A Chronology of State Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Related ...

were passed by the Commons in 1816, 1817 and 1819, but rejected by the Lords on each
occasion. See 1827 and 1828.
Income tax withdrawn. See 1842.
1817 Typhus epidemic in Edinburgh.
1818 Regulation of Parish Vestries Act (58 Geo.III, c.69) set rules for the conduct of
meetings; disenfranchised persons who had not paid their rates; gave votes to non-resident
occupiers; and introduced plural voting. See 1831.
Foundation of Charing Cross Hospital, London.
1819 Massacre of Peterloo. Thousands of workers from Manchester and the surrounding
cotton mills gathered peacefully at St Peter's Field, to be addressed by their leaders, were
savagely dispersed by the local yeomanry and regular cavalry acting on orders from the
magistrates. Eleven civilians were killed and over 400 wounded.
Poor Relief Act (59 Geo.III, c.12), Sturges Bourne Act, attempted to ensure that
property owners had an influential say in the conduct of poor relief; gave parishes optional
power to hire paid officers (assistant overseers), and to establish a formal procedure whereby
they might elect committees to supervise the work. See 1834.
Cotton Mills and Factories Act (59 Geo.III, c.66) prohibited children under the age of
nine years from working in cotton mills, and restricted those over the age of nine to a 12 hour
day. Enforcement was in the hands of local magistrates. The act owed much to the efforts of
Robert Owen (see 1799). See 1833.
John McAdam (1756-1836) introduced solid road surfaces. In 1820 he published
"Present State of Road Making" and in 1827 was appointed general surveyor of roads.
James Cleland (1770-1840) persuaded the Glasgow authorities to establish a register of
deaths to be kept by the wardens of burial grounds. In 1820 he persuaded the magistrates of
the City to conduct a voluntary enumeration of its inhabitants to include details of sex, age,
country of origin, duration of residence, occupation, religion and status. Cleland was a
pioneer in understanding the need for detailed and accurate denominator data in calculating
rates of the occurrence of events. See 1833.
1820 – 1828
1820 Street lighting installed in Pall Mall, London.
1821 Census carried out on 28 May as for 1801 with the addition of recording people's ages.
Population of England and Wales estimated to be 12 million.
Inclosure Act (1&2 Geo.IV, c.23) (note spelling) strengthened the rights of landlords to
take over land allotted to them by the Commissioners. See 1836.
Steamships introduced on the Dover-Calais route.
1823 Thomas Wakley (1795-1862) founded The Lancet.
Capital punishment abolished for minor offences. See 1838.
George Birkbeck (1776-1841, physician) founded Glasgow Mechanics Institution; and
in 1824 the Mechanics Institution, London (later Birkbeck College). He was a founder and
councillor of University College, London. See 1826.
"An Essay on the Education and Duties of General Practitioners in Medicine and
Surgery" by Thomas Alcock (1784-1833) published in the Transactions of the Associated