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Some important dates in the history of The British Museum.
|1753 |On 7 June, King George II gave his assent to the British |
| |Museum Act for the purchase of the collections of Sir Hans |
| |Sloane and the Harleian collection of manuscripts. To this |
| |was added the library of Sir Robert Cotton, which had formed|
| |the nucleus of the Museum. |
|1757 |The Royal Library, founded by Edward IV in 1471, was given |
| |to the Museum by King George II. |
|1759 |The British Museum was opened to the public (in Monatagu |
| |House, Bloomsbury); admission was by ticket only. |
|1802 |A number of antiquities from Egypt, including the Rosetta |
| |Stone, were presented to the Museum by George III, following|
| |the defeat of Napoleon and the subsequent Treaty of |
| |Alexandria in 1801. |
|1808 |Opening of the Townley Gallery. |
|1816 |The sculptures from the Parthenon, which had been acquired |
| |by Lord Elgin, were presented to the Museum, having been |
| |bought for the nation for |