United Kingdom-related events during the year of 1837
Events from the year 1837 in the United Kingdom . This marks the beginning of the Victorian era .
Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837–1901)
January–February – serious influenza outbreak.[ 1]
11 January – the Royal Institute of British Architects in London (RIBA) is granted its royal charter .
13 February – Rowland Hill 's government inquiry into postal reform discusses the idea of carrying letters in a separate sheet which folds to become an envelope and the idea of "a bit of paper " which could be affixed to a letter to flag that postage had been prepaid.
March – a new city in the Australian colonies is named for Lord Melbourne , the Prime Minister.[ 2]
1 March–31 May – at only 5.63 °C (42.13 °F) Central England temperature , the coolest English spring on record; this remains the last recorded coolest traditional season in the CET series.[ 3]
c. June – smallpox epidemic of 1837–40 breaks out.[ 1]
1 June – the Government-funded Normal School of Design, predecessor of the Royal College of Art , begins classes at Somerset House in London.
3 June – the Kensington Hippodrome opens in Notting Hill .
12 June – Cooke and Wheatstone file their patent for the electrical telegraph .[ 4]
20 June – King William IV dies from heart failure at Windsor Castle with Queen Adelaide at his bedside. Due to none of his ten surviving children being legitimate,[ 5] his 18-year-old niece, Princess Victoria of Kent, ascends the throne as Queen Victoria .[ 6] At 6am, Francis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham (Lord Chamberlain ) and William Howley (Archbishop of Canterbury ) call on her at Kensington Palace to break the news. She will reign for more than 63 years.[ 6] Under Salic law , the Kingdom of Hanover passes to William's brother, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland , ending the personal union of Britain and Hanover which has persisted since 1714.
30 June – the use of the pillory as a punishment is abolished by act of parliament.[ 7]
1 July – General Register Office begins the practice of registering births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales .[ 7]
3 July – Wills Act clarifies the procedure for making a valid will with effect from 1 January 1838.
13 July – Queen Victoria moves from Kensington Palace into Buckingham Palace , the first reigning British monarch to make this, rather than St James's Palace , their London home.[ 7]
19 July
20 July – Euston Station , London 's first mainline railway terminus, is opened.[ 7]
24 July–18 August – general election results in a Whig victory.[ 2]
17 August – John Kent becomes Britain's first black police officer on joining the constabulary in Carlisle .
28 August – Lea & Perrins begin making Worcestershire sauce .[ 7] [ 9]
October – alleged first sighting of Spring-heeled Jack , in London.
9 November – stockbroker Moses Montefiore becomes the first Jew to receive a knighthood.[ 7]
15 November – Isaac Pitman publishes Pitman Shorthand .[ 7]
James Murray
7 January – Thomas Henry Ismay , shipowner (died 1899)
30 January – Augusta Webster , born Julia Augusta Davies, poet (died 1894)
7 February – James Murray , lexicographer (died 1915)
23 March – Charles Wyndham , actor and theatrical manager (died 1919)
5 April – Algernon Charles Swinburne , poet (died 1909)
7 April – Gilbert Arthur à Beckett , writer (died 1891)
28 May – George Ashlin , architect (died 1921)
9 June – Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie , novelist and essayist (died 1919)
14 November – Lucas Barrett , naturalist (died 1862)
23 November – Joseph Leycester Lyne , Anglican Benedictine abbot (died 1908)
5 December – Richard Thomas , tin plate manufacturer (died 1916)
26 December – William Boyd Dawkins , geologist (died 1929)
William IV of the United Kingdom
20 January – Sir John Soane , British architect (born 1753)
23 January – John Field , Irish composer (born 1782)
31 January – John Rolls of The Hendre , judge (born 1776)
1 February – Edward Donovan , writer, traveller and amateur zoologist (born 1768)
19 February – Thomas Burgess author, philosopher and Bishop (born 1756)
31 March – John Constable , painter (born 1776)
31 May – Joseph Grimaldi , clown (born 1778)
20 June – William IV (born 1765)
24 June – Henry Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath , naval officer and politician (born 1797)
1 August – Walter Geikie , painter (born 1795)
22 September – William George Horner , mathematician (born 1786)
7 December – Robert Nicoll , poet (born 1814)