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15 November 1922: In the British general election the Conservative...

National or international item

15 November 1922

In the British general election the Conservative Party , under its recently-elected leader Bonar Law , won a majority of 77, ending David Lloyd George 's Liberal -Conservative coalition.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

1890: Breast-piercing, in order to wear gold or...

Building and people item

1890

Breast-piercing, in order to wear gold or jewelled pins through the nipples, became the latest fashion in cosmetic art in the UK.
Angeloglou, Maggie. A History of Make-up. Studio Vista, 1970.
103

28 January 1907: The inaugural meeting of the China Society...

Building and people item

28 January 1907

The inaugural meeting of the China Society was held in Caxton Hall, Westminster.
Keller, Helen, editor. The Dictionary of Dates. Macmillan, 1934, 2 vols.
I: 796

1912: Epsom in Surrey became the site of the first...

National or international item

1912

Epsom in Surrey became the site of the first automatic telephone exchange (not requiring an operator) in the UK.
Williams, Trevor I. A Short History of Twentieth-Century Technology, c.1900-c.1950. Clarendon, 1982.
305
Trotter, David. “The Person in the Phone Booth”. London Review of Books, Vol.
32
, No. 2, 28 Jan. 2010, pp. 20-2.
20-1

July 1995: Jeff Bezos launched in Seattle, Washington,...

Writer or writing item

July 1995

Jeff Bezos launched in Seattle, Washington, an online bookselling company named Amazon . It did only moderately well in 1996, but took off the following year.
Wray, Richard. “’Our belief is that there will be lots of winners’”. Guardian Unlimited, 24 Oct. 2005.

1913: The Trade Union Act outlined conditions under...

National or international item

1913

The Trade Union Act outlined conditions under which political objects could be included in the rules of a Union with members' consent.
Butler, David E., and Jennie Freeman. British Political Facts, 1900-1960. Macmillan, 1963.
351

4 March 1857: The Peace of Paris ended the Anglo-Persian...

National or international item

4 March 1857

The Peace of Paris ended the Anglo-Persian War.
Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry. Historical Tables: 58 BC-AD 1985. 11th ed., Garland Publishing, 1986.
202
Cook, Chris, and John, 1946 - Stevenson. The Longman Handbook of Modern British History, 1714-1995. 3rd ed., Longman, 1996.
289

18 August 1828: William Corder was hanged at Bury Gaol for...

Building and people item

18 August 1828

William Corder was hanged at Bury Gaol for the murder of Maria Marten ; the execution attracted an audience of ten thousand.
Haydn's Dictionary of Dates lists the date of Corder's execution as the 11th...

6 February 1756: A national fast day was held in Britain,...

National or international item

6 February 1756

A national fast day was held in Britain, to pray for success in the Seven Years War.
Steele, Anne. The Works of Mrs. Anne Steele. Munroe, Francis and Parker, 1808, 2 vols.
1: 226

June 1869: The Kettledrum: The Woman's Signal for Action...

Building and people item

June 1869

The Kettledrum: The Woman's Signal for Action ended publication in London in its current form.
Doughan, David, and Denise Sanchez. Feminist Periodicals, 1855-1984. Harvester Press, 1987.
4
White, Cynthia L. Women’s Magazines 1693-1968. Michael Joseph, 1970.
48

10 December 1993: Richard J. Roberts from Great Britain was...

National or international item

10 December 1993

Richard J. Roberts from Great Britain was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with American Phillip A. Sharp . The two were recognized for discovering split genes.
Schlessinger, Bernard S., and June H. Schlessinger. The Who’s Who of Nobel Prize Winners, 1901-1995. 3rd ed., Oryx Press, 1996.
The Nobel Foundation. Nobel E-Museum.

20 November 1737: Caroline of Anspach, Queen of England, died...

National or international item

20 November 1737

Caroline of Anspach , Queen of England, died of a rupture after eleven days of excruciating illness.
Grundy, Isobel. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Comet of the Enlightenment. Clarendon, 1999.
370-1

May 1901: William Lea established the first driving...

Building and people item

May 1901

William Lea established the first driving school in England: the Liver Motor Car Depot and School of Automobilism at Birkenhead.
Bruno, Leonard. On the Move: A Chronology of Advances in Transportation. Gale Research, 1993.
153

11 November 1779: One of Arkwright's new, highly-mechanized...

Building and people item

11 November 1779

One of Arkwright 's new, highly-mechanized mills for cotton production, at Chorley, Lancashire, was sacked by rioters.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2026, 22 vols. plus supplements.
Gentleman’s Magazine. Various publishers.
49 (1779): 609

26 November 1867: Lily Maxwell cast her parliamentary vote...

National or international item

26 November 1867

Lily Maxwell cast her parliamentary vote in Manchester after her name was mistakenly placed on the register.
Levine, Philippa. Victorian Feminism 1850-1900. Hutchinson, 1987.
75
Rover, Constance. Women’s Suffrage and Party Politics in Britain, 1866-1914. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967.
42

Elizabeth Shirley

ES wrote but did not publish what seems to be the earliest female biography in English to be written as a memoir of someone known and loved, although it is also, as the life of...

March 1783: In the Zong case, a jury in London ruled...

National or international item

March 1783

In the Zong case, a jury in London ruled that shipowners trading in slaves were owed compensation for human cargo thrown overboard.
Walvin, James. Black Ivory: A History of British Slavery. Howard University Press, 1994.
118
Carretta, Vincent. Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self–made Man. University of Georgia Press, 2005.
237

1831-1846: Pope Gregory XVI established a framework...

National or international item

1831-1846

Pope Gregory XVI established a framework for organized Jesuit activity, formally creating a huge number of vicariates across the world.
Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. 2nd ed., Penguin, 1990.
338, 342-3

By 1840: Almost 1,500 miles of railway track were...

Building and people item

By 1840

Almost 1,500 miles of railway track were open in the UK.
Simmons, Jack. The Railway in England and Wales 1830-1914. Leicester University Press, 1978.
32

1887: Nina Kennard published another biography...

Women writers item

1887

Nina Kennard published another biography of a famous actress, this time Mrs. Siddons, for W. H. Allen 's Eminent Women Series.
OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.

21 March 1556: Thomas Cranmer was burned alive for heresy...

National or international item

21 March 1556

Thomas Cranmer was burned alive for heresy at Oxford, after withdrawing the recantation he had formerly made under threat of such a death: this was one of the most famous Protestant martyrdoms under Mary Tudor .
Cameron, Jennifer. A Dangerous Innovator: Mary Ward (1585-1645). St Pauls Publications, 2000.
236
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2026, 22 vols. plus supplements.

27 June 1974: In a supermarket at Troy, Ohio, USA, a barcode...

Building and people item

27 June 1974

In a supermarket at Troy, Ohio, USA, a barcode on a product was swiped for the first time by a scanner.
“Alan Haberman (1929-2011), the brains behind retail revolution”. Edmonton Journal, 26 June 2011, p. B4.
B4

15 March 2011: Street demonstrations in Syria began to escalate...

National or international item

15 March 2011

Street demonstrations in Syria began to escalate into revolutary action, then brutal repression, then full-scale civil war. At six years old the war was still going strong, with cities like Aleppo bombed into ruins, thousands...

1913: Edwin Landseer Lutyens was appointed to join...

Building and people item

1913

Edwin Landseer Lutyens was appointed to join Herbert Baker as architects to design from scratch the city of New Delhi as capital of colonial India.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2026, 22 vols. plus supplements.

By late 1813: The York County Hospital relented and allowed...

Building and people item

By late 1813

The York County Hospital relented and allowed lady visitors access to its patients.
Prochaska, F. K. Women and Philanthropy in Nineteenth-Century England. Clarendon, 1980.
141