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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1620 | - 21 Dec 1620—21 Dec 1620: The Mayflower reaches America - founds Plymouth, New England (had set sail from Southampton on Aug 5)
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| 2 | 1625 | - 27 Mar 1625—27 Mar 1625: Death of King James VI & I
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| 3 | 1639 | - 1639—1639: Act of Toleration in England established religious toleration
|
| 4 | 1642 | - 1642—1642: The Civil War interrupted the keeping of parish registers
- 13 Nov 1642—13 Nov 1642: Battle of Turnham Green. Royalist forces withdraw from the Parliamentarian army and London
|
| 5 | 1644 | - 29 Jun 1644—29 Jun 1644: Battle of Cropredy Bridge - Royalists beat the Parliamentarian forces
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| 6 | 1646 | - 5 May 1646—5 May 1646: Charles I surrenders to the Scottish Army at Newark
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| 7 | 1648 | - 1648—1648: Society of Friends (Quakers) founded by George Fox
|
| 8 | 1649 | - 1649—1649: Cromwell's Irish campaign starts
- 1649—1649: King Charles II proclaimed King of Scots and England in Scotland
- 6 Jan 1649—6 Jan 1649: 'Rump' Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial
- 30 Jan 1649—30 Jan 1649: King Charles I executed
- 19 May 1649—19 May 1649: Commonwealth declared
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| 9 | 1651 | - 1651—1651: The second English Civil War 1651-1652
|
| 10 | 1653 | - 1653—1653: Commonwealth registers start
- 1653—1653: Provincial probate courts abolished - probates granted only in London
|
| 11 | 1660 | - 1660—1660: Commonwealth registers ended, Parish Registers resumed
- 1660—1660: Provincial Probate Courts re-established
- 1660—1660: Honourable East India Company founded by British
- 29 May 1660—29 May 1660: Restoration of British monarchy (Charles II) - 'Oak Apple Day' - theatres
reopened
|
| 12 | 1661 | - 1661—1661: Corporation Act prevents non-Anglicans from holding municipal office
|
| 13 | 1662 | - 1662—1662: 'Hearth Tax' introduced - until 1689 (1690 in Scotland)
- 1662—1662: Poor Relief Act or Act of Settlement' - gave JPs the power to return any wandering
poor to the parish of origin (repealed 1834)
|
| 14 | 1665 | - 1665—1665: Great Plague of London (July-October) kills over 60,000
|
| 15 | 1666 | - 2 Sep 1666—2 Sep 1666: Great Fire of London, after a drought beginning 27 June (2-6 Sep)
|
| 16 | 1673 | - 1673—1673: First Test Act deprives British Catholics and Non-conformists of Public Office
|
| 17 | 1675 | - 1675—1675: Rebuilding of St Paul's started by Wren
|
| 18 | 1681 | - 1681—1681: Second Test Act (against non-conformists) passed by Westminster Parliament
|
| 19 | 1682 | - 1682—1682: Pennsylvania founded by William Penn
|
| 20 | 1685 | - 1685—1685: James the Second (1685-1689, died 1701) - Monmouth rebellion and battle of
Sedgemoor - British Army raised to 20,000 men
- 1685—1685: Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assizes - 320 executed, 800 transported
|
| 21 | 1688 | - 1688—1688: Hearth Tax abolished
- Nov 1688—Nov 1688: The Glorious Revolution: James II abdicates
- 5 Nov 1688—5 Nov 1688: William of Orange lands at Torbay
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| 22 | 1689 | - 13 Feb 1689—13 Feb 1689: William III and Mary II, daughter of James II, jointly take the throne (only William, however, has regal power)
- 24 May 1689—24 May 1689: Toleration Act passed for Protestant non-conformists
|
| 23 | 1690 | - 20 May 1690—20 May 1690: England passes Act of Grace, forgiving Roman Catholic followers of James II
|
| 24 | 1692 | - 1692—1692: Land Tax introduced - an annual tax on personal estate, public offices and land.
|
| 25 | 1694 | - 1694—1694: Mary II death leaves William III as sole ruler
|
| 26 | 1695 | - 1695—1695: Freedom of Press in England granted
- 1695—1695: Start of Dissenters' lists in parish registers, children born but not christened in the parish church, some were named 'Papist' and others 'Protestants'
|
| 27 | 1698 | - 1698—1698: Duties (taxes) on entries in parish registers - repealed after five years
|
| 28 | 1701 | - 1701—1701: Act of Settlement bars Catholics from the British throne
|
| 29 | 1702 | - 11 Mar 1702—11 Mar 1702: First English daily newspaper The Daily Courant (till 1735)
|
| 30 | 1707 | - 16 Jan 1707—16 Jan 1707: Union with Scotland - Scots agree to send 16 peers and 45 MPs to English
Parliament
|
| 31 | 1710 | - 1710—1710: Tax on Apprentice Indentures introduced
|
| 32 | 1711 | - 11 Aug 1711—11 Aug 1711: First race meeting at Ascot
|
| 33 | 1712 | - 1712—1712: Toleration Act passed - first relief to non-Anglicans
|
| 34 | 1714 | - 1714—1714: Landholders forced to take the Oath of Allegiance and renounce Roman Catholicism
|
| 35 | 1715 | - 1 Aug 1715—1 Aug 1715: Riot Act passed
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| 36 | 1723 | - 1723—1723: The Workhouse Act or Test - to get relief, a poor person has to enter Workhouse
|
| 37 | 1727 | - 11 Jun 1727—11 Jun 1727: George I dies - George II Hanover becomes king
|
| 38 | 1733 | - 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in
Latin for a few years
|
| 39 | 1739 | - 1739—1739: Wesley and Whitefield commence great Methodist revival
|
| 40 | 1741 | - 1741—1741: Benjamin Ingham founded the Moravian Methodists or Inghamites - Earliest Moravian
registers
|
| 41 | 1752 | - 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and
Scotland, making this Sep 14
|
| 42 | 1754 | - 1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns required & Printed Marriage Register forms used. Quakers & Jews were exempt
|
| 43 | 1759 | - 1759—1759: Wesley builds 356 Methodist chapels
|
| 44 | 1760 | - 25 Oct 1760—25 Oct 1760: George II dies - George III Hanover, his grandson, becomes king.
|
| 45 | 1780 | - 1780—1780: Male Servants Tax
|
| 46 | 1783 | - 1783—1783: Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in
entries!
|
| 47 | 1784 | - 2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
|
| 48 | 1785 | - 1785—1785: Sunday School Society founded to educate poor children.
|
| 49 | 1788 | - 1788—1788: Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be a minimum of 8 years old.
- 26 Jan 1788—26 Jan 1788: First convicts & free settlers arrive in New South Wales, eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip
|
| 50 | 1792 | - 1792—1792: Repression in Britain (restrictions on freedom of the press)
- 1 Dec 1792—1 Dec 1792: King's Proclamation drawing out the British militia
|
| 51 | 1793 | - 15 Apr 1793—15 Apr 1793: £5 notes first issued by the Bank of England
|
| 52 | 1794 | - 1794—1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties
|
| 53 | 1795 | - 1795—1795: The Famine Year
|
| 54 | 1796 | - 1796—1796: Pitt's Reign of Terror': More treason trials - leading radicals emigrate
- 1796—1796: Legacy Tax on sums over £20 excluding those to wives, children, parents and
grandparents
|
| 55 | 1798 | - 1798—1798: First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner
|
| 56 | 1801 | - 1801—1801: Grand Union Canal opens in England
- 10 Mar 1801—10 Mar 1801: First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural)
|
| 57 | 1803 | - 1803—1803: Poaching made a Capital offense in England if capture resisted
|
| 58 | 1805 | - 21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
|
| 59 | 1811 | - 5 Feb 1811—5 Feb 1811: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane
|
| 60 | 1815 | - 18 Jun 1815—18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena
|
| 61 | 1816 | - 1816—1816: For the first time British silver coins were produced with an intrinsic value substantially
below their face value
- 1816—1816: Large scale emigration to North America
|
| 62 | 1819 | - 1819—1819: Britain returns to gold standard
|
| 63 | 1820 | - 29 Jan 1820—29 Jan 1820: Accession of George IV, previously Prince Regent
- 1 Aug 1820—1 Aug 1820: Regent's Canal in London opens
|
| 64 | 1828 | - 25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828: St Katharine Docks in London opened.
|
| 65 | 1829 | - 1829—1829: London Metropolitan Police Force formed, nicknamed 'Bobbies' after Sir Robert Peel
|
| 66 | 1831 | - 1831—1831: A list of all parish registers dating prior to 1813 compiled
- 1 Aug 1831—1 Aug 1831: 'New' London Bridge opens, replacing the 600 year old bridge.
|
| 67 | 1832 | - 1832—1832: Electoral Registers introduced
|
| 68 | 1833 | - 29 Aug 1833—29 Aug 1833: Factory Act forbids employment of children below age of 9
|
| 69 | 1834 | - 1 May 1834—1 May 1834: Slavery abolished in British possessions
|
| 70 | 1835 | - 1835—1835: First railway growth period in Britain with construction of G. W. R.
|
| 71 | 1837 | - 20 Jun 1837—20 Jun 1837: William IV dies - accession of Queen Victoria
- 1 Jul 1837—1 Jul 1837: Compulsory registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths in England & Wales -
Civil Registration Districts were formed
|
| 72 | 1840 | - 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
|
| 73 | 1841 | - 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
|
| 74 | 1851 | - 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
|
| 75 | 1853 | - 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
|
| 76 | 1856 | - 29 Jan 1856—29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts
during the Crimean War
|
| 77 | 1859 | - 1859—1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain
- 4 May 1859—4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon
and Cornwall
- 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
|
| 78 | 1860 | - 29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
|
| 79 | 1861 | - 25 May 1861—25 May 1861: American Civil War begins
|
| 80 | 1862 | - 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
|
| 81 | 1864 | - 20 Aug 1864—20 Aug 1864: Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention
|
| 82 | 1865 | - 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865: William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
|
| 83 | 1870 | - 1870—1870: GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
- 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
- 1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870: First British postcard - halfpenny post
|
| 84 | 1872 | - 1872—1872: Licensing hours introduced
- 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
|
1872 - 1872
