Timeline: Past and Present Company

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	Date	Event(s)
1	1776	Somerset House in London becomes the repository of records of population Watt and Boulton produce their first commercial steam engine 4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence 7 Sep 1776: First attack on a warship by a submarine - David Bushnell's "Turtle" attacked HMS Eagle in New York harbour. The attack was perhaps spectacular (a charge did detonate beneath the ship), but was nevertheless unsuccessful. "Turtle" was a one man affair, man-powered [Les Moore]
2	1777	Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.
3	1779	Marc Isambard Brunel opens the first steamdriven sawmill at Chatham Dockyard in Kent First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson First Spinning Mills operational in Scotland 14 Feb 1779: Capt James Cook killed on Hawaii 23 Sep 1779: Naval engagement between Britain and USA off Flamborough Head
4	1780	Male Servants Tax The English Reform Movement - until now, only landowners and tenants (freeholders with 40 shillings per year or more) allowed to vote, and in open poll books Fountain pen invented About this time the word 'Quiz' entered the language, said to have been invented as a wager by Mr Daly, a Dublin theatre manager 4 May 1780: First Derby run at Epsom (some say 2nd June) 2 Jun 1780: Jun 28: The Gordon Riots - Parliament passes a Roman Catholic relief measure - for days, London is at the mercy of a mob and destruction is widespread
5	1782	Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief - the way of life of the poor beginning to alter due to industrialisation - New factories in rapidly expanding towns required a workforce that would adjust to new work patterns James Watt patents his steam engine
6	1783	Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in entries! 3 Sep 1783: Treaty of Versailles (Britain/US) 3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)
7	1784	Pitt's India Act - the Crown (as opposed to officers of the East India Company) has power to guide Indian politics Wesley breaks with the Church of England First golf club founded at St Andrews Invention of threshing machine by Andrew Meikle 2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
8	1785	Sunday School Society founded to educate poor children (by 1851, enrols more than 2 million) 1 Jan 1785: John Walter publishes first edition of The Times (called The Daily Universal Register for 3 years)
9	1787	MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
10	1788	First steamboat demonstrated in Scotland Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be a minimum of 8 years old (not enforced) First slave carrying act, the Dolben Act of 1788, regulates the slave trade - stipulates more humane conditions on slave ships King George III's mental illness occasions the Regency Crisis - Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox attack ministry of William Pitt - trying to obtain full regal powers for the Prince of Wales Gibbon completes "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" 26 Jan 1788: First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New South Wales (left Portsmouth 13 May 1787) â€” the 'First Fleet'; eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip
11	1789	28 Apr 1789: Mutiny on HMS Bounty - Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew ends up on Pitcairn Island
12	1790	Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
13	1791	John Bell, printer, abandons the "long s" (the "s" that looks like an "f") Establishment of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain 4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper
14	1792	Repression in Britain (restrictions on freedom of the press) - Fox gets Libel Act through Parliament, requiring a jury and not a judge to determine libel Boyle's Street Directory published Coal-gas lighting invented by William Murdock, an Ayrshire Scot 1 Oct 1792: Introduction of Money Orders in Britain 1 Dec 1792: King's Proclamation drawing out the British militia
15	1793	11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802) 15 Apr 1793: Â£5 notes first issued by the Bank of England
16	1794	Abolition of Parish Register duties 6 Oct 1794: The prosecutor for Britain, Lord Justice Eyre, charges reformers with High Treason - he argued that, since reform of parliament would lead to revolution and revolution to executing the King, the desire for reform endangered the King's life and was therefore treasonous
17	1795	The Famine Year Foundation of the Orange Order Speenhamland Act proclaims that the Parish is responsible for bringing up the labourer's wage to subsistence level - towards the end of the eighteenth century, the number of poor and unemployed increased dramatically - price increases during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) far outstripped wage rises - many small farmers were bankrupted by the move towards enclosures and became landless labourers - their wages were often pitifully low Pitt and Grenville introduce "The Gagging Acts" or "Two Bills" (the Seditious Meetings and Treasonable Practices Bills) - outlawed the mass meeting and the political lecture. Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy
18	1796	Pitt's "Reign of Terror": More treason trials - leading radicals emigrate Legacy Tax on sums over Â£20 excluding those to wives, children, parents and grandparents 14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
19	1797	England in Crisis, Bank of England suspends cash payments Mutinies in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore Tax on newspapers (including cheap, topical journals) increased to repress radical publications The first copper pennies were produced ('cartwheels') by application of steam power to the coining press 22 Feb 1797: French invade Fishguard, Wales; last time UK invaded; all captured 2 days later 26 Feb 1797: First Â£1 (and Â£2) notes issued by Bank of England
20	1798	First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner Feb 1798: The Irish Rebellion; 100,000 peasants revolt; approximately 25,000 die - Irish Parliament abolished (Feb-Oct) 1 Aug 1798: Battle of the Nile (won by Nelson)
21	1799	Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York Foundation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain 9 Jan 1799: Pitt brings in 10% income tax, as a wartime financial measure 12 Jul 1799: 'Combination Laws' in Britain against political associations and combinations 15 Jul 1799: "Rosetta Stone" discovered in Egypt, made possible the deciphering (in 1822) of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
22	1800	Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy Use of high pressure steam pioneered by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) Royal College of Surgeons founded Herschel discovers infra-red light Volta makes first electrical battery 2 Jul 1800: Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland
23	1801	Grand Union Canal opens in England Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London 1 Jan 1801: Union Jack becomes the official British flag 10 Mar 1801: First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural) 24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
24	1802	25 Mar 1802: Treaty of Amiens signed by Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands - the "Peace of Amiens," as it was known, brought a temporary peace of 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars - one of its most important cultural effects was that travel and correspondence across the English Channel became possible again
25	1803	Poaching made a Capital offence in England if capture resisted Richard Trevithick built another steam carriage and ran it in London as the first self-propelled vehicle in the capital and the first London bus Semaphore signalling perfected by Admiral Popham 30 Apr 1803: Louisiana Purchase: Napoleon sells French possessions in America to United States 12 May 1803—1815: Peace of Amiens ends - resumption of war with France - The Napoleonic Wars (1803-18l5) 23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to Croydon, horse-drawn)
26	1804	Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed "Australia" 21 Feb 1804: Richard Trevithick runs his railway engine on the Penydarren Railway (9.5 miles from Pen-y-Darren to Abercynon in South Wales) â€“ this hauled a train with 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers. It was commemorated by the Royal Mint in 2004 in the form of a Â£2.00 coin. 3 Mar 1804: John Wedgwood (eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood) founds The Royal Horticultural Society 2 Dec 1804: Napoleon declares himself Emperor of the French 12 Dec 1804: Spain declares war on Britain
27	1805	London docks opened 21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar 2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians

Robert COLLINSON 1776 - 1805

Robert COLLINSON
1776 - 1805