Social Victorians/Timeline/1885

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"In 1885 the Queen conferred a peerage on Nathaniel Rothschild, and against much opposition from the landed aristocracy the Prince of Wales had become intimate with the Rothschild family and admitted them into his circle" (Baring-Gould II 568, n. 20).

January 1885
George Bernard Shaw and Annie Besant met at a meeting of the Dialectical Society in January 1885 (Holroyd, vol. 1, p. 140).

26 January 1885, Monday
Arthur Collins meets Bret Harte "at the home of Lord Alfred Paget" (http://books.google.com/books?id=WEDewmUnapcC, p. 240).

14 March 1885, Saturday
Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, Or the Town of Titipu opened at the Savoy.

3 April 1885, Friday
Good Friday

5 April 1885, Sunday
Easter Sunday

6 April 1885, Monday
On 10 April 1885, the ILN says this: "An excellent variety entertainment was prepared at the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern, Waterloo-road, for Easter week, including the "Night Watch in Egypt" — the usual science lecture and ballad concert being discontinued in its favour. These will, however, be resumed next week, and be continued during the rest of the season." (Illustrated London News (London, England), Saturday, April 11, 1885; pg. 373; Issue 2399, Col. C)

18 April 1885, Saturday
"The remains of the late Lord Mayor Nottage were placed in St. Paul's Cathedral last Saturday after a very impressive service, at which a large congregation attended. The present Lord Mayor and Sheriffs went in their state coaches, accompanied by a procession of City officials, and all the way from the Mansion House the streets were densely thronged by spectators. The coffin, which was covered with flowers, was placed on a catafalque beneath the dome until the conclusion of the service, when it was removed to the crypt." (Illustrated London News (London, England), Saturday, April 25, 1885; pg. 440; Issue 2401, Col. C; Royal Visit to Ireland (Supplement)). "Primrose Day, in memory of the late Lord Beaconsfield, was celebrated last Saturday in London and throughout the country even more generally than on any former occasion. On Sunday, the anniversary of his Lordship's death, a wreath of primroses sent by the Queen was placed on his grave at Hughenden. Lord John Manners presided on Saturday evening over a Primrose League banquet, in St. James's Hall, at which upwards of 600 gentlemen were present. The toast of the evening, "The Primrose League," was proposed by Lord Randolph Churchill. Viscount Bury, Sir H. Hoare, M.P., Mr. Sclater-Booth, M.P., and other well-known Conservatives also spoke to toasts." (Illustrated London News (London, England), Saturday, April 25, 1885; pg. 440; Issue 2401, Col. C; Royal Visit to Ireland (Supplement))

24 May 1885, Sunday
Whit Sunday

3 June 1885, Wednesday
Derby Day.

According to the Morning Post, New Club Dance. / Chevalier L. Desanges and Mrs. Desanges' at home at 16, Stratford-place, four till seven. No cards. / Royal College of Music 10th annual pupils' concert, West Theatre of the Royal Albert Hall. ("Arrangements for This Day." The Morning Post Wednesday, 3 June 1885: p. 5 [of 8], Col. 5B).

26 June 1885, Friday
There was apparently a regular celebration of Arthur Collins' birthday, 26 June, by Bret Harte, George Du Maurier, Arthur Sullivan, Alfred Cellier, Arthur Blunt, and John Hare (Nissen, Axel. Brent Harte: Prince and Pauper: 239. ). Choosing 1885–1902 as the dates because those apparently are the dates of the close relationship between Harte and Collins, ending in Harte's death in 1902.

9 July 1885, Thursday
The Men and Women's Club was rededicated "to focus on the relations between the two sexes" (Gillham, Nicholas Wright. A Life of Sir Francis Galton: From African Exploration to the Birth of Eugenics. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Page 274). The inaugural address was given by Karl Pearson, his paper "The Woman's Question" (Walkowitz 145); members included Pearson, Robert Parker, Ralph Thicknesse, Bryan Donkin ("doctor" of Eleanor Marx Aveling), Olive Schreiner, and the Sharpe sisters (Elizabeth, Maria and Loetita), plus enough to make 14 members when the club began; there were more women than men at first. Also present seem to have been a Mrs. Brown, a Miss Mills, and Emma Brooke; they corresponded with Elizabeth Cobb about the paper (Walkowitz 150). Charlotte Wilson read it and critiqued it in an essay of her own; she was not a member (Walkowitz 150-51). Henrietta Muller read her own paper to the club "The Other Side of the Question," at the next meeting, October 1885 (Walkowitz 151).

11 August 1885, Tuesday
Lord Houghton (Richart Monckton Milnes) died of a heart attack at Vichy (Pope-Hennessy Lord Crewe 23). The funeral was "in the little marshy churchyard of Ferry Fryston in the West Riding" (Pope-Hennessy Lord Crewe 24). There must have been a number of social events around this. Richard Milnes then became Lord Houghton.

31 August 1885, Monday
Summer Bank Holiday

10 September 1885, Thursday
"Lord Carrington, the newly appointed Governor of New South Wales, was entertained at a farewell banquet by the county of Bucks at Beaconsfield on the 10th inst., Mr. E. Lawson, the lord of the manor, being the host. The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos occupied the chair, and Mr. Lawson the vice-chair. Lord Carrington's health was cordially drunk, and his Lordship replied in an interesting speech, speaking of the extent of our colonies and the importance of the mother country cultivating close relations with them. Lord Rosebery, proposing "The Empire," dwelt on the importance of a closer [Col A/B] union between the mother country and the colonies. He proposed the health of the Agents-General for the several Governments of teh Colonies, those present being Sir Saul Samuel, Agent for New South Wales; Sir Arthur Blyth, Agent for South Australia; Sir Charles Mills, Agent for Cape Colony; Mr. R. Murray Smith, Agent for Victoria; the Hon. J. F. Garrick, Agent for Queensland. The toast was responded to by Sir Saul Samuel, who expressed teh ardent feeling of loyalty entertained amongst the people of Australia for the mother country. He was convinced that no fear of separation need be harboured so long as England continued to respect the rights and privileges of the colonies. He [Col B/C] greeted Lord Carrington inthe name of the colony over whose government he was about to preside, and predicted for him a pleasant sojourn at the Antipodes. We give an Illustration of the scene at this farewell banquet. [new paragraph] The Right Hon. Charles Robert Carington, third Baron Carrington (the title is thus spelt differently from the family name), was born May 16, 1843, was educated at Eton, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his degree of B.A. in 1863, and was a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards. In 1868 he succeeded his father in the peerage, which was created in 1797, the first Lord Carrington being Mr. Robert Smith, M.P. for Nottingham, whose son, the second Peer, in 1839, [301 Col C/ 302 Col A] assumed the name of Carington, by Royal license, instead of Smith, and married a daughter of Lord Willoughby D'Eresby. The present Lord Carrington, during three years before his elevation to the Upper House, was M.P. for High Wycombe, and is attached to the Liberal Party. He holds, in right of his maternal ancestors, the office of Joint Hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain. He accompanied, as Aide-de-Camp, the Prince of Wales in his visit to India ten years ago, and has since 1881 been Captain of the Queen's Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms; he is Lieutenant-Colonel of the third battalion of Oxfordshire Light Infantry Volunteers. Lord Carrington married, in 1878, the Hon. Cecilia Margaret Harbord, daughter of Lord Suffield, and has children. He seat is Wycombe Abbey, Buckinghamshire." (Dinner to Lord Carrington.Illustrated London News (London, England), Saturday, September 19, 1885; pp. 301-302; Issue 2422, Cols)

October 1885
The second meeting of the Men and Women's Club; Henrietta Muller responded to Pearson's paper of 9 July 1885 with "The Other Side of the Question" (Bland 12).

1 October 1885, Thursday
Emma Nevada and Raymond Palmer married in Paris (https://www.msu.edu/~graye/emma/chronolo.html). Here is the article published in the New York Times: "Marriage of Miss Nevada. Paris, Oct. 1. — Mlle. Emma Nevada was married to-day to Dr. Raymond Palmer, of Birmingham, England. The civil service took place at the English Embassy and the religious ceremonies at the Church of the Passionist Fathers. The bridesmaids were Misses Morris, Johnston, Everest, and Tift, of America. Signor Salvini, the Italian tragedian was the 'best man.' The attendance was large, American, English, and Parisian fashionable society being well represented. The occasion was marked by much enthusiasm, and the display of flowers and elegant costumes lent an air of gayety to the scene. The whole of the American colony and a large number of notabilities attended the ceremonies. The Rev. Father Michael Watts-Russell, of the Passionate Order, Rector of St. Joseph's Retreat, Highgate Hil, London, delivered an eloquent oration. A string band furnished music for the occasion, Miss Laura Moore sang a solo, with harp accompaniment. The wedding breakfast was served at the Hotel Athenee to the bridal party and guests. Signor Salvini placed a diamond bracelet upon the bride's wrist, and many eulogistic speeches were made." (2 October 1885, New York Times. Online: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E01E5D8153FE533A25751C0A9669D94649FD7CF)

31 October 1885, Saturday
Halloween

November 1885
There was a meeting of the Men and Women's Club in November 1885.

5 November 1885, Thursday
Guy Fawkes Day

December 1885
"At the December meeting [of the Men and Women's Club], club member Dr. Reginald Ryle" gave a paper, on "some physiological facts which bear upon the relations of the sexes" (Bland 15).

25 December 1885, Friday
Christmas Day

26 December 1885, Saturday
Boxing Day