Victorians
The Victorian era takes its name from Queen Victoria, who ruled between 1837–1901. There were nine British prime ministers during the Victorian era. The Victorians are popularised by famed author Charles Dickens; the technological and social change caused by the industrial revolution; serial killer Jack the Ripper; and the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Find out everything you need to know about the Victorians here…
What was daily life like for people in the Victorian era? From the slums of 19th-century London and life in the workhouse to the court of Queen Victoria and the revolution of the railways, we bring you the facts
Victorian zoos Animal attraction in the 19th century
One of history's most iconic monarchs, Queen Victoria (1819–1901) ruled for more than 60 years, from 1837 until her death in 1901. She was empress of the world's largest ever empire, and her name denotes an entire era of British history. She was mother to nine children – four boys and five girls born between 1840 and 1857 – with her beloved husband, Prince Albert. Victoria was married to Prince Albert from 1840 to 1861, when Albert died from typhoid at the age of 42. Queen Victoria had 42 grandchildren, many of whom took positions in the royal houses of Europe, and she became known as the ‘grandmother of Europe’. Here's everything you need to know about Queen Victoria…
We bring you the facts about crime and punishment in the Victorian era – from Jack the Ripper, who stalked the streets of Whitechapel for his five victims in 1888, to the pick-pocketing street urchins popularised by Charles Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’. Why were the Victorians so fascinated by murder? Did grave-robbers really steal corpses in the dead of night? Find out more below…
Everything you need to know about the industrial revolution, the term given to the era in the 18th and 19th centuries during which the United Kingdom saw many developments in technology and productivity. It created great wealth and transformed towns, bringing factories, mines and machinery to previously rural areas. The industrial revolution also caused revolutions in both transport and communications – including the development of canals and railways – and led to the growth of the working class in prosperity and influence, though it also caused social problems and poverty across the country
Chamberlain and Cadbury of Birmingham The first families in Britain’s second city
Burke and Hare Lisa Rosner on the pair's crime spree
There were nine British prime ministers during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901): William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne (1834 and 1835–41); Sir Robert Peel (1834–35 and 1841–46); Lord John Russell (1846–52 and 1865–66); Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby (1852, 1858–59 and 1866–68); George Hamilton-Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen (1852–55); Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston (1855–58 and 1859–65); Benjamin Disraeli (1868 and 1874–80); William Gladstone (1868–74, 1880–85, 1886 and 1892–94); Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury (1885–86, 1886–92 and 1895–1902); and Archibald Primrose, Earl of Rosebery (1894–95)
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) is a famed writer of Victorian literature whose works include ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘Great Expectations’, ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘David Copperfield’. Charles Dickens’s writing is famous for its social commentary and observation of Victorian society, and he is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 19th-century
