1809 in The United Kingdom - Events

Events

• 5 January - The Treaty of the Dardanelles between the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire is concluded.
• 16 January - Peninsular War: Battle of Corunna in Galicia (Spain): The British (under General Sir John Moore, who is killed) resist an attempt by the French (under Marshal Soult) to prevent them embarking.
• 1 March - The literary and political periodical The Quarterly Review is first published by John Murray.
• 18 April - First running of the 2,000 Guineas Stakes horse race at Newmarket, won by Wizard.
• 22 April - General Sir Arthur Wellesley arrives at Lisbon onboard HMS Surveillante to take command of the British troops in Portugal.
• 10–11 May - Peninsular War: Battle of Grijó: the Anglo-Portuguese Army commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley defeats the French army commanded by Marshal Soult in Portugal.
• 12 May - Peninsular War: Second Battle of Porto: the Anglo-Portuguese Army commanded by Wellesley crosses the Douro, drives the French army commanded by Marshal Soult out of Porto and forces them to retreat into Spain.
• 24 May - Dartmoor Prison opens, to house French prisoners of war.
• 19 June - Law passed to prevent blatant sale of seats in the House of Commons to supporters.
• 7 June - Shoja Shah of Afghanistan signs a treaty with the British. Only weeks later, he is succeeded by Mahmud Shah.
• 27–28 July - Wellesley's British, Portuguese, and Spanish army defeats a much larger French force at the Battle of Talavera in Spain.
• 30 July - British invasion army lands in Walcheren.
• 4 September - Wellesley is appointed Baron Douro and Viscount Wellington in the peerage of the United Kingdom.
• 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 lead to the Old Price Riots which last for 64 days.
• 4 October - Portland resigns due to ill health; Spencer Perceval takes over as Prime Minister.
• 25 October - Statue of Horatio Nelson by Richard Westmacott, erected by public subscription, is unveiled in Birmingham, the first statue of Admiral Lord Nelson in the country.
• 10 November - The Berners Street Hoax: Theodore Hook manages to attract dozens of people to 54 Berners Street in London.
• 25 November - Benjamin Bathurst, a British diplomat, mysteriously disappears (having possibly been murdered) in Perleberg, west of Berlin.
• 26 December - British invasion force leaves Vlissingen.