Timeline: Race, Gender, Class, Sex

course logoThis timeline is part of ENGL 202's build assignment. Research a topic that teaches us something about race, class, gender, or sexuality and then contribute what you have learned to our shared class resource. As the assignment states, "Add one timeline element, one map element and one gallery image about race, class, gender, or sex to our collective resources in COVE Editions. Provide images, sources and sufficient detail to explain the historical or cultural element that you are presenting. Interlink the three objects." A few timeline elements have already been added (borrowing from BRANCH). 

Timeline

Chronological table

Displaying 1 - 50 of 71
Datesort descending Event Created by Associated Places
9 Apr 1787

First settlers depart for Sierra Leone

Free Slaves in Sierra LeoneOn 9 April 1787, 451 people set sail to establish a “Province of Freedom” in Africa, later to become Sierra Leone. Image: An illustration of liberated slaves arriving in Sierra Leone, from the 1835 book, A System of School Geography Chiefly Derived from Malte-Brun, by Samuel Griswold Goodrich. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

Articles

Isaac Land, “On the Foundings of Sierra Leone, 1787-1808″

David Rettenmaier
Jan 1789

Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

engraving for Equiano's Interesting Life1789 saw the publication of Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Exact month of publication unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information. The book describes Equiano's time as a slave and his life after achieving his freedom. Image: Engraving for Equiano's Interesting Narrative. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

Articles

Isaac Land, “On the Foundings of Sierra Leone, 1787-1808″

David Rettenmaier
1 Jan 1792

Vindication of the Rights of Woman

In January 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which laid out the tenets of what today we call ‘equality’ or ‘liberal’ feminist theory. She further promoted a new model of the nation grounded on a family politics produced by egalitarian marriages. Image: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman title page from the first American edition, 1792 (Library of Congress).  This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

Related Articles

Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

David Rettenmaier
10 Sep 1797

Death of Wollstonecraft

Frontispiece from WollstonecraftDeath of Mary Wollstonecraft on 10 September 1797. Mary Shelley, Wollstonecraft’s second daughter, was born on August 30th, after which complications from childbirth set in. Wollstonecraft developed a fever, and died on September 10th. She was buried at St. Pancras Churchyard. Image: William Blake's frontispiece to the 1791 edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's Original Stories from Real Life. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

David Rettenmaier
Jan 1798

Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication

On January 1798, publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The publication of this first biography of Wollstonecraft causes a scandal and Godwin publishes a second “corrected” edition of the Memoirs in the summer of the same year.

Articles

Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

Related Articles

Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

David Rettenmaier
22 Jun 1802

Criminal Jurisdiction Act passed

British Coat of ArmsAn amendment of the Colonial Governors Act (1700), the Criminal Jurisdiction Act holds colonial officials accountable to the Court of King’s Bench in England for crimes committed in the colonies. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
18 Jan 1819

St. Peter's Field meeting

On 18 January 1819, Henry Hunt presided at a meeting of 8,000 operatives on St. Peter’s Field in Manchester.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
15 Feb 1819

Sandy Brow Fight

On 15 February 1819, William Fitton presided at a public meeting at Sandy Brow in Stockport (the so-called “Sandy Brow Fight”), number present not known, where a scuffle involving stones and brickbats occurred over an attempt by the military to seize the Cap of Liberty; the Riot Act was read three times.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
14 Jun 1819

Ashton-under-Lyne meeting

On 14 June 1819, Joseph Harrison presided at a meeting of 12,000–15,000 at Ashton-under-Lyne; this was typical of a spate of June meetings at Oldham, Bolton, Royton, Bury, Heywood, Stockport, Failsworth, Gee Cross, Lees, Middleton, Rochdale, Todmorden, Barnsley, Holmfirth, Leeds, and other towns that were unrepresented in Parliament.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
16 Jun 1819

Glasgow meeting of weavers

On 16 June 1819, 40,000 weavers met at Glasgow to petition the Prince Regent for passage money to Canada for the unemployed.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
28 Jun 1819

Stockport meeting

On 28 June 1819, at the great Stockport meeting, the largest of its kind besides Peterloo, upwards of 20,000 assembled to hear Sir Charles Wolseley speak on Parliamentary reform.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
16 Aug 1819

Peterloo massacre

print depicting the Peterloo MassacreOn 16 August 1819, at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, more than 60,000 workers gathered to demonstrate in favor of an expansion of suffrage in England. In an attempt to disperse the crowd and arrest the organizers of the demonstration, local cavalry and members of the 15th Hussars and 88th Foot attacked the crowd, killing a dozen protestors and injuring as many as 600. Though Wellington was not involved, the incident was dubbed “Peterloo” because of his persistent opposition to reform in the House of Lords. Image: Richard Carlisle, To Henry Hunt, Esq., as chairman of the emeeting assembled in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, sixteenth day of August, 1819, and to the female Reformers of Manchester and the adjacent towns who were exposed to and suffered from the wanton and fiendish attack made on them by that brutal armed force, the Manchester and Cheshire Yeomanry Cavalry, this plate is dedicated by their fellow labourer, Richard Carlile: a coloured engraving that depicts the Peterloo Massacre (1 October 1819), Manchester Library Services. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Related Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

Sean Grass, “On the Death of the Duke of Wellington, 14 September 1852″

David Rettenmaier
2 Sep 1819

Westminster meeting

On 2 September 1819, 15,000–50,000 people assembled in Westminster and were addressed by Francis Burdett and Major Cartwright. The Examiner for that date confirmed 2 September as the correct date. This followed a smaller protest meeting at Smithfield the week before.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
1 Nov 1819

Simultaneous radical meetings

On 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

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
15 Nov 1819

Simultaneous Scottish radical meetings

On 15 November 1819, simultaneous radical meetings occurred at Paisley, Glasgow, and other locations across Scotland.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
30 Dec 1819

Gag Acts

British Coat of ArmsOn 30 December 1819, the British parliament passed the Six Acts (or Gag Acts), which labeled any meeting for radical reform as “an overt act of treasonable conspiracy.” The acts were aimed at gagging radical newspapers (the Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act, the Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act, and the Misdemeanors Act), preventing large meetings (the Seditious Meetings Prevention Act), and reducing what the government saw as the possibility of armed insurrection (the Training Prevention Act and the Seizure of Arms Act). Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

David Rettenmaier
29 Aug 1833

Slavery Abolition Act

British Coat of ArmsThe Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 received the Royal Assent (which means it became law) on 29 August 1833. The Act outlawed slavery throughout the British Empire; Britain’s colonial slaves were officially emancipated on 1 August 1834 when the law came into force, although most entered a form of obligatory apprenticeship that ended in 1840. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
14 Jun 1839

First Chartist Petition

Depiction of Chartist UprisingOn 14 June 1839, the First Chartist Petition was presented to the House of Commons. The Petition was summarily rejected without a hearing on 12 July 1839. The Petition sought universal male suffrage, a secret ballot, and parliamentary reform. Image: Engraving depicting a Chartist riot from 1886 book True Stories of the Reign of Queen Victoria by Cornelius Brown. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Chris R. Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

Related Articles

Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”

David Rettenmaier
Nov 1839

Newport Uprising

Chartists attacking Westgate HotelNewport uprising on 3-4 November 1839. This was an armed uprising in support of the Chartist Petition. A few months after the rejection of the first Chartist petition, 9,000 laborers—some of them ignorant of the intentions of their leaders—marched into Newport with the plan of taking control of the town, but were quickly routed by local forces. Image: The attack of the Chartists on the Westgate Hotel, Newport, Mon. Nov 4th 1839. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Chris R. Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

Related Articles

Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”

David Rettenmaier
2 May 1842

Second Chartist Petition

Depiction of Chartist UprisingPresentation of the Second Chartist Petition to the House of Commons on 2 May 1842. Like the first Chartist Petition, which was presented in June 1839, this was rejected without a hearing on the next day, 3 May 1842. Image: Engraving depicting a Chartist riot from 1886 book True Stories of the Reign of Queen Victoria by Cornelius Brown. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Chris R. Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

Related Articles

Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”

David Rettenmaier
8 Aug 1842

Manchester strike

Depiction of Chartist UprisingManchester strikes began on 8 August 1842. Following the rejection of the second petition, the Chartists sought to join forces with striking workers in the industrial region around Manchester, who were protesting a reduction in wages, but once again government forces moved quickly to suppress the ensuing riots. Image: Engraving depicting a Chartist riot from 1886 book True Stories of the Reign of Queen Victoria by Cornelius Brown. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Chris R. Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

Related Articles

Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”

David Rettenmaier
Apr 1846

Formation of the Chartist Land Company

Blue Plaque to O'ConnorvilleIn April 1846, the Chartist National Delegates Meeting approved the formation of the Chartist Cooperative Land Company. The Chartist Land Company was a large-scale, explicitly political version of freehold societies. Conceived by the Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor in 1842, the Company, like freehold societies, purchased large tracts of land through subscriptions and then sold smaller parcels to subscribers. It attempted to re-create village life by building cottages, hospitals, and schools, and setting aside one hundred acres for common use. Image: Plaque commemorating Feargus O'Connor at Heronsgate, Hertfordshire. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Articles

Ellen Rosenman, “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons”


Chris R. Vanden Bossche, “On Chartism”

David Rettenmaier
17 Aug 1846

Opening festival for O’Connorville

Blue Plaque to O'Connorville17 August 1846 saw the opening festival for O’Connorville, the first Chartist settlement. Image: Plaque commemorating Feargus O'Connor at Heronsgate, Hertfordshire. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Articles

Ellen Rosenman, “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons”

Chris R. Vanden Bossche, “On Chartism”

David Rettenmaier
10 Apr 1848

Chartist Rally, Kennington

Poster for Chartist DemonstrationOn 10 April 1848, Chartists rally on Kennington Common, south London. Image: Poster advertising the "Monster" Chartist Demonstration, held on 10 April 1848, proceeding to Kennington Common, Rodney Mace, British Trade Union Posters: An Illustrated History. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Led by Feargus O’Connor, an estimated 25,000 Chartists meet on Kennington Common planning to march to Westminster to deliver a monster petition in favor of the six points of the People’s Charter. Police block bridges over the Thames containing the marchers south of the river, and the demonstration is broken up with some arrests and violence. However, the large scale revolt widely predicted and feared fails to materialize.

Articles

Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”

Chris Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

David Rettenmaier
1 Jul 1848

Trial of Chartist leaders

Portrait of Ernest Charles JonesTrial and conviction of the prominent Chartist Ernest Jones and other Chartist leaders, July 1848. Image: A daguerrotype of Ernest Charles Jones, taken in the 1850s. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

The summer of 1848 witnesses violence as Chartist leaders are arrested and secret plots against the government are infiltrated. By the end of August, after the arrest of several hundred Chartists and Irish Confederates, the movement for violent uprising in England is broken.

Articles

Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”


Chris Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

David Rettenmaier
Dec 1849

Carlyle's "Negro Question"

Photo of CarlyleOn December 1849, Thomas Carlyle published “Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question” in Fraser’s Magazine; the article was later republished in his Critical and Miscellaneous Essays as “On the Nigger Question.” Image: Photograph of Thomas Carlyle, circa 1860s, by Eliott & Fry. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
29 Spring 1851

“Ain’t I a Woman?” Speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention

On May 29th, 1851, Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women’s rights activist, delivered her famous “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.

This convention was one of many that brought together a variety of activists who later helped to win the passage of the 19th amendment. The activists at this convention were inspired by the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments created at the Seneca Falls convention of 1848. This Declaration described women’s grievances and demands for their rights to equality as U.S. citizens, and the conversation continued in Akron, Ohio. The Ohio Women’s Rights Convention is most well known for being the venue in which Sojourner’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech took place.

Though there are different versions of her speech, one published a month after the speech was given, by Reverend Marius Robinson, and one twelve years after the speech was given, published by Frances Gage, both touch on the intersectionality that exists between feminism and anti-racism. In Gage’s inaccurate transcript, Truth says “I think that betwixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North all talking about rights, these white men going to be in a fix pretty soon.” In Robinson’s historically correct transcript, Truth says “But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between-a hawk and a buzzard.” Both versions of Sojourner Truth’s speech present the idea of white feminists and black feminists working together to simultaneously defeat the patriarchy and abolish slavery, rather than to let white feminism drown out black women’s voices.

Podell, Leslie. “Compare the Two Speeches.” The Sojourner Truth Project, www.thesojournertruthproject.com/compare-the-speeches/.

History.com Editors. “Seneca Falls Convention.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 10 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/seneca-falls-convention.

“Ain't I A Woman?” Learning for Justice, www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/aint-i-a-woman.

Arden Woodall
Aug 1851

Chancery Court orders closing of O’Connorville

Blue Plaque to O'ConnorvilleIn August 1851, Chancery Court ordered the closing of O’Connorville, the first Chartist settlement. Image: Plaque commemorating Feargus O'Connor at Heronsgate, Hertfordshire. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Articles

Ellen Rosenman, “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons”


Chris R. Vanden Bossche, “On Chartism”

David Rettenmaier
10 May 1857 to 20 Jun 1858

Indian Uprising

print of the hanging of two rebelsThe Indian Rebellion or Uprising, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny, began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions. It was not contained until the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858. Image: Felice Beato, Print of the hanging of two rebels, 1858 (albumen silver print). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Priti Joshi, “1857; or, Can the Indian ‘Mutiny’ Be Fixed?”

Related Articles

Julie Codell, “On the Delhi Coronation Durbars, 1877, 1903, 1911″

Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, “The Moxon Tennyson as Textual Event: 1857, Wood Engraving, and Visual Culture”

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
Jun 1858

Sale of the final piece of Chartist property

June 1858 saw the sale of the final piece of Chartist property, definitively bringing to an end the efforts of the Chartist Cooperative Land Company. The Chartist Land Company was a large-scale, explicitly political version of freehold societies. Conceived by the Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor in 1842, the Company, like freehold societies, purchased large tracts of land through subscriptions and then sold smaller parcels to subscribers. It attempted to re-create village life by building cottages, hospitals, and schools, and setting aside one hundred acres for common use.

Articles

Ellen Rosenman, “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons”

Chris R. Vanden Bossche, “On Chartism”

David Rettenmaier
23 Nov 1861

Birth of Clemence Annie Housman

Cropped newspaper photo of Clemence Housman wearing suffrage buttons and standing in front of a suffrage banner
Cropped Image of Clemence Housman circa 1910. Wikimedia Commons

Clemence Annie Housman was born in Bromsgrove, England, on November 23, 1861. Saint Clement’s Day in the liturgical calendar marks the traditional beginning of winter. Housman was the third child and oldest girl in a family of seven children, the eldest of whom was A.E. Housman (1859-1936), the poet. Clemence was very close to the second youngest of her siblings, Laurence Housman (1865-1959), with whom she lived and worked her entire life. In addition to writing novels, Houseman was a wood engraver and an activist in the feminist movement for female suffrage. (Oakley, Inseparable Siblings)

 

Lorraine Kooistra
2 Oct 1865

George William Gordon executed

Gordon, a Jamaican former slave and elected member of the Jamaica House of Assembly, is executed by hanging after a court martial condemns him to death for his alleged role in encouraging the Morant Bay rebellion.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
11 Oct 1865

Morant Bay Rebellion

Photo of John EyreA rebellion by Black peasants against unjust treatment by Jamaican courts breaks out at Morant Bay, Jamaica on 11 October 1865. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
Dec 1865

“Jamaica Committee”

Photo of John EyreThe Jamaica Committee, a coalition of politicians, writers, and scientists, is organized to seek governmental and legal accountability for the actions undertaken by Governor Edward John Eyre and his subordinates during thirty days of martial law in the aftermath of the Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
2 Jul 1866

Hyde Park demonstration

Hyde Park Demonstration of the Major Reform League on 23 July 1866. After the British government banned a meeting organized to press for voting rights, 200,000 people entered the Park and clashed with police and soldiers.

Related Articles

Peter Melville Logan, “On Culture: Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy, 1869″

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
11 Feb 1867

Trafalgar Square demonstration

Major Reform League march and demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London on 11 February 1867.

Related Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
27 Mar 1867

Edward John Eyre indictment hearing

Photo of John EyreThe Jamaica Committee’s first attempted indictment, at Market Drayton in Shropshire, of Edward John Eyre, ex-Governor of Jamaica, for the murder of George William Gordon; hearing ends in Eyre’s discharge by the grand jury. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
11 Apr 1867

Nelson and Brand charges dismissed

A Middlesex grand jury at London’s Old Bailey criminal court dismissed charges brought by the Jamaica Committee against Colonel Abercrombie Nelson and Lieutenant Herbert Brand for the murder (via illegal court martial) of George William Gordon at Morant Bay, Jamaica in October 1865. The trial was a result of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 11 October 1865.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
15 Aug 1867

Second Reform Act

British Coat of ArmsOn 15 August 1867, the Representation of the People Act, 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act), received the royal assent. This act increased the electorate of England and Wales to approximately one man in three, theoretically including substantial numbers of working-class men. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Janice Carlisle, "On the Second Reform Act, 1867"

Related Articles

Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Herbert F. Tucker, "On Event"

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
Jun 1868

Edward John Eyre acquitted

Photo of John Eyre3 June 1868 saw the last, unsuccessful action against Edward John Eyre. This was the final effort by the Jamaica Committee to prosecute ex-Governor of Jamaica Edward John Eyre under the Colonial Governors Act for abuse of power in imposing an extended period of martial law during the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion; the case is sent forward to a grand jury, but Eyre is not indicted. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
Jun 1870

Civil suit against Edward John Eyre nullified

Photo of John EyreAppeal before the Exchequer Chamber of the civil suit brought by Jamaican citizen Alexander Phillips against ex-Governor of Jamaica, Edward John Eyre, for assault, battery and false imprisonment during martial law from October 13 to November 13, 1865 at Morant Bay, Jamaica, results in the upholding of the Jamaica Assembly’s Indemnity Act for military and administrative actions under martial law, nullifying Phillips’s right to sue Eyre in English courts. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

David Rettenmaier
14 Aug 1885

Criminal Law Amendment Act

British Coat of ArmsCriminal Law Amendment Act passed on 14 August 1885. The Act raised the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16 and introduced the misdemeanor of “gross indecency” to criminalize sexual acts between men in public or private. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Related Articles

Mary Jean Corbett, “On Crawford v. Crawford and Dilke, 1886″

Andrew Elfenbein, “On the Trials of Oscar Wilde: Myths and Realities”

David Rettenmaier
Apr 1895 to May 1895

Trials of Oscar Wilde

photo of WildeThe trials of Oscar Wilde, which occurred in April and May of 1895, have become legendary as a turning-point in the history of public awareness of homosexuality. By their close, Wilde had gone from being a triumphantly successful playwright to a ruined man, condemned to two years of hard labor for gross indecency. They garnered extensive coverage first in the London press and then in newspapers around the world; the story of the trials continues to be retold in ways that have persistent relevance for contemporary queer culture. Image: Photograph of Oscar Wilde, by Napoleon Sarony. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Andrew Elfenbein, “On the Trials of Oscar Wilde: Myths and Realities”

David Rettenmaier
14 Spring 1897 to 1933

The Rise of Gay Rights

The first gay-rights organization that was founded and recorded in history was in Berlin, called the Scientific-Humanitarian Commitee or Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee; WhK in German. It was founded in 1897, on the 14th or 15th of May, which was four days before Oscar Wilde's release from prison, and shut down in 1933. The founder of the Scientific-Humanitarian Commitee was Magnus Hirschfeld, who opened an Institute for Sexual Science in 1919, which was anticipated by decades of other scientific centres that specialized in sex research. Another notable thing that he did was sponsor the World League of Sexual Reform in 1928. Original members of the WhK included Hirschfeld, publisher Max Spohr, lawyer Eduard Oberg and writer Franz Joseph von Bülow, Adolf Brand, Benedict Friedländer, Hermann von Teschenberg and Kurt Hiller also joined the organization. There was a brief split in 1907, and In 1929, Hiller took over as chairman of the group from Hirschfeld. 

At its peak, the Scientific-Humanitarian Commitee had branches in approximately 25 cities in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. The Scientific-Humanitarian Commitee inspired many gay-rights organizations that came after it. Henry Gerber, who was a German Immigrant that served in the U.S. Army during World War I, was inspired to create his own gay-rights organization in 1924 called the Society for Human Rights, and it is considered the first documented gay rights organization in the United States. It was a very small group, but they did publish a few issues of a newsletter called “Friendship and Freedom,” and that is known as the country’s first gay-interest newsletter. 

The Society for Human Rights was very short lived and disbanded in 1925 after police raids. After that there were many organizations that came to be such as the Mattachine Society, founded in L.A. in 1950 and is regarded as the first viable U.S. gay rights organization. Also the Daughters of Bilitis, founded in San Francisco in 1955 as the first U.S. lesbian organization.

Encarnación, Omar G. “Gay Rights: Why Democracy Matters.” Journal of Democracy, Johns Hopkins University Press, 14 July 2014, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/549501/summary?casa_token=pFORmtmjcrgAAAAA%3AX9OojUdlp9XRFptTfbGHlk6Zkx4-3OqX7EkwTXcttL2s1Emd-OO0nmFSZ0yiFajqUTeQdE33.

History.com Editors. “Gay Rights.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 June 2017, https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/history-of-gay-rights.

“Gay Rights Movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/gay-rights-movement.

“Scientific-Humanitarian Committee Information.” WISSENSCHAFTLICH-HUMANITäRES KOMITEE - Encyclopedia Information, https://webot.org/info/en/?search=Wissenschaftlich-humanit%C3%A4res_Komitee.

Jessica Moya
18 Jul 1899 to 2 Aug 1899

The Newsboys Strike of 1899

  • 1898: the Spanish–American Warincreased newspaper sales, which led to several newspapers raising the cost of newsboy's bundles from 50¢ to 60¢. After sales dropped, most papers reduced their costs back to 50¢, except the World and the Journal.

 

  • July 18, 1899: a group of newsboys in Long Island City turned over a distribution wagon and declared a strike against the World and the Journal, asserting they would actively keep those papers from selling until prices were rolled back to 50¢ and would only sell other papers. The newsboys of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and other surrounding cities were quick to follow.
    • For a few days after the strike was declared, the newsboys used violence to keep people from selling those papers: any male caught selling the World or Journal was beaten, and his papers were destroyed, often police protection couldn’t save them.

 

  • July 24, 1899: a rally was held at Irving Hall and almost eight thousand newsboys from all over New York attended. Many people made speeches, the most notable being Louis "Kid Blink" Baletti who was seen as one of the leaders of the strike and union president David Simmons who read out the list of newsboys demands and told everyone listening that they would not end the strike until their conditions were met but also asked the strikers to use non-violent methods.
    • Simmons speech was heeded, and most strikers stopped using violent methods, however it was because they didn’t really need to after that. There were two major factors that helped in this: flyers which newsboys hung explaining their cause and other newspapers which had begun reporting on the strike. This garnered sympathy from the public, so the majority of people agreed with the newsboys stopped buying the Worldand Journal on their own.

 

  • July 26, 1899: a parade was supposed to take place where over 6,000 boys would march with a band and the lighting of fireworks, but this parade never happened as they couldn’t get a permit.

 

  • August 1, 1899: the Worldand Journal refused their conditions but offered a compromise: the newsboy bundle would stay priced at 60¢, but whatever papers they didn’t sell would be bought back.

 

  • August 2, 1899: This compromise was accepted by the newsboys which ended the strike.

 

Hicks, Greg. “University of North Carolina at Asheville. an Uncivil War: The New York City Newsboys Strike of PDF Free Download.” University of North Carolina at Asheville. An Uncivil War: The New York City Newsboys Strike of PDF Free Download, https://docplayer.net/34730531-University-of-north-carolina-at-asheville....

Newsboys' Strike of 1899 Explained, Everything.Explained.Today , https://everything.explained.today/Newsboys%27_strike_of_1899/.

Mackenzie Fischer
11 Oct 1899 to 31 May 1902

Second Boer War

Crane, Stop the WarOn 11 Oct 1899, war was declared between Britain and the Transvaal Republic and Orange Free State, two independent Boer nations in southern Africa. The Treaty of Vereeniging concluded the Second Boer War on 31 May 1902. The fighting had resulted in c. 45,000 British military casualties and around 40,000 combined military and civilian casualties among the Boers. Eight years later in 1910, the Union of South Africa made the region a dominion of the British Empire. Image: Walter Crane, “Stop the War,” page 297, The War Against War in South Africa, 23 February 1900, wood engraving, courtesy of Yale University.

Articles

Jo Briggs, “The Second Boer War, 1899-1902: Anti-Imperialism and European Visual Culture”

David Rettenmaier
17 May 1900

Siege of Mafeking lifted

Crane, Stop the WarOn 17 May 1900, after 217 days, the siege of the town of Mafeking, occupied by British forces, was lifted (as part of the Second Boer War). When news of the relief of the town reached London the following day, street celebrations lasted through the night. This event is often seen as marking the height of jingoism in Britain. Image: Walter Crane, “Stop the War,” page 297, The War Against War in South Africa, 23 February 1900, wood engraving, courtesy of Yale University.

Articles

Jo Briggs, “The Second Boer War, 1899-1902: Anti-Imperialism and European Visual Culture”

David Rettenmaier
30 Nov 1900

Death of Wilde

photo of Wilde30 November 1900 was the day Oscar Wilde died (in the Latin Quarter, Paris). Image: Photograph of Oscar Wilde. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ellen Crowell, “Oscar Wilde’s Tomb: Silence and the Aesthetics of Queer Memorial”

Related Articles

Andrew Elfenbein, “On the Trials of Oscar Wilde: Myths and Realities”

David Rettenmaier
Jun 1901

Hobhouse report on Second Boer War

Crane, Stop the WarFollowing a June 1901 report to the British government by Emily Hobhouse, news of high mortality rates among Boer women and children displaced by the scorched earth policy of the British army and placed in concentration camps began to appear in European newspapers, adding to the international outcry against the war. After the war, it was estimated that approximately 28,000 Boer civilians lost their lives in the camps through starvation, disease, and exposure. Image: Walter Crane, “Stop the War,” page 297, The War Against War in South Africa, 23 February 1900, wood engraving, courtesy of Yale University.

Articles

Jo Briggs, “The Second Boer War, 1899-1902: Anti-Imperialism and European Visual Culture”

David Rettenmaier
17 Jun 1911

Women's Suffrage Procession at Coronation of George V

Newspaper photo showing "From Prison to Citizenship" banner in Coronation Procession
The "From Prison to Citizenship" banner at the Women's Coronation Procession, London, 1911. Photo by the Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images.

In this famous suffrage procession marking the Coronation of George V, the banner designed by Laurence and created by Clemence in 1908 for the Kensington Women’s Social and Political Union made one of its numerous appearances in public parades. The striking banner, “From Prison to Citizenship,” features the suffragist colours, depicting a white figure on a purple background, decorated with green vines. The design was so popular it was also incorporated into a postcard for wider distribution. Clemence personally enacted this slogan later in 1911, when she spent a week in Holloway Prison for refusing to pay property taxes until she was granted full citizenship. Her act of civil disobedience did not grant her full citizenship, but it did add strength to the movement.  Some women got the vote in 1918, but it took until 1928 for universal female suffrage to be achieved in the United Kingdom  (Liddington, Vanishing).

Lorraine Kooistra

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