10 Downing Street is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in Westminster, London. It was built in the 1680s on the orders of Sir George Downing, a soldier, diplomat and property speculator, as part of a terrace of townhouses. King George II offered the house to Sir Robert Walpole in 1735, and he accepted it as the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, a post later associated with the prime ministership. Since then it has been the home of most prime ministers, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer lives next door at number 11. Its black front door has become a global symbol of British government.
Before and after
- from 1683 to 1699Great Turkish War
- from 7 October 1683 to 9 October 1683Battle of Párkány
- 10 November 1683Birth of George II of Great Britain
- 19 December 1683Birth of Philip V of Spain
- 1684Construction of 10 Downing Street
- 21 March 1684Discovery of Dione
- 21 March 1684Discovery of Tethys
- 5 April 1684Birth of Catherine I of Russia
- from 25 April 1684 to 26 January 1699Morean War
More in Art, literature & culture
- 31 October 1517Origins of Lutheranism
- 10 November 1517Origins of Protestantism
- 1563Construction of Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial
- 1565Construction of Agra Fort
- 1622Publication of Othello
- from 17th century to 19th centuryAge of Enlightenment
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.