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 L35,000.
1823 The Trustees agreed to accept the library of King George III which was donated by George IV. A new building for the Museum became essential as Montagu House was already in a decaying condition. Robert Smirke was assigned the task, as one of the three attached architects to the Office of Works, to design the new building. Work started in the same year and the project took 30 years to complete.