The Great Exhibition of 1851
| Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations | |
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The Great Exhibition 1851
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| Overview | |
| BIE-class | Universal exposition |
| Category | Historical Expo |
| Name | Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations |
| Building | The Crystal Palace |
| Area | 10.4 ha (26 acres) |
| Invention(s) | Telegraph, Vulcanised Rubber |
| Visitors | 6,039,722 |
| Participant(s) | |
| Countries | 25 |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| City | London |
| Venue | Hyde Park |
| Coordinates | 51°30′11″N 0°10′12″W / 51.50306°N 0.17000°WCoordinates: 51°30′11″N 0°10′12″W / 51.50306°N 0.17000°W |
| Timeline | |
| Opening | 1 May 1851 |
| Closure | 15 October 1851 |
| Universal expositions | |
| Next | Exposition Universelle in Paris |
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October 1851. It was the first in a series of World's Fairs, exhibitions of culture and industry that became popular in the 19th century, and it was a much anticipated event. The Great Exhibition was organized by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. It was attended by famous people of the time, including Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family and the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred Tennyson. Music for the opening was under the direction of Sir George Thomas Smart and the continuous music from the exhibited organs for the Queen's procession was "under the superintendence of William Sterndale Bennett".
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was organized by Prince Albert, Henry Cole, Francis Henry, George Wallis, Charles Dilke and other members of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design. It was arguably a response to the highly successful French Industrial Exposition of 1844: indeed, its prime motive was for Britain to make "clear to the world its role as industrial leader". Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, was an enthusiastic promoter of the self-financing exhibition; the government was persuaded to form the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to establish the viability of hosting such an exhibition. Queen Victoria and her family visited three times. Although the Great Exhibition was a platform on which countries from around the world could display their achievements, Britain sought to prove its own superiority. The British exhibits at the Great Exhibition "held the lead in almost every field where strength, durability, utility and quality were concerned, whether in iron and steel, machinery or textiles." Britain also sought to provide the world with the hope of a better future. Europe had just struggled through "two difficult decades of political and social upheaval," and now Britain hoped to show that technology, particularly its own, was the key to a better future.
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