EN316: Revolution and Empire: British Literature from 1660-1900
Created by Stacey Kikendall on Sun, 02/07/2021 - 17:58
This timeline presents important dates and events from the Restoration up through the end of the Victorian period, with special reference to authors and their works we read in class.
Timeline
Chronological table
Date![]() |
Event | Created by | Associated Places | |
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28 May 1836 |
Elizabeth Barrett Browning dinner with WordsworthOn 28 May 1836, Elizabeth Barrett Browning met William Wordsworth at a literary dinner in London; EBB's cousin, John Kenyon, was the host and the event most likely occurred at Kenyon's main residence at the time: 39 Devonshire Place, London, which is right around the corner from EBB's residence at the time: 50 Wimpole Street. See the associated map. |
Dino Franco Felluga | ||
29 Aug 1833 |
Slavery Abolition Act
Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
29 Aug 1833 |
Factory Act
ArticlesRelated Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
Oct 1831 to Oct 1836 |
Darwin's voyage on the Beagle
ArticlesNancy Armstrong, “On Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man, 24 February 1871″ Ian Duncan, “On Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle” Anna Henchman, “Charles Darwin’s Final Book on Earthworms, 1881” Cannon Schmitt, “On the Publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, 1859″ Related ArticlesDaniel Bivona, “On W. K. Clifford and ‘The Ethics of Belief,’ 11 April 1876″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
Sep 1831 to Dec 1832 |
Cholera EpidemicThe first major cholera pandemic to cross the Channel began in Sunderland in September 1831, spread throughout the country, and was not determined to be over until more than a year later, in December of 1832. Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1831 |
A History of Mary PrinceStory by Mary Prince, transcribed by Suzanna Strickland, edited by Thomas Pringle |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
15 Sep 1830 |
Opening of Liverpool & Manchester Railway
Articles
|
David Rettenmaier | ||
Aug 1830 to Dec 1830 |
Swing Riots
Related ArticlesCarolyn Lesjak, "1750 to the Present: Acts of Enclosure and Their Afterlife" (forthcoming) |
David Rettenmaier | ||
26 Jun 1830 |
Death of King George IV
Related Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1830 |
Death of George IV, William IV becomes KingBrother of George IV, son of George III |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
1 Jan 1830 |
Principles of Geology
Lyell’s work, though contested, establishes the preeminence of Uniformitarian principles in the interpretation of Geological phenomena, and allows vast temporal scope for Charles Darwin’s subsequent model of evolutionary development. ArticlesMartin Meisel, "On the Age of the Universe" Related ArticlesNancy Armstrong, “On Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man, 24 February 1871″ Ian Duncan, “On Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle” Anna Henchman, “Charles Darwin’s Final Book on Earthworms, 1881” Cannon Schmitt, “On the Publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, 1859″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1 Apr 1829 |
Roman Catholic Relief Act
The Catholic Relief Act of 1829 allowed Catholics to become Members of Parliament and to hold public offices, but it also raised the property qualifications that allowed individuals in Ireland to vote. The passage of the Catholic Relief Act marked a shift in English political power from the House of Lords to the House of Commons. The Act was led by the Duke of Wellington and passed despite initially serious opposition from both the House of Lords and King George IV. ArticlesRelated ArticlesCarolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″ Sean Grass, “On the Death of the Duke of Wellington, 14 September 1852″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1828 |
Test Act RepealedParliamentary repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts excluding Dissenters from state offices |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
Dec 1825 |
Bank failures in London
ArticlesAlexander J. Dick, “On the Financial Crisis, 1825-26″ Related ArticlesAngela Esterhammer, “1824: Improvisation, Speculation, and Identity-Construction” Lana L. Dalley, “On Martineau’s Illustrations of Political Economy, 1832-34″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
Apr 1825 |
Stock market crashOn April 1825, the British stock market began to crash. After the speculative bubble reached its peak, falling Bank of England gold reserves and a collapse in stock prices lead to panic by the end of the year. Related ArticlesAngela Esterhammer, “1824: Improvisation, Speculation, and Identity-Construction” |
David Rettenmaier | ||
16 Jun 1824 |
Society for Protection of Animals foundedOn 16 June 1824, founding of the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA) in London. The Society became the Royal Society in 1840, when it was granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria, herself strongly opposed to vivisection. ArticlesRelated ArticlesSusan Hamilton (U Alberta), “On the Cruelty to Animals Act, 15 August 1876″ Philip Howell, “June 1859/December 1860: The Dog Show and the Dogs’ Home” Mario Ortiz-Robles, “Animal Acts: 1822, 1835, 1849, 1850, 1854, 1876, 1900″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
5 May 1821 |
Death of NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte died on 5 May 1821 while in Exile on the island of Saint Helena. Image: Horace Vernet, Napoleon on his Death Bed (1826). |
Dino Franco Felluga | ||
1820 |
Ode on a Grecian UrnWritten by John Keats |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
1820 |
George IV becomes KingAfter serving as Regent for years, he eventually becomes King when his father dies. |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
30 Dec 1819 |
Gag Acts
Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
15 Nov 1819 |
Simultaneous Scottish radical meetingsOn 15 November 1819, simultaneous radical meetings occurred at Paisley, Glasgow, and other locations across Scotland. Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1 Nov 1819 |
Simultaneous radical meetingsOn 1 November 1819, simultaneous meetings were held, by prior agreement, at Newcastle, Carlisle, Leeds Halifax, Manchester, Bolton, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, and elsewhere in England and Scotland. Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
16 Aug 1819 |
Peterloo massacre
Related ArticlesJames Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″ Sean Grass, “On the Death of the Duke of Wellington, 14 September 1852″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
12 Jul 1819 |
Britain approves settlement scheme to South AfricaOn 12 July 1819, the British government approved £50,000 for a settlement scheme to South Africa's eastern Cape. Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
26 Sep 1818 |
First medical blood transfusion between humans
ArticlesMatthew Rowlinson, “On the First Medical Blood Transfusion Between Human Subjects, 1818″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1 Apr 1817 |
First number of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine
ArticlesMichelle Allen-Emerson, “On Magazine Day” Related Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
Dec 1815 |
Emma
ArticlesAnne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″ |
David Rettenmaier | ||
2 Mar 1815 |
Corn Law Act
The Corn Law Act of 1815 prohibited the importation of grain when the prices in the domestic market were high. The Act was repealed on 25 June 1846. Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
6 Apr 1814 to 26 Feb 1815 |
Napoleon exiled to ElbaNapoleon was exiled to Elba, an island in the Meditteranean, after he abdicated on 6 April 1814. He spent nine months and 21 days on the island, then attempted to retake his empire, leaving the island on 26 February 1815. Napoleon was definitively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815. |
Dino Franco Felluga | ||
1813 |
Pride and PrejudiceWritten by Jane Austen |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
1812 to 1815 |
1812 WarWar between Britain and United States |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
16 Oct 1811 |
National Society for the Education of Poor Children foundedOn 16 October 1811, the National Society for the Education of Poor Children in the Principles of the Established Church (the Church of England) was founded to establish “National Schools.” According to their founders, poor children were to be taught to avoid vice and behave in an orderly manner within their station. To limit costs, the monitorial system was employed, by which more advanced pupils taught younger ones. Related ArticlesFlorence S. Boos, “The Education Act of 1870: Before and After” |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1811 to 1820 |
The RegencyGeorge, Prince of Wales, acts as regent for George III, who has been declared incurably insane |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
1807 |
British slave trade outlawedSlave trade outlawed (but not slavery itself) |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
26 May 1805 |
Napoleon made king of Italy
In a flamboyant and highly theatrical gesture, Napoleon Bonaparte signifies his political and military dominance over the Italian peninsula with a ceremony in Milan Cathedral, where he crowned himself King of Italy with the ancient, iconic iron crown of Lombardy. This crowning of Napoleon as King is a result of the French conquest of Italy. His full title was "Emperor of the French and King of Italy." ArticlesAlison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento" Related Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1802 |
William Wordsworth's Lyrical BalladsWilliam Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads, 3rd edition, containing the expanded and final version of the famous "Preface," one of the founding theoretical statements of the Romantic poetical movement. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright is expired. https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Lyrical-Ballads-Pastoral-Poems-Vo... Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1801 |
1801 Ireland joins Great BritainParliamentary Union of Ireland and Great Britain. Act of Union passed in 1800, took effect in 1801 |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
Jan 1801 |
Inclosure Act
ArticlesCarolyn Lesjak, "1750 to the Present: Acts of Enclosure and Their Afterlife" (forthcoming) |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1798 |
Rebellion in IrelandUprising against British rule in Ireland, had help of French but were eventually defeated |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
1794 |
Songs of Innocence and of ExperienceWritten by William Blake The Songs of Innocence was originally etched in 1789, but was combined with additional poems in 1794 as Songs of Innocence and of Experience |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
5 Sep 1793 to 27 Jul 1794 |
Reign of Terror
On 5 September 1793, the National Convention, France’s ruling body from 1793 to 1795, officially put into effect terror measures in order to subdue opposition to and punish insufficient support for the revolution and the new regime. From the autumn of 1793 until the summer of 1794, thousands of people across the country were imprisoned and executed (including the Queen) under the ruthless leadership of Maximilien Robespierre. The guillotine, particularly the one in Paris’s Place de la Révolution, served as the bloody emblem of the fear tactics that began to manifest themselves first in the formation of the Committee of Public Safety (6 April 1793) and subsequently in the implementation of the Law of Suspects (17 September 1793). The Terror ended on 27 July 1794 with the overthrow of Robespierre, who was guillotined the next day. ArticlesDiane Piccitto, "On 1793 and the Aftermath of the French Revolution" |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1 Jan 1792 |
Vindication of the Rights of Woman
ArticlesAnne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" Related Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1791 |
Epistle to William Wilberforce, Esq. on the Rejection of the Bill for Abolishing the Slave TradeWritten by Anna Letitia Barbauld |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
5 May 1789 to 10 Nov 1799 |
French Revolution
On 5 May 1789, the Estates-General, representing the nobility, the clergy, and the common people, held a meeting at the request of the King to address France’s financial difficulties. At this meeting, the Third Estate (the commoners) protested the merely symbolic double representation that they had been granted by the King. This protest resulted in a fracture among the three estates and precipitated the French Revolution. On 17 June, members of the Third Estate designated themselves the National Assembly and claimed to represent the people of the nation, thus preparing the way for the foundation of the republic. Several pivotal events followed in quick succession: the storming of the Bastille (14 July), the approval of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (26 August), and the march on Versailles that led to the enforced relocation of the royal family to Paris (5-6 October). These revolutionary acts fired the imagination of many regarding the political future of France, and, indeed, all of Europe. The republican period of the revolution continued in various phases until 9-10 November 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte supplanted the government. ArticlesDiane Piccitto, "On 1793 and the Aftermath of the French Revolution" |
David Rettenmaier | ||
Jan 1789 |
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1789 |
Written in the Church-Yard at Middleton in SussexWritten by Charlotte Smith, included in her collection Elegiac Sonnets |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
9 Apr 1787 |
First settlers depart for Sierra Leone
Articles |
David Rettenmaier | ||
May 1781 |
Sunday Observance Act
Passage of this Act, formally titled “Act for Preventing Certain Abuses and Profanations on the Lord’s Day, Called Sunday,” had a powerful, repressive effect on British society and culture for more than a century-and-a-half, as noted by both its proponent (Bishop Beilby Porteus) and its many Victorian critics, among them John Stuart Mill in On Liberty. ArticlesChristopher Lane, "On the Victorian Afterlife of the 1781 Sunday Observance Act" |
David Rettenmaier | ||
1775 to 1783 |
American RevolutionAmerican colonies rebel against British rule |
Stacey Kikendall | ||
1773 |
A Mouse's PetitionWritten by Anna Letitia Barbauld around 1771, published in 1773 |
Stacey Kikendall |