Regency Era - Timeline of The Formal Regency

Timeline of The Formal Regency

1811

George, Prince of Wales begins his nine-year tenure as regent and becomes known as The Prince Regent. This sub-period of the Georgian era begins the formal Regency. The Duke of Wellington holds off the French at Fuentes d'Onoro and Albuhera in the Peninsular War. The Prince Regent holds a fete at nine p.m. June 19, 1811 at Carlton House in celebration of his assumption of the Regency. Luddite uprisings. Glasgow weavers riot.

1812

Spencer Perceval assassinated in the House of Commons. Final shipment of the Elgin Marbles arrives in England. Sarah Siddons retires from the stage. Shipping and territory disputes start the War of 1812 between England and the United States. The British are victorious over French armies at the Battle of Salamanca. The waltz is introduced from Europe into England. Gas company (Gas Light and Coke Company) founded.

1813

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is published. William Hedley's Puffing Billy, an early steam locomotive, runs on smooth rails. Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry starts her ministry at Newgate Prison. Robert Southey becomes Poet Laureate.

1814

Invasion of France by allies leads to the Treaty of Paris, ending one of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. The Duke of Wellington is honored at Burlington House in London. British soldiers burn the White House. Last River Thames Frost Fair is held, which was the last time the river froze. Gas lighting introduced in London streets.

1815

Napoleon I of France defeated by the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena. The English Corn Laws restrict corn imports. Sir Humphry Davy patents the miners' safety lamp. John Loudon Macadam's road construction method adopted.

1816

Income tax abolished. A "year without a summer" follows a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Mary Shelley writes Frankenstein. William Cobbett publishes his newspaper as a pamphlet. The British return Indonesia to the Dutch. Regent's Canal, London, phase one of construction. Beau Brummell escapes his creditors by fleeing to France.

1817

Antonin Carême creates a spectacular feast for the Prince Regent at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. The death of Princess Charlotte from complications of childbirth changes obstetrical practices. Elgin Marbles shown at the British Museum. Captain Bligh dies.

1818

Queen Charlotte dies at Kew. Manchester cotton spinners' strike. Riot in Stanhope between lead miners and the Bishop of Durham's men over Weardale gaming rights. Piccadilly Circus constructed in London.

1819

Peterloo Massacre. Princess Alexandrina Victoria (future Queen Victoria) is christened in Kensington Palace. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott is published. Sir Stamford Raffles, a British administrator, founds Singapore. First steam-propelled vessel (The SS Savannah) crosses the Atlantic and arrives in Liverpool from Savannah, Georgia.

1820

Death of George III. Accession of The Prince Regent as George IV. The House of Lords passes a bill to grant George IV a divorce from Queen Caroline, but due to public pressure the bill is dropped, John Constable begins work on The Hay Wain. Cato Street Conspiracy fails. Royal Astronomical Society founded. Venus de Milo discovered.