1901 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1901 in the United Kingdom. This year marks the transition from the Victorian to the Edwardian era, with the death of Queen Victoria and the ascension of her son Edward to the throne.
Incumbents
- Monarch — Victoria (until 22 January), Edward VII (starting 22 January)
- Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative)
Events
- 1 January
- The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia.[1] Edmund Barton becomes first Prime Minister.
- Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.
- 19 January — Queen Victoria is reported to be seriously ill.[2]
- 22 January — Queen Victoria dies at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She is 81 years old and has served as monarch for nearly 64 years – longer than any other British monarch in history up to this date.[3] Her eldest son, The Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales becomes King, reigning as Edward VII. His son, The Prince George (later George V) becomes Duke of Cornwall and York.
- 2 February — Funeral of Queen Victoria takes place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
- 18 February — Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the House of Commons, concerning the Boer War.[4]
- 21 February — The Apollo Theatre opens in Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
- 5 March — Police eject jeering Irish Nationalist demonstrators from the House of Commons.
- 12 March — The Whitechapel Art Gallery opens in London.
- 16 March–1 November — The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V and Queen Mary) make a tour of the British Empire in RMS Ophir sailing as a royal yacht.[5]
- 31 March — National census. The number of people employed in manufacturing is at its highest-ever level.
- 26 April — First meeting of the Engineering Standards Committee, predecessor of the BSI Group.[6]
- 2 May–4 November — Glasgow International Exhibition.[7]
- 16 May — TS King Edward is launched at William Denny and Brothers' shipyard in Dumbarton. The first commercial merchant vessel propelled by steam turbines, she enters excursion service on the Firth of Clyde on 1 July.
- 18 May — Alexandra Palace opens to the public in London.[3]
- 1 July — The first UK Fingerprint Bureau is established at Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London, by Edward Henry.
- 12 July — Maidenhead enters the UK Weather Records with the highest 60-minute total rainfall at 92 mm. As of July 2010 this record remains.
- 22 July — The House of Lords rules in the Taff Vale case that trade unions can be held liable for damages caused by members.[8]
- 22 July — British congress on tuberculosis opens.
- 5 August — Britain's first cinema opens in Islington, London.[3]
- 6 August — Discovery Expedition: Robert Falcon Scott sets sail on the RRS Discovery to explore the Ross Sea in Antarctica.
- 17 August — Factory and Workshop Act raises minimum working age to 12 and extends legislation regarding the education of working of children, employees' meal times, and provision of fire escapes.
- 30 August — Engineer Hubert Cecil Booth patents the electrically powered vacuum cleaner.[3]
- 7 September — The United Kingdom is amongst the signatories of the Boxer Protocol ending the Boxer Rebellion in China.[3]
- October — First performance of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, in Liverpool.[8]
- 2 October — Royal Navy's first submarine, Holland 1, launched at Barrow-in-Furness.
- 29 October — The Aero Club of the United Kingdom is established.[9]
- 9 November — The Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York (later George V) becomes Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.
- 14 November — Caister Lifeboat Disaster: Life-boat Beauchamp capsizes on service off Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, during a major storm: 9 of 12 crew killed.[10]
- 18 November — The United Kingdom and United States sign the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty allowing the US to build a canal through Panama.[8]
- 30 November — Frank Hornby of Liverpool is granted a patent for the construction toy that will become Meccano.[11]
- 12 December — Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal, sent from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, the letter "S" in Morse.[12]
Undated
- Imperial Tobacco founded by W. H. Wills.[8]
- Electric trams introduced in London, Glasgow, and Portsmouth.[13]
Ongoing events
- Second Boer War (1899–1902)
Publications
- Dictionary of National Biography concludes publication.
- Patrick S. Dinneen's novel Cormac Ó Conaill, the first in Irish to be published complete in book form.
- Thomas Hardy's collection Poems of the Past and the Present.
- Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim.
- Seebohm Rowntree's survey of York Poverty, A Study of Town Life.
- H. G. Wells' novel The First Men in the Moon and his collected articles on futurology Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Thought.
Births
- 13 February — Lewis Grassic Gibbon, writer (died 1935)
- 12 June — Norman Hartnell, fashion designer (died 1979)
- 9 July — Barbara Cartland, novelist (died 2000)
- 15 September
- Donald Bailey, engineer (died 1985)
- Sylvia Crowe, landscape architect (died 1997)
- 17 September — Francis Chichester, aviator and sailor (died 1972)
- 17 November — Joyce Wethered, golfer (died 1997)
- 28 November — Edwina Ashley, afterwards Countess Mountbatten of Burma (died 1960)
- 25 December — Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (died 2004)
Deaths
- 22 January — Queen Victoria (born 1819)
- 11 February — Henry Willis, organ builder (born 1821)
- 6 March — John Jabez Edwin Mayall, photographer (born 1813
- 3 April — Richard D'Oyly Carte, theatrical impresario (born 1844)
- 5 August — Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria (born 1840)
- 6 November — Kate Greenaway, children's book illustrator and writer (born 1846)
- 30 November — Edward John Eyre, explorer (born 1815)
- 1 December — George Lohmann, English cricketer (tuberculosis) (born 1865)
References
- ^ "Australia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
- ^ "Belief in London With Regard to Queen's Illness". The Meriden Daily Journal. 19 January 1901. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
- ^ Addison, Paul (2004). "Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer (1874–1965)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ Price, Harry (1980). The Royal Tour, 1901. Exeter: Webb & Bower. ISBN 0906671108.
- ^ McWilliam, Robert C. (2001). BSI: the first hundred years. London: Thanet Press.
- ^ "Glasgow International Exhibition - 1901". Exhibition Study Group. 5 May 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 459–460. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
- ^ "1901 Royal Aero Club". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ Tooke, Colin (1986). Caister — Beach Boats and Beachmen. North Walsham: Poppyland Publishing. ISBN 0-946148-19-8.
- ^ "Hornby's 1901 patent". Retrieved 14 August 2010.
- ^ Bussey, Gordon (2000). Marconi's Atlantic Leap. Coventry: Marconi. ISBN 0-9538967-0-6.
- ^ Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 331–332. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.