| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1580 | - 1580—1580: Colonisation of Ireland
|
| 2 | 1584 | - 4 Jun 1584—4 Jun 1584: Sir Walter Raleigh establishes first English colony in the New World, on
Roanoke Island, Virginia (now in North Carolina) - the so-called 'Lost Colony'
|
| 3 | 1587 | - 1587—1587: Introduction of potatoes to England
|
| 4 | 1588 | - 1588—1588: Invention of shorthand by Dr Timothy Bright
- 29 Jul 1588—29 Jul 1588: Defeat of Spanish Armada off Gravelines
|
| 5 | 1600 | - 31 Dec 1600—31 Dec 1600: British East India Company founded
|
| 6 | 1601 | - 1601—1601: First use of fruit juice as a preventative for scurvy by James Lancaster
|
| 7 | 1602 | - 8 Nov 1602—8 Nov 1602: Bodleian Library at Oxford University opened to the public
|
| 8 | 1603 | - 24 Mar 1603—24 Mar 1603: Death of Elizabeth I: union of Scottish and English crowns - under King James
VI of Scots and I of England (d. 1625)
- 25 Jul 1603—25 Jul 1603: Coronation - James VI of Scotland is crowned first king of Great Britain
|
| 9 | 1604 | - 1 Nov 1604—1 Nov 1604: Shakespeare: Othello' first presented
|
| 10 | 1605 | - 5 Nov 1605—5 Nov 1605: Gunpowder plot at Westminster (Guy Fawkes, etc)
|
| 11 | 1608 | - 1608—1608: First use of telescope by Galileo - he observed the moons of Jupiter two years later in
Jan 1610
|
| 12 | 1611 | - 1611—1611: Authorised (King James) Version of Bible in Britain
|
| 13 | 1616 | - 23 Apr 1616—23 Apr 1616: Tuesday Apr 23 (Julian calendar): Death of Shakespeare
|
| 14 | 1620 | - 21 Dec 1620—21 Dec 1620: (Dec 16 old style): The Mayflower reaches America - founds Plymouth, New
England (had initially set sail from Southampton on Aug 5)
|
| 15 | 1622 | - 1622—1622: First English newspaper appeared - Weekly News'
|
| 16 | 1635 | - 1635—1635: Flintlock small arms invented around this time (replaces matchlock)
|
| 17 | 1640 | - 3 Nov 1640—3 Nov 1640: Charles I forced to recall Parliament (the 'Long Parliament') due to Scottish
invasion
|
| 18 | 1642 | - 22 Aug 1642—22 Aug 1642: Charles I raises his standard at Nottingham - First Civil War in England (to
1649)
|
| 19 | 1644 | - 2 Jul 1644—2 Jul 1644: Battle of Marston Moor, near York - Parliamentarian forces beat the Royalists
|
| 20 | 1645 | - 14 Jun 1645—14 Jun 1645: Battle of Naseby: Parliament's New Model Army crushes the Royalist forces
|
| 21 | 1648 | - 1648—1648: Society of Friends (Quakers) founded by George Fox
- 1648—1648: First practical thermometers made
|
| 22 | 1649 | - 30 Jan 1649—30 Jan 1649: King Charles I executed
|
| 23 | 1650 | - 1650—1650: Coffee brought to England about this time
|
| 24 | 1653 | - 16 Dec 1653—16 Dec 1653: Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England,
Scotland and Ireland
|
| 25 | 1658 | - 3 Sep 1658—3 Sep 1658: Death of Oliver Cromwell
|
| 26 | 1660 | - 1660—1660: Commonwealth registers ended, Parish Registers resumed
- 28 Nov 1660—28 Nov 1660: Twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir
Robert Moray decide to found what is later known as the Royal Society
|
| 27 | 1662 | - 1662—1662: Tea introduced to Britain
|
| 28 | 1664 | - 27 Aug 1664—27 Aug 1664: Nieuw Amsterdam becomes New York as 300 English soldiers under Col.
Mathias Nicolls take the town from the Dutch under orders from Charles II. The town is
renamed after the King's brother James, Duke of York
|
| 29 | 1665 | - 1665—1665: Great Plague of London (July-October) kills over 60,000
|
| 30 | 1666 | - 2 Sep 1666—2 Sep 1666: Great Fire of London, after a drought beginning 27 June (2-6 Sep)
|
| 31 | 1668 | - 1668—1668: Newton constructs reflecting telescope
|
| 32 | 1679 | - 27 May 1679—27 May 1679: Habeas Corpus Act becomes law in England - (later repealed from time to
time)
|
| 33 | 1681 | - 1681—1681: Oil lighting first used in London streets
|
| 34 | 1682 | - 1682—1682: Halley observes the comet which bears his name
|
| 35 | 1687 | - 5 Jul 1687—5 Jul 1687: Newton published his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica' - written
in Latin
|
| 36 | 1688 | - Feb 1688—Feb 1688: Edward Lloyd's Coffee House opens - later became Lloyd's of London
|
| 37 | 1692 | - 13 Feb 1692—13 Feb 1692: The massacre of Glencoe - Clan Campbell sides with King William and
murders members of Clan McDonald
|
| 38 | 1697 | - 2 Dec 1697—2 Dec 1697: Official opening of St Paul's Cathedral
|
| 39 | 1698 | - 1698—1698: Invention of steam engine by Capt Thomas Savery
|
| 40 | 1702 | - 11 Mar 1702—11 Mar 1702: First English daily newspaper The Daily Courant (till 1735)
|
| 41 | 1703 | - 4 Aug 1703—4 Aug 1703: British take Gibraltar
|
| 42 | 1705 | - 1705—1705: First workable steam pumping engine devised by Thomas Newcomen (some say c1710
or 1711)
|
| 43 | 1707 | - 16 Jan 1707—16 Jan 1707: Union with Scotland - Scots agree to send 16 peers and 45 MPs to English
Parliament in return for full trading privileges - Scottish Parliament meets for the last time in
March
|
| 44 | 1712 | - 1712—1712: Last trial for witchcraft in England (Jane Wenham)
|
| 45 | 1714 | - 1714—1714: Longitude Act: prize of ?20,000 offered to the inventor of a workable method of
determining a ship's longitude (won by John Harrison in 1773 for his chronometer).
|
| 46 | 1726 | - 1726—1726: Invention of the chronometer by John Harrison
|
| 47 | 1731 | - 1731—1731: Invention of sextant by John Hadley
|
| 48 | 1733 | - 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in
Latin for a few years
|
| 49 | 1739 | - 7 Apr 1739—7 Apr 1739: Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York
|
| 50 | 1744 | - 1744—1744: Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
|
| 51 | 1746 | - 16 Apr 1746—16 Apr 1746: Battle of Culloden - last battle fought in Britain - 5,000 Highlanders routed by
the Duke of Cumberland and 9,000 loyalists Scots - Young Pretender Charles flees to
Continent, ending Jacobite hopes forever - the wearing of the kilt prohibited
|
| 52 | 1752 | - 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and
Scotland, making this Sep 14
|
| 53 | 1754 | - 1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be
used - Quakers & Jews exempt
|
| 54 | 1755 | - 1755—1755: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language' by Dr Samuel Johnson
|
| 55 | 1762 | - 1762—1762: Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
|
| 56 | 1764 | - 1764—1764: James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768)
|
| 57 | 1767 | - 1767—1767: Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
|
| 58 | 1768 | - 6 Dec 1768—6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica' published in Edinburgh by
William Smellie
|
| 59 | 1769 | - 1769—1769: Arkwright invents water frame (textile production)
|
| 60 | 1770 | - 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims
Australia for Britain
|
| 61 | 1776 | - 4 Jul 1776—4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence
|
| 62 | 1779 | - 1779—1779: First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson
|
| 63 | 1782 | - 1782—1782: James Watt patents his steam engine
|
| 64 | 1783 | - 3 Nov 1783—3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)
|
| 65 | 1784 | - 2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
|
| 66 | 1789 | - 28 Apr 1789—28 Apr 1789: Mutiny on HMS Bounty - Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift
and the rebel crew ends up on Pitcairn Island
|
| 67 | 1791 | - 4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper
|
| 68 | 1793 | - 11 Feb 1793—11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802)
|
| 69 | 1795 | - 1795—1795: Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy
|
| 70 | 1796 | - 14 May 1796—14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
|
| 71 | 1800 | - 1800—1800: Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy
|
| 72 | 1801 | - 24 Dec 1801—24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
|
| 73 | 1803 | - 23 Jul 1803—23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to
Croydon, horse-drawn)
|
| 74 | 1804 | - 21 Feb 1804—21 Feb 1804: Richard Trevithick runs his railway engine on the Penydarren Railway (9.5 miles
from Pen-y-Darren to Abercynon in South Wales) this hauled a train with 10 tons of
iron and 70 passengers. It was commemorated by the Royal Mint in 2004 in the form of
A ?2 coin.
|
| 75 | 1805 | - 21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
|
| 76 | 1812 | - Oct 1812—Oct 1812: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses
|
| 77 | 1815 | - 1815—1815: Davy develops the safety lamp for miners
- 18 Jun 1815—18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena
|
| 78 | 1823 | - 1823—1823: New laws concerning marriage by license ? 'very troublesome' according to some the Act was repealed all in a hurry at the beginning of the next session
|
| 79 | 1830 | - 15 Sep 1830—15 Sep 1830: George Stephenson's Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened by the Duke of
Wellington ? first mail carried by rail, and first death on the railway as William Huskisson, a
leading politician, is run over!
|
| 80 | 1834 | - 18 Mar 1834—18 Mar 1834: 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' transported (to Australia) for Trades Union activities
- 1 May 1834—1 May 1834: Slavery abolished in British possessions
|
| 81 | 1836 | - 1836—1836: First Potato famine in Ireland
|
| 82 | 1837 | - 1 Jul 1837—1 Jul 1837: Compulsory registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths in England & Wales -
Registration Districts were formed covering several parishes; initially they had the same
boundaries as the Poor Law boundaries set up in 1834
|
| 83 | 1840 | - 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
|
| 84 | 1841 | - 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
|
| 85 | 1843 | - 1843—1843: First Christmas card in England
|
| 86 | 1851 | - 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
|
| 87 | 1853 | - 1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
|
| 88 | 1854 | - 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
- 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
|
| 89 | 1859 | - 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
|
| 90 | 1862 | - 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
|
| 91 | 1863 | - 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
|
| 92 | 1865 | - 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
|
| 93 | 1868 | - 1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
|
| 94 | 1869 | - 1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
|
| 95 | 1870 | - 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
|
| 96 | 1872 | - 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
|
| 97 | 1874 | - 5 Apr 1874—5 Apr 1874: Birkenhead Park opened, said to be the first civic public park in the world - features of it later copied in Central Park, New York
|
| 98 | 1876 | - 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
|
| 99 | 1878 | - 1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
|
| 100 | 1880 | - 1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
|
| 101 | 1883 | - 27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883: Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave
|
| 102 | 1884 | - 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
|
| 103 | 1885 | - Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
|
| 104 | 1887 | - 1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
|
| 105 | 1888 | - 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
|
| 106 | 1889 | - 3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast
|
| 107 | 1891 | - 1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory
|
| 108 | 1893 | - 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
|
| 109 | 1895 | - Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
|
| 110 | 1897 | - 1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
|
| 111 | 1900 | - 1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
|
| 112 | 1901 | - 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner
- 12 Dec 1901—12 Dec 1901: First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse
code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
|
| 113 | 1902 | - 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
|
| 114 | 1906 | - 1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children
|
| 115 | 1907 | - 1907—1907: First airship flies over London
|
| 116 | 1908 | - 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress
|
| 117 | 1909 | - 25 Jul 1909—25 Jul 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
|
| 118 | 1912 | - 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives
|
| 119 | 1914 | - 4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason
|
| 120 | 1917 | - 7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government;
Lenin becomes Chief Commissar
|
| 121 | 1918 | - 1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
- 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic
|
| 122 | 1923 | - 16 Feb 1923—16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun
|
| 123 | 1926 | - 1926—1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain
|
| 124 | 1927 | - 1927—1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer)
|
| 125 | 1928 | - 1928—1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes
- 15 Sep 1928—15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
|
| 126 | 1929 | - 1929—1929: 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
|
| 127 | 1934 | - 1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany
- 18 Jul 1934—18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel
|
| 128 | 1936 | - 5 May 1936—5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire
|
| 129 | 1938 | - 30 Oct 1938—30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
|
| 130 | 1939 | - 3 Sep 1939—3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
|
| 131 | 1940 | - 15 Sep 1940—15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the
RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain
|
| 132 | 1941 | - 1941—1941: First use of antibiotics
|
| 133 | 1942 | - 6 Sep 1942—6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad
|
| 134 | 1944 | - 6 Jun 1944—6 Jun 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy
|
| 135 | 1945 | - 8 May 1945—8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe). Atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
|
| 136 | 1947 | - 1 Apr 1947—1 Apr 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain
|
| 137 | 1948 | - 5 Jul 1948—5 Jul 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain
|
| 138 | 1952 | - 2 May 1952—2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London
and Johannesburg
|
| 139 | 1953 | - 25 Apr 1953—25 Apr 1953: Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA
|
| 140 | 1954 | - 3 Jul 1954—3 Jul 1954: Food rationing officially ends in Britain
|
| 141 | 1955 | - 22 Sep 1955—22 Sep 1955: Commercial TV starts in Britain
|
| 142 | 1957 | - 25 May 1957—25 May 1957: Treaty of Rome to create European Economic Community (EEC) of six
countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg - became
operational Jan 1958
|
| 143 | 1959 | - 1 Nov 1959—1 Nov 1959: First section of M1 motorway opened
|
| 144 | 1962 | - 24 Oct 1962—24 Oct 1962: Cuba missile crisis - brink of nuclear war
|
| 145 | 1966 | - 30 Jul 1966—30 Jul 1966: World Cup won by England at Wembley (4-2 in extra time v West Germany)
|
| 146 | 1968 | - 29 May 1968—29 May 1968: Manchester United first English club to win the European Cup
|
| 147 | 1969 | - 17 Apr 1969—17 Apr 1969: Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
|
| 148 | 1971 | - 15 Feb 1971—15 Feb 1971: Decimalisation of coinage in UK and Republic of Ireland
|
| 149 | 1973 | - 1 Jan 1973—1 Jan 1973: Britain enters EEC Common Market (with Ireland and Denmark)
|
| 150 | 1978 | - 25 Jul 1978—25 Jul 1978: World's first 'test tube' baby, Louise Browne born in Oldham
|
| 151 | 1979 | - 4 May 1979—4 May 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman UK Prime Minister
|
| 152 | 1980 | - 8 Dec 1980—8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
|
| 153 | 1981 | - 29 Jul 1981—29 Jul 1981: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 28 Aug 1996)
|
| 154 | 1982 | - 28 May 1982—28 May 1982: First land battle in Falklands (Goose Green)
|
| 155 | 1986 | - 26 Apr 1986—26 Apr 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident - radiation reached Britain on 2 Ma
|
| 156 | 1988 | - 21 Dec 1988—21 Dec 1988: Lockerbie disaster - Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Scotland
|
| 157 | 1989 | - 9 Nov 1989—9 Nov 1989: Berlin Wall torn down
|
| 158 | 1990 | - 25 Apr 1990—25 Apr 1990: Hubble space telescope launched
|
| 159 | 1991 | - 1991—1991: The 'Internet' comes into existence
|
| 160 | 1993 | - Jul 1993—Jul 1993: Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
|
| 161 | 1994 | - 6 May 1994—6 May 1994: Channel Tunnel open to traffic
|
| 162 | 1996 | - 5 Jul 1996—5 Jul 1996: Scientists in Scotland clone a sheep (Dolly)
|
| 163 | 1997 | - 11 May 1997—11 May 1997: First time a computer beats a master at chess (IBM's Deep Blue v Garry
Kasparov)
|
| 164 | 1998 | - 27 Sep 1998—27 Sep 1998: 'Google' search engine founded
|
| 165 | 1999 | - 1 Jan 1999—1 Jan 1999: European Monetary Union begins - UK opts out - by the end of the year the
Euro has approximately the same value as the US Dollar
|
| 166 | 2002 | - 1 Jan 2002—1 Jan 2002: Twelve major countries in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Holland, Irish Republic,
Italy, Luxembourg, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal) and their
dependents start using the Euro instead of their old national currencies; the UK stays
out - the Euro worth 62?p at this time
|
| 167 | 2004 | - 1 May 2004—1 May 2004: Enlargement of the European Union to include 25 members by the entry of 10
new states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary,
Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus
|
| 168 | 2007 | - 1 Jul 2007—1 Jul 2007: Prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places in England (thus completing
cover of the entire UK)
|
Bef 1830 - 
