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