page_title: Commemorative plaque
section_title: Modern
hierarchical_section_title: Commemorative plaque / Modern
caption_attribution_description: Woodburytype of Henry Cole
context_page_description: A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text or an image in relief, or both, to commemorate one or more persons, an event, a former use of the place, or some other thing. Many modern plaques and markers are used to associate the location where the plaque or marker is installed with the person, event, or item commemorated as a place worthy of visit. A monumental plaque or tablet commemorating a deceased person or persons, can be a simple form of church monument. Most modern plaques affixed in this way are commemorative of something, but this is not always the case, and there are purely religious plaques, or those signifying ownership or affiliation of some sort. A plaquette is a small plaque, but in English, unlike many European languages, the term is not typically used for outdoor plaques fixed to walls.
context_section_description: Historical markers are put on display by the owners of sites listed by national agencies concerned with historic preservation such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Register of Historic Places (in the United States), the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty (in the United Kingdom), An Taisce (in Ireland), National Historical Commission of the Philippines (in the Philippines), and the National Trusts of other countries.
  Other historical markers are created by local municipalities, non-profit organizations, companies, or individuals. In addition to geographically defined regions, individual organizations, such as E Clampus Vitus or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, can choose to maintain a national set of historical markers that fit a certain theme.
  The Royal Society of Arts established the first scheme in the world for historical commemoration on plaques in 1866.
  The scheme was established under the influence of the British politician William Ewart and the civil servant Henry Cole. The first plaque was unveiled in 1867 to commemorate Lord Byron at his birthplace, 24 Holles Street, Cavendish Square. The earliest historical marker to survive, commemorates Napoleon III in King Street, St James's, and was also put up in 1867.
  The original plaque colour was blue, but this was changed by the manufacturer Minton, Hollins & Co to chocolate brown to save money. In 1901, the scheme was first taken over by the local government authority - the London County Council.
caption: Sir Henry Cole helped set up the first historical marker scheme in 1866.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2009:01:05 15:03:03", "Image ExifOffset": "146", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "328", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5555", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1067", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1355", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "78f5b7f72014cf46c37c48b10c5eba1a"}