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The Gillies Ball, 1868

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The Gillies Ball, 1868

by W. & D. Downey
albumen print, 25 May 1868
5 5/8 in. x 7 1/8 in. (142 mm x 181 mm)
Purchased, 1975
Primary Collection
NPG P22(3)

Artistback to top

  • W. & D. Downey (active 1855-1940), Photographers. Artist associated with 936 portraits.

Sittersback to top

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Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1868back to top

Current affairs

Following the Earl of Derby's resignation, Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister. However, following a near immediate Liberal election victory, he is replaced as Prime Minister by Gladstone. Gladstone sets out his mission to 'pacify Ireland'.
Separately, the first meeting of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is held in Manchester.
Public executions are abolished, and are moved from outside Newgate gaol to inside the prison.

Art and science

Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone published. Credited with writing the first sensation novel The Woman in White, Collins's claims another first here, as the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the Herncastle diamond, is recognised as one of the first detective novels.

International

An uprising against Spanish rule in Cuba sparks off the Ten Years' War, in which 200,000 lives are lost. Cubans in the eastern provinces unite under wealthy planter Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. Another armed uprising takes place against Spanish rule in the town of Lares in Puerto Rico, known as the 'Grito de Lares'.

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