Events from the year 1888 in the United Kingdom. This year is noted for the first Whitechapel murders.
Incumbents
Monarch – Victoria
Prime Minister – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative) Parliament – 24th
Events
26 January – the Lawn Tennis Association is founded. 13 February – the first issue of the Financial Times goes on sale (originally launched on 9 January by Horatio Bottomley as the London Financial Guide). 23 March – a meeting called by William McGregor to discuss establishment of The Football League is held in London. 24 March – West Bromwich Albion F.C. beat Preston North End 2–1 to win the FA cup. 27 March – "Goschen's Conversion" (National Debt (Conversion) Act): George Goschen, Chancellor of the Exchequer, consolidates Consolidated 3% Annuities (consols) into a new bond, 2.75% Consolidated Stock, the first change in the coupon rate since 1757. 3 April – London prostitute Emma Elizabeth Smith is brutally attacked by two or three men, dying of her injuries the following day, first of the Whitechapel murders but probably not a victim of Jack the Ripper. 28 April–3 October – 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia: First British ("English Footballers") rugby union tour of Australasia, an unofficial predecessor of the British Lions. 8 May – royal opening of the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow (continues to November). 12 May – the North Borneo Chartered Company's territories (including Sarawak) become the British protectorate of North Borneo. 14 May – Order of Saint John chartered. 28 May – Celtic Football Club of Glasgow play their first official match, beating Rangers 5–2. 2 June – Edward King (bishop of Lincoln) is called to account for using ritualistic practices in Anglican worship. 11 July – snow falls across the country. 2–27 July – London matchgirls strike of 1888: About 200 workers, mainly teenaged girls, strike following the dismissal of three colleagues from the Bryant and May match factory, precipitated by an article on their working conditions published on 23 June by campaigning journalist Annie Besant, and the workers unionise on 27 July. 7 August – Whitechapel murders: the body of London prostitute Martha Tabram is found, a possible victim of Jack the Ripper. 9 August – Oaths Act permits all required oaths, including the oath of allegiance taken to the Sovereign by Members of Parliament, to be affirmed rather than sworn to God, thus confirming the ability of atheists to sit in the House of Commons. 13 August – the Local Government Act, effective from 1889, establishes county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales, redraws some county boundaries (including creation of the Soke of Peterborough as an administrative county), and gives women the vote in local elections. 31 August – Whitechapel murders: the mutilated body of London prostitute Mary Ann Nichols is found, perhaps the first victim of Jack the Ripper. 6 September – Charles Turner becomes the first bowler in cricket to take 250 wickets in an English season, a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J. T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times). 8 September Whitechapel murders: The mutilated body of London prostitute Annie Chapman is found. She is considered to be the second victim of Jack the Ripper. In England, the first six Football League matches are played. The 12 members of the new league are Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Burnley, Accrington, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Notts County, Derby County and Stoke City, all from the north of England or the midlands. The first goal in the League is scored by Kenny Davenport of Bolton Wanderers. 27 September – Whitechapel murders: the 'Dear Boss letter' signed "Jack the Ripper", the first time the name is used, is received by London's Central News Agency. 30 September – Whitechapel murders: the bodies of London prostitutes Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, the latter mutilated, are found. They are generally considered Jack the Ripper's third and fourth victim respectively. October – Salt Union Ltd formed to achieve an effective monopoly over British salt production. 2 October – the Whitehall Mystery: dismembered remains of a woman's body are discovered at three central London locations, one being the construction site of New Scotland Yard. 14 October – the first recorded film, Roundhay Garden Scene, is made in Roundhay in Leeds. The film is two seconds and 18 frames in length. 3 November – the Great Sheep Panic, in which thousands of sheep across Oxfordshire stampede. 5 November – Belfast is granted city status by Queen Victoria.