1806 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1806 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
- Monarch â George III
- Prime Minister â William Pitt the Younger (Tory) (until 23 January); William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (Coalition) (starting 11 February)
- Foreign Secretary â Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave (until 7 February) Charles James Fox (from 7 February) Charles Grey, Viscount Howick (from 24 September)
- Home Secretary â Lord Liverpool (until 5 February) Earl Spencer (from 5 February)
- Secretary of War â Lord Castlereagh (until 5 February) William Windham (from 5 February)
Events
- 5 January â The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall of Greenwich Hospital, London.
- 8 January â Battle of Blaauwberg: British infantry force troops of the Batavian Republic in the Dutch Cape Colony to withdraw.
- 9 January
- The Dutch commandant of Cape Town surrenders to British forces. On 10 January, formal capitulation is signed under the Treaty Tree in Papendorp (modern-day Woodstock).
- Lord Nelson is given a state funeral and interment at St Paul's Cathedral in London, attended by the Prince of Wales.[1]
- 18 January â The Dutch Cape Colony capitulates to British forces, the origin of its status as a colony within the British Empire.
- 23 January â William Pitt the Younger dies aged 46 at Bowling Green House on Putney Heath of a gastrointestinal tract complaint and is succeeded as wartime Prime Minister by his cousin Lord Grenville.
- 6 February â Battle of San Domingo: The British Royal Navy gains a victory over the French off Santo Domingo.
- 11 February â Ministry of All the Talents formed by Grenville.
- 20 March â Construction begins of Dartmoor Prison, to house prisoners of war.[2]
- 8 April â Proceedings for the impeachment of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (on the initiative of Samuel Whitbread) for the misappropriation of public money at the Admiralty begin; he will be acquitted in the last impeachment trial ever held in the House of Lords.
- 16 May â The Order in Council of 16 May 1806 declares all ports from Brest (France) to the Elbe to be under a state of blockade by the Royal Navy.[3]
- 4 July â Invasion of Naples (War of the Third Coalition): Battle of Maida in Calabria â British forces defeat the French.
- 7 July â Start of the first Gentlemen v Players cricket match (discontinued in 1963).[4][5]
- 10 July â Vellore Mutiny, the first instance of a mutiny by the Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.
- 23 July â British invasions of the River Plate: A British expeditionary force of 1,700 men lands on the left bank of the RÃo de la Plata and invades Buenos Aires.
- 18 August â English seal hunter Abraham Bristow discovers the Auckland Islands.[6][7]
- 7 October â Carbon paper patented by Ralph Wedgwood.[2]
- 20 October â HMS Athenienne (1800) is wrecked in the Strait of Sicily with the loss of 347 of the 488 onboard.
- 29 October to 17 December â a General election sees Grenville continue as Prime Minister.
- 21 November â Napoleon's Berlin Decree initiates the Continental System, blocking the import of British manufactured goods to the rest of Europe.[8]
Undated
- Supposedly secret 'Delicate Investigation' by senior statesmen into the life of Caroline of Brunswick, the Prince of Wales's estranged wife, finds "no foundation" for allegations against her morals.[9]
- Annual British iron production reaches 260,000 tons.
Ongoing
- Anglo-Spanish War, 1796â1808
- Napoleonic Wars, 1803â1815
Publications
- A New System of Domestic Cookery, 1st edition, "by A Lady" (Maria Eliza Rundell) published in London by John Murray.
- Rhymes for the Nursery by sisters Jane and Ann Taylor published in London, including Jane's "The Star" ("Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star").[10][11][12]
Births
- 1 February â Jane Williams (Ysgafell), writer (died 1885)
- 6 March â Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (died 1861)
- 9 April â Isambard Kingdom Brunel, engineer (died 1859)
- 21 April â George Cornewall Lewis, statesman (died 1863)
- 4 May â William Fothergill Cooke, inventor (died 1879)
- 20 May â John Stuart Mill, philosopher (died 1873)
- 27 June â Augustus De Morgan, mathematician, logician (died 1871)
- 10 November â Alexander Milne, admiral (died 1896)
- 11 December
- William Prowting Roberts, Chartist lawyer (died 1871)
- Alfred Swaine Taylor, toxicologist, "father of British forensic medicine" (died 1880)
Deaths
- c. January?? â Mungo Park, Scottish explorer (born 1771)
- 23 January â William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister (born 1759)[13]
- 19 February â Elizabeth Carter, writer (born 1717)
- 20 February â Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (born 1725)
- 17 March â David Dale, Scottish philanthropist (born 1739)
- 23 March â George Pinto, composer (born 1785)
- 24 May â John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal (born 1723)
- 10 July â George Stubbs, painter (born 1724)
- 13 September â Charles James Fox, statesman (born 1749)
- 22 October â Thomas Sheraton, furniture designer (born 1751)
- 23 November â Roger Newdigate, politician (born 1719)
- 29 December â Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, politician (born 1735)