Events from the year 1851 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
*
Monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
–
Victoria
*
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
–
Lord John Russell (
Whig)
*
Foreign Secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
–
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (until 26 December)
Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville
Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, (11 May 181531 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secretary ...
(starting 26 December)
*
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
–
15th
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
Events
* February–March – brief resignation of government and Cabinet crisis over passage of the
Ecclesiastical Titles Act
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the British Parliament (14 & 15 Vict. c. 60) which made it a criminal offence for anyone outside the established "United Church of England and Ireland" to use any episcopal title "of any city, t ...
.
* March – sculptor
Frederick Scott Archer makes public the
wet plate collodion
The collodion process is an early photographic process. The collodion process, mostly synonymous with the "collodion wet plate process", requires the photographic material to be coated, sensitized, exposed, and developed within the span of about ...
photographic process.
* 12 March – foundation of Owens College,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, predecessor of the
Victoria University of Manchester.
* 30 March – the
United Kingdom Census 1851
The United Kingdom Census of 1851 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of Sunday 30 March 1851, and was the second of the UK censuses to include details of household members. However, this census added considerably to the f ...
is the first to include detailed ages, date of birth, occupations, and marital status of those listed. The population of the UK is revealed to have reached 21 million. 6.3 million live in cities of 20,000 or more in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
and such cities account for 35% of the total English population. Uniquely, this census also counts attendance at places of religious worship. As part of the
legacy of the Great Irish Famine
The legacy of the Great Famine in Ireland ( ga, An Gorta Mór or ''An Drochshaol'', litt: ''The Bad Life'') followed a catastrophic period of Irish history between 1845 and 1852 during which time the population of Ireland was reduced by 50 per ...
, the population of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
has fallen to 6,575,000 – a drop of 1.6 million in ten years.
* 6 April –
Henry Edward Manning is received into the Roman
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
* 1 May – the ''
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
of the Works of Industry of All Nations'' in
the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...
,
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Pa ...
is opened by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.
* 26 May – first international
chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition amo ...
held in London, organised by
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton (April 1810 – 22 June 1874) was an English chess master who is generally regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Am ...
.
* c. June –
Sir Edwin Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...
's painting of a Scottish stag, ''
The Monarch of the Glen'', is first exhibited, at the
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
* 5 June –
Arsenic Act 1851
The Arsenic Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict c 13) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1851, during the reign of Queen Victoria. Arsenic was at the time widely used as a pigment and in agricultural products such as sheep dressing ...
, placing restrictions on the sale of the substance, comes into force.
* 24 June – abolition of the
Window Tax
Window tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, France, and Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. To avoid the tax, some houses from the pe ...
.
* July
** the banker
David Salomons attempts to occupy the seat to which he has been elected in the
House of Commons but is prevented from doing so since, as a
Jew, he is unable to take the oath in the prescribed form.
**
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
's father allows her to return to the Institution of Protestant
Deaconesses at
Kaiserswerth in Germany for 3 months of
nurse training.
* 1 August –
Ecclesiastical Titles Act
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the British Parliament (14 & 15 Vict. c. 60) which made it a criminal offence for anyone outside the established "United Church of England and Ireland" to use any episcopal title "of any city, t ...
("An Act to prevent the Assumption of certain Ecclesiastical Titles in respect of Places in the United Kingdom"), passed into law in response to the previous year's recreation of the Roman Catholic hierarchy by the papal bull ''
Universalis Ecclesiae'', attempts to prevent the use of English titles by Catholic bishops; it has no practical effect.
* 22 August – first international challenge for the 100 Guineas Cup yacht race (later known after the winner, ''
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
'', as the
America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
) held around the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
.
* 15 October – end of the Great Exhibition.
* 23 October – exiled Hungarian regent-president
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...
arrives at Southampton. After a tour of the UK and 6 months in the United States, he will spend 8 years in England.
* 24 October –
Ariel
Ariel may refer to:
Film and television
*Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award
* ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki
* ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
and
Umbriel,
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
s of
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...
, are discovered by
William Lassell.
* 13 November – first protected
submarine telegraph cable laid, across the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
.
* 19 December –
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
is dismissed as Foreign Secretary for sending a congratulatory telegram to
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
on his recent
coup d'ėtat.
[
]
Undated
* The New Model Union
New Model Trade Unions (NMTU) were a variety of Trade Unions prominent in the 1850s and 1860s in the UK. The term was coined by Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice Webb in their ''History of Trade Unionism'' (1894), although later historians have que ...
the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, Smiths, Millwrights and Patternmakers is formed.
* Royal School of Mines
The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...
established, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Art.
* The Royal Marsden is established as the Free Cancer Hospital by surgeon William Marsden in London, the world's first specialist cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
hospital.
* Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
determines that Welsh steam coal is the best suited to its ships, giving a boost to the South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
industry.
* Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Act permits local authorities to appoint commissioners to erect or purchase houses for the working classes, but is little used.
* The card game Happy Families is introduced by Jaques of London
Jaques of London, formerly known as ''John Jaques of London'' and ''Jaques and Son of London'' is a long-established family company that manufactures sports and game equipment.
History
Dating itself from 1795 when Thomas Jaques, a farmer's son ...
.
Publications
* Edward Creasy Edward Creasy may refer to:
* Edward Shepherd Creasy
Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy (12 September 1812 – 17 January 1878) was an English historian and jurist.
Life
He was born the son of a Land Agent in Bexley, Kent, England and educated at Et ...
's book ''The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World
''The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo'' is a book written by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy and published in 1851. This book tells the story of the fifteen military engagements which, according to the author, had a ...
''.
* 'Lady Maria Clutterbuck' (Catherine Dickens
Catherine Thomson "Kate" Dickens (''née'' Hogarth; 19 May 1815 – 22 November 1879) was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, the mother of his ten children, and a writer of domestic management.
Early life
Born in Edinburgh, Scotlan ...
)'s cookbook ''What Shall We Have for Dinner? Satisfactorily Answered by Numerous Bills of Fare for from Two to Eighteen Persons''.
* Mrs Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...
's novel '' Cranford'' begins serialisation.
* Henry Mayhew's social survey '' London Labour and the London Poor'' collected in book form.
* John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
's treatise '' The Stones of Venice'' vol. 1.
Births
* 16 January – William Hall-Jones
Sir William Hall-Jones (16 January 1851 – 19 June 1936) was the 16th prime minister of New Zealand from June 1906 until August 1906.
Hall-Jones entered parliament in 1890, later becoming a member of the Liberal Party. He was interim prime mi ...
, 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1936)
* 23 February – Frederick Warde, actor (died 1935)
* 13 March – George Newnes, periodical publisher (died 1910)
* 18 March – Rose Coghlan, actress (died 1932)
* 12 April – Edward Walter Maunder, astronomer (died 1928)
* 20 April – Young Tom Morris
Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodig ...
, Scottish golfer (died 1875)
* 28 May – Dick Barlow
Richard Gorton Barlow (28 May 1851 – 31 July 1919) was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. Barlow is best remembered for his batting partnership with A N Hornby, which was immortalised in nostalgic poetry by Francis Thompson. He ...
, cricketer (died 1919)
* 12 June – Oliver Lodge, physicist (died 1940)
* 21 June – Frederick Green, footballer (died 1928)
* 8 July – Arthur Evans, archaeologist (died 1941)
* 19 September – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, soap-maker and philanthropist (died 1925)
* 29 September – Hardwicke Rawnsley
Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (29 September 1851 – 28 May 1920) was an Anglican priest, poet, local politician and conservationist. He became nationally and internationally known as one of the three founders of the National Trust for Places of H ...
, clergyman, poet, hymn-writer and conservationist (died 1920)
* 5 October – Frederic Fisher, admiral (died 1943)
* 30 October – George Lennox Watson, Scottish naval architect (died 1904)
* 21 November – Leslie Ward ("Spy"), caricaturist (died 1922)
* 24 November – John Indermaur
John Indermaur (24 November 1851 – 19 July 1925) was a British lawyer and legal writer, with his writing focus was on common law. He is known for having written ''An Epitome of Leading Common Law Cases'' in 1875, ''Principles of Common Law'' in ...
, lawyer (died 1925)
* 8 December – St. George Littledale, big game hunter (died 1931)
* 20 December – Dora Montefiore
Dorothy Frances Montefiore (; 20 December 1851 – 21 December 1933), known as Dora Montefiore, was an English-Australian women's suffragist, socialist, poet, and autobiographer.
Early life
Born Dorothy Frances Fuller at Kenley Manor near Cou ...
, suffragist and socialist (died 1933)
* 27 December – Percy Gilchrist
Percy Carlyle Gilchrist FRS (27 December 1851 – 16 December 1935) was a British chemist and metallurgist.
Life
Gilchrist was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist and studied at Felsted and the Royal School of ...
, industrialist (died 1935)
Deaths
* 23 January – Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny
Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (2 October 1809 – 23 January 1851) was a British Liberal politician.
Origins
He was the eldest son and heir apparent of Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery (1783–1868), whom he predeceased, by his wife H ...
, Scottish politician (born 1809)
* 1 February – Mary Shelley, author (born 1797)
* 23 February – Joanna Baillie, Scottish writer (born 1762)
* 7 April – Henry Thomas Alken, engraver, illustrator and sporting artist (born 1785)
* 29 May – Bartholomew Frere
Bartholomew Frere (30 November 1776 – 29 May 1851) was an English diplomat.
Life
Frere was born in 1776, the fifth son of John Frere, F.R.S., M.P. for Norwich, and a younger brother of John Hookham Frere and William Frere. He proceeded B.A. at ...
, diplomat (born 1776)
* 10 June – Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, politician (born 1771)
* 17 July
** John Farey Jr.
John Farey Jr. (20 March 1791 – 17 July 1851) was an English mechanical engineering, consulting engineer and patent agent, known for his pioneering contributions in the field of mechanical engineering.Alec Skempton.Farey, Jr., John" in: ''A Bio ...
, mechanical engineer and technical writer (born 1791)
** John Lingard
John Lingard (5 February 1771 – 17 July 1851) was an English Roman Catholic priest and historian, the author of ''The History of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII'', an eight-volume work published i ...
, Roman Catholic priest (born 1771)
** Roger Sheaffe, general (born 1763)
* 8 August – James Broadwood
James Shudi Broadwood (20 December 1772 – 8 August 1851) was a piano maker in Middlesex and a magistrate in Surrey.
His son, Henry Fowler Broadwood (1811–1893), took control of the family piano-manufacturing business in 1836. He was also the ...
, piano manufacturer (born 1772)
* 22 September – Sarah Elizabeth Utterson
Sarah Elizabeth Utterson (3 November 1781 – 22 September 1851) was a British translator and author. She anonymously translated most of ''Fantasmagoriana'' (1812) as ''Tales of the Dead'' (1813), which also included her own short story " The St ...
, translator and author (born 1781)
* 13 October – Samuel Beazley, theatre architect and writer (born 1786)
* 29 October – William Wyon, engraver (born 1795)
* 6 December – John Buckler, draughtsman and engraver (born 1770)
* 7 December– Sir John Gladstone, 1st Baronet
Sir John Gladstone of Fasque, 1st Baronet, (11 December 1764 – 7 December 1851) was a British merchant, slave owner, politician and the father of the British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Through his commercial activities he acquire ...
, merchant (born 1764)
* 19 December
** Henry Luttrell, politician, wit and society poet (born c. 1765)
** J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...
, painter (born 1775)
See also
* 1851 in Scotland
Events from the year 1851 in Scotland.
Incumbents
Law officers
* Lord Advocate – Andrew Rutherfurd until April; then James Moncreiff
* Solicitor General for Scotland – James Moncreiff; then John Cowan; then George Deas
Judiciary ...
References
{{Europe topic, 1851 in
Years of the 19th century in the United Kingdom