Fire
Fire breaks causing considerable damage, the cause is never discovered
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1865 in Great Britain
Explore 38 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1865.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1865
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 38 of 38 unique records.
38Unique records
1 of 1Page
31Named events on this page
25Named people on this page
13Places on this page
February
June
Royal Society
Huggins is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
August
Lord of the Bedchamber
Appointed Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales from 1866 to 1885
First Successful Antiseptic Fracture Treatment
Successfully treats a compound fracture using carbolic acid at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
October
Prime Minister of Great Britain
Appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain, 2nd term
Prime Minister of Great Britain
Sits in the Lords while Gladstone leads the Government in the Commons
Other events (month unknown)
1st Woman Doctor
Licensed by the Scottish Society of Apothecaries. 1st English woman to qualify in medicine
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Publication of "Alices Adventures In Wonderland"
Atlantic Cable
Engineer in Chief of Atlantic cable laying exhibition in steamship great Eastern
Atlantic Cable Expedition Fails Midway
A cable fault and loss of the line prevented completion of the 1865 laying attempt.
Battle of Chan-Chu-Fu
Ends the Tai Ping rebellion
Birmingham Free Library
Birmingham opens a municipal free library serving readers and students.
Birth of George V
Birth of George V, 2nd eldest son of Edward VII & Alexandra of Denmark
Birth of George V
Birth of George V, 2nd eldest son of Edward VII & Alexandra of Denmark
Birth of George V
Birth of George V, 2nd eldest son of Edward VII & Alexandra of Denmark
Burial
Buried in Westminster Abbey
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, 3rd term
Commander of Royal Engineers
Appointed Commander of the Royal Engineers at Gravesend
Death of Henry John Temple
Death of Henry John Temple
Discovery of Nile
Launches an expedition to discover the source of the Nile. Discovers the source of the River Nile
Election
Gladstones support for electoral reform and disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Ireland alienates him from his constituents in his Oxford University seat, and he loses it in the 1865 general election
Election
Stands as a candidate in South Lancashire, where he is elected its third Member of Parliament (South Lancashire at this time elected three MPs)
Election
Leads the Liberals to election victory but Palmerston dies before the first Cabinet
Election
Wins the election with a Liberal majority with 360 supporters against 290 for Derby
Electromagnetic Theory
Publishes equations showing electromagnetic waves can propagate through space.
Foreign Secretary of Great Britain
Appointed Foreign Minister, 2nd term
Franchise
Earl Russell forms his second ministry, Russell & Gladstone (now the senior Liberal in the House of Commons) attempt to pass a reform bill, which is defeated in the House of Commons because of the refusal of the "Adullamite" Whigs, led by Robert Lowe, to support it
Great Eastern Begins Atlantic Cable Expedition
The vessel sailed to deploy a new submarine telegraph cable between Europe and North America.
Health of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
1st English woman to qualify in medicine
Health Reform
Licensed by the Scottish Society of Apothecaries. 1st English woman to qualify in medicine
Hungerford Thames Rail Services Expand
The railway bridge formed an important approach for trains entering Charing Cross station.
Law of Octaves
Formulates the Law of Octaves after observing that similar chemical properties recur at intervals when elements are arranged by increasing atomic weight.
Leader of House of Commons
Leads the Liberals to election victory but Palmerston dies before the first Cabinet
Longitude Support For Atlantic Cable
Greenwich time signals helped provide accurate longitude during transatlantic cable operations, reflecting astronomy's importance for maritime engineering.
Oxford University
Gladstones support for electoral reform and disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Ireland alienates him from his constituents in his Oxford University seat, and he loses it in the 1865 general election
Passengers Witness Solar Eclipse Near Brazil
Passengers on SS Great Britain observed a total solar eclipse near Brazil during a passage home from Australia.
Prime Minister of Great Britain
Appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain
Reform of Church Governance
Announces he can no longer support the establishment of the Irish Anglican Church
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.