1878 in the United Kingdom
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 1878 in the United Kingdom: |
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| 1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879 | 1880 |
| Sport |
| 1878 English cricket season |
 1877-78 in English football |
Events from the year 1878 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
- Monarch - Victoria of the United Kingdom
- Prime Minister - Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative
[edit] Events
- January - Cleopatra's Needle arrives in London.
- 14 January - Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the telephone to Queen Victoria.[1]
- 23 January - Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield orders British fleet to the Dardanelles.
- 8 February - British fleet enters Turkish waters and anchors off Constantinople — Russia threatens to occupy Constantinople but does not carry out the threat.
- 11 February - First weekly Weather report published in UK.[1]
- 24 February - Anti-Russian demonstrations in Hyde Park, London.
- 12 March - Britain annexes Walvis Bay.[2]
- 24 March - The frigate Eurydice sinks, killing 300.
- 25 March - Russia rejects British proposal to lay Treaty of San Stefano before European congress.
- 27 March - In anticipation with war with Russia, Disraeli mobilizes the reserves and calls up Indian troops to Malta.
- 25 May - First performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's opera HMS Pinafore, at the Opera Comique on the Strand, London.[2]
- 4 June - Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.[1]
- 3 September - Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames.
- 12 September - Cleopatra's Needle erected on the Victoria Embankment.[1]
- 14 October - The world's first recorded floodlit football fixture is played at Bramall Lane in Sheffield.
- 28 October - The first floodlit rugby match played in Salford.[3]
- 21 November - Second Afghan War commences when the British attack Ali Masjid in the Khyber Pass.
[edit] Undated
- William Crookes invents the Crookes tube which produced cathode rays.[4]
- Newton Heath founded. Later the team was renamed as Manchester United F.C..
- West Bromwich Albion F.C. play their first match.
- Everton F.C., then known as St Domingo, formed.
- The Christian Mission, co-founded by now General William and Catherine Booth in London in 1865 has its name changed to The Salvation Army.
[edit] Publications
- Serialisation of Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native.
[edit] Births
- 4 January - Augustus John, painter (died 1961)
- 7 January - Samuel James Cameron, obstetrician (died 1959)
- 19 January - Herbert Chapman, football manager (died 1934)
- 3 March - Edward Thomas, poet (died 1917)
- 16 April - Owen Thomas Jones, geologist (died 1967)
- 26 April - Eric Campbell, silent film star (died 1917)
- 1 June - John Masefield, poet and novelist (died 1967)
- 28 June - Evan Roberts preacher (died 1951)
- 24 July - Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany, author (died 1957)
- 31 December - Caradoc Evans, writer (died 1945)
[edit] Deaths
- 16 March - William Banting, undertaker and dietician (born 1797)
- 25 April - Anna Sewell, author (born 1820)
- 28 May - John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1792)
- 6 June - Robert Stirling, clergyman and inventor (born 1790)
- 22 July - Samuel McGaw, VC recipient (born 1838)
- 30 August - James Geiss, businessman (born 1820)
- 30 September - Evan James, poet, lyricist of the Welsh national anthem (born 1809)
- 20 November - William Thomas, poet (born 1832)
- 11 December - William Thomas, minister and poet (born 1834)
- 14 December - Alice of the United Kingdom, member of the royal family (born 1843)
- 31 December - James Matheson, Scottish politician (born 1796)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d (2006) Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ a b Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd, 301-302. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ^ RUGBY LEAGUE: Shedding light on historic night match". Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
- ^ (1999) The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. ISBN 1-85986-000-1.
