portugal Street, London.
- 1 May - issue of the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp.2
- 10 June - Edward Oxford attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria.3
- 4 July - The Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddlewheel steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax , Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic passenger cruise.
- 15 July - Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia sign a London Treaty with the Sublime Porte, ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
- 23 July - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
- 7 August - Chimney Sweeps Act 1840 prohibits the employment of children under the age of 21 as chimney sweeps.1
- 10 September - Ottoman and British troops bombard Beirut and land troops on the coast to pressure Egyptian Muhammad Ali to retreat from the country.
- 16 September - Joseph Strutt handed over the deeds and papers concerning the Arboretum, which was to become England's first public park.
- 30 September - the foundation of Nelson's Column laid.1
- 14 October - Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the British forces and goes into exile in Malta.
- 25 October - First railway timetable published.3
- December - Stockport Viaduct was completed in this year. It is one of the largest brick structures in Europe.
Undated
- David Livingstone leaves for Africa.
- The foundation stone of the Palace of Westminster is laid as its reconstruction following a fire in 1834 begins. (Completed in 1860).2
- Trafalgar Square laid out and paved.3
- The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gains its Royal status.2
- Cunard Line operates the first transatlantic paddle steamer mail service.3
Ongoing events
Publications
- Serialisation of Charles Dickens' novel The Old Curiosity Shop.
- William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Catherine.
Births
- 18 January - Henry Austin Dobson, poet and essayist (died 1921)
- 26 January - John Clayton Adams, landscape artist (died 1906)
- 5 February - John Boyd Dunlop, inventor (died 1921)
- 29 February - John Philip Holland, inventor (died 1914)
- 27 April - Edward Whymper, mountaineer (died 1911)
- 2 June - Thomas Hardy, writer (died 1928)
- 9 October - Simeon Solomon, artist (died 1905)
- 21 November - Victoria, Princess Royal (died 1901)
- 29 November - Rhoda Broughton, writer (died 1920)
Deaths
- 6 January - Fanny Burney, novelist (born 1752)
- 18 February - Jeffry Wyattville, architect and garden designer (born 1766)
- 30 March - Beau Brummell, arbiter of fashion (born 1778)
- 1 May - Joseph Williamson, philanthropist and builder of Williamson's tunnels (born 1769)
- 26 May - Sidney Smith, admiral (born 1764)
References
- ^ a b c d (2006) Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ a b c "Icons, a portrait of England 1840-1860". Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ a b c d Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd, 263-264. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.