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John Adams inaugurated President of the United States
In March of 1797, John Adams was sworn into office as the second president of the United States. His inaugural address was dilivered powerfully and he praised former president, George Washington's leadership skills. It was said that few of those present would ever forget the day (Grun). -
Born in London
In the eighth year of the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft gave birth to a baby girl (Sunstein 4). Wollstonecraft died in childbirth, so in her memory, the child was given her name. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was raised by her father, William Godwin and had her mother's strong feminist views (Miller 3). -
Rosetta Stone discovered
In mid-July of 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered near Rosetta, Egypt. It displayed the same text three times. The first was in Hieroglyghs, the ancient Egyptian language written in pictures to represent words. The second was a language called Demotic, which was discovered to be a later form of Egyptian, similar to Hieroglyphs. The third was Greek. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone made translating Hieroglyphs possible (Grun). -
Prussia declares war on France
In 1813, Prussia officially declared war on France with the signing of the Convention of Tauroggen. This fight lasted until August 16th of that year. Near the end of the fighting, Austria also declared war to Napoleon and allied with the Prussians (Grun). -
"History of a Six Weeks' Tour" published
In 1817, Mary Shelley co-authored a book with her husband Percy. Titled "History of a Six Weeks' Tour", it told the story of their voyage around Europe. The couple jorneyed through France, Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland during the summer of 1814 (Bloom 121). -
"Frankenstein" published
Mary Shelley is most famous for writing "Frankenstein", one of the first science-fiction novels telling the story of a terrifying monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. This book was originally written for a contest with several of her friends to see who could write the scariest story. Hers was among the only story completed, and was published anonymously in March of 1818 (Bloom 122). -
Percy Shelley dies
Mary ran off with her soon-to-be husband, Percy Shelley, when she was sixteen-years-old. At the time, he was a twenty-one-year-old married man, no longer in love with his wife (Sunstein 38). He later drowned sailing, but his father refused to give Mary any financial support unless she gave up her children to him. Because of this, she had to become a writer to support herself and her family (Bloom 130). -
"Valperga" published
After her husbands death, Shelley published several novels. One of these novels was "Valperga" which was highly praised by reviewers at the time. Critics especially appreciated her accurate recreation of the historic time period in which the story is set. It was never republished, however (Bloom 136). -
"The Last Man" published
After the death of her husband, Percy, Shelley published several novels, including "The Last Man", which told the story of a dystopian society deeply affected by plague. Events in this novel were found to have been similar to the life of Percy and a family friend. When it was originally published, it was given terrible reviews and was not well known by historians until the 1960s (Bloom 136). -
Revised Edition of "Frankenstein" published
A few years after publishing her classic novel, "Frankenstein" anonymously, Shelley decided to revise the story and rerelease it under her real name. Until this time, people assumed that the chilling book had been written by a man. However, this newer edition showed people that women could write just as well as men, enforcing Shelley's strong opinions on feminism (Bloom 122). -
The Great Cholera Pandemic
The Great Cholera Pandemic began in India in 1826. In 1831, it had spread to Russia and began to spread into Central Europe. It later reached Scotland in 1832, and by the time it ended, the epidemic had killed around 52,000 people (Grun). -
"Falkner" published
After her husband, Percy's death, Mary Shelley published many novels to help support her family. One of these novels, "Falkner", tells the story of a man named John Falkner and his adopted daughter. Many aspects of this novels are known to have been based on people that Shelley knew and was close with, including her father, her husband, and close friends (Bloom 136). -
"Complete Poetical Works" published
After Percy's death in 1822, Shelley worked for years to earn her husband's poetry the respect it deserved. Eventually, she dicided to edit and publish a book that he had written before his death. This book was the "Complete Poetical Works" and contained a collection of his poetry (Bloom 128). -
Sir Charles Barry begins building House of Parliment
After the old House of Parliment burned down in 1834, a contest was held to find an architect to design the new one. The winner was Sir Charles Barry. He began building his Neo-Gothic design in 1840 and completed the structure in 1860 (Grun). -
"The Merry Wives of Windsor" premieres
This opera first opened in Vienna in 1849. It was written by Otto Nicolai, who based the opera on Shakespeare's comedy of the same name. It was written only months before Nicolai's death in 1849. -
Dies in London
Mary Shelley died in London, England in 1851. She had been suffering from a brain tumor for some time (Sunstein 138). She was buried in the Bournemouth churchyard close to her home (Miller 152).
