Timeline: Iris Lorraine Elliott: Our Family History

1776—1776: Somerset House in London becomes the repository of records of population
1776—1776: Watt and Boulton produce their first commercial steam engine
4 Jul 1776—4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence
7 Sep 1776—7 Sep 1776: First attack on a warship by a submarine - David Bushnell's ?Turtle' attacked HMS Eagle in New York harbour. The attack was perhaps spectacular (a charge did detonate beneath the ship) but was nevertheless unsuccessful. 'Turtle' was a one man Affair man-powered [Les Moore]

1777

1777—1777: Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.

1779

1779—1779: Marc Isambard Brunel opens the first steamdriven sawmill at Chatham Dockyard in Kent
1779—1779: First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson
1779—1779: First Spinning Mills operational in Scotland
14 Feb 1779—14 Feb 1779: Capt James Cook killed on Hawaii
23 Sep 1779—23 Sep 1779: Naval engagement between Britain and USA off Flamborough Head

1780

1780—1780: Male Servants Tax
1780—1780: The English Reform Movement - until now, only landowners and tenants (freeholders with 40 shillings per year or more) allowed to vote, and in open poll books
1780—1780: Fountain pen invented
1780—1780: About this time the word 'Quiz' entered the language, said to have been invented as a wager by Mr Daly, a Dublin theatre manager
4 May 1780—4 May 1780: First Derby run at Epsom (some say 2nd June)
2 Jun 1780—2 Jun 1780: Jun 2- 8: The Gordon Riots - Parliament passes a Roman Catholic relief measure - for days, London is at the mercy of a mob and destruction is widespread

1782

1782—1782: Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief - the way of life of the poor beginning to alter due to industrialisation - New factories in rapidly expanding towns required a workforce that would adjust to new work patterns
1782—1782: James Watt patents his steam engine

1783

1783—1783: Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in entries!
3 Sep 1783—3 Sep 1783: Treaty of Versailles (Britain/US)
3 Nov 1783—3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)

1784

1784—1784: Pitt's India Act - the Crown (as opposed to officers of the East India Company) has power to guide Indian politics
1784—1784: Wesley breaks with the Church of England
1784—1784: First golf club founded at St Andrews
1784—1784: Invention of threshing machine by Andrew Meikle
2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)

1785

1785—1785: Sunday School Society founded to educate poor children (by 1851, enrols more than 2 million)
1 Jan 1785—1 Jan 1785: John Walter publishes first edition of The Times (called The Daily Universal Register for 3 years)

1787

1787—1787: MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London

1788

1788—1788: First steamboat demonstrated in Scotland
1788—1788: Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be a minimum of 8 years old (not enforced)
1788—1788: First slave carrying act, the Dolben Act of 1788, regulates the slave trade - stipulates more humane conditions on slave ships
1788—1788: King George III's mental illness occasions the Regency Crisis - Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox attack ministry of William Pitt - trying to obtain full regal powers for the Prince of Wales
1788—1788: Gibbon completes Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
26 Jan 1788—26 Jan 1788: First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New South Wales (left Portsmouth 13 May 1787) ? the 'First Fleet'; eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip

1789

28 Apr 1789—28 Apr 1789: Mutiny on HMS Bounty - Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew ends up on Pitcairn Island

1790

1790—1790: Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland

1791

1791—1791: John Bell, printer, abandons the long s' (the 's' that looks like an 'f')
1791—1791: Establishment of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain
4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper

1792

1792—1792: Repression in Britain (restrictions on freedom of the press) - Fox gets Libel Act through Parliament, requiring a jury and not a judge to determine libel
1792—1792: Boyle's Street Directory published
1792—1792: Coal-gas lighting invented by William Murdock, an Ayrshire Scot
1 Oct 1792—1 Oct 1792: Introduction of Money Orders in Britain
1 Dec 1792—1 Dec 1792: King's Proclamation drawing out the British militia

1793

11 Feb 1793—11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802)
15 Apr 1793—15 Apr 1793: ?5 notes first issued by the Bank of England

1794

1794—1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties
6 Oct 1794—6 Oct 1794: The prosecutor for Britain, Lord Justice Eyre, charges reformers with High Treason - he argued that, since reform of parliament would lead to revolution and revolution to executing the King, the desire for reform endangered the King's life and was therefore treasonous

1795

1795—1795: The Famine Year
1795—1795: Foundation of the Orange Order
1795—1795: Speenhamland Act proclaims that the Parish is responsible for bringing up the labourer's wage to subsistence level - towards the end of the eighteenth century, the number of poor and unemployed increased dramatically - price increases during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) far outstripped wage rises - many small farmers were bankrupted by the move towards enclosures and became landless labourers - their wages were often pitifully low
1795—1795: Pitt and Grenville introduce The Gagging Acts' or 'Two Bills' (the Seditious Meetings and Treasonable Practices Bills) - outlawed the mass meeting and the political lecture.
1795—1795: Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy

1796

1796—1796: Pitt's Reign of Terror': More treason trials - leading radicals emigrate
1796—1796: Legacy Tax on sums over ?20 excluding those to wives, children, parents and grandparents
14 May 1796—14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England

1797

1797—1797: England in Crisis, Bank of England suspends cash payments
1797—1797: Mutinies in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore
1797—1797: Tax on newspapers (including cheap, topical journals) increased to repress radical publications
1797—1797: The first copper pennies were produced ('cartwheels') by application of steam power to the coining press
22 Feb 1797—22 Feb 1797: French invade Fishguard, Wales; last time UK invaded; all captured 2 days later
26 Feb 1797—26 Feb 1797: First ?1 (and ?2) notes issued by Bank of England

1798

1798—1798: First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner
Feb 1798—Feb 1798: The Irish Rebellion; 100,000 peasants revolt; approximately 25,000 die - Irish Parliament abolished (Feb-Oct)
1 Aug 1798—1 Aug 1798: Battle of the Nile (won by Nelson)

1799

1799—1799: Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York
1799—1799: Foundation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain
9 Jan 1799—9 Jan 1799: Pitt brings in 10% income tax, as a wartime financial measure
12 Jul 1799—12 Jul 1799: 'Combination Laws' in Britain against political associations and combinations
15 Jul 1799—15 Jul 1799: ?Rosetta Stone' discovered in Egypt made possible the deciphering (in 1822) of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics

1800

1800—1800: Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy
1800—1800: Use of high pressure steam pioneered by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833)
1800—1800: Royal College of Surgeons founded
1800—1800: Herschel discovers infra-red light
1800—1800: Volta makes first electrical battery
2 Jul 1800—2 Jul 1800: Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland

1801

1801—1801: Grand Union Canal opens in England
1801—1801: Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London
1 Jan 1801—1 Jan 1801: Union Jack becomes the official British flag
10 Mar 1801—10 Mar 1801: First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural)
24 Dec 1801—24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco

1802

25 Mar 1802—25 Mar 1802: Treaty of Amiens signed by Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands ? the 'Peace of Amiens' as it was known brought a temporary peace of 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars ? one of its most important cultural effects was that travel and correspondence across the English Channel became possible again

1803

1803—1803: Poaching made a Capital offense in England if capture resisted
1803—1803: Richard Trevithick built another steam carriage and ran it in London as the first self-propelled vehicle in the capital and the first London bus
1803—1803: Semaphore signaling perfected by Admiral Popham
30 Apr 1803—30 Apr 1803: Louisiana Purchase: Napoleon sells French possessions in America to United States
12 May 1803—12 May 1803: Peace of Amiens ends ? resumption of war with France ? The Napoleonic Wars (1803-18l5)
23 Jul 1803—23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to Croydon, horse-drawn)

1804

1804—1804: Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed 'Australia'
21 Feb 1804—21 Feb 1804: Richard Trevithick runs his railway engine on the Penydarren Railway (9.5 miles from Pen-y-Darren to Abercynon in South Wales) this hauled a train with 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers. It was commemorated by the Royal Mint in 2004 in the form of A ?2 coin.
3 Mar 1804—3 Mar 1804: John Wedgwood (eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood) founds The Royal Horticultural Society
2 Dec 1804—2 Dec 1804: Napoleon declares himself Emperor of the French
12 Dec 1804—12 Dec 1804: Spain declares war on Britain

1805

1805—1805: London docks opened
21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
2 Dec 1805—2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians

1806

1806—1806: Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners)
9 Jan 1806—9 Jan 1806: Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London

1807

25 Mar 1807—25 Mar 1807: Parliament passes Act prohibiting slavery and the importation of slaves from 1808 ? but does not prohibit colonial slavery

1808

1808—1808: Gas lighting in London streets
13 Jul 1808—13 Jul 1808: 'Hot Wednesday' ? temperature of 101?F in the shade recorded in London
20 Dec 1808—20 Dec 1808: Beethoven premieres his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy together in Vienna

1809

12 Feb 1809—12 Feb 1809: Birth of Charles Darwin
18 Sep 1809—18 Sep 1809: Royal Opera House opens in London

1810

1810—1810: John McAdam begins road construction in England, giving his name to the process of road metalling

1811

5 Feb 1811—5 Feb 1811: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane

1812

11 May 1812—11 May 1812: Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, assassinated ? shot as he entered the House of Commons by a bankrupt Liverpool broker, John Bellingham, who was subsequently hanged
18 Jun 1812—18 Jun 1812: Start of American 'War of 1812' (to 1814) against England and Canada
Oct 1812—Oct 1812: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses

1813

1813—1813: Ireland: First recorded '12th of July' sectarian riots in Belfast
1813—1813: Jane Austen wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'

1814

1 Jan 1814—1 Jan 1814: Invasion of France by Allies
6 Apr 1814—6 Apr 1814: Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba
13 Aug 1814—13 Aug 1814: Convention of London signed, a treaty between the UK and the Dutch
24 Aug 1814—24 Aug 1814: The British burn the White House
29 Nov 1814—29 Nov 1814: 'The Times' first printed by a 'mechanical apparatus' (at 1100 sheets per hour)
24 Dec 1814—24 Dec 1814: Treaty of Ghent signed ending the 1812 war between Britain and the US

1815

1815—1815: Trial by Jury established in Scotland
1815—1815: Davy develops the safety lamp for miners
18 Jun 1815—18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena

1816

1816—1816: Income tax abolished
1816—1816: For the first time British silver coins were produced with an intrinsic value substantially below their face value ? the first official 'token' coinage
1816—1816: Climate: the 'year without a summer' ? followed a volcanic explosion of the mountain 'Tambora in Indonesia the previous year the biggest volcanic explosion in 10000 years
1816—1816: Large scale emigration to North America
1816—1816: Trans-Atlantic packet service begins

1817

1817—1817: March of the Manchester Blanketeers; Habeas Corpus suspended
1817—1817: Constable painted 'Flatford Mill'

1818

1818—1818: Manchester cotton spinners' strike
20 Oct 1818—20 Oct 1818: 'Convention of 1818' signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the US-Canada border on the 49th parallel for most of its length

1819

1819—1819: Primitive bicycle, the Dandy Horse, becomes popular
1819—1819: Britain returns to gold standard
1819—1819: Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles
May 1819—May 1819: SS 'Savannah' first steamship to cross Atlantic reaching Liverpool 20 June 1819 (26 Days reaching Liverpool 20 June 1819 (26 Days mostly under sail)
16 Aug 1819—16 Aug 1819: Peterloo Massacre at Manchester ? a large, orderly group of 60,000 meets at St. Peter's Fields, Manchester ? demand Parliamentary Reform ? mounted troops charge on the meeting, killing 11 people and and maiming many others

1820

1820—1820: Cato Street Conspiracy ? plot to assissinate British cabinet
1820—1820: Abolition of the Spanish Inquisition
29 Jan 1820—29 Jan 1820: Accession of George IV, previously Prince Regent
1 Aug 1820—1 Aug 1820: Regent's Canal in London opens
17 Aug 1820—17 Aug 1820: Trial of Queen Caroline to prove her infidelities so George IV can divorce her ? George tries to secure a Bill of Pains and Penalties against her ? Caroline is virtually acquitted because bill passed by such a small majority of Lords

1821

1821—1821: Faraday publishes 'Principles of electro-magnetic rotation'
1821—1821: Constable paints 'The Hay Wain'
5 May 1821—5 May 1821: Napoleon Bonaparte dies on St Helena

1822

14 Jun 1822—14 Jun 1822: Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society

1823

1823—1823: New laws concerning marriage by license ? 'very troublesome' according to some the Act was repealed all in a hurry at the beginning of the next session
1823—1823: Peel begins penal reforms ? death penalty abolished for over 100 crimes
1823—1823: Rugby Football 'invented' at Rugby School
1823—1823: Rubberised waterproof material produced by MacIntosh
2 Dec 1823—2 Dec 1823: US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts (the 'Monroe Doctrine')

1824

1824—1824: RSPCA established
1824—1824: Portland cement patented
4 Mar 1824—4 Mar 1824: Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) founded (called the 'National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck' until 1854)
10 May 1824—10 May 1824: National Gallery in London opens to the public

1825

27 Sep 1825—27 Sep 1825: Stockton to Darlington Railway opens ? world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains

1827

1827—1827: Ohm's Law published

1828

25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828: St Katharine Docks in London opened (designed by Thomas Telford)

1829

1829—1829: London Metropolitan Police Force formed, nicknamed 'Bobbies' after Sir Robert Peel
1829—1829: Louis Braille invents his system of finger-reading for the blind
10 Jun 1829—10 Jun 1829: First Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race
6 Oct 1829—6 Oct 1829: George Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill trials (it was the only one to complete the trial!)

1830

1830—1830: Uprisings and agitation across Europe: the Netherlands are split into Holland and Belgium
Jul 1830—Jul 1830: Revolution in France, fall of Charles X and the Bourbons ? Louis Philippe (the Citizen King) on the throne
15 Sep 1830—15 Sep 1830: George Stephenson's Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened by the Duke of Wellington ? first mail carried by rail, and first death on the railway as William Huskisson, a leading politician, is run over!

1831

1831—1831: A list of all parish registers dating prior to 1813 compiled
1 Jun 1831—1 Jun 1831: James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole
1 Aug 1831—1 Aug 1831: 'New' London Bridge opens (replaced 1973) ? old bridge (which had existed for over 600 years) then demolished

1832

1832—1832: Electoral Registers introduced
1832—1832: Electric telegraph invented by Morse
7 Jun 1832—7 Jun 1832: Reform Bill passed ? Representation of the People Act

1833

Jan 1833—Jan 1833: Britain invades the Falkland Islands
29 Aug 1833—29 Aug 1833: Factory Act forbids employment of children below age of 9

1834

1834—1834: Babbage invents forerunner of the computer
18 Mar 1834—18 Mar 1834: 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' transported (to Australia) for Trades Union activities
1 May 1834—1 May 1834: Slavery abolished in British possessions

1835

1835—1835: Christmas becomes a national holiday
1835—1835: First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway

1836

1836—1836: First Potato famine in Ireland
30 Jan 1836—30 Jan 1836: Telford's Menai Straits Bridge opened ? considered the world's first modern suspension bridge
25 Feb 1836—25 Feb 1836: Samuel Colt patented the 'revolver'
6 Mar 1836—6 Mar 1836: The Alamo falls to Mexican troops - death of Davy Crockett
Jul 1836—Jul 1836: Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

1837

1837—1837: Pitman introduces his shorthand system
1837—1837: P&O Founded
20 Jun 1837—20 Jun 1837: William IV dies - accession of Queen Victoria (to 1901)
1 Jul 1837—1 Jul 1837: Compulsory registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths in England & Wales - Registration Districts were formed covering several parishes; initially they had the same boundaries as the Poor Law boundaries set up in 1834
13 Jul 1837—13 Jul 1837: Queen Victoria moves into the first Buckingham Palace
20 Jul 1837—20 Jul 1837: Euston Railway station opens - first in London

1838

28 Jun 1838—28 Jun 1838: Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey

1839

1839—1839: First Opium War between Britain and China (to 1842) - Britain captures Hong Kong
1839—1839: Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan refines the primitive bicycle adding a mechanical crank drive to the rear wheel,thus creating the first true 'bicycle' in the modern Sense
1839—1839: Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber

1840

1840—1840: Population Act relating to taking of censuses in Britain
1840—1840: Last convicts landed in NSW (some say 1842 or 1849, but these probably landed elsewhere)
10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally

1841

1841—1841: Thomas Cook starts package tours
10 Feb 1841—10 Feb 1841: Penny Red replaces Penny Black postage stamp
6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)

1842

1842—1842: Income Tax reintroduced in Britain
30 Mar 1842—30 Mar 1842: Ether used as an anesthetic for the first time (by Dr Crawford Long in America)
29 Aug 1842—29 Aug 1842: Treaty of Nanking - End of First Opium War - Britain gains Hong Kong

1843

1843—1843: First Christmas card in England
27 May 1843—27 May 1843: The Great Hall of Euston station opened in London
19 Jul 1843—19 Jul 1843: Brunel's 'Great Britain' launched

1844

6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844: YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams

1845

1845—1845: Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845: The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry

1846

10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846: The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe

1847

1847—1847: US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre
Jan 1847—Jan 1847: An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)

1848

1848—1848: First commercial production of chewing gum
24 Jan 1848—24 Jan 1848: Gold found at Sutter's Mill, California - starts the California gold rush
11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848: Waterloo railway station in London opens

1849

1849—1849: Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally occurred in 1971!

1851

1851—1851: Gold discovered in Australia
1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park

1852

1852—1852: Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
1852—1852: Wells Fargo established in USA

1853

1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain

1854

1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
27 Mar 1854—27 Mar 1854: Britain declares war on Russia (Crimean War)
25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)

1856

1856—1856: End of Crimean War
29 Jan 1856—29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)

1857

1857—1857: Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable

1858

1858—1858: 'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work
1858—1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London

1859

1859—1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain
25 Apr 1859—25 Apr 1859: Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869)
4 May 1859—4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon and Cornwall
24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'

1860

29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead

1861

25 May 1861—25 May 1861: American Civil War begins

1862

1862—1862: Lincoln issues first legal US paper money (Greenbacks)
20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard

1863

1863—1863: Football Association founded (UK)
1863—1863: Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England
10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens

1864

1864—1864: A man-powered submarine, 'Hunley' sank a Federal steam ship USS Housatonic at the entrance to Charleston harbour in 1864 - the first recorded successful attack by a submarine on a surface ship
11 Mar 1864—11 Mar 1864: The Great Sheffield Flood - over 250 died when a new dam broke while it was being filled for the first time
20 Aug 1864—20 Aug 1864: Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention
8 Dec 1864—8 Dec 1864: Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon officially opened

1865

1865—1865: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) becomes first woman doctor in England [she later became the first woman mayor in England, in Aldeburgh 1908]
1865—1865: First concrete roads built in Britain
14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865: William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London

1867

1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867: The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation

1868

1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)

1869

1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton

1870

1870—1870: GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
1870—1870: Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children
1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
1870—1870: Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa
1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870: First British postcard - halfpenny post

1871

27 Mar 1871—27 Mar 1871: First Rugby Football international, England v Scotland, played in Edinburgh
29 Mar 1871—29 Mar 1871: Opening of Royal Albert Hall, London
29 Jun 1871—29 Jun 1871: Trades Unions legalised in Britain, but picketing made illegal

1872

1872—1872: Licensing hours introduced
1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
4 Dec 1872—4 Dec 1872: American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean

1874

1874—1874: Factory Act introduces 56-hour week
5 Apr 1874—5 Apr 1874: Birkenhead Park opened, said to be the first civic public park in the world - features of it later copied in Central Park, New York

1875

1875—1875: London's main sewage system completed
1 Jan 1875—1 Jan 1875: Midland Railway abolishes Second Class passenger facilities, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies followed during the rest of the year. (Third Class was renamed Second Class in 1956)

1876

14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights

1877

1877—1877: Edison invents microphone and phonograph

1878

1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
1878—1878: Red Flag Act in Britain limits mechanical road vehicles to 4mph
1878—1878: CID established at New Scotland Yard

1879

18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879: Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time

1880

1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
1880—1880: Mosquito found to be the carrier of malaria
2 Aug 1880—2 Aug 1880: Greenwich Mean Time adopted throughout UK

1881

1881—1881: Postal Orders introduced
1881—1881: Flogging abolished in Army and Royal Navy
Sep 1881—Sep 1881: Godalming in Surrey became the first town in England to have a public electricity supply installed (but in 1884 it reverted to gas lighting until 1904)
26 Oct 1881—26 Oct 1881: Gunfight at OK Corral

1882

1882—1882: Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed

100

1883

1883—1883: Statue of Liberty presented to USA by France
24 May 1883—24 May 1883: Brooklyn Bridge, New York opens (crosses East River)
1 Aug 1883—1 Aug 1883: Parcel post starts in Britain
27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883: Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave

101

1884

31 May 1884—31 May 1884: John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes
13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world

102

1885

1885—1885: Carl Benz builds the 'Motorwagen', a single-cylinder motor car
1885—1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle
1885—1885: Eastman makes first coated photographic paper
1885—1885: Canadian Pacific Railway completed
Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
5 Sep 1885—5 Sep 1885: The first train runs through the Severn Tunnel
29 Sep 1885—29 Sep 1885: First electric tramcar used at Blackpool

103

1886

20 Jan 1886—20 Jan 1886: Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales
May 1886—May 1886: Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage later named 'Coca-Cola'
29 May 1886—29 May 1886: Putney Bridge opens in London

104

1887

1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car

105

1888

1888—1888: Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace
1888—1888: Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year
1888—1888: County Councils set up in Britain
1888—1888: Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre
1888—1888: First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film
20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed

106

1889

1889—1889: Celluloid film produced
1889—1889: Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies
31 Mar 1889—31 Mar 1889: Eiffel Tower completed (to mark centenary of French Revolution)
14 May 1889—14 May 1889: Children's charity NSPCC launched in London
3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast
28 Sep 1889—28 Sep 1889: Length of a metre defined

107

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

108

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

109

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

110

1893

1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car
1893—1893: Zip fastener invented

111

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

112

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

113

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

114

1897

1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector

115

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)

116

1899

6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer
11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899: Start of Second Boer War

117

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

118

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

119

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

120

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

121

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)

122

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

123

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

124

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

125

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

126

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)

127

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

128

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

129

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

130

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

131

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

132

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

133

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

134

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

135

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

136

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

137

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

138

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

139

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)

140

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

141

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)

142

1925

1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard
18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf

143

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

144

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

145

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)

146

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

147

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

148

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

149

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

150

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

151

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')

152

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

153

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'

154

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

155

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

156

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

157

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

158

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

159

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

160

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

161

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

162

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

163

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

164

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

165

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

166

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

167

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

168

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

169

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

170

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)

171

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

172

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

173

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

174

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

175

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

176

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

177

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

178

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

179

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

180

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

181

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

182

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