1837 in the United Kingdom
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 1837 in the United Kingdom: |
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| 1835 | 1836 | 1837 | 1838 |1839 |
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| 1837 English cricket season |
Events from the year 1837 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
- Monarch - William IV of the United Kingdom (until 20 June), Victoria of the United Kingdom
- Prime Minister - William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Whig
[edit] Events
- 13 February - Rowland Hill's government inquiry into postal reform discusses the idea of carrying letters in a separate sheet which folded to become an envelope and the idea of "a bit of paper" which could be affixed to a letter to flag that postage had been paid.
- March - A new city in the Australian colonies is named for the Prime Minister.[1]
- May - William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone patent the electrical telegraph.
- 3 June - The London Hippodrome opens in Bayswater.
- 20 June - King William IV dies from heart failure at Windsor Castle. His niece, Princess Victoria of Kent ascends the throne as Queen Victoria.[2]
- 30 June - The use of pillory as a punishment abolished by act of parliament.[3]
- July - General election results in a Whig victory.[1]
- 1 July - General Register Office begins the practice of registering births, marriages and deaths.[3]
- 13 July - Queen Victoria moves into Buckingham Palace in London, the first monarch to live there.[3]
- 19 July - The Isambard Kingdom Brunel-designed steamship SS Great Western launched.[3]
- 20 July - Euston Station, London's first railway station, is opened.[3]
- 28 August - Lea & Perrins begin making Worcestershire sauce.[3]
- 9 November - Stockbroker Moses Montefiore becomes the first Jewish person to receive a knighthood.[3]
- 15 November - Isaac Pitman publishes Pitman Shorthand.[3]
[edit] Publications
- Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist appears in serial form in Bentley's Miscellany.[2]
[edit] Births
- 7 February - James Murray, lexicographer (died 1915)
- 23 March - Charles Wyndham, actor and theatrical manager (died 1919)
- 5 April - Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet (died 1909)
- 28 May - George Ashlin, architect (died 1921)
- 14 November - Lucas Barrett, naturalist (died 1862)
- Gilbert Arthur à Beckett, writer (died 1891)
[edit] Deaths
- 20 January - John Soane, British architect (born 1753)
- 23 January - John Field, Irish composer (born 1782)
- 1 February - Edward Donovan, writer, traveller and amateur zoologist (born 1768)
- 19 February- Thomas Burgess author, philosopher and Bishop (born 1756)
- 31 March - John Constable, painter (born 1776)
- 31 May - Joseph Grimaldi, clown (born 1778)
- 20 June - King William IV (born 1765)
- 7 December - Robert Nicoll, poet (born 1814)
