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1 May 1851
Great Exhibition
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Queen Victoria opens the Great
Exhibition, a display of products from round the world, and a celebration
of Britain's industrial dominance. Its planning was led by Prince Albert, and it is housed in the
Crystal Palace, a vast structure of prefabricated glass panels and iron,
designed by Joseph Paxton and erected in a matter of weeks in Hyde Park.
There are 6,000 exhibits on show from nations from across the globe
and 7,000 from Britain. They range from musical instruments to guns,
from chocolate-stirring machines to locomotives. Special 'shilling
days' offer cheap entry, and people travel in from the regions
on the new railways. The exhibition is a huge success, firing the public
with pride and drawing an estimated six million visitors. Queen Victoria
herself visits more than 40 times. (See also Industrial might.)
After the exhibition closes (with British products winning most of
the prizes), the Crystal Palace is taken down and re-erected in south
London. It will remain there until it burns down in 1936.
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