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Period: to
The Industrial Revolution
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Act of Unions unites England and Scotland
England and Scotland are united by the Act of Union. Scotland retains it's own legal, educational and religious institutions. http://www.scottisharchivesforschools.org/actOfUnion.asp -
First steam engine
Thomas Newcomen builds first successful steam engine able to keep deep coal mines clear of water. First significant power source other than wind and water. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/gallery/2009/jun/08/computing-engineering -
Wedgewood pottery factory opens
Josiah Wedgwood opens his pottery works at Eturia near Stoke on Trent. Attached to the factory was a village where Wedgwood's workmen and their families could live in decent surroundings. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1111164/Why-I-weep-Wedgwood.html -
Bridgewater canal opens
James Brindley's Bridgewater Canal opens. Barges carry coal from Worsley to Manchester. http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch2en/conc2en/bridgewatercanal.html -
Spinning Jenny Invented
James Hargreaves's Spinning Jenny was invented to spin many threads at once. Jenny meant machine. http://irinventions.biss.wikispaces.net/Simon -
First steam powered mill
Richard Arkwright, with Jedediah Strutt and Samuel Need, built the first water-powered mill at Cromford. This was the start of the "Factory Age" in Britain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Arkwright -
Discovery of Oxygen
Joseph Priestly discovers oxygen http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRpriestley.htm -
Watt builds steam engine
Watt built a much more efficient steam engine than the Newcomen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt_steam_engine -
Grand Trunk Canal finished
James Brindley finishes the Grand Trunk Canal connecting the Mersey to the Trent and connecting the industrial Midlands to the ports of Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull. http://www.search.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?theme=30&originator=/engine/custom/place.asp&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=2216&text=0&resource=1365 -
Ironbridge was opened
http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/Ironbridge was the first bridge in the world to be built from iron. It is recognised as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution throughout the world. -
First Sunday School
It is debabatable when the first sunday school was but Robert Raikes played a bit part. Robert Raikes started his first school for the children of chimney sweeps in Sooty Alley, Gloucester in 1780. Many churches and chapels ran sunday schools and this was usually the only education most children had. Children were mostly taught to read the bible. http://www.infed.org/walking/wa-raikes.htm -
Cartwright builds a power loom
Edmund Cartwright patented the first power loom and set up a factory in Doncaster to manufacture cloth http://inventors.about.com/od/indrevolution/ss/Industrial_Revo_7.htm -
Gas lighting is discovered
William Murdock (James Watt's assistant) lights his home with coal gas. http://www.williammurdoch.com/links.html -
First railway journey
The world's first ever railway journey ran 9 miles from the ironworks at Penydarren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal, South Wales, reaching speeds of nearly five miles an hour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Locomotive_trevithick.jpg -
Demonstration of first locomotive in London
Richard Trevithick organizes the first public display of a railway locomotive in London http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/Richard_Trevithick -
Luddite Attacks
Between 1812 and 1814 groups of workers accross Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire attacked Factories and smashed and burnt machines. They were angry because many had lost their jobs or had their wages cut because machines were cheaper to run than paying workers. The Luddites were led by Ned Ludd. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatpicturegalleries/8168204/Famous-British-protests.html?image=6 -
Luddites stopped
Troops were called in to stop the Luddites. Some were scared off but 17 were arrested and hung in York and others were transported to Australia, never to come back. http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/people/luddites/ludditesprinted.htm -
Braille system is devised
Louis Braille devises reading system for the blind http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/9/feeling-for-words/ -
1833 Factory Act
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/victorian_britain/children_in_factories/The Earl of Shaftsbury passed the Factory Act which stopped children working until they were 9 years old. Children aged 9-13 could only work 8 hours a day and were required to go to school for 2 hours a day. This changed the lives of many children. -
Victoria become queen
Victoria's uncle William IV died without an heir to the throne so Victoria was crowned Queen at the age of 18 http://royal-splendor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/queen-victoria-biography-glittering.html -
First telegraph message sent
http://www.cntr.salford.ac.uk/comms/ebirth.phpOn 25th July 1837 William Cooke at Camden Town Station and Charles Wheatstone at Euston station (about nineteen miles apart) exchanged the first telegraph message. http://www.connected-earth.com/Peopleandpioneers/Pioneers/C/CookeandWheatstone/index.htm -
Post Office and Penny Post
Rowland Hill reformed the postal system in Britain and set up the Post Office as we know it today. He introduced the Penny Post stamps where postage for a letter cost a penny no matter how far it was sent. http://www.connected-earth.com/Peopleandpioneers/Pioneers/C/CookeandWheatstone/index.htm -
1842 Mines Act
The Earl of Shaftesbury passed the Mines Act which banned prohibited all underground work for women and girls, and for boys under 10. http://womensstudiesjmu.wikispaces.com/Women+in+the+Mining+Industry,+by+Davy+Leghorn -
Morse Code
Samuel Morse sent his first telegraph message, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. It was a series of dots and dashes used to represent letters. http://smsmoewe.com/semafore/smsmeah4.htm -
First Factory Act
This stopped children betwen 8-12 years old working more than 6 1/2 hours a day. Women and children could only work up to 12 hours a day- no more! http://goldenagepaintings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/childhood-and-child-labour-in-british.html -
Britannia Bridge is opened
The Britannia bridge, over the Mennai Strait in Wales, opened. It was designed by Robert Stephenson, trains would travel through the bridge made out of two long iron tubes. Robert Stephenson and his father George were among the greatest railway engineers of the day. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gastephen/5054299521/ -
The Great Exhibition
<a href='http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/exhibition/greatexhibition.html' Prince Albert,husband of Queen Victoria organized The Great Exhibition to celebrate British industry. It opened in Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London and over six million people visited from all over the country. It was designed by Joseph Paxton. http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/exhibition/greatexhibition.html -
1864 Chimney Sweep Act
The 1864 Chimney Sweep Act tightened existing Acts and banned children under 1o from becoming chimney sweeps. Lord Shaftesbury helped pass the act. http://goldenagepaintings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/childhood-and-child-labour-in-british.html -
1870 Education Act
The 1870 Education Act set up boards to provide schools in all areas. Scooling was to be provided for 5-11 year olds. http://www.heritage-explorer.co.uk/web/he/teachingactivitiesdetail.aspx?id=1196&crit=&ctid=60 -
1874 Ten Hour Factory Act
The 10 hour Factory Act meant people could not be made to work more than 10 hours a day and children under 14 could not be employed full time. http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/springburn/springwor/springworleg.htm -
Invention of the telephone
<a href='http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/history/victorians/inventions/telephone' >Patented by Alexander Graham
Bell in 1876. The first telephones sent sounds
from one place to another through a wire. https://thescienceclassroom.wikispaces.com/Alexander+Graham+Bell -
1878 Factory and Workshop Act
This banned the employment of children under 10 years old http://goldenagepaintings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/childhood-and-child-labour-in-british.html -
1880 Education Act
The 1880 Education Act made it compulsary for children from 5-12 years old to attend school. However most children had to pay. Some attended Sunday School which was provided for free by the church. http://www.heritage-explorer.co.uk/web/he/imagebythemedetail.aspx?crit=&ctid=91&id=3735 -
1891 Education becomes free and compulsary
Education finally become free and compulsary for all children aged 5-13 years old http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Lib-Harborne%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092585836&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper
