1856 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1856 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1854 1854 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1854 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Aberdeen, Peelite-Events:* 21 January — Loss of the RMS Tayleur — 380 drowned, later dubbed "the first Titanic".... | 1855 1855 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1855 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch — Queen Victoria* Prime Minister — Earl of Aberdeen, Peelite , Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:... | 1856 | 1857 1857 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1857 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 7 January — London General Omnibus Company begins operating.... | 1858 1858 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1858 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , Earl of Derby, Conservative-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1856 English cricket season 1856 English cricket season The 1856 English cricket season began a run of success by a Surrey side that featured William Caffyn, Tom Lockyer, Edgar Willsher, HH Stephenson and Julius Caesar-First-class matches:* -Leading batsmen:... |
Events from the year 1856 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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Incumbents
- Monarch — Queen Victoria
- Prime Minister — Lord PalmerstonHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, LiberalLiberal Party (UK)The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Events
- January — The song Glan Rhondda which will become the national anthemNational anthemA national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Hen Wlad Fy NhadauHen Wlad Fy NhadauHen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the national anthem of Wales. The title – taken from the first words of the song – means "Old Land of My Fathers", usually rendered in English as simply "Land of My Fathers". The words were written by Evan James and the tune composed by his son, James James, both residents...
(Land of My Fathers), is composed by James JamesJames JamesJames James was a harpist and musician from Pontypridd, Wales. He composed the tune of the Welsh national anthem Hen Wlad fy Nhadau ....
with lyrics by his father Evan JamesEvan JamesEvan James , a weaver and poet from Pontypridd, Wales, wrote the lyrics of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau , the national anthem of Wales....
, both residents of PontypriddPontypriddPontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
. - 29 January — Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. - 4 February — The sailing ship Grand Duke is wrecked off St. Govan's Head in PembrokeshirePembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
with the loss of 29 lives.
- 5 March — Fire destroys Covent Garden Theatre in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 31 March — The Treaty of ParisTreaty of Paris (1856)The Treaty of Paris of 1856 settled the Crimean War between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, Second French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The treaty, signed on March 30, 1856 at the Congress of Paris, made the Black Sea neutral territory, closing it to all...
is signed, ending the Crimean WarCrimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. - 9 July — NatalColony of NatalThe Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
becomes a Crown ColonyCrown colonyA Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
. - 13 July — An underground explosionExplosionAn explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
at Cymmer Colliery in the RhonddaRhonddaRhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
kills 114. - 3 September — The Royal British BankRoyal British BankThe Royal British Bank was a British joint-stock bank, established under a Royal Charter in 1849, that collapsed in 1856, causing a scandal.In 1858 the eight directors — not including the bank's founder, John MacGregor, Member of Parliament for Glasgow, who had left the bank in 1854 and died in...
collapses with debts in excess of £500,000. - 8 October — The Second Opium WarSecond Opium WarThe Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
between several western powers, including the United Kingdom, and ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
begins with the Arrow Incident on the Pearl RiverPearl River (China)The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...
. - 1 November — Anglo-Persian WarAnglo-Persian WarThe Anglo-Persian War lasted between November 1, 1856 and April 4, 1857, and was fought between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Persia . In the war, the British opposed an attempt by Persia to reacquire the city of Herat...
: War is declared between Britain and Persia. - November — The first known rules of modern croquetCroquetCroquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
are registered by Isaac SprattIsaac SprattIsaac Spratt was a London toy dealer who wrote pamphlets describing the games of croquet and badminton and was influential in the early development of both.It is known he was born in Ibsley, Hampshire and was married with four children...
in London. - 1 December — Under the County and Borough Police ActCounty and Borough Police Act 1856The County and Borough Police Act 1856 was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act made it compulsory for a police force to be established in any county which had not previously formed a constabulary....
, in any county or area where a policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force has not already been established, the Justices of the PeaceJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
must from this date take steps to create one according to nationally defined standards. - 2 December — National Portrait Gallery, London, formally established.
- 9 December — BushehrBushehrBushehr Bushehr lies in a vast plain running along the coastal region on the Persian Gulf coast of southwestern Iran. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of its province. Its location is about south of Tehran. The local climate is hot and humid.The city...
surrenders to the British.
Unknown date events
- Robert MushetRobert Forester MushetRobert Forester Mushet was a British metallurgist and businessman, born April 8, 1811, in Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. He was the youngest son of Scottish parents, Agnes Wilson and David Mushet; an ironmaster, formerly of the Clyde, Alfreton and Whitecliff...
patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s an improvement to the Bessemer processBessemer processThe Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
for the production of steel. - Edward Stanley GibbonsEdward Stanley GibbonsEdward Stanley Gibbons was an English philatelist and founder of Stanley Gibbons Ltd, publishers of the famous Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue and other stamp-related books and magazines.-Early life:...
begins the sale of collectable postage stamps in his father's pharmacyPharmacyPharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
in PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, origin of the firm of Stanley Gibbons.
Publications
- Mrs CraikDinah CraikDinah Maria Craik was an English novelist and poet. She was born at Stoke-on-Trent and brought up in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.After the death of her mother in 1845, Dinah Maria Mulock settled in London about 1846...
's novel John Halifax, GentlemanJohn Halifax, GentlemanJohn Halifax, Gentleman is a novel by Dinah Craik, first published in 1856. The novel was adapted for television by the BBC in 1974.-Plot summary:...
. - Charles ReadeCharles ReadeCharles Reade was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth.-Life:Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring; William Winwood Reade the influential historian , was his nephew. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford,...
's novel It is Never too Late to Mend. - W. H. Smith's pamphlet Was Lord Bacon the Author of Shakespeare's Plays?, the start of Baconian theoryBaconian theoryThe Baconian theory of Shakespearean authorship holds that Sir Francis Bacon, lawyer, philosopher, essayist and scientist, wrote the plays conventionally attributed to William Shakespeare, and that the historical Shakespeare was merely a front to shield the identity of Bacon, who could not take...
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Births
- 4 March — Alfred William RichAlfred William RichAlfred William Rich , was an English watercolourist, teacher and author.-Life and work:Rich was born between Scaynes Hill and Lindfield in Sussex...
, watercolour painter and author (died 19211921 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1921 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-January to June:* 1 January - Car tax discs introduced....
) - 8 March — Bramwell BoothBramwell BoothBramwell Booth, CH was the first Chief of Staff and the second General of The Salvation Army , succeeding his father, William Booth.-Biography:...
, Salvation Army General (died 19291929 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1929 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative , Ramsay MacDonald, Labour-Events:...
) - 12 April — William Martin Conway, art critic and mountaineer (died 19371937 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1937 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Stanley Baldwin, national coalition , Neville Chamberlain, national coalition-Events:...
) - 22 June — Henry Rider Haggard, writer (died 19251925 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 26 July — George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, playwright (died 19501950 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1950 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — King George VI*Prime Minister — Clement Attlee, Labour Party-Events:* 16 January — The BBC Light Programme first broadcasts the daily children's radio feature Listen with Mother....
) - 10 August — William WillettWilliam WillettWilliam Willett , was an English builder and a tireless promoter of British Summer Time.-Biography:Willett was born in Farnham, Surrey, in the United Kingdom, and educated at the Philological School. After some commercial experience, he entered his father's building business, Willett Building...
, promoter of daylight saving timeDaylight saving timeDaylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
(died 19151915 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1915 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I, which had broken out in the August of the previous year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 18 December — J.J. Thomson, physicist, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
laureate (died 19401940 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1940 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.- Incumbents :* Monarch - King George VI* Prime Minister - Neville Chamberlain, national coalition , Winston Churchill, coalition- Events :...
) - 25 December — Samuel William KnaggsSamuel William KnaggsSir Samuel William Knaggs, KCMG was a British colonial administrator.Knaggs was born in Old Swindon, Wiltshire, England, the second of the ten children of Robert Knaggs, a surgeon, and Harriet Eliza Knaggs ....
, civil servant in the West Indies (died 19241924 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1924 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative , Ramsay MacDonald, Labour , Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - Meteorological Office issues its first broadcast...
)
Deaths
- 17 February — John BrahamJohn BrahamJohn Braham was a tenor opera singer born in London, England. His long career led him to become one of Europe's leading opera stars. He also wrote a number of songs, of minor importance, although The Death of Nelson is still remembered...
, opera singer (born 17771777 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1777 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 3 January - American Revolution: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.* 18 May - First performance of...
) - 25 February — George DonGeorge DonGeorge Don was a Scottish botanist.George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1797. His father, also named George Don, was Superintendent of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1802 and his mother was Caroline Clementina Stuart. George was the elder brother of David...
, botanist (born 17971797 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1797 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 3 January - Three of the stones making up Stonehenge fall due to heavy frosts....
) - 29 August — Mary Anne SchimmelpenninckMary Anne SchimmelpenninckMary Anne Schimmelpenninck was a British writer in the anti-slavery movement.The eldest Daughter of Samuel "John" Galton and Lucy Barclay, Mary Anne Galton was the sister of Samuel Tertius Galton and the aunt of Francis Galton...
, Christian writer (born 17781778 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1778 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 18 January - Third Pacific expedition of James Cook, with ships HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, first view O'ahu then Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the...
) - 30 August
- Gilbert Abbott à BeckettGilbert Abbott à BeckettGilbert Abbott à Beckett was an English humorist.He was born in London, the son of a lawyer, and belonged to a family claiming descent from Thomas Becket...
, writer (born 18111811 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1811 in the United Kingdom. This is a Census year and the start of the British Regency.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Spencer Perceval, Tory-Events:...
) - John RossJohn Ross (Arctic explorer)Sir John Ross, CB, was a Scottish rear admiral and Arctic explorer.Ross was the son of the Rev. Andrew Ross, minister of Inch, near Stranraer in Scotland. In 1786, aged only nine, he joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice. He served in the Mediterranean until 1789 and then in the English Channel...
, Arctic explorer (born 17771777 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1777 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 3 January - American Revolution: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.* 18 May - First performance of...
)
- Gilbert Abbott à Beckett