1862 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1862 in the United Kingdom: |
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| 1860 1860 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1860 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Cray Wanderers Football Club formed in St Mary Cray, north Kent.... | 1861 1861 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1861 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — First steam-powered merry-go-round recorded, in Bolton.... | 1862 | 1863 1863 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1863 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 8 January — Yorkshire County Cricket Club is founded at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield.... | 1864 1864 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1864 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 11 January — Charing Cross railway station in London opens.... |
| Sport |
| 1862 English cricket season 1862 English cricket season The 1862 English cricket season saw the overarm issue come to a head in a controversial match at The Oval.-First-class matches:* -Events:26 August. Surrey v. England at The Oval. Edgar Willsher of England was no-balled six times in succession by John Lillywhite for bowling with his hand above... |
Events from the year 1862 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 — Viscount PalmerstonHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, LiberalLiberal Party (UK)The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Events
- 6 January — FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and British forces arrive in Mexico, beginning the French intervention in MexicoFrench intervention in MexicoThe French intervention in Mexico , also known as The Maximilian Affair, War of the French Intervention, and The Franco-Mexican War, was an invasion of Mexico by an expeditionary force sent by the Second French Empire, supported in the beginning by the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain...
. - 16 January — Hartley Colliery DisasterHartley Colliery DisasterThe Hartley Colliery Disaster was a disastrous mining accident in Northumberland, England in 1862 in which 220 lives were lost. - Cause :In an age when methane or coal dust and firedamp explosions were common, the tragedy at Hartley Colliery, Northumberland, England was different because it was...
: 204 miners die following collapse of machinery at the Hartley Colliery in NorthumberlandNorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. - 15 March — Riots in StalybridgeStalybridgeStalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
, Lancashire, over cottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
recession. - 21 March — James Bruce, 8th Earl of ElginJames Bruce, 8th Earl of ElginSir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
appointed Governor-General of IndiaGovernor-General of IndiaThe Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
. - 1 May — International Exhibition of Industry and Science opens in South KensingtonSouth KensingtonSouth Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
. - 16 May — Habeas Corpus ActHabeas Corpus Act 1862The Habeas Corpus Act 1862 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that limited the right of the English courts to issue writs of habeas corpus in British colonies or dominions...
restricts the right of EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
courts to issue writs of habeas corpusHabeas corpusis a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in British colonies or dominions. - 24 May — New Westminster BridgeWestminster BridgeWestminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England....
, designed by Thomas PageThomas Page (engineer)Thomas Page was a British civil engineer who was responsible for the design and construction of many bridges, including Westminster Bridge and the first Chelsea Bridge .-Early life:...
, is opened. - 1 July — Marriage of Princess Alice, second daughter of Queen Victoria, to Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by RhineLouis IV, Grand Duke of HesseLouis IV , was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death...
. - 4 July — Charles Dodgson ('Lewis Carroll')Lewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
takes Alice LiddellAlice LiddellAlice Pleasance Liddell , known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice is said to be named after her.-Biography:...
and her sisters on a rowingWatercraft rowingWatercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...
trip on The IsisThe IsisThe Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford. The name is especially used in the context of rowing at the University of Oxford...
from Folly BridgeFolly BridgeFolly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road, south from the centre of Oxford, England. It was erected 1825–27, to designs of a little-known architect, Ebenezer Perry , who practiced in London....
, 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...
, to GodstowGodstowGodstow is a hamlet on the River Thames about northwest of the centre of Oxford. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, or Godstow Nunnery, are here.-The Abbey:...
on which he tells the story that becomes Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
. - 29 July — ConfederateConfederate States NavyThe Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
commerce raider CSS AlabamaCSS AlabamaCSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
is launched clandestinely at BirkenheadBirkenheadBirkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
by John Laird Sons and Company. - 31 August — Last mail coachMail coachIn Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries, from 1784. In Ireland, the first mail coach began service from Dublin in 1789. The coach was drawn by four horses and had seating for four passengers inside. Further passengers were later allowed...
runs from Carlisle to HawickHawickHawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - 14 September — A British national, Charles Lenox Richardson, is killed in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
by samuraiSamuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
in the Namamugi IncidentNamamugi IncidentThe was a samurai assault on foreign nationals in Japan on September 14, 1862, which resulted in the August 1863 bombardment of Kagoshima, during the Late Tokugawa shogunate...
. Three companions escaped, though two were seriously injured. - 11 October — Jessie M'Lachlan executed having been found guilty in the Sandyford murder caseSandyford murder caseThe Sandyford murder case was a well-known proceeding of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United Kingdom. The case revolved around the brutal murder of one Jessie M'Pherson, a servant, in Sandyford Place, Glasgow, Scotland, in 1862...
in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - 20 October — Charles Thomas LongleyCharles Thomas LongleyCharles Thomas Longley was a bishop in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Ripon, Bishop of Durham, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1862 until his death.-Life:...
succeeds as Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, being translated from YorkArchbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
. - November — Criminal law amended to make robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
with violence punishable by flogging.
Undated
- 'Revised Code' introduces a system of 'payment by results' for elementary schoolElementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s in England and Wales. - Clifton CollegeClifton CollegeClifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
established. - Joseph BazalgetteJoseph BazalgetteSir Joseph William Bazalgette, CB was an English civil engineer of the 19th century. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics, while...
begins construction of the Thames EmbankmentThames EmbankmentThe Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
in London.
Publications
- M. E. Braddon's 'sensation novelSensation novelThe sensation novel was a literary genre of fiction popular in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s, following on from earlier melodramatic novels and the Newgate novels, which focused on tales woven around criminal biographies, also descend from the gothic and romantic genres of fiction...
' Lady Audley's SecretLady Audley's SecretLady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. It was Braddon's most successful and well known novel. Critic John Sutherland described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels." The plot centers on "accidental bigamy" which...
. - Serialisation of George EliotGeorge EliotMary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
's novel RomolaRomolaRomola is a historical novel by George Eliot set in the fifteenth century, and is "a deep study of life in the city of Florence from an intellectual, artistic, religious, and social point of view". It first appeared in fourteen parts published in Cornhill Magazine from July 1862 to August 1863...
. - Herbert SpencerHerbert SpencerHerbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
's book First Principles, the first volume of his System of Synthetic Philosophy.
Births
- 29 January — Frederick DeliusFrederick DeliusFrederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
, composer (d. 19341934 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1934 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:...
) - 2 July — William Henry BraggWilliam Henry BraggSir William Henry Bragg OM, KBE, PRS was a British physicist, chemist, mathematician and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg - the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics...
, 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 (d. 19421942 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1942 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Winston Churchill, coalition-Events:...
) - 5 August — Joseph MerrickJoseph MerrickJoseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...
, "The Elephant Man" (d. 18901890 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1890 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 26 August — Herbert BoothHerbert BoothHerbert Henry Howard Booth was the third son of William and Catherine Booth. He oversaw the Limelight Department's development and he was the writer and director for Soldiers of the Cross....
, the third son of WilliamWilliam BoothWilliam Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...
and Catherine BoothCatherine BoothCatherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Army Mother'....
(d. 19261926 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1926 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the General Strike.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George V*Prime Minister – Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 3 October — Johnny BriggsJohnny Briggs (cricketer)Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham...
, cricketer (d. 19021902 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1902 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative , Arthur Balfour, Conservative-Events:...
)
Deaths
- 3 April — 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:...
, naval officer and explorer (b. 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....
) - 29 June — James Bowman LindsayJames Bowman LindsayJames Bowman Lindsay was a Scottish inventor and author. He is credited with early developments in several fields, such as incandescent lighting and telegraphy.- Life and work :...
, inventor (b. 17991799 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1799 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 6 September — John Bird SumnerJohn Bird SumnerJohn Bird Sumner was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Life:Sumner was the elder brother of Bishop Charles Richard Sumner. He was born at Kenilworth, Warwickshire and educated at Eton College and Cambridge University. In 1802 he became a master at Eton and was...
, Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
(b. 17801780 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1780 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - Frederick North, Lord North, Tory-Events:* 16 January - American Revolutionary War: British victory at the Battle of Cape St...
) - 8 October — James WalkerJames Walker (engineer)James Walker, FRS, was an influential Scottish civil engineer of the first half of the 19th century.Walker was born in Falkirk and was apprenticed to his uncle Ralph Walker in approximately 1800, with whom he gained experience working on the design and construction of the West India and East India...
, civil engineer (b. 1781) - 18 December — Lucas BarrettLucas BarrettLucas Barrett was an English naturalist and geologist.Barrett was born in London and educated at University College School and at Ebersdorf. In 1855, he accompanied R. McAndrew on a dredging excursion from the Shetland Islands to Norway and beyond the Arctic Circle; and subsequently made other...
, naturalist and geologist (b. 18371837 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1837 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — King William IV , Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:...
)