360The Great Exhibition opens in London's Crystal Palace
On 1 May 1851, the Great Exhibition opened in the Crystal Palace in London's Hyde Park. The huge glass and iron hall held more than 100,000 exhibits from around the world, from steam engines to diamonds. About six million visitors came, and it inspired the world's fairs and expos that followed, including Expo 2030 in Riyadh.
The exhibition was championed by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, and the civil servant Henry Cole, to show off modern industry and design.
The gardener and architect Joseph Paxton designed the hall, inspired by his greenhouses. Built from prefabricated iron and nearly 300,000 panes of glass, it was put up in only a few months and was large enough to enclose full-grown trees.
Exhibits came from Britain, its empire and dozens of other countries: printing presses, telescopes, textiles, early photographs and the Koh-i-Noor diamond. Cheap tickets and new railways let ordinary people visit.
The profits helped found the museums of London's South Kensington, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum. World's fairs followed in Paris, New York and elsewhere, and the tradition continues in today's World Expos.
- 1 May 1851
- The exhibition opens
- October 1851
- It closes after about six million visits
- 1854
- The Crystal Palace is rebuilt in south London
- 1936
- The Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire
Sources: Victoria and Albert Museum · Science Museum · Britannica.