1842 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1842 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1840 1840 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1840 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Melbourne, Whig-Events:* 10 January — Uniform Penny Post introduced.* 22 January — British colonists reach New Zealand... | 1841 1841 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1841 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig , Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:... | 1842 | 1843 1843 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1843 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:* 6 January — Antarctic explorer James Clark Ross discovers Snow Hill Island.... | 1844 1844 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1844 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Peel, Conservative-Events:* 28 February — The Grand National at Aintree is won by the 5/1 joint favourite Discount.... |
| Sport |
| 1842 English cricket season 1842 English cricket season -First-class matches:-Events:6 August. Formation of Kent CCC in Canterbury . Teams representing Kent had been playing regularly in first-class matches since the early 18th century but these were invariably sides raised by wealthy patrons.The new Kent CCC played its initial first-class match v... |
Events from the year 1842 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Incumbents
- Monarch—Queen Victoria
- Prime Minister—Robert PeelRobert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Events
- 6 January–13 January—First Anglo-Afghan WarFirst Anglo-Afghan WarThe First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
: Massacre of Elphinstone's armyMassacre of Elphinstone's ArmyThe Massacre of Elphinstone's Army was the destruction by Afghan forces, led by Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammad Khan, of a combined British and Indian force of the British East India Company, led by Major General William Elphinstone, in January 1842....
(Battle of Gandamak) by Afghan forces on the road from KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
to JalalabadJalalabadJalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
, AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, by Akbar KhanAkbar KhanAmir Akbar Khan Amir Akbar Khan Amir Akbar Khan (1816 – 1846;, born as Mohammad Akbar Khan and famously known as Wazir Akbar Khan, was an Afghan Prince, a general, a tribal leader and Emir. He was active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842...
, son of Dost Mohammed Khan. - February—J. H. Newman, the controversial AnglicanAnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
cleric, withdraws to LittlemoreLittlemoreLittlemore is a district of Oxford, England. It has a parish council that also represents parts of Rose Hill. It is about southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, and Sandford-on-Thames.-History:...
, outside OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and establishes a semi-monastic community, "the house of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Littlemore". - 31 March—Middleton Junction and Oldham Branch RailwayMiddleton Junction and Oldham Branch RailwayThe Middleton Junction and Oldham Branch Railway was opened on 31 March 1842 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway, whose chief engineer was George Stephenson...
line opened up to WernethWerneth, Greater ManchesterWerneth is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-southwest of Oldham's commercial centre and one of Oldham's most ancient localities.-History:...
. - 13 April—First Anglo-Afghan War: British victory at the Battle of JellalabadBattle of JellalabadThe Battle of Jellalabad in 1842 was an Afghan siege of the isolated British outpost at Jellalabad about 80 miles east of Kabul...
. - April–September—General Strike1842 General StrikeThe 1842 General Strike, also known as the Plug Plot Riots, started among the miners in Staffordshire, England, and soon spread through Britain affecting factories, mills and coal mines from Dundee to South Wales and Cornwall....
("Plug Plot Riots"). - 25 April—Black CountryBlack CountryThe Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
Nailers' Riots. - 11 May—Income Tax ActIncome Tax Act 1842The Income Tax Act 1842 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed under the government of Robert Peel, which re-introduced an income tax in Britain, at the rate of 7 pence in the pound on all annual incomes greater than £150...
establishes the first peacetime income taxIncome taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
in Britain; 7 penceBritish One Penny coin (pre-decimal)The English Penny, originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 g pure silver, includes the penny introduced around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. However, his coins were similar in size and weight to the continental deniers of the period, and to the Anglo-Saxon sceats which had gone before it, which were...
on the poundPound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, for incomes over 150 pounds. - 4 June—In South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, hunter Dick King rides into the British military base in GrahamstownGrahamstownGrahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
to warn that BoerBoerBoer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
s have besieged DurbanDurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. He had set out eleven days earlier. The British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
dispatches a relief force. - 19 June—Army suppresses Rebecca RiotersRebecca RiotsThe Rebecca Riots took place between 1839 and 1843 in South and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to perceived unfair taxation. The rioters, often men dressed as women, took their actions against toll-gates, as they were...
in CarmarthenCarmarthenCarmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
protesting against turnpikeTurnpike trustTurnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
tolls. - August–October—First Anglo-Afghan War: British victory at the Battle of KabulBattle of Kabul (1842)for other uses of the term see Battle of KabulThe Battle of Kabul was fought from August to October, 1842, between British and Afghan forces. It was the concluding engagement of the First Anglo-Afghan War. The British advanced on Kabul from Kandahar and Jalalabad to avenge the earlier Massacre of...
. - August—Mines Act prohibits women and children under ten from working in mines.
- 7–27 August—Riots in and around LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, protesting against the Corn LawsCorn LawsThe Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
and in favour of ChartistChartismChartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
s. - 9 August—The United Kingdom and United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sign the Webster-Ashburton TreatyWebster-Ashburton TreatyThe Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies...
agreeing the border between the United States and CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. - 29 August—Britain and ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
sign the Treaty of NankingTreaty of NankingThe Treaty of Nanking was signed on 29 August 1842 to mark the end of the First Opium War between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Qing Dynasty of China...
ending the First Opium WarFirst Opium WarThe First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
. Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
is ceded to Britain.
Undated
- Pentonville PrisonPentonville (HM Prison)HM Prison Pentonville is a Category B/C men's prison, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not actually within Pentonville itself, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area of the London Borough of Islington, in inner-North London,...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, built. - Ulster CanalUlster CanalThe Ulster Canal is a disused canal running through part of County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland...
completed. - Beecham's PillsBeecham's PillsBeecham's Pills were a laxative first marketed around 1842 in St Helens, Lancashire. They were invented by Thomas Beecham , grandfather of Thomas Beecham ....
(a laxativeLaxativeLaxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
) first marketed in St Helens, Lancashire by Thomas BeechamThomas Beecham (chemist)Thomas Beecham was the founder of Beechams, which became one of the United Kingdom's largest pharmaceutical businesses.-Career:...
, forming the basis of the BeechamBeecham (pharmaceutical company)Beecham was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with SmithKline Beckman, merged with GlaxoWellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline .-History:...
pharmaceutical company. - John Kilner & Co., glass manufacturers, established to produce the Kilner jarKilner jarKilner jar is a rubber-sealed, screw-topped jar used for the storage of food, which was invented by the Kilner family and produced by John Kilner & Co., Yorkshire, England....
. - New pattern musketMusketA musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
with percussion capPercussion capThe percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
produced to replace the flintlockFlintlockFlintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
in the British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. - PaleontologistPaleontologyPaleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
Richard OwenRichard OwenSir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
coins the term "DinosaurDinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
". - AntarcticAntarcticThe Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
explorer James Clark RossJames Clark RossSir James Clark Ross , was a British naval officer and explorer. He explored the Arctic with his uncle Sir John Ross and Sir William Parry, and later led his own expedition to Antarctica.-Arctic explorer:...
charts the eastern side of James Ross IslandJames Ross IslandJames Ross Island is a large island off the southeast side and near the northeastern extremity of Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Prince Gustav Channel. Rising to , it is irregularly shaped and extends in a north-south direction. It was charted in October 1903 by the Swedish...
.
Publications
- 14 May—The Illustrated London News first published.
- Edwin ChadwickEdwin ChadwickSir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...
's critical Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain published by the Poor Law CommissionPoor Law CommissionThe Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The commission was made up of three commissioners who became known as "The Bashaws of Somerset House", their secretary and nine clerks or assistant commissioners...
. - Thomas Babington MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
's poems Lays of Ancient RomeLays of Ancient RomeThe Lays of Ancient Rome is a once-famous collection of four lays by Thomas Babington Macaulay describing semi-mythical heroic episodes in Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes...
. - Alfred Tennyson's collection Poems.
Births
- 13 May—Arthur SullivanArthur SullivanSir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
, composer (died 19001900 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1900 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 23 August—Osborne ReynoldsOsborne ReynoldsOsborne Reynolds FRS was a prominent innovator in the understanding of fluid dynamics. Separately, his studies of heat transfer between solids and fluids brought improvements in boiler and condenser design.-Life:...
, engineer and physicist (died 19121912 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1912 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - Post Office takes over National Telephone Company....
) - 20 September—James DewarJames DewarSir James Dewar FRS was a Scottish chemist and physicist. He is probably best-known today for his invention of the Dewar flask, which he used in conjunction with extensive research into the liquefaction of gases...
, chemist and physicist (died 19231923 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1923 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative Party , Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 12 November—John Strutt, 3rd Baron RayleighJohn Strutt, 3rd Baron RayleighJohn William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM was an English physicist who, with William Ramsay, discovered the element argon, an achievement for which he earned the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904...
, physicist, Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate (died 19191919 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1919 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-Events:* 1 January - In Scotland, HMS Iolaire is wrecked on rocks: 205 die....
) - 2 December—C. W. AlcockC. W. AlcockCharles William Alcock was an influential English sportsman and administrator. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of the FA Cup....
, footballer and football official (died 19071907 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1907 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:* January - The steamship Pengwern founders in the North Sea: crew and 24 men lost....
)
Deaths
- 13 March—Henry ShrapnelHenry ShrapnelHenry Shrapnel was a British Army officer and inventor, most famously, of the "shrapnel shell".Henry Shrapnel was born in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England....
, soldier and inventor (born 17611761 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1761 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Newcastle, Tory-Events:* 16 January - In India, general Sir Eyre Coote captures Pondicherry from the French....
) - 5 June—Thomas Henry ListerThomas Henry ListerThomas Henry Lister was an English novelist and Registrar General.-Life and writings:Lister was the son of Thomas Lister of Armitage Park and his first wife Harriet Anne Seale. His maternal grandfather was John Seale...
, novelist (born 18001800 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1800 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* 8 January - First soup kitchens open in London.* 17 March - catches fire with the loss of 700 lives....
) - 12 June—Thomas ArnoldThomas ArnoldDr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
, historian and schoolmaster (born 17951795 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1795 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* March - English Benedictine monks expelled from the Priory of St...
)