| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1923 | - 1923: Road Classification
Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers
- 1923: Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way
- 1923: Radio Broadcasts
First American broadcasts heard in Britain
- 1 Jan 1923: Railway Grouping
The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main
companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR - lasted until nationalisation in 1948
- 16 Feb 1923: Tutankhamun
Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun
- 28 Apr 1923: Wembley
First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem
- 28 Sep 1923: Radio Times
First publication of Radio Times
|
| 2 | 1924 | - 4 Jan 1924: Labour government
First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald
- 5 Feb 1924: Greenwich Time Signals
Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were
first broadcast by the BBC
- 31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways
British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British
airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
|
| 3 | 1925 | - 1925: Gold Standard
Britain returns to gold standard
- 18 Jul 1925: Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
|
| 4 | 1926 | - 1926: TV
First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird
- 1926: Adoption of children
Adoption of children is legalised in Britain
- 1926: Kodak
Kodak produces 16mm movie film
- 1926: Walt Disney
Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood
- 21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, born
- 3 May 1926: General Strike
General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more)
- 31 Oct 1926: Houdini
Death of Harry Houdini
|
| 5 | 1927 | - 1927: 1st 'Talkie' film
Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer)
- 7 Jan 1927: Telephone
First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London
- 22 Jan 1927: BBC
First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury)
- 1 May 1927: Imperial Airways
First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from
London to Paris
- 20 May 1927: Lindbergh solo Atlantic flight
Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33 hours
- 24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate
The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
|
| 6 | 1928 | - 1928: Vote
Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes
- 26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds opens in London
- 15 Sep 1928: Penicillin
Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
|
| 7 | 1929 | - 1929: Poor Law
Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain
- 1929: Minimum age for a marriage in Britain raised
Minimum age for a marriage in Britain (which had been 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl) now 16 for both sexes, with parental consent (or a licence) needed for anyone under 21
- 1929: TV
BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
|
| 8 | 1930 | - 1930: First Nazis elected
First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag
- 1930: Youth Hostel Association
Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain
- 30 Jan 1930: Adolf Hitler
Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany
- 31 Jan 1930: Scotch Tape
3M begins marketing Scotch Tape
- 6 Mar 1930: Birdseye
Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas
- 5 Oct 1930: R101
R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
|
| 9 | 1931 | - 1931: Banking
Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close
- 14 Apr 1931: Highway Code
Highway Code first issued
- 26 Apr 1931: Census
Census: Population - England and Wales; 40 Million; Scotland: 4.8 Million; N Ireland: 1.24 Million (Unfortunately, the census was destroyed by fire in WW2)
- 21 Oct 1931: National Government
National Government formed to deal with economic crisis - Britain comes off
gold standard
- 11 Dec 1931: Statute of Westminster
Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states
|
| 10 | 1932 | - 1932: Great Hunger March
Great Hunger March of unemployed to London
- 1932: Cockroft and Walton
Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus
- 1932: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra
- 21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot
- Oct 1932: Moseley
Moseley founds British Union of Fascists
- 3 Oct 1932: Iraq
Iraq gains independence from Britain
- 3 Oct 1932: The Times
'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
|
| 11 | 1933 | - 1933: Polythene discovered
ICI scientists discover polythene
- 1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain
Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year
- 12 Nov 1933: Loch Ness Monster
First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
|
| 12 | 1934 | - 18 Jul 1934: Mersey Tunnel
King George V opens Mersey Tunnel
- 2 Aug 1934: Adolf Hitler
Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany
- 26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched
RMS Queen Mary launched by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland
- 30 Nov 1934: The Flying Scotsman
First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
|
| 13 | 1935 | - 1935: Green Belt
London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme
- 1935: Malcolm Campbell
Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell
- 28 Feb 1935: Nylon
Nylon first produced by Gerard J. Berchet of Wallace Carothers' research group
at DuPont (there is no evidence to the widely-supposed story that the name derives from New York-London)
- 12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha
Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas
in Britain
- 1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced
Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK
- 30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks
Penguin paperbacks launched
|
| 14 | 1936 | - 1936: Jet engine
Jet engine first tested
- 20 Jan 1936: George V
George V dies
- 5 May 1936: Spitfire
First flight of a Spitfire
- 24 Jul 1936: Speaking clock
'Speaking clock' service starts in UK
- 2 Nov 1936: BBC
British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's
first public TV transmission
- 30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace destroyed by fire
- 5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates
Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) - popular carol that Christmas:
'Hark the Herald Angels sing Mrs Simpson's got our King'
|
| 15 | 1937 | - 1937: 999
'999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London
- 1937: Billy Butlin
Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp
- 12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft
- 12 May 1937: King George VI
Coronation of King George VI
- 28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes PM
Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister - policy of appeasement towards
Hitler
- 3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson
- 4 Dec 1937: The Dandy'
'The Dandy' comic first published
|
| 16 | 1938 | - 1938: Paid holidays
Principle of paid holidays established in Britain
- 1938: HMS Rodney
HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar
- 1938: Lajos Biro
First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro
- 12 Mar 1938: Germany annexes Austria
Germany invades and annexes Austria
- 3 Jul 1938: Mallard
A4 Steam loco 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h) at Stoke Bank south of Grantham on the East Coast Main Line; still world record for a steam locomotive.
- 27 Sep 1938: RMS Queen Elizabeth
Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank
- 29 Sep 1938: Peace in our time
Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time'
- 30 Oct 1938: The War of the Worlds
Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
|
| 17 | 1939 | - 1939: Czechoslovakia
Germany annexes Czechoslovakia
- 1939: London evacuation
Start of evacuation of women and children from London
- 1939: Coldest winter in Britain
Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time
- 1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland
Germany invades Poland
- 3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war
Britain and France declare war on Germany
- 6 Sep 1939: First air-raid
First air-raid on Britain
- 11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France
- 14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak
HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives
- 7 Dec 1939: Canadian troops
'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships
- 17 Dec 1939: Admiral Graf Spee
'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
|
| 18 | 1940 | - 1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations
BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd
- 11 May 1940: National Government
National Government formed under Churchill
- 13 May 1940: Germany invades France
Germany invades France, Frances signs armistice on 22 June 1940
- 27 May 1940—4 Jun 1940: Dunkirk
Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk
- 25 Jun 1940: Fall of France
Fall of France to Germany
- 7 Sep 1940: The Blitz
Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing
- 15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain
- 11 Nov 1940—12 Nov 1940: Battle of Taranto
The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history, flying a small number of obsolescent biplane torpedo bombers (Swordfish) from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in the Mediterranean Sea to attack the Italian fleet in Taranto harbour.
- 14 Nov 1940: Coventry bombed
Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
|
| 19 | 1941 | - 1941: Rationing
Britain introduces severe rationing
- 1941: Bailey bridge
Bailey invents his portable military bridge
- 1941: antibiotics
First use of antibiotics
- 10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland
- 15 May 1941: First British jet aircraft flies
First British jet aircraft flies, The Gloster E.28/39, (also referred to as the "Gloster Whittle", "Gloster Pioneer", or "Gloster G.40") based on work of Frank Whittle
- 27 May 1941: Bismark
'Bismark' sunk by Swordfish aircraft flying from HMS Ark Royal
- 22 Jun 1941: Operation Barbarossa
Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
- 1 Jul 1941: Canada
First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain
- 14 Nov 1941: HMS Ark Royal III
The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the third ship to bear the name, sinks near Gibraltar after being torpedoed by U-81 the previous day.
- Dec 1941: Canadian forces
Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England
- Dec 1941: Manhattan Project
'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America
- 7 Dec 1941: Pearl Harbour
Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour, USA then enters World War II
- 24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong
Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
|
| 20 | 1942 | - 1942: Alan Turing
Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with Max Neumann - used to crack German codes
- 1942: Oxfam
Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam
- 30 May 1942: 1,000 bomber raid
Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne
- 4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway. Only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States Navy decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy attack against Midway Atoll, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet. 4 Japanese carriers were sunk
- 19 Aug 1942: Dieppe raid
Abortive raid on Nazi held Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops
- 6 Sep 1942: Stalingrad
Germans defeated at Stalingrad
- 3 Oct 1942: V2
First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany - first man-made object to reach space
- 23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein
Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery defeats Rommel
- 2 Dec 1942: Manhattan Project
'Manhattan Project' - a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
|
| 21 | 1943 | - 1943: Round-the-clock bombing
Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins
- 16 May 1943: Dam Buster
'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF
- 24 Jul 1943: Benito Mussolini resigns
Allies invade Italy - Benito Mussolini resigns as Italian Dictator, 24 July
|
| 22 | 1944 | - 6 Apr 1944: PAYE
PAYE (Paye As You Earn) income tax begins
- 4 Jun 1944: Rome
Allies enter Rome
- 6 Jun 1944: D-Day
D-Day invasion of Normandy
- 12 Jun 1944: First V1 flying bombs
First V1 flying bombs hit London
- 8 Sep 1944: V2 rocket
First V2 rocket bombs hit London
- 11 Sep 1944: Allies enter Germany
Allies enter Germany
- 16 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
|
| 23 | 1945 | - 4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
- 29 Mar 1945: V1 flying bomb
Last V1 flying bomb attack
- 25 Apr 1945: Berlin surrounded
Berlin surrounded by Russian troops
- 30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide
Hitler commits suicide
- 8 May 1945: VE Day
VE Day (Victory in Europe)
- 9 May 1945: Channel Islands
Channel Islands liberated
- 26 Jun 1945: United Nations
UN Charter signed in San Francisco
- 16 Jul 1945: First ever atomic bomb
First ever atomic bomb exploded in a test in New Mexico (although there were
other forms of atomic device before that, such as the Pile at Stagg Field, first critical on 2nd Dec 1942)
- 26 Jul 1945: Labour win General Election
Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office
- 29 Jul 1945: BBC Light Programme
BBC Light Programme starts
- 6 Aug 1945: Hiroshima
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
- 9 Aug 1945: Nagasaki
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
- 15 Aug 1945: VJ Day
VJ Day (Victory in Japan)
- 2 Sep 1945: Japanese surrender
Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri
- 24 Oct 1945: United Nations
United Nations Organisation comes into existence
- 4 Nov 1945: UNESCO
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)founded
|
| 24 | 1946 | - 1946: NHS
Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948)
- 1946: Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004
- 1 Jan 1946: Heathrow Airport
First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport
- 1 Mar 1946: Bank of England
Bank of England nationalised
|
| 25 | 1947 | - 1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years
Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much flooding later
- 1947: First British nuclear reactor
First British nuclear reactor developed
- 1 Jan 1947: National Coal Board
Coal Mines nationalised
- 23 Feb 1947: International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded
- 1 Mar 1947: International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund begins financial operations
- 1 Apr 1947: School leaving age
School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain
- 26 Oct 1947: British military occupation
British military occupation ends in Iraq
- 20 Nov 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten
Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in
Westminster Abbey
|
| 26 | 1948 | - 1948: British Citizenship Act
British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports
- 1948: Transistor radio
Transistor radio invented
- 1948: Long-playing record
Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark
- 1 Jan 1948: British Railways
British Railways nationalised
- 5 Jul 1948: NHS
National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain
- 29 Jul 1948: London Olympics
London Olympics begin
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| 27 | 1949 | - 1949: Bristol Brabazon
Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap)
- 1949: De Haviland Comet
De Haviland produces the Comet - first jet airliner
- 15 Mar 1949: Clothes rationing
Clothes rationing ends in Britain
- 4 Apr 1949: NATO
Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO
|
| 28 | 1950 | - 26 May 1950: Petrol rationing
Petrol rationing ends in Britain
- 11 Jul 1950: Andy Pandy
'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV
- 9 Sep 1950: Soap rationing
Soap rationing ends in Britain
- 28 Dec 1950: Peak District
The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
|
| 29 | 1951 | - 3 May 1951: Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London
- 28 May 1951: The Goon Show
First Goon Show broadcast
- 20 Dec 1951: Experimental Breeder Reactor
Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
|
| 30 | 1952 | - 1952: Contraceptive pill
Contraceptive pill invented
- 1952: Britain explodes her first atomic bomb
Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia
- 1952: Radioactive carbon
Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects
- 1952: Bonn Convention
Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany
- 6 Feb 1952: King George VI dies
King George VI dies
- 21 Feb 1952: ID Cards abolished
Identity Cards abolished in Britain
- 2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service
First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London
and Johannesburg
- 5 Jul 1952: Last tram runs in London
Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross)
- 16 Aug 1952: Lynmouth flood disaster
Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster
- 6 Sep 1952: DH110 crashes
DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed including Test Pilot John Derry. The DH110 was the prototype of the Royal Navy's Sea Vixen fighter jet.
- 3 Oct 1952: Tea rationing
End of tea rationing in Britain
- 1 Nov 1952: First H-bomb
The first H-bomb ever ('Mike') was exploded by the USA - the mushroom cloud
was 8 miles across and 27 miles high. The canopy was 100 miles wide. Radioactive mud fell out of the sky followed by heavy rain. 80 million tons of earth was vaporised.
- 25 Nov 1952: The Mousetrap
Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London
- 4 Dec 1952: The Great Smog
Great smog hits London
|
| 31 | 1953 | - 31 Jan 1953: East Coast Floods
Said to be the biggest civil catastrophe in Britain in the 20th century -
severe storm and high tides caused the loss of hundreds of lives - - effects travelled from the west coast of Scotland round to the south-east coast of England [The Netherlands were even worse affected with over a thousand deaths]
- 5 Feb 1953: Sweet rationing ends
Sweet rationing ends in Britain
- 5 Mar 1953: Death of Stalin
Death of Stalin
- 26 Mar 1953: Polio vaccine
Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine
- 24 Apr 1953: Winston Churchill knighted
Winston Churchill knighted
- 25 Apr 1953: DNA
Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA
- 2 Jun 1953: Elizabeth II
Coronation of Elizabeth II
- 26 Sep 1953: Sugar rationing ends
Sugar rationing ends in Britain (after nearly 14 years)
|
| 32 | 1954 | - 1954: Comprehensive school
First comprehensive school opens in London
- 1954: Routemaster bus
Routemaster bus starts operating in London
- 1954: Transistor radios
First transistor radios sold
- 6 May 1954: Roger Bannister
First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs)
- 3 Jul 1954: Food rationing
Food rationing officially ends in Britain
- 5 Jul 1954: first television news bulletin
BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin
- 30 Sep 1954: USS Nautilus
First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
|
1923 - 1954 (31 years)