From 1841 personal information was collected on individuals. Over time, more information was collected. Slightly different information was collected in the censuses for England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Find out what personal information was collected in the census of:

1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1901

1841 Census

First, or Christian, name
Surname
Age*
Gender
Occupation
Place of birth**
If disabled, nature of disability

* For those under 15, ages were [...]

The civil registration of these “life events” began at different times in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland:

Births and Deaths
Marriages

England
and Wales
1837
1837

Scotland
1855
1855

Ireland
1864

Tags: genealogy, marriage, death, bmd, death certificate, birth certificate, birth, death certificates, Birth certificates

As you find out more about your family history - you will find yourself gathering more and more pieces of information. It will help immensely if you organise this information systematically from an early point in your research. Although this can be done manually using notebooks, files and card indexes, computers can really help you [...]

Free access to 1911 census records
The National Archives is providing seven archives and libraries around England and Wales with free access to the recently completed online records of the 1911 census.
The census shows the records of every resident of every home, including:

name
age
place of birth
marital status
relationship to the head of the household

The seven institutions soon to [...]

Thomas Coram Register
The Thomas Coram Register is a list of children given into the care of the Foundling Hospital between the years 1853 and 1948. A charitable refuge for abandoned children, it was set up by Thomas Coram  in 1739 for the ‘education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children’ in central London. Previously [...]

The Register Office holds birth, adoption, marriage, civil partnership and deaths records, some dating back to 1837. View these events on the bmd index, which hold clues to your family history.
Birth certificate can then be ordered easily
BMD Index of County Information

Index of County Information

A table listing the volumes according to county for the [...]

Research
Investigating your family tree
First steps in researching family history
The following ten steps are a helpful guide to starting your family research.
1. Starting with yourself, note all the dates and events you are certain of concerning your immediate family and work back methodically generation by generation. Collect certificates of these events which will give you vital [...]