Opened on May 1, 1851, by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Great Exhibition was the first of the World’s Fair exhibitions of culture and industry. Albert, the Prince Consort, was a major force behind the exhibition, which contained some 100,000 objects, by nearly 14,000 contributors. Britain occupied half the display space inside with exhibits from the home country and the Empire, while France was the largest foreign contributor of objects. Just a few of the displays included the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the electric telegraph, vulcanized rubber, microscopes, barometers, surgical instruments, and even a 27-foot tall Crystal Fountain.