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The Blue Plaque is a scheme for remembering the links between famous people and buildings by placing commemorative plaques on the walls. The scheme was started by the Royal Society of Arts in London, and the very first plaques was, in fact, of red terracotta placed on the outside of a former home of Lord Byron (since demolished).
The Society erected 36 plaques between 1866 - 1901, responsibility for them was transferred to the London County Council (1901-65) (which changed the colour of the plaques to the current blue) and later the Greater London Council (1965-86) and most recently English Heritage. Similar schemes are now operated in all the member countries of the United Kingdom.
English Heritage looks after the Blue plaque scheme in the London Boroughs. Similar schemes exist outside London, run by each local authority. The system has been adopted outside the United Kingdom too, for example, in June 2010 a Blue Plaque was put on the home of Guernsey artist Peter Le Lievre.
English Heritage blue plaque commemorating Ian Fleming at 22b Ebury Street, Belgravia, London (erected 1996)
Society of Arts plaque on Samuel Johnson's house in Gough Square, London (erected 1876). Many of the early Society of Arts and LCC plaques were brown in colour.
London County Council plaque at 48 Doughty Street, Holborn, commemorating Charles Dickens (erected 1903)
London County Council plaque at 100 Lambeth Road, Lambeth, commemorating William Bligh (erected 1952)
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Greater London Council plaque at 29 Fitzroy Square, Fitzrovia, commemorating Virginia Woolf (erected 1974)
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English Heritage plaque at 153 Cromwell Road, London, SW5, commemorating Sir Alfred Hitchcock
Greater London Council event plaque at Alexandra Palace, commemorating the launch of BBC Television in 1936 (erected 1977)
English Heritage plaque at 40 Falkner Square, Liverpool, commemorating Peter Ellis, architect (erected 2001)
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Corporation of London plaque on the site of Lloyd's Coffee House in Lombard Street
City of Westminster green plaque at 18 Cavendish Square, Marylebone, commemorating Josef Dallos, contact lens pioneer (erected 2010)
Oxfordshire blue plaque board commemorating the first sub-4-minute mile run by Roger Bannister on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track.
Wolverhampton Civic Society plaque at Wolverhampton Science Park marking the location of the world altitude balloon record, on 5 September 1862
A Gateshead blue plaque honouring William Clarke
Transport Trust plaque at Hythe Pier and Railway, Hythe, Hampshire, the oldest working pier railway in the world
Royal Society of Chemistry plaque on the Chemistry Department of University College London, recording the work carried out there by Sir Christopher Ingold (erected 2008)
Michigan Historical Marker, explaining the significance of the Michigan Central Depot building in Battle Creek, Michigan
Norwegian version of blue plaque, set up by Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel
Blue plaque at 22 Frith Street, Westminster, W1, commemorating Scottish inventor John Logie Baird's first demonstration of the television
English Heritage plaque at 25 Albany Road, Manor Park, Newham commemorating actor Stanley Holloway (erected 2009)
English Heritage plaque at 223 Pitshanger Lane, Ealing, London commemorating Fred Perry
New York State plaque
