September 29, 1829
An act of Parliament, at the request of Sir Robert Peel, created the Greater London Metropolitan Police Force, later known as Scotland Yard. The men, afterward nicknamed “bobbies,” were named after Sir Robert himself.
We recently reported that Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena in August 1815 and that Queen Caroline, the princess whose husband banned her from his coronation, died in August 1821. Here are some other notable events:
August 12, 1822, Lord Castlereagh, British Foreign Secretary, who was Foreign Secretary during the defeat of Napoleon, committed suicide.
August 16, 1819, A brigade of cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000 people who had gathered at Saint Peter’s Field in Manchester to demonstrate in favor of parliamentary reform. At least eighteen people died, and hundreds were injured. It became known as the Peterloo Massacre.
