1834 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1834 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch - William IV of the United Kingdom
*Prime Minister - Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, Tory (until 16 July), William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Whig (until 14 November), Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Tory, (until 9 December), Robert Peel, Whig

Events

* 18 March - The Tolpuddle Martyrs, six Dorset farm labourers, are sentenced to be transported to a penal colony for forming a trade union.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 16 July - William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne succeeds Earl Grey as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
* 1 August - Slavery abolished in the British Empire (see Slavery Abolition Act).
* 14 August - Poor Law Amendment Act states that no able-bodied British man can receive assistance unless he enters a workhouse.
* 15 August - Parliament approves the creation of the colony of South Australia.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 259-260|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 16 October - Much of the Palace of Westminster is destroyed by fire.
* 14 November - William IV dismisses the government of Melbourne, after proposals for Church reform are made. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington forms a caretaker government.
* 10 December - Sir Robert Peel forms his first government.
* 17 December - Tamworth Manifesto: Peel outlines his guiding principles of government.
* 23 December - Inventor Joseph Hansom patents the Hansom cab.

Undated

* Last hanging in chains upon a gibbet in England, James Cook, for murder.
* British East India Company monopoly on China trade ended.
* The Exchequer was abolished as a revenue collecting department of the British government.
* Harrods founded as a grocer in Stepney in the East End of London. [cite web|url=http://www.harrods.com/Cultures/en-GB/History/|title=A Brief History of Harrods|accessdate=2007-09-12]
* Charles Babbage designs an 'analytical engine', or mechanical computer, although this is never built.
* First hansom cabs appear on London streets.

Births

* 28 January - Sabine Baring-Gould, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar (died 1924)
* 15 February - William Henry Preece, electrical engineer and inventor (died 1913)
* 19 February - Charles Davis Lucas, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1914)
* 16 March - James Hector, geologist (died 1907)
* 24 March - William Morris, artist, writer, socialist and activist (died 1896)
* 19 June - Charles Spurgeon, Baptist preacher (died 1892)
* 4 August - John Venn, mathematician (died 1923)
* 9 September - Joseph Henry Shorthouse, novelist (died 1903)

Deaths

* 12 January - William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1759)
* 11 April - John 'Mad Jack' Fuller, philanthropist and patron of the arts and sciences (born 1757)
* 12 July - David Douglas, botanist (born 1799)
* 25 July - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, critic, and philosopher (born 1772)
* 1 August - Robert Morrison, Protestant missionary to China (born 1782)
* 2 September - Thomas Telford, engineer (born 1757)
* 16 September - William Blackwood, writer (born 1776)
* 11 October - William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier, Navy officer, politician and diplomat (born 1786)
* 5 December - Thomas Pringle, poet (born 1789)
* 23 December - Thomas Malthus, demographer and economist (born 1766)
* 27 December - Charles Lamb, essayist (born 1775)

References

ee also