Documenting the historical links between people and places as recorded by commemorative plaques

explore 55541 plaques

So far, plaque hunters around the world have found, photographed, and curated 55541 plaques. Use the search box in the top-right corner, or browse plaques by person, place

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Marvin Barretto on Flickr
Plaque Of The Day

Boris stone plaque

Jez says, "This is cute. Research is needed to say who "Boris the cat" was..."

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Nick Harrison on Flickr
Place Of The Day

Norwich, United Kingdom

Norwich has a long history. It has been a city since 1094. From the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the largest city in England after London and one of the most important. This is refelected in its plaques.

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Most-viewed plaques

In the last 11 years, between 20 May 2009 to 6 Jan 2021, Open Plaques had 4,530,517 page views from 1,234,480 users. Some were triggered by internet memes such as Steve Ullathorne's 2012 image of a George Orwell plaque with a CCTV camera next to it. Others, such as those for Alan Turing, were probably triggered by an anniversary and campaign for recognition.

  1. George Orwell 1903-1950 novelist & political essayist lived here (19526 page views)
  2. Jacob von Hogflume 1864-1909 Inventor of time travel. lived here in 2189 (15077 page views)
  3. George Orwell 1903-1950 novelist and political essayist lived here (6390 page views)
  4. Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970 guitarist and songwriter lived here 1968-1969 (5714 page views)
  5. Alan Turing 1912-1954 founder of computer science and cryptographer, whose work was key to breaking the wartime Enigma codes, lived and died here. (4085 page views)
  6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859-1930 creator of Sherlock Holmes lived here 1891-1894 (3846 page views)
  7. Alan Turing 1912-1954 code breaker lived here from 1945-1947 (3679 page views)
  8. This building housed the offices of Charles Dickens' magazine 'All The Year Round' and his private apartments 1859-1870 (3339 page views)
  9. Dame Agatha Christie 1890-1976 detective novelist and playwright lived here 1934-1941 (3027 page views)
  10. The Peterloo Massacre. On 16th August 1819, a peaceful rally of 60,000 pro-democracy reformers, men, women and children was attacked by armed cavalry resulting in 15 deaths and over 600 injuries. (3006 page views)

recently photographed plaques

James William Dickinson MBE "Gentleman Jim" 1925-1982 Portsmouth & England Footballer lived here 1929-1982

13 Bow Street, Alton, United Kingdom

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Fanny Fullagar 1847-1918 Leicester's first woman Poor Law Guardian. Elected to serve Newton Ward from 1889 to 1904.

the former Registry Office, Pocklingtons Walk, Leicester, United Kingdom

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Texas Historical Marker #00712

Captain Charles Welhausen. (September 2, 1835 - November 3, 1916) A native of Hanover, Germany, Charles Welhausen immigrated to Texas with his parents, arriving at the Port of Galveston in 1843. They settled first at Cat Spring in Austin County, and later moved to High Hill in Fayette county, where Charles became a saddle maker. Enlisting in the Confederate army at the outbreak of the Civil War, Charles Welhausen served at Fort Brown and Fort Manhassett in Texas before taking part in the Battle of Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana in 1864. Cited for gallantry in action, he was promoted to captain. Returning to Fayette County after the war, Welhausen married Eliza Amsler in 1867. He served as county commissioner and justice of the peace, and was elected to represent Fayette County in the twenty-first Texas Legislature in 1888. In 1890 the Welhausens and their children moved to Shiner, where they purchased a ranch from H. B. Shiner. Charles Welhausen opened a bank and became a respected business and civic leader; Eliza Welhausen was an active lay leader in the Methodist church. Charles Welhausen purchased this site in 1911 and donated it to the city for a park. #712

?, Shiner, TX, United States

Kentucky Historical Marker #0123

Corner in Celebrities. Homes of Thomas S. Todd, John M. Harlan, George M. Bibb, John J. Crittenden, John Brown, James Brown, Thomas Metcalfe, Robert P. Letcher, George G. Vest, Benjamin G. Brown, James Harlan, Charles Slaughter Morehead, Thomas S. Crittenden, John C. Watson, Hugh Rodman.

Wapping & Washington Sts., Frankfort, KY, United States

Rae's Close The Orcadian Arctic explorer Dr. John Rae, in 1854, discovered Rae Strait (the last link in the Northwest Passage) and the tragic fate of the Franklin expedition.

Rae's Close, Stromness, United Kingdom

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En el Bilmore se celebraba la tertulia que congregaba a un grupo de intelectuales y escritores en torno a la figura del poeta Rafael Pérez Estrada (1934-2000)

English translation: Bilmore celebrated the gathering that brought together a group of intellectuals and writers around the figure of the poet Rafael Pérez Estrada (1934-2000)

Calle Cervantes, 13, Málaga, Spain

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Ron Hough 1934-2015. Narrow boat painter who was a cut above the rest. Apprenticed to Frank Nurser in 1950 he worked variously in this yard and elsewhere for nearly 60 years between 1950-2009. He was probably the last of the great narrowboat painters who worked in the twilight era of canal carrying and then in the new era of leisure boating.

Braunston Marina, Braunston, United Kingdom

Christ's Church Cathedral. An important ecclesiastical centre for the Niagara Peninsula, Christ's Church was erected in stages, its form altered as the size and prominence of the congregation increased. Begun in 1835 as a parish church, the frame building was expanded in 1852-54 with the addition of a stone chancel and nave extension designed by the renowned Toronto architect William Thomas. The present nave, fashioned by Henry Langley, a specialist in church architecture noted for his masterly High Victorian Gothic designs, was completed in 1876, a year after Christ's Church was designated the cathedral for the newly-formed Diocese of Niagara. Although the building has undergone various alterations and renovations since then, notably the extension of the chancel in 1924-25, it retains its handsome 19th-century character.

252 James Street North, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Egyptian House. Designed in the Egyptian style following the popularisation of Egyptian architecture after the Napoleonic campaigns. One of only two examples in the country. John Foulston 1823

Egyptian House, Ker Street, Plymouth, United Kingdom

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Hier wohnte Fritz Nelken jg. 1883 Verhaftet 1942 Sachsenhausen Dachau Deportiert 19.10.1942 Auschwitz Ermordet 22.10.1942

English translation: Here lived Fritz Nelken born 1883 Verhaftet 1942 Sachsenhausen Dachau deported 19.10.1942 Auschwitz murdered 22.10.1942

Knesebeckstr. 18-19, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin, Germany

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Exeter Consolidated Almshouses: The benefaction of William Hurst 1567, erected 1928

Fairpark Road, Exeter, United Kingdom

Hermann Ethè (1844-1917). A large mob of Aberystwyth inhabitants gathered here in 1914 to drive Professor Hermann Ethè from his home because of his German nationality. Ethè left the following, never to return to his Carradog Road home, or to his work at Aberystwyth University. He died in Bristol in 1917. This plaque is placed by Aberystwyth Town Council In the hope that nobody will experience such persecution in or town again.

Carradog Road, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

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