Timeline of British history
This is a timeline of British history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in the
History of the formation of the United Kingdom and History of the United Kingdom. .
Centuries: 1st BC · 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th · 11th · 12th · 13th · 14th · 15th · 16th · 17th · 18th · 19th · 20th · 21st · Refs
1st century BC
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
55 BC | 1 January [1] | General Julius Caesar invades Great Britain for the first time, gaining a beachhead on the coast of Kent .
|
54 BC | ? | Caesar invades for the second time, gaining a third of the country. These two invasions are known as Caesar's invasions of Britain .
|
1st century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
43 | ? | Emperor Claudius makes Britain a part of the Roman Empire. This is known as the Roman conquest of Britain .
|
50 | ? | London is founded.[2][3] |
61 | ? | Boudica's organised rebellion against the Romans is defeated. |
2nd century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
122 | ? | Emperor Hadrian orders a wall to be built to mark Roman territory of Britain in the north. |
197 | ? | Britain is divided into two parts - Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. |
3rd century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
206 | ? | Governor Lucius Alfenus Senecio repairs Hadrian's Wall and appeals for help from the Emperor against the northern tribes. |
208 | ? | Emperor Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla take personal command of the army in Britain. |
209 | ? | Severus and Caracalla lead an expedition against the Caledonii, and build forts at Cramond and the Tay estuary. |
210 | ? | Caracalla leads an expedition against the rebellious Maeatae tribe. |
211 | ? | 4 February – Severus dies at York, while preparing another expedition against the northern rebels.
Caracalla, now Emperor, abandons territory north of Hadrian's Wall, and returns to Rome |
c. 214 | ? | Britain divided into two provinces, Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior, with administrative centres at London and York respectively |
c. 220 | ? | Saxons raid south-east coast; forts built at Reculver and Branodunum (Brancaster). |
245 | ? | Many thousands of acres of modern-day Lincolnshire are inundated by a great flood. |
255 | ? | Work begins on a riverside wall in London. |
259 | ? | Rebel leader Latinus Postumus proclaims Britain as part of his "Empire of the Gauls". |
270 | ? | Construction of forts along the Saxon Shore begins in response to increased raiding. |
273 | ? | Stone walls built around St Albans. |
274 | ? | Postumus's Gallic Empire is reabsorbed into the Roman Empire under Aurelian. |
277 | ? | Imperial edict lifts restrictions on British wine production.
General Victorinus puts down revolt, and settles Burgundian and Vandal prisoners in Britain. |
286-296 | Britannic Empire
| |
287 | ? | Mausaeus Carausius takes power in Britain and proclaims himself Emperor |
289 | ? | Carausius defeats Emperor Maximian in a naval battle. |
293 | ? | Finance minister Allectus murders Carausius and seizes power; employs Frankish mercenaries. |
296 | ? | Julius Constantius defeats Britons near Silchester, killing Allectus; prevents retreating Franks from sacking London |
297 | ? | Re-building of forts near Hadrian's Wall begins.
Constantius returns to Gaul. First mention on record of the Picts attacking from the north in Eumenius' Panegyrici Latini. |
4th century
5th century
6th century
7th century
8th century
9th century
10th century
11th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1017 | ? | . |
1034 | 25 November | Malcolm II of Scotland dies at Glamis. He is succeeded as king of Scotland by his grandson Duncan I the Diseased of Scotland. |
1035 | 12 November | . |
1040 | 17 March | Harold Harefoot dies at Oxford. Harthacnut, his brother, succeeds him as king of England. |
14 August | . | |
1042 | 8 June | Harthacnut dies, probably due to a stroke after excessive drinking at a wedding in Lambeth. He is succeeded as king of England by his brother Edward the Confessor. |
1057 | 15 August | Battle of Lumphanan: Macbeth is killed in battle at Lumphanan by Duncan the Diseased's son Malcolm III of Scotland. He is succeeded as king of Scotland by his stepson Lulach. |
1058 | 17 March | Lulach is assassinated by Malcolm III, who succeeds him as king of Kingdom of Scotland. |
1066 | 5 January | Edward the Confessor dies, probably after a series of strokes. He is succeeded as king of England by his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson. |
28 September | . | |
14 October | Battle of Hastings: Harold Godwinson is killed in battle against the forces of William the Conqueror at Battle, East Sussex, causing the collapse of his army. | |
25 December | William the Conqueror is crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey. | |
1078 | ? | The construction of Tintern Abbey begins. |
1086 | 12 june | A census begins whose results would be collected in the Domesday Book. |
1087 | 9 September | William the Conqueror dies at Rouen. He is succeeded by one son, Robert Curthose, as duke of Normandy and by another, William II of England, as king of England. |
1093 | 13 November | Battle of Alnwick (1093): Malcolm III and his eldest son are ambushed and killed at Alnwick by an army of knights led by Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumbria. |
1100 | 2 August | William II is killed by an arrow through the lung while hunting in the New Forest. He is succeeded by his brother Henry I of England. |
? | The White Tower of London is completed. |
12th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1135 | 1 December | Henry I dies of illness. |
22 December | Stephen, King of England is crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey. | |
1137 | ? | The Anarchy: Stephen enters Normandy in an attempt to conquer it from Empress Matilda, his rival for the succession in Normandy and England. |
? | Gruffudd ap Cynan, king of Gynedd, dies. He is succeeded by his son Owain Gwynedd. | |
1154 | 24 October | Stephen dies of a stomach disease. He is succeeded as king of England by Henry II of England, grandson of Henry I. |
1164 | ? | Henry II issues the Constitutions of Clarendon, which provided that members of the Catholic Church accused of serious crimes would be tried and sentenced in secular courts. |
1170 | 28 November | Owain dies. |
29 December | Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by followers of Henry II. | |
1189 | 6 July | Henry II dies of illness at Château de Chinon. He is succeeded as king of England by his son Richard I of England. |
1192 | December | the Crusades .
|
1194 | 4 February | Richard is released following the payment of fifty tons of silver to Austria. |
? | Llywelyn the Great defeats his uncle Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, one of two princes of Kingdom of Gwynedd , in battle.
| |
1199 | 6 April | Richard dies of a crossbow wound sustained two weeks earlier during a siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol. He was succeeded as king of England by his brother John, King of England. |
13th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1209 | November | The excommunicates John .
|
1215 | 15 June | John agrees to Magna Carta, granting political rights including the right to a fair trial to his barons. |
1216 | 19 October | John dies of illness. He is succeeded as king of England by his son Henry III of England. |
1237 | 25 September | Henry III and Alexander II of Scotland sign the Treaty of York, under which the latter renounced his claims on English territory in Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland. |
1240 | 11 April | Death of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, prince of Wales; Dafydd ap Llywelyn succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd. |
1246 | 25 February | Death of Dafydd ap Llywelyn; Llywelyn ap Gruffudd succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd (he does not claim the title of prince of Wales until 1258). |
1249 | 6 July | Death of Alexander II, king of Scots; Alexander III succeeds to the throne of Scotland. |
1263 | 2 October | Haakon IV of Norway and the Scots.
|
1264 | 14 May | Simon de Montfort leads rebel English barons to defeat Henry III at the Battle of Lewes. |
1266 | 2 July | Scotland and Norway sign the Treaty of Perth under which Scottish control of the Western Isles is acknowledged. |
1267 | September | Henry III of England recognises the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Wales. |
1272 | 16 November | Death of Henry III, Edward I succeeds to the English throne. |
1277 | July | England annexes Wales, a state of affairs which lasted until 1283. |
1279 | ? | Statute of Mortmain .
|
1282 | 11 December | Death of Dafydd ap Gruffudd succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd.
|
1283 | 3 October | Death of Dafydd ap Gruffudd ; English conquest of Wales.
|
1287 | ? | Revolt of Rhys ap Maredudd in Wales. |
1294 | 29 September | Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn in Wales. |
1297 | 11 September | William Wallace and the Scots defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. |
14th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1305 | 23 August | Capture and execution of Scottish resistance fighter William Wallace by the English on a charge of treason. |
1307 | 7 July | Death of Edward I, Edward II accedes to the English throne. |
1314 | 24 June | Decisive victory for Scotland over England at the Battle of Bannockburn. |
1316 | 28 January | Revolt of Llywelyn Bren in South Wales. |
1322 | 16 March | Edward II defeats a rebellious baronial faction at Battle of Boroughbridge. |
1327 | 25 January | Edward III usurps the English throne. |
21 September | Edward II is killed. | |
1328 | ? | England recognises Scotland's independence in the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton |
1338 | ? | Edward III claims the throne of France, initiating the Hundred Years' War. |
1348 | June | The Black Death first arrives in England and ultimately kills c. one third of the population. |
1356 | 19 September | Battle of Poitiers. |
1377 | 21 June | Death of Edward III, his grandson Richard II accedes to the English throne. |
1381 | 30 May - November | Peasants' Revolt of 1381. |
1392 | ? | Statute of Praemunire. |
1399 | 30 September | Henry Bolingbroke usurps the English throne becoming Henry IV. |
15th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1413 | 20 March | Henry IV dies and is succeeded by his son, Henry V. |
1415 | 25 October | Henry V is welcomed back to England after a major victory at the Battle of Agincourt, France. |
1422 | 31 August | Henry V dies and is succeeded by his son, Henry VI. |
1471 | 21 May | Henry VI is murdered and Edward IV is restored to the English throne. |
1483 | 9 April | Death of Edward IV, Edward V accedes to the throne. |
1485 | 22 August | The Battle of Bosworth Field ends the Yorkist reign of Richard III and ushers in Tudor reign, with the reign of Henry VII. |
1487 | 16 June | The Battle of Stoke is fought between Henry VII and Lambert Simnel a Yorkist claimant to the throne. It is the last battle of the Wars of the Roses .
|
16th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1509 | 22 April | England – Henry VIII crowned and married to Catherine of Aragon .
|
1513 | 9 September | England and Scotland – Flodden .
|
1516 | ? | England – Royal Mail is originally established. |
1521 | ? | England – Lutheran writings begin to circulate. |
1525 | ? | England – Henry VIII seeks an annulment of his marriage, which is refused. |
1526 | ? | England – Cardinal Wolsey orders the burning of Lutheran books.
|
1532 | ? | Scotland – Creation of the College of Justice and the Court of Session. |
1534 | 3 November | Act of Supremacy passed by Henry VIII
|
? | England – Treasons Act 1534. | |
1535 | 22 June | England – Execution of Cardinal John Fisher. |
6 July | England – Execution of Thomas More. | |
1536 | 6 October | England – Execution of William Tindale in Antwerp.
|
1542 | 14 December | Scotland – Mary, Queen of Scots, accedes to the Scottish throne. |
1547 | 28 January | England – Edward VI crowned King. |
1549 | 6 June - 17 August | England – Prayer Book rebellion in south-west.
|
1553 | July | England – Mary I accedes to the throne. |
1558 | 17 November | England – Elizabeth I accedes to the throne.
|
1559 | ? | England – Act of Supremacy 1559 .
|
2 May | Scotland – John Knox returns from Geneva to promote Calvinism. | |
1560 | 1 August | Scotland – Parliament legislates protestant reformation of the Church of Scotland .
|
1567 | 24 July | Scotland – The Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicates and flees Scotland after an uprising by Protestant lords |
1571 | ? | England – Treasons Act 1571. |
1582 | ? | Scotland – Establishment of the University of Edinburgh by Royal Charter. |
1587 | 8 February | England and Scotland – Execution of Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8 February
|
1588 | 8 August | England – Spanish Armada destroyed. |
1592 | ? | Scotland – James VI enacts the "Golden Act" recognising the power of Presbyterianism within the Scottish church. |
17th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1603 | 24 March | England – Death of James I of England ).
|
1605 | 5 November | England and Scotland – The Gunpowder plot is uncovered, in which Guy Fawkes and others attempted to blow up the king, James VI and I and the Parliament of England .
|
1606 | 10 April | England - King James I issues the First Virginia Charter, establishing the Colony of Virginia in North America.[4] |
1618 | 29 October | England – Execution of Sir Walter Raleigh |
1625 | 27 March | England and Scotland – Death of James VI and I. |
1639-1644 | ? | England and Scotland – At war in what became known as the Bishops' Wars. |
1640 | November | England – The Long Parliament summoned. |
1642 | 22 August | England – English Civil War begins (see Timeline of the English Civil War). |
1652 | ? | England – Tea arrives in Britain. |
1666 | 2 - 6 September | England – The Great Fire of London ravages the city. |
1688 | 11 December | England – The Glorious Revolution replaces James II with William III. |
1689 | April | Scotland – The Claim of Right Act 1689 is enacted by the Parliament of Scotland .
|
16 December | England – The Bill of Rights 1689 is enacted by the Parliament of England. | |
1694 | 27 July | England – The Bank of England is established. |
18th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1707 | 1 May | The Kingdom of Great Britain comes into being,[5][6][7][8] and Queen Anne becomes its first monarch. |
1713 | 11 April | Signing of the Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of the Spanish Succession .
|
1714 | 1 August | Queen Anne dies. Accession of George I, Elector of Hanover. |
1721 | 3 April | Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. |
1727 | 11 June | King George I dies and George II ascends the throne. |
1742 | 16 February | Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington becomes Prime Minister. |
1743 | 27 August | Henry Pelham becomes Prime Minister. |
1754 | 16 March | Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle becomes Prime Minister. |
1755 | 15 April | Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language. |
1756 | 16 November | William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire becomes Prime Minister. |
1757 | 29 June | Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1760 | 25 October | King George III ascends the throne.
|
1762 | 26 May | John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute becomes Prime Minister. |
1763 | 16 April | George Grenville becomes Prime Minister. |
1764 | ? | The Castle of Otranto is written and published, which was the first-ever story classed as a gothic horror story. |
1765 | 13 July | Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister. |
1766 | 30 July | William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham becomes Prime Minister. |
1768 | 14 October | Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton becomes Prime Minister. |
1770 | 28 January | Frederick North, Lord North becomes Prime Minister. |
1775 | 19 April | The American War of Independence begins. |
1776 | 4 July | The Declaration of Independence is created and the new country is recognised as the USA. |
1777-1779 | November 1777 - July 1779 | The world's first iron bridge called The Iron Bridge, is built-in Shropshire. |
1782 | 27 March | Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
4 July | William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne becomes Prime Minister. | |
1783 | 2 April | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister. |
4 September | The American War of Independence ends with the Treaty of Paris. | |
19 December | William Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister. | |
1785 | 1 January | The Times is first published and becomes the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as The New York Times. |
19th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1801 | 1 January | The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland comes into being,[9] and King George III becomes its first monarch. |
1801 | 17 March | Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth becomes Prime Minister.
|
1804 | 10 May | William Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1805 | 21 October | The naval Battle of Trafalgar takes place. |
1806 | 11 February | William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville becomes Prime Minister. |
1807 | 25 March | The Slave Trade Act 1807 is passed. |
31 March | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
1809 | 4 October | Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister. |
1810 | Discovery of the first complete Icthyosaur by Mary Anning | |
1812 | 8 June | Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool becomes Prime Minister. |
1815 | 18 June | The Battle of Waterloo takes place. |
20 November | The Napoleonic Wars ends. | |
1819 | SS Savannah undergoes the first steamship transatlantic crossing. | |
1820 | 29 January | King George IV ascends the throne.
|
1821 | 5 May | The Guardian is first published, as The Manchester Guardian. |
1823 | Discovery of Plesiosaurus Mary Anning | |
1825 | 27 September | The Stockton and Darlington railway , the world's first public passenger railway, opens.
|
1827 | 12 April | George Canning becomes Prime Minister. |
31 August | F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich becomes Prime Minister. | |
1828 | 22 January | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister. |
Discovery of Pterodactylus by Mary Anning | ||
1829 | 13 April | The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 is passed. |
1830 | 26 June | King William IV ascends the throne.
|
22 November | Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey becomes Prime Minister. | |
1832 | 7 June | The Great Reform Act is passed, doubling the franchise.
|
1833 | 28 August | The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 gains royal assent, banning slavery throughout the British Empire. |
1834 | ? | The Conservative Party is founded. |
16 July | William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne becomes Prime Minister. | |
14 August | The New Poor Law is passed.
| |
17 November | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
10 December | Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister. | |
1835 | 18 April | William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1837 | 20 June | The reign of Queen Victoria begins. |
1838 | 1 August | The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 enters into force, abolishing slavery in the British Empire. |
1840 | 10 January | The first postage stamps (Penny Post) come into use. |
June | Vaccination for the poor is introduced. | |
1841 | 30 August | Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1842 | Summer | The first peacetime income tax is introduced. |
1846 | 27 January | The Corn Laws are repealed. |
30 June | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell becomes Prime Minister. | |
1848 | Late February | The Communist Manifesto is published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. |
1850 | The East Coast Main Line opens. | |
1851 | 1 May | The Great Exhibition opens. |
1852 | 23 February | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister. |
19 December | George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen becomes Prime Minister. | |
1853-1856 | 16 October 1853 - 30 March 1856 | The Crimean War is fought between Russia and a British alliance who feared Russian expansion in the Balkans, resulting in allied victory. |
1854 | ? | Doctor John Snow discovers that cholera is from contaminated water[10] |
1855 | 6 February | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston becomes Prime Minister. |
29 June | The Daily Telegraph is first published. | |
1858 | 20 February | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1859 | 12 June | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1861 | 14 December | Victoria's husband, Prince Albert , dies at the age of 42.
|
1863 | 10 January | The London Underground opens, the oldest underground railway network in the world. |
1865 | 29 October | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1866 | 28 June | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
1867 | 15 August | The 1867 Reform Act doubles the franchise and the Dominion of Canada was created.
|
1868 | 27 February | Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister. |
29 May | The last public execution is carried out. | |
3 December | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister. | |
1869 | The West Coast Main Line opens. | |
1870 | 17 February | The Elementary Education Act 1870 is passed, introducing universal education in England and Wales. |
1872 | 6 August | The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 expands access to primary education and makes it compulsory in Scotland. |
1874 | 20 February | Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1880 | 23 April | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
26 August | The Elementary Education Act 1880 is passed, making primary schooling compulsory in England and Wales. | |
1885 | 23 June | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister. |
25 June | The Reform Act 1885 is passed.
| |
1886 | 1 February | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
21 June | Construction begins on Tower Bridge in London. | |
25 July | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
1887 | November | The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes first appears in print. |
1892 | 15 August | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the fourth time. |
1894 | 5 March | Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery becomes Prime Minister. |
1895 | 25 June | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
1896 | 4 May | The Daily Mail is first published. |
20th century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
1900 | 27 February | The Labour Party is founded. |
1901 | 22 January | Queen Victoria dies and Edward VII ascends the throne. |
1902 | 12 July | Arthur Balfour becomes Prime Minister. |
9 August | Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra. | |
31 May | Treaty of Vereeniging ends the Second Boer War. | |
1903 | September | The Lib-Lab pact enables Labour to break into national politics. |
1904 | 8 April | Entente Cordiale signed between Britain and France |
1905 | 5 December | Henry Campbell-Bannerman becomes Prime Minister. |
1908 | 5 April | H. H. Asquith becomes Prime Minister. |
27 April | The Summer Olympics open at White City in London. | |
27 October | Parliament approves old age pensions. | |
1910 | 6 May | Edward VII dies and George V ascends the throne. |
1911 | 22 June | Coronation of George V and Mary. |
1912 | 13 April | Royal Flying Corps established. |
14 - 15 April | The RMS Titanic sinks after hitting an iceberg . Over 1500 crew and passengers die.
| |
1914 | 4 August | World War I: Great Britain declares war on Germany in response to the invasion of Belgium. |
5 November | Britain declares war on the Ottoman Empire. | |
1916 | 6 December | David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister. |
1918 | 6 February | Women get the vote for the first time - women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification could vote as a result of the Representation of the People Act 1918. |
1 April | The Royal Air Force is founded, becoming the first independent air force in the world. | |
11 November | World War I ends. | |
1919 | 1 December | Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to take her seat in parliament. |
1921 | The Great Britain road numbering scheme. | |
1922 | 18 October | The BBC is founded as the British Broadcasting Company. |
23 October | Bonar Law becomes Prime Minister. | |
1923 | 22 May | Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister. |
1924 | 22 January | Ramsay MacDonald becomes Prime Minister. |
4 November | Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
1926 | 4 May - 12 May | The 1926 United Kingdom general strike takes place. |
1928 | 2 July | Women receive the right to vote on the same terms as men (over the age of 21) as a result of the Representation of the People Act 1928 .
|
September | The first film with dialogue is shown in Britain, The Jazz Singer. | |
30 September | Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. | |
1929 | 5 June | Ramsay MacDonald becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1931 | ? | The Dominion of Canada later has more recognition as Canada. |
1934 | 30 November | The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman built in Doncaster becomes the first steam locomotive to reach 100 mph (160 km/h). |
1935 | 7 June | Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
1936 | 20 January | George V dies and Edward VIII ascends the throne. |
5 - 31 October | The Jarrow March protest occurs. | |
10 December | abdicates the throne over his proposal to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Automatic accession of George VI .
| |
1937 | 12 May | Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth. |
28 May | Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister. | |
30 June | First available in the London area, the 999 telephone number is introduced as the world's first emergency telephone service. | |
1938 | 3 July | The LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard built in Doncaster breaks the land speed record for the fastest steam locomotive, reaching 203 km/h (126 mph); the record still stands. |
1939 | 3 September | British entry into World War II. |
1940 | 10 May | Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister. |
1945 | 8 May | World War II ends in Europe. |
26 July | Clement Attlee becomes Prime Minister. | |
24 October | Britain becomes a founding member of the United Nations. | |
1947 | 15 August | India gains independence from Britain. |
1948 | 1 January | British Rail is established. |
5 July | The National Health Service is founded, bringing state-funded healthcare to all. | |
29 July - 14 August | London hosts the 1948 Summer Olympics. | |
14 November | Birth of Charles, Prince of Wales. | |
1950 | 15 August | Birth of Anne, Princess Royal. |
29 August | British troops arrive to support US forces in the Korean War. | |
1951 | 26 October | Sir Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1952 | ? | Autocode, regarded as the first compiled programming language, is developed by Alick Glennie. |
6 February | Death of George VI. Automatic accession of Elizabeth II. | |
1953 | 25 April | James Watson and Francis Crick publish their discovery of the structure of DNA. |
2 June | Coronation of Elizabeth II. | |
1954 | 6 May | Roger Bannister breaks the four-minute mile with a time of 3:59.4. |
1955 | 6 April | Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister. |
22 September | Commercial television starts with the first ITV broadcast. | |
1956 | 17 October | Britain opens its first nuclear power station, Calder Hall. |
1957 | 10 January | Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister. |
1958 | 5 December | The British motorway system opens with the M6 Preston bypass. |
1960 | 19 February | Birth of Prince Andrew, Duke of York. |
1961 | 1 July | Birth of Diana, Princess of Wales. |
1963 | 27 March | The first report of the Beeching cuts - a railway restructuring plan - was published, The Reshaping of British Railways. |
19 October | Alec Douglas-Home becomes Prime Minister but lasts only 363 days. | |
1964 | 10 March | Birth of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex .
|
16 October | Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister. | |
1965 | 24 January | Death of Sir Winston Churchill. |
8 November | The death penalty is abolished officially. | |
1967 | 27 July | The Sexual Offences Act 1967 legalises homosexuality between men over 21. |
27 October | The Abortion Act 1967 is passed, legalising abortion on certain grounds. | |
1969 | 2 March | Concorde, the world's first supersonic airliner, makes its maiden flight. |
1970 | 19 June | Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister. |
1971 | 15 February | Decimal Day; the United Kingdom introduces a decimalised currency. |
1972 | 22 January | The United Kingdom signs the Treaty of Accession in a ceremony in Brussels which was attended by Prime Minister Edward Heath in preparedness for membership of the European Communities from 1 January 1973. |
1973 | 1 January | The United Kingdom joins and becomes a member state of the European Communities. |
1974 | 4 March | Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
1975 | 5 June | The United Kingdom chooses to remain a member state of the European Communities in a non-binding referendum. |
1976 | 5 April | James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister. |
September | Britain becomes the first major Western state to be forced to ask to borrow money from the International Monetary Fund. | |
1978 | 25 July | Louise Brown becomes the first human in history to be born via in vitro fertilisation. |
1979 | 4 May | Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister. |
27 August | The IRA kill the Queen's cousin Lord Mountbatten. | |
1981 | 24 June | The Humber Bridge opens, the longest single-span bridge in the world. |
29 July | Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. | |
1982 | 21 June | Birth of Prince William of Wales. |
2 April - 14 June | The Falklands War is fought against Argentina, resulting in a British victory and the United Kingdom reclaiming the Falkland Islands. | |
2 November | Channel 4 launches across most of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. | |
1984-1985 | 6 March 1984 - 3 March 1985 | The UK miners' strike takes place, a major strike and protest to prevent Margaret Thatcher's government from closing down the British coal mining industry. |
1984 | 15 September | Birth of Prince Harry of Wales. |
1986 | 25 December | The Christmas episode of the soap opera EastEnders becomes the most-watched programme in the United Kingdom with a viewing of 30.1 million.
|
1988 | 3 March | The Liberal Democrats are founded. |
1989 | 12 March | Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web. |
1990 | 28 November | John Major becomes Prime Minister. |
1991 | 18 - 26 May | Helen Sharman becomes the first British person and the first European woman in space. |
1994 | 6 May | The Channel Tunnel opens, the first physical connection between the United Kingdom and France. |
1996 | ? | A sheep named Dolly becomes the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. |
1997 | 2 May | Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister. |
1 July | The United Kingdom hands Hong Kong back to China, marking the end of the British Empire. | |
31 August | Diana, Princess of Wales, dies due to a traffic collision in Paris. | |
1999 | 6 May | First elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly take place which will now be responsible for aspects of Scotland and Wales's governance. |
2 December | The Good Friday Agreement comes into effect, two agreements intended to bring about the end of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. | |
31 December | The Millennium Dome and London Eye are opened to mark the new millennium. |
21st century
Year | Date | Event |
---|---|---|
2002 | 9 February | Princess Margaret dies. |
30 March | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother dies aged 101. | |
2003 | 20 March - 1 May | The United Kingdom, alongside the US, invades Iraq. |
2005 | 9 April | Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. |
2007 | 27 June | Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister. |
2010 | 11 May | David Cameron becomes Prime Minister. |
2011 | 29 April | Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. |
2012 | 30 March | The Shard tops out in construction, becoming the tallest building in Western Europe. |
27 July - 12 August | London hosts the Olympic Games for the third time. | |
2013 | 17 July | Same-sex marriage is legalised in the United Kingdom. |
22 July | Birth of Prince George of Cambridge .
| |
2014 | 18 September | The Scottish independence referendum takes place; Scotland decides to remain part of the United Kingdom. |
2015 | 2 May | Birth of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge .
|
9 September | Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning monarch in British history. | |
15 December | Tim Peake becomes the first British ESA astronaut to board the International Space Station. | |
2016 | 23 June | The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union. |
13 July | Theresa May becomes the second female Prime Minister. | |
5 - 21 August | Great Britain ranks second on the 2016 Summer Olympics medal table with 27 Gold Medals, the best result since 1908. | |
2018 | 23 April | Birth of Prince Louis of Cambridge. |
19 May | Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. | |
2019 | 15 January | The motion to approve the Brexit withdrawal agreement - otherwise known as the "meaningful vote" - was rejected 202–432. This was the largest defeat on a government motion in history.[11][12] |
24 July | Theresa May formally tenders her resignation as Prime Minister to Elizabeth II, and is succeeded by Boris Johnson. | |
2020 | 31 January | The United Kingdom leaves the European Union. |
23 March - 2021 | A national lockdown takes place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Freedom of movement is restricted and this becomes enforceable in law. Non-essential shops and services close. | |
2021 | 9 April | Death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , at the age of 99.
|
2022 | 6 February | Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the British throne. |
6 September | Liz Truss becomes the third female Prime Minister. | |
8 September | Elizabeth II dies aged 96. Automatic accession of Charles III. Aged 73, he becomes the oldest person to accede to the throne. | |
20 October | Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister after 45 days, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. | |
25 October | British Asian Prime Minister.
| |
2023 | 6 May | Coronation of Charles III and Camilla. |
See also
- Timeline of Cornish history
- Timeline of English history
- Timeline of Irish history
- Timeline of Scottish history
- Timeline of Welsh history
References
- ^ "Julius Caesar's First Landing in Britain | History Today". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ CA (24 May 2007). "BC 1486- The story of Roman London". Current Archaeology. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "A History of London". www.localhistories.org. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ King James I (10 April 1606), The First Charter of Virginia
- ^ Acts of Union 1707 parliament.uk, accessed 13 September 2011
- ^ Making the Act of Union 1707 scottish.parliament.uk, accessed 13 September 2011
- ^ England – Profile BBC, 13 September 2011
- ^ The Creation of the United Kingdom of great britain in 1707 Archived 15 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Historical Association, accessed 13 September 2011
- ^ Acts of Union 1800 parliament.uk, accessed 8 August 2021
- ^ Snow, John (1855). On the Mode of Communication of Cholera (2nd ed.). London: John Churchill.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ Sparrow, Andrew (16 January 2019). "Biggest government defeats in House of Commons". The Guardian.
Further reading
- Langer, William. An Encyclopedia of World History (5th ed. 1973); highly detailed outline of events online free
- Morris, Richard B. and Graham W. Irwin, eds. Harper Encyclopedia of the Modern World: A Concise Reference History from 1760 to the Present (1970) online