Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns
by William Holl Jr, after George Richmond
stipple engraving, 1862 or after
12 in. x 8 7/8 in. (304 mm x 226 mm) plate size; 22 1/4 in. x 14 7/8 in. (565 mm x 378 mm) paper size
Given by Grillion's Club, 1903
Reference Collection
NPG D20695
Sitterback to top
- Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819-1885), Lord Chancellor and philanthropist. Sitter in 20 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- William Holl Jr (1807-1871), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 177 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
- George Richmond (1809-1896), Portrait painter and draughtsman; son of Thomas Richmond. Artist or producer associated with 337 portraits, Sitter in 14 portraits.
Events of 1862back to top
Current affairs
The Lancashire cotton famine, a depression in the north-west textile industry brought about by the American civil war, reaches its climax. With large numbers of mills closing after Confederate blockades halted cotton supplies, many Lancashire families were in receipt of relief.Art and science
Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard carry out the first pasteurisation tests, the process of heating liquids at 55 degree Celsius or higher for short periods of time, destroying viruses and harmful organisms such as bacteria and yeast. .Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables is published, covering the Napoleonic wars. It traces the ex-convict Jean Valjean's character against wider questions of social and political justice, duty and love.
International
Otto Eduard Leopold Bismarck becomes Minister-President of Prussia, appointed by Wilhelm I after the liberal Diet refused to authorise funding for a proposed reorganisation of the army. Bismarck, intent on maintaining royal supremacy, engineers the Unification of Germany during his time in office.John Hanning Speke claims to have found the source of the Nile, proving that the Victoria Nile issued from the north end of lake Victoria, over Ripon Falls.
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