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1613-14: John Webster's tragedy The Duchess of Malfi...

Writer or writing item

1613-14

John Webster's tragedy The Duchess of Malfi was performed on stage; it was unpublished until 1623.
Hunter, George Kirkpatrick, and S. K. Hunter, editors. John Webster: A Critical Anthology. Penguin, 1969.
15

21-25 June 1935: The First International Congress of Writers...

National or international item

21-25 June 1935

The First International Congress of Writers for the Defence of Culture (an anti-fascist event urging the responsibility of writers to their society) was held in Paris.
Rowley, Hazel. Christina Stead: A Biography. Secker and Warburg, 1995.
169-77

1850: The Pinkerton Detective Agency, beloved of...

Building and people item

1850

The Pinkerton Detective Agency , beloved of crime writers, was set up in Chicago by Allan Pinkerton , a Chartist from Glasgow.
Davenport-Hines, Richard. “Suffocating Suspense”. London Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2000, pp. 36-37.
36-7

Autumn 1745: After the battle of Prestonpans , the mercury...

Building and people item

Autumn 1745

After the battle of Prestonpans, the mercuryMary Cooper published The Highlanders Salivated, or the Loyal Association of M[o]ll K[in]g's Midnight Club, a satire centred on sexuality.
The Highlanders Salivated, or the Loyal Association of M[o]ll K[in]g’s Midnight Club. Printed for M. Cooper, 1746.
5, 12

19 August 1991: A coup in the Soviet Union overthrew the...

National or international item

19 August 1991

A coup in the Soviet Union overthrew the Communist government; this led to the crumbling of the Soviet empire.
Crystal, David. “Edit It Again, Sam”. The Author, Vol.
cxi
, No. 2, 1 June 2000–2026, pp. 82-3.
83
“The Soviet Era”. Geographia: Europe: Russia: History.
Johnson, Richard William. “Living on the Edge”. London Review of Books, Vol.
33
, No. 9, 28 Apr. 2011, pp. 32-3.
32

Mabel Birchenough

MB  published three novels and a guide book between 1885 and 1901. She also frequently contributed literary articles to Nineteenth Century.

1907: Oxford University Press sold its last copy...

Writer or writing item

1907

Oxford University Press sold its last copy of Wilkins ' Coptic New Testament, printed in 1716 and believed to have been on sale continuously at its original price.
Gentry, Helen, and David Greenhood. Chronology of Books and Printing. Rev. ed., Macmillan, 1936.
128

1923: The first BMW motorcycle to carry that name...

Building and people item

1923

The first BMW motorcycle to carry that name was made.
Bruno, Leonard. On the Move: A Chronology of Advances in Transportation. Gale Research, 1993.
199

May 1828: French chemist Richard Chenevix experimented...

Building and people item

May 1828

French chemist Richard Chenevix experimented with animal magnetism on peasants during a visit to Ireland.
Gauld, Alan. A History of Hypnotism. Cambridge University Press, 1992.
198-9

By February 1984: The National Portrait Gallery in London recognised...

Building and people item

By February 1984

The National Portrait Gallery in London recognised the historical character of the contemporary century by opening new Twentieth Century Galleries, devoted to that period exclusively.
“The Times Digital Archive 1785-2007”. Thompson Gale: The Times Digital Archive.
(6 February 1984): 13

1938: Routledge and Sons decided not to publish...

Writer or writing item

1938

Routledge and Sons decided not to publish former prostitute Sheila Cousin 's autobiography To Beg I am Ashamed after the publisher received much bad press and threats of prosecution from the police.
Craig, Alec. The Banned Books of England and Other Countries. George Allen and Unwin, 1962.
97
Thomas, Donald. A Long Time Burning: The History of Literary Censorship in England. Frederick A. Praeger, 1969.
305

February 1789: French people compiled cahiers des doléances,...

National or international item

February 1789

French people compiled cahiers des doléances, or lists of grievances.
Kafker, Frank A., and James M. Laux, editors. The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. 4th ed., R. E. Krieger, 1989.
ix
Levy, Darline Gay et al., translators. Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789-1975: Selected Documents Translated with Notes and Commentary. University of Illinois Press, 1979.
22-6

27 September 1712: Addison, in his role as Mr Spectator, obliged...

Building and people item

27 September 1712

Addison , in his role as Mr Spectator, obliged to look into all kinds of men, reported on the status of the Jews in England.
Addison, Joseph et al., editors. The Spectator (1711-1714). Clarendon Press, 1965, 5 vols.
495 (1712): 255
Addison, Joseph et al., editors. The Spectator (1711-1714). Clarendon Press, 1965, 5 vols.
495 (1712): 255-8

Before September 1741: Corsica had begun its struggle for independence...

National or international item

Before September 1741

Corsica had begun its struggle for independence from Genoa, in which a woman, Bianca Colonna , was one of the heroes.
Walpole, Horace. The Letters of Horace Walpole. Editor Toynbee, Mrs Paget, Clarendon, 1903–1925, 16 vols.
1: 103

December 1825: Alexander I of Russia died at Taganrog from...

National or international item

December 1825

Alexander I of Russia died at Taganrog from malaria.
Cowie, Leonard W., and Leonard Woolfson. Years of Nationalism: European History 1815-1890. Edward Arnold, 1985.
126

1 February 1793: Britain and revolutionary France declared...

National or international item

1 February 1793

Britain and revolutionary France declared war on each other; France also declared war on Holland. For Britain this opened a period of more than twenty years' almost unremitting warfare.
Tomalin, Claire. The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft. Revised, Penguin, 1992.
180
Soboul, Albert. The French Revolution 1787-1799. Translators Forrest, Alan and Colin Jones, Vintage, 1975.
290
Waldron, Mary. Lactilla, Milkwoman of Clifton: The Life and Writings of Ann Yearsley, 1753-1806. University of Georgia Press, 1996.
207

1 June 1658: Lord Mordaunt, whose wife was a diarist,...

National or international item

1 June 1658

Lord Mordaunt , whose wife was a diarist, was tried for his life by the High Court of Justice in London.
Brett, Simon, b. 1945, editor. The Faber Book of Diaries. Faber, 1987.
197
Evelyn, John. The Diary of John Evelyn. Editor De Beer, Esmond Samuel, Oxford University Press, 1959.
390-1

Anna Mary Howitt

Anna Mary Howitt was connected on the one hand with the social and publishing circles of her parents, the hard-working pillars of the London literary establishment, and on the other hand with a group of...
Anna Mary Howitt Photograph of a sketch of Anna Mary Howitt by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, poised as if caught in forward movement and as if listening intently to something. She is wearing a long pleated skirt, and a simple dark shirt with long sleeves. Her dark hair is pulled back.

1874: The Yorkshire College of Science was founded;...

Building and people item

1874

The Yorkshire College of Science was founded; it became the University of Leeds in 1904.
Barnard, Howard Clive. A History of English Education from 1760. 2nd ed., University of London Press, 1961.
198, 249
The World of Learning. 45th ed., Allen and Unwin, 1995.
1606

1903: Sidecars made their first appearance on ...

National or international item

1903

Sidecars made their first appearance on motorcycles.
Bruno, Leonard. On the Move: A Chronology of Advances in Transportation. Gale Research, 1993.
156

By about 1825: The number of commercially-produced Valentine...

Building and people item

By about 1825

The number of commercially-produced Valentine cards or messages sent in mid-decade in London alone had reached about 200,000.
Flynn, Amanda. “Sweet and Sour Commodities: Nineteenth-Century Valentines in the John Johnson Collection of Ephemera”. Bodleian Library Record, Vol.
23
, No. 1, Apr. 2010, pp. 64-9.
65

Richard Hengist Horne

Richard Francis Burton

Victorian explorer and diplomat RFB published more than forty volumes of travel writing, as well as folklore and poetry. He is best remembered for his translations of erotic works.
Drabble, Margaret, editor. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 1985.

1895: Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer published...

Building and people item

1895

Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer published their influential Studies on Hysteria, a foundational text for psychoanalysis.
Showalter, Elaine. The Female Malady: Women, Madness, and English Culture, 1830-1980. Pantheon Books, 1985.
155-6