-
Period: to
The Victorian Era
The Victorian Era is categorized by the industrial revolution and large social reform. These reforms gave more rights to women, such as the right to own property and more regulation over working hours. Furthermore, aide was given to the poor in the form of free education and healthcare. Ultimately, these social and political reforms are showcased in the literature, art, and music of the Victorian age. -
Factory Act Restricts Work Hours for Women and Children
The bill restricted the hours of work by women and children in textile mills. Under the terms of the act, mill owners were required to show that children up to age 13 received two hours of schooling, six days per week. LF -
Victoria Comes to the Throne after the Death of William IV
Victoria became queen at the age of 18 after the death of her uncle, William IV. She reigned for more than 60 years, longer than any other British monarch. Her reign was a period of significant social, economic and technological change, which saw the expansion of Britain's industrial power and of the British empire. LF -
People’s Charter Advocates Social and Political Reform
The People's Charter advocated democratic reform on the basis of six points: one man, one vote; equal electoral districts; payment of members of parliament; elections by secret ballot; removal of property qualifications for MPs; and parliaments elected every year. 'Chartism' gained substantial support among working people during the next decade and presented three national petitions to parliament in 1839, 1842 and 1849. It was the most significant radical pressure group of the 19th century. LF -
Vaccination for the Poor is Introduceed
Parliament enabled local poor law authorities to provide vaccination at the expense of ratepayers. Battles over the ethical and practical issues involved lasted for the remainder of Victoria's reign. Some authorities were reluctant to pay, even after infant vaccination was made compulsory in 1853. Further tightening of the regulations in 1867 and 1873 saw a number of anti-vaccination campaigns. In 1898, parents were allowed a certificate of exemption for their children on grounds of conscience. -
Irish Potato Famine Begins
In September 1845, the potato crop which had previously provided approximately 60% of the nation's food needs, began to rot all over Ireland. The potato blight struck again the following year. What began as a natural catastrophe was exacerbated by the actions and inactions of the British government. It is estimated that about a million people died during the four-year famine, and that between 1845 and 1855 another million emigrated, most to Britain and North America. LF -
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in 1849 by William Holman Hunt (see left), D.G. Rosettie, John Everett Millais, William Michael Rosetti, James Collinson, Thomas Woolner, and F.G. Stephens. They were known in particular for defying conventions of art. New subjects within art included Shakespeare, Keats, and Tennyson. CW -
The Blessed Damozel
The Blessed Damozel by Dante Gabriel Rosetti, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, depicts a mourning lover in heaven. As typical of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, This is contrary to the emphasis on shadow and tone in other paintings of the time, with one source of light at an end and pyramidal groupings of figures. it is brightly colored, evenly lit, and appears flat. Also, a precise, near-photographic quality is given to all the subjects within the painting. CW -
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin
This novel was one of the most significant abolition novels written during the Victorian Period because it is credited with starting public outcry regarding the abolition of slaves in America. -
The Seamstress
Women were a common theme among paintings in the Victorian era. Paintings could include women in places of power, powerlessness, as objects of desire, as an ideal, or as laborers. In The Seamstress, a woman is shown confined to a domestic sphere, despite the growing number of women in the workplace. CW -
The Atlantic is founded in Boston
.This was a popular literary magazine at the time and gave new writers and poets a means of publishing their work. Many literary magazines existed throughout the Victorian Period, but few were as significant as The Atlantic. -
Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar was a Victorian-era composer who wrote a cello concerto with a non-conventional concerto beginning, The second movement is described as "pastoral interlude" (Beck), nostalgic of peaceful days in the countryside. The fourth movement contains a musical struggle. CW -
US Civil War Begins
Civil War: In U.S. history, the conflict (1861–65) between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. It is generally known in the South as the War between the States. The Civil War was a sectional combat having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements so complex that historians still do not agree on its basic causes. LF -
Gustav Mahler
Within Mahler's Symphony No. 5, the third movement contains an Austrian folk dance, reminiscent of the Austrian countryside. The fifth movement ends with a homophonic, chorale-like melody containing almost religious overtones. CW -
Henry James published The Portrait of a Lady
This novel started the transition of James’s style and incorporated psychological realism. The psychological realism subgenre, also called “stream of consciousness,” was first explored in The Portrait of a Lady and later used liberally in James’s later work. -
Education Becomes Compulsory for Children Under the Age of 10
AJ Mundella introduced a bill which made school attendance compulsory from ages five to 10. State expenditure on education, about £1.25 million a year in 1870, rose to £4 million, and would reach £12 million by the end of Victoria's reign. LF -
Married Women Obtain the Right to Acquire Their Own Property
The 1870 Married Women's Property Act had been widely criticised for failing to provide sufficient safeguards for married women. A further act provided something approaching equality for women since it allowed women to acquire and retain any property deemed separate from that of their husband's. They also received the same legal protection as husbands if they needed to defend their right to property. LF -
Oscar Wilde is put on trial for sodomy
This trial, eventually resulting in a two-year sentence, shows that even though there was a great change in public tolerance of different races and lifestyles, the Victorian Period still maintains harsh restrictions for one’s social life. By jailing the famous author Oscar Wilde, the courts showed that the Victorian Period was still not a completely tolerant one.
