1809 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1809 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom
*Prime Minister - William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Tory (until 4 October), Spencer Perceval, Tory

Events

* 5 January - Treaty of the Dardanelles between Britain and the Ottoman Empire concluded.
* 16 January - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna.
* 18 April - First running of the 2,000 Guineas Stakes horse race.
* 24 May - Dartmoor Prison opens, first to house French prisoners of war.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 19 June - Law passed to prevent blatant sale of seats in the British House of Commons to supporters.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 243-244|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 7 June - Shoja Shah of Afghanistan signs a treaty with the British. Only weeks later, he is succeeded by Mahmud Shah.
* 28 July - Wellington's British, Portuguese, and Spanish army defeats a much larger French force at the Battle of Talavera.
* 30 July - British invasion army lands in Walcheren.
* 18 September - A new theatre to hold the Royal Opera House opens in London to replace the first burnt down in a fire in 1808 (pictured). The price increases led to the Old Price Riots which lasted for 64 days.
* 4 October - Portland resigns due to ill health; Spencer Perceval takes over as Prime Minister.
* 26 December - British invasion force leaves Vlissingen.

Undated

* "Preventive Water Guard", forerunner of Her Majesty's Coastguard formed.

Births

* 12 February - Charles Darwin, naturalist (died 1882)
* 7 April - James Glaisher, meteorologist and aeronaut (died 1903)
* 4 June - John Henry Pratt, clergyman and mathematician (died 1871)
* 6 August - Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet (died 1892)
* 27 November - Fanny Kemble, British-born American actress and writer (died 1893)
* 29 December - William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1898)

Deaths

* 16 January - John Moore, British general (killed in battle) (born 1761)
* 20 February - Richard Gough, antiquary (born 1735)
* 25 February - John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, (born 1730)
* 25 March - Anna Seward, writer (born 1747)
* 13 May - Beilby Porteus, bishop and abolitionist (born 1731)
* 18 August - Matthew Boulton, manufacturer and engineer (born 1728)
* 8 October - James Elphinston, philologist (born 1721)
* 30 October - William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1738)
* 9 November - Paul Sandby, cartographer and painter (born 1725)

References

ee also