Victorian Period

  • Victoria becomes queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

    Victoria becomes queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
    Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died leaving no legitimate, surviving children.
  • William Wordsworth becomes poet laureate.

    William Wordsworth becomes poet laureate.
    William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads.
  • Charlotte Bronte publishes Jane Eyre; Emily Bronte publishes Wuthering Heights.

    Charlotte Bronte publishes Jane Eyre; Emily Bronte publishes Wuthering Heights.
    Wuthering Heights is the eponymous farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors where the story unfolds. Its core theme is the enduring love between the heroine, Catherine Earnshaw, and her father's adopted son, Heathcliff and how it eventually destroys their lives and the lives of those around them.
  • Ten Hours Act limits the number of hours that women and children can work in factories.

  • Lewis Carroll publishes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

    Lewis Carroll publishes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.[1] It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world (Wonderland) populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children.[
  • Mohandas K. Gandhi is born in India.

    Mohandas K. Gandhi is born in India.
    was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world.[2][3]
  • Thomas Edison invents the incandescent lamp.

    Thomas Edison invents the incandescent lamp.
    The first great invention developed by Edison in Menlo Park was the tin foil phonograph. While working to improve the efficiency of a telegraph transmitter, he noted that the tape of the machine gave off a noise resembling spoken words when played at a high speed. This caused him to wonder if he could record a telephone message. He began experimenting with the diaphragm of a telephone receiver by attaching a needle to it
  • Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn appears.

    Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn appears.
    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (or, in more recent editions, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator
  • : L. Frank Baum publishes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

    : L. Frank Baum publishes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the popular 1902 Broadway musical and the well-known 1939 film adaptation.
  • Queen Victoria Dies.

    Queen Victoria Dies.
    Then, on January 17, 1901, Queen Victoria's health took a severe turn for the worse. When the queen woke up, her personal physician, Dr. James Reid, noticed that the left side of her face had started to sag. Also, her speech had become slightly slurred. She had suffered one of several small strokes.