ss Great Britain Timeline - The "Grand Old Lady"

1886: Karl Benz patents the first automobile.; The ss Great Britain is sold for use as a coal and wool hulk in the Falkland Islands.
1895: First X-rays made.
1899: The ss Great Britain is used as a quarantine ship.
1901: Death of Queen Victoria.
1903: First powered flight.
1904: Scott and Shackleton complete an expedition to the Antarctic in the Discovery.
1914: First World War starts.; British warships re-coal from the ss Great Britain prior to fighting the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
1939: Second World War starts.; Iron from the ship is used to repair HMS Exeter after the battle of the River Plate.
1940: The Battle of Britain.; Boxes and other items made from the ship's timbers are auctioned to raise money for the war effort.
1943: Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history.; Falkland Islanders celebrate the ship's 100th birthday.
1967: The American historian Karl Kortum makes a radio plea urging the saving of the ship.
1969: First moon landing.

Concorde makes her first supersonic flight.; Ewan Corlett and a team from HMS Endurance survey the ship to assess whether her salvage is possible.
1970: The ship returns home to Bristol.

Brunel's ss Great Britain