Home Important Dates in British History

Important Dates in British History

1th of June 061 : Defeat of Boudicca
4th of February 211 : Roman emperor Septimius Severus dies at York
21st of May 685 : Battle of Nechtansmere
8th of June 793 : Vikings Raid Northumbria Coast for 1st time
2nd of January 867 : Vikings seize York
20th of November 869 : Saxon King Edmund martyred by the Vikings
8th of January 871 : Battle of Ashdown - Alfred defeats the Danes
6th of January 878 : Battle of Chippenham
13rd of November 1002 : St Brice's Day Massacre
18th of October 1016 : Battle of Ashingdon
28th of December 1065 : Westminster Abbey consecrated
5th of January 1066 : Edward the Confessor dies
6th of January 1066 : Harold crowned King of England
20th of September 1066 : Battle of Fulford
25th of September 1066 : Battle of Stamford Bridge
28th of September 1066 : William the Conqueror lands
14th of October 1066 : Battle of Hastings
25th of December 1066 : William the Conqueror crowned
2nd of August 1100 : William Rufus killed by Arrow
22nd of August 1138 : Battle of the Standard
4th of December 1154 : Nicholas Breakspear is elected Pope - the only Englishman ever
29th of December 1170 : Thomas A Becket murdered
6th of July 1189 : Death of Henry II
12th of October 1189 : Richard the Lionheart Leaves England for the Crusades
15th of June 1215 : Magna Carta Signed
24th of August 1217 : Battle of Sandwich
14th of May 1264 : Battle of Lewes
20th of January 1265 : First English Parliament Held
4th of August 1265 : Battle of Evesham
5th of July 1295 : Scotland and France form their 'Auld Alliance'
28th of March 1296 : Battle of Berwick
27th of April 1296 : Battle of Dunbar
11th of September 1297 : Battle of Stirling Bridge
22nd of July 1298 : Battle of Falkirk
5th of August 1305 : William Wallace is captured by the English
23rd of August 1305 : William Wallace is hanged, drawn and quartered
10th of May 1307 : Battle of Loudoun Hill
24th of June 1314 : Battle of Bannockburn
16th of March 1322 : Battle of Boroughbridge
14th of October 1322 : Battle of Old Byland
21st of September 1327 : Edward II killed at Berkeley Castle
19th of July 1333 : Battle of Halidon Hill
24th of May 1337 : The Hundred Years War begins
26th of August 1346 : Battle of Crecy
17th of October 1346 : Battle of Neville Cross
23rd of April 1348 : English order of knighthood founded
15th of June 1381 : The Peasants' Revolt ends
9th of May 1386 : England and Portugal sign the Treaty of Windsor
24th of March 1387 : Battle of Margate
21st of July 1403 : Battle of Shrewsbury
20th of February 1408 : Battle of Bramham Moor
24th of July 1411 : Battle of Harlaw
25th of October 1415 : Battle of Agincourt
21st of May 1420 : Treaty of Troyes
30th of May 1431 : Joan of Arc burnt to death
5th of July 1450 : Battle of Southwark
12th of May 1455 : Battle of Arkinholm
22nd of May 1455 : Battle of St Albans - Wars of the Roses starts
23rd of September 1459 : Battle of Blore Heath
10th of July 1460 : Battle of Northampton
30th of December 1460 : Battle of Wakefield
29th of March 1461 : Battle of Towton
25th of April 1464 : Battle of Hedgeley Moor
15th of May 1464 : Battle of Hexham
26th of July 1469 : Battle of Edgecote
12th of March 1470 : Battle of Empingham
14th of April 1471 : Battle of Barnet
4th of May 1471 : Battle of Tewkesbury
18th of November 1477 : Caxton Prints 1st Book in England
26th of June 1483 : Richard III becomes king of England
22nd of August 1485 : Battle of Bosworth
16th of June 1487 : Battle of Stoke - end of the Wars of the Roses
11th of June 1488 : Battle of Sauchieburn
17th of June 1497 : Battle of Blackheath
21st of April 1509 : Death of Henry VII. Accession of Henry VIII
9th of September 1513 : Battle of Flodden Field
30th of April 1527 : England & France sign treaty of Westminster
25th of January 1533 : Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn
6th of July 1535 : Thomas More is executed
4th of October 1535 : 1st English Translation of the Bible printed
19th of May 1536 : Ann Boleyn Beheaded
18th of July 1536 : Authority of the pope declared void in England
17th of December 1538 : Henry VIII ex-communicated
9th of September 1543 : Mary Queen of Scots Crowned
17th of February 1545 : Battle of Ancrum Moor
28th of January 1547 : Edward VI crowned
10th of September 1547 : Battle of Pinkie - last conflict between england and scotland
10th of July 1553 : Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen of England
12th of February 1554 : Lady Jane Grey Executed
21st of March 1556 : Thomas Cranmer Burnt at the Stake
17th of November 1558 : Death of Mary Tudor
15th of January 1559 : Elizabeth I crowned
23rd of April 1564 : Birth of Shakespeare
24th of July 1567 : Mary Queen of Scots abdicates
11th of January 1569 : Worlds 1st National Lottery starts
25th of February 1570 : Elizabeth I excommunicated by the Pope
13rd of December 1577 : Drake Starts round the world voyage
30th of October 1580 : Francis Drake completes the first circumnavigation of the globe
4th of April 1581 : Frances Drake completes circumnavigation of world
14th of November 1582 : Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway
8th of February 1587 : Mary, Queen of Scots is executed
19th of April 1587 : Drake Attacks Cadiz
12th of May 1588 : Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon
29th of July 1588 : Spanish Armada defeated
8th of November 1602 : Bodleian Library Opens
24th of March 1603 : Elizabeth I dies
25th of July 1603 : James VI of Scotland crowned James I of England.
5th of November 1605 : The Gunpowder Plot
31st of January 1606 : Guy Fawkes hanged, drawn and quartered
12th of April 1606 : Union Jack Created
17th of November 1606 : Trial of Walter Raleigh
2nd of May 1611 : 1st publication of The new King James bible
29th of June 1613 : Original Globe Theatre Burns Down
29th of October 1618 : Walter Raleigh is executed
21st of November 1620 : Mayflower lands
21st of December 1620 : The Pilgrim Fathers arrive at Massachusetts
8th of June 1624 : Earthquake hits Perth
5th of March 1625 : Charles I becomes King of England
10th of April 1633 : Bananas go on sale in UK for 1st time
28th of August 1640 : Battle of Newburn
4th of January 1642 : Charles I arrests parliamentarians and starts civil war
22nd of August 1642 : English Civil war Begins
23rd of October 1642 : Battle of Edgehill
12th of November 1642 : Battle of Brentford
13rd of November 1642 : Battle of Turnham Green
19th of January 1643 : Battle of Braddock Down
16th of May 1643 : Battle of Stratton
20th of May 1643 : Battle of Wakefield
18th of June 1643 : Battle of Chalgrove Field
30th of June 1643 : Battle of Adwalton Moor
13rd of July 1643 : Battle of Roundway Down
20th of September 1643 : Battle of Newbury - 1st
29th of March 1644 : Battle of Alfresford
11th of April 1644 : Battle of Selby
29th of June 1644 : Battle of Cropredy Bridge
2nd of July 1644 : Battle of Marston Moor
21st of August 1644 : Battle of Lostwithiel
1th of September 1644 : Battle of Tippiemuir
13rd of September 1644 : Battle of Aberdeen
27th of October 1644 : 2nd Battle of Newbury
9th of May 1645 : Battle of Auldearn
14th of June 1645 : Battle of Naseby
2nd of July 1645 : Battle of Alford
15th of August 1645 : Battle of Kilsyth
13rd of September 1645 : Battle of Philiphaugh
24th of September 1645 : Battle of Rowton Heath
25th of June 1646 : Oxford surrenders to the Roundheads
1th of June 1648 : Battle of Maidstone
17th of August 1648 : Battle of Preston
30th of January 1649 : Charles I beheaded
9th of February 1649 : Charles I is buried
17th of March 1649 : Cromwell declares England a Commonwealth
15th of April 1649 : Cromwell Declares England a Commonwealth
27th of April 1650 : Battle of Carbiesdale
3rd of September 1650 : Battle of Dunbar
3rd of September 1651 : Battle of Worcester
6th of September 1651 : Charles II hides in an Oak tree
16th of December 1653 : Oliver Cromwell becomes 'lord protector'
10th of May 1655 : Britain captures Jamaica
25th of May 1660 : The English Restoration - Charles II lands on British Soil
28th of November 1660 : Royal Society Founded
28th of October 1664 : Royal Marines Established
2nd of September 1666 : Great Fire of London begins
9th of May 1671 : Crown jewels stolen by Col Blood
7th of June 1672 : Battle of Southwold
19th of February 1674 : Treaty of Westminster signed
10th of August 1675 : Work begins on the Royal Observatory
4th of November 1677 : Marriage of William of Orange and Mary
11th of June 1679 : Battle of Drumclog
22nd of June 1679 : Battle of Bothwell Bridge
6th of June 1683 : Ashmolean Museum Opens
6th of July 1685 : Battle of Sedgemoor
5th of November 1688 : Glorious Revolution begins
11th of April 1689 : William III and Mary II crowned as joint rulers of Britain
27th of July 1689 : Battle of Killiecrankie
21st of August 1689 : Battle of Dunkeld
16th of December 1689 : The 'Bill of Rights' established
1th of July 1690 : Battle of the Boyne
10th of July 1690 : Battle of Beachy Head
13rd of February 1692 : Massacre of Glencoe
1th of October 1694 : World's first railway inaugurated
23rd of May 1701 : Captain Kidd Hanged for Piracy
12th of June 1701 : The Act of Settlement
8th of March 1702 : Death of William of Orange
11th of March 1702 : Worlds 1st regular daily paper 'The Courant' published
13rd of August 1704 : Marlborough wins Battle of Blenheim
1th of January 1707 : The Act of Union Signed
20th of October 1714 : Coronation of King George I
12th of November 1715 : Battle of Preston
13rd of November 1715 : Battle of Sheriffmuir
3rd of April 1721 : Robert Walpole Becomes 1st British PM
7th of April 1739 : Dick Turpin hanged at York
13rd of April 1741 : Royal Military Academy established
28th of May 1742 : First indoor swimming pool opens
19th of August 1745 : Bonnie Prince Charlie raises standard at Glenfinnan
21st of September 1745 : Battle of Prestonpans
28th of September 1745 : British national anthem 'God Save The King' sung for the first time
16th of April 1746 : Battle of Culloden
17th of May 1756 : The Seven Years' War Starts
15th of January 1759 : British Museum Opens
25th of January 1759 : Robert Burns Born
13rd of September 1759 : Wolfe takes Quebec
18th of September 1759 : French Surrender Quebec to the British
10th of February 1763 : Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years War
7th of May 1765 : HMS Victory launched
6th of October 1769 : Cook reaches New Zealand
9th of April 1770 : Cook reaches Australia
20th of April 1770 : Captain Cook discovers Australia
16th of December 1773 : Boston tea party
4th of July 1776 : American colonies declare independence
11th of July 1776 : Cook sets sail on 3rd and last Voyage
24th of September 1776 : St Leger first run
18th of January 1778 : Cook reaches Hawaii
14th of February 1779 : Captain Cook Killed
9th of October 1779 : First Luddite riots
4th of May 1780 : 1st Running of the Derby
13rd of March 1781 : Uranus Discovered
7th of December 1783 : William Pitt becomes youngest PM
7th of January 1785 : 1st aerial crossing of the channel in a balloon
13rd of May 1787 : First convicts sent to Australia
28th of April 1789 : Mutiny on the Bounty
4th of December 1791 : The Observer First Published
1th of February 1793 : Napeolonic Wars Begin
14th of May 1796 : Jenner administers 1st Vaccine against Smallpox
14th of February 1797 : Battle of St Vincent
9th of January 1799 : William Pitt introduces income tax
15th of May 1800 : George III survives 2 assassination attempts
10th of March 1801 : first official census is held in Britain
29th of June 1801 : Britains 1st Population Census
3rd of August 1805 : 1st Cricket match between Eton & Harrow Schools
21st of October 1805 : Battle of Trafalgar
9th of January 1806 : Nelsons State Funeral
20th of March 1806 : Building begins of Dartmoor Prison
25th of March 1807 : slave trade is abolished in the British empire
25th of March 1807 : World’s first passenger train service begins
28th of January 1813 : Pride and Prejudice is first published
21st of June 1813 : Battle of Vitoria
25th of July 1814 : Stephenson demonstrates 1st Steam Engine
18th of June 1815 : Battle of Waterloo
25th of September 1818 : First Human Blood Transfusion
20th of March 1819 : Opening of the Burlington Arcade
20th of June 1819 : 1st Paddleship steamer crosses Atlantic
16th of August 1819 : Peterloo Massacre
16th of June 1824 : RSPCA formed
27th of September 1825 : First Steam Powered Passenger Railway Opens
28th of January 1829 : William Burke is hanged
10th of June 1829 : Oxford win 1st Boat Race
4th of July 1829 : 1st regular bus service
29th of September 1829 : 1st Police force established
7th of June 1832 : The Great Reform Act changes Parliamentary constituencies
1th of August 1834 : Britain abolishes slavery
16th of October 1834 : The Houses of Parliament burn down
20th of June 1837 : Death of William IV - Victoria becomes Queen
28th of June 1838 : Queen Victoria crowned
4th of November 1839 : The Newport Rising
10th of January 1840 : Postal service (penny post) begins in Britain
6th of May 1840 : Penny Black issued (words 1st stamp)
17th of July 1841 : Punch Magazine launches
19th of July 1843 : SS Great Britain launched by Brunel
1th of October 1843 : First edition of the News of the World
26th of June 1846 : Corn Laws abolished
21st of February 1848 : Marx publishes The Communist Manifesto
11th of July 1848 : Waterloo Station Opens
5th of March 1850 : Opening of Menai Bridge
19th of November 1850 : Tennyson becomes Poet laureate
1th of May 1851 : Great Exhibition opens
12th of August 1851 : 1st Americas Cup
6th of September 1852 : Britains 1st free Library opens
25th of October 1854 : Charge of the Light Brigade
29th of January 1856 : Victoria Cross Created
30th of March 1856 : End of the Crimean War
10th of May 1857 : Indian Mutiny begins
24th of October 1857 : Worlds Oldest Football Club Founded
16th of November 1857 : Relief of Lucknow
15th of May 1858 : Opening of the Royal Opera House
23rd of July 1858 : Law passed allowing Jews to serve in parliament
24th of November 1859 : Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' is published
17th of October 1860 : 1st Professional Golf Tournament
23rd of March 1861 : 1st Trams operate in London
26th of September 1861 : 1st British Open Golf Championship
10th of January 1863 : The London Underground opens
8th of December 1864 : Opening of the Clifton Suspension Bridge
28th of September 1865 : Britains 1st Woman doctor qualifies
17th of June 1867 : Lister performs performs the first operation using an antiseptic.
14th of July 1867 : 1st demonstration of Dynamite
29th of February 1868 : Disraeli becomes Prime Minister
26th of May 1868 : The Last public hanging
9th of June 1870 : Death of Charles Dickens
4th of August 1870 : Foundation of the Red Cross
27th of March 1871 : 1st international rugby match - Scotland V England
20th of July 1871 : FA Cup is formed
10th of November 1871 : Stanley finds Livingstone
13rd of March 1872 : Formation of Scottish Football Association
16th of March 1872 : 1st FA Cup Final
30th of November 1872 : 1st international Football Match - Scotland V England
10th of March 1876 : Alexander Graham Bell makes 1st telephone call
15th of March 1877 : 1st Test Match - England V Australia
9th of July 1877 : 1st Wimbledon tennis tournament
22nd of October 1877 : Blantyre Mining Disaster
22nd of January 1879 : Battle of Rorkes Drift
28th of December 1879 : Collpase of the Tay Railway Bridge
1th of January 1880 : Britains 1st telephone directory is published
18th of April 1881 : Opening of the Natural History Museum
10th of March 1883 : First electric trams begin running in London
4th of October 1883 : The Boys Brigade is founded
8th of July 1884 : NSPCC Founded
13rd of October 1884 : World adopts Greenwich Meantime
26th of January 1885 : Gordon Killed at Khartoum
29th of April 1885 : Women permitted at Oxford University
29th of September 1885 : Britain 1st Electric Tram starts
10th of March 1886 : 1st Crufts Dog Show
11th of October 1886 : First statue to honour a woman is erected
5th of September 1887 : Exeter Theatre Royal Fire
11th of November 1887 : Work starts on the Manchester Ship Canal
4th of March 1890 : Forth Bridge opens
18th of March 1891 : Britain 1st linked to the continent by Telephone
8th of October 1891 : 1st official street collections for charity
31st of October 1892 : Sherlock Holmes 1st Published
12th of January 1895 : National Trust founded
26th of April 1895 : Trial of Oscar Wilde begins
10th of August 1897 : RAC formed
23rd of November 1897 : First Royal Command Performance
8th of December 1897 : RAC Established
11th of October 1899 : Boer War Begins
17th of May 1900 : Relief of Mafeking
2nd of October 1900 : Keir Hardie becomes 1st Labour MP
22nd of January 1901 : Queen Victoria dies
5th of August 1901 : Britains 1st Cinema Opens
2nd of October 1901 : Royal Navy launches 1st submarine
12th of December 1901 : Marconi sends 1st transatlantic wireless message
10th of October 1903 : Emmeline Pankhurst forms the Suffragette Movement
8th of April 1904 : The ‘Entente Cordiale’ is signed by Britain and France
10th of February 1906 : Royal Navy launches the first 'Dreadnought' battleship
27th of February 1907 : Old Bailey Opens
21st of April 1907 : Sinn Fein Formed
6th of July 1907 : Brooklands Racing Circuit Opens
25th of July 1907 : 1st Scout Camp
29th of November 1907 : Florence Nightingale presented with the Order of Merit
13rd of July 1908 : White City Stadium Opens
14th of August 1908 : First international Beauty Contest
14th of November 1908 : Britain’s first female mayor elected
25th of July 1909 : Louis Bleriot flies the Channel
22nd of October 1910 : Crippen convicted at Old Bailey
23rd of November 1910 : Crippen hanged
20th of December 1910 : A draw in the General Election - both sides get 272 seats
17th of January 1912 : Scott reaches the South Pole
29th of March 1912 : Captain Scott dies
10th of April 1912 : Titanic sets sail on maiden voyage
15th of April 1912 : Titanic sinks
4th of January 1913 : Suffragette Emily Davison dies - throws herself in front of a tram
28th of July 1914 : Start of World War I
4th of August 1914 : Britain declares War on Germany - WWI begins
5th of September 1914 : The Battle of the Marne Begins
27th of November 1914 : Britains 1st policewoman goes on duty
19th of January 1915 : 1st British town hit by a Zeppelin raid
31st of May 1915 : First Zeppelin Air Raids on London
12th of October 1915 : Edith Cavell Executed
24th of April 1916 : Start of the Easter Uprising
31st of May 1916 : Battle of Jutland
1th of July 1916 : First Day of the Somme
18th of November 1916 : Battle of the Somme Ends
6th of December 1916 : Lloyd George becomes prime minister
31st of July 1917 : Third Battle of Ypres
2nd of November 1917 : The Balfour Declaration
6th of February 1918 : Women get the Vote
1th of April 1918 : R A F Created
11th of November 1918 : End of the First World War
15th of June 1919 : Alcock and Brown complete 1st non stop flight across the Atlantic
15th of August 1919 : Official end to 1st World War
28th of November 1919 : Nancy Astor becomes the first woman MP
28th of November 1919 : 1st female MP elected
7th of October 1920 : Oxford University admits Women for the 1st time
14th of November 1922 : BBC begins Broadcasts
6th of December 1922 : Anglo-Irish treaty is signed
28th of April 1923 : 1st Wembley FA Cup Final
22nd of January 1924 : Ramsay MacDonald becomes Britain's first Labour Prime Minister
23rd of January 1924 : First Labour Government
26th of September 1925 : Blackpool illuninations light up for 1st time
26th of January 1926 : John Logie Baird gives first demonstration of television
1th of May 1926 : TUC meets to agree on a General Strike
3rd of May 1926 : The Great General Strike Begins
3rd of August 1926 : 1st Traffic lights installed
7th of August 1926 : Britains 1st Grand Prix is held at Brooklands
14th of October 1926 : Winnie the Pooh Published
3rd of December 1926 : Agatha Christie vanishes
5th of November 1927 : 1st traffic lights start to operate
30th of September 1928 : The discovery of penicillin
20th of December 1928 : Harry Ramsden opens 1st Fish and Chip Shop
4th of February 1929 : First Green Belt land approved
30th of September 1929 : BBC begins TV Transmissions
5th of May 1930 : Amy Johnson begins her flight upon Gypsy Moth
14th of April 1931 : The Highway code is published
15th of September 1931 : Invergordon Mutiny
12th of November 1931 : Elgar opens Abbey Road recording studios
26th of March 1934 : Driving Tests introduced
13rd of March 1935 : Driving Test introduced in UK
19th of May 1935 : Lawrence of Arabia dies
5th of March 1936 : Maiden flight of the Spitfire
6th of June 1936 : Gatwick Airport Opens
5th of October 1936 : The Jarrow March begins
12th of October 1936 : Oswald Mosley Marches down Mile End Rd
30th of November 1936 : Crystal Palace destroyed by fire
10th of December 1936 : Edward VIII abdicates
29th of September 1938 : Chamberlain & Hitler sign the Munich Agreement
3rd of September 1939 : Britain declares War on Germany - WWII begins
10th of May 1940 : Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister
13rd of May 1940 : Churchill forms Wartime Coalition Government
27th of May 1940 : Evacuation of Dunkirk begins
3rd of June 1940 : Evacuation of Dunkirk ends
30th of June 1940 : German Troops invade Channel Islands
10th of July 1940 : The Battle of Britain begins
23rd of August 1940 : LDV becomes Home Guard
7th of September 1940 : The Blitz begins
15th of September 1940 : Battle of Britain ends
14th of October 1940 : Balham Blitz Tube Disaster
31st of October 1940 : Official end of the Battle of Britain
29th of December 1940 : Worst night of The Blitz
10th of May 1941 : Rudolf Hess lands in Scotland
31st of October 1941 : Huddersfield Factory Fire
23rd of October 1942 : Battle of El Alamein
16th of May 1943 : Dambusters Raid
6th of June 1944 : D-Day Landings
13rd of June 1944 : First V1 Rocket hits London
13rd of June 1944 : 1st V1 (doodlebug) lands on Britain
8th of September 1944 : First German V2 rocket lands on London
17th of September 1944 : Operation Market Garden - Allied invasion of Holland
27th of March 1945 : Last V2 rocket lands
7th of May 1945 : Nazi Germany surrenders - VE Day
9th of May 1945 : Channel Islands liberated
19th of September 1945 : 'Lord Haw-Haw' sentenced to death
20th of November 1945 : Nuremberg Trials begin
3rd of January 1946 : 'Lord Hawhaw' hanged
2nd of April 1946 : Founding of Sandhurst Royal Military Academy
28th of February 1948 : Last British Soldiers leave India
22nd of June 1948 : SS Empire Windrush Docks at Tilbury
5th of July 1948 : National Health Service established
29th of July 1948 : Opening Ceremony of 1948 Olympics
12th of October 1948 : 1st Morris Minor Built
4th of April 1949 : Foundation of NATO
18th of April 1949 : Republic of Ireland established
17th of April 1951 : Peak District is designated Britain's first national park
3rd of May 1951 : The Festival of Britain opens
20th of November 1951 : Snowdonia designated a National Park
2nd of October 1952 : Britain tests first Nuclear Bomb
8th of October 1952 : Harrow Rail crash
28th of January 1953 : Derek Bentley Hanged
1th of February 1953 : East Coast floods kill hundreds
25th of April 1953 : Crick and Watson discover DNA
29th of May 1953 : Hillary climbs Everest
2nd of June 1953 : Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
6th of May 1954 : Roger Bannister runs the four minute mile
13rd of July 1955 : Ruth Ellis Hanged
16th of July 1955 : Stirling Moss becomes first Englishman to win the British Grand Prix
26th of September 1955 : 1st Birds Eye Fishfingers go on Sale
15th of May 1957 : Britain tests 1st Nuclear weapon
4th of September 1957 : Wolfenden Report - homosexuality decriminalised
6th of February 1958 : Munich Air Crash
23rd of June 1958 : End of coal rationing announced
10th of July 1958 : Launch of the Parking Meter
13rd of October 1958 : Paddington Bear is Published
10th of November 1958 : Donald Campbell breaks water speed record
9th of December 1960 : 1st episode of Coronation St screened
4th of December 1961 : The "pill" becomes available on the NHS
6th of June 1962 : Beatles audition for George Martin
4th of October 1962 : Beatles release 1st single - Love me Do
5th of June 1963 : John Profumo resigns
8th of August 1963 : Great Train Robbery
7th of February 1964 : The Beatles arrive in America
20th of March 1964 : Beatles release Cant Buy Me Love
13rd of August 1964 : Last Executions in Britain
24th of January 1965 : Winston Churchill dies
24th of April 1965 : Official opening of the Pennine Way
8th of July 1965 : Ronnie Biggs Escapes Prison
8th of November 1965 : Race Relations Act comes into effect
22nd of December 1965 : National Speed Limit of 70mph introduced
3rd of March 1966 : BBC starts to broadcast in colour
6th of May 1966 : Moors murderers found guilty
30th of July 1966 : England win the World Cup
8th of September 1966 : Severn Bridge Opens
21st of October 1966 : The Aberfan Disaster
22nd of October 1966 : George Blake Escapes from Wormwood Scrubs
4th of January 1967 : Donald Campbell killed trying to break own water speed record
25th of May 1967 : Celtic win the European Cup
1th of June 1967 : The Beatles release Sgt Peppers
27th of June 1967 : Barclays opens Britains 1st cashpoint
7th of July 1967 : Beatles release 'All You Need is Love'
14th of July 1967 : Abortion Legalised
30th of September 1967 : Radio 1 goes on air
27th of April 1968 : Abortion is legalised in Britain
2nd of March 1969 : Concorde Flies for first time
4th of March 1969 : Kray Twins found guilty of murder
7th of March 1969 : Victoria line opens
22nd of April 1969 : Knox-Johnston completes first solo non stop voyage around the world
14th of August 1969 : British Troops sent to Northern Ireland
18th of December 1969 : Death penalty abolished
19th of October 1970 : North Sea Oil Discovered
15th of February 1971 : Decimal currency is launched in Britain
24th of June 1971 : Mersey Tunnel Opens
30th of January 1972 : Bloody Sunday
1th of January 1973 : Britains Joins the EEC
23rd of September 1974 : BBC launches the world's first Ceefax teletext service.
1th of October 1974 : 1st McDonalds opens in London
5th of October 1974 : IRA Bomb Guildford
7th of November 1974 : Lord Lucan disappears
21st of November 1974 : IRA Bomb Birmingham
11th of February 1975 : Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of the Tory Party
28th of February 1975 : Moorgate Tube Train Disaster
3rd of November 1975 : North Sea Oil starts to flow
5th of November 1975 : Sex Pistols play 1st ever gig
11th of December 1975 : End of the IRA Balcombe Street siege
21st of January 1976 : First Concorde flight
16th of March 1976 : Harold Wilson Resigns
2nd of April 1977 : Red Rum wins the national for 3rd time
25th of July 1978 : First Test Tube Baby Born
4th of May 1979 : Margaret Thatcher becomes Britains 1st Female PM
27th of August 1979 : Lord Louis Mountbatten assasinated by IRA
30th of April 1980 : Terrorists seize Iranian Embassy in London
5th of May 1980 : The SAS storms the Iranian embassy in London
8th of December 1980 : John Lennon shot dead
3rd of April 1981 : Brixton Riots
2nd of April 1982 : Argentina invades Falklands
5th of April 1982 : British fleet sails for Falkland Islands
2nd of May 1982 : General Belgrano sank
14th of June 1982 : End of Falklands War
17th of June 1982 : Robert Calvi
11th of October 1982 : Mary Rose raised
1th of November 1982 : Channel 4 transmits for 1st time
8th of February 1983 : Shergar kidnapped
26th of September 1983 : 21 IRA men escape fron Maze Prison
26th of November 1983 : Brinks Mat Robbery
12th of March 1984 : MIners Strike Starts
8th of May 1984 : Thames Barrier Opens
9th of July 1984 : Lightning strikes York Minster
12th of October 1984 : IRA Bomb Grand Hotel Brighton
3rd of January 1985 : Miners Strike Ends
19th of February 1985 : 1st episode of Eastenders
11th of May 1985 : Bradford City Football Fire
13rd of July 1985 : Live Aid
1th of September 1985 : Titanic Found
6th of October 1985 : Broadwater Farm Riots
15th of November 1985 : Anglo Irish Agreement signed
23rd of July 1986 : Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson
29th of October 1986 : M25 fully opens
6th of November 1986 : Sumburgh Disaster
15th of October 1987 : The Great Storm
6th of July 1988 : Piper Alpha Disaster
12th of December 1988 : Clapham rail disaster
21st of December 1988 : Lockerbie Air Disaster
17th of March 1989 : Work begins on the Channel Tunnel
22nd of September 1989 : 10 Soldiers killed by IRA bomb attack in Deal
31st of March 1990 : Poll Tax Riots
8th of October 1990 : Britain joins the Exchange Rate Mechanism
13rd of November 1990 : Geoffrey Howes resignation speech
22nd of November 1990 : Margaret Thatcher Resigns
7th of February 1991 : IRA Fires Mortar at 10 Downing St
25th of February 1991 : Birmingham Six convictions overturned
14th of March 1991 : Birmingham Six Released
9th of June 1991 : Completion of the Dartford Bridge
16th of January 1992 : Britain drops out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism
11th of November 1992 : Church of England votes to allow female priests
20th of November 1992 : Windsor Castle is damaged by fire
12th of March 1994 : Women priests ordained for 1st time
6th of May 1994 : The Channel Tunnel opens
13rd of March 1996 : The Dunblane Shootings
22nd of February 1997 : Dolly the Sheep Cloned
1th of May 1997 : Tony Blairs 'New Labour' sweeps to power
1th of July 1997 : Britain hands back Hong Kong to China
31st of August 1997 : Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash
11th of September 1997 : Scotland votes Yes to a Scottish Parliament
15th of October 1997 : Andy Green breaks sound barrier on land
10th of April 1998 : Good Friday Agreement
12th of August 1999 : Total eclipse of the Sun
23rd of September 2000 : Steve Redgrave wins 5th Olympic Gold Medal
8th of July 2001 : Manningham Riots
11th of September 2001 : Attacks by Islamisists on New York and Washington
17th of February 2003 : Congestion Charge introduced to Central London
27th of February 2003 : Rowan Williams becomes 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
22nd of November 2003 : England win Rugby World Cup
13rd of January 2004 : Harold Shipman hangs himself in Prison
5th of February 2004 : Cockle Pickers die at Morecambe Bay
16th of August 2004 : Boscastle Floods
7th of February 2005 : Ellen Macarthur sails solo around the world
18th of February 2005 : Fox Hunting Banned in the UK
7th of July 2005 : Four terrorists explode bombs on London Transport system
28th of July 2005 : Provisional IRA formally ceases Violence
5th of December 2005 : The Civil Partnership Act comes into force in Britain
22nd of February 2006 : Securitas Depot Robbery - Britains largest
10th of May 2007 : Tony Blair announces intention to resign
27th of June 2007 : Tony Blair announces resignation

Recommended Books:

A Picture of Britain

Ashes Fever

Coast

Churchill

Home | Special Offers | Counties | Reviews | Search | News