Events from the year 1870 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
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
*
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 ...
–
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
(
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
)
*
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 ...
–
20th
20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score.
In mathematics
*20 is a pronic number.
*20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20.
*20 is the ba ...
Events
* 28 January
**
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...
takes over business of private
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
companies.
**
Inman Line
The Inman Line was one of the three largest 19th-century British passenger shipping companies on the North Atlantic, along with the White Star Line and Cunard Line. Founded in 1850, it was absorbed in 1893 into American Line. The firm's formal ...
's departs
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, on a passage for Liverpool on which it will be lost with all 191 aboard.
* 5 March – first ever (unofficial) international
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
match,
England v Scotland, takes place under the approval of
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
at
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
* 10 May –
Jem Mace
James "Jem" Mace (8 April 1831 – 30 November 1910) was an English boxing champion, primarily during the bare-knuckle era. He was born at Beeston, Norfolk, Beeston, Norfolk. Although nicknamed "The Gypsy", he denied Romani people, Romani ethn ...
wins the
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
championship of the world, defeating fellow Englishman Tom Allen at
Kenner
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
, near
.
* 19 May – the
Home Government Association
The Home Government Association was a pressure group launched by Isaac Butt in support of home rule for Ireland at a meeting in Bilton's Hotel, Dublin, on 19 May 1870.
The meeting was attended or supported by sixty-one people of different politi ...
is established in
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 ...
by
Isaac Butt
Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist parti ...
to argue for devolution for Ireland and repeal of the
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
.
* ''late Spring'' –
Army Enlistment (Short Service) Act allows reduction in length of enlistment to the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as part of the
Cardwell Reforms
The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...
.
* 2 June – competitive examination for entry to the British
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
introduced.
* 8 June – the final splice to the first
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
submarine cable to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
is made off
Porthcurno
Porthcurno ( kw, Porthkornow, Porthcornow, meaning ''"pinnacle cove"'', see below) is a small village covering a small valley and beach on the south coast of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement in a civil and an ec ...
,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
.
* 23 June –
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...
, opens, the first new
college of the University of Oxford in more than a century.
* 2 August – official opening of the
Tower Subway
The Tower Subway is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in central London, between Tower Hill on the north bank of the river and Vine Lane (off Tooley Street) on the south. In 1869 a circular tunnel was dug through the London clay using a cast ir ...
beneath the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, the world's first underground passenger "tube" railway.
Although this lasts as a railway operation only until November, it demonstrates the technologically successful first use of the cylindrical
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
tunnelling shield
A tunnelling shield is a protective structure used during the excavation of large, man-made tunnels. When excavating through ground that is soft, liquid, or otherwise unstable, there is a potential health and safety hazard to workers and the proj ...
devised by
Peter W. Barlow
Peter William Barlow (1 February 1809 – 19 May 1885) was an English civil engineer, particularly associated with railways, bridges (he designed the first Lambeth Bridge, a crossing of the River Thames in London), the design of tunnels and the ...
and
James Henry Greathead
James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 – 21 October 1896) was a mechanical and civil engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railways, Winchester Cathedral, and Liverpool overhead railway, as well as being one of the earliest pr ...
.
* 4 August –
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
established as the British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War by
Lord Wantage
Brigadier General Robert James Loyd-Lindsay, 1st Baron Wantage, (17 April 1832 – 10 June 1901) was a British soldier, politician, philanthropist, benefactor to Wantage, and first chairman and co-founder of the British National Society for Aid t ...
.
* 9 August
**
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...
drafted by
William Edward Forster
William Edward Forster, PC, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. His supposed advocacy of the Irish Constabulary's use of lethal force against the National Land League earne ...
MP encourages elementary education by creating a system of secular
School boards in England and Wales
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.
School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaignin ...
at whose schools attendance may be compulsory.
Women are eligible to stand and vote for local school boards where created.
**
Married Women's Property Act confirms that wives may own property of their own.
[
*27 August – White Star's first ]ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
RMS ''Oceanic'' is launched by Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...
in Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
.
* 7 September – masted turret ship
Turret ships were a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a broadside arrangement.
Background
Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, ...
HMS ''Captain'' capsizes off Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain.
In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...
, less than 5 months after commissioning, due to design flaws, with the loss of 481 lives.
* 1 October – postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s and halfpenny postage stamps
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
introduced by the Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
.
* 19 October – is wrecked on Inishtrahull
Inishtrahull ( ga, Inis Trá Tholl, possibly "island of the empty beach" or "island of the yonder beach") is the most northerly island of Ireland. It has an area of and lies about northeast of Malin Head, County Donegal. The most northerly ...
(Ireland) with the loss of 179 lives.
* Undated – the David Greig grocery chain begins with a store in London.
Publications
* 1 January
** Completion of the Ordnance Survey
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one-inch-to-the-mile "Old Series" maps of England.
** ''The Northern Echo
''The Northern Echo'' is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its t ...
'' newspaper launched in Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
.
* April–September – serialisation of Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' novel ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood
''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870.
Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...
'', only half complete due to his death on 9 June.
* Edward Jenkins' satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
''Ginx's Baby: his birth and other misfortunes''.
* William Robinson's gardening book ''The Wild Garden''.
* Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...
's ''Poems
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...
'', exhumed from Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall (25 July 1829 – 11 February 1862), better known as Elizabeth Siddal, was an English artist, poet, and artists' model. Significant collections of her artworks can be found at Wightwick Manor and the Ashmolean. Siddal ...
's grave.
Births
* 7 January – Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart
Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart, (7 January 1870 – 5 May 1943) was a politician and judge in the United Kingdom.
Background and education
Hewart was born in Bury, Lancashire, the eldest son of Giles Hewart, a draper, and Annie Elizabeth J ...
, English judge and politician, 7th Lord Chief Justice of England
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...
(died 1943)
* 25 January – Fred Spiksley
Fred Spiksley (25 January 1870 – 28 July 1948) was an English footballer and coach, who played as a forward for Sheffield Wednesday and England. He also played for Gainsborough Trinity, Glossop North End, Leeds City, Watford. After retirin ...
, footballer (died 1948)
* 5 February – C. E. Brock
Charles Edmund Brock (5 February 1870 – 28 February 1938) was a widely published English painter, line artist and book illustrator, who signed most of his work C. E. Brock. He was the eldest of four artist brothers, including Henry Matthew ...
, painter and illustrator (died 1938)
* 8 February – Millie Hylton
Sarah Frances Louise Rudge (8 February 1870 – 1 September 1920), known professionally as Millie Hylton, was an English actress, dancer and principal boy in pantomime.
Early life
Sarah Frances Louise Rudge was born on 8 February 1870 on 22 Ho ...
, actress, dancer and male impersonator (died 1920)
* 12 February – Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...
, music-hall singer (died 1922)
* 4 March – Thomas Sturge Moore
Thomas Sturge Moore (4 March 1870 – 18 July 1944) was a British poet, author and artist.
Biography
Sturge Moore was born at 3 Wellington Square, Hastings, East Sussex, on 4 March 1870 and educated at Dulwich College, the Croydon School o ...
, poet, author and artist (died 1944)
* 17 March – Horace Donisthorpe
Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe (17 March 1870 – 22 April 1951) was an eccentric United Kingdom, British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus ''Lasius'' after him as ...
, entomologist (died 1951)
* 9 May – Harry Vardon
Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...
, golfer (died 1937)
* 4 August – Harry Lauder
Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...
, Scottish entertainer (died 1950)
* 11 August – Tom Richardson, cricketer (died 1912)
* 12 August – Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A favourite of the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, he experienced a meteoric ...
, general (died 1963)
* 22 August – Bertram Fletcher Robinson
Bertram Fletcher Robinson (22 August 1870 – 21 January 1907) was an English sportsman, journalist, author and Liberal Unionist Party campaigner. Between 1893 and 1907, he wrote nearly three hundred items, including a series of short stories th ...
, journalist, editor and author (died 1907)
* 1 September – Leopold Wharton
Leopold Wharton (September 1, 1870 – September 27, 1927) was an American film director, producer and writer. He directed 37 films between 1911 and 1922, including the 1915 film ''The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford'', which featur ...
, English-born American film director (died 1927)
* 22 September – Charlotte Cooper Charlotte Cooper may refer to:
* Charlotte Cooper (author) (born 1968), British author and LGBT activist
* Charlotte Cooper (tennis) (1870–1966), British tennis player
* Charlotte Cooper-Andrade, wife of Vernon Andrade
* Charlotte Cooper (born 19 ...
, tennis player (died 1966)
* 21 October – Horace Hood
Rear Admiral Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood, (2 October 1870 – 31 May 1916) was a Royal Navy admiral of the First World War, whose lengthy and distinguished service saw him engaged in operations around the world, frequently participating i ...
, admiral (killed in action 1916)
* 22 October – Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a homoer ...
, minor Uranian
Uranian may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Sexuality
*Uranian (sexology), a historical term for homosexual men
* Uranians, a group of male homosexual poets
Astronomy
*Uranian, of or pertaining to the planet Uranus
* Uranian system, refers to the 27 moons ...
poet best remembered as a lover of writer Oscar Wilde (died 1945)
* 30 October – Lawrence Grant
Percy Reginald Lawrence-Grant (30 October 1870 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England – 19 February 1952 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) was an English actor known for supporting roles in films such as ''The Living Ghost'', '' I'll Tell ...
, film actor (died 1952 in the United States)
* 18 November – P. Morley Horder, architect (died 1944)
* 18 December – Saki
Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultur ...
(H. H. Munro), short-story writer (killed in action 1916)
* Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
, racehorse (died 1892)
Deaths
* 2 January – Ignatius Bonomi
Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England.
Life
He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739– ...
, architect and surveyor (born 1787)
* 9 January – Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr
Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr and 1st Baroness Buckhurst (11 August 1795 – 9 January 1870), was a British peeress.
Early life
The Countess De La Warr was born Lady Elizabeth Sackville on 11 August 1795. She was the youngest d ...
, peeress (born 1795)
* 20 January – Sir George Seymour
Sir George Seymour was an English knight. Born in Chelmsford on 11 June.
Life
He was a younger son of John Seymour and Elizabeth Darrell.
He was High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High She ...
, admiral of the fleet (born 1787)
* 25 January – Janet Taylor
Janet Taylor (born Jane Ann Ionn, 13 May 1804 – 25 January 1870) was an English astronomer, navigation expert, mathematician, meteorologist, and founder of the George Taylor Nautical Academy. She was the author of various astronomy and naviga ...
, mathematician and navigational instrument maker (born 1804)
* 30 March – William Hale William Hale may refer to:
Academics
*William Gardner Hale (1849–1928), American classical scholar and professor of Latin
* William Jasper Hale (1874–1944), president of the historically black Tennessee State University
* William Mathew Hale (b ...
, inventor (born 1797)
* 25 April – Daniel Maclise
Daniel Maclise (25 January 180625 April 1870) was an Irish history painter, literary and portrait painter, and illustrator, who worked for most of his life in London, England.
Early life
Maclise was born in Cork, Ireland, the son of Alexan ...
, historical painter (born 1806)
* 6 May – Sir James Young Simpson
Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet, (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans a ...
, physician and researcher (born 1811)
* 14 May – Thomas Dale
Sir Thomas Dale ( 1570 − 19 August 1619) was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in ...
, Anglican priest, Dean of Rochester (born 1797)
* 17 May – David Octavius Hill
David Octavius Hill (20 May 1802 – 17 May 1870) was a Scottish painter, photographer and arts activist. He formed Hill & Adamson studio with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson between 1843 and 1847 to pioneer many aspects of pho ...
, Scottish painter and pioneer photographer (born 1802)
* 24 April – Louisa Stuart Costello
Louisa Stuart Costello (9 October 1799 – 24 April 1870) was an Anglo-Irish writer on travel and French history, said to have been born either in Ireland or Sussex.
Life and work
Costello lived in Paris, France, near the River Seine (ac ...
, miniature-painter, poet, historical novelist and travel writer (born 1799)
* 9 June – Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, novelist (born 1812)
* 27 June – George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, (12 January 180027 June 1870) was an English diplomat and statesman from the Villiers family.
He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs three times as part of a distinguished ...
, diplomat and statesman (born 1800)
* 12 September – Eleanora Atherton
Eleanora Atherton (14 February 1782 – 12 September 1870) was an English philanthropist best known for her work in Manchester, England. At the time of her death, she was one of the richest British women in the nineteenth century.
Life
Athert ...
, philanthropist in Manchester (born 1782)
* 25 September – John Braithwaite, engineer, inventor of the first steam fire engine (born 1797)
* 6 October – James Giles, painter (born 1801)
* 11 October – Margaret Waters
Margaret Waters, otherwise known as Willis, was an English murderer hanged by executioner William Calcraft on 11 October 1870 at Horsemonger Lane Gaol (also known as Surrey County Gaol) in London.
Waters was born in 1835 and lived in Brixton.
...
, serial killer, hanged (born 1835)
* 21 October – Charles George James Arbuthnot
General Charles George James Arbuthnot, DL (180121 October 1870) was a British general.
Early life
Arbuthnot was born at sea aboard the frigate ''Juno'' and raised at Woodford, Northamptonshire. His father, Charles Arbuthnot, was a prominent T ...
, general (born 1801)
* 8 December – Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...
, railway contractor (born 1805)
* 9 December – Patrick MacDowell
Patrick MacDowell (12 August 1799 – 9 December 1870) was a Belfast-born British sculptor operating through the 19th century.
Life
MacDowell was born in Belfast in 1799. His father died whilst he was young and the family lived in relativ ...
, sculptor (born 1799)
* 28 December – Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick (15 June 1792 in London – 28 December 1870) was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch ...
, architect (born 1792)
References
{{Year in Europe, 1870
Years of the 19th century in the United Kingdom
1870 by country
1870s in the United Kingdom
1870 in Europe