1851

From ArticleWorld

1851 was a year in which many of today’s established media and sporting events were founded, and when a great exhibition was held for the queen’s pleasure.

Important Events

May 1st saw the opening of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park London. The exhibition was opened by Queen Victoria and was designed to show the industrial progress that was happening world-wide, although some cynics claim that it was merely a response from Britain to the 1844 Paris Exposition. The Exhibition became a symbol of British and commonwealth might and remains a much-discussed show of Victoria’s imperial powers. The show would run for 5 months before finally closing it’s doors on October 18th.

July of this year saw the famous chess game that would become known as ‘The Immortal Game’. The game was played between the German chess master Adolf Anderssen and French professional Lionel Kieseritzky at the Simpson’s-in-the-Strand in London. Andressen defeated Kieseritzky in 22 moves, but the game has been reviewed and replayed many times since and it remains one of the greatest examples of chess mastery.

August 22nd saw the culmination of the first America’s cup race in which the yacht America, would take the victory. The event was originally called the 100 Guinea’s Cup, and was played out on British waters. The United States would successfully defend the cup for an unprecedented 132 years, before in 1983 Australia II finally wrenched the prize away from them. The trophy itself is the oldest sports trophy that is still being contended to this day.

September 18th saw the birth of one of America’s Media pillars in the form of newspaper The New York Times. In October of the same year the international news and business giant Reuters was also founded.

Births and Deaths

The year 1883 saw the birth of some notable figures in history including the French commander of the allied forces in World War I and the man who accepted the German surrender Ferdinand Foch (D. 1929) on October 2nd. Also born in this year was the notorious Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday (D. 1887) on August 14th. Holliday would become known for his associations with the battle of the O.K Corral and with his acquaintance with Wyatt Earp. Those who died in this year included English author Mary Shelley on February 1st and English painter Joseph Mallord William Turner on December 19th.