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Susara Elizabeth van Niekerk

Female 1822 -

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   Date  Event(s)
1 1822 
  • 1822—1828:
    SA - English becomes the official language of the Cape Colony.
  • 14 Jun 1822—14 Jun 1822:
    Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society
2 1823 
  • 1823—1823:
    SA - Difaqane (1820s) Battle of Dithakong - MaNthatisi repulsed by Tlhaping with help from Griquas. Tswana to north and east heavily disrupted by Difaqane raids. 1824 Bergenaar rebellion
  • 1823—1823:
    SA - Approximately 146 Irish settlers brought to the Cape by John Ingram.
  • 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 'very troublesome' according to some the Act was repealed all in a hurry at the beginning of the next session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
  • 1 Jul 1823—1823:
    SA - Lewis Broadbent born to the wife of the Methodist missionary Samuel Broadbent at Leeudoringstad, 16km from Wolmaranstad, on the 1st July 1823. Lewis later became a missionary to India.
  • 2 Dec 1823—2 Dec 1823:
    US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts (the 'Monroe Doctrine')
3 1824 
  • 1824—1824:
    SA - George Thompson travels inland - naming Augrabies Falls "Cataract of King George"
  • 1824—1824:
    SA - Construction of road through Fransch Hoek Pass. First Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church. Mission station at Lovedale founded. First lighthouse opened.
  • 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
4 1825 
  • 1825—1825:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Somerset East.
  • 1825—1825:
    SA - First steamship in Table Bay. Depreciated rix dollar converted into British sterling. The Anglican St. Mary's Collegiate Church started in Port Elizabeth. The Jubilee Park Cemetery in Uitenhage in use circa 1825.
  • 27 Sep 1825—27 Sep 1825:
    Stockton to Darlington Railway opens ? world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains
5 1826 
  • 1826—1826:
    SA - Adam Kok II establishes Philippolis Griqua Captaincy
  • 1826—1826:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregations founded in Clanwilliam, Colesberg, Durbanville and Tijgerberg.
6 1827 
  • 1827—1827:
    Ohm's Law published
7 1828 
  • 1828—1828:
    SA - Ordinance 50 repeals pass laws
  • 1828—1828:
    SA - Circa 1828, the Union Chapel (London Missionary Society - i.e. Congregational) in Port Elizabeth is founded, records start in 1831. St. Mary's Cemetery started in Port Elizabeth circa 1828.
  • 25 Oct 1828—25 Oct 1828:
    St Katharine Docks in London opened (designed by Thomas Telford)
8 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
  • 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!)
9 1830 
  • 1830—1830:
    SA - Moffat's printing press transported to Kuruman by ox wagon
  • 1830—1830:
    SA - Full civil privileges granted to Roman Catholics in the Cape. Colesberg founded. Road over Sir Lowry's Pass opened.
  • 1830—1830:
    Uprisings and agitation across Europe: the Netherlands are split into Holland and Belgium
  • 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!
10 1831 
  • 1831—1831:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church congregation founded in Albany. First publication of De Zuid Afrikaan (ons Land). First issue of Grahamstown Journal.
  • 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
11 1832 
  • 1832—1832:
    Electoral Registers introduced
  • 1832—1832:
    Electric telegraph invented by Morse
  • 7 Jun 1832—7 Jun 1832:
    Reform Bill passed ? Representation of the People Act
12 1833 
  • 1833—1833:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish in Piquetberg (Piketberg) founded.
  • 1833—1839:
    SA - Approximately 750 juveniles brought to the Cape as apprentices.
  • 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
13 1834 
  • 1834—1834:
    SA - Abolition of legal slavery; but slaves apprenticed for four years
  • 1834—1835:
    SA - Andrew Smith with artist Charles Davidson Bell travels in the interior
  • 1834—1834:
    SA - Berlin Mission Society establishes station at Bethulie; and out-station among Korana at Pniel in 1845.
  • 1834—1834:
    SA - The Anglican St. John's Church is built in Bathurst, but its burial records go back to 1823. King William's Town founded. Slaves officially freed but apprenticed for next 4 years.
  • 1834—1834:
    SA - Kommissie treks from Cape begins. Port Natal renamed Durban.
  • 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
  • 21 Dec 1834—Sep 1835:
    SA - Sixth Frontier War between Xhosa and whites.
14 1835 
  • 1835—1836:
    SA - Louis Trichardt, Hans van Rensburg and Andries Potgieter trek north.
  • 1835—1835:
    Christmas becomes a national holiday
  • 1835—1835:
    First railway boom period starts in Britain construction of Great Western Railway
15 1836 
  • 1836—1836:
    SA - James Alexander travels through Namaqualand
  • 1836—1836:
    SA - The Great Trek has reached the Transvaal and the Free State areas.
  • 1836—1836:
    SA - Potgieter's trekkers defeat Ndebele at the Battle of Vegkop.
  • 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
16 1837 
  • 1837—1837:
    SA - Piet Retief publishes his "Manifesto".
  • 1837—1837:
    SA - Andries Potgieter and Piet Uys, helped by Rolong and Griqua tribes, defeat Ndebele at Mosega. Louis Trichardt arrives in Lourenco Marques. Seperate administrative districts granted to Port Elizabeth, Cradock and Colesburg.
  • 1837—1837:
    SA - Victoria
  • 1837—1837:
    Pitman introduces his shorthand system
  • 1837—1837:
    P&O Founded
  • 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
17 1838 
  • 1838—1838:
    SA - Russell Road (Hyman's Kloof) Cemetery established in Port Elizabeth. Pietermaritzburg founded in 1838. Boers found Republic of Natal.
  • Feb 1838—1838:
    SA - Piet Retief and his people are murdered by Dingaan's soldiers at Dingaan's kraal and Weenen.
  • 28 Jun 1838—28 Jun 1838:
    Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey
  • 16 Dec 1838—1838:
    SA - Battle of Blood River fought between Zulus and Boers.
18 1839 
  • 1839—1839:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parishes founded in Bredasdorp and Riversdale. Potchefstroom founded.
  • 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
19 1840 
  • 1840—1849:
    SA - Expansion of commercial wool farmers in Karoo transforms colonial economy. Pedi migrate to work on Cape farms
  • 1840—1840:
    SA - The Anglican St. Katherine's Church is founded in Uitenhage.
  • 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
20 1841 
  • 1841—1841:
    SA - Missionary David Livingstone arrives in South Africa - proceeds to Kuruman before journeying through Central Africa
  • 1841—1841:
    SA - Circa 1841, the Methodist Church founded in Port Elizabeth. Trekkers council set up in Potchefstroom.
  • 1841—1841:
    Thomas Cook starts package tours
  • 10 Feb 1841—10 Feb 1841:
    Penny Red replaces Penny Black postage stamp
  • 6 Jun 1841—6 Jun 1841:
    June 6: First full census in Britain in which all names were recorded (Population 18.5M)
21 1842 
  • 1842—1842:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Prince Albert. Dick King's ride from Durban to Grahamstown.
  • 1842—1843:
    SA - War between the British and the Boers in Natal.
  • 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
22 1843 
  • 1843—1843:
    SA - Natal annexed as a British Colony.
  • 1843—1843:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Richmond.
  • 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
23 1844 
  • 1844—1844:
    SA - Access to land is changed from leasehold to free hold
  • 1844—1844:
    SA - Victoria West established
  • Apr 1844—1844:
    SA - Boers from Natal settle at Potchefstroom, after crossing the Drakensberg Mountains. Hendrik Potgieter settles at Delagoa Bay.
  • 6 Jun 1844—6 Jun 1844:
    YMCA founded in London by Sir George Williams
24 1845 
  • 1845—1845:
    SA - Mothibi of Tlhaping dies
  • 1845—1845:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded at Mossel Bay. Ohrigstad founded. Natal becomes autonomous district of Cape Colony.
  • 1845—1845:
    SA - Battle of Zwartkoppies.
  • 1845—1845:
    Tarmac laid for first time (in Nottingham)
  • 17 Mar 1845—17 Mar 1845:
    The rubber band patented by Stephen Perry
25 1846 
  • 1846—1854:
    SA - Orange River Sovereignty
  • 1846—1846:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Burgersdorp. Bloemfontein founded.
  • 1846—1848:
    SA - Seventh Frontier War between Xhosa and whites, this war was also known as the War of the Axe.
  • 1846—1847:
    SA - Approximately 103 settlers arrive in Port Elizabeth from war-torn Buenos Aires, Argentinia.
  • 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846:
    The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
26 1847 
  • 1847—1847:
    SA - Colonial boundary extended to Orange River
  • 1847—1847:
    SA - Rhenish Missionary Christoph Alheit moves to Schietfontein (Carnarvon)
  • 1847—1847:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Calvinia. Opening of Montagu Pass. Sugar cane plantations started in Natal. East London founded. Districts of Victoria East and British Kaffraria annexed as part of the Cape Colony.
  • 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)
27 1848 
  • 1848—1848:
    SA - Boers cross the Vaal River. Orange River Sovereignty established. Battle of Boomplaats.
  • 1848—1848:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Napier. Soutpansberg (later Schoemansdal) founded.
  • 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
  • 23 Mar 1848—1848:
    SA - Approximately 163 German settlers, known as the Bergthiel Settlers, arrive in Natal.
  • 11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848:
    Waterloo railway station in London opens
28 1849 
  • 1849—1849:
    SA - Circa 1849 the first Jewish Congregation founded in Cape Town.
  • 1849—1850:
    SA - The Byrne Settlers arrive in Natal.
  • 1849—1849:
    Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally occurred in 1971!
29 1850 
  • 1850—1859:
    SA - First Afrikaans book written by an imam (Muslim prayer leader) of slave descent
  • 1850—1850:
    SA - Wesleyan Settlers arrive in Natal. Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Namaqualand.
  • 1850—1853:
    SA - Eighth Frontier War.
30 1851 
  • 1851—1851:
    SA - Sugar first produced from cane in Natal.
  • 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
31 1852 
  • 1852—1852:
    SA - Copper mining in Namaqualand - migrant labour on small scale
  • 1852—1852:
    SA - The Transvaal Republic established. Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Middelburg. The New Church (Congregational / Presbyterian) established in Port Elizabeth. Copper mining begins at Springbokfontein. Wreck of the Birkenhead.
  • 1852—1852:
    Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
  • 1852—1852:
    Wells Fargo established in USA
32 1853 
  • 1853—1853:
    SA - Hopetown established
  • 1853—1853:
    SA - Nicholas Waterboer succeeds as Griqua Captain
  • 1853—1853:
    SA - Settlement of Queenstown and Seymour. Union Steamship Line founded.
  • 1853—1853:
    Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory in Britain
33 1854 
  • 1854—1854:
    SA - Orange Free State Republic proclaimed
  • 1854—1854:
    SA - Dutch Reformed Church parishes established in Montagu and Queenstown. First Cape Colony Parliament. Boers defeat Ndebele at Makapansgat.
  • 1854—1854:
    SA - Crimean War
  • 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)
34 1855 
  • 1855—1855:
    SA - Pretoria founded. 20 Irish miners arrive to work in the Namaqualand copper mines.
35 1856 
  • 1856—1856:
    SA - The Anglican St. Paul's Church in Port Elizabeth founded. Approximately 3000 Crimean War veterans (German Legionaires) settled in Kaffraria, later joined by 2700 German civilians. Dutch Reformed Church parish founded in Murraysburg.
  • 1856—1856:
    SA - Natal becomes a seperate colony.
  • 1856—1857:
    SA - Self-destruction of Xhosa tribe by cattle-killing.
  • 1856—1862:
    SA - Approximately 700 juveniles arrive from Holland.
  • 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)
36 1857 
  • 1857—1857:
    SA - Moffat completes Old Testament Bible translation into Setswana
  • 1857—1857:
    SA - Xhosa enter Karoo following Eastern Cape Cattle Killing.
  • 1857—1857:
    SA - Approximately 157 Irish girls arrive on the ship Lady Kennaway, settle in British Kaffraria. First Legislative Council in Natal. First mail contract with Union Steamship Company for regular mail service between Britain and South Africa.
  • 1857—1862:
    SA - Assisted immigration schemes bring about 12 000 settlers.
  • 1857—1857:
    Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
37 1858 
  • 1858—1858:
    SA - Circa 1858, Jewish congregation founded in Port Elizabeth. The Anglican Holy Trinity Church built in Port Elizabeth. War between Orange Free State and Basuto tribe.
  • 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
38 1859 
  • 1859—1859:
    SA - Dopper Church leaves the Dutch Reformed Church. First railway in the Cape Colony commenced.
  • 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'
39 1860 
  • 1860—1860:
    SA - Boer republics north of Vaal unite as South African Republic
  • 1860—1860:
    SA - Indians arrive in Natal to work on sugar cane farms as indentured labourers. Between 1860-1911 about 152 000 Indians arrive and about 50% stay.
  • 1860—1860:
    SA - First telegraph service in South Africa, between Cape Town and Simonstown.
  • 1860—1860:
    SA - Start of penny post in Cape Town. Work began on Table Bay Docks. The Catholic St. Augustine's Church established in Port Elizabeth.Circa 1860, the first Baptist Church started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 26 Jun 1860—1860:
    SA - First railway in South Africa, between Market Square and Point, Durban, opens.
  • 29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860:
    First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
40 1861 
  • 1861—1862:
    SA - Griqua trek under Adam Kok III from Philippolis to Nomansland
  • 1861—1861:
    SA - American Civil War
  • 25 May 1861—25 May 1861:
    American Civil War begins
41 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
42 1863 
  • 1863—1863:
    SA - The Hill Presbyterian Church started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 1863—1863:
    SA - North End Cemetery started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 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
43 1864 
  • 1864—1864:
    SA - St. George's Cemetery established in Port Elizabeth.
  • 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
44 1865 
  • 1865—1866:
    SA - Albania Settlement Scheme
  • 1865—1865:
    SA - Ostriches first domesticated.
  • 1865—1866:
    SA - Economic depression throughout South Africa. War between Orange Free State and Basutos.
  • 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
  • 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865:
    William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
45 1866 
  • 1866—1866:
    SA - India officially stops sending Indian labourers to Natal.
46 1867 
  • Apr 1867—1867:
    SA - 21.25 carat diamond found near Hopetown.
  • 1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867:
    The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
47 1868 
  • 1868—1869:
    SA - Korana War along Orange River
  • 1868—1868:
    Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
48 1869 
  • 1869—1869:
    SA - Railway from Port Nolloth to O'Kiep
  • 1869—1869:
    SA - Star of South Africa diamond discovered. Gold and diamond rush starts.
  • 1869—1869:
    Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
  • 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869:
    Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
49 1870 
  • 1870—1870:
    SA - Galeshewe of Tlhaping born
  • 1870—1884:
    SA - |Xam prisoners at Cape Town interviewed by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd
  • 1870—1871:
    SA - The Anglican St. Peter's Church started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 1870—1870:
    SA - Opening of Cape Town Docks.
  • 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
50 1871 
  • 1871—1871:
    SA - Diamonds found at New Rush; renamed Kimberley; 1873. Griqua claim to Diamond Fields recognised and Waterboer seeks British protection. Diamond mining stimulates migrant labour on unprecedented scale. Two thirds of black workforce comes from Limpopo valley
  • 1871—1871:
    SA - Gold discovered in Eastern Transvaal. Britain annexes the diamond fields of Kimberley and Griqua West. First mail from Cape Town to the diamond fields.
  • 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
51 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
52 1873 
  • 1873—1873:
    SA - Griqualand West proclaimed Crown Colony
  • 1873—1873:
    SA - Griqualand West established as a British colony. Gold discovered in Lydenburg district of Transvaal.
  • 1873—1875:
    SA - Approximately 3300 men, women and children arrive as agricultural settlers or labourers for public works.
53 1874 
  • 1874—1874:
    SA - College founded at Stellenbosch (later Victoria College, today University of Stellenbosch). Railway line opened from Port Elizabeth to Uitenhage.
  • 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
54 1875 
  • 1875—1875:
    SA - Black Flag Rebellion by white diggers at Kimberley
  • 1875—1875:
    SA - Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners (Association for True Afrikaners) formed
  • 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)
55 1876 
  • 1876—1876:
    SA - Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje born
  • 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876:
    Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
56 1877 
  • 1877—1877:
    SA - Native Locations for Tswana established in Griqualand West
  • 1877—1877:
    SA - Britain annexes the Transvaal Republic. Ninth Frontier War.
  • 1877—1877:
    Edison invents microphone and phonograph
57 1878 
  • 1878—1879:
    SA - Griqualand West Rebellion and Korana War coincide with similar conflicts elsewhere in South Africa.
  • 1878—1879:
    SA - Griqualand West and Tswana Rebellion
  • 1878—1878:
    SA - Koegas atrocities
  • 1878—1878:
    SA - Walvis Bay proclaimed British territory. Telegraph service between Natal and Transvaal.
  • 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
58 1879 
  • 1 Sep 1879—1879:
    SA - Zulu War starts, battles at Isandhlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi.
  • 18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879:
    Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
59 1880 
  • 1880—1880:
    SA - Griqualand West annexed to Cape Colony
  • 1880—1880:
    SA - First Legislative Council in Transvaal. Formation of De Beers Company. Formation of the Afrikander Bond.
  • 1880—1881:
    SA - First Anglo-Boer War, Boers defeat Britain.
  • 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
60 1881 
  • 1881—1881:
    SA - Jantje Mothibi of Tlhaping dies
  • 1881—1882:
    SA - Tswana-Kora wars with white mercenary involvement
  • 1881—1881:
    SA - Battle of Laing's Nek, 28 January. Battle of Majuba, 27 February. Britain recognises South African Republic (ZAR).
  • 1881—1881:
    Postal Orders introduced
  • 1881—1881:
    Flogging abolished in Army and Royal Navy
  • 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)
  • 26 Oct 1881—26 Oct 1881:
    Gunfight at OK Corral
61 1882 
  • 1882—1882:
    SA - Abraham September (freed slave) begins Orange River irrigation
  • 1882—1882:
    SA - Approximately 4645 settlers arrive. South End Cemetery in Port Elizabeth started. Use of Dutch recognised in Cape Parliament.
  • 1882—1882:
    Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed
  • 29 Aug 1882—1882:
    SA - 229 Norwegians arrive aboard the "Lapland" and settle at the mouth of the Umzimkulu river (Port Shepstone), Natal.
62 1883 
  • 1883—1890:
    SA - Germans occupy South West Africa and German East Africa
  • 1883—1883:
    SA - Revd Gwayi Tyamzashe; last black man to hold a claim in Kimberley mines; loses his claim
  • 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
63 1884 
  • 1884—1885:
    SA - Warren takes over Stellaland and Goshen; establishes Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland and Bechuanaland Protectorate
  • 1884—1884:
    SA - The Anglican St. Cuthbert's Church built in Port Elizabeth. Barberton goldfields opened.
  • 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
64 1885 
  • 1885—1885:
    SA - Railway line opened from Cape to Kimberley.
  • 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
  • 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
65 1886 
  • 1886—1886:
    SA - Gold found on Witwatersrand
  • 1886—1886:
    SA - Gold discovered in the Transvaal (Witwatersrand)
  • 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
66 1887 
  • 1887—1887:
    Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
67 1888 
  • 1888—1888:
    SA - C.J. Rhodes amalgamates Kimberley mining companies as De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
  • 1888—1888:
    SA - 'Rudd concession' signed by Lobengula
  • 1888—1888:
    SA - British South Africa Company founded.
  • 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
68 1889 
  • 1889—1889:
    Celluloid film produced
  • 1889—1889:
    Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies
  • 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
69 1890 
  • 1890—1890:
    SA - Pioneer Column of Rhodes's British South Africa Company departs from Kimberley to occupy Rhodesia
  • 1890—1890:
    SA - Railway line reaches from Cape to Bloemfontein. First railway line in Transvaal, from Johannesburg to Boksburg.
  • 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
70 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
71 1892 
  • 1892—1892:
    SA - Mankurwane of Tlhaping dies
  • 1892—1892:
    SA - Railway line to Johannesburg completed with connections from Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London.
  • 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
72 1893 
  • 1893—1893:
    Henry Ford's first car
  • 1893—1893:
    Zip fastener invented
73 1894 
  • 1894—1894:
    SA - Glen Grey Act passed in Cape to control African labour and land
  • 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
  • 2 Nov 1894—1894:
    SA - Railway line between Lourenco Marques and Johannesburg opened.
74 1895 
  • 1895—1895:
    Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London
  • 1895—1895:
    SA - The Jameson Raid takes place in the Johannesburg district in December. The Pretoria-Delagoa Bay railway line opened by the South African Republic. Railway line opened between Durban and Johannesburg on 16 Dec 1896. Rinderpest causes big loss of cattle.
  • 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
75 1896 
  • 1896—1896:
    SA - Montshiwa of Rolong dies
  • 1896—1896:
    SA - Rinderpest epidemic; spreading through Africa; breaks out here
  • 1896—1897:
    SA - Bechuanaland Campaign/Galeshewe's War begins at Phokwane and spreads to Langeberg
  • 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
76 1897 
  • 1897—1897:
    Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
  • 1897—1897:
    SA - Luka Mothibi killed in Langeberg
  • 1897—1897:
    SA - Zululand incorporated into Natal. Railway line opened between Cape Town and Bulawayo.
77 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
  • 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)
78 1899 
  • 6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899:
    Aspirin first marketed by Bayer
  • 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899:
    Start of Second Boer War
  • 11 Oct 1899—31 May 1902:
    SA - The Second Anglo-Boer War.
  • 13 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Boers invade Natal
  • 14 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Sieges of Mafeking and Kimberley started.
  • 20 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Talana.
  • 21 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Elandslaagte.
  • 30 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Lombard's Kop.
  • 30 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Siege of Ladysmith started.
  • 23 Nov 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Belmont.
  • 25 Nov 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Graspan.
  • 28 Nov 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Modder River.
  • 10 Dec 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Stormberg.
  • 11 Dec 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Magersfontein.
  • 15 Dec 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Colenso. Battle of Dundee. Imperial Penny Postage adopted by Cape Colony
79 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
  • 6 Jan 1900—1900:
    SA - Boers attack Ladysmith.
  • 23 Jan 1900—24 Jan 1900:
    SA - Battle of Spion Kop.
  • 5 Feb 1900—1900:
    SA - Battle of Vaal Krantz.
  • 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900:
    Davis Cup tennis competition established
  • 15 Feb 1900—1900:
    SA - Relief of Kimberley.
  • 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900:
    Labour Party formed
  • 28 Feb 1900—1900:
    SA - Ladysmith relieved.
  • 7 Mar 1900—1900:
    SA - Battle of Poplar Grove.
  • 13 Mar 1900—1900:
    SA - Bloemfontein captured.
  • 11 Jun 1900—1900:
    SA - Battle of Diamond Hill. Burning of farms (scorched earth) policy authorised in July / August. Amalgamation of Union and Castle Steamship Lines.
80 1901 
  • 1901—1901:
    Commonwealth of Australia founded
  • 1901—1901:
    Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner
  • 1901—1901:
    SA - Bubonic plague in Cape Town.
  • 1901—1902:
    SA - 200 teachers arrive from England to teach in the British concentration camps, followed by 100 teachers from Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
  • 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
  • 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
81 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
  • 31 Feb 1902—1902:
    SA - Peace of Vereeniging signed, ending Anglo-Boer War.
  • 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
82 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
83 1904 
  • 1904—1904:
    Leeds University established
  • 1904—1904:
    SA - Chinese labourers recruited for the Transvaal mines.
  • 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)
84 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
85 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
86 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
  • 1907—1907:
    SA - Asiatic Registration Act passed in Transvaal, Indians oppose it.
  • 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
87 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—1908:
    SA - Second Asiatic Registration Act passed in Transvaal, beginning of passive resistance campaigns.
  • 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
88 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
  • 1909—1909:
    SA - S.S. Waratah lost between Durban and Cape Town.
  • 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
  • 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)
89 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
  • 1910—1910:
    SA - Laying of foundation stone of Union Buildings in Pretoria.
  • 1910—1910:
    SA - Union of South Africa established
  • 6 May 1910—6 May 1910:
    Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
  • 31 May 1910—1910:
    SA - Union of South Africa established by joining the British colonies and the Boer republics
90 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
  • 17 May 1911—1911:
    SA - Census of population taken.
  • 22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911:
    Coronation of George V
  • 14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911:
    National Insurance introduced in Britain
91 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
  • 1912—1912:
    The Titanic sinks
  • 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
  • 13 May 1912—13 May 1912:
    Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
92 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
  • 1913—1913:
    SA - Miners' strikes and riots on Witwatersrand. Indian riots in Natal. March of Natal Indians into Transvaal. Natives Land Act restricts black ownership of land.
  • 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
93 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
  • 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
94 1915 
  • 1915—1915:
    Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane
  • 1915—1915:
    First automatic telephone exchange in Britain
  • 1915—1915:
    SA - Afrikaans becomes the second official language, after English. South West Africa and South Africa linked by railway line.
  • 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
95 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
96 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
97 1918 
  • 1918—1918:
    Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
  • 1918—1918:
    War of Independence in Ireland
  • 1918—1918:
    SA - Influenza epidemic with pneumonia.
  • 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
98 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
99 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
100 1921 
  • 1921—1921:
    Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained
  • 1921—1921:
    Insulin discovery announced
  • 1921—1921:
    First birth control clinic
  • 1921—1921:
    SA - Diamond mines closed down in Kimberley, economic depression.
  • 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
101 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)
  • 4 Oct 1922—1922:
    SA - Inauguration of Witwatersrand University.
102 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
  • 1923—1923:
    SA - Platinum discovered in Waterberg district of Transvaal.
  • 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
  • 28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923:
    First publication of Radio Times
103 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)
  • 17 Jun 1924—1924:
    SA - General elections in South Africa.
104 1925 
  • 1925—1925:
    Britain returns to gold standard
  • 1925—1925:
    SA - South Africa reverts to gold standard. Afrikaans constituted an official language.
  • 18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925:
    Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
105 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
106 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
107 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)
108 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
109 1930 
  • 1930—1930:
    First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag
  • 1930—1930:
    Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain
  • 1930—1930:
    SA - White women receive the vote.
  • 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
110 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
111 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
  • 1932—1932:
    SA - Airmail service between South Africa and Britain started in January. Wireless telephone communication established with Britain in February.
  • 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
112 1933 
  • 1933—1933:
    ICI scientists discover polythene
  • 1933—1933:
    Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year
  • 1933—1933:
    SA - South Africa House opened in London. Afrikaans Bible issued.
  • 12 Nov 1933—12 Nov 1933:
    First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
113 1934 
  • 1934—1934:
    Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany
  • 1934—1934:
    SA - Union Airways acquired by government on 01 August 1936. South African Broadcasting Corporation established.
  • 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')
114 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
115 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'
116 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
117 1938 
  • 1938—1938:
    SA - Great Trek Centenary celebrations.
  • 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
118 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
  • 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
119 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
120 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
  • 1941—1941:
    SA - South African Forces take Mega in Southern Abyssinia. South African Forces arrive in Egypt in April.
  • 1941—1941:
    SA - Heroic stand by South African Forces at Sidi Resegh in November 1944. The black-out in Cape Town is suspended. 6th South African Armoured Division leads 8th Army offensive in Italy, South Africans were the first to enter Florence.
  • 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
121 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
122 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
123 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
124 1945 
  • 1945—1945:
    SA - 34 people killed and 90 injured in explosion of the Grand Magazine in Pretoria.
  • 1945—1945:
    SA - Announcement made that as from the beginning of the war until 05 March 1945, more than 1500 South African soldiers were decorated, 2386 were mentioned in despatches and 330 were commended.
  • 1945—1945:
    SA - Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuked
  • 4 Feb 1945—4 Feb 1945:
    Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
  • 17 Mar 1945—1945:
    SA - South African Forces capture Monte Sole and Monte Caprara, which were barring entering into Bologna.
  • 29 Mar 1945—29 Mar 1945:
    Last V1 flying bomb attack
  • 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
125 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
126 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
127 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
128 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
129 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
130 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
131 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
132 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)
133 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
134 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
135 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
136 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
137 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
138 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
139 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
140 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
141 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
142 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
143 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
144 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
145 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
146 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
147 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
148 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)
149 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
150 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
151 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
152 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
153 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
154 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
155 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
156 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
157 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)

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