home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- 1871
- Second report of the Royal Sanitary Commission stresses ΓÇÿthe close connexion between physical and moral pollutionΓÇÖ.
- Charles Darwin causes controversy with ΓÇÿThe Descent of ManΓÇÖ, claiming mankind is descended from primates.
-
- 1872
- BritainΓÇÖs Alkali Inspector Robert Angus Smith publishes Acid and Rain.
- Following 1871 Sanitary Commision report, Public Health Act covers Britain with Sanitary Authorities and Medical Officers of Health.
-
- 1875
- The Public Health Act rationalises legislation on sanitation and public health, and remains the basis of public health administration until the 1970s.
-
- 1876
- The Rivers Pollution Prevention Act is passed ­ but never enforced.
-
- 1880
- 2,000 smog-related deaths in London. National Smoke Abatement Institution founded.
-
- 1882
- Ancient Monuments Act, the first of its kind. An inspectorate is created.
-
- 1889
- Society for the Protection of Birds formed, forerunner of the RSPB. Members pledge not to wear feathers.
-
- 1892
- Last European cholera epidemic ravages Hamburg; those drinking purified water are conspicuously saved.
- First American environmental group, the Sierra Club, formed to lobby for protection of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
-
- 1895
- Following an American lead in Massachusetts, the National Trust is established in Britain.
-
- 1896
- Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius is the first to predict a rise in world temperatures as a result of burning fossil fuels.