1812 in the United Kingdom

1812 in the United Kingdom:
Other years
1810 \| 1811 \| 1812 \| 1813 \| 1814

Events from the year 1812 in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is still involved in the Napoleonic Wars with France and its attempts to stop French trade lead to the War of 1812 with the United States. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington, is active in the Peninsular War in Spain. The year also marks the only assassination of a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when Spencer Perceval is shot.

Incumbents

Monarch - George III
Prime Minister - Spencer Perceval, Tory (until 11 May), Earl of Liverpool, Tory

Events

February - Framebreaking Act imposes the death penalty for Luddites.^[1]
27 February - Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defence of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
15 March - Luddites attack wool processing factory of Frank Vickerman in West Yorkshire.
16 March–6 April – Siege of Badajoz (Peninsular War): The Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, besieges Badajoz in Spain and forces surrender of the French garrison.
4 April - U.S. President James Madison enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
11 May - Bankrupt banker John Bellingham assassinates the Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in the lobby of the House of Commons.
25 May - Felling mine disaster: Mine explosion at Felling colliery near Jarrow — 96 dead.
8 June - Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (Tory) becomes Prime Minister. Aged 42 at accession, he will hold the office for almost fifteen years, the second longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Pitt the Younger, who was in office for a total of 30 years across his two premierships.
18 June - The War of 1812 begins between the United States and the United Kingdom.
18 July - The Treaty of Orebro brings an end to the Anglo-Russian War and the Anglo-Swedish War.
22 July - Peninsular War: At the Battle of Salamanca, British forces led by Lord Wellington defeat French troops near Salamanca in Spain.^[2]
August - Henry Bell's PS Comet begins a passenger service on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock, the first commercially successful steamboat service in Europe.^[3]
12 August - Peninsular War: Wellington enters Madrid following the Battle of Salamanca.
16 August - War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.
19 August - War of 1812: USS Constitution defeats the British frigate Guerrière off the coast of Nova Scotia.
5 October–10 November: A general election sees victory for the Tory Party under Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.
9 October - War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships, HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.
13 October - War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights - As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, Canada, American forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock (although he dies during the battle).
7 November - HMS Victory is retired from front-line service.^[4]

Ongoing

Napoleonic Wars, 1803–1815
Peninsular War, 1808–1814

Publications

First two cantos of Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.^[1] This sells out in five days, giving rise to Byron's comment "I awoke one morning and found myself famous".^[5]
Sir Richard Colt Hoare's study The Ancient History of South Wiltshire, one of the earliest works to use evidence from archaeology.
James and Horace Smith's parodies Rejected Addresses.

Births

7 February - Charles Dickens, writer (died 1870)
1 March - Augustus Pugin, English-born architect (died 1852)
7 May - Robert Browning, poet (died 1889)
12 May - Edward Lear, artist, illustrator and writer (died 1888)
25 November - Henry Mayhew, writer (died 1887)
23 December - Samuel Smiles, author and reformer (died 1904)

Deaths

23 January - Robert Craufurd, general (mortally wounded in battle) (born 1764)
11 May - Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister (assassinated) (born 1762)
18 May - John Bellingham, Perceval's killer (executed) (born c. 1769)
13 October - Isaac Brock, British general (killed in battle) (born 1769)

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 240–241. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
↑ Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
↑ McCrorie, Ian (1986). Clyde Pleasure Steamers. Greenock: Orr, Pollock & Co. Ltd. ISBN 1-869850-00-9.
↑ "Icons, a portrait of England 1800-1820". Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
↑ Spengler-Axiopoulos, Barbara (1 July 2006), Der skeptische Kosmopolit (in German), NZZ

Years in the United Kingdom

Years in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926

Years in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015