04 July, 2011

Regency Facts

1811
George IV begins nine-year tenure as Prince Regent. This sub-period of the Georgian era begins the formal Regency. The Duke of Wellington holds off the French at Fuentes d’Onoro and Albuhera in the Peninsular War. The Prince Regent holds a fete at nine p.m. June 19, 1811 at Carlton House in celebration of his assumption of the Regency. Luddite uprisings. Glasgow weavers riot.
1812
Spencer Perceval assassinated in the House of Commons. Final shipment of the Elgin Marbles arrives in England. Sarah Siddons retires from the stage. Shipping and territory disputes start the War of 1812 between England and the United States. The British are victorious over Spain at the Battle of Salamanca. The waltz is introduced from Europe into England. Gas company (Gas Light and Coke Company) founded.
1813
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is published. William Hedley’s Puffing Billy, the first steam locomotive, runs on smooth rails. Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry starts her ministry at Newgate Prison. Robert Southey becomes Poet Laureate.
1814
Invasion of France by allies leads to the Treaty of Paris, ending the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. The Duke of Wellington is honored at Burlington House in London. British soldiers burn the White House. Last River Thames Frost Fair is held, which was the last time the river froze. Gas lighting introduced in London streets.
1815
Napoleon I of France defeated by the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena. The English Corn Laws restrict corn imports. Sir Humphry Davy patents the miners’ safety lamp. John Macadam’s road construction method adopted.
1816
Income tax abolished. A “year without a summer” follows a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Mary Shelley writes Frankenstein. William Cobbett publishes his newspaper as a pamphlet. The British return Indonesia to the Dutch. Regent’s Canal, London, phase one of construction.
1817
Antonin CarĂªme creates a spectacular feast for the Prince Regent at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. The death of Princess Charlotte from complications of childbirth changes obstetrical practices. Beau Brummell escapes his creditors by fleeing to France. Elgin Marbles shown at the British Museum. Captain Bligh dies.
1818
Queen Charlotte dies at Kew. Manchester cotton spinners’ strike. Riot in Stanhope between lead miners and the Bishop of Durham’s men over Weardale gaming rights. Piccadilly Circus constructed in London.
1819
Peterloo Massacre. Princess Victoria (Future Queen Victoria) is christened in Kensington Palace. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott is published. Sir Stamford Raffles, a British administrator, founds Singapore. First steam-propelled vessel (The Savannah) crosses the Atlantic and arrives in Liverpool from Savannah, Georgia.
1820
Death of George III. Accession of George IV. The House of Commons and House of Lords pass a bill to grant George IV a divorce from Queen Caroline, but due to public pressure the bill is dropped, John Constable begins work on The Hay Wain. Cato Street Conspiracy fails. Royal Astronomical Society founded. Venus de Milo discovered.

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