A CHRONOLOGY OF BRITISH HISTORY

The following is a timeline of British history which may be of use to family historians in order to set their family events in their historical context. As far as possible it includes regnal dates for English, Welsh and Scottish monarchs; major battles; the births and deaths of major religious and artistic figures; the founding of major universities, schools etc; the founding of orders of chivalry; the founding of major organisations; sporting, ceremonial and religious events; inventions; and general British history.

PART 3 1900AD onward

Oct 1899 to 1 Jun 1902 = Boer War

1900 = Davis Cup for Tennis first introduced (Men)

1900 = Birmingham University founded

1900 = Sir Arthur Sullivan (Composer) died

1900 = Burberry developed by Thomas Burberry

1900 = Labour Representative Committee formed - effective founding of the Labour Party

1900 = Invention of agricultural tractor by B Holt

1900 = Invention of rigid airship by von Zeppelin

20 Jan 1900 = John Ruskin died

28 Feb 1900 = Relief of Ladysmith

10 Apr 1900 = Kaisar-i-Hind Medal instituted for public service in India

17 May 1900 = Relief of Mafeking

4 Aug 1900 = Queen Elizabeth (Queen Mother) born

Aug 1900 = Boxer rebellion in Peking

1901 = Foundation of the British Academy

1901 = First successful safety razor sold by K Gillette

22 Jan 1901 = end of reign of Queen Victoria

23 Jan 1901 = Edward VII King of Great Britain

1902 = Education Act set up state Grammar Schools

1902 = First Garden City commenced at Letchworth, Herts. by Sir Ebenezer Howard

1902 = Imperial Service Order (ISO) instituted

26 Mar 1902 = Cecil Rhodes died

29 Mar 1902 = Sir William Walton born

5 Apr 1902 = 20 killed as terracing collapses at Ibrox Park

23 Jun 1902 = Order of Merit (OM) instituted by King Edward VII

Aug 1902 = Royal Victorian Chain (decoration) instituted

1903 = National Sunday School Union formed

1903 = Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) founded by Emmeline Pankhurst

1903 = Workers' Educational Association formed

1903 = Malcolm Muggeridge born

1903 = Liverpool University founded

1904 = Leeds University founded

1904 = Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) founded by Sir Herbert Beerbohm-Tree

1904 = First petrol driven lifeboat entered service

1904 = London Symphony Orchestra founded

1904 = First regular motor bus service started in London

1904 = Anton Dolin born

2 Oct 1904 = Graham Greene born

1905 = Formal recognition of the office of Prime Minister

1905 = Title Princess Royal first conferred (on Princess Louise, daughter of King Edward VII)

1905 = Sheffield University founded

1905 = Royal Navy Training School, Dartmouth opened

1905 = First Rugby International match between England and France

1905 = Sir Henry Irving (Actor-Manager) died

1905 = Sinn Fein founded in Ireland by Arhur Griffith

1905 = Founding of the Automobile Association (AA)

4 Oct 1905 = Convicted Suffragettes choose to go to prison

1906 = Dodd's Socialist Camp founded at Caister-on-sea,Norfolk - first holiday camp

1906 = Wassermann test for syphilis developed?? ??? 1907 = Isle of Man TT Races inaugurated

1907 = Newgate Prison demolished

1907 = Present Old Bailey building opened on site of Newgate Prison

1907 = New Conexion, Bible Christians & United Methodists Free Churches amalgamate

1907 = National Library of Wales founded

1907 = National Museum of Wales founded

1907 = The Territorial Army formed (as the Territorial Force until 1922) formed

1907 = First International Horse Show (Showjumping) held at Olympia, London

1907 = Institution of the Edward Medal by King Edward VII for acts of bravery by miners & quarrymen

1907 = Imperial College of Science and Technology founded

1907 = Albert Einstein postulates "E=mc2" theory

4 Sep 1907 = Edvard Grieg died

27 Sep 1907 = New Zealand granted Dominion Status

1908 = Scout Association (The Scouts) founded by Lord Baden-Powell

1908 = Establishment of first Borstal

1909 = First Rugby match played at Twickenham

1909 = Queen's College,Belfast raised to the status of an independant University

1909 = Bristol University founded

1909 = Science Museum, London, separated from the Victoria & Albert Museum

1909 = Selfridges opened by Gordon Selfridge

1910 = First International Rugby match played at Twickenham (England v Wales)

1910 = Youth Hostels Association started in Germany

1910 = Port of London Authority(PLA) constituted by Act of Parliament

1910 = William Holman Hunt died

1910 = Girl Guides movement started by Lord Baden-Powell

1910 = Dame Alicia Markova born

1910 = Invention of first synthetic plastic, Bakelite

6 May 1910 = end of reign of Edward VII

7 May 1910 = George V King of Great Britain

31 Jul 1910 = Radio used to arrest Dr Crippen fleeing to Quebec

13 Aug 1910 = Florence Nightingale died

1911 = First National Insurance Act passed

1911 = First Official Secrets Act

1911 = The Pearly Kings & Queens Association formed

1911 = World's first scheduled Air Mail service inaugurated

1911 = Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) founded by Leo Bonn

1911 = Sir W S Gilbert (Composer) died

1911 = First escalator introduced at Earl's Court Underground Station

1911 = Founding of the Camden Town Group (Art) by Walter Sickert

1911 = E. Rutherford puts forward nuclear model of the atom

3 Jan 1911 = Three policemen die in the Seige of Sidney Street

31 Aug 1911 = Troops clash with strikers in north of England

1912 = Royal Flying Corps formed

1912 = The Society of Knights (Bachelor) founded

15 Apr 1912 = SS Titanic sinks with loss of 1513 lives

1913 = The New Statesman (Newspaper) founded

1913 = Benjamin Britten (Composer) born

1913 = First Chelsea Flower Show held

10 Feb 1913 = Capt. Scott found dead in Antartica

Jun 1913 = Suffragette dies under King's horse at Epsom

1914 = Royal Naval Air Service formed

1914 = Dylan Thomas born

1914 = Home Rule (for Ireland) Bill passed

1914 = Institution of the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for gallantry by Royal Navy officers and warrant officers

1914 = Invention of military tank by E Swinton

28 Jun 1914 = Austrian Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo

28 Jul 1914 = Austria declares war on Serbia

28 Jul 1914 > 11 Nov 1918 = World War I

Aug 1914 = Battle of Tannenberg

1 Aug 1914 = Germany declares war on Russia

3 Aug 1914 = Germany declares war on France

4 Aug 1914 = Britain declares war on Germany

4 Aug 1914 = Germany invades Belgium

Sep 1914 = First Battle of the Marne

4 Oct 1914 = First bombs fall on London

Dec 1914 = Military Cross instituted

1915 = Toc H founded at Ypres, Belgium for soldiersby Rev Tubby Clayton

1915 = Women's Institute started in Britain

Feb 1915 = Start of German submarine blockade of Britain

22 Apr 1915 = Germans first use of mustard gas at Ypres

26 Apr 1915 = British land in Turkey

7 May 1915 = SS Lusitania sunk by German submarine

10 May 1915 = Monica Dickens born

22 May 1915 = 200 soldiers killed in train crash at Quintinshill

6 Sep 1915 = Poland and Lithuania overrun by Germany

14 Oct 1915 = Britain and France declare war on Bulgaria

20 Dec 1915 = British withdraw from Gallipoli

1916 = MI5 founded

Feb 1916 = Battle of Verdun

24 Apr 1916 = 450 die in Easter Rising in Dublin

31 May 1916 = Battle of Jutland

5 Jun 1916 = Lord Kitchener died

1 Jul 1916 to 15 Nov 1916 = Battle of the Somme

27 Aug 1916 = Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary

1917 = Women's Land Army formed

1917 = Women's Royal Naval Service (Wrens) formed

1917 = Imperial War Museum founded to commemorate First World War dead

1917 = Institution of the Order of the British Empire by King George V

1917 = Formation of the Cabinet Office

1917 = Institution of the Order of Companions of Honour (CH)

Apr 1917 = USA declares war on Germany

2 Jul 1917 = Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree died

Oct 1917 to Dec 1917 = Battle of Caporetto

7 Dec 1917 = USA declares war on Austria-Hungary

15 Dec 1917 = Russian Bolsheviks now allies with Germany

1918 = Education Act set minimum school leaving age at 14

1918 = Education Act set up the Burnham Committee to negotiate teachers pay rates

1918 = Women's Royal Air Force (WAAFs) formed

1918 = Office of Secretary of State for Air instituted

1918 = Foundation of the English-Speaking Union

1918 = Institution of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for gallantry by RAF officers and warrant officers

21 Mar 1918 to 8 Aug 1918 = German offensive

1 Apr 1918 = Royal Air Force created

18 May 1918 = Sinn Féin banned and leaders arrested

Jul 1918 = Second Battle of the Marne

4 Oct 1918 = Germany offers surrender

7 Oct 1918 = Sir Hubert Parry died

11 Nov 1918 = Hostilities cease on Western Front

28 Dec 1918 = Women allowed to vote for the first time

1919 = University Grants Committee formed

1919 = Ministry of Health set up

1919 = Save the Children Fund (SCF) founded

1919 = Institution of the Forestry Commission

1919 = IRA formed

1919 = The Dial established as the Parliament in Ireland by Devalera

Mar 1919 = Spanish flu kills 150,000 throughout Britian

18 May 1919 = Dame Margot Fonteyn born

28 Dec 1919 = Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister

1920 = Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland established

1920 = Partition of Ireland

1920 = Establishment of Northern Ireland Parliament at Stormont

1920 = Medical Research Council formed

1920 = Establishment of the Church in Wales

18 Oct 1920 = State of emergency declared as miners strike

21 Nov 1920 = "Bloody Sunday" - 12 Irish killed by the Black and Tans

1921 = Young Farmers Club started in Devon

1921 = Sir James Craig elected first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland

1921 = MI6 founded

1921 = Formation of the Royal British Legion

1921 = Chequers donated to the Nation by Lord Lee of Fareham for the use of Prime Ministers

10 Jun 1921 = Duke of Edinburgh born

6 Dec 1921 = Irish Free State created

1922 = Toc H incorporated by Royal Charter

1922 = Urdd Gobaith Cymru (Welsh League of Youth) formed

1922 = Marie Lloyd (Music Hall Entertainer) died

1922 = Royal Ulster Constablary (RUC) formed

1922 = Walker Cup (Amateur Golf) instituted

1922 = First daily broadcasts by BBC

1922 = Banting and MacLeod isolate human insulin

1923 = Wightman Cup for tennis introduced (Women)

1923 = Wembley Stadium built

1923 = British Empire Exhibition at Wembley

1923 = Plough Monday tradition revived at Goathland, North Yorks.

1923 = First Football Pools instituted

1924 = The League Against Cruel Sports formed

1924 = Founding of Imperial Airways (Now British Airways)

23 Apr 1924 = First royal transmission by wireless

1925 = Pensions Act (introduced by Winston Churchill) sets up contributory pensions

1925 = National Book League founded

1925 = Plaid Cymru founded with aim of protecting the Welsh language

1925 = Royal Observer Corp (ROC) founded

1925 = Land Registry established

1926 = Saunders Lewis, President of Plaid Cymru

1926 = Shakespear Memorial Theatre destroyed by fire

1926 = Office of Secretary of State for Scotland instituted

1926 = First World Snooker Championship (won by Joe Davis)

1926 = Foundation of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE)

1926 = First demonstration of television by J L Baird

1926 = Invention of the liquid-fuelled rocket by R Goddard

21 Apr 1926 = Queen Elizabeth II born

10 May 1926 = TUC calls first General Strike

1927 = Round Tables of Great Britain & Ireland (Charity) founded

1927 = Ryder Cup (Open Golf) instituted

1927 = Bery Grey (Ballet Dancer) born

1927 = BBC Charter granted

1928 = Formation of the National Greyhound Racing Club

1928 = First Greyhound Derby run at White City,London

7 Jan 1928 = River Thames floods killing 14

12 Jan 1928 = Thomas Hardy died

14 Jun 1928 = Mrs Emeline Pankhurst died

30 Sep 1928 = Penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming

1929 = The Squash Rackets Association formed

1929 = Rugby League Cup Final first palyed at Wembley Stadium

1930 = British Open Squash Championship established

1930 = John Masefield appointed Poet Laureate

1930 = Football World Cup inaugurated

1930 = John Gilpin (Ballet Director) born

1930 = The Tote established (Horse Racing)

1930 = Foundation of BBC Symphony Orchestra

19 Mar 1930 = Earl of Balfour died

24 May 1930 = Amy Johnson flies solo to Australia

21 Aug 1930 = Princess Margaret born

5 Oct 1930 = Airship R101 crashes in France killing 48

1931 = Royal Ballet founded by Ninette de Valois as the Vic-Wells Ballet

1931 = Royal Ballet School founded

1931 = Malcolm Williamson (Composer) born

1931 = Granting of Independance to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa under the Statute of Westminster

23 Jan 1931 = Anna Pavlova died

1932 = Primitive Methodists and United Methodists rejoin Wesleyan Methodists to form the Methodists

1932 = Plaid Cymru adopts the aim of self-government for Wales

1932 = First RAC Rally organised

1932 = New Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opened at Stratford-upon-Avon

1932 = London Philharmonic Orchestra founded by Sir Thomas Beecham

10 Feb 1932 = Edgar Wallace died

12 Feb 1932 = Whipping of children under 14 is banned

30 Sep 1932 = Unemployment reaches 25%

1933 = Foundation of British Film Institute

1934 = National Coucil for Civil Liberties formed

1934 = Sir Edward Elgar died

1934 = Foundation of The Glyndebourne Festival by John Christie

1934 = Invention of first practical radar by Watson-Watt

21 Sep 1934 = 262 killed in blast at Gresford colliery

1935 = Foundation of Sadler's Wells Opera

1935 = William Robinson (Gardener) died

1935 = Foundation of BBC Welsh & BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras

18 Mar 1935 = Thousands protest in Wales at "means test"

19 May 1935 = T.E.Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) died

1936 = Saunders Lewis & Lewis Valentine involved in sabotage attack on proposed bomber school

1936 = Kings Flight (now Queen's Flight) inaugurated by king Edward VIII

1936 = Richard Rodney Bennett(Composer) born

1936 = Sir Frank Whittle invents the jet engine

1936 = Invention of helicopter by H Focke

20 Jan 1936 = end of reign of George V

21 Jan 1936 = Edward VIII King of Great Britain

11 Mar 1936 = Earl Beatty of Jutland died

11 Nov 1936 = Jarrow Crusade reaches London

10 Dec 1936 = Edward VIII abdicates

11 Dec 1936 = George VI King of Great Britain

1937 = The Tribune (newspaper) founded

1937 = Nuffield College,Oxford founded

1937 = Republic of Ireland established

28 May 1937 = Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister

19 Jun 1937 = Sir J M Barrie died

20 Jul 1937 = Marconi died

1938 = Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) founded

1938 = Discovery of nuclear fission by Hahn and Strassmann

11 Jul 1938 = Last British troops leave Eire

1939 = First broadcast Royal Christmas Message

1939 = Foundation of the Citizens Advice Bureaux to inform the public about wartime regulations

28 Jan 1939 = W B Yeats died

25 Aug 1939 = IRA bomb Coventry killing 5

Sep 1939 = Children evacuated from London and major cities

1 Sep 1939 = Germany invades Poland

3 Sep 1939 = Britain and France declare war on Germany

3 Sep 1939 to 2 Sep 1945 = World War II

17 Dec 1939 = the Graf Spee scuttled off Montevideo

1940 = The George Medal instituted for gallantry

10 May 1940 = Churchill takes over as Prime Minister

10 May 1940 = Germany invades Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg

12 May 1940 = Germany invades France

26 May 1940 = Allied evacuation from Dunkirk begins

10 Jun 1940 = Italy invades France

10 Jun 1940 = Italy declares war on France and Britain

14 Jun 1940 = Germans enter Paris unopposed

22 Jun 1940 = France surrenders to Germany

Jul 1940 = Special Operations Executive (SOE) founded

24 Sep 1940 = The George Cross (GC) instituted

14 Nov 1940 = Coventry bombed

1941 = Formation of The Parachute Regiment (Red Berets)

1941 = Air Training Corp formed

1941 = Hamilton Harty (Composer) died

8 Jan 1941 = Lord Baden Powell died

17 Apr 1941 = Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany

27 Apr 1941 = British leave Greece

22 Jun 1941 = Germany attacks Russia

14 Aug 1941 = Britain and USA sign Atlantic Charter

7 Dec 1941 = Japan attack USA at Pearl Harbour

11 Dec 1941 = Germany and Italy declare war on USA

11 Dec 1941 = Britain and USA declare war on Japan

1942 = OXFAM founded

1942 = RAF Regiment formed

1942 = Beveridge Report proposes introduction of social security

1942 = Special Air Service (SAS) formed under Col. David Stirling

1942 = Foundation of the British Council of Churches

15 Feb 1942 = British surrender Singapore to Japanese

9 Apr 1942 = USA surrenders Bataan peninsula to Japanese

6 May 1942 = USA surrenders Corregidor Island to Japanese

10 Jun 1942 = Lidice, Czechoslovakia razed by Germans

8 Nov 1942 = British and US troops land in North Africa

14 Jan 1943 = Casablanca conference

1 Feb 1943 = Germans surrender at Stalingrad

12 May 1943 = War in Africa ends

25 Jul 1943 = Mussolini deposed

3 Sep 1943 = Allies land in Italy

8 Sep 1943 = Italy surrenders

10 Sep 1943 = Germans take Rome

22 Nov 1943 = Cairo conference

28 Nov 1943 = Teheran Conference

1944 = Education Act introduced free universal secondary education

1944 = Department of Education & Science took over responsibility for education

1944 = PAYE introduced to collect income tax

1944 = Welsh National Opera formed

1944 = Edwin Lutyens died

1944 = Foundation of the Burrell Collection (Arts) in Glasgow by Sir William Burrell

22 Jan 1944 = British and US troops land at Anzio

4 Jun 1944 = British and US troops enter Rome

25 Aug 1944 = Paris liberated

13 Oct 1944 = Athens liberated

20 Oct 1944 = USA invades Philippines

16 Dec 1944 = Battle of the Bulge

1945 = Trial of William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) for treason

1945 = David Lloyd George died

1945 to 1978 = Gwynfor Evans President of Plaid Cymru

11 Feb 1945 = Yalta agreement

28 Apr 1945 = Mussolini killed at Lake Como

1 May 1945 = Hitler's suicide announced

2 May 1945 = Berlin falls

7 May 1945 = VE Day. Germany surrenders

17 Jul 1945 = Potsdam conference

6 Aug 1945 = USA drops atom bomb on Hiroshima

8 Aug 1945 = USSR declares war on Japan

9 Aug 1945 = USA drops atom bomb on Nagasaki

14 Aug 1945 = Japan surrenders

23 Aug 1945 = King's Medal instituted (for foreigners who had performed service to Britain)

2 Sep 1945 = VJ Day. Japanese sign surrender aboard USS Missouri

1946 = Wildfowlel Trust founded by Sir Peter Scott

1946 = John Maynard Keynes died

1946 = New Towns Act to encourage people away from the cities

1946 = Outward Bound Trust set up

1946 = Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) founded by Sir Thomas Beecham

Feb 1946 = 50,000 "GI brides" shipped out to the USA

Dec 1946 = Fuel and food shortages continue

1947 = Founding of the Edinburgh Festival

1947 = International Musical Eisteddfod established at Llangollen

1947 = Granting of Independance to India and Pakistan

20 Nov 1947 = Princess Elizabeth marries the Duke of Edinburgh

1948 = Olympic Games held at Wembley Stadium

1948 = National Health Service instituted

1948 = Silverstone Racing Circuit opened (Motor Racing) near Towcester,Northants

1948 = Establishment of the Cheshire Foundation by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC

1948 = Establishment of the Church Commissioners

1 Jan 1948 = Railways nationalised

30 Jan 1948 = Mahatma Gandhi died

28 Jun 1948 = Troops break dockers' strike

28 Jul 1948 = Inauguration of the Paraplegic Games at Stoke Mandeville Hospital,Bucks

14 Nov 1948 = Charles, Prince of Wales born

Dec 1948 = Labour government constructs "Welfare State"

1949 = Women's Royal Army Corp (WRAC) formed

1949 = Nationalization of the Gas Industry

1949 = Horse of the Year Show founded

1949 = Republic of Ireland leaves the Commonwealth

1949 = Formation of the Commonwealth to replace the British Commonwealth

9 Jan 1949 = Tommy Handley died

15 Mar 1949 = Clothes rationing ends

18 Apr 1949 = Eire becomes Republic of Ireland

1950 = Harold Laski died

1950 = Alexander Korda (Film Producer) died

1950 = London Festival Ballet formed by Anton Dolin and Alicia Markova

ABT 1950 = Albert Einstein puts forward theories of relativity

28 Jun 1950 = Royal Navy enters Korean War

22 Jul 1950 = Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada died

15 Aug 1950 = Princess Anne born

25 Dec 1950 = Stone of Destiny taken from Westminster Abbey

1951 = General Certificate of Education (GCE) introduced

1951 = Festival of Britain

7 Jun 1951 = Soviet spies Burgess and MacLean disappear

6 Feb 1952 = end of reign of George VI

7 Feb 1952 = Elizabeth II Queen of Great Britain

6 Sep 1952 = Gertrude Lawrence died

16 Sep 1952 = Vesta Tilley died

29 Sep 1952 = John Cobb killed

8 Oct 1952 = Harrow & Wealdstone Train Disaster

24 Nov 1952 = "Mousetrap" opens in London

11 Dec 1952 = Derek Bentley sentenced to hang

1953 = Penguin Books set up by Sir Allen Lane

1953 = Samaritans started by Rev Chad Varah to help the suicidal and despairing

1953 = Dylan Thomas died

1953 = Discovery of measles vaccine by Enders and Peebles

31 Jan 1953 = Ferry Princess Victoria sinks in the Irish Sea

3 Feb 1953 = Hundreds die as East Coast is flooded

5 Mar 1953 = Joseph Stalin died

24 Mar 1953 = Queen Mary (wid of King George V) died

30 May 1953 = Edmund Hillary reaches the top of Mount Everest

16 Jul 1953 = Hilaire Belloc died

27 Jul 1953 = Truce signed in Korean War

1954 = United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority formed

1954 = Discovery of first polio vaccine by J E Salk

May 1954 = "Teddy Boys" appear

3 Jul 1954 = Rationing ends

1955 to 1958 = British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition achieves first crossing of Antarctica

1955 = Guiness Book of Records first published - compiled by Ross & Norris McWhirter of Cardiff

13 Jul 1955 = Ruth Ellis is the last woman to be hanged

Sep 1955 = Independant Television Authority (ITA) formed

1956 = The Consumers' Association founded

1956 = Hungarian Uprising against Communism

1956 = Premium Bonds introduced

1956 = Foundation of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award

31 Oct 1956 = Britain invades Suez

1957 = Initiation of the Admiral's Cup (Yachting) by Sir Miles Wyatt

17 Oct 1957 = Air borne radiation leaks from Windscale

Nov 1957 = First motorway in Britain, M1 opens

1958 = Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) (charity) founded

1958 = Title Prince of Wales conferred on Prince Charles

1958 = Life Peerage Act

6 Feb 1958 = 7 members of Manchester United die in plane crash

1959 = The Commonwealth Institute founded to replace the Imperial Institute

31 Dec 1960 = National Service abolished

1961 = The New English Bible published jointly by Oxford & Cambridge Presses

1961 = Monday Club formed (Right Wing Conservative Group)

1961 = National Theatre founded

1961 = Private Eye (Magazine) founded by William Rushton

1962 = Welsh Language Society founded

1962 = Scottish National Opera founded at Glasgow

1963 = The Peerage Act permits peers to disclaim their perrage for life

1963 = Welsh terrorists cause explosion at Tryweryn Dam,Clwyd

1963 = First British Nuclear submarines (Polaris) entered service

1963 = Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) introduced

27 Mar 1963 = Dr Beeching proposes cutting 25% of rail lines

5 Jun 1963 = John Profumo resigns after sex scandal

4 Nov 1963 = The Beatles appear in the Royal Variety Show

1964 = Industrial Training Act establishes Industry Training Boards

21 Dec 1964 = Death penalty abolished in Britain

1965 = Introduction of Capital Gains Tax

1965 = North Sea Gas discovered

1965 = Science and Engineering Research Council established

1965 = Highlands and Islands Development Board established

28 Oct 1965 = Brady and Hindley charged with Moors Murders

1966 = National Christian Education Council formed

1966 = Introduction of Corporation Tax

1966 = World Cup Football Final played at Wembley Stadium

1966 = First Notting Hill Carnival

1966 = Wolfson college,Oxford founded

1966 = First Plaid Cymru MP - Gwynfor Evans (Carmarthen)

1966 = Shelter (National Campaign for the Homeless) founded

21 Oct 1966 = 144 die in Aberfan as coal bing buries school

1967 = Opening up of Wimbledon to professional players

1967 = Welsh Language Act

1967 = Building of Milton Keynes New Town started

1967 = First North Sea Gas piped to mainland

1967 = Parliamentary Commissioner Act establishes the post of Ombudsman

1967 = Emergence of Flower Power

1968 = Royal Mint moved to Llantrisant,Glamorgan

1968 = Sealed Knot Society formed (Historical re-enactment) by Brigadier Peter Young

1968 = Hayward Gallery (Art) founded on South Bank of Thames

1968 = Setting up of the Countryside Commission

1969 = Open University founded by Jennie Lee

1969 = Maritime Trust "Historic Ship Collection" established on the Thames

1969 = Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle

1969 = British troops sent to Northern Ireland to keep the peace

5 Mar 1969 = London gangsters the Kray twins sentenced to life

1970 = Office of Population Censuses and Surveys set up

1970 = New University of Ulster founded

1970 = Socaial Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP) founded in Northern Ireland

1970 = Sir John Barbirolli died

1971 = Decimalisation of British currency

1971 = Establishment of Crown Courts by the Courts Act

2 Jan 1971 = 66 die when barriers collapse at Ibrox Park

15 Feb 1971 = British currency goes decimal

1972 = The Sports Council set up

1972 = Sir John Betjeman appointed Poet Laureate

1972 = Quarter Sessions replaced by Crown Courts

1972 = Norhern Ireland Parliament suspended

1972 = Independant Broadcasting Authority (IBA) formed

1972 = Establishment of the British Library

22 Jan 1972 = Britain joins the EEC

30 Jan 1972 = 13 shot in another Bloody Sunday in Derry

Feb 1972 = Miners strike leads to power cuts

1973 = Value Added Tax (VAT) introduced

1973 = British Gas Corporation formed

1973 = Office of Fair Trading established

1973 = Nature Conservancy Council founded

1973 = Manpower Services Commission formed under the Employment Training Act

8 Mar 1973 = IRA begins mainland bombing

17 Dec 1973 = Three day week introduced

1974 = Introduction of Capital Transfer Tax (replaced by inheritance tax)

1974 = Queen's Gallantry Medal instituted

1974 = Sadler's Wells Opera became English National Opera

1974 = Abolishon of the civic office of Alderman

Feb 1974 = Scottish National Party won its first parliamentary seats

12 Nov 1974 = Lord Lucan escapes and disappears

1975 = Petroleum Revenue Tax introduced

1975 = First North Sea Oil comes ashore

1975 = Establishment of British North Sea Oil Corporation (BNOC)

1975 = National Railway Museum set up at York

1975 = Establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission

11 Jul 1975 = Inflation reaches 25%

1976 = Welsh Development Agency set up

1976 = Development Board for Rural Wales set up

1976 = Benjamin Britten (Composer) died

Aug 1976 = Drought causes water shortages

1977 = Patents Court set up by the Patents Act to deal with disputes about Patents

2 Apr 1977 = Red Rum wins the Grand National for the third time

13 Dec 1978 = Jeremy Thorpe charged with incitement to murder

Jan 1979 = "Winter of Discontent" causes chaos

4 May 1979 = Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman Prime Minister

2 Sep 1979 = Yorkshire Ripper claims 12th victim

1980 = Alfred Hitchcock (Film Producer) died

5 May 1980 = SAS storms Iranian embassy in London

1981 = First London Marathon founded by Chris Brasher

Mar 1981 = Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed

Jul 1981 = Riots break out in 8 inner city areas

1982 = Britoil established as a private company to take over BNOC

2 Apr 1982 = Argentina invades Falkland Islands

14 Jun 1982 = British troops regain control of Falklands

25 Sep 1983 = 134 IRA prisoners escape from the Maze prison

1984 = J B Priestly died

1984 = English Heritage founded

May 1984 = Coal strikes crushed by riot police

12 Oct 1984 = IRA bombs Tory conference in Brighton

11 May 1985 = 40 killed as fire destroys Bradford City stand

1986 = Introduction of Inheritance Tax

16 Oct 1987 = Hurricane hits southern England

18 Nov 1987 = 30 die in King's Cross Underground fire

6 Jul 1988 = North sea oil rig Piper Alpha explodes

22 Dec 1988 = Pan Am jumbo jet explodes over Lockerbie killing 270

15 Apr 1989 = 94 football fans crushed to death at Hillsborough

?? Sep 1989 = Thousands of Scots elect not to pay new Poll Tax

19 Oct 1989 = "Guildford Four" released from prison

23 Aug 1990 = British and US troop build up in Persian Gulf

17 Jan 1991 = Operation "Desert Storm" defeats Iraq

7 Feb 1991 = Downing Street hit by IRA mortar bomb

14 Mar 1991 = "Birmingham Six" released from prison

Sep 1995 = Britain hit by worst drought for over 250 years