February 16 in Victorian History
What the Victorians were up to on this date, year by remarkable year.
1870
The Cutty Sark's maiden voyage
The clipper Cutty Sark sails from London on her maiden voyage, bound for Shanghai. Built for speed in the China tea trade, she will race home with 1.3 million pounds of tea. Though the Suez Canal soon steals the clippers' trade, she survives to become the world's most famous sailing ship.