Great Exhibition

Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations
The Great Exhibition 1851
Overview
BIE-class	Universal exposition
Category	Historical Expo
Name	Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations
Building(s)	The Crystal Palace
Area	10.4 ha (26 acres)
Invention(s)	Telegraph, vulcanised rubber
Visitors	6,039,722
Location
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
City	London
Venue	Hyde Park, London
Coordinates	51°30′11″N 0°10′12″W / 51.50306°N 0.17000°W / 51.50306; -0.17000
Timeline
Opening	(1851-05-01) (1851-10-15)May 1 – October 15, 1851 (5 months and 2 weeks)
Closure	15 October 1851 (1851-10-15)
Universal expositions
Next	Exposition Universelle in Paris

The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or 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. The event was organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, husband of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom.

Famous people of the time attended the Great Exhibition, including Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Michael Faraday (who assisted with the planning and judging of exhibits), Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist royal family and the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot, Alfred Tennyson, and William Makepeace Thackeray. The future Arts and Crafts proponent William Morris, then a teenager, later said he refused to attend the Exhibition on the grounds of taste.^[1] The opening music, under the superintendence of William Sterndale Bennett, was directed by George Thomas Smart. The world's first soft drink, Schweppes, was the official sponsor of the event.^[2]