1837 – William IV dies and is succeeded by Victoria.

1840 – Victoria marries the German prince, Albert.

1846 – ‘Railway Mania’ year: 272 Railways Acts passed.

1851 – The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London.

1854 – Outbreak of the Crimean War; Florence Nightingale goes out to Scutari in the Crimea

1856 – Crimean War ends; Victoria Cross for bravery instituted.

1857 – Divorce made possible without an Act of Parliament, but on unequal terms for men and women.

1859 – Darwin’s The Origin of the Species published.

1871 – Darwin’s The Descent of Man.

1895 - Oscar Wilde jailed for three years for homosexual offences.

1897 – Existing suffrage organisations unite as National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies.

1901 – Victoria dies and is succeeded by Edward V11.