American photography pioneer Robert Cornelius was born in Philadelphia on the 1st of March, 1809.
Cornelius, born to a Dutch immigrant father and a lamp manufacturer by profession, is credited as having taken the first photographic self-portrait, in 1839. He was required to sit still for more than ten minutes to capture the image.
Today he is sometimes called the inventor of the “selfie”.
Here is his portrait:
The death of Sir John Moore X
Part of the Peninsula War (1807-14), the Battle of Corunna took place in Spain on the 16th of January, 1809.
Fought in Galicia, the battle was between the United Kingdom and France, and concluded with a British victory. However, the battle also paved the way for French occupation of other areas.
The British lost 900 men; the French lost between 600 and 700.
Amongst the British dead was Sir John Moore, who was reassured of his victory before he died.
On the 25th of March, 1807, the world’s first passenger railway opened in Britain.
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway operated in Wales until 1960. The passenger cars were originally pulled by horses before being changed to steam locomotives, and then finally to electric trams.
The third theatre on London’s Drury Lane burnt to the ground on the 24th of February, 1809, after only standing for fifteen years.
The painting, circa 1809, depicts the sky on fire from Westminster Bridge as the building collapsed.
The theatre’s owner, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was famously seen drinking a glass of wine as the building burnt. He is said to have responded to baffled onlookers: “A man may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own fireside.”
The present day Theatre Royal, Drury Lane opened in 1812 and is today one of London’s most important theatres.
A map of London’s notorious Newgate Prison from 1800, with separate courtyards for debtors, men felons and women felons. Newgate was closed in 1902 and demolished in 1904.
In Times Gone By... 
