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Lionel Coleman

Male 1946 - 1995  (49 years)


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Timeline

1946
1956
1966
1975
1985
1995
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   Date  Event(s)
1 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
2 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
3 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
  • 1948—1948:
    SA - Known as the beginning of apartheid era.
  • 1948—1948:
    SA - Nationalist Government come to power in SA
  • 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
4 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
5 1950 
  • 1950—1950:
    SA - Korean War
  • 19 May 1950—19 May 1950:
    Points rationing ends in Britain
  • 26 May 1950—26 May 1950:
    Petrol rationing ends in Britain
  • 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
6 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
7 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
8 1953 
  • 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)
9 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
10 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
11 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
12 1957 
  • 1957—1957:
    Britain introduces parking meters
  • 1957—1957:
    Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland)
  • 1957—1957:
    SA - Sputnik
  • 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
13 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
14 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
  • 3 Oct 1959—3 Oct 1959:
    Postcodes introduced in Britain
  • 1 Nov 1959—1 Nov 1959:
    First section of M1 motorway opened
15 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
16 1961 
  • 1961—1961:
    SA - South Africa becomes a republic and leaves the Commonwealth.
  • 1 Jan 1961—1 Jan 1961:
    Farthing ceases to be legal tender in UK
  • 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
17 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
18 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
  • 23 Nov 1963—23 Nov 1963:
    First episode of 'Dr Who' on BBC TV
19 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
20 1965 
  • 1965—1965:
    Britain enacts first Race Relations Act
  • 1965—1965:
    SA - Rhodesian UDI
  • 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
21 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
22 1967 
  • 1967—1967:
    SA - Six Day Arab - Isreali War
  • 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
23 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
24 1969 
  • 1969—1969:
    SA - Man on the Moon
  • 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)
  • 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)
25 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
26 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
27 1972 
  • 1972—1972:
    Britain imposes direct rule in Northern Ireland
  • 1972—1972:
    Strict anti-hijack measures introduced internationally, especially at airports
  • 1972—1972:
    SA - Watergate
  • 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
28 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
29 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
  • 7 Nov 1974—7 Nov 1974:
    Lord Lucan disappears
  • 21 Nov 1974—21 Nov 1974:
    Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA
30 1975 
  • 1975—1975:
    SA - South African Forces in Angola.
  • 1975—1975:
    SA - Angola and Mozambique independence
  • 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
31 1976 
  • 1976—1976:
    National Theatre opens in London
  • 1976—1981:
    SA - The homelands of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei are separated from South Africa and established as independent states.
  • 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
  • 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
32 1977 
  • 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
33 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)
34 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
35 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
36 1981 
  • 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
37 1982 
  • 1982—1982:
    SA - Falklands War
  • 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
  • 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)
38 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
39 1984 
  • 1984—1984:
    SA - Coloureds and Asians given the vote.
  • 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
40 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)
41 1986 
  • 31 Mar 1986—31 Mar 1986:
    GLC and 6 metropolitan councils abolished
  • 26 Apr 1986—26 Apr 1986:
    Chernobyl nuclear accident - radiation reached Britain on 2 Ma
  • 26 May 1986—26 May 1986:
    The European Community adopts the European flag
  • 23 Jul 1986—23 Jul 1986:
    Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey
  • 27 Oct 1986—27 Oct 1986:
    'Big Bang' (deregulation) of the London Stock Market
  • 29 Oct 1986—29 Oct 1986:
    M25 motorway ring around London completed
42 1987 
  • 1987—1987:
    World population crossed the 5 billion mark
  • 2 Feb 1987—2 Feb 1987:
    Terry Waite kidnapped in Beirut (released 17 Nov 1991)
  • 6 Mar 1987—6 Mar 1987:
    Car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise' capsizes off Zeebrugge - 188 die
  • 1 Jul 1987—1 Jul 1987:
    Excavation begins on the Channel Tunnel
  • 19 Aug 1987—19 Aug 1987:
    Hungerford Massacre - Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a rifle
  • 16 Oct 1987—16 Oct 1987:
    The 'Hurricane' sweeps southern England
  • 19 Oct 1987—19 Oct 1987:
    'Black Monday' in the City of London - Stock Market crash
  • 8 Nov 1987—8 Nov 1987:
    Enniskillen bombing at a Remembrance Day ceremony
  • 18 Nov 1987—18 Nov 1987:
    King's Cross fire in London - 31 people die
43 1988 
  • 5 Feb 1988—5 Feb 1988:
    First 'Red Nose Day' in UK, raising money for charity
  • 6 Jul 1988—6 Jul 1988:
    Piper Alpha disaster - North Sea oil platform destroyed by explosion and fire killing 167 men
  • 15 Nov 1988—15 Nov 1988:
    Copyright, Designs and Patents Act - reformulated the statutory basis of copyright law (including performing rights) in the UK
  • 12 Dec 1988—12 Dec 1988:
    Clapham Junction rail crash kills 35 and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains
  • 21 Dec 1988—21 Dec 1988:
    Lockerbie disaster - Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Scotland
44 1989 
  • 1989—1989:
    Poll Tax implemented in Scotland
  • 14 Feb 1989—14 Feb 1989:
    The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit
  • 2 Mar 1989—2 Mar 1989:
    EU decision to ban production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century
  • 9 Nov 1989—9 Nov 1989:
    Berlin Wall torn down
  • 21 Nov 1989—21 Nov 1989:
    Proceedings of House of Commons first televised live
45 1990 
  • 1990—1990:
    SA - The start of repealing of apartheid laws.
  • 11 Feb 1990—11 Feb 1990:
    Nelson Mandela released in South Africa
  • 31 Mar 1990—31 Mar 1990:
    Riots in London against Poll Tax which had been implemented in England & Wales
  • 25 Apr 1990—25 Apr 1990:
    Hubble space telescope launched
  • 22 Nov 1990—22 Nov 1990:
    Margaret Thatcher resigns as Conservative party leader (and Prime Minister)
  • 1 Dec 1990—1 Dec 1990:
    Channel Tunnel excavation teams meet in the middle
46 1991 
  • 1991—1991:
    Poll Tax replaced (by Council Tax)
  • 1991—1991:
    The 'Internet' comes into existence
  • 1991—1991:
    SA - Gulf War
  • 18 May 1991—18 May 1991:
    Helen Sharman is first British Astronaut in Space
  • Aug 1991—Aug 1991:
    Collapse of the Soviet Union
  • 6 Sep 1991—6 Sep 1991:
    Leningrad renamed St Petersburg
  • 5 Nov 1991—5 Nov 1991:
    Robert Maxwell drowns at sea
47 1992 
  • 7 Feb 1992—7 Feb 1992:
    European Union formed by The Maastricht Treaty
  • 22 Apr 1992—22 Apr 1992:
    Betty Boothroyd elected as first female Speaker of the House of Commons
  • 15 Aug 1992—15 Aug 1992:
    Football Premier League kicks off in England
  • 16 Sep 1992—16 Sep 1992:
    'Black Wednesday' as Pound leaves the ERM
  • 20 Nov 1992—20 Nov 1992:
    Fire breaks out in Windsor Castle causing over ?50 million worth of damage
  • 24 Nov 1992—24 Nov 1992:
    The Queen describes this year as an 'Annus Horribilis'
48 1993 
  • 1993—1993:
    Betty Boothroyd first woman Speaker of the House of Commons (to 2000)
  • 1993—1993:
    Elizabeth II becomes first British Monarch to pay Income Tax
  • Jul 1993—Jul 1993:
    Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
49 1994 
  • 1994—1994:
    15 million people now connected to the Internet
  • 12 Mar 1994—12 Mar 1994:
    Church of England ordains its first female priests
  • 27 Mar 1994—1994:
    SA - First democratic general elections.
  • 6 May 1994—6 May 1994:
    Channel Tunnel open to traffic
  • 19 Nov 1994—19 Nov 1994:
    National Lottery starts
50 1995 
  • 26 Feb 1995—26 Feb 1995:
    Nick Leeson brings down Barings Bank
  • 15 Jul 1995—15 Jul 1995:
    First item sold on Amazon.com
  • 16 Nov 1995—16 Nov 1995:
    The Queen Mother has a hip replacement operation at 95 years old
  • 22 Nov 1995—22 Nov 1995:
    Toy Story' released - first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery

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