[Steven Newport There were a couple of timelines in and under the website, which I have combined below. The text underneath this paragraph are my father original words associated with one of those timelines. The dates of all have been combined.]
Below is a list of some of the historical events that happened during the life-time of my ancestors - from the mid-1700s to the mid-1900s. These are events that they may have known or heard of. The tendency is for us to think of our ancestors as living in a static world where, if, for example, they were born in 1720, then, throughout the whole of their lives they wore the clothes and did the things that one wore and did in the 1720s. Well, at least, I did until I started to look at historial timelines. In reality, their lives would have passed through many periods of change; in dress, in society, and by improvements in technology
The changes in language must have been no less than the changes we see, and struggle with, to-day. My grandsons, for example, keeps talking about things being "cool" when they, quite obviously, aren't - even for them a hot day is "cool"!
Charles Dickens, when visiting America, was asked whether he wanted his meal "right-away" but, after a careful minute's consideration, he replied that he would have it just where he was; the use of "right- away" to mean "now" hadn't yet reached England!
Something I think to be most strange is that my grandfather was born during the American Civil War, which to me is very old history and, yet, I knew my grandfather!
John William Newport
Steven Newport I felt that, especially where we talk about things like births, deaths, and things directly related to the souls that lived in this time, that an overall timeline may be useful; setting the lives they led in a form of context.
| Year | Event |
| 1522 | A single ship from Ferdinand Magellan's expedition completed the first circumnavigation of the globe, opening up global trade routes. |
| 1526 | Babur founded the Mughal Empire in India, which would last until 1857. |
| 1526 | Ottoman Turks under Suleiman the Magnificent defeated the Hungarians at the Battle of Mohács, leading to the partition of Hungary and the rise of the Habsburg monarchy in Bohemia and parts of Hungary. |
| 1530s | Henry VIII of England severed ties with the Catholic Church, initiating the English Reformation and declaring himself the head of the new Church of England. |
| 1556 | The deadliest earthquake in history hit Shaanxi, China, killing approximately 830,000 people. |
| 1556 | Akbar the Great began his reign as Mughal emperor, expanding the empire across most of Northern India. |
| 1562 | Sir John Hawkins began the British slave trade, marking the formal entry of England into the transatlantic slave trade. |
| 1588 | The English navy defeated the Spanish Armada, a pivotal moment in the shift of naval power from Spain to England. |
| 1665 | The Great Plauge |
| 1688 | The 'Glorious Revolution' |
| 1703 | The Great Storm |
| 1718 | Britsh convicts begin being transported overseas |
| 1723 | Poaching becomes a capital offence in Britain |
| 1726 | 5 x great grandfather born, John Newport (1726-1813) |
| 1727 | George V dies and is succeeded by George VII |
| 1739 | Britain declares war on Spain |
| 1740-1744 | Anson sailed around the world in HMS Centurion |
| 1754 | 4 x great grandfather born, John Newport (1754-1813) |
| 1755 | The Great Earthquake |
| 1756-1763 | The Seven Years' War (which included the French and Indian War in North America) ended with the Treaty of Paris, establishing British dominance in North America and India. |
| 1759 | 4 x great grandmother born, Susannah Brookes (1759-1846) |
| 1769-1770 | James Cook extensively explored and mapped New Zealand and Australia, facilitating British colonization of the region. |
| 1776 | The United States declared independence from Britain, recognized by Britain in 1783 after the American Revolutionary War. |
| 1779 | Start of the Industrial Revolution |
| 1782 | 3 x great grandfather born, John Newport (1782-1845) |
| 1783 | Steam powered cotton mill invented by Sir Richard Arkwright |
| 1788 | First convict ships are sent to Australia |
| 1796 | Edward Jenner invented a vaccination against small pox |
| 1799 | Income tax introduced to pay for the Napoleonic war. |
| 1789 | The French Revolution began, leading to the overthrow of the monarchy and profound political and social changes across Europe. |
| Late 18th Century | The Industrial Revolution began in Britain, introducing significant technological, economic, and social changes that would spread globally. |
| 1801 | First census - population of Britain is 8 million |
| 1803-1815 | The Napoleonic Wars reshaped the political map of Europe. |
| 1804 | The first steam locomotive is built by Richard Trevithick |
| 1805 | 2 x great uncle born, William Newport - Royal Marine (1805-1865) |
| 1805 Oct 21 | Battle of Trafalgar |
| 1806 | 2 x great grandmother born, Sarah Spicer (1806-1880) |
| 1807 Mar 25 | Abolition of the slave trade in Britain |
| 1809 | 2 x great grandfather born, John Newport (1809-1882) |
| 1812 Feb 07 | Charles Dickens born |
| 1815 | The Battle of Waterloo |
| 1820 Jan 29 | George III dies |
| 1830 Jun 26 | George IV dies |
| 1830 | The 'Swing' Riots |
| 1832 Jan 2 | Rev. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) born |
| 1834 Aug 01 | Slavery abolished throughout the British Empire |
| 1837 | Great grandfather born, George Newport (1837-1906) |
| 1838 Jun 28 | Coronation of Queen Victoria |
| 1840 | The world's first prepaid, adhesive postage stamp introduced |
| 1840 Feb 10 | Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert |
| 1843 | Great grandmother born, Matilda Martha Natt (1843-1931) |
| 1845-1848 | Potato famine in Ireland |
| 1851 May 01 | The Great Exhibition opens in London |
| 1854-1856 | Crimean War |
| 1857 | The Indian Rebellion led to the end of the British East India Company's rule and the formal establishment of British colonial rule (the British Raj) in India. |
| 1861 Dec 14 | Death of Prince Albert |
| 1861-1865 | The American Civil War resulted in the abolition of slavery in the United States. |
| 1867 | Grandfather born, John James Newport (1867-1946) |
| 1868 May 26 | Last public hanging in England |
| 1869 | The Suez Canal opened, significantly shortening sea routes between Europe and Asia./td> |
| 1870 Jun 08 | Charles Dickens dies |
| 1871 | The unification of Germany occurred, establishing the German Empire. |
| 1873 | Grandmother born, Emily Harriet Aslett (1873-1958) |
| 1875 Aug 24 | Captain Matthew Webb swims English Channel |
| 1881 Oct 26 | Gunfight at the OK corral |
| 1882 Apr 03 | Jesse James shot and killed by Bob Ford |
| 1882 Apr 19 | Charles Darwin dies |
| 1883 | First electric railway built at Brighton by Magnus Volks |
| 1883 | The death of Karl Marx, a key figure in the development of communist theory. |
| 1898 | Father born, Cuthbert John Victor Newport (1898-1980) |
| 1898 | H. G. Wells publishes 'The War of the Worlds' |
| 1898-1900 | The Boxer Rebellion in China |
| 1901 | Queen Victoria dies |
| 1908 | The Spring Snowstorm |
| 1909 | First Old Age Pensions paid |
| 1910 | Death of Edward VII |
| 1914 | First World War - Britain declares war on Germany |
| 1918 | WW1 - Armistice declared. |
| 1919 Jun 28 | First World War officially ends (Treaty of Versailles) |
| 1930-1933 | The Depression |
| 1932 | Frank Whittle (later Sir Frank) invents the Jet Engine |
| 1932 | The Tithe 'Riot' |
| 1939-1945 | The Second World War |
| 1951 | The Festival of Britain |
| 1951 | Sir Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister |
| 1952 | King George VI dies and Elizabeth becomes Queen |
| 1953 | Coronation of Queen Elizabeth |
| 1953 | Stalin dies and Nikita Khrushchev takes over |
| 1953 | DNA discovered |
| 1957 | The EEC is born with the signing of the Treaty of Rome |
| 1958 | Charles de Gaulle becomes President of France |