Great Exhibition Opens

May 1, 1851

In Paxton's enormous Crystal Palace, Queen Victoria opened a show of manufactures from every corner of the world. Reapers from Illinois stood beside Indian shawls, Krupp cannon, and the first fax machine. For a few months Hyde Park became the world's showroom, and industrial Britain was the headline act. Six million visitors attended, and the profits funded the South Kensington museums that still stand today.