Q:When did the Victorian era begin and end, and when did it first start being referred to as such?
A: It starts officially in 1837, with the accession of Queen Victoria and ends in 1901 when she dies. The first mention of the term ‘Victorian’ was in a literary magazine in 1839, two years after her accession. That’s the strict meaning of ‘Victorian’ at least - pertaining to the reign of Queen Victoria. But it’s used more figuratively to talk about the whole of the 19th century or to talk about attitudes and behaviours of the period.