Great Ormond Street Hospital

Historical eventFebruary 141852

Great Ormond Street Hospital

The Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, was founded in London.

Everything on February 14Original source
Photo: Nilfanion · CC BY-SA 3.0

In context

When
Saturday, February 14 1852174 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
19th century · 1850s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1852.

What happened

History Origins Main entrance to Great Ormond Street Hospital The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street was founded on 14 February 1852 after a long campaign by Dr Charles West , and was the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children . [ 1 ] Despite opening with just 10 beds, it grew into one of the world's leading children's hospitals through the patronage of Queen Victoria , counting Charles Dickens , a personal friend of the Chief Physician Dr West,

Great Ormond Street Hospital is a children's hospital in the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital is situated between Great Ormond Street and Guilford Street, just inside Holborn's traditional boundary with Bloomsbury.

February 14 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1852Great Ormond Street Hospital
  2. 2005Beirut
  3. 2005YouTube
  4. 20072007 Zahedan bombings
  5. 20082008 Northern Illinois University shooting
  6. 2011Arab Spring
  7. 2018Parkland high school shooting
  8. 2018Nikolas Cruz
  9. 2018Jacob Zuma
  10. 20192019 Pulwama attack
  11. 2020Ngarbuh massacre

Also in 1852

  • November 261852 Banda Sea earthquakeA massive earthquake struck the Dutch East Indies, creating a tsunami that washed away villages, ships and residents.
  • October 11University of SydneyThe University of Sydney (pictured), Australia's oldest university, was inaugurated two years after being established by the University o…
  • March 20Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the Uni…
  • December 20George CathcartLed by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offe…
  • February 3Argentine ConfederationThe Argentine Confederation was defeated in the Platine War by an alliance consisting of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of E…
  • May 29SopranoSwedish operatic soprano Jenny Lind concluded a successful concert tour of the United States under the management of showman P. T. Barnum.

Everything we record for 1852 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Great Ormond Street Hospital”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/great-ormond-street-hospital-1852-february-14, accessed October 29, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Great Ormond Street Hospital happen?

February 14 1852 — 174 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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