Events
- 1 January - Sierra Leone becomes a British Crown Colony.
- 18 February - First recorded rescue using the Manby Mortar when the crew of the Plymouth brig Elizabeth stranded off Great Yarmouth are hauled safely to shore under the direction of Captain Manby.
- 2 May - End of Anglo-Spanish War and beginning of Peninsular War as Spain allies with the United Kingdom and Portugal against France.
- 20 July - Henry Crabb Robinson makes the first despatch from a specialist war reporter, to The Times newspaper.
- 1 August - Peninsular War: British expeditionary force lands near Oporto.
- 21 August - Peninsular War: British-Portuguese victory over the French at the Battle of Vimeiro.
- 21 October - Nelson's Pillar in Dublin is completed.
- 20 December - The original Covent Garden Theatre in London is destroyed by a fire along with most of the scenery, costumes and scripts.
Read more about this topic: 1808 In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“Individuality is founded in feeling; and the recesses of feeling, the darker, blinder strata of character, are the only places in the world in which we catch real fact in the making, and directly perceive how events happen, and how work is actually done.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“There are no little events in life, those we think of no consequence may be full of fate, and it is at our own risk if we neglect the acquaintances and opportunities that seem to be casually offered, and of small importance.”
—Amelia E. Barr (1831–1919)
“This is certainly not the place for a discourse about what festivals are for. Discussions on this theme were plentiful during that phase of preparation and on the whole were fruitless. My experience is that discussion is fruitless. What sets forth and demonstrates is the sight of events in action, is living through these events and understanding them.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)