Charles Dickens

Pratt and Smith were arrested in August 1835 after being observed in a rented room. They were tried in September at the Central Criminal Court before Baron Gurney.

Pratt and Smith were hanged outside Newgate Prison on 27 November 1835, marking the last capital punishment for sodomy in England.

The first monthly part of The Pickwick Papers was published in London in March 1836, marking the start of Dickens's serial novel.

Dickens began writing Oliver Twist in 1836, publishing the first instalments in Bentley's Miscellany in February 1837.

The first monthly installment of Charles Dickens's novel Nicholas Nickleby was published in London in April 1838, marking the start of a serial run that lasted until October 1839.

The novella was published in London on 19 December 1843, bound in red cloth, and sold out by Christmas Eve.

Dickens sued unauthorized publishers in January 1844, leading to their bankruptcy and reduced profits.

The novel satirically portrays the United States, drawing on Dickens's 1842 visit and his failed attempt to secure international copyright.

Martin Chuzzlewit began serialisation in January 1843, issued in monthly instalments, with the run continuing until July 1844.

Dickens began serialising Hard Times in Household Words on 1 April 1854 to boost sales, running in weekly parts until August.

The first weekly instalment ran in the first issue of All the Year Round on 30 April 1859, continuing until 26 November 1859.

Dickens prepared four weekly episodes in October 1860, noting the heavy task without usual anguished cries.

Great Expectations began weekly serialization in All the Year Round on 1 December 1860, running for thirty-six episodes.

Dickens completed the novel in June 1861 and secured contracts for book publication in Europe.

The Arts Club was founded in 1863 by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and Lord Leighton in London.

Dickens suffered a stroke on 8 June 1870 at his home after working on Edwin Drood. He died the next day at Gads Hill Place in Kent.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood was left unfinished in Dickens's writing desk upon his death. Only six of twelve planned instalments were completed.

The 51st Congress passed the International Copyright Act on March 3, 1891, extending limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations.

President Benjamin Harrison entered bilateral copyright agreements with several nations, including Belgium, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, and the German Empire.

On July 3, 1891, the first foreign work, a play by Henry Arthur Jones, was registered under the new act.