THEME Art, design, literature, media and Music
Health of the population 1904
In 1904, the Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, wrote a report to look at the overall health of the UK population, particularly in respect of nutrition. The report was written following a document from the Director General of the Army Medical Services, in which he states his concern, that recruitment for troops for the Boer…
Read MoreFirst Lyons tea shop opens 1894
Lyons Tea Shops
Read MoreMarks and Spencers opens 1894
Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer open the first of their ‘Penny Bazaars’, at Cheetham Hill, Manchester. Marks arrived in Britain from Poland, penniless, illiterate and did not speak English. Spencer befriended him and lent him £5, which he used to start selling from market stalls. Their stores sold a range of household goods ‘don’t ask…
Read MoreDiamonds discovered South Africa 1869
Discovery South African diamonds 1869
Read MoreMacau reverts to Chinese rule from the Portuguese 1999
Macau reverts to Chinese rule in 1999
Read MoreQueen Victoria Dies 22nd January 1901
Queen Victoria died in 1901 and is succeeded be her son Edward VII
Read MoreGold is discovered in california 1848
On 24th January 1848, a man called James Marshall from New Jersey, was helping to build a sawmill on the America River for a man called Johann Sutter. He went to free the wheel in the millrace and saw, in the shallow pool that formed, a nuggett of gold, just over the size of a…
Read MoreMetropolitan Police Act 1839
The Metropolitan Police Act of 1839 gave greatly increased powers to the Metropolitan Police. The district over which it operated was increased to cover a 15 mile radius from Charing Cross. Constables were given ‘all powers and privileges’ in the counties of Berks, Bucks and on the River Thames. Within the Port of London they…
Read MoreMetropolitan Police 1829
The early years of the C19th saw a London riddled with crime. Petty thieving, beatings and murders, along with rioting, meant that London was a particularly unsavoury and unsafe place especially at night. Although there were foot patrols, whose main role it was to protect property, there was no overall organised policing unit. Sir Robert…
Read MoreUnrest in Europe 1848
The year of 1848 saw much unrest throughout Europe. The demands from the people for constitutional change and more equality, saw uprisings in Paris, all over Italy, Vienna, Prague and Germany. In Britain there is a revival of the Chartist movement.
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