National Lottery
An advertisement for a National Lottery was issued in 1567 by Queen Elizabeth I. The lottery was intended to raise money for the enormous costs of building ships and developing ports. Tickets cost ten shillings each far too much for the ordinary citizen to afford. The first prize was an amazing £5000, which was paid partly in ready money and partly in plate, tapestries and good linen cloth. To encourage as many people as possible to buy tickets, all ticket holders were promised freedom from arrest for all crimes other than murder, felonies, piracy or treason. The first Boat Race was rowed in 1829; the first national museum in the UK to cover all fields of human knowledge, open to visitors from across the world was founded in 1753.
