Timeline: Past and Present Company

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	Date	Event(s)
1	1753	Private collection of Sir Hans Sloane forms the basis of the British Museum 1 May 1753: Publication of "Species Plantarum" by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy
2	1754	Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be used - Quakers & Jews exempt In the General Election, the Cow Inn at Haslemere, Surrey caused a national scandal by subdividing the freehold to create eight votes instead of one First British troops not belonging to the East India Company despatched to India
3	1755	Publication of "Dictionary of the English Language" by Dr Samuel Johnson Period of canal construction began in Britain (till 1827) 2 Dec 1755: Second Eddystone Lighthouse destroyed by fire
4	1756	15 May 1756: The Seven Years War with France (Pitt's trade war) begins Jun 1756: Black Hole of Calcutta - 146 Britons imprisoned, most die according to British sources
5	1757	The foundation laid for the Empire of India 14 Mar 1757: Admiral Byng shot at Portsmouth for failing to relieve Minorca 23 Jun 1757: The Nawab of Bengal tries to expel the British, but is defeated at the battle of Plassey (Palashi, June 23) - the East India Company forces are led by Robert Clive
6	1758	India stops being merely a commercial venture - England begins dominating it politically - The East India Company retains its monopoly although it ceased to trade
7	1759	Wesley builds 356 Methodist chapels 15 Jan 1759: British Museum opens to the public in London 16 Oct 1759: Third Eddystone Lighthouse (John Smeaton's) completed
8	1760	Carron Iron Works in operation in Scotland 5 May 1760: First use of hangman's drop 25 Oct 1760: George II dies - George III Hanover, his grandson, becomes king. The date conventionally marks the start of the so-called "first Industrial Revolution"
9	1761	16 Jan 1761: British capture Pondicherry, India from the French
10	1762	Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
11	1763	Treaty of Paris - gives back to France everything Pitt fought to obtain - (Newfoundland [fishing], Guadaloupe and Martininque [sugar], Dakar [gum]) - but English displaces French as the international language
12	1764	Lloyd's Register of shipping first prepared Practice of numbering houses introduced to London James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768) Mozart produces his first symphony at age eight
13	1765	The potato becomes the most popular food in Europe 22 Mar 1765: Stamp Act passed - imposed a tax on publications and legal documents in the American colonies (repealed the following year)
14	1766	Start of 'composite' national records on rainfall in the UK 5 Dec 1766: Christie's auction house founded in London by James Christie
15	1767	Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
16	1768	9 Jan 1768: Philip Astley starts his circus in London 6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" published in Edinburgh by William Smellie
17	1769	Arkwright invents water frame (textile production) Capt James Cook maps the coast of New Zealand 6 Sep 1769: David Garrick organises first Shakespeare festival at Stratford-upon-Avon
18	1770	Clyde Trust created to convert the River Clyde, then an insignificant river, into a major thoroughfare for maritime communications 28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) - Aug 21: formally claims Australia for Britain
19	1771	Right to report Parliamentary debates established in England
20	1772	First Travellers' Cheques issued by the London Credit Exchange Company "Morning Post" first published (until 1937) 14 May 1772: Judge Mansfield rules that there is no legal basis for slavery in England
21	1774	13 Sep 1774: Cook arrives on Easter Island
22	1775	19 Apr 1775: Battle of Lexington: first action in American War of Independence (1775 - 1783)
23	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]
24	1777	Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.
25	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
26	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
27	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
28	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)
29	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)
30	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)
31	1787	MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
32	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
33	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
34	1790	Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
35	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
36	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
37	1793	11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802) 15 Apr 1793: Â£5 notes first issued by the Bank of England
38	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
39	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
40	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
41	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
42	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)
43	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
44	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
45	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
46	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
47	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)
48	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
49	1805	London docks opened 21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar 2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians
50	1806	Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners) 9 Jan 1806: Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London
51	1807	25 Mar 1807: Parliament passes Act prohibiting slavery and the importation of slaves from 1808 â€“ but does not prohibit colonial slavery
52	1808	Gas lighting in London streets 13 Jul 1808: 'Hot Wednesday' â€“ temperature of 101Â°F in the shade recorded in London 20 Dec 1808: Beethoven premieres his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy together in Vienna
53	1809	12 Feb 1809: Birth of Charles Darwin 18 Sep 1809: Royal Opera House opens in London
54	1810	John McAdam begins road construction in England, giving his name to the process of road metalling
55	1811	5 Feb 1811: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane
56	1812	11 May 1812: Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, assassinated â€“ shot as he entered the House of Commons by a bankrupt Liverpool broker, John Bellingham, who was subsequently hanged 18 Jun 1812: Start of American "War of 1812" (to 1814) against England and Canada Oct 1812: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses
57	1813	Ireland: First recorded "12th of July" sectarian riots in Belfast Jane Austen wrote "Pride and Prejudice"
58	1814	1 Jan 1814: Invasion of France by Allies 6 Apr 1814: Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba 13 Aug 1814: Convention of London signed, a treaty between the UK and the Dutch 24 Aug 1814: The British burn the White House 29 Nov 1814: "The Times" first printed by a 'mechanical apparatus' (at 1,100 sheets per hour) 24 Dec 1814: Treaty of Ghent signed ending the 1812 war between Britain and the US
59	1815	Trial by Jury established in Scotland Davy develops the safety lamp for miners 18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena
60	1816	Income tax abolished For the first time British silver coins were produced with an intrinsic value substantially below their face value â€“ the first official 'token' coinage Climate: the 'year without a summer' â€“ followed a volcanic explosion of the mountain "Tambora" in Indonesia the previous year, the biggest volcanic explosion in 10,000 years Large scale emigration to North America Trans-Atlantic packet service begins
61	1817	March of the Manchester Blanketeers; Habeas Corpus suspended Constable painted "Flatford Mill"
62	1818	Manchester cotton spinners' strike 20 Oct 1818: 'Convention of 1818' signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the US-Canada border on the 49th parallel for most of its length

Robert AYTON 1753 - 1818

Robert AYTON
1753 - 1818