Timeline: Jon Matsson: Our Family History

	Date	Event(s)
1	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 1 May 1707—1 May 1707: English and Scottish Parliaments united by an Act of the English Parliament - The Kingdom of Great Britain established - largest free-trade area in Europe at the time
2	1708	1708—1708: First Jacobite rising in Scotland 1708—1708: Earliest Artillery Muster Rolls
3	1709	1709—1709: Second Eddystone lighthouse completed 1709—1709: First Copyright Act pass 1709—1709: Bad harvests throughout Europe - bread riots in Britain 2 Feb 1709—2 Feb 1709: Alexander Selkirk rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe (published in 1719) by Daniel Defoe
4	1710	1710—1710: Tax on Apprentice Indentures introduced
5	1711	1711—1711: Incorporation of South Sea Company, in London 11 Aug 1711—11 Aug 1711: First race meeting at Ascot
6	1712	1712—1712: Imposition of Soap Tax (abolished 1853) 1712—1712: Last trial for witchcraft in England (Jane Wenham) 1712—1712: Toleration Act passed - first relief to non-Anglicans
7	1713	1713—1713: By this year there are some 3,000 coffee houses in London
8	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). 1714—1714: Schism Act, prevents Dissenters from being schoolmasters in England 1714—1714: Landholders forced to take the Oath of Allegiance and renounce Roman Catholicism 1 Aug 1714—1 Aug 1714: Queen Anne Stuart dies - George I Hanover becomes king (1714-1727).
9	1715	1715—1715: Second Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, under the Old Pretender ('The Fifteen') 1 Aug 1715—1 Aug 1715: Riot Act passed
10	1716	1716—1716: The Septennial Act of Britain leads to greater electoral corruption - general elections now to be held once every 7 years instead of every 3 (until 1911) 1716—1716: Climate: Thames frozen so solid that a spring tide lifted the ice bodily 13ft without interrupting the frost fair
11	1717	1717—1717: First Masonic Lodge opens in London 1717—1717: Value of the golden guinea fixed at 21 shillings
12	1719	1719—1719: Third abortive Jacobite rising
13	1720	1720—1720: South Sea Bubble, a stock-market crash on Exchange Alley - government assumes control of National Debt 1720—1720: Manufacturing towns start to increase in population - rise of new wealth 1720—1720: Wallpaper becomes fashionable in England
14	1721	2 Apr 1721—2 Apr 1721: Robert Walpole (Whig) becomes first Prime Minister (to 1742)
15	1722	1722—1722: Last trial for witchcraft in Scotland 1722—1722: Knatchbull's Act, poor laws
16	1723	1723—1723: Excise tax levied for coffee, tea, and chocolate 1723—1723: The Waltham Black Acts add 50 capital offences to the penal code - people could be sentenced to death for theft and poaching - repealed in 1827 1723—1723: The Workhouse Act or Test - to get relief, a poor person has to enter Workhouse
17	1724	1724—1724: Rapid growth of gin drinking in England 1724—1724: Longman's founded (Britain's oldest publishing house)
18	1726	1726—1726: First circulating library opened in Edinburgh 1726—1726: Invention of the chronometer by John Harrison
19	1727	1727—1727: Board of Manufacturers established in Scotland 11 Jun 1727—11 Jun 1727: George I dies - George II Hanover becomes king
20	1729	9 Nov 1729—9 Nov 1729: Treaty of Seville signed between Britain, France and Spain - Britain maintained control of Port Mahon and Gibraltar
21	1730	1730—1730: Irish famine
22	1731	1731—1731: Invention of seed drill by Jethro Tull [others say 1701] 1731—1731: Invention of sextant by John Hadley
23	1732	7 Dec 1732—7 Dec 1732: Covent Garden Opera House opens
24	1733	1733—1733: Excise crisis: Sir Robert Walpole wanted to add excise tax to tobacco and wine - Pulteney and Bolingbroke oppose the excise tax 1733—1733: Law forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers generally obeyed - some continued in Latin for a few years 1733—1733: John Kay invents the flying shuttle, revolutionised the weaving industry
25	1734	1734—1734: Kent's Directory published
26	1737	1737—1737: Licensing Act restricts the number of London theatres and subects plays to censorship of the Lord Chamberlain (till 1950s)
27	1738	24 May 1738—24 May 1738: John Wesley has his conversion experience
28	1739	1739—1739: Wesley and Whitefield commence great Methodist revival 7 Apr 1739—7 Apr 1739: Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York 23 Oct 1739—23 Oct 1739: War of Jenkins' Ear starts: Robert Walpole reluctantly declares war on Spain
29	1741	1741—1741: Benjamin Ingham founded the Moravian Methodists or Inghamites - Earliest Moravian registers
30	1742	1742—1742: England goes to war with Spain - incited by William Pitt the Elder (Earl of Chatham) for the sake of trade
31	1743	16 Jun 1743—16 Jun 1743: (June 27 in Gregorian calendar): Battle of Dettingen - last time a British sovereign (George II) led troops in battle
32	1744	1744—1744: Tune 'God Save the King' makes its appearance
33	1745	1745—1745: Jacobite rebellion in Scotland ('The Forty-five') 19 Aug 1745—19 Aug 1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie (The Young Pretender) lands in the western Highlands - raises support among Episcopalian and Catholic clans - The Pretender's army invades Perth, Edinburgh, and England as far as Derby
34	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
35	1747	1747—1747: Abolition of Heritable Jurisdictions in Scotland 1747—1747: Act for Pacification of the Highlands
36	1749	27 Apr 1749—27 Apr 1749: First performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks (in Green Park, London)
37	1750	Feb 1750—Feb 1750: Series of earthquakes in London and the Home Counties cause panic with predictions of an apocalypse (Feb/Mar) 16 Nov 1750—16 Nov 1750: Original Westminster Bridge opened (replaced in 1862 due to subsidence)
38	1751	Mar 1751—Mar 1751: Chesterfield's Calendar Act passed - royal assent to the bill was given on 22 May 1751 - decision to adopt Gregorian Calendar in 1752: In and throughout all his
39	1752	1752—1752: Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning conductor 1 Jan 1752—1 Jan 1752: Beginning of the year 1752 [Scotland had adopted January as the start of the year in 1600, and some other countries in Europe had adopted the Gregorian calendar as early as 1582] 3 Sep 1752—3 Sep 1752: Julian Calendar dropped and Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and Scotland, making this Sep 14
40	1753	1753—1753: Private collection of Sir Hans Sloane forms the basis of the British Museum 1 May 1753—1 May 1753: Publication of ?Species Plantarum' by Linnaeus and the formal start date of plant taxonomy
41	1754	1754—1754: Hardwicke Act (1753): Banns to be called, and Printed Marriage Register forms to be used - Quakers & Jews exempt 1754—1754: In the General Election, the Cow Inn at Haslemere, Surrey caused a national scandal by subdividing the freehold to create eight votes instead of one 1754—1754: First British troops not belonging to the East India Company despatched to India 1754—1763: The French and Indian War
42	1755	1755—1755: Publication of Dictionary of the English Language' by Dr Samuel Johnson 1755—1755: Period of canal construction began in Britain (till 1827) 2 Dec 1755—2 Dec 1755: Second Eddystone Lighthouse destroyed by fire
43	1756	15 May 1756—15 May 1756: The Seven Years War with France (Pitt's trade war) begins Jun 1756—Jun 1756: Black Hole of Calcutta - 146 Britons imprisoned, most die according to British sources
44	1757	1757—1757: The foundation laid for the Empire of India 14 Mar 1757—14 Mar 1757: Admiral Byng shot at Portsmouth for failing to relieve Minorca 23 Jun 1757—23 Jun 1757: The Nawab of Bengal tries to expel the British, but is defeated at the battle of Plassey (Palashi, June 23) - the East India Company forces are led by Robert Clive
45	1758	1758—1758: India stops being merely a commercial venture - England begins dominating it politically - The East India Company retains its monopoly although it ceased to trade
46	1759	1759—1759: Wesley builds 356 Methodist chapels 15 Jan 1759—15 Jan 1759: British Museum opens to the public in London 16 Oct 1759—16 Oct 1759: Third Eddystone Lighthouse (John Smeaton's) completed
47	1760	1760—1760: Carron Iron Works in operation in Scotland 5 May 1760—5 May 1760: First use of hangman's drop 25 Oct 1760—25 Oct 1760: George II dies - George III Hanover, his grandson, becomes king. The date conventionally marks the start of the so-called first Industrial Revolution'
48	1761	16 Jan 1761—16 Jan 1761: British capture Pondicherry, India from the French
49	1762	1762—1762: Cigars introduced into Britain from Cuba
50	1763	1763—1763: Treaty of Paris - gives back to France everything Pitt fought to obtain - (Newfoundland [fishing], Guadaloupe and Martininque [sugar], Dakar [gum]) - but English displaces French as the international language
51	1764	1764—1764: Lloyd's Register of shipping first prepared 1764—1764: Practice of numbering houses introduced to London 1764—1764: James Hargeaves invents the Spinning Jenny (but destroyed 1768) 1764—1764: Mozart produces his first symphony at age eight
52	1765	1765—1765: The potato becomes the most popular food in Europe 22 Mar 1765—22 Mar 1765: Stamp Act passed - imposed a tax on publications and legal documents in the American colonies (repealed the following year)
53	1766	1766—1766: Start of 'composite' national records on rainfall in the UK 5 Dec 1766—5 Dec 1766: Christie's auction house founded in London by James Christie
54	1767	1767—1767: Newcomen's steam pumping engine perfected by James Watt
55	1768	9 Jan 1768—9 Jan 1768: Philip Astley starts his circus in London 6 Dec 1768—6 Dec 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica' published in Edinburgh by William Smellie
56	1769	1769—1769: Arkwright invents water frame (textile production) 1769—1769: Capt James Cook maps the coast of New Zealand 6 Sep 1769—6 Sep 1769: David Garrick organises first Shakespeare festival at Stratford-upon-Avon
57	1770	1770—1770: Clyde Trust created to convert the River Clyde, then an insignificant river, into a major thoroughfare for maritime communications 28 Apr 1770—28 Apr 1770: Capt James Cook lands in Australia (Botany Bay) ? Aug 21: formally claims Australia for Britain
58	1771	1771—1771: Right to report Parliamentary debates established in England
59	1772	1772—1772: First Travellers' Cheques issued by the London Credit Exchange Company 1772—1772: Morning Post' first published (until 1937) 14 May 1772—14 May 1772: Judge Mansfield rules that there is no legal basis for slavery in England
60	1774	13 Sep 1774—13 Sep 1774: Cook arrives on Easter Island
61	1775	19 Apr 1775—19 Apr 1775: Battle of Lexington: first action in American War of Independence (1775- 1783) 19 Apr 1775—3 Sep 1783: American Revolutionary War
62	1776	1776—1776: Somerset House in London becomes the repository of records of population 1776—1776: Watt and Boulton produce their first commercial steam engine 4 Jul 1776—4 Jul 1776: American Declaration of Independence 7 Sep 1776—7 Sep 1776: First attack on a warship by a submarine - David Bushnell's ?Turtle' attacked HMS Eagle in New York harbour. The attack was perhaps spectacular (a charge did detonate beneath the ship) but was nevertheless unsuccessful. 'Turtle' was a one man Affair man-powered [Les Moore]
63	1777	1777—1777: Samuel Miller of Southampton patents the circular saw.
64	1779	1779—1779: Marc Isambard Brunel opens the first steamdriven sawmill at Chatham Dockyard in Kent 1779—1779: First iron bridge built, over the Severn by John Wilkinson 1779—1779: First Spinning Mills operational in Scotland 14 Feb 1779—14 Feb 1779: Capt James Cook killed on Hawaii 23 Sep 1779—23 Sep 1779: Naval engagement between Britain and USA off Flamborough Head
65	1780	1780—1780: Male Servants Tax 1780—1780: The English Reform Movement - until now, only landowners and tenants (freeholders with 40 shillings per year or more) allowed to vote, and in open poll books 1780—1780: Fountain pen invented 1780—1780: About this time the word 'Quiz' entered the language, said to have been invented as a wager by Mr Daly, a Dublin theatre manager 4 May 1780—4 May 1780: First Derby run at Epsom (some say 2nd June) 2 Jun 1780—2 Jun 1780: Jun 2- 8: The Gordon Riots - Parliament passes a Roman Catholic relief measure - for days, London is at the mercy of a mob and destruction is widespread
66	1782	1782—1782: Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief - the way of life of the poor beginning to alter due to industrialisation - New factories in rapidly expanding towns required a workforce that would adjust to new work patterns 1782—1782: James Watt patents his steam engine
67	1783	1783—1783: Duty payable on Parish Register entries (3d per entry - repealed 1794) - led to a fall in entries! 3 Sep 1783—3 Sep 1783: Treaty of Versailles (Britain/US) 3 Nov 1783—3 Nov 1783: Last public execution at Tyburn in London (John Austin, a highwayman)
68	1784	1784—1784: Pitt's India Act - the Crown (as opposed to officers of the East India Company) has power to guide Indian politics 1784—1784: Wesley breaks with the Church of England 1784—1784: First golf club founded at St Andrews 1784—1784: Invention of threshing machine by Andrew Meikle 2 Aug 1784—2 Aug 1784: First mail coaches in England (4pm Bristol / 8am London)
69	1785	1785—1785: Sunday School Society founded to educate poor children (by 1851, enrols more than 2 million) 1785—1795: Northwest Indian War 1 Jan 1785—1 Jan 1785: John Walter publishes first edition of The Times (called The Daily Universal Register for 3 years)
70	1787	1787—1787: MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) established at Thomas Lord's ground in London
71	1788	1788—1788: First steamboat demonstrated in Scotland 1788—1788: Law passed requiring that chimney sweepers be a minimum of 8 years old (not enforced) 1788—1788: First slave carrying act, the Dolben Act of 1788, regulates the slave trade - stipulates more humane conditions on slave ships 1788—1788: King George III's mental illness occasions the Regency Crisis - Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox attack ministry of William Pitt - trying to obtain full regal powers for the Prince of Wales 1788—1788: Gibbon completes Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 26 Jan 1788—26 Jan 1788: First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New South Wales (left Portsmouth 13 May 1787) ? the 'First Fleet'; eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip
72	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 30 Apr 1789—4 Mar 1797: George Washington U.S. Presidency
73	1790	1790—1790: Forth and Clyde Canal opened in Scotland
74	1791	1791—1791: John Bell, printer, abandons the long s' (the 's' that looks like an 'f') 1791—1791: Establishment of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain 4 Dec 1791—4 Dec 1791: First publication of The Observer - world's oldest Sunday newspaper
75	1792	1792—1792: Repression in Britain (restrictions on freedom of the press) - Fox gets Libel Act through Parliament, requiring a jury and not a judge to determine libel 1792—1792: Boyle's Street Directory published 1792—1792: Coal-gas lighting invented by William Murdock, an Ayrshire Scot 1 Oct 1792—1 Oct 1792: Introduction of Money Orders in Britain 1 Dec 1792—1 Dec 1792: King's Proclamation drawing out the British militia
76	1793	11 Feb 1793—11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802) 15 Apr 1793—15 Apr 1793: ?5 notes first issued by the Bank of England
77	1794	1794—1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties 6 Oct 1794—6 Oct 1794: The prosecutor for Britain, Lord Justice Eyre, charges reformers with High Treason - he argued that, since reform of parliament would lead to revolution and revolution to executing the King, the desire for reform endangered the King's life and was therefore treasonous
78	1795	1795—1795: The Famine Year 1795—1795: Foundation of the Orange Order 1795—1795: Speenhamland Act proclaims that the Parish is responsible for bringing up the labourer's wage to subsistence level - towards the end of the eighteenth century, the number of poor and unemployed increased dramatically - price increases during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) far outstripped wage rises - many small farmers were bankrupted by the move towards enclosures and became landless labourers - their wages were often pitifully low 1795—1795: Pitt and Grenville introduce The Gagging Acts' or 'Two Bills' (the Seditious Meetings and Treasonable Practices Bills) - outlawed the mass meeting and the political lecture. 1795—1795: Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy
79	1796	1796—1796: Pitt's Reign of Terror': More treason trials - leading radicals emigrate 1796—1796: Legacy Tax on sums over ?20 excluding those to wives, children, parents and grandparents 14 May 1796—14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
80	1797	1797—1797: England in Crisis, Bank of England suspends cash payments 1797—1797: Mutinies in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore 1797—1797: Tax on newspapers (including cheap, topical journals) increased to repress radical publications 1797—1797: The first copper pennies were produced ('cartwheels') by application of steam power to the coining press 22 Feb 1797—22 Feb 1797: French invade Fishguard, Wales; last time UK invaded; all captured 2 days later 26 Feb 1797—26 Feb 1797: First ?1 (and ?2) notes issued by Bank of England 4 Mar 1797—4 Mar 1801: John Adams U.S. Presidency
81	1798	1798—1798: First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner Feb 1798—Feb 1798: The Irish Rebellion; 100,000 peasants revolt; approximately 25,000 die - Irish Parliament abolished (Feb-Oct) 7 Jul 1798—30 Sep 1800: Franco-American War 1 Aug 1798—1 Aug 1798: Battle of the Nile (won by Nelson)
82	1799	1799—1799: Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York 1799—1799: Foundation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain 9 Jan 1799—9 Jan 1799: Pitt brings in 10% income tax, as a wartime financial measure 12 Jul 1799—12 Jul 1799: 'Combination Laws' in Britain against political associations and combinations 15 Jul 1799—15 Jul 1799: ?Rosetta Stone' discovered in Egypt made possible the deciphering (in 1822) of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
83	1800	1800—1800: Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy 1800—1800: Use of high pressure steam pioneered by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) 1800—1800: Royal College of Surgeons founded 1800—1800: Herschel discovers infra-red light 1800—1800: Volta makes first electrical battery 2 Jul 1800—2 Jul 1800: Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland
84	1801	1801—1801: Grand Union Canal opens in England 1801—1801: Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London 1 Jan 1801—1 Jan 1801: Union Jack becomes the official British flag 4 Mar 1801—4 Mar 1809: Thomas Jefferson U.S. Presidency 10 Mar 1801—10 Mar 1801: First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural) 10 May 1801—10 Jun 1805: First Barbary War 24 Dec 1801—24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
85	1802	25 Mar 1802—25 Mar 1802: Treaty of Amiens signed by Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands ? the 'Peace of Amiens' as it was known brought a temporary peace of 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars ? one of its most important cultural effects was that travel and correspondence across the English Channel became possible again
86	1803	1803—1803: Poaching made a Capital offense in England if capture resisted 1803—1803: Richard Trevithick built another steam carriage and ran it in London as the first self-propelled vehicle in the capital and the first London bus 1803—1803: Semaphore signaling perfected by Admiral Popham 30 Apr 1803—30 Apr 1803: Louisiana Purchase: Napoleon sells French possessions in America to United States 12 May 1803—12 May 1803: Peace of Amiens ends ? resumption of war with France ? The Napoleonic Wars (1803-18l5) 23 Jul 1803—23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to Croydon, horse-drawn)
87	1804	1804—1804: Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed 'Australia' 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. 3 Mar 1804—3 Mar 1804: John Wedgwood (eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood) founds The Royal Horticultural Society 2 Dec 1804—2 Dec 1804: Napoleon declares himself Emperor of the French 12 Dec 1804—12 Dec 1804: Spain declares war on Britain
88	1805	1805—1805: London docks opened 21 Oct 1805—21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar 2 Dec 1805—2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians
89	1806	1806—1806: Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners) 9 Jan 1806—9 Jan 1806: Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London
90	1807	1807: Fulton's First Steamboat Voyage 25 Mar 1807—25 Mar 1807: Parliament passes Act prohibiting slavery and the importation of slaves from 1808 ? but does not prohibit colonial slavery
91	1808	1808—1808: Gas lighting in London streets 13 Jul 1808—13 Jul 1808: 'Hot Wednesday' ? temperature of 101?F in the shade recorded in London 20 Dec 1808—20 Dec 1808: Beethoven premieres his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy together in Vienna
92	1809	12 Feb 1809—12 Feb 1809: Birth of Charles Darwin 4 Mar 1809—4 Mar 1817: James Madison U.S. Presidency 18 Sep 1809—18 Sep 1809: Royal Opera House opens in London
93	1810	1810—1810: John McAdam begins road construction in England, giving his name to the process of road metalling
94	1811	5 Feb 1811—5 Feb 1811: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George III deemed insane
95	1812	11 May 1812—11 May 1812: Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, assassinated ? shot as he entered the House of Commons by a bankrupt Liverpool broker, John Bellingham, who was subsequently hanged 18 Jun 1812—18 Jun 1812: Start of American 'War of 1812' (to 1814) against England and Canada 18 Jun 1812—17 Feb 1815: War of 1812 Oct 1812—Oct 1812: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses
96	1813	1813—1813: Ireland: First recorded '12th of July' sectarian riots in Belfast 1813—1813: Jane Austen wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'
97	1814	1 Jan 1814—1 Jan 1814: Invasion of France by Allies 6 Apr 1814—6 Apr 1814: Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba 13 Aug 1814—13 Aug 1814: Convention of London signed, a treaty between the UK and the Dutch 24 Aug 1814—24 Aug 1814: The British burn the White House 29 Nov 1814—29 Nov 1814: 'The Times' first printed by a 'mechanical apparatus' (at 1100 sheets per hour) 24 Dec 1814—24 Dec 1814: Treaty of Ghent signed ending the 1812 war between Britain and the US
98	1815	1815—1815: Trial by Jury established in Scotland 1815—1815: Davy develops the safety lamp for miners 3 Mar 1815—5 Dec 1815: Second Barbary War 18 Jun 1815—18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena 18 Jun 1815: The Battle of Waterloo
99	1816	1816—1816: Income tax abolished 1816—1816: For the first time British silver coins were produced with an intrinsic value substantially below their face value ? the first official 'token' coinage 1816—1816: Climate: the 'year without a summer' ? followed a volcanic explosion of the mountain 'Tambora in Indonesia the previous year the biggest volcanic explosion in 10000 years 1816—1816: Large scale emigration to North America 1816—1816: Trans-Atlantic packet service begins
100	1817	1817—1817: March of the Manchester Blanketeers; Habeas Corpus suspended 1817—1817: Constable painted 'Flatford Mill' 4 Mar 1817—4 Mar 1825: James Monroe U.S. Presidency
101	1818	1818—1818: Manchester cotton spinners' strike 20 Oct 1818—20 Oct 1818: 'Convention of 1818' signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the US-Canada border on the 49th parallel for most of its length
102	1819	1819—1819: Primitive bicycle, the Dandy Horse, becomes popular 1819—1819: Britain returns to gold standard 1819—1819: Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles May 1819—May 1819: SS 'Savannah' first steamship to cross Atlantic reaching Liverpool 20 June 1819 (26 Days reaching Liverpool 20 June 1819 (26 Days mostly under sail) 16 Aug 1819—16 Aug 1819: Peterloo Massacre at Manchester ? a large, orderly group of 60,000 meets at St. Peter's Fields, Manchester ? demand Parliamentary Reform ? mounted troops charge on the meeting, killing 11 people and and maiming many others
103	1820	1820—1820: Cato Street Conspiracy ? plot to assissinate British cabinet 1820—1820: Abolition of the Spanish Inquisition 29 Jan 1820—29 Jan 1820: Accession of George IV, previously Prince Regent 1 Aug 1820—1 Aug 1820: Regent's Canal in London opens 17 Aug 1820—17 Aug 1820: Trial of Queen Caroline to prove her infidelities so George IV can divorce her ? George tries to secure a Bill of Pains and Penalties against her ? Caroline is virtually acquitted because bill passed by such a small majority of Lords
104	1821	1821—1821: Faraday publishes 'Principles of electro-magnetic rotation' 1821—1821: Constable paints 'The Hay Wain' 5 May 1821—5 May 1821: Napoleon Bonaparte dies on St Helena
105	1822	14 Jun 1822—14 Jun 1822: Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society
106	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 1823—1823: Peel begins penal reforms ? death penalty abolished for over 100 crimes 1823—1823: Rugby Football 'invented' at Rugby School 1823—1823: Rubberised waterproof material produced by MacIntosh 2 Dec 1823—2 Dec 1823: US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts (the 'Monroe Doctrine')
107	1824	1824—1824: RSPCA established 1824—1824: Portland cement patented 4 Mar 1824—4 Mar 1824: Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) founded (called the 'National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck' until 1854) 10 May 1824—10 May 1824: National Gallery in London opens to the public
108	1825	4 Mar 1825—4 Mar 1829: John Quincy Adams U.S. Presidency 27 Sep 1825—27 Sep 1825: Stockton to Darlington Railway opens ? world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains
109	1827	1827—1827: Ohm's Law published
110	1828	25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828: St Katharine Docks in London opened (designed by Thomas Telford)
111	1829	1829—1829: London Metropolitan Police Force formed, nicknamed 'Bobbies' after Sir Robert Peel 1829—1829: Louis Braille invents his system of finger-reading for the blind 4 Mar 1829—4 Mar 1837: Andrew Jackson U.S. Presidency 10 Jun 1829—10 Jun 1829: First Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race 6 Oct 1829—6 Oct 1829: George Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill trials (it was the only one to complete the trial!)
112	1830	1830—1830: Uprisings and agitation across Europe: the Netherlands are split into Holland and Belgium 1830: America's First Steam Locomotive Jul 1830—Jul 1830: Revolution in France, fall of Charles X and the Bourbons ? Louis Philippe (the Citizen King) on the throne 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!
113	1831	1831—1831: A list of all parish registers dating prior to 1813 compiled 1 Jun 1831—1 Jun 1831: James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole 1 Aug 1831—1 Aug 1831: 'New' London Bridge opens (replaced 1973) ? old bridge (which had existed for over 600 years) then demolished
114	1832	1832—1832: Electoral Registers introduced 1832—1832: Electric telegraph invented by Morse 6 Apr 1832—27 Aug 1832: Black Hawk War 7 Jun 1832—7 Jun 1832: Reform Bill passed ? Representation of the People Act
115	1833	Jan 1833—Jan 1833: Britain invades the Falkland Islands 29 Aug 1833—29 Aug 1833: Factory Act forbids employment of children below age of 9
116	1834	1834—1834: Babbage invents forerunner of the computer 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
117	1835	1835—1835: Christmas becomes a national holiday 1835—1835: First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway 2 Oct 1835—21 Apr 1836: Texas War of Independence
118	1836	1836—1836: First Potato famine in Ireland 30 Jan 1836—30 Jan 1836: Telford's Menai Straits Bridge opened ? considered the world's first modern suspension bridge 25 Feb 1836—25 Feb 1836: Samuel Colt patented the 'revolver' 6 Mar 1836—6 Mar 1836: The Alamo falls to Mexican troops - death of Davy Crockett Jul 1836—Jul 1836: Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
119	1837	1837—1837: Pitman introduces his shorthand system 1837—1837: P&O Founded 1837: Victoria Becomes Queen 4 Mar 1837—4 Mar 1841: Martin Van Buren U.S. Presidency 20 Jun 1837—20 Jun 1837: William IV dies - accession of Queen Victoria (to 1901) 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 13 Jul 1837—13 Jul 1837: Queen Victoria moves into the first Buckingham Palace 20 Jul 1837—20 Jul 1837: Euston Railway station opens - first in London
120	1838	28 Jun 1838—28 Jun 1838: Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey
121	1839	1839—1839: First Opium War between Britain and China (to 1842) - Britain captures Hong Kong 1839—1839: Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan refines the primitive bicycle adding a mechanical crank drive to the rear wheel,thus creating the first true 'bicycle' in the modern Sense 1839—1839: Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber
122	1840	1840—1840: Population Act relating to taking of censuses in Britain 1840—1840: Last convicts landed in NSW (some say 1842 or 1849, but these probably landed elsewhere) 10 Jan 1840—10 Jan 1840: Uniform Penny Postage introduced nationally
123	1841	1841—1841: Thomas Cook starts package tours 10 Feb 1841—10 Feb 1841: Penny Red replaces Penny Black postage stamp 4 Mar 1841—4 Apr 1841: William Henry Harrison U.S. Presidency 4 Apr 1841—4 Mar 1845: John Tyler U.S. Presidency 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841: June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
124	1842	1842—1842: Income Tax reintroduced in Britain 30 Mar 1842—30 Mar 1842: Ether used as an anesthetic for the first time (by Dr Crawford Long in America) 29 Aug 1842—29 Aug 1842: Treaty of Nanking - End of First Opium War - Britain gains Hong Kong
125	1843	1843—1843: First Christmas card in England 27 May 1843—27 May 1843: The Great Hall of Euston station opened in London 19 Jul 1843—19 Jul 1843: Brunel's 'Great Britain' launched
126	1844	6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844: YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
127	1845	1845—1845: Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham) 4 Mar 1845—4 Mar 1849: James K. Polk U.S. Presidency 17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845: The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
128	1846	25 Apr 1846—2 Feb 1848: Mexican-American War 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846: The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
129	1847	1847—1847: US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre Jan 1847—Jan 1847: An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)
130	1848	1848—1848: First commercial production of chewing gum 24 Jan 1848—24 Jan 1848: Gold found at Sutter's Mill, California - starts the California gold rush 11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848: Waterloo railway station in London opens
131	1849	1849—1849: Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally occurred in 1971! 4 Mar 1849—9 Jul 1850: Zachary Taylor U.S. Presidency
132	1850	9 Jul 1850—4 Mar 1853: Millard Fillmore U.S. Presidency
133	1851	1851—1851: Gold discovered in Australia 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
134	1852	1852—1852: Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement 1852—1852: Wells Fargo established in USA
135	1853	1853—1853: Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain 4 Mar 1853—4 Mar 1857: Franklin Pierce U.S. Presidency
136	1854	1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain 27 Mar 1854—27 Mar 1854: Britain declares war on Russia (Crimean War) 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
137	1856	1856—1856: End of Crimean War 29 Jan 1856—29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)
138	1857	1857—1857: Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable 4 Mar 1857—4 Mar 1861: James Buchanan U.S. Presidency
139	1858	1858—1858: 'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work 1858—1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
140	1859	1859—1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain 25 Apr 1859—25 Apr 1859: Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869) 4 May 1859—4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon and Cornwall 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
141	1860	29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
142	1861	4 Mar 1861—15 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln U.S. Presidency 12 Apr 1861—9 May 1865: American Civil War 25 May 1861—25 May 1861: American Civil War begins
143	1862	1862—1862: Lincoln issues first legal US paper money (Greenbacks) 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
144	1863	1863—1863: Football Association founded (UK) 1863—1863: Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
145	1864	1864—1864: A man-powered submarine, 'Hunley' sank a Federal steam ship USS Housatonic at the entrance to Charleston harbour in 1864 - the first recorded successful attack by a submarine on a surface ship 11 Mar 1864—11 Mar 1864: The Great Sheffield Flood - over 250 died when a new dam broke while it was being filled for the first time 20 Aug 1864—20 Aug 1864: Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention 8 Dec 1864—8 Dec 1864: Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon officially opened
146	1865	1865—1865: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) becomes first woman doctor in England [she later became the first woman mayor in England, in Aldeburgh 1908] 1865—1865: First concrete roads built in Britain 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth 15 Apr 1865—4 Mar 1869: Andrew Johnson U.S. Presidency 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865: William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
147	1867	1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867: The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
148	1868	1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
149	1869	1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented 4 Mar 1869—4 Mar 1877: Ulysses S. Grant U.S. Presidency 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
150	1870	1870—1870: GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised) 1870—1870: Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use 1870—1870: Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa 1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870: First British postcard - halfpenny post
151	1871	27 Mar 1871—27 Mar 1871: First Rugby Football international, England v Scotland, played in Edinburgh 29 Mar 1871—29 Mar 1871: Opening of Royal Albert Hall, London 29 Jun 1871—29 Jun 1871: Trades Unions legalised in Britain, but picketing made illegal
152	1872	1872—1872: Licensing hours introduced 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales) 4 Dec 1872—4 Dec 1872: American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean
153	1874	1874—1874: Factory Act introduces 56-hour week 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
154	1875	1875—1875: London's main sewage system completed 1 Jan 1875—1 Jan 1875: Midland Railway abolishes Second Class passenger facilities, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies followed during the rest of the year. (Third Class was renamed Second Class in 1956)
155	1876	14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876: Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
156	1877	1877—1877: Edison invents microphone and phonograph 4 Mar 1877—4 Mar 1881: Rutherford B. Hayes U.S. Presidency
157	1878	1878—1878: Edison & Swan invent electric lamp 1878—1878: Red Flag Act in Britain limits mechanical road vehicles to 4mph 1878—1878: CID established at New Scotland Yard
158	1879	18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879: Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
159	1880	1880—1880: Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds 1880—1880: Mosquito found to be the carrier of malaria 2 Aug 1880—2 Aug 1880: Greenwich Mean Time adopted throughout UK
160	1881	1881—1881: Postal Orders introduced 1881—1881: Flogging abolished in Army and Royal Navy 4 Mar 1881—19 Sep 1881: James A. Garfield U.S. Presidency Sep 1881—Sep 1881: Godalming in Surrey became the first town in England to have a public electricity supply installed (but in 1884 it reverted to gas lighting until 1904) 19 Sep 1881—4 Mar 1885: Chester A. Arthur U.S. Presidency 26 Oct 1881—26 Oct 1881: Gunfight at OK Corral
161	1882	1882—1882: Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed
162	1883	1883—1883: Statue of Liberty presented to USA by France 24 May 1883—24 May 1883: Brooklyn Bridge, New York opens (crosses East River) 1 Aug 1883—1 Aug 1883: Parcel post starts in Britain 27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883: Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave
163	1884	31 May 1884—31 May 1884: John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
164	1885	1885—1885: Carl Benz builds the 'Motorwagen', a single-cylinder motor car 1885—1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle 1885—1885: Eastman makes first coated photographic paper 1885—1885: Canadian Pacific Railway completed Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking 4 Mar 1885—4 Mar 1889: Grover Cleveland U.S. Presidency 5 Sep 1885—5 Sep 1885: The first train runs through the Severn Tunnel 29 Sep 1885—29 Sep 1885: First electric tramcar used at Blackpool
165	1886	20 Jan 1886—20 Jan 1886: Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales May 1886—May 1886: Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage later named 'Coca-Cola' 29 May 1886—29 May 1886: Putney Bridge opens in London
166	1887	1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
167	1888	1888—1888: Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace 1888—1888: Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year 1888—1888: County Councils set up in Britain 1888—1888: Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre 1888—1888: First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
168	1889	1889—1889: Celluloid film produced 1889—1889: Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies 4 Mar 1889—4 Mar 1893: Benjamin Harrison U.S. Presidency 31 Mar 1889—31 Mar 1889: Eiffel Tower completed (to mark centenary of French Revolution) 14 May 1889—14 May 1889: Children's charity NSPCC launched in London 3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast 28 Sep 1889—28 Sep 1889: Length of a metre defined
169	1890	4 Mar 1890—4 Mar 1890: Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build 4 Nov 1890—4 Nov 1890: City & South London Railway opens - London's first deep-level tube railway and first major railway in the world to use electric traction
170	1891	1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory 18 Mar 1891—18 Mar 1891: First telephone link between London & Paris 4 May 1891—4 May 1891: Fictional date when Sherlock Holmes throws Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, then disappears for 3 years! (published in 1893) 24 Aug 1891—24 Aug 1891: Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera
171	1892	1892—1892: Electric oven invented 1892—1892: Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's 6 Oct 1892—6 Oct 1892: Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
172	1893	1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented 4 Mar 1893—4 Mar 1897: Grover Cleveland U.S. Presidency
173	1894	1894—1894: Picture postcard introduced in Britain 1 Jan 1894—1 Jan 1894: Manchester Ship Canal opens 1 Mar 1894—1 Mar 1894: Blackpool Tower opens 30 Jun 1894—30 Jun 1894: Tower Bridge first opens 2 Aug 1894—2 Aug 1894: Death duties first introduced in Britain
174	1895	1895—1895: Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London 12 Jan 1895—12 Jan 1895: The National Trust founded in England 24 May 1895—24 May 1895: Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted 28 May 1895—28 May 1895: Oscar Wilde sent to prison 12 Jul 1895—12 Jul 1895: First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain 17 Oct 1895—17 Oct 1895: First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
175	1896	5 Apr 1896—5 Apr 1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens 2 Jun 1896—2 Jun 1896: Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
176	1897	1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector 4 Mar 1897—14 Sep 1901: William McKinley U.S. Presidency
177	1898	1898—1898: First photograph using artificial light 1898—1898: Zeppelin builds airship 1898—1898: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded 17 Mar 1898—17 Mar 1898: USS Holland launched, the first practical submarine 21 Apr 1898—13 Aug 1989: Spanish-American War 27 Jun 1898—27 Jun 1898: The first solo circumnavigation of the globe completed at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray (started from Boston, Mass on Apr 24, 1895)
178	1899	4 Feb 1899—2 Jul 1902: Philippine-American War 6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899: Start of Second Boer War 18 Oct 1899—7 Sep 1901: Boxer Rebellion
179	1900	1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years 1900—1900: Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified 1900—1900: Escalator shown at Paris exhibition 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900: Davis Cup tennis competition established 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900: Labour Party formed
180	1901	1901—1901: Commonwealth of Australia founded 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner 22 Jan 1901—22 Jan 1901: Queen Victoria dies - Edward VII king 2 Feb 1901—2 Feb 1901: Queen Victoria's funeral - interred beside Prince Albert in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park Jun 1901—Jun 1901: Denunciation of use of concentration camps by British in Boer War 14 Sep 1901—4 Mar 1909: Theodore Roosevelt U.S. Presidency 2 Oct 1901—2 Oct 1901: Britain's first submarine launched 12 Dec 1901—12 Dec 1901: First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
181	1902	1902—1902: Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education 1902—1902: Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity 24 May 1902—24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated 31 May 1902—31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War 9 Aug 1902—9 Aug 1902: Coronation of Edward VII
182	1903	1903—1903: Workers' Education Association (WEA) formed in Britain 1903—1903: Women's Social and Political Union formed in Britain by Emmeline Pankhurst 1903—1903: Henry Ford sets up his motor company 14 Dec 1903—14 Dec 1903: First flight of Wilbur & Orville Wright 17 Dec 1903: First Flight
183	1904	1904—1904: Leeds University established 8 Apr 1904—8 Apr 1904: France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale 4 May 1904—4 May 1904: America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
184	1905	1905—1905: The title 'Prime Minister' noted in a royal warrant for the first time - placed the Prime Minister in order of precedence in Britain immediately after the Archbishop of York 1905—1905: Aliens Act in Britain: Home Office controls immigration 1905—1905: Germany lays down the first Dreadnought battleship 11 Apr 1905—11 Apr 1905: Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity
185	1906	1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children 10 Feb 1906—10 Feb 1906: Launching of HMS Dreadnought, first turbine-driven battleship 15 Mar 1906—15 Mar 1906: Rolls-Royce Ltd registered 26 May 1906—26 May 1906: Vauxhall Bridge opened in London 20 Sep 1906—20 Sep 1906: Launching of Cunard's RMS Mauretania on the Tyne
186	1907	1907—1907: New Zealand becomes a Dominion 1907—1907: Imperial College, London, is established 1907—1907: First airship flies over London 1907—1907: Lumiere develops a process for colour photography Jul 1907—Jul 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated 1 Aug 1907—1 Aug 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island 9 Nov 1907—9 Nov 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
187	1908	1908—1908: Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day 1908—1908: Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain 1908—1908: Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement 1908: Model T 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress 12 Aug 1908—12 Aug 1908: First 'Model T' Ford made
188	1909	1909—1909: Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges 1909—1909: Peary reaches the north pole 1909—1909: First commercial manufacture of Bakelite - start of the plastic age 1 Jan 1909—1 Jan 1909: Old Age Pensions Act came into force 16 Jan 1909—16 Jan 1909: Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole 4 Mar 1909—4 Mar 1913: William Howard Taft U.S. Presidency 15 Mar 1909—15 Mar 1909: Selfridges department store opens in London 25 Jul 1909—25 Jul 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
189	1910	1910—1910: Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain 1910—1910: Constitutional crisis in Britain 1910—1910: Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville 1910—1910: Madame Curie isolates radium 1910—1910: Halley's comet reappears 1910—1910: Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe 6 May 1910—6 May 1910: Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
190	1911	1911—1911: Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords 1911—1911: British MPs receive a salary 1911—1911: First British Official Secrets Act 1911—1911: Rutherford: theory of atomic structures 1911—1911: Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912) 2 Apr 1911—2 Apr 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911: Coronation of George V 14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
191	1912	1912—1912: Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain 1912—1912: Britain nationalises the telephone system 1912—1912: Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' - hoax, exposed in 1953 18 Jan 1912—18 Jan 1912: Captain Scott's last expedition - he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives 15 Apr 1912: Titanic Sinks 13 May 1912—13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
192	1913	1913—1913: Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords - threat of civil war in Ireland - formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule 1913—1913: Suffragette demonstrations in London - Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned 1913—1913: Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes 1913—1913: Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield 1913—1913: Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity 4 Mar 1913—4 Mar 1921: Woodrow Wilson U.S. Presidency 4 Jun 1913—4 Jun 1913: Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby and dies
193	1914	1914—1914: Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster to be decided after the War 1914—1914: Chaplin and De Mille make their first films 28 Jun 1914—28 Jun 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo 28 Jul 1914—11 Nov 1918: World War I 4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason 5 Aug 1914—5 Aug 1914: British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph links to the outside world 15 Aug 1914—15 Aug 1914: Panama Canal opened, the Canal cement boat 'Ancon' making the first official transit (plans for a grand opening were cancelled due to the start of WW1) Oct 1914—Oct 1914: Battle of Ypres - beginning of trench warfare on western front 27 Nov 1914—27 Nov 1914: First policewoman goes on duty in Britain 16 Dec 1914—16 Dec 1914: German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
194	1915	1915—1915: Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane 1915—1915: First automatic telephone exchange in Britain 19 Jan 1915—19 Jan 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia - four killed Feb 1915—Feb 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain starts Apr 1915—Apr 1915: Second Battle of Ypres - poison gas used for first time 25 Apr 1915—25 Apr 1915: Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916) 7 May 1915—7 May 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland - 1,198 died 16 May 1915—16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
195	1916	1916—1916: Compulsory military service introduced in Britain Feb 1916—Feb 1916: Battle of Verdun - appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues 24 Apr 1916—24 Apr 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland - after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs independence 21 May 1916—21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK 31 May 1916—31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland - only major naval battle between the British and German fleets 5 Jun 1916—5 Jun 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener 3 Aug 1916—3 Aug 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason 15 Sep 1916—15 Sep 1916: First use of tanks in battle, but of limited effect (Battle of the Somme 1 July to 18 Nov: over 1 million casualties) 7 Dec 1916—7 Dec 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
196	1917	1917—1917: Battle of Cambrai - first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual 1917—1917: Ministry of Labour is established in Britain Feb 1917—Feb 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates 16 Apr 1917—16 Apr 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile 17 Apr 1917—17 Apr 1917: USA declares war on Germany 26 May 1917—26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal proclamation on 17 July) Jul 1917—Jul 1917: Battle of Passchendaele - little gained by either side (Jul-Nov) 7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government; Lenin becomes Chief Commissar 6 Dec 1917—6 Dec 1917: Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, one of the world's largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to date: a ship loaded with wartime explosives blew up after a collision, obliterating buildings and structures within two square kilometres of the explosion 9 Dec 1917—9 Dec 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
197	1918	1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons) 1918—1918: War of Independence in Ireland 18 Jan 1918—18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic Jul 1918—Jul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug) 1 Oct 1918—1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus 11 Nov 1918—11 Nov 1918: Armistice signed Dec 1918—Dec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein member refused to take her seat
198	1919	1919—1919: Britain adopts a 48-hour working week 1919—1919: Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom 15 Jun 1919—15 Jun 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic 28 Jun 1919—28 Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
199	1920	1920—1920: Regular cross-channel air service starts 1920—1920: Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain 1920—1920: Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun) Feb 1920—Feb 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK - opened by the Automobile Association at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
200	1921	1921—1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained 1921—1921: Insulin discovery announced 1921—1921: First birth control clinic 4 Mar 1921—2 Aug 1923: Warren G. Harding U.S. Presidency 19 Jun 1921—19 Jun 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 6 Dec 1921—6 Dec 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
201	1922	1922—1922: Law of Property Act - the manorial system effectively ended 1 Jun 1922—1 Jun 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary founded Oct 1922—Oct 1922: BBC established as a monopoly, and begins transmissions in November (2LO in London on 14 Nov; 5IT in Birmingham and 2ZY in Manchester on 15 Nov)
202	1923	1923—1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers 1923—1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way 1923—1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain 1 Jan 1923—1 Jan 1923: 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—16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun 28 Apr 1923—28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem 2 Aug 1923—4 Mar 1929: Calvin Coolidge U.S. Presidency 28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
203	1924	4 Jan 1924—4 Jan 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald 5 Feb 1924—5 Feb 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast by the BBC 31 Mar 1924—31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
204	1925	1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard 18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
205	1926	1926—1926: First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird 1926—1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain 1926—1926: Kodak produces 16mm movie film 1926—1926: Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood 21 Apr 1926—21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth born 3 May 1926—3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more) 31 Oct 1926—31 Oct 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
206	1927	1927—1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer) 7 Jan 1927—7 Jan 1927: First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London 22 Jan 1927—22 Jan 1927: First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury) 1 May 1927—1 May 1927: First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from London to Paris 20 May 1927—20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33? hours 31 May 1927—31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line 24 Jul 1927—24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
207	1928	1928—1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes 26 Apr 1928—26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London 15 Sep 1928—15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
208	1929	1929—1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain 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 1929—1929: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions 4 Mar 1929—4 Mar 1933: Herbert Hoover U.S. Presidency
209	1930	1930—1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag 1930—1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain 30 Jan 1930—30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany 31 Jan 1930—31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape 6 Mar 1930—6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas 5 Oct 1930—5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
210	1931	1931—1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states 1931—1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close 14 Apr 1931—14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued 26 Apr 1931—26 Apr 1931: 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—21 Oct 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis - Britain comes off gold standard
211	1932	1932—1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London 1932—1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists 1932—1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus 1932—1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra 21 May 1932—21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
212	1933	1933—1933: ICI scientists discover polythene 1933—1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year 4 Mar 1933—12 Apr 1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. Presidency 12 Nov 1933—12 Nov 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
213	1934	1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany 18 Jul 1934—18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel 26 Sep 1934—26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched 30 Nov 1934—30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
214	1935	1935—1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme 1935—1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell 28 Feb 1935—28 Feb 1935: 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—12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas in Britain 1 Jun 1935—1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK 30 Jul 1935—30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
215	1936	1936—1936: Jet engine first tested 20 Jan 1936—20 Jan 1936: George V dies 5 May 1936—5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire 24 Jul 1936—24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK 2 Nov 1936—2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's first public TV transmission 30 Nov 1936—30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire 5 Dec 1936—5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) - popular carol that Christmas: 'Hark the Herald Angels sing Mrs Simpson's got our King'
216	1937	1937—1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London 1937—1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp 12 Apr 1937—12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft 12 May 1937—12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI 28 May 1937—28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister - policy of appeasement towards Hitler 3 Jun 1937—3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson 4 Dec 1937—4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
217	1938	1938—1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain 1938—1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar 1938—1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro 12 Mar 1938—12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria 3 Jul 1938—3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive 27 Sep 1938—27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank 29 Sep 1938—29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time' 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
218	1939	1939—1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia 1939—1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London 1939—1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time 1 Sep 1939—1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland 1 Sep 1939—2 Sep 1945: World War II 3 Sep 1939—3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany 6 Sep 1939—6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain 11 Sep 1939—11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France 14 Oct 1939—14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives 7 Dec 1939—7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships 17 Dec 1939—17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
219	1940	1 Apr 1940—1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd 11 May 1940—11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill 13 May 1940—13 May 1940: Germany invades France 27 May 1940—27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun) 25 Jun 1940—25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany 7 Sep 1940—7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing 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 14 Nov 1940—14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
220	1941	1941—1941: Britain introduces severe rationing 1941—1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle 1941—1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge 1941—1941: First use of antibiotics 10 May 1941—10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland 27 May 1941—27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk 22 Jun 1941—22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa) 1 Jul 1941—1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain Dec 1941—Dec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England Dec 1941—Dec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America 7 Dec 1941—7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour 8 Dec 1941—8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII 24 Dec 1941—24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
221	1942	1942—1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with Max Neumann - used to crack German codes 1942—1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam 30 May 1942—30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne 4 Jun 1942—4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway 19 Aug 1942—19 Aug 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops 6 Sep 1942—6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad 3 Oct 1942—3 Oct 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany - first man-made object to reach space 23 Oct 1942—23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery defeats Rommel 2 Dec 1942—2 Dec 1942: 'Manhattan Project' - a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
222	1943	1943—1943: Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins 16 May 1943—16 May 1943: 'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF 24 Jul 1943—24 Jul 1943: Allies invade Italy - Benito Mussolini resigns as Italian Dictator, 24 July
223	1944	6 Apr 1944—6 Apr 1944: PAYE income tax begins 4 Jun 1944—4 Jun 1944: Allies enter Rome 6 Jun 1944—6 Jun 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy 12 Jun 1944—12 Jun 1944: First V1 flying bombs hit London 8 Sep 1944—8 Sep 1944: First V2 rocket bombs hit London 11 Sep 1944—11 Sep 1944: Allies enter Germany 16 Dec 1944—16 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
224	1945	4 Feb 1945—4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin 29 Mar 1945—29 Mar 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack 12 Apr 1945—20 Jan 1953: Harry S. Truman U.S. Presidency 25 Apr 1945—25 Apr 1945: Berlin surrounded by Russian troops 30 Apr 1945—30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide 8 May 1945—8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe) 9 May 1945—9 May 1945: Channel Islands liberated 26 Jun 1945—26 Jun 1945: UN Charter signed in San Francisco 16 Jul 1945—16 Jul 1945: 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—26 Jul 1945: Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office 29 Jul 1945—29 Jul 1945: BBC Light Programme starts 6 Aug 1945—6 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima 9 Aug 1945—9 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki 15 Aug 1945—15 Aug 1945: VJ Day (Victory in Japan) 2 Sep 1945—2 Sep 1945: Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri 24 Oct 1945—24 Oct 1945: United Nations Organisation comes into existence 4 Nov 1945—4 Nov 1945: UNESCO founded
225	1946	1946—1946: Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948) 1946—1946: Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004 1 Jan 1946—1 Jan 1946: First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport 1 Mar 1946—1 Mar 1946: Bank of England nationalised
226	1947	1947—1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much flooding later 1947—1947: First British nuclear reactor developed 1 Jan 1947—1 Jan 1947: Coal Mines nationalised 23 Feb 1947—23 Feb 1947: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded 1 Mar 1947—1 Mar 1947: International Monetary Fund begins financial operations 1 Apr 1947—1 Apr 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain 26 Oct 1947—26 Oct 1947: British military occupation ends in Iraq 20 Nov 1947—20 Nov 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey
227	1948	1948—1948: British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports 1948—1948: Transistor radio invented 1948—1948: Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark 1 Jan 1948—1 Jan 1948: British Railways nationalised 5 Jul 1948—5 Jul 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain 29 Jul 1948—29 Jul 1948: London Olympics begin
228	1949	1949—1949: Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap) 1949—1949: De Haviland produces the Comet - first jet airliner 15 Mar 1949—15 Mar 1949: Clothes rationing ends in Britain 4 Apr 1949—4 Apr 1949: Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO
229	1950	19 May 1950—19 May 1950: Points rationing ends in Britain 26 May 1950—26 May 1950: Petrol rationing ends in Britain 25 Jun 1950—27 Jul 1953: Korean War 11 Jul 1950—11 Jul 1950: 'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV 9 Sep 1950—9 Sep 1950: Soap rationing ends in Britain 28 Dec 1950—28 Dec 1950: The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
230	1951	3 May 1951—3 May 1951: Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London 28 May 1951—28 May 1951: First Goon Show broadcast 20 Dec 1951—20 Dec 1951: Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
231	1952	1952—1952: Contraceptive pill invented 1952—1952: Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia 1952—1952: Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects 1952—1952: Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany 6 Feb 1952—6 Feb 1952: King George VI dies 21 Feb 1952—21 Feb 1952: Identity Cards abolished in Britain 2 May 1952—2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London and Johannesburg 5 Jul 1952—5 Jul 1952: Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross) 16 Aug 1952—16 Aug 1952: Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster 6 Sep 1952—6 Sep 1952: DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed 3 Oct 1952—3 Oct 1952: End of tea rationing in Britain 1 Nov 1952—1 Nov 1952: 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—25 Nov 1952: Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London 4 Dec 1952—4 Dec 1952: Great smog hits London
232	1953	20 Jan 1953—20 Jan 1961: Dwight D. Eisenhower U.S. Presidency 31 Jan 1953—31 Jan 1953: 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—5 Feb 1953: Sweet rationing ends in Britain 5 Mar 1953—5 Mar 1953: Death of Stalin 26 Mar 1953—26 Mar 1953: Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine 24 Apr 1953—24 Apr 1953: Winston Churchill knighted 25 Apr 1953—25 Apr 1953: Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA 2 Jun 1953—2 Jun 1953: Coronation of Elizabeth II 26 Sep 1953—26 Sep 1953: Sugar rationing ends in Britain (after nearly 14 years)
233	1954	1954—1954: First comprehensive school opens in London 1954—1954: Routemaster bus starts operating in London 1954—1954: First transistor radios sold 6 May 1954—6 May 1954: First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs) 3 Jul 1954—3 Jul 1954: Food rationing officially ends in Britain 5 Jul 1954—5 Jul 1954: BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin 30 Sep 1954—30 Sep 1954: First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
234	1955	1955—1955: 'Mole' self-grip wrench patented by Thomas Coughtrie of Mole & Sons 27 Jul 1955—27 Jul 1955: Jul 27: Allied occupation of Austria (after WW2) ends 22 Sep 1955—22 Sep 1955: Commercial TV starts in Britain
235	1956	1956—1956: Britain constructs world's first large-scale nuclear power station in Cumberland 1 Mar 1956—1 Mar 1956: Radiotelephony spelling alphabet introduced (Alpha, Bravo, etc) 17 Apr 1956—17 Apr 1956: Premium Bonds first launched - first prizes drawn on 1 Jun 1957 3 Jun 1956—3 Jun 1956: 3rd class travel abolished on British Railways (renamed 'Third Class' as 'Second Class', which had been abolished in 1875 leaving just First and Third Class) 31 Oct 1956—31 Oct 1956: Britain and France invade Suez
236	1957	1957—1957: Britain introduces parking meters 1957—1957: Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland) 11 Jan 1957—11 Jan 1957: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister 14 May 1957—14 May 1957: Post-Suez petrol rationing ends 15 May 1957—15 May 1957: Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island 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 4 Dec 1957—4 Dec 1957: Lewisham rail disaster - 90 killed as two trains collide in thick fog and a viaduct collapses on top of them 25 Dec 1957—25 Dec 1957: Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
237	1958	1958—1958: Easter: First anti-nuclear protest march to Aldermaston (emergence of CND) 1958—1958: Computers begin to be used in research, industry and commerce 1958—1958: USA begins to produce Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) 13 May 1958—13 May 1958: Velcro trade mark registered 26 Jul 1958—26 Jul 1958: Prince Charles' Investiture as 'Prince of Wales' 5 Dec 1958—5 Dec 1958: Inauguration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) in Britain (completed in 1979) 5 Dec 1958—5 Dec 1958: Preston by-pass opens - UK's first stretch of motorway
238	1959	3 Feb 1959—3 Feb 1959: 'The Day The Music Died' - plane crash kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper 17 Feb 1959—17 Feb 1959: Vanguard 2 satellite launched - first to measure cloud-cover distribution 24 May 1959—24 May 1959: Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day Aug 1959—Aug 1959: BMC Mini car launched 26 Sep 1959—30 Apr 1975: Vietnam War 3 Oct 1959—3 Oct 1959: Postcodes introduced in Britain 1 Nov 1959—1 Nov 1959: First section of M1 motorway opened
239	1960	17 Mar 1960—17 Mar 1960: New ?1 notes issued by Bank of England 18 Mar 1960—18 Mar 1960: Last steam locomotive of British Railways named 21 Jul 1960—21 Jul 1960: Francis Chichester arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II (took 40 days), winning the first single-handed transatlantic yacht race which he co-founded 12 Aug 1960—12 Aug 1960: Echo I, the first (passive) communications satellite, launched 12 Sep 1960—12 Sep 1960: MoT tests on motor vehicles introduced 1 Oct 1960—1 Oct 1960: HMS 'Dreadnought' nuclear submarine launched 2 Nov 1960—2 Nov 1960: Penguin Books found not guilty of obscenity in the 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' case
240	1961	1 Jan 1961—1 Jan 1961: Farthing ceases to be legal tender in UK 20 Jan 1961—22 Nov 1963: John F. Kennedy U.S. Presidency 13 Mar 1961—13 Mar 1961: Black & White ?5 notes cease to be legal tender 14 Mar 1961—14 Mar 1961: New English Bible (New Testament) published 1 May 1961—1 May 1961: Betting shops legal in Britain
241	1962	1962—1962: Britain passes Commonwealth Immigrants Act to control immigration 1962—1962: Thalidomide withdrawn after it causes deformities in babies 1962—1962: Britain and France agree to construct 'Concorde' 25 May 1962—25 May 1962: Consecration of new Coventry Cathedral (old destroyed in WW2 blitz) 15 Jun 1962—15 Jun 1962: First nuclear generated electricity to supplied National Grid (from Berkeley Glos) Jul 1962—Jul 1962: First passenger-carrying hovercraft enters service, along the North Wales Coast from Moreton to Rhyl 10 Jul 1962—10 Jul 1962: First TV transmission between US and Europe (Telstar) - first live broadcast on 23 Jul 24 Oct 1962—24 Oct 1962: Cuba missile crisis - brink of nuclear war
242	1963	1963—1963: France vetoes Britain's entry into EEC Jan 1963—Jan 1963: Cold weather forces cancellation of most football matches (only 4 English First Division matches in the month) - the first 'pools panel' created 27 Mar 1963—27 Mar 1963: Beeching Report on British Railways (the 'Beeching Axe') 1 Aug 1963—1 Aug 1963: Minimum prison age raised to 17 8 Aug 1963—8 Aug 1963: 'Great Train Robbery' on Glasgow to London mail train 17 Sep 1963—17 Sep 1963: Fylingdales (Yorks) early warning system operational 18 Nov 1963—18 Nov 1963: Dartford Tunnel opens 22 Nov 1963—20 Jan 1969: Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. Presidency 23 Nov 1963—23 Nov 1963: First episode of 'Dr Who' on BBC TV
243	1964	1 Jan 1964—1 Jan 1964: First 'Top of the Pops' on BBC TV 9 Apr 1964—9 Apr 1964: First Greater London Council (GLC) election 21 Apr 1964—21 Apr 1964: BBC2 TV launched 22 Aug 1964—22 Aug 1964: 'Match of the Day' starts on BBC2 4 Sep 1964—4 Sep 1964: Forth road bridge opens
244	1965	1965—1965: Britain enacts first Race Relations Act 7 Feb 1965—7 Feb 1965: First US raids against North Vietnam 7 Apr 1965—7 Apr 1965: Winston Churchill dies 1 Aug 1965—1 Aug 1965: TV cigarette advertising banned in Britain 8 Oct 1965—8 Oct 1965: Post Office Tower operational in London 28 Oct 1965—28 Oct 1965: Death penalty for murder suspended in Britain for five-year trial period, then abolished 18 Dec 1969 22 Dec 1965—22 Dec 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced on British roads
245	1966	14 Feb 1966—14 Feb 1966: Australia converts from ? to $ 3 May 1966—3 May 1966: 'The Times' begins to print news on its front page in place of classified Advertisements 30 Jul 1966—30 Jul 1966: World Cup won by England at Wembley (4-2 in extra time v West Germany) 8 Sep 1966—8 Sep 1966: First Severn road bridge opens 21 Oct 1966—21 Oct 1966: Aberfan disaster - slag heap slip kills 144, incl. 116 children 1 Dec 1966—1 Dec 1966: First Christmas stamps issued in Britain
246	1967	4 Jan 1967—4 Jan 1967: Donald Campbell dies attempting to break his world water speed record on Conniston Water - his body and Bluebird recovered in 2002 18 Mar 1967—18 Mar 1967: 'Torrey Canyon' oil tanker runs aground off Lands End first major oil spill 28 May 1967—28 May 1967: Francis Chichester arrives in Plymouth after solo circumnavigation in Gipsy Moth IV (he was knighted 7th July at Greenwich by the queen using the sword with which Elizabeth I had knighted Sir Francis Drake four centuries earlier 27 Jun 1967—27 Jun 1967: First withdrawal from a cash dispenser (ATM) in Britain - at Enfield branch of Barclays 1 Jul 1967—1 Jul 1967: First colour TV in Britain 14 Aug 1967—14 Aug 1967: Offshore pirate radio stations declared illegal by the UK 20 Sep 1967—20 Sep 1967: 'QE2' launched on Clydebank 27 Sep 1967—27 Sep 1967: 'Queen Mary' arrives Southampton at end of her last transatlantic voyage 30 Sep 1967—30 Sep 1967: BBC Radios 1 2 3 & 4 open first record played on Radio 1 was the controversial 'Flowers in the Rain' by 'The Move' 5 Oct 1967—5 Oct 1967: Introduction of majority verdicts in English courts
247	1968	18 Feb 1968—18 Feb 1968: British Standard Time introduced - Summer Time became permanent but arguments prevailed and Britain reverted to GMT in October 1971 18 Apr 1968—18 Apr 1968: London Bridge sold (and eventually moved to Arizona) - modern London Bridge, built around it as it was demolished, was opened in Mar 1973 20 Apr 1968—20 Apr 1968: Enoch Powell 'Rivers of Blood' speech on immigration 23 Apr 1968—23 Apr 1968: Issue of 5p and 10p decimal coins in Britain 29 May 1968—29 May 1968: Manchester United first English club to win the European Cup 11 Aug 1968—11 Aug 1968: Last steam passenger train service ran in Britain (Carlisle- Liverpool) 16 Sep 1968—16 Sep 1968: Two-tier postal rate starts in Britain 5 Oct 1968—5 Oct 1968: Beginning of disturbances in N Ireland
248	1969	20 Jan 1969—9 Aug 1974: Richard Nixon U.S. Presidency 2 Mar 1969—2 Mar 1969: Maiden flight of 'Concorde', at Toulouse 7 Mar 1969—7 Mar 1969: Victoria Line tube opens in London 17 Apr 1969—17 Apr 1969: Voting age lowered from 21 to 18 2 May 1969—2 May 1969: Maiden voyage of liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) 20 Jul 1969: Apollo 11 Moon Landing 31 Jul 1969—31 Jul 1969: Halfpenny ceases to be legal tender in Britain 14 Aug 1969—14 Aug 1969: Civil disturbances in Ulster - Britain sends troops to support civil authorities 7 Sep 1969—7 Sep 1969: First episode of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' recorded 14 Oct 1969—14 Oct 1969: 50p coin introduced in Britain (reduced in size 1998)
249	1970	1970—1970: Boeing 747 (Jumbo jet) goes into service 17 Jun 1970—17 Jun 1970: Decimal postage stamps first issued for sale in Britain 19 Jun 1970—19 Jun 1970: Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister 30 Jul 1970—30 Jul 1970: Damages awarded to Thalidomide victims 19 Sep 1970—19 Sep 1970: First Glastonbury Festival held 20 Nov 1970—20 Nov 1970: Ten shilling note (50p after decimalisation) goes out of circulation in Britain
250	1971	1971—1971: Banking and Financial Dealings Act - replaced the Bank Holidays Act of 1871 1971—1971: Sunday becomes the seventh day in the week as UK adopts decision of the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) to call Monday the first day 1971—1971: 'Greenpeace' founded 1971—1971: Rolls-Royce declared bankrupt 3 Jan 1971—3 Jan 1971: Open University starts 15 Feb 1971—15 Feb 1971: Decimalisation of coinage in UK and Republic of Ireland 9 Aug 1971—9 Aug 1971: Internment without trial introduced in N Ireland 28 Oct 1971—28 Oct 1971: Parliament votes to join Common Market (joined 1973) 28 Oct 1971—28 Oct 1971: UK launches its first (and only) satellite, Prospero
251	1972	1972—1972: Britain imposes direct rule in Northern Ireland 1972—1972: Strict anti-hijack measures introduced internationally, especially at airports 1972—1972: Dutch Elm disease devastates trees across UK 1972—1972: Domestic video cassette recorders introduced 30 Jan 1972—30 Jan 1972: 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry, Northern Ireland 28 May 1972—28 May 1972: Duke of Windsor (ex-King Edward VIII) dies in Paris
252	1973	1 Jan 1973—1 Jan 1973: Britain enters EEC Common Market (with Ireland and Denmark) 17 Mar 1973—17 Mar 1973: Modern London Bridge opened by the Queen 1 Apr 1973—1 Apr 1973: VAT introduced in Britain 26 Sep 1973—26 Sep 1973: Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time 14 Oct 1973—14 Oct 1973: Marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey 31 Dec 1973—31 Dec 1973: Miners strike and oil crisis precipitate 'three-day week' (till 9 Mar 1974) to conserve power
253	1974	1974—1974: New counties formed in Britain after re-organisation of some county boundaries 1 Jun 1974—1 Jun 1974: Flixborough disaster: explosion at chemical plant kills 28 people 9 Aug 1974—20 Jan 1977: Gerald Ford U.S. Presidency 7 Nov 1974—7 Nov 1974: Lord Lucan disappears 21 Nov 1974—21 Nov 1974: Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA
254	1975	1975—1975: Unemployment in Britain rises above 1M for first time since before WW2 11 Feb 1975—11 Feb 1975: Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of Conservative party (in opposition) 28 Feb 1975—28 Feb 1975: Moorgate tube crash in London - over 43 deaths, greatest loss of life on the Underground in peacetime. The cause of the incident was never conclusively determined 4 Mar 1975—4 Mar 1975: Charlie Chaplin knighted 5 Jun 1975—5 Jun 1975: UK votes in a referendum to stay in the European Community 29 Oct 1975—29 Oct 1975: 'Yorkshire Ripper' commits his first murder 3 Nov 1975—3 Nov 1975: First North Sea oil comes ashore 29 Nov 1975—29 Nov 1975: The name 'Micro-soft' coined by Bill Gates (Microsoft' became a Trademark the following year) 27 Dec 1975—27 Dec 1975: Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act come into force
255	1976	1976—1976: 'Cod War' between Britain and Iceland 1976—1976: Deaths exceeded live births in E&W for first time since records began in 1837 1976—1976: James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister 1976—1976: National Theatre opens in London 21 Jan 1976—21 Jan 1976: Concorde enters supersonic passenger service 1 Apr 1976—1 Apr 1976: Apple Computer formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak 6 Aug 1976—6 Aug 1976: Drought Act 1976 comes into force ? the long, hot summer
256	1977	20 Jan 1977—20 Jan 1981: Jimmy Carter U.S. Presidency 2 Mar 1977—2 Mar 1977: 'Red Rum' wins a third Grand National 25 May 1977—25 May 1977: George Lucas' film Star Wars' released 5 Jun 1977—5 Jun 1977: Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale 7 Jun 1977—7 Jun 1977: Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in London 22 Nov 1977—22 Nov 1977: Regular supersonic Concorde service between London and NY inaugurated
257	1978	8 Apr 1978—8 Apr 1978: Regular broadcast of proceedings in Parliament starts 1 May 1978—1 May 1978: First May Day holiday in Britain 25 Jul 1978—25 Jul 1978: World's first 'test tube' baby, Louise Browne born in Oldham 30 Nov 1978—30 Nov 1978: Publication of The Times suspended - industrial relations problems (until 13 Nov 1979)
258	1979	1 Mar 1979—1 Mar 1979: 32.5% of Scots vote in favor of devolution (40% needed) - Welsh vote overwhelmingly against 30 Mar 1979—30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave killed by a car bomb at Westminster 31 Mar 1979—31 Mar 1979: Withdrawal of the Royal Navy from Malta 4 May 1979—4 May 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman UK Prime Minister 1 Jul 1979—1 Jul 1979: Sony introduces the Walkman 27 Aug 1979—27 Aug 1979: Lord Mountbatten and 3 others killed in bomb blast off coast of Sligo, Ireland 18 Sep 1979—18 Sep 1979: ILEA votes to abolish corporal punishment in its schools
259	1980	5 May 1980—5 May 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages 8 Dec 1980—8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
260	1981	20 Jan 1981—20 Jan 1989: Ronald Reagan U.S. Presidency 25 Jan 1981—25 Jan 1981: Launch of SDP by 'Gang of Four' in Britain 29 Mar 1981—29 Mar 1981: First London marathon run 11 Apr 1981—11 Apr 1981: Brixton riots in South London - 30 other British cities also experience riots 25 Apr 1981—25 Apr 1981: Worst April blizzards this century in Britain 27 Apr 1981—27 Apr 1981: First use of computer mouse (by Xerox PARC system) 29 Jul 1981—29 Jul 1981: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 28 Aug 1996) 12 Aug 1981—12 Aug 1981: IBM launches the first PC 12 Aug 1981—12 Aug 1981: IBM launches its PC ? starts the general use of personal computers 12 Aug 1981: Personal Computer
261	1982	26 Jan 1982—26 Jan 1982: Unemployment reached 3 million in Britain (1 in 8 of working population) 5 Feb 1982—5 Feb 1982: Laker Airways collapses 19 Feb 1982—19 Feb 1982: DeLorean Car factory in Belfast goes into receivership 18 Mar 1982—18 Mar 1982: Argentinians raised flag in South Georgia 2 Apr 1982—2 Apr 1982: Argentina invades Falkland (Malvinas) Islands 5 Apr 1982—5 Apr 1982: Royal Navy fleet sails from Portsmouth for Falklands 2 May 1982—2 May 1982: British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks Argentine cruiser General Belgrano 28 May 1982—28 May 1982: First land battle in Falklands (Goose Green) 14 Jun 1982—14 Jun 1982: Ceasefire in Falklands 21 Jun 1982—21 Jun 1982: Prince William is born 20 Jul 1982—20 Jul 1982: IRA bombings in London (Hyde Park and Regents Park) 19 Sep 1982—19 Sep 1982: Smiley emoticon :-) said to have been used for the first time 1 Oct 1982: Compact_Disc 11 Oct 1982—11 Oct 1982: Mary Rose' raised in the Solent (sank in 1545) 31 Oct 1982—31 Oct 1982: Thames Barrier raised for first time (some say first public demonstration Nov 7) 2 Nov 1982—2 Nov 1982: Channel 4 TV station launched - first programme 'Countdown' 4 Nov 1982—4 Nov 1982: Lorries up to 38 tonnes allowed on Britain's roads 12 Dec 1982—12 Dec 1982: Women's peace protest at Greenham Common (Cruise missiles arrived 14 Nov 1983)
262	1983	1983—1983: First female Lord Mayor of London elected (Dame Mary Donaldson) 17 Jan 1983—17 Jan 1983: Start of breakfast TV in Britain 31 Jan 1983—31 Jan 1983: Seat belt law comes into force 21 Apr 1983—21 Apr 1983: ?1 coin into circulation in Britain 7 Oct 1983—7 Oct 1983: Plans to abolish GLC announced 26 Nov 1983—26 Nov 1983: Brinks Mat robbery: 6,800 gold bars worth nearly ?26 million are stolen from a vault at Heathrow Airport
263	1984	6 Mar 1984—6 Mar 1984: Miners strike begins 17 Apr 1984—17 Apr 1984: Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher killed by gunfire from the Libyan Embassy in London 22 Jun 1984—22 Jun 1984: Inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic 9 Jul 1984—9 Jul 1984: York Minster struck by lightning - the resulting fire damaged much of the building but the Rose Window' not affected 12 Oct 1984—12 Oct 1984: IRA bomb explodes at Tory conference hotel in Brighton - 4 killed 24 Oct 1984—24 Oct 1984: Miners' strike ? High Court orders sequestration of NUM assets 3 Dec 1984—3 Dec 1984: British Telecom privatised - shares make massive gains on first day's trading
264	1985	3 Mar 1985—3 Mar 1985: Miners agree to call off strike 11 Mar 1985—11 Mar 1985: Al Fayed buys Harrods 13 Jul 1985—13 Jul 1985: Live Aid' pop concert raises over ?50M for famine relief 1 Sep 1985—1 Sep 1985: Wreck of Titanic' found (sank 1912)