Events from the year 1826 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 ...

–

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

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 ...

–

Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He held many important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secreta ...

(

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

) *

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...

–

George Canning George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Uni ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

– 7th (until 2 June), 8th (starting 25 July)

Events

* 30 January – the Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scot ...

, is opened between the island of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

and the mainland of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. * 11 February –

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

is founded, under the name ''University of London''. * 15 February –

Longstone Lighthouse Longstone Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse located on Longstone Rock in the outer group of the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast, England. Completed in 1826, it was originally called the Outer Farne Lighthouse, and comple ...

first illuminated as Outer Farne Lighthouse (Joseph Nelson, engineer). * 24 February – Treaty of Yandabo cedes Arakan peninsula to Britain, ending the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

. * April – a number of leading scientists form the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

. * 26 May –

Country Bankers Act 1826 The Country Bankers Act 1826 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted during the reign of George IV. The Act restricted the issue of banknotes by commercial banks in England and Wales. It relaxed some of the laws of the Bank ...

permits

joint-stock A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

banks outside the London area, which may issue

banknotes A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

. * 1 June to 31 August – A three-month heat wave and drought grips the country. With a mean temperature of this is the hottest summer on the CET records, since 1659, until 1976, after which, it is the second hottest on record. * 19 June –

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

under

win a substantial an increased majority over the Whigs in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. * 20 June – Treaty of Bangkok increases British control over

south-east Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. * 1 July – the Conway Suspension Bridge, built by engineer

, is opened in

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

, completing his improvements to the

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and i ...

road. * 10 August – the first Cowes Regatta is held on 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 Is ...

. * 18 August – explorer

Alexander Gordon Laing Major Alexander Gordon Laing (27 December 179426 September 1826) was a Scottish explorer and the first European to reach Timbuktu, arriving there via the north-to-south route in August 1826. He was killed shortly after he departed Timbuktu, some ...

becomes the first European to reach

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

. * 26 September – Alexander Laing murdered in Timbuktu. * 18 October – last English state lottery is drawn in a series run since 1769; the next National Lottery will be in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

Ongoing events

* Anglo-Ashanti war (1823–1831)

Undated

* The British

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...

is established. * Construction of the

National Monument, Edinburgh The National Monument of Scotland, on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, is Scotland's national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended, according to the inscription, to be "A Memorial ...

Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...

(to the dead of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

) is commenced; it will never be completed.

Publications

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...

's (anonymous) first novel ''

Vivian Grey ''Vivian Grey'' is Benjamin Disraeli's first novel, published by Henry Colburn in 1826. Originally published anonymously, ostensibly by a so-called "man of fashion", part 1 caused a considerable sensation in London society. Contemporary reviewer ...

''. *

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's (anonymous) historical novel ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

''. *

Felicia Dorothea Hemans Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet (who identified as Welsh by adoption). Two of her opening lines, "The boy stood on the burning deck" and "The stately homes of England", have acquired classic statu ...

' poem '' Casabianca'', in '' The New Monthly Magazine'' (August). * Christian Isobel Johnstone (as Margaret Dods)'s ''The Cook and Housewife's Manual''. * John C. Loudon's periodical ''

The Gardener's Magazine ''The Gardener's Magazine'' was the first British periodical devoted to horticulture. Full title was ''The gardener's magazine and register of rural & domestic improvement''. It was written, edited and published by John Claudius Loudon starti ...

'' first issued.

Births

* 24 January –

Gifford Palgrave William Gifford Palgrave (; 24 January 1826 – 30 September 1888) was an English priest, soldier, traveller, and Arabist. Early life and education Palgrave was born in Westminster. He was the son of Sir Francis Palgrave (born Jewish, conve ...

, priest, traveller and Arabist (died 1888) * 3 February –

Walter Bagehot Walter Bagehot ( ; 3 February 1826 – 24 March 1877) was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature and race. He is known for co-founding the '' National Review'' in 185 ...

, economist and journalist (died 1877) * 15 February –

George Johnstone Stoney George Johnstone Stoney FRS (15 February 1826 – 5 July 1911) was an Irish physicist. He is most famous for introducing the term ''electron'' as the "fundamental unit quantity of electricity". He had introduced the concept, though not the wor ...

, Irish-born physicist (died 1911) * 20 April – Dinah Craik, née Mulock, novelist and poet (died 1887) * 15 or 25 May –

Tom Sayers Tom Sayers (15 or 25 May 18268 November 1865) was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much more than 150 pounds, ...

, bare-knuckle boxer (died 1865) * 26 May – Richard Carrington, astronomer (died 1875) * 18 June –

William Maclagan William Dalrymple Maclagan (18 June 1826 – 19 September 1910) was Archbishop of York from 1891 to 1908, when he resigned his office, and was succeeded in 1909 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, later Archbishop of Canterbury. As Archbishop of York, Maclaga ...

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

(died 1910) * 24 June –

George Goyder George Woodroffe Goyder (24 June 1826 – 2 November 1898) was a surveyor in the Colony of South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He rose rapidly in the civil service, becoming Assistant Surveyor-General by 185 ...

, surveyor-general of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

(died 1898) * 7 July – John Fowler, agricultural engineer (died 1864) * 20 July –

Laura Keene Laura Keene (20 July 1826 – 4 November 1873) was a British stage actress and theatre manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York. She is most famous for being the lead actress in ...

, actress (died 1873) * 25 August –

William Synge William Webb Follett Synge (25 August 1826 – 29 May 1891) was a British diplomat and author, known for his contributions to ''The Standard'', ''Punch'' and the '' Saturday Review''. Biography William Synge was born in 1826 to the Rev. Robert S ...

, diplomat and author (died 1891) * 5 September – John Wisden, cricketer, creator of ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' (died 1884) * 8 September –

Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet Sir James Porter Corry, 1st Baronet (8 September 1826 – 28 November 1891) was an Irish politician. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1874 to 1885 and an Irish Unionist Alliance MP from 1886 until his death. Sir James ...

, politician (died 1891) * 24 September – George Price Boyce, Pre-Raphaelite watercolour landscape painter (died 1897) * 23 December –

William Blanchard Jerrold William Blanchard Jerrold (London 23 December 1826 – 10 March 1884), was an English journalist and author. Biography He was born in London, the eldest son of the dramatist, Douglas William Jerrold. Due to his disagreements with the practice ...

, journalist and biographer (died 1884)

Deaths

* 6 January –

John Farey Sr. John Farey Sr. (24 September 1766 – 6 January 1826) was an English geologist and writer best known for Farey sequence, a mathematical construct that is named after him. Biography Youth and early career Farey was born on 24 September 1766 at ...

, polymath (born 1766) * 17 February – John Manners-Sutton, politician (born 1752) * 7 March –

Ann Freeman Ann Freeman née Mason (24 June 1797 – 7 March 1826) was a British Bible Christian preacher. Life Freeman was born on 24 June 1797 in Northlew in Devon. Her parents, William and Grace Mason, were farmers and she was one of thirteen children bro ...

, Bible preacher (born 1797) * 10 March –

John Pinkerton John Pinkerton (17 February 1758 – 10 March 1826) was a Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist, historian, and early advocate of Germanic racial supremacy theory. He was born in Edinburgh, as one of three sons to Ja ...

, antiquarian (born 1758) * 3 April –

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich lando ...

, bishop, poet and travel writer (born 1783) * 19 April – John Milner, Roman Catholic bishop and religious controversialist (born 1752) * 23 June – John Taylor, Unitarian hymn writer (born 1750) * 5 July –

Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...

, colonial governor, founder of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

(born 1781) * 2 August –

George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea (4 November 1752 – 2 August 1826), was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen pla ...

, cricketer (born 1752) * 26 August –

Lady Sarah Lennox Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sarah Cadogan. Early life After the deaths of both her parents when she was only ...

, courtier (born 1745) * 4 September –

Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford, PC (24 February 1779 – 4 September 1826), was a British lawyer, judge and politician. Gifford was born in Exeter, and entered the Middle Temple in 1800. He was called to the bar in 1808, and joined the Wester ...

, lawyer, judge and politician (born 1779) * 26 September –

, Scottish explorer (born 1794) * 26 November – John Nichols, printer and author (born 1745) * 7 December –

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several ye ...

, sculptor (born 1755) * 31 December –

William Gifford William Gifford (April 1756 – 31 December 1826) was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist. Life Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devon, to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and ...

, satirist (born 1756)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1826 Years of the 19th century in the United Kingdom 1826 by country 1826 in Europe 1820s in the United Kingdom