| Year Summary | Queen Victoria died on 22 January, aged 81 years old and has reigned nearly 64 years. Her eldest son, The Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales becomes King Edward VII. The Prime Minister is Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative). Alexandra Palace opens. Robert Falcon Scott sets sail on the RRS Discovery to explore the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Engineer Hubert Cecil Booth patents the electrically powered vacuum cleaner. The Royal Navy's first submarine, <em>Holland 1</em>, launched. Frank Hornby of Liverpool is granted a patent for the construction toy that will become Meccano (Hornby also made train sets). Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal, sent from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, the letter "S" in Morse. Imperial Tobacco founded by W. H. Wills. H. G. Wells' publishs <em>The First Men in the Moon.</em> |
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