Idiots Act 1886

The Idiots Act 1886 (49 Vict.c.25) was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was intended to give "... facilities for the care, education, and training of Idiots and Imbeciles".^[1]

The Act made, for the first time, the distinction between "lunatics"^{[n 1]}, "idiots", and "imbeciles" for the purpose of making entry into education establishments easier and for defining the ways they were cared for.

Before the Act, learning institutions for idiots and imbeciles were seen as either "licensed houses" or "registered hospitals" for lunatics, for which the parents of children hoping to enter would have to complete a form stating that they were "a lunatic, an idiot, or a person of unsound mind". Additionally, they were required to answer irrelevant questions and present two medical certificates.^[2]

The Act was repealed by the Mental Deficiency Act 1913, by which time two further classifications had been introduced: "feeble-minded people" and "moral defectives".^[3]

References

↑ "Chronological and alphabetical bibliographies of lunacy". studymore.org.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
↑ "Idiots Act, 1886 -- 33(141):103". Journal of Mental Science (1887) 33: 103-108. British Journal of Psychiatry. doi:10.1192/bjp.33.141.103. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
↑ "Mental Health (History) Dictionary". studymore.org.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

Notes

↑ Covered under the Lunacy Act 1845

Mental health law in the United Kingdom

18th century	Madhouses Act 1774

19th century	Criminal Lunatics Act 1800 County Asylums Act 1808 Marriage of Lunatics Act 1811 Scottish Madhouses Act 1815 Criminal Lunatics Amendment Act 1815 Irish Lunatic Asylums for the Poor Act 1817 Pauper Lunatics Act 1819 County Asylums Act 1828 Madhouses Act 1828 Chancery Lunatics Property Act 1828 Madhouses Act 1832 County Asylums Act 1845 Lunacy Act 1845 Idiots Act 1886 Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act 1886

20th century	Mental Deficiency Act 1913 Mental Treatment Act 1930 Mental Health Act 1959 Mental Health Act 1983

21st century	Mental Capacity Act 2005 Mental Health Act 2007 Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013

Public bodies	Lunacy Commission Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency Mental Health Review Tribunal (England and Wales)

Other	Diminished responsibility in English law Fixated Threat Assessment Centre

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes UK Statute Law Database Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Act of Sederunt, Act of Adjournal

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 09, 2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.