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8 August 1887: The Probation of First Offenders Act was...

National or international item

8 August 1887

The Probation of First Offenders Act was passed.
Briggs, John et al. Crime and Punishment in England: An Introductory History. St Martin’s, 1996.
172
The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Printed by J. Bentham, 1762–2026.

1842: The Quarter Sessions Act removed the powers...

National or international item

1842

The Quarter Sessions Act removed the powers of Justices of the Peace to enforce local political censorship.
Thomas, Donald. A Long Time Burning: The History of Literary Censorship in England. Frederick A. Praeger, 1969.
220

13 January 1893: The Independent Labour Party led by James...

National or international item

13 January 1893

The Independent Labour Party led by James Keir Hardie , Member of Parliament for West Ham South, was officially founded in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
321
Cook, Chris, and John, 1946 - Stevenson. The Longman Handbook of Modern British History, 1714-1980. Longman, 1983.
87

5 April 1843: John Ruskin, as a Graduate of Oxford, published...

Writer or writing item

5 April 1843

John Ruskin , as a Graduate of Oxford, published the first volume of Modern Painters.
The Concise Dictionary of National Biography: From Earliest Times to 1985. Oxford University Press, 1995, 3 vols.
Cox, Michael, editor. The Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press, 2002, 2 vols.

6 January 2006: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated as...

National or international item

6 January 2006

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated as first woman President of Liberia, and the first elected woman head of state in Africa.
Duodu, Cameron. “Africa’s First Lady”. Guardian Unlimited, 6 Jan. 2006.
G2

Frances Browne

FB published from the mid to the late nineteenth century, arousing public interest on account of her blindness. Having begun with poetry, she became best known for fiction—novels and short stories for children and adults—and...
Frances Browne Black and white, head-and-shoulders photograph of Frances Browne, shown at a three quarter turn. She is wearing a dark jacket with a white collar outside it, and large silver hoop earrings. Her straight hair is pulled back and hangs in a long plait down one side.

1785: Donatien Alphonse François, marquis de Sade,...

Writer or writing item

1785

Donatien Alphonse François, marquis de Sade , composed in manuscript Les Cent vingt journées de Sodome, ou l'école du libertinage.
British Library Catalogue. http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1489778087340&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&fromLo.

9 March 1949: A National Theatre Act was passed by the...

Building and people item

9 March 1949

A National Theatre Act was passed by the British Parliament , which allowed the Treasury to contribute towards national theatre costs.
Billington, Michael. Peggy Ashcroft, 1907-1991. Mandarin, 1991.
177-8
Woodward, Richard, and Isobel Grundy. Email about National Theatre Act of 1949 to Isobel Grundy. 22 Aug. 2003.

Mid-February 1934: Martial law was declared in Vienna following...

National or international item

Mid-February 1934

Martial law was declared in Vienna following Nazi terrorist incidents, a demonstration of peasants in support of the coalition government of Engelbert Dollfuss , and the taking up of arms by Socialists.
Benton, Jill. Naomi Mitchison: A Biography. Pandora, 1992.
98-9
“The Times Digital Archive 1785-2007”. Thompson Gale: The Times Digital Archive.
9 June 1933: 13; 14 February 1934: 12

25 July 1978: Louise Brown, the first clinically conceived...

Building and people item

25 July 1978

Louise Brown , the first clinically conceived test tube baby, was born to Lesley and John Brown in London.
Pfeffer, Naomi. The Stork and the Syringe: A Political History of Reproductive Medicine. Polity Press, 1993.
27, 165-6
Spallone, Patricia. Beyond Conception: The New Politics of Reproduction. Bergin and Garvey, 1989.
8
Trager, James. The Women’s Chronology: A Year-by-Year Record, from Prehistory to the Present. Henry Holt, 1994.
659
Williams, Zoe. “When there’s no baby to take home”. Guardian Weekly, 11 Oct. 2013, pp. 30-1.

14 March 1757: Admiral John Byng was executed (by firing-squad...

National or international item

14 March 1757

Admiral John Byng was executed (by firing-squad on the deck of his own flagship) for his part in the loss of the Mediterranean island of Minorca to the French the previous year: a step towards...

Later 1885: In the wake of the white slavery scandal,...

Building and people item

Later 1885

In the wake of the white slavery scandal, Anglican bishops, freethinkers, and socialists formed a short-lived coalition to work against the sexual abuse of children.
Weeks, Jeffrey. Sex, Politics and Society: The Regulation of Sexuality since 1800. Longman, 1981.
87

Elizabeth Hincks:

EH , a Quaker widow about whose life nothing is known, wrote and published a single long poem in 1671.

1829-31: Abby Jane Morrell accompanied her husband,...

Building and people item

1829-31

Abby Jane Morrell accompanied her husband, Benjamin Morrell , on a voyage of exploration in the US schooner Antarctic, about which she then published a book.
Druett, Joan. Hen Frigates: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail. Simon and Schuster, 1998.
63-4, 246-7

1867-1868: Regional suffrage committees formed in London,...

National or international item

1867-1868

Regional suffrage committees formed in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Levine, Philippa. Victorian Feminism 1850-1900. Hutchinson, 1987.
63

29 June 1865: The Sewage Utilization Act was passed....

National or international item

29 June 1865

The Sewage Utilization Act was passed.
Wohl, Anthony S. Endangered Lives: Public Health in Victorian Britain. Harvard University Press, 1983.
153-4, 244
The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Printed by J. Bentham, 1762–2026.

22 April 1901: William Stubbs, historian, died....

Writer or writing item

22 April 1901

William Stubbs , historian, died.
Drabble, Margaret, editor. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 1985.

10 December 1986: Rita Levi-Montalcini was awarded the Nobel...

National or international item

10 December 1986

Rita Levi-Montalcini was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly with Stanley Cohen , for the discovery of epidermal and nerve cell growth factors (the regulating mechanisms behind cells' growth and differentiation); this...

6 November 1941: In a memorandum on manpower, Winston Churchill...

Building and people item

6 November 1941

In a memorandum on manpower, Winston Churchill urged that the existing power to channel women into the industrial labour force be used with greater intensity.
Smith, Harold L. “The Effects of the War on the Status of Women”. War and Social Change: British Society in the Second World War, edited by Harold L. Smith, Manchester University Press, 1986.
214

1908: Conductors Percy Pitt and Hans Richter brought...

Building and people item

1908

Conductors Percy Pitt and Hans Richter brought German opera to England for a season, with great success.
Drogheda, Charles Garrett Ponsonby Moore, Earl of et al. The Covent Garden Album: 250 Years of Theatre, Opera, and Ballet. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
99

1890: Clara Collet published The Economic Position...

Building and people item

1890

Clara Collet published The Economic Position of Educated Working Women.
Levine, Philippa. Victorian Feminism 1850-1900. Hutchinson, 1987.
95
Purvis, June. A History of Women’s Education in England. Open University Press, 1991.
78

Thomas Hardy

TH was a poet by vocation and became a novelist by profession. The Wessex of his novels has made him arguably a regional novelist. As well as a prolific output in both these forms, he...
Thomas Hardy Black-and-white, head-and-shoulders photograph of Thomas Hardy by London Stereoscopic. He has a thin handlebar moustache, and wears a jacket and patterned tie with a stiff collar.

Eliza Kirkham Mathews

EKM published less than has been supposed. Only her children's books, two volumes of poems, and two novels (melodramatic but heartfelt, presenting actual, financial, as well as romance-type struggles) pose no problems of attribution. She...

1851: A machine was developed to print wallpaper...

Building and people item

1851

A machine was developed to print wallpaper patterns cheaply and efficiently.
Daunton, Martin. “Health and Housing in Victorian London”. Living and Dying in London, edited by William F. Bynum and Roy Porter, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1991, pp. 126-44.
143

13 May 1995: Alison Hargreaves reached the summit of Mount...

Building and people item

13 May 1995

Alison Hargreaves reached the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen, the first woman to do so, just three months before dying on her descent from K2.
“Women’s History Timeline”. BBC: Radio 4: Woman’s Hour.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.