29
March
  Advertisement
Home  /  Timelines  /  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...
Timeline of Events
1824
3.4.1824
The "National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck" is founded in the United Kingdom, later to be renamed The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1858.
1825
6.22.1825
The British Parliament abolishes feudalism and the seigneurial system in British North America.
1828
8.27.1828
Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by Great Britain between Brazil and Argentina during the Argentina-Brazil War.
1829
4.25.1829
Charles Fremantle arrives in the ''HMS Challenger'' off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
12.4.1829
In the face of fierce opposition, British governor Lord William Bentinck issues a regulation declaring that all who abet suttee in India are guilty of culpable homicide.
1833
8.29.1833
The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire.
1834
5.1.1834
The British colonies abolish slavery.
1837
5.25.1837
The Patriots of Lower Canada (Quebec) rebel against the British for freedom.
1839
8.23.1839
The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing 3-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.
1840
2.6.1840
Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony.
5.22.1840
The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
1841
1.20.1841
Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
1.26.1841
The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes.
9.24.1841
The Sultan of Brunei cedes Sarawak to the United Kingdom.
1843
11.28.1843
Ka Lā Hui: Hawaiian Independence Day – The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France as an independent nation.
1846
1.5.1846
The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
9.23.1846
Neptune is discovered by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams; the discovery is verified by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.
1849
1.31.1849
Corn Laws are abolished in the United Kingdom (following legislation in 1846).
3.29.1849
The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
1852
1.17.1852
The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.
1854
2.17.1854
The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
3.27.1854
Crimean War: The United Kingdom declares war on Russia.
9.20.1854
Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.
1857
3.3.1857
Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
1859
4.25.1859
British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
6.15.1859
Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
1860
9.21.1860
In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
12.29.1860
The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, HMS ''Warrior'' is launched.
1861
8.6.1861
The United Kingdom annexes Lagos, Nigeria.
11.8.1861
American Civil War: The "Trent Affair" – The USS San Jacinto stops the United Kingdom mail ship Trent and arrests two Confederate envoys, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the UK and US.
12.26.1861
American Civil War: The ''Trent Affair'': Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and Britain.
1863
8.15.1863
The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
1866
5.31.1866
In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1868
4.10.1868
At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two die from the British/Indian troops.
4.13.1868
The Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala.
1872
12.4.1872
The crewless American ship ''Mary Celeste'' is found by the British brig ''Dei Gratia'' (the ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged).
1874
8.5.1874
Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.
1877
4.12.1877
The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
1878
6.4.1878
Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
1879
5.26.1879
Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.