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Ray, Caroline

Female Abt 1890 - Yes, date unknown  


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   Date  Event(s)
1 1890 
  • 4 Mar 1890—4 Mar 1890: Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build
  • 4 Nov 1890—4 Nov 1890: City & South London Railway opens - London's first deep-level tube railway and first major railway in the world to use electric traction
2 1891 
  • 1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory
  • 18 Mar 1891—18 Mar 1891: First telephone link between London & Paris
  • 4 May 1891—4 May 1891: Fictional date when Sherlock Holmes throws Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, then disappears for 3 years! (published in 1893)
  • 24 Aug 1891—24 Aug 1891: Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera
3 1892 
  • 1892—1892: Electric oven invented
  • 1892—1892: Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's
  • 6 Oct 1892—6 Oct 1892: Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
4 1893 
  • 1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car
  • 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
5 1894 
  • 1894—1894: Picture postcard introduced in Britain
  • 1 Jan 1894—1 Jan 1894: Manchester Ship Canal opens
  • 1 Mar 1894—1 Mar 1894: Blackpool Tower opens
  • 30 Jun 1894—30 Jun 1894: Tower Bridge first opens
  • 2 Aug 1894—2 Aug 1894: Death duties first introduced in Britain
6 1895 
  • 1895—1895: Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London
  • 12 Jan 1895—12 Jan 1895: The National Trust founded in England
  • 24 May 1895—24 May 1895: Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted
  • 28 May 1895—28 May 1895: Oscar Wilde sent to prison
  • 12 Jul 1895—12 Jul 1895: First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain
  • 17 Oct 1895—17 Oct 1895: First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey
  • Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
7 1896 
  • 5 Apr 1896—5 Apr 1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
  • 2 Jun 1896—2 Jun 1896: Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
8 1897 
  • 1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
9 1898 
  • 1898—1898: First photograph using artificial light
  • 1898—1898: Zeppelin builds airship
  • 1898—1898: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded
  • 17 Mar 1898—17 Mar 1898: USS Holland launched, the first practical submarine
  • 27 Jun 1898—27 Jun 1898: The first solo circumnavigation of the globe completed at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray (started from Boston, Mass on Apr 24, 1895)
10 1899 
  • 6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer
  • 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899: Start of Second Boer War
11 1900 
  • 1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
  • 1900—1900: Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified
  • 1900—1900: Escalator shown at Paris exhibition
  • 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900: Davis Cup tennis competition established
  • 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900: Labour Party formed
12 1901 
  • 1901—1901: Commonwealth of Australia founded
  • 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner
  • 22 Jan 1901—22 Jan 1901: Queen Victoria dies - Edward VII king
  • 2 Feb 1901—2 Feb 1901: Queen Victoria's funeral - interred beside Prince Albert in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park
  • Jun 1901—Jun 1901: Denunciation of use of concentration camps by British in Boer War
  • 2 Oct 1901—2 Oct 1901: Britain's first submarine launched
  • 12 Dec 1901—12 Dec 1901: First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
13 1902 
  • 1902—1902: Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education
  • 1902—1902: Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued
  • 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
  • 24 May 1902—24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated
  • 31 May 1902—31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War
  • 9 Aug 1902—9 Aug 1902: Coronation of Edward VII
14 1903 
  • 1903—1903: Workers' Education Association (WEA) formed in Britain
  • 1903—1903: Women's Social and Political Union formed in Britain by Emmeline Pankhurst
  • 1903—1903: Henry Ford sets up his motor company
  • 14 Dec 1903—14 Dec 1903: First flight of Wilbur & Orville Wright
15 1904 
  • 1904—1904: Leeds University established
  • 8 Apr 1904—8 Apr 1904: France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale
  • 4 May 1904—4 May 1904: America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
16 1905 
  • 1905—1905: The title 'Prime Minister' noted in a royal warrant for the first time - placed the Prime Minister in order of precedence in Britain immediately after the Archbishop of York
  • 1905—1905: Aliens Act in Britain: Home Office controls immigration
  • 1905—1905: Germany lays down the first Dreadnought battleship
  • 11 Apr 1905—11 Apr 1905: Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity
17 1906 
  • 1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children
  • 10 Feb 1906—10 Feb 1906: Launching of HMS Dreadnought, first turbine-driven battleship
  • 15 Mar 1906—15 Mar 1906: Rolls-Royce Ltd registered
  • 26 May 1906—26 May 1906: Vauxhall Bridge opened in London
  • 20 Sep 1906—20 Sep 1906: Launching of Cunard's RMS Mauretania on the Tyne
18 1907 
  • 1907—1907: New Zealand becomes a Dominion
  • 1907—1907: Imperial College, London, is established
  • 1907—1907: First airship flies over London
  • 1907—1907: Lumiere develops a process for colour photography
  • Jul 1907—Jul 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated
  • 1 Aug 1907—1 Aug 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island
  • 9 Nov 1907—9 Nov 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
19 1908 
  • 1908—1908: Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day
  • 1908—1908: Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain
  • 1908—1908: Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement
  • 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress
  • 12 Aug 1908—12 Aug 1908: First 'Model T' Ford made
20 1909 
  • 1909—1909: Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges
  • 1909—1909: Peary reaches the north pole
  • 1909—1909: First commercial manufacture of Bakelite - start of the plastic age
  • 1 Jan 1909—1 Jan 1909: Old Age Pensions Act came into force
  • 16 Jan 1909—16 Jan 1909: Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole
  • 15 Mar 1909—15 Mar 1909: Selfridges department store opens in London
  • 25 Jul 1909—25 Jul 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
21 1910 
  • 1910—1910: Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain
  • 1910—1910: Constitutional crisis in Britain
  • 1910—1910: Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville
  • 1910—1910: Madame Curie isolates radium
  • 1910—1910: Halley's comet reappears
  • 1910—1910: Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe
  • 6 May 1910—6 May 1910: Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
22 1911 
  • 1911—1911: Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords
  • 1911—1911: British MPs receive a salary
  • 1911—1911: First British Official Secrets Act
  • 1911—1911: Rutherford: theory of atomic structures
  • 1911—1911: Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912)
  • 2 Apr 1911—2 Apr 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
  • 22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911: Coronation of George V
  • 14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
23 1912 
  • 1912—1912: Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain
  • 1912—1912: Britain nationalises the telephone system
  • 1912—1912: Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' - hoax, exposed in 1953
  • 18 Jan 1912—18 Jan 1912: Captain Scott's last expedition - he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November
  • 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives
  • 13 May 1912—13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
24 1913 
  • 1913—1913: Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords - threat of civil war in Ireland - formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule
  • 1913—1913: Suffragette demonstrations in London - Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned
  • 1913—1913: Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes
  • 1913—1913: Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield
  • 1913—1913: Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity
  • 4 Jun 1913—4 Jun 1913: Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby and dies
25 1914 
  • 1914—1914: Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster to be decided after the War
  • 1914—1914: Chaplin and De Mille make their first films
  • 28 Jun 1914—28 Jun 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo
  • 4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason
  • 5 Aug 1914—5 Aug 1914: British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph links to the outside world
  • 15 Aug 1914—15 Aug 1914: Panama Canal opened, the Canal cement boat 'Ancon' making the first official transit (plans for a grand opening were cancelled due to the start of WW1)
  • Oct 1914—Oct 1914: Battle of Ypres - beginning of trench warfare on western front
  • 27 Nov 1914—27 Nov 1914: First policewoman goes on duty in Britain
  • 16 Dec 1914—16 Dec 1914: German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
26 1915 
  • 1915—1915: Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane
  • 1915—1915: First automatic telephone exchange in Britain
  • 19 Jan 1915—19 Jan 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia - four killed
  • Feb 1915—Feb 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain starts
  • Apr 1915—Apr 1915: Second Battle of Ypres - poison gas used for first time
  • 25 Apr 1915—25 Apr 1915: Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916)
  • 7 May 1915—7 May 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland - 1,198 died
  • 16 May 1915—16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
27 1916 
  • 1916—1916: Compulsory military service introduced in Britain
  • Feb 1916—Feb 1916: Battle of Verdun - appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues
  • 24 Apr 1916—24 Apr 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland - after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs independence
  • 21 May 1916—21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK
  • 31 May 1916—31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland - only major naval battle between the British and German fleets
  • 5 Jun 1916—5 Jun 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener
  • 3 Aug 1916—3 Aug 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason
  • 15 Sep 1916—15 Sep 1916: First use of tanks in battle, but of limited effect (Battle of the Somme 1 July to 18 Nov: over 1 million casualties)
  • 7 Dec 1916—7 Dec 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
28 1917 
  • 1917—1917: Battle of Cambrai - first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual
  • 1917—1917: Ministry of Labour is established in Britain
  • Feb 1917—Feb 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates
  • 16 Apr 1917—16 Apr 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile
  • 17 Apr 1917—17 Apr 1917: USA declares war on Germany
  • 26 May 1917—26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal proclamation on 17 July)
  • Jul 1917—Jul 1917: Battle of Passchendaele - little gained by either side (Jul-Nov)
  • 7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government; Lenin becomes Chief Commissar
  • 6 Dec 1917—6 Dec 1917: Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, one of the world's largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to date: a ship loaded with wartime explosives blew up after a collision, obliterating buildings and structures within two square kilometres of the explosion
  • 9 Dec 1917—9 Dec 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
29 1918 
  • 1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
  • 1918—1918: War of Independence in Ireland
  • 18 Jan 1918—18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded
  • 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic
  • Jul 1918—Jul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug)
  • 1 Oct 1918—1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus
  • 11 Nov 1918—11 Nov 1918: Armistice signed
  • Dec 1918—Dec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein member refused to take her seat
30 1919 
  • 1919—1919: Britain adopts a 48-hour working week
  • 1919—1919: Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom
  • 15 Jun 1919—15 Jun 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic
  • 28 Jun 1919—28 Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
31 1920 
  • 1920—1920: Regular cross-channel air service starts
  • 1920—1920: Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain
  • 1920—1920: Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun)
  • Feb 1920—Feb 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK - opened by the Automobile Association at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
32 1921 
  • 1921—1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained
  • 1921—1921: Insulin discovery announced
  • 1921—1921: First birth control clinic
  • 19 Jun 1921—19 Jun 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
  • 6 Dec 1921—6 Dec 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
33 1922 
  • 1922—1922: Law of Property Act - the manorial system effectively ended
  • 1 Jun 1922—1 Jun 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary founded
  • Oct 1922—Oct 1922: BBC established as a monopoly, and begins transmissions in November (2LO in London on 14 Nov; 5IT in Birmingham and 2ZY in Manchester on 15 Nov)
34 1923 
  • 1923—1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers
  • 1923—1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way
  • 1923—1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain
  • 1 Jan 1923—1 Jan 1923: The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR - lasted until nationalisation in 1948
  • 16 Feb 1923—16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun
  • 28 Apr 1923—28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem
  • 28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
35 1924 
  • 4 Jan 1924—4 Jan 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald
  • 5 Feb 1924—5 Feb 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast by the BBC
  • 31 Mar 1924—31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
36 1925 
  • 1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard
  • 18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
37 1926 
  • 1926—1926: First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird
  • 1926—1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain
  • 1926—1926: Kodak produces 16mm movie film
  • 1926—1926: Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood
  • 21 Apr 1926—21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth born
  • 3 May 1926—3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more)
  • 31 Oct 1926—31 Oct 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
38 1927 
  • 1927—1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer)
  • 7 Jan 1927—7 Jan 1927: First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London
  • 22 Jan 1927—22 Jan 1927: First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury)
  • 1 May 1927—1 May 1927: First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from London to Paris
  • 20 May 1927—20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33? hours
  • 31 May 1927—31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line
  • 24 Jul 1927—24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
39 1928 
  • 1928—1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes
  • 26 Apr 1928—26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London
  • 15 Sep 1928—15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
40 1929 
  • 1929—1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain
  • 1929—1929: Minimum age for a marriage in Britain (which had been 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl) now 16 for both sexes, with parental consent (or a licence) needed for anyone under 21
  • 1929—1929: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
41 1930 
  • 1930—1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag
  • 1930—1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain
  • 30 Jan 1930—30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany
  • 31 Jan 1930—31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape
  • 6 Mar 1930—6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas
  • 5 Oct 1930—5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
42 1931 
  • 1931—1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states
  • 1931—1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close
  • 14 Apr 1931—14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued
  • 26 Apr 1931—26 Apr 1931: Census: Population - England and Wales; 40 Million; Scotland: 4.8 Million; N Ireland: 1.24 Million (Unfortunately, the census was destroyed by fire in WW2)
  • 21 Oct 1931—21 Oct 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis - Britain comes off gold standard
43 1932 
  • 1932—1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London
  • 1932—1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists
  • 1932—1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus
  • 1932—1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra
  • 21 May 1932—21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot
  • 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain
  • 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
44 1933 
  • 1933—1933: ICI scientists discover polythene
  • 1933—1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year
  • 12 Nov 1933—12 Nov 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
45 1934 
  • 1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany
  • 18 Jul 1934—18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel
  • 26 Sep 1934—26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched
  • 30 Nov 1934—30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
46 1935 
  • 1935—1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme
  • 1935—1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell
  • 28 Feb 1935—28 Feb 1935: Nylon first produced by Gerard J. Berchet of Wallace Carothers' research group at DuPont (there is no evidence to the widely-supposed story that the name derives from New York-London)
  • 12 Mar 1935—12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas in Britain
  • 1 Jun 1935—1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK
  • 30 Jul 1935—30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
47 1936 
  • 1936—1936: Jet engine first tested
  • 20 Jan 1936—20 Jan 1936: George V dies
  • 5 May 1936—5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire
  • 24 Jul 1936—24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK
  • 2 Nov 1936—2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's first public TV transmission
  • 30 Nov 1936—30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire
  • 5 Dec 1936—5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) - popular carol that Christmas: 'Hark the Herald Angels sing Mrs Simpson's got our King'
48 1937 
  • 1937—1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London
  • 1937—1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp
  • 12 Apr 1937—12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft
  • 12 May 1937—12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI
  • 28 May 1937—28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister - policy of appeasement towards Hitler
  • 3 Jun 1937—3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson
  • 4 Dec 1937—4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
49 1938 
  • 1938—1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain
  • 1938—1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar
  • 1938—1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro
  • 12 Mar 1938—12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria
  • 3 Jul 1938—3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive
  • 27 Sep 1938—27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank
  • 29 Sep 1938—29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time'
  • 30 Oct 1938—30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
50 1939 
  • 1939—1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia
  • 1939—1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London
  • 1939—1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time
  • 1 Sep 1939—1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland
  • 3 Sep 1939—3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
  • 6 Sep 1939—6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain
  • 11 Sep 1939—11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France
  • 14 Oct 1939—14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives
  • 7 Dec 1939—7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships
  • 17 Dec 1939—17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
51 1940 
  • 1 Apr 1940—1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd
  • 11 May 1940—11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill
  • 13 May 1940—13 May 1940: Germany invades France
  • 27 May 1940—27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun)
  • 25 Jun 1940—25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany
  • 7 Sep 1940—7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing
  • 15 Sep 1940—15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain
  • 14 Nov 1940—14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
52 1941 
  • 1941—1941: Britain introduces severe rationing
  • 1941—1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle
  • 1941—1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge
  • 1941—1941: First use of antibiotics
  • 10 May 1941—10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland
  • 27 May 1941—27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk
  • 22 Jun 1941—22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
  • 1 Jul 1941—1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain
  • Dec 1941—Dec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England
  • Dec 1941—Dec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America
  • 7 Dec 1941—7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour
  • 8 Dec 1941—8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII
  • 24 Dec 1941—24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
53 1942 
  • 1942—1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with Max Neumann - used to crack German codes
  • 1942—1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam
  • 30 May 1942—30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne
  • 4 Jun 1942—4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway
  • 19 Aug 1942—19 Aug 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops
  • 6 Sep 1942—6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad
  • 3 Oct 1942—3 Oct 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany - first man-made object to reach space
  • 23 Oct 1942—23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery defeats Rommel
  • 2 Dec 1942—2 Dec 1942: 'Manhattan Project' - a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
54 1943 
  • 1943—1943: Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins
  • 16 May 1943—16 May 1943: 'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF
  • 24 Jul 1943—24 Jul 1943: Allies invade Italy - Benito Mussolini resigns as Italian Dictator, 24 July
55 1944 
  • 6 Apr 1944—6 Apr 1944: PAYE income tax begins
  • 4 Jun 1944—4 Jun 1944: Allies enter Rome
  • 6 Jun 1944—6 Jun 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy
  • 12 Jun 1944—12 Jun 1944: First V1 flying bombs hit London
  • 8 Sep 1944—8 Sep 1944: First V2 rocket bombs hit London
  • 11 Sep 1944—11 Sep 1944: Allies enter Germany
  • 16 Dec 1944—16 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
56 1945 
  • 4 Feb 1945—4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
  • 29 Mar 1945—29 Mar 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack
  • 25 Apr 1945—25 Apr 1945: Berlin surrounded by Russian troops
  • 30 Apr 1945—30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide
  • 8 May 1945—8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe)
  • 9 May 1945—9 May 1945: Channel Islands liberated
  • 26 Jun 1945—26 Jun 1945: UN Charter signed in San Francisco
  • 16 Jul 1945—16 Jul 1945: First ever atomic bomb exploded in a test in New Mexico (although there were other forms of atomic device before that, such as the Pile at Stagg Field, first critical on 2nd Dec 1942)
  • 26 Jul 1945—26 Jul 1945: Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office
  • 29 Jul 1945—29 Jul 1945: BBC Light Programme starts
  • 6 Aug 1945—6 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
  • 9 Aug 1945—9 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
  • 15 Aug 1945—15 Aug 1945: VJ Day (Victory in Japan)
  • 2 Sep 1945—2 Sep 1945: Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri
  • 24 Oct 1945—24 Oct 1945: United Nations Organisation comes into existence
  • 4 Nov 1945—4 Nov 1945: UNESCO founded
57 1946 
  • 1946—1946: Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948)
  • 1946—1946: Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004
  • 1 Jan 1946—1 Jan 1946: First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport
  • 1 Mar 1946—1 Mar 1946: Bank of England nationalised
58 1947 
  • 1947—1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much flooding later
  • 1947—1947: First British nuclear reactor developed
  • 1 Jan 1947—1 Jan 1947: Coal Mines nationalised
  • 23 Feb 1947—23 Feb 1947: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded
  • 1 Mar 1947—1 Mar 1947: International Monetary Fund begins financial operations
  • 1 Apr 1947—1 Apr 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain
  • 26 Oct 1947—26 Oct 1947: British military occupation ends in Iraq
  • 20 Nov 1947—20 Nov 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey
59 1948 
  • 1948—1948: British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports
  • 1948—1948: Transistor radio invented
  • 1948—1948: Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark
  • 1 Jan 1948—1 Jan 1948: British Railways nationalised
  • 5 Jul 1948—5 Jul 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain
  • 29 Jul 1948—29 Jul 1948: London Olympics begin
60 1949 
  • 1949—1949: Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap)
  • 1949—1949: De Haviland produces the Comet - first jet airliner
  • 15 Mar 1949—15 Mar 1949: Clothes rationing ends in Britain
  • 4 Apr 1949—4 Apr 1949: Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO
61 1950 
  • 19 May 1950—19 May 1950: Points rationing ends in Britain
  • 26 May 1950—26 May 1950: Petrol rationing ends in Britain
  • 11 Jul 1950—11 Jul 1950: 'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV
  • 9 Sep 1950—9 Sep 1950: Soap rationing ends in Britain
  • 28 Dec 1950—28 Dec 1950: The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
62 1951 
  • 3 May 1951—3 May 1951: Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London
  • 28 May 1951—28 May 1951: First Goon Show broadcast
  • 20 Dec 1951—20 Dec 1951: Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
63 1952 
  • 1952—1952: Contraceptive pill invented
  • 1952—1952: Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia
  • 1952—1952: Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects
  • 1952—1952: Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany
  • 6 Feb 1952—6 Feb 1952: King George VI dies
  • 21 Feb 1952—21 Feb 1952: Identity Cards abolished in Britain
  • 2 May 1952—2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London and Johannesburg
  • 5 Jul 1952—5 Jul 1952: Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross)
  • 16 Aug 1952—16 Aug 1952: Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster
  • 6 Sep 1952—6 Sep 1952: DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed
  • 3 Oct 1952—3 Oct 1952: End of tea rationing in Britain
  • 1 Nov 1952—1 Nov 1952: The first H-bomb ever ('Mike') was exploded by the USA - the mushroom cloud was 8 miles across and 27 miles high. The canopy was 100 miles wide. Radioactive mud fell out of the sky followed by heavy rain. 80 million tons of earth was vaporised.
  • 25 Nov 1952—25 Nov 1952: Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London
  • 4 Dec 1952—4 Dec 1952: Great smog hits London
64 1953 
  • 31 Jan 1953—31 Jan 1953: Said to be the biggest civil catastrophe in Britain in the 20th century - severe storm and high tides caused the loss of hundreds of lives - - effects travelled from the west coast of Scotland round to the south-east coast of England [The Netherlands were even worse affected with over a thousand deaths]
  • 5 Feb 1953—5 Feb 1953: Sweet rationing ends in Britain
  • 5 Mar 1953—5 Mar 1953: Death of Stalin
  • 26 Mar 1953—26 Mar 1953: Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine
  • 24 Apr 1953—24 Apr 1953: Winston Churchill knighted
  • 25 Apr 1953—25 Apr 1953: Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA
  • 2 Jun 1953—2 Jun 1953: Coronation of Elizabeth II
  • 26 Sep 1953—26 Sep 1953: Sugar rationing ends in Britain (after nearly 14 years)
65 1954 
  • 1954—1954: First comprehensive school opens in London
  • 1954—1954: Routemaster bus starts operating in London
  • 1954—1954: First transistor radios sold
  • 6 May 1954—6 May 1954: First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs)
  • 3 Jul 1954—3 Jul 1954: Food rationing officially ends in Britain
  • 5 Jul 1954—5 Jul 1954: BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin
  • 30 Sep 1954—30 Sep 1954: First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
66 1955 
  • 1955—1955: 'Mole' self-grip wrench patented by Thomas Coughtrie of Mole & Sons
  • 27 Jul 1955—27 Jul 1955: Jul 27: Allied occupation of Austria (after WW2) ends
  • 22 Sep 1955—22 Sep 1955: Commercial TV starts in Britain
67 1956 
  • 1956—1956: Britain constructs world's first large-scale nuclear power station in Cumberland
  • 1 Mar 1956—1 Mar 1956: Radiotelephony spelling alphabet introduced (Alpha, Bravo, etc)
  • 17 Apr 1956—17 Apr 1956: Premium Bonds first launched - first prizes drawn on 1 Jun 1957
  • 3 Jun 1956—3 Jun 1956: 3rd class travel abolished on British Railways (renamed 'Third Class' as 'Second Class', which had been abolished in 1875 leaving just First and Third Class)
  • 31 Oct 1956—31 Oct 1956: Britain and France invade Suez
68 1957 
  • 1957—1957: Britain introduces parking meters
  • 1957—1957: Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland)
  • 11 Jan 1957—11 Jan 1957: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
  • 14 May 1957—14 May 1957: Post-Suez petrol rationing ends
  • 15 May 1957—15 May 1957: Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island
  • 25 May 1957—25 May 1957: Treaty of Rome to create European Economic Community (EEC) of six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg - became operational Jan 1958
  • 4 Dec 1957—4 Dec 1957: Lewisham rail disaster - 90 killed as two trains collide in thick fog and a viaduct collapses on top of them
  • 25 Dec 1957—25 Dec 1957: Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
69 1958 
  • 1958—1958: Easter: First anti-nuclear protest march to Aldermaston (emergence of CND)
  • 1958—1958: Computers begin to be used in research, industry and commerce
  • 1958—1958: USA begins to produce Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)
  • 13 May 1958—13 May 1958: Velcro trade mark registered
  • 26 Jul 1958—26 Jul 1958: Prince Charles' Investiture as 'Prince of Wales'
  • 5 Dec 1958—5 Dec 1958: Inauguration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) in Britain (completed in 1979)
  • 5 Dec 1958—5 Dec 1958: Preston by-pass opens - UK's first stretch of motorway
70 1959 
  • 3 Feb 1959—3 Feb 1959: 'The Day The Music Died' - plane crash kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper
  • 17 Feb 1959—17 Feb 1959: Vanguard 2 satellite launched - first to measure cloud-cover distribution
  • 24 May 1959—24 May 1959: Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day
  • Aug 1959—Aug 1959: BMC Mini car launched
  • 3 Oct 1959—3 Oct 1959: Postcodes introduced in Britain
  • 1 Nov 1959—1 Nov 1959: First section of M1 motorway opened
71 1960 
  • 17 Mar 1960—17 Mar 1960: New ?1 notes issued by Bank of England
  • 18 Mar 1960—18 Mar 1960: Last steam locomotive of British Railways named
  • 21 Jul 1960—21 Jul 1960: Francis Chichester arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II (took 40 days), winning the first single-handed transatlantic yacht race which he co-founded
  • 12 Aug 1960—12 Aug 1960: Echo I, the first (passive) communications satellite, launched
  • 12 Sep 1960—12 Sep 1960: MoT tests on motor vehicles introduced
  • 1 Oct 1960—1 Oct 1960: HMS 'Dreadnought' nuclear submarine launched
  • 2 Nov 1960—2 Nov 1960: Penguin Books found not guilty of obscenity in the 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' case
72 1961 
  • 1 Jan 1961—1 Jan 1961: Farthing ceases to be legal tender in UK
  • 13 Mar 1961—13 Mar 1961: Black & White ?5 notes cease to be legal tender
  • 14 Mar 1961—14 Mar 1961: New English Bible (New Testament) published
  • 1 May 1961—1 May 1961: Betting shops legal in Britain
73 1962 
  • 1962—1962: Britain passes Commonwealth Immigrants Act to control immigration
  • 1962—1962: Thalidomide withdrawn after it causes deformities in babies
  • 1962—1962: Britain and France agree to construct 'Concorde'
  • 25 May 1962—25 May 1962: Consecration of new Coventry Cathedral (old destroyed in WW2 blitz)
  • 15 Jun 1962—15 Jun 1962: First nuclear generated electricity to supplied National Grid (from Berkeley Glos)
  • Jul 1962—Jul 1962: First passenger-carrying hovercraft enters service, along the North Wales Coast from Moreton to Rhyl
  • 10 Jul 1962—10 Jul 1962: First TV transmission between US and Europe (Telstar) - first live broadcast on 23 Jul
  • 24 Oct 1962—24 Oct 1962: Cuba missile crisis - brink of nuclear war
74 1963 
  • 1963—1963: France vetoes Britain's entry into EEC
  • Jan 1963—Jan 1963: Cold weather forces cancellation of most football matches (only 4 English First Division matches in the month) - the first 'pools panel' created
  • 27 Mar 1963—27 Mar 1963: Beeching Report on British Railways (the 'Beeching Axe')
  • 1 Aug 1963—1 Aug 1963: Minimum prison age raised to 17
  • 8 Aug 1963—8 Aug 1963: 'Great Train Robbery' on Glasgow to London mail train
  • 17 Sep 1963—17 Sep 1963: Fylingdales (Yorks) early warning system operational
  • 18 Nov 1963—18 Nov 1963: Dartford Tunnel opens
  • 23 Nov 1963—23 Nov 1963: First episode of 'Dr Who' on BBC TV
75 1964 
  • 1 Jan 1964—1 Jan 1964: First 'Top of the Pops' on BBC TV
  • 9 Apr 1964—9 Apr 1964: First Greater London Council (GLC) election
  • 21 Apr 1964—21 Apr 1964: BBC2 TV launched
  • 22 Aug 1964—22 Aug 1964: 'Match of the Day' starts on BBC2
  • 4 Sep 1964—4 Sep 1964: Forth road bridge opens
76 1965 
  • 1965—1965: Britain enacts first Race Relations Act
  • 7 Feb 1965—7 Feb 1965: First US raids against North Vietnam
  • 7 Apr 1965—7 Apr 1965: Winston Churchill dies
  • 1 Aug 1965—1 Aug 1965: TV cigarette advertising banned in Britain
  • 8 Oct 1965—8 Oct 1965: Post Office Tower operational in London
  • 28 Oct 1965—28 Oct 1965: Death penalty for murder suspended in Britain for five-year trial period, then abolished 18 Dec 1969
  • 22 Dec 1965—22 Dec 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced on British roads
77 1966 
  • 14 Feb 1966—14 Feb 1966: Australia converts from ? to $
  • 3 May 1966—3 May 1966: 'The Times' begins to print news on its front page in place of classified Advertisements
  • 30 Jul 1966—30 Jul 1966: World Cup won by England at Wembley (4-2 in extra time v West Germany)
  • 8 Sep 1966—8 Sep 1966: First Severn road bridge opens
  • 21 Oct 1966—21 Oct 1966: Aberfan disaster - slag heap slip kills 144, incl. 116 children
  • 1 Dec 1966—1 Dec 1966: First Christmas stamps issued in Britain
78 1967 
  • 4 Jan 1967—4 Jan 1967: Donald Campbell dies attempting to break his world water speed record on Conniston Water - his body and Bluebird recovered in 2002
  • 18 Mar 1967—18 Mar 1967: 'Torrey Canyon' oil tanker runs aground off Lands End first major oil spill
  • 28 May 1967—28 May 1967: Francis Chichester arrives in Plymouth after solo circumnavigation in Gipsy Moth IV (he was knighted 7th July at Greenwich by the queen using the sword with which Elizabeth I had knighted Sir Francis Drake four centuries earlier
  • 27 Jun 1967—27 Jun 1967: First withdrawal from a cash dispenser (ATM) in Britain - at Enfield branch of Barclays
  • 1 Jul 1967—1 Jul 1967: First colour TV in Britain
  • 14 Aug 1967—14 Aug 1967: Offshore pirate radio stations declared illegal by the UK
  • 20 Sep 1967—20 Sep 1967: 'QE2' launched on Clydebank
  • 27 Sep 1967—27 Sep 1967: 'Queen Mary' arrives Southampton at end of her last transatlantic voyage
  • 30 Sep 1967—30 Sep 1967: BBC Radios 1 2 3 & 4 open first record played on Radio 1 was the controversial 'Flowers in the Rain' by 'The Move'
  • 5 Oct 1967—5 Oct 1967: Introduction of majority verdicts in English courts
79 1968 
  • 18 Feb 1968—18 Feb 1968: British Standard Time introduced - Summer Time became permanent but arguments prevailed and Britain reverted to GMT in October 1971
  • 18 Apr 1968—18 Apr 1968: London Bridge sold (and eventually moved to Arizona) - modern London Bridge, built around it as it was demolished, was opened in Mar 1973
  • 20 Apr 1968—20 Apr 1968: Enoch Powell 'Rivers of Blood' speech on immigration
  • 23 Apr 1968—23 Apr 1968: Issue of 5p and 10p decimal coins in Britain
  • 29 May 1968—29 May 1968: Manchester United first English club to win the European Cup
  • 11 Aug 1968—11 Aug 1968: Last steam passenger train service ran in Britain (Carlisle- Liverpool)
  • 16 Sep 1968—16 Sep 1968: Two-tier postal rate starts in Britain
  • 5 Oct 1968—5 Oct 1968: Beginning of disturbances in N Ireland
80 1969 
  • 2 Mar 1969—2 Mar 1969: Maiden flight of 'Concorde', at Toulouse
  • 7 Mar 1969—7 Mar 1969: Victoria Line tube opens in London
  • 17 Apr 1969—17 Apr 1969: Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
  • 2 May 1969—2 May 1969: Maiden voyage of liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)
  • 31 Jul 1969—31 Jul 1969: Halfpenny ceases to be legal tender in Britain
  • 14 Aug 1969—14 Aug 1969: Civil disturbances in Ulster - Britain sends troops to support civil authorities
  • 7 Sep 1969—7 Sep 1969: First episode of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' recorded
  • 14 Oct 1969—14 Oct 1969: 50p coin introduced in Britain (reduced in size 1998)
81 1970 
  • 1970—1970: Boeing 747 (Jumbo jet) goes into service
  • 17 Jun 1970—17 Jun 1970: Decimal postage stamps first issued for sale in Britain
  • 19 Jun 1970—19 Jun 1970: Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister
  • 30 Jul 1970—30 Jul 1970: Damages awarded to Thalidomide victims
  • 19 Sep 1970—19 Sep 1970: First Glastonbury Festival held
  • 20 Nov 1970—20 Nov 1970: Ten shilling note (50p after decimalisation) goes out of circulation in Britain
82 1971 
  • 1971—1971: Banking and Financial Dealings Act - replaced the Bank Holidays Act of 1871
  • 1971—1971: Sunday becomes the seventh day in the week as UK adopts decision of the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) to call Monday the first day
  • 1971—1971: 'Greenpeace' founded
  • 1971—1971: Rolls-Royce declared bankrupt
  • 3 Jan 1971—3 Jan 1971: Open University starts
  • 15 Feb 1971—15 Feb 1971: Decimalisation of coinage in UK and Republic of Ireland
  • 9 Aug 1971—9 Aug 1971: Internment without trial introduced in N Ireland
  • 28 Oct 1971—28 Oct 1971: Parliament votes to join Common Market (joined 1973)
  • 28 Oct 1971—28 Oct 1971: UK launches its first (and only) satellite, Prospero
83 1972 
  • 1972—1972: Britain imposes direct rule in Northern Ireland
  • 1972—1972: Strict anti-hijack measures introduced internationally, especially at airports
  • 1972—1972: Dutch Elm disease devastates trees across UK
  • 1972—1972: Domestic video cassette recorders introduced
  • 30 Jan 1972—30 Jan 1972: 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry, Northern Ireland
  • 28 May 1972—28 May 1972: Duke of Windsor (ex-King Edward VIII) dies in Paris
84 1973 
  • 1 Jan 1973—1 Jan 1973: Britain enters EEC Common Market (with Ireland and Denmark)
  • 17 Mar 1973—17 Mar 1973: Modern London Bridge opened by the Queen
  • 1 Apr 1973—1 Apr 1973: VAT introduced in Britain
  • 26 Sep 1973—26 Sep 1973: Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time
  • 14 Oct 1973—14 Oct 1973: Marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey
  • 31 Dec 1973—31 Dec 1973: Miners strike and oil crisis precipitate 'three-day week' (till 9 Mar 1974) to conserve power
85 1974 
  • 1974—1974: New counties formed in Britain after re-organisation of some county boundaries
  • 1 Jun 1974—1 Jun 1974: Flixborough disaster: explosion at chemical plant kills 28 people
  • 7 Nov 1974—7 Nov 1974: Lord Lucan disappears
  • 21 Nov 1974—21 Nov 1974: Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA
86 1975 
  • 1975—1975: Unemployment in Britain rises above 1M for first time since before WW2
  • 11 Feb 1975—11 Feb 1975: Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of Conservative party (in opposition)
  • 28 Feb 1975—28 Feb 1975: Moorgate tube crash in London - over 43 deaths, greatest loss of life on the Underground in peacetime. The cause of the incident was never conclusively determined
  • 4 Mar 1975—4 Mar 1975: Charlie Chaplin knighted
  • 5 Jun 1975—5 Jun 1975: UK votes in a referendum to stay in the European Community
  • 29 Oct 1975—29 Oct 1975: 'Yorkshire Ripper' commits his first murder
  • 3 Nov 1975—3 Nov 1975: First North Sea oil comes ashore
  • 29 Nov 1975—29 Nov 1975: The name 'Micro-soft' coined by Bill Gates (Microsoft' became a Trademark the following year)
  • 27 Dec 1975—27 Dec 1975: Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act come into force
87 1976 
  • 1976—1976: 'Cod War' between Britain and Iceland
  • 1976—1976: Deaths exceeded live births in E&W for first time since records began in 1837
  • 1976—1976: James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister
  • 1976—1976: National Theatre opens in London
  • 21 Jan 1976—21 Jan 1976: Concorde enters supersonic passenger service
  • 1 Apr 1976—1 Apr 1976: Apple Computer formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
  • 6 Aug 1976—6 Aug 1976: Drought Act 1976 comes into force ? the long, hot summer
88 1977 
  • 2 Mar 1977—2 Mar 1977: 'Red Rum' wins a third Grand National
  • 25 May 1977—25 May 1977: George Lucas' film Star Wars' released
  • 5 Jun 1977—5 Jun 1977: Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale
  • 7 Jun 1977—7 Jun 1977: Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in London
  • 22 Nov 1977—22 Nov 1977: Regular supersonic Concorde service between London and NY inaugurated
89 1978 
  • 8 Apr 1978—8 Apr 1978: Regular broadcast of proceedings in Parliament starts
  • 1 May 1978—1 May 1978: First May Day holiday in Britain
  • 25 Jul 1978—25 Jul 1978: World's first 'test tube' baby, Louise Browne born in Oldham
  • 30 Nov 1978—30 Nov 1978: Publication of The Times suspended - industrial relations problems (until 13 Nov 1979)
90 1979 
  • 1 Mar 1979—1 Mar 1979: 32.5% of Scots vote in favor of devolution (40% needed) - Welsh vote overwhelmingly against
  • 30 Mar 1979—30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave killed by a car bomb at Westminster
  • 31 Mar 1979—31 Mar 1979: Withdrawal of the Royal Navy from Malta
  • 4 May 1979—4 May 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman UK Prime Minister
  • 1 Jul 1979—1 Jul 1979: Sony introduces the Walkman
  • 27 Aug 1979—27 Aug 1979: Lord Mountbatten and 3 others killed in bomb blast off coast of Sligo, Ireland
  • 18 Sep 1979—18 Sep 1979: ILEA votes to abolish corporal punishment in its schools
91 1980 
  • 5 May 1980—5 May 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages
  • 8 Dec 1980—8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
92 1981 
  • 25 Jan 1981—25 Jan 1981: Launch of SDP by 'Gang of Four' in Britain
  • 29 Mar 1981—29 Mar 1981: First London marathon run
  • 11 Apr 1981—11 Apr 1981: Brixton riots in South London - 30 other British cities also experience riots
  • 25 Apr 1981—25 Apr 1981: Worst April blizzards this century in Britain
  • 27 Apr 1981—27 Apr 1981: First use of computer mouse (by Xerox PARC system)
  • 29 Jul 1981—29 Jul 1981: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 28 Aug 1996)
  • 12 Aug 1981—12 Aug 1981: IBM launches the first PC
  • 12 Aug 1981—12 Aug 1981: IBM launches its PC ? starts the general use of personal computers
93 1982 
  • 26 Jan 1982—26 Jan 1982: Unemployment reached 3 million in Britain (1 in 8 of working population)
  • 5 Feb 1982—5 Feb 1982: Laker Airways collapses
  • 19 Feb 1982—19 Feb 1982: DeLorean Car factory in Belfast goes into receivership
  • 18 Mar 1982—18 Mar 1982: Argentinians raised flag in South Georgia
  • 2 Apr 1982—2 Apr 1982: Argentina invades Falkland (Malvinas) Islands
  • 5 Apr 1982—5 Apr 1982: Royal Navy fleet sails from Portsmouth for Falklands
  • 2 May 1982—2 May 1982: British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks Argentine cruiser General Belgrano
  • 28 May 1982—28 May 1982: First land battle in Falklands (Goose Green)
  • 14 Jun 1982—14 Jun 1982: Ceasefire in Falklands
  • 21 Jun 1982—21 Jun 1982: Prince William is born
  • 20 Jul 1982—20 Jul 1982: IRA bombings in London (Hyde Park and Regents Park)
  • 19 Sep 1982—19 Sep 1982: Smiley emoticon :-) said to have been used for the first time
  • 11 Oct 1982—11 Oct 1982: Mary Rose' raised in the Solent (sank in 1545)
  • 31 Oct 1982—31 Oct 1982: Thames Barrier raised for first time (some say first public demonstration Nov 7)
  • 2 Nov 1982—2 Nov 1982: Channel 4 TV station launched - first programme 'Countdown'
  • 4 Nov 1982—4 Nov 1982: Lorries up to 38 tonnes allowed on Britain's roads
  • 12 Dec 1982—12 Dec 1982: Women's peace protest at Greenham Common (Cruise missiles arrived 14 Nov 1983)
94 1983 
  • 1983—1983: First female Lord Mayor of London elected (Dame Mary Donaldson)
  • 17 Jan 1983—17 Jan 1983: Start of breakfast TV in Britain
  • 31 Jan 1983—31 Jan 1983: Seat belt law comes into force
  • 21 Apr 1983—21 Apr 1983: ?1 coin into circulation in Britain
  • 7 Oct 1983—7 Oct 1983: Plans to abolish GLC announced
  • 26 Nov 1983—26 Nov 1983: Brinks Mat robbery: 6,800 gold bars worth nearly ?26 million are stolen from a vault at Heathrow Airport
95 1984 
  • 6 Mar 1984—6 Mar 1984: Miners strike begins
  • 17 Apr 1984—17 Apr 1984: Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher killed by gunfire from the Libyan Embassy in London
  • 22 Jun 1984—22 Jun 1984: Inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic
  • 9 Jul 1984—9 Jul 1984: York Minster struck by lightning - the resulting fire damaged much of the building but the Rose Window' not affected
  • 12 Oct 1984—12 Oct 1984: IRA bomb explodes at Tory conference hotel in Brighton - 4 killed
  • 24 Oct 1984—24 Oct 1984: Miners' strike ? High Court orders sequestration of NUM assets
  • 3 Dec 1984—3 Dec 1984: British Telecom privatised - shares make massive gains on first day's trading
96 1985 
  • 3 Mar 1985—3 Mar 1985: Miners agree to call off strike
  • 11 Mar 1985—11 Mar 1985: Al Fayed buys Harrods
  • 13 Jul 1985—13 Jul 1985: Live Aid' pop concert raises over ?50M for famine relief
  • 1 Sep 1985—1 Sep 1985: Wreck of Titanic' found (sank 1912)
97 1986 
  • 31 Mar 1986—31 Mar 1986: GLC and 6 metropolitan councils abolished
  • 26 Apr 1986—26 Apr 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident - radiation reached Britain on 2 Ma
  • 26 May 1986—26 May 1986: The European Community adopts the European flag
  • 23 Jul 1986—23 Jul 1986: Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey
  • 27 Oct 1986—27 Oct 1986: 'Big Bang' (deregulation) of the London Stock Market
  • 29 Oct 1986—29 Oct 1986: M25 motorway ring around London completed
98 1987 
  • 1987—1987: World population crossed the 5 billion mark
  • 2 Feb 1987—2 Feb 1987: Terry Waite kidnapped in Beirut (released 17 Nov 1991)
  • 6 Mar 1987—6 Mar 1987: Car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise' capsizes off Zeebrugge - 188 die
  • 1 Jul 1987—1 Jul 1987: Excavation begins on the Channel Tunnel
  • 19 Aug 1987—19 Aug 1987: Hungerford Massacre - Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a rifle
  • 16 Oct 1987—16 Oct 1987: The 'Hurricane' sweeps southern England
  • 19 Oct 1987—19 Oct 1987: 'Black Monday' in the City of London - Stock Market crash
  • 8 Nov 1987—8 Nov 1987: Enniskillen bombing at a Remembrance Day ceremony
  • 18 Nov 1987—18 Nov 1987: King's Cross fire in London - 31 people die
99 1988 
  • 5 Feb 1988—5 Feb 1988: First 'Red Nose Day' in UK, raising money for charity
  • 6 Jul 1988—6 Jul 1988: Piper Alpha disaster - North Sea oil platform destroyed by explosion and fire killing 167 men
  • 15 Nov 1988—15 Nov 1988: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act - reformulated the statutory basis of copyright law (including performing rights) in the UK
  • 12 Dec 1988—12 Dec 1988: Clapham Junction rail crash kills 35 and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains
  • 21 Dec 1988—21 Dec 1988: Lockerbie disaster - Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Scotland
100 1989 
  • 1989—1989: Poll Tax implemented in Scotland
  • 14 Feb 1989—14 Feb 1989: The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit
  • 2 Mar 1989—2 Mar 1989: EU decision to ban production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century
  • 9 Nov 1989—9 Nov 1989: Berlin Wall torn down
  • 21 Nov 1989—21 Nov 1989: Proceedings of House of Commons first televised live
101 1990 
  • 11 Feb 1990—11 Feb 1990: Nelson Mandela released in South Africa
  • 31 Mar 1990—31 Mar 1990: Riots in London against Poll Tax which had been implemented in England & Wales
  • 25 Apr 1990—25 Apr 1990: Hubble space telescope launched
  • 22 Nov 1990—22 Nov 1990: Margaret Thatcher resigns as Conservative party leader (and Prime Minister)
  • 1 Dec 1990—1 Dec 1990: Channel Tunnel excavation teams meet in the middle
102 1991 
  • 1991—1991: Poll Tax replaced (by Council Tax)
  • 1991—1991: The 'Internet' comes into existence
  • 18 May 1991—18 May 1991: Helen Sharman is first British Astronaut in Space
  • Aug 1991—Aug 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union
  • 6 Sep 1991—6 Sep 1991: Leningrad renamed St Petersburg
  • 5 Nov 1991—5 Nov 1991: Robert Maxwell drowns at sea
103 1992 
  • 7 Feb 1992—7 Feb 1992: European Union formed by The Maastricht Treaty
  • 22 Apr 1992—22 Apr 1992: Betty Boothroyd elected as first female Speaker of the House of Commons
  • 15 Aug 1992—15 Aug 1992: Football Premier League kicks off in England
  • 16 Sep 1992—16 Sep 1992: 'Black Wednesday' as Pound leaves the ERM
  • 20 Nov 1992—20 Nov 1992: Fire breaks out in Windsor Castle causing over ?50 million worth of damage
  • 24 Nov 1992—24 Nov 1992: The Queen describes this year as an 'Annus Horribilis'
104 1993 
  • 1993—1993: Betty Boothroyd first woman Speaker of the House of Commons (to 2000)
  • 1993—1993: Elizabeth II becomes first British Monarch to pay Income Tax
  • Jul 1993—Jul 1993: Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
105 1994 
  • 1994—1994: 15 million people now connected to the Internet
  • 12 Mar 1994—12 Mar 1994: Church of England ordains its first female priests
  • 6 May 1994—6 May 1994: Channel Tunnel open to traffic
  • 19 Nov 1994—19 Nov 1994: National Lottery starts
106 1995 
  • 26 Feb 1995—26 Feb 1995: Nick Leeson brings down Barings Bank
  • 15 Jul 1995—15 Jul 1995: First item sold on Amazon.com
  • 16 Nov 1995—16 Nov 1995: The Queen Mother has a hip replacement operation at 95 years old
  • 22 Nov 1995—22 Nov 1995: Toy Story' released - first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery
107 1996 
  • 9 Feb 1996—9 Feb 1996: IRA bomb explodes in London Docklands - ends 17 month ceasefire
  • 13 Mar 1996—13 Mar 1996: Dunblane massacre
  • 15 Jun 1996—15 Jun 1996: IRA bomb explodes in Manchester
  • 5 Jul 1996—5 Jul 1996: Scientists in Scotland clone a sheep (Dolly)
  • 28 Aug 1996—28 Aug 1996: Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales are divorced
108 1997 
  • 30 Mar 1997—30 Mar 1997: Channel 5 TV begins in UK (launched by the Spice Girls)
  • 1 May 1997—1 May 1997: 'New' Labour landslide victory in Britain (Tony Blair replaces John Major as Prime Minister)
  • 6 May 1997—6 May 1997: Announcement that Bank of England to be made independent of Government control
  • 11 May 1997—11 May 1997: First time a computer beats a master at chess (IBM's Deep Blue v Garry Kasparov)
  • 1 Jul 1997—1 Jul 1997: Hong Kong returned to China
  • 19 Jul 1997—19 Jul 1997: IRA declares a ceasefire
  • 31 Aug 1997—31 Aug 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales killed in car crash in Paris
  • 25 Sep 1997—25 Sep 1997: Land speed record breaks sound barrier for first time
109 1998 
  • 10 Apr 1998—10 Apr 1998: Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland - effectively implemented in May 2007
  • 14 Aug 1998—14 Aug 1998: Car bomb explodes in Omagh killing 29 people
  • 27 Sep 1998—27 Sep 1998: 'Google' search engine founded
110 1999 
  • 1999—1999: World population reaches 6 billion
  • 1 Jan 1999—1 Jan 1999: European Monetary Union begins - UK opts out - by the end of the year the Euro has approximately the same value as the US Dollar
  • 1 Jul 1999—1 Jul 1999: The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth - powers are officially transferred from the Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh
  • 11 Aug 1999—11 Aug 1999: Total eclipse of the sun visible in Devon and Cornwall
  • 11 Nov 1999—11 Nov 1999: Hereditary Peers no longer have right to sit in House of Lords
111 2000 
  • 1 Jan 2000—1 Jan 2000: The year in Britain started with a 'flu bug rather than a millennium bug
  • Mar 2000—Mar 2000: London Eye opens, late but popular
  • 22 Apr 2000—22 Apr 2000: The Big Number Change takes place in the UK - affected telephone dialling codes assigned to Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton
  • 4 May 2000—4 May 2000: Ken Livingstone elected first Mayor of London (not to be confused with Lord Mayor of London!)
  • 10 Jun 2000—10 Jun 2000: Millennium footbridge over the Thames opens, but wobbles and is quickly declared dangerous and closed - finally reopened Feb 2002
  • 25 Jul 2000—25 Jul 2000: A chartered Air France Concorde crashes on take-off at Paris with the loss of all lives
  • Sep 2000—Sep 2000: 'People Power' emerged suddenly as protestors against high Road Fuel Tax used mobile phones and the Internet to co-ordinate blockades on fuel depots - resulted in nationwide panic buying of fuel and service stations running out across the country
  • Oct 2000—Oct 2000: Heavy rains cause worst flooding since records began (1850s) in many parts of Britain (Oct-Dec)
  • 17 Oct 2000—17 Oct 2000: Derailment at speed on the main London-North eastern line at Hatfield caused by a broken rail

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