* 1805: Battle of Trafalgar: British naval victory over France and Spain secures British control of the seas.
* 1807: Abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.
* 1812: War of 1812 begins between the United States and Great Britain over trade and territorial disputes.
* 1815: Battle of Waterloo: British-led coalition defeats Napoleon Bonaparte, ending the Napoleonic Wars.
* 1832: Great Reform Act expands the right to vote to more men in Great Britain.
* 1837: Queen Victoria ascends to the throne, beginning the Victorian era.
* 1840: Opium Wars: Great Britain defeats China in a series of conflicts over the opium trade.
* 1848: Chartist movement: A working-class political movement demanding universal suffrage and other reforms.
* 1851: Great Exhibition in London showcases the achievements of the Industrial Revolution.
* 1854: Crimean War: Great Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire fight against Russia.
* 1859: Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, introducing the theory of evolution by natural selection.
* 1867: Second Reform Act further expands the right to vote in Great Britain.
* 1870: Education Act introduces compulsory primary education in England and Wales.
* 1875: Royal Titles Act makes Queen Victoria Empress of India.
* 1886: Home Rule Bill for Ireland introduced in Parliament, but defeated.
* 1899: Boer War begins between Great Britain and the Boer republics in South Africa.
* 1901: Death of Queen Victoria and accession of King Edward VII.