Events
- 17 January – The Duke of Wellington becomes Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. [1]
- 1 March – St David's College, Lampeter, Wales, opens its doors to its first students.
- 7 March – Shrigley abduction: Ellen Turner, a wealthy 15-year-old heiress from Cheshire, is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield. On 14 May Wakefield, his brother and a servant are sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the crime. Wakefield later becomes a colonial politician.
- 7 April – John Walker begins selling his invention, the "Lucifer" friction match. [1]
- 10 April – George Canning succeeds Lord Liverpool as British Prime Minister following the latter's resignation due to ill health after almost fifteen years in office. [2]
- 18 May – Red Barn Murder in Suffolk: Maria Marten is shot by her lover.
- 21 May – Launch of the London Standard newspaper.
- 21 June – The first of Peel's Acts begin to consolidate the criminal law. Hue and cry and benefit of clergy are abolished [3] and the setting of mantraps to catch poachers is made illegal.
- 6 July – Treaty of London between France, Britain and Russia to demand that the Turks agree to an armistice in Greece.
- 8 August – Prime Minister George Canning dies in office only 119 days after being appointed, making him the second shortest serving Prime Minister in British history.
- 31 August – Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich is appointed Prime Minister following the death of Canning, continuing the Canningite Government as the Goderich Ministry; he will serve for only 144 days.
- 20 October – Battle of Navarino (Greek War of Independence): British, French and Russian naval forces destroy the Turko-Egyptian fleet in Greece. [1] This is the last naval action to be fought under sail alone.
- 10 November – A banquet is held in the Thames Tunnel under construction in London, attended by the Duke of Wellington and Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- November – The term "socialist" is coined by Robert Owen in his London periodical, The Co-operative Magazine and Monthly Herald. [4] [5] [6]
Ongoing
- Anglo-Ashanti war (1823–1831)
Undated
- Physician Richard Bright first describes the renal condition which will become known as Bright's disease. [7]
- Scottish botanist Robert Brown observes the phenomenon of Brownian motion. [8]
- Yorkshire Philosophical Society begins excavation of St Mary's Abbey, York, prior to construction of the Yorkshire Museum on part of the site.