The Great Exhibition took place in 1851 during Queen Victoria's reign. Officially called the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, it opened in Hyde Park, London, on 1 May and closed on 15 October.
The exhibition was organised with major support from Prince Albert, Henry Cole and the Royal Society of Arts. Its enormous purpose-built venue, the Crystal Palace, displayed machinery, manufactured goods, raw materials and fine art from Britain and countries around the world. The building's iron-and-glass design became one of the most celebrated engineering achievements of the Victorian age.
Queen Victoria opened the exhibition herself, and Prince Albert was closely associated with its planning and promotion. More than six million admissions were recorded, an extraordinary figure for the period. The event also generated a surplus that helped establish cultural and scientific institutions in South Kensington, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.
The year is sometimes confused with 1852 because the Crystal Palace was later rebuilt at Sydenham, but the original Great Exhibition was held in 1851.