1 | 1383 | - 1383โ99 9999: Regular series of wills starts in Prerogative Court of Canterbury
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2 | 1832 | - 4 Jan 1832โ1937: Immigrants quarantined at Grosse Isle
Canada's immigrant quarantine station opens at Grosse Isle
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3 | 1898 | - 7 Jul 1898โ20 Aug 1959: Territory of Hawaii was Oraganized
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4 | 1910 | - 5 Jun 1910โ20 Jan 1936: George V
House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917): 2nd son of Edward VII, married Princess Mary of Teck. Accession, Jan 20, abdication, Dec 10.
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5 | 1912 | - 8 1912โ2 Jan 1959: Alaska Territory Organized
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6 | 1913 | |
7 | 1914 | - 1914โ1918: World War One
Canadian forces fight in Europe during World War 1
- 6 Jan 1914โ11 Nov 1918: World War I
Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia. The United States joined on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917.
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8 | 1916 | - 1916โ1916: Compulsory military service introduced in Britain
- 1916โ1916: Women get vote in Manitoba
Manitoba is the first province to give women the right to vote
- 1916โ1916: Radios tuners invented, that received different stations
- 1916โ1916: Stainless steel invented by Henry Brearly
- Feb 1916โFeb 1916: Battle of Verdun - appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues
- 24 Apr 1916โ24 Apr 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland - after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs
independence
- 21 May 1916โ21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK
- 31 May 1916โ31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland - only major naval battle between the British and
German fleets
- 5 Jun 1916โ5 Jun 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener
- 3 Aug 1916โ3 Aug 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason
- 15 Sep 1916โ15 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 1916โ7 Dec 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
- 6 1916โ29 Jun 1916: Ontario forest fire
A forest fire in northern Ontario claims 233 lives
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9 | 1917 | - 1917โ1917: Ministry of Labour is established in Britain
- 1917โ1917: Battle of Cambrai - first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual
- 1917โ1917: Income Tax introduced
- 1917โ1917: Gideon Sundback patented the modern zipper (not the first zipper)
- Feb 1917โFeb 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates
- 6 Apr 1917โ11 Nov 1918: World War I
World War I
- 16 Apr 1917โ16 Apr 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile
- 17 Apr 1917โ17 Apr 1917: USA declares war on Germany
- 26 May 1917โ26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal
proclamation on 17 July)
- 12 Jun 1917โ6 Dec 1917: The Halifax Explosion
Canada's worst single disaster, claims 1600 lives, injures 9000 and leaves 6000 homeless in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Jul 1917โJul 1917: Battle of Passchendaele - little gained by either side (Jul-Nov)
- 4 Sep 1917โ12 Apr 1917: WW1 - Vimy Ridge
Canadian Corps take Vimy Ridge in France but 3,600 die and another 5,000 wounded
- 7 Nov 1917โ7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government;
Lenin becomes Chief Commissar
- 6 Dec 1917โ6 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 1917โ9 Dec 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
- 12 1917โ17 Dec 1917: 18th Amendment passed by Congress
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10 | 1918 | - 1918โ1918: War of Independence in Ireland
- 1918โ1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
- 1918โ1918: The superheterodyne radio circuit invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong
- 1918โ1918: Charles Jung invented fortune cookies
- 18 Jan 1918โ18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded
- 8 Mar 1918โ8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic
- Jul 1918โJul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug)
- 1 Oct 1918โ1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus
- 11 Nov 1918โ11 Nov 1918: Armistice signed
- Dec 1918โDec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein
member refused to take her seat
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11 | 1919 | - 1919โ1919: Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom
- 1919โ1919: Britain adopts a 48-hour working week
- 1919โ1919: Soldier Settlement Act
Land grants awarded to 25,000 veteran soldiers
- 1919โ1919: The pop-up toaster invented by Charles Strite
- 1919โ1919: Short-wave radio invented
- 1919โ1919: The flip-flop circuit invented
- 1919โ1919: The arc welder invented
- 6 Apr 1919โ4 Jun 1919: 19th Amendment passed by Congress
- 15 Jun 1919โ15 Jun 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic
- 28 Jun 1919โ28 Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
- 1 1919โ16 Jan 1919: 18th Amendment ratified
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12 | 1920 | - 1920โ1920: Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun)
- 1920โ1920: Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain
- 1920โ1920: Regular cross-channel air service starts
- 1920โ1920: After a referendum, northern Schleswig is returned to Denmark
- 1920โ1920: The tommy gun patented by John T Thompson
- 1920โ1920: The Band-Aid (pronounced 'ban-'dade) invented by Earle Dickson
- Feb 1920โFeb 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK - opened by the Automobile Association
at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
- 8 1920โ18 Aug 1920: 19th Amendment ratified
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13 | 1921 | - 1921โ1921: First birth control clinic
- 1921โ1921: Insulin discovery announced
- 1921โ1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained
- 1921โ1921: Newfoundland census
Census taken in Newfoundland
- 1921โ1921: Artificial life begins -- the first robot built
- 1921โ1921: John Larson invented the lie detector
- 6 Jan 1921โ1 Jun 1921: Census of Canada
counts 8,787,949 individuals
- 4 Mar 1921โ2 Aug 1923: Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding U.S. Presidency
- 3 Apr 1921โ2 Aug 1921: Warren Harding
Warren Harding dies of an embolism in San Francisco. He had taken ill on 31 Jul 1921
- 19 Jun 1921โ19 Jun 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
- 6 Dec 1921โ6 Dec 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free
State and Northern Ireland
- 11 1921โ21 Nov 1921: Canada's Coat of Arms proclaimed by George V
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14 | 1922 | - 1922โ1922: Law of Property Act - the manorial system effectively ended
- 1922โ1922: Insulin invented by Sir Frederick Grant Banting
- 1922โ1922: The first 3-D movie (spectacles with one red and one green lens) is released
- 1 Jun 1922โ1 Jun 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary founded
- Oct 1922โOct 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)
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15 | 1923 | - 1923โ1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain
- 1923โ1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way
- 1923โ1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers
- 1923โ1923: Garrett A. Morgan invents a traffic signal
- 1923โ1923: The television or iconoscope (cathode-ray tube) invented by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin
- 1923โ1923: John Harwood invented the self-winding watch
- 1923โ1923: Clarence Birdseye invents frozen food
- 1 Jan 1923โ1 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 1923โ16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun
- 8 Mar 1923โ4 Mar 1929: Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, vice president under Warren Harding, sworn in as president the day after Harding dies
- 28 Apr 1923โ28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem
- 2 Aug 1923โ4 Mar 1929: Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge U.S. Presidency
- 28 Sep 1923โ28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
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16 | 1924 | - 1924โ1924: The dynamic loudspeaker invented by Rice and Kellogg
- 1924โ1924: Notebooks with spiral bindings invented
- 4 Jan 1924โ4 Jan 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald
- 5 Feb 1924โ5 Feb 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were
first broadcast by the BBC
- 31 Mar 1924โ31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British
airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
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17 | 1925 | - 1925โ1925: Britain returns to gold standard
- 1925โ1925: The mechanical television a precursor to the modern television, invented by John Logie Baird
- 18 Jul 1925โ18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
|
18 | 1926 | - 1926โ1926: Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood
- 1926โ1926: Kodak produces 16mm movie film
- 1926โ1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain
- 1926โ1926: First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird
- 1926โ1926: Robert H. Goddard invents liquid-fueled rockets
- 21 Apr 1926โ21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth born
- 3 May 1926โ3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more)
- 31 Oct 1926โ31 Oct 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
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19 | 1927 | - 1927โ1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer)
- 1927โ1927: Eduard Haas III invents PEZ candy
- 1927โ1927: JWA Morrison invents the first quartz crystal watch
- 1927โ1927: Philo Taylor Farnsworth invents a complete electronic TV system
- 1927โ1927: Technicolor invented
- 1927โ1927: Erik Rotheim patents an aerosol can
- 1927โ1927: Warren Marrison developed the first quartz clock
- 1927โ1927: Philip Drinker invents the iron lung
- 7 Jan 1927โ7 Jan 1927: First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London
- 22 Jan 1927โ22 Jan 1927: First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury)
- 1 May 1927โ1 May 1927: First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from
London to Paris
- 20 May 1927โ20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33? hours
- 31 May 1927โ31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line
- 24 Jul 1927โ24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
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20 | 1928 | - 1928โ1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes
- 1928โ1928: Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
- 1928โ1928: Bubble gum invented by Walter E. Diemer
- 1928โ1928: Jacob Schick patented the electric shaver
- 26 Apr 1928โ26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London
- 15 Sep 1928โ15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
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21 | 1929 | - 1929โ1929: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
- 1929โ1929: 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
- 1929โ1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain
- 1929โ1939: The Great Depression
Canada hit hardest by the depression
- 1929โ1929: American, Paul Galvin invents the car radio
- 1929โ1929: Yo-Yo re-invented as an American fad
- 4 Mar 1929โ4 Mar 1933: Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover U.S. Presidency
- 3 Apr 1929โ4 Mar 1933: Herbert Hoover
- 10 1929โ18 Oct 1929: The 'Persons' Case Decision
Women are declared 'persons' by the British Privy Council
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22 | 1930 | - 1930โ1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain
- 1930โ1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag
- 1930โ1930: Scotch tape patented by 3M engineer, Richard G. Drew
- 1930โ1930: The frozen food process patented by Clarence Birdseye
- 1930โ1930: Wallace Carothers and DuPont Labs invents neoprene
- 1930โ1930: The "differential analyzer", or analog computer invented by Vannevar Bush at MIT in Boston
- 1930โ1930: Frank Whittle and Dr Hans von Ohain both invent a jet engine
- 30 Jan 1930โ30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany
- 31 Jan 1930โ31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape
- 6 Mar 1930โ6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas
- 5 Oct 1930โ5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
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23 | 1931 | - 1931โ1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close
- 1931โ1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states
- 1931โ1931: Statute of Westminster
The British Dominions are formally recognized by British Parliament
- 1931โ1931: Harold Edgerton invented stop-action photography
- 1931โ1931: Germans Max Knott and Ernst Ruska co-invent the electron microscope
- 14 Apr 1931โ14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued
- 26 Apr 1931โ26 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 1931โ21 Oct 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis - Britain comes off
gold standard
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24 | 1932 | - 1932โ1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra
- 1932โ1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus
- 1932โ1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists
- 1932โ1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London
- 1932โ1932: Polaroid photography invented by Edwin Herbert Land
- 1932โ1932: The zoom lens and the light meter invented
- 1932โ1932: Carl C. Magee invents the first parking meter
- 1932โ1932: Karl Jansky invents the radio telescope
- 3 Feb 1932โ2 Mar 1932: 20th Amendment passed by Congress
- 21 May 1932โ21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot
- 3 Oct 1932โ3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain
- 3 Oct 1932โ3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
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25 | 1933 | |
26 | 1934 | - 1934โ1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany
- 1934โ1934: Englishmen, Percy Shaw invents cat eyes or roads reflectors
- 1934โ1934: Charles Darrow claims he invented the game Monopoly
- 1934โ1934: Joseph Begun invents the first tape recorder for broadcasting - first magnetic recording
- 18 Jul 1934โ18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel
- 26 Sep 1934โ26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched
- 30 Nov 1934โ30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
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27 | 1935 | - 1935โ1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell
- 1935โ1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme
- 1935โ1935: Newfoundland census
Census taken in Newfoundland
- 1935โ1935: Wallace Carothers and DuPont Labs invents nylon ( polymer 6.6.)
- 1935โ1935: The first canned beer made
- 1935โ1935: Robert Watson-Watt patented radar
- 28 Feb 1935โ28 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 1935โ12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas
in Britain
- 1 Jun 1935โ1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK
- 30 Jul 1935โ30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
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28 | 1936 | - 1936โ1936: Jet engine first tested
- 1936โ1936: Bell Labs invents the voice recognition machine
- 1936โ1936: Samuel Colt patents the Colt revolver
- 20 Jan 1936โ20 Jan 1936: George V dies
- 5 May 1936โ5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire
- 24 Jul 1936โ24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK
- 2 Nov 1936โ2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's
first public TV transmission
- 12 Nov 1936โ6 Feb 1952: George VI
House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917): 2nd son of George V, Duke of York; married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
- 30 Nov 1936โ30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire
- 5 Dec 1936โ5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) - popular carol that Christmas:
'Hark the Herald Angels sing Mrs Simpson's got our King'
- 1 1936โ11 Dec 1936: Edward VIII
House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917): Eldest son of George V
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29 | 1937 | - 1937โ1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp
- 1937โ1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London
- 1937โ1937: Chester F. Carlson invents the photocopier
- 1937โ1937: The first jet engine is built
- 12 Apr 1937โ12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft
- 12 May 1937โ12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI
- 28 May 1937โ28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister - policy of appeasement towards
Hitler
- 3 Jun 1937โ3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson
- 4 Dec 1937โ4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
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30 | 1938 | - 1938โ1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro
- 1938โ1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar
- 1938โ1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain
- 1938โ1938: The ballpoint pen invented by Ladislo Biro
- 1938โ1938: Strobe lighting invented
- 1938โ1938: Roy J. Plunkett invented tetrafluoroethylene polymers or Teflon
- 1938โ1938: Nescafe or freeze-dried coffee invented
- 1938โ1938: The first working turboprop engine
- 12 Mar 1938โ12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria
- 3 Jul 1938โ3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive
- 27 Sep 1938โ27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank
- 29 Sep 1938โ29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time'
- 30 Oct 1938โ30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
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31 | 1939 | - 1939โ1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time
- 1939โ1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London
- 1939โ1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia
- 1939โ1945: World War II
huge involvement of Canadian supplies and troops
- 1939โ1939: Igor Sikorsky invents the first successful helicopter
- 1939โ1939: The electron microscope invented
- 9 Jan 1939โ2 Sep 1945: World War II
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia
- 12 Jul 1939โ7 Dec 1939: Troops leave Canada
First group of Canadian troops sail to Britain -- 7,400 on 5 ships
- 1 Sep 1939โ1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland
- 3 Sep 1939โ3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
- 6 Sep 1939โ6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain
- 11 Sep 1939โ11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France
- 9 Oct 1939โ10 Sep 1939: Canada declares war on Germany
- 14 Oct 1939โ14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives
- 7 Dec 1939โ7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships
- 17 Dec 1939โ17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
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32 | 1940 | - 1940โ1940: Quรฉbec permits women to vote
The last province to give women the right to vote
- 1940โ1946: National Registration
Compulsory registration of all persons 16 years of age or older
- 1940โ1945: German occupation of Denmark
- 1940โ1940: Dr William Reich invents the orgone accumulator
- 1940โ1940: Peter Goldmark invents modern color television system
- 1940โ1940: Karl Pabst invents the jeep
- 1 Apr 1940โ1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd
- 11 May 1940โ11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill
- 13 May 1940โ13 May 1940: Germany invades France
- 27 May 1940โ27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun)
- 25 Jun 1940โ25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany
- 7 Sep 1940โ7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of
bombing
- 15 Sep 1940โ15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the
RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain
- 14 Nov 1940โ14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
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33 | 1941 | - 1941โ1941: First use of antibiotics
- 1941โ1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge
- 1941โ1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle
- 1941โ1941: Britain introduces severe rationing
- 1941โ1941: Konrad Zuse's Z3, the first computer controlled by software
- 1941โ1941: Aerosol spray cans invented by American inventors, Lyle David Goodloe and W.N. Sullivan
- 1941โ1941: Enrico Fermi invents the neutronic reactor
- 12 1941โDec 1941: Canadian forces defend south coast of England
- 10 May 1941โ10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland
- 27 May 1941โ27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk
- 22 Jun 1941โ22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
- 1 Jul 1941โ1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain
- 12 Jul 1941โ7 Dec 1941: Canada declares war on Japan
Attack on Pearl Harbour causes Canada to declare war on Japan
- Dec 1941โDec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America
- Dec 1941โDec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England
- 7 Dec 1941โ7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour
- 7 Dec 1941โ2 Sep 1945: World War II
World War II
- 8 Dec 1941โ8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII
- 24 Dec 1941โ24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
- 6 1941โ14 Jun 1941: Census of Canada
Census date changed to prevent clash with Victory Bond campaign. Sampling is initiated
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34 | 1942 | - 1942โ1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam
- 1942โ1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with
Max Neumann - used to crack German codes
- 1942โ1942: John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry built the first electronic digital computer
- 1942โ1942: Max Mueller designs a turboprop engine
- 30 May 1942โ30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne
- 4 Jun 1942โ4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway
- 19 Aug 1942โ19 Aug 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops
- 6 Sep 1942โ6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad
- 3 Oct 1942โ3 Oct 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany - first man-made object to reach
space
- 23 Oct 1942โ23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery defeats Rommel
- 2 Dec 1942โ2 Dec 1942: 'Manhattan Project' - a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining
nuclear chain reaction
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35 | 1943 | - 1943โ1943: Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins
- 1943โ1943: Synthetic rubber invented
- 1943โ1943: Richard James invents the slinky
- 1943โ1943: James Wright invent silly putty
- 1943โ1943: Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann discovered the hallucinogenic properties of LSD
- 1943โ1943: Emile Gagnan and Jacques Cousteau invent the aqualung
- 16 May 1943โ16 May 1943: 'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF
- 24 Jul 1943โ24 Jul 1943: Allies invade Italy - Benito Mussolini resigns as Italian Dictator, 24 July
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36 | 1944 | - 1944โ1944: The kidney dialysis machine invented by Willem Kolff
- 1944โ1944: Synthetic cortisone invented by Percy Lavon Julian
- 6 Apr 1944โ6 Apr 1944: PAYE income tax begins
- 4 Jun 1944โ4 Jun 1944: Allies enter Rome
- 6 Jun 1944โ6 Jun 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy
- 12 Jun 1944โ12 Jun 1944: First V1 flying bombs hit London
- 8 Sep 1944โ8 Sep 1944: First V2 rocket bombs hit London
- 11 Sep 1944โ11 Sep 1944: Allies enter Germany
- 16 Dec 1944โ16 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
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37 | 1945 | - 1945โ1945: Newfoundland census
Census taken in Newfoundland
- 1945โ1945: Vannevar Bush proposes hypertext
- 1945โ1945: The atomic bomb invented
- 4 Feb 1945โ4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
- 29 Mar 1945โ29 Mar 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack
- 12 Apr 1945โ20 Jan 1953: Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman U.S. Presidency
- 25 Apr 1945โ25 Apr 1945: Berlin surrounded by Russian troops
- 30 Apr 1945โ30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide
- 8 May 1945โ8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe)
- 9 May 1945โ9 May 1945: Channel Islands liberated
- 26 Jun 1945โ26 Jun 1945: UN Charter signed in San Francisco
- 16 Jul 1945โ16 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 1945โ26 Jul 1945: Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office
- 29 Jul 1945โ29 Jul 1945: BBC Light Programme starts
- 6 Aug 1945โ6 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
- 9 Aug 1945โ9 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
- 15 Aug 1945โ15 Aug 1945: VJ Day (Victory in Japan)
- 2 Sep 1945โ2 Sep 1945: Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri
- 24 Oct 1945โ24 Oct 1945: United Nations Organisation comes into existence
- 4 Nov 1945โ4 Nov 1945: UNESCO founded
- 4 Dec 1945โ20 Jan 1953: Harry Truman
- 6 1945โ26 Jun 1945: Canada joins the United Nations
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38 | 1946 | - 1946โ1946: Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004
- 1946โ1946: Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948)
- 1946โ1946: The microwave oven invented by Percy Spencer
- 1 Jan 1946โ1 Jan 1946: First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport
- 7 Jan 1946โ1 Jul 1946: Canadian Citizenship Act
Parliament proclaims an act providing for the creation of Canadian citizens to take effect 1 January 1947
- 1 Mar 1946โ1 Mar 1946: Bank of England nationalised
|
39 | 1947 | - 1947โ1947: First British nuclear reactor developed
- 1947โ1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much
flooding later
- 1947โ1947: British/Hungarian scientist, Dennis Gabor, developed the theory of holography
- 1947โ1947: Mobile phones first invented
- 1947โ1947: Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley invent the transistor
- 1947โ1947: Earl Silas Tupper patented the Tupperware seal
- 1 Jan 1947โ1 Jan 1947: Coal Mines nationalised
- 23 Feb 1947โ23 Feb 1947: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded
- 1 Mar 1947โ1 Mar 1947: International Monetary Fund begins financial operations
- 1 Apr 1947โ1 Apr 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain
- 26 Oct 1947โ26 Oct 1947: British military occupation ends in Iraq
- 20 Nov 1947โ20 Nov 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in
Westminster Abbey
- 3 1947โ21 Mar 1947: 22nd Amendment passed by Congress
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40 | 1948 | - 1948โ1948: Transistor radio invented
- 1948โ1948: Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark
- 1948โ1948: British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports
- 1948โ1948: The Frisbeeยฎ invented by Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni
- 1948โ1948: Velcro ยฎ invented by George de Mestral
- 1948โ1948: Robert Hope-Jones invented the Wurlitzer jukebox
- 1 Jan 1948โ1 Jan 1948: British Railways nationalised
- 5 Jul 1948โ5 Jul 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain
- 29 Jul 1948โ29 Jul 1948: London Olympics begin
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41 | 1949 | - 1949โ1949: De Haviland produces the Comet - first jet airliner
- 1949โ1949: Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap)
- 1949โ1949: Cake mix invented
- 15 Mar 1949โ15 Mar 1949: Clothes rationing ends in Britain
- 4 Apr 1949โ4 Apr 1949: Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO
- 4 Apr 1949โ4 Apr 1949: Canada joins NATO
- 3 1949โ31 Mar 1949: Newfoundland joins Canada
Newfoundland becomes Canada's tenth province
|
42 | 1950 | - 1950โ1950: The first credit card (Diners) invented by Ralph Schneider
- 4 1950โ30 Jun 1950: Winnipeg flood
More than 100,000 people forced from their homes in Winnipeg, Manitoba, by the Red River flooding
- 19 May 1950โ19 May 1950: Points rationing ends in Britain
- 26 May 1950โ26 May 1950: Petrol rationing ends in Britain
- 25 Jun 1950โ27 Jul 1953: Korean War
Korean War
- 11 Jul 1950โ11 Jul 1950: 'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV
- 9 Sep 1950โ9 Sep 1950: Soap rationing ends in Britain
- 28 Dec 1950โ28 Dec 1950: The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
- 6 1950โ27 Jul 1953: Korean War
As part of the United Nations, Canadian troops participate in the Korean War
- 6 1950โ27 Jul 1953: Korean War
United States (as part of the United Nations) and South Korea vs. North Korea and Communist China
|
43 | 1951 | - 1951โ1951: Super glue invented
- 1951โ1951: Power steering invented by Francis W. Davis
- 1951โ1951: Charles Ginsburg invented the first videotape recorder (VTR)
- 3 May 1951โ3 May 1951: Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London
- 28 May 1951โ28 May 1951: First Goon Show broadcast
- 20 Dec 1951โ20 Dec 1951: Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
- 2 1951โ27 Feb 1951: 22nd Amendment ratified
|
44 | 1952 | - 1952โ1952: Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany
- 1952โ1952: Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects
- 1952โ1952: Contraceptive pill invented
- 1952โ1952: Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia
- 1952โ1952: Mr. Potato Head patented
- 1952โ1952: The first patent for bar code (US Patent #2,612,994) issued to inventors Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver
- 1952โ1952: The first diet soft drink sold
- 1952โ1952: Edward Teller and team build the hydrogen bomb
- 6 Feb 1952โ6 Feb 1952: King George VI dies
- 21 Feb 1952โ21 Feb 1952: Identity Cards abolished in Britain
- 2 May 1952โ2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London
and Johannesburg
- 2 Jun 1952โ2004: Elizabeth II
House of Windsor (name adopted Jul 17, 1917):Elder daughter of George VI, acceded Feb 6, 1952
- 5 Jul 1952โ5 Jul 1952: Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross)
- 16 Aug 1952โ16 Aug 1952: Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster
- 6 Sep 1952โ6 Sep 1952: DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed
- 3 Oct 1952โ3 Oct 1952: End of tea rationing in Britain
- 1 Nov 1952โ1 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 1952โ25 Nov 1952: Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London
- 4 Dec 1952โ4 Dec 1952: Great smog hits London
|
45 | 1953 | |
46 | 1954 | - 1954โ1954: First transistor radios sold
- 1954โ1954: Routemaster bus starts operating in London
- 1954โ1954: First comprehensive school opens in London
- 1954โ1954: Oral contraceptives invented
- 1954โ1954: The first nonstick pan produced
- 1954โ1954: The solar cell invented by Chaplin, Fuller and Pearson
- 1954โ1954: Ray Kroc started McDonalds
- 6 May 1954โ6 May 1954: First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs)
- 3 Jul 1954โ3 Jul 1954: Food rationing officially ends in Britain
- 5 Jul 1954โ5 Jul 1954: BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin
- 30 Sep 1954โ30 Sep 1954: First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
- 10 1954โ15 Oct 1954: Hurricane Hazel
Southwestern Ontario, Toronto and area, hit by Hurricane Hazel -- 81 died, 4,000 homeless
|
47 | 1955 | - 1955โ1955: 'Mole' self-grip wrench patented by Thomas Coughtrie of Mole & Sons
- 1955โ1955: Tetracycline invented
- 1955โ1955: Optic fiber invented
- 27 Jul 1955โ27 Jul 1955: Jul 27: Allied occupation of Austria (after WW2) ends
- 22 Sep 1955โ22 Sep 1955: Commercial TV starts in Britain
|
48 | 1956 | - 1956โ1956: Britain constructs world's first large-scale nuclear power station in Cumberland
- 1956โ1956: The first computer hard disk used
- 1956โ1956: The hovercraft invented by Christopher Cockerell
- 1956โ1956: Bette Nesmith Graham invented "Mistake Out," later renamed Liquid Paper, to paint over mistakes made with a typewriter
- 6 Jan 1956โ1 Jun 1956: First nation-wide 5-year census
Population-count censuses initiated
- 11 Jan 1956โ1 Nov 1956: Springhill Mine explosion
39 miners killed from explosion in mine at Springhill, Nova Scotia
- 1 Mar 1956โ1 Mar 1956: Radiotelephony spelling alphabet introduced (Alpha, Bravo, etc)
- 17 Apr 1956โ17 Apr 1956: Premium Bonds first launched - first prizes drawn on 1 Jun 1957
- 3 Jun 1956โ3 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 1956โ31 Oct 1956: Britain and France invade Suez
|
49 | 1957 | - 1957โ1957: Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland)
- 1957โ1957: Britain introduces parking meters
- 1957โ1957: Fortran (computer language) invented
- 11 Jan 1957โ11 Jan 1957: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
- 14 May 1957โ14 May 1957: Post-Suez petrol rationing ends
- 15 May 1957โ15 May 1957: Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island
- 25 May 1957โ25 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 1957โ4 Dec 1957: Lewisham rail disaster - 90 killed as two trains collide in thick fog and a viaduct
collapses on top of them
- 25 Dec 1957โ25 Dec 1957: Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
|
50 | 1958 | - 1958โ1958: USA begins to produce Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)
- 1958โ1958: Computers begin to be used in research, industry and commerce
- 1958โ1958: Easter: First anti-nuclear protest march to Aldermaston (emergence of CND)
- 1958โ1958: The modem invented
- 1958โ1958: Gordon Gould invents the laser
- 1958โ1958: The Hula Hoop invented by Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin
- 1958โ1958: The integrated circuit invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
- 13 May 1958โ13 May 1958: Velcro trade mark registered
- 26 Jul 1958โ26 Jul 1958: Prince Charles' Investiture as 'Prince of Wales'
- 5 Dec 1958โ5 Dec 1958: Preston by-pass opens - UK's first stretch of motorway
- 5 Dec 1958โ5 Dec 1958: Inauguration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) in Britain (completed in 1979)
- 10 1958โ23 Oct 1958: Springhill Mine disaster
74 miners killed from third major explosion in mine at Springhill, Nova Scotia
|
51 | 1959 | - 1959โ1959: The internal pacemaker invented by Wilson Greatbatch
- 1959โ1959: Barbie Doll invented
- 1959โ1959: Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce both invent the microchip
- 3 Feb 1959โ3 Feb 1959: 'The Day The Music Died' - plane crash kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and
The Big Bopper
- 17 Feb 1959โ17 Feb 1959: Vanguard 2 satellite launched - first to measure cloud-cover distribution
- 1 Mar 1959โ3 Jan 1959: Alaska
49th State
- 24 May 1959โ24 May 1959: Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day
- Aug 1959โAug 1959: BMC Mini car launched
- 26 Sep 1959โ30 Apr 1975: Vietnam War
Vietnam War
- 3 Oct 1959โ3 Oct 1959: Postcodes introduced in Britain
- 1 Nov 1959โ1 Nov 1959: First section of M1 motorway opened
- 8 1959โ21 Aug 1959: Hawaii
50th State
- 6 1959โ26 Jun 1959: St. Lawrence seaway opens
Ocean vessels can now sail as far inland as Lakes Michigan and Superior
|
52 | 1960 | - 1960โ1975: Vietnam War
United States and South Vietnam vs North Vietnam
- 1960โ1960: Canada's Bill of Rights
Bans discrimination by federal agencies on grounds of race, national origin, colour, religion or sex -- permits Indians to vote
- 1960โ1960: The halogen lamp invented
- 17 Mar 1960โ17 Mar 1960: New ?1 notes issued by Bank of England
- 18 Mar 1960โ18 Mar 1960: Last steam locomotive of British Railways named
- 21 Jul 1960โ21 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 1960โ12 Aug 1960: Echo I, the first (passive) communications satellite, launched
- 12 Sep 1960โ12 Sep 1960: MoT tests on motor vehicles introduced
- 1 Oct 1960โ1 Oct 1960: HMS 'Dreadnought' nuclear submarine launched
- 2 Nov 1960โ2 Nov 1960: Penguin Books found not guilty of obscenity in the 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' case
- 6 1960โ16 Jun 1960: 23rd Amendment passed by Congress
|
53 | 1961 | - 1961โ1961: Valium invented
- 1961โ1961: The nondairy creamer invented
- 1 Jan 1961โ1 Jan 1961: Farthing ceases to be legal tender in UK
- 20 Jan 1961โ20 Nov 1963: John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy U.S. Presidency
- 13 Mar 1961โ13 Mar 1961: Black & White ?5 notes cease to be legal tender
- 14 Mar 1961โ14 Mar 1961: New English Bible (New Testament) published
- 1 May 1961โ1 May 1961: Betting shops legal in Britain
- 4 1961โ19 Apr 1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion
United States vs Cuba
- 1 1961โ22 Nov 1963: John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas
- 3 1961โ29 Mar 1961: 23rd Amendment ratified
|
54 | 1962 | - 1962โ1962: Britain and France agree to construct 'Concorde'
- 1962โ1962: Thalidomide withdrawn after it causes deformities in babies
- 1962โ1962: Britain passes Commonwealth Immigrants Act to control immigration
- 1962โ1962: The audio cassette invented
- 1962โ1962: The fiber-tip pen invented by Yukio Horie
- 1962โ1962: Spacewar, the first computer video game invented
- 1962โ1962: Dow Corp invents silicone breast implants
- 7 Jan 1962โ1 Jul 1962: Medicare introduced in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan sets medicare prototype for all provinces
- 9 Mar 1962โ3 Sep 1962: Trans-Canada Highway officially opens
- 25 May 1962โ25 May 1962: Consecration of new Coventry Cathedral (old destroyed in WW2 blitz)
- 15 Jun 1962โ15 Jun 1962: First nuclear generated electricity to supplied National Grid (from Berkeley Glos)
- Jul 1962โJul 1962: First passenger-carrying hovercraft enters service, along the North Wales Coast from Moreton to Rhyl
- 10 Jul 1962โ10 Jul 1962: First TV transmission between US and Europe (Telstar) - first live broadcast on 23 Jul
- 24 Oct 1962โ24 Oct 1962: Cuba missile crisis - brink of nuclear war
- 8 1962โ27 Aug 1962: 24th Amendment passed by Congress
|
55 | 1963 | - 1963โ1963: France vetoes Britain's entry into EEC
- 1963โ1963: The first videodisc invented
- Jan 1963โJan 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 1963โ27 Mar 1963: Beeching Report on British Railways (the 'Beeching Axe')
- 1 Aug 1963โ1 Aug 1963: Minimum prison age raised to 17
- 8 Aug 1963โ8 Aug 1963: 'Great Train Robbery' on Glasgow to London mail train
- 17 Sep 1963โ17 Sep 1963: Fylingdales (Yorks) early warning system operational
- 18 Nov 1963โ18 Nov 1963: Dartford Tunnel opens
- 20 Nov 1963โ20 Jan 1969: Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. Presidency
- 23 Nov 1963โ23 Nov 1963: First episode of 'Dr Who' on BBC TV
- 11 1963โ20 Jan 1969: Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson, vice president under John F. Kennedy, sworn in as president aboard Air Force One upon death of Kennedy.
|
56 | 1964 | - 1964โ1964: Acrylic paint invented
- 1964โ1964: Permanent-press fabric invented
- 1964โ1964: BASIC (an early computer language) is invented by John George Kemeny and Tom Kurtz
- 4 1964โApr 1964: Social Insurance cards first issued
Social Insurance cards issued to all Canadian adults -- privacy concerns limit their use for genealogy puposes
- 1 Jan 1964โ1 Jan 1964: First 'Top of the Pops' on BBC TV
- 9 Apr 1964โ9 Apr 1964: First Greater London Council (GLC) election
- 21 Apr 1964โ21 Apr 1964: BBC2 TV launched
- 22 Aug 1964โ22 Aug 1964: 'Match of the Day' starts on BBC2
- 4 Sep 1964โ4 Sep 1964: Forth road bridge opens
- 3 1964โ1993: Canadian troops in Cyprus
Canadian troops serve in Cyprus as part of the UN peace-keeping force
- 1 1964โ23 Jan 1964: 24th Amendment ratified
|
57 | 1965 | - 1965โ1965: Britain enacts first Race Relations Act
- 1965โ1965: Astroturf invented
- 1965โ1965: Soft contact lenses invented
- 1965โ1965: NutraSweet invented
- 1965โ1965: The compact disk invented by James Russell
- 1965โ1965: Kevlar invented by Stephanie Louise Kwolek
- 7 Feb 1965โ7 Feb 1965: First US raids against North Vietnam
- 7 Apr 1965โ7 Apr 1965: Winston Churchill dies
- 7 Jun 1965โ6 Jul 1965: 25th Amendment passed by Congress
- 1 Aug 1965โ1 Aug 1965: TV cigarette advertising banned in Britain
- 8 Oct 1965โ8 Oct 1965: Post Office Tower operational in London
- 28 Oct 1965โ28 Oct 1965: Death penalty for murder suspended in Britain for five-year trial period, then
abolished 18 Dec 1969
- 22 Dec 1965โ22 Dec 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced on British roads
- 2 1965โ15 Feb 1965: Canadian Flag changed
Maple Leaf flag is adopted by Parliament as the official flag of Canada. It replaces the "Canadian" (modified) Red Ensign
|
58 | 1966 | - 1966โ1966: Electronic Fuel injection for cars invented
- 14 Feb 1966โ14 Feb 1966: Australia converts from ? to $
- 3 May 1966โ3 May 1966: 'The Times' begins to print news on its front page in place of classified
Advertisements
- 30 Jul 1966โ30 Jul 1966: World Cup won by England at Wembley (4-2 in extra time v West Germany)
- 8 Sep 1966โ8 Sep 1966: First Severn road bridge opens
- 21 Oct 1966โ21 Oct 1966: Aberfan disaster - slag heap slip kills 144, incl. 116 children
- 1 Dec 1966โ1 Dec 1966: First Christmas stamps issued in Britain
|
59 | 1967 | - 1967โ1967: The first handheld calculator invented
- 4 Jan 1967โ4 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 1967โ18 Mar 1967: 'Torrey Canyon' oil tanker runs aground off Lands End first major oil spill
- 28 May 1967โ28 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 1967โ27 Jun 1967: First withdrawal from a cash dispenser (ATM) in Britain - at Enfield branch of Barclays
- 1 Jul 1967โ1 Jul 1967: First colour TV in Britain
- 14 Aug 1967โ14 Aug 1967: Offshore pirate radio stations declared illegal by the UK
- 20 Sep 1967โ20 Sep 1967: 'QE2' launched on Clydebank
- 27 Sep 1967โ27 Sep 1967: 'Queen Mary' arrives Southampton at end of her last transatlantic voyage
- 30 Sep 1967โ30 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'
- 2 Oct 1967โ10 Feb 1967: 25th Amendment ratified
- 5 Oct 1967โ5 Oct 1967: Introduction of majority verdicts in English courts
- 4 1967โ25 Apr 1967: Canadian Armed Forces established
The Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force unite into one combined military force -- a world first
|
60 | 1968 | - 1968โ1968: The computer mouse invented by Douglas Engelbart
- 1968โ1968: The first computer with integrated circuits made
- 1968โ1968: Robert Dennard invented RAM (random access memory)
- 18 Feb 1968โ18 Feb 1968: British Standard Time introduced - Summer Time became permanent but arguments prevailed and Britain reverted to GMT in October 1971
- 18 Apr 1968โ18 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 1968โ20 Apr 1968: Enoch Powell 'Rivers of Blood' speech on immigration
- 23 Apr 1968โ23 Apr 1968: Issue of 5p and 10p decimal coins in Britain
- 29 May 1968โ29 May 1968: Manchester United first English club to win the European Cup
- 11 Aug 1968โ11 Aug 1968: Last steam passenger train service ran in Britain (Carlisle- Liverpool)
- 16 Sep 1968โ16 Sep 1968: Two-tier postal rate starts in Britain
- 5 Oct 1968โ5 Oct 1968: Beginning of disturbances in N Ireland
|
61 | 1969 | - 1969โ1969: The arpanet (first internet) invented
- 1969โ1969: The artificial heart invented
- 1969โ1969: The ATM invented
- 1969โ1969: The bar-code scanner is invented
- 20 Jan 1969โ9 Aug 1974: Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon U.S. Presidency
- 2 Mar 1969โ2 Mar 1969: Maiden flight of 'Concorde', at Toulouse
- 7 Mar 1969โ7 Mar 1969: Victoria Line tube opens in London
- 17 Apr 1969โ17 Apr 1969: Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
- 2 May 1969โ2 May 1969: Maiden voyage of liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)
- 31 Jul 1969โ31 Jul 1969: Halfpenny ceases to be legal tender in Britain
- 14 Aug 1969โ14 Aug 1969: Civil disturbances in Ulster - Britain sends troops to support civil authorities
- 7 Sep 1969โ7 Sep 1969: First episode of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' recorded
- 14 Oct 1969โ14 Oct 1969: 50p coin introduced in Britain (reduced in size 1998)
- 1 1969โ9 Aug 1974: Richard Nixon
Richard M Nixon first president to resign from office. His decision was announced 8 Aug 1974
|
62 | 1970 | - 1970โ1970: Boeing 747 (Jumbo jet) goes into service
- 1970โ1970: The daisy-wheel printer invented
- 1970โ1970: The floppy disk invented by Alan Shugart
- 17 Jun 1970โ17 Jun 1970: Decimal postage stamps first issued for sale in Britain
- 19 Jun 1970โ19 Jun 1970: Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister
- 30 Jul 1970โ30 Jul 1970: Damages awarded to Thalidomide victims
- 19 Sep 1970โ19 Sep 1970: First Glastonbury Festival held
- 20 Nov 1970โ20 Nov 1970: Ten shilling note (50p after decimalisation) goes out of circulation in Britain
- 10 1970โ16 Oct 1970: War Measures Act Proclaimed in Quebec
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act to counteract FLQ terrorism
|
63 | 1971 | - 1971โ1971: Rolls-Royce declared bankrupt
- 1971โ1971: 'Greenpeace' founded
- 1971โ1971: Sunday becomes the seventh day in the week as UK adopts decision of the International
Standardisation Organisation (ISO) to call Monday the first day
- 1971โ1971: Banking and Financial Dealings Act - replaced the Bank Holidays Act of 1871
- 1971โ1971: Census of Canada
1971 census is the first completed by the householder
- 1971โ1971: Multiculturalism/Bilingualism Policy adopted
Canada gives equal status to both english and french languages
- 1971โ1971: The dot-matrix printer invented
- 1971โ1971: The food processor invented
- 1971โ1971: The liquid-crystal display (LCD) invented by James Fergason
- 1971โ1971: The microprocessor invented by Faggin, Hoff and Mazor
- 1971โ1971: VCR or videocassette recorder invented
- 3 Jan 1971โ3 Jan 1971: Open University starts
- 7 Jan 1971โ1 Jul 1971: 26th Amendment ratified
- 15 Feb 1971โ15 Feb 1971: Decimalisation of coinage in UK and Republic of Ireland
- 9 Aug 1971โ9 Aug 1971: Internment without trial introduced in N Ireland
- 28 Oct 1971โ28 Oct 1971: UK launches its first (and only) satellite, Prospero
- 28 Oct 1971โ28 Oct 1971: Parliament votes to join Common Market (joined 1973)
- 3 1971โ23 Mar 1971: 26th Amendment passed by Congress
|
64 | 1972 | - 1972โ1972: Dutch Elm disease devastates trees across UK
- 1972โ1972: Domestic video cassette recorders introduced
- 1972โ1972: Strict anti-hijack measures introduced internationally, especially at airports
- 1972โ1972: Britain imposes direct rule in Northern Ireland
- 1972โ1972: The word processor invented
- 1972โ1972: Pong (first video game) invented by Nolan Bushnell
- 1972โ1972: Hacky Sackยฎ invented by John Stalberger and Mike Marshall
- 30 Jan 1972โ30 Jan 1972: 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry, Northern Ireland
- 28 May 1972โ28 May 1972: Duke of Windsor (ex-King Edward VIII) dies in Paris
|
65 | 1973 | - 1973โ1973: Gene splicing invented
- 1973โ1973: The ethernet (local computer network) invented by Robert Metcalfe and Xerox
- 1973โ1973: Bic invents the disposable lighter
- 1 Jan 1973โ1 Jan 1973: Britain enters EEC Common Market (with Ireland and Denmark)
- 17 Mar 1973โ17 Mar 1973: Modern London Bridge opened by the Queen
- 1 Apr 1973โ1 Apr 1973: VAT introduced in Britain
- 26 Sep 1973โ26 Sep 1973: Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking
time
- 14 Oct 1973โ14 Oct 1973: Marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey
- 31 Dec 1973โ31 Dec 1973: Miners strike and oil crisis precipitate 'three-day week' (till 9 Mar 1974) to
conserve power
|
66 | 1974 | - 1974โ1974: New counties formed in Britain after re-organisation of some county boundaries
- 1974โ1974: Quebec makes french the official language
French language priority causes hundreds of businesses and non-french-speaking families to move out of Quebec
- 1974โ1974: The post-it note invented by Arthur Fry
- 1974โ1974: Giorgio Fischer, a gynecologist from Rome, Italy, invents liposuction
- 1 Jun 1974โ1 Jun 1974: Flixborough disaster: explosion at chemical plant kills 28 people
- 9 Aug 1974โ20 Jan 1977: Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford U.S. Presidency
- 8 Sep 1974โ20 Jan 1977: Gerald Ford
- 7 Nov 1974โ7 Nov 1974: Lord Lucan disappears
- 21 Nov 1974โ21 Nov 1974: Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA
|
67 | 1975 | - 1975โ1975: Unemployment in Britain rises above 1M for first time since before WW2
- 1975โ1975: The laser printer invented
- 1975โ1975: The push-through tab on a drink can invented
- 11 Feb 1975โ11 Feb 1975: Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of Conservative party (in opposition)
- 28 Feb 1975โ28 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 1975โ4 Mar 1975: Charlie Chaplin knighted
- 5 Jun 1975โ5 Jun 1975: UK votes in a referendum to stay in the European Community
- 29 Oct 1975โ29 Oct 1975: 'Yorkshire Ripper' commits his first murder
- 3 Nov 1975โ3 Nov 1975: First North Sea oil comes ashore
- 29 Nov 1975โ29 Nov 1975: The name 'Micro-soft' coined by Bill Gates (Microsoft' became a Trademark the
following year)
- 27 Dec 1975โ27 Dec 1975: Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act come into force
|
68 | 1976 | - 1976โ1976: National Theatre opens in London
- 1976โ1976: James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister
- 1976โ1976: Deaths exceeded live births in E&W for first time since records began in 1837
- 1976โ1976: 'Cod War' between Britain and Iceland
- 1976โ1976: The ink-jet printer invented
- 21 Jan 1976โ21 Jan 1976: Concorde enters supersonic passenger service
- 1 Apr 1976โ1 Apr 1976: Apple Computer formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
- 6 Aug 1976โ6 Aug 1976: Drought Act 1976 comes into force ? the long, hot summer
- 7 1976โ14 Jul 1976: Canada abolishes death penalty
|
69 | 1977 | - 1977โ1977: Magnetic resonance imaging invented by Raymond V. Damadian
- 20 Jan 1977โ20 Jan 1981: Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter U.S. Presidency
- 2 Mar 1977โ2 Mar 1977: 'Red Rum' wins a third Grand National
- 25 May 1977โ25 May 1977: George Lucas' film Star Wars' released
- 5 Jun 1977โ5 Jun 1977: Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale
- 7 Jun 1977โ7 Jun 1977: Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in London
- 22 Nov 1977โ22 Nov 1977: Regular supersonic Concorde service between London and NY inaugurated
- 1 1977โ20 Jan 1981: Jimmy Carter
|
70 | 1978 | - 1978โ1978: Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston invented the VisiCalc spreadsheet
- 1978โ1978: The artificial heart Jarvik-7 invented by Robert K. Jarvik
- 8 Apr 1978โ8 Apr 1978: Regular broadcast of proceedings in Parliament starts
- 1 May 1978โ1 May 1978: First May Day holiday in Britain
- 25 Jul 1978โ25 Jul 1978: World's first 'test tube' baby, Louise Browne born in Oldham
- 30 Nov 1978โ30 Nov 1978: Publication of The Times suspended - industrial relations problems (until 13
Nov 1979)
|
71 | 1979 | - 1979โ1979: Cellular phones invented
- 1979โ1979: Cray supercomputer invented by Seymour Cray
- 1979โ1979: Walkman invented
- 1979โ1979: Scott Olson invents roller blades
- 1 Mar 1979โ1 Mar 1979: 32.5% of Scots vote in favor of devolution (40% needed) - Welsh vote overwhelmingly against
- 30 Mar 1979โ30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave killed by a car bomb at Westminster
- 31 Mar 1979โ31 Mar 1979: Withdrawal of the Royal Navy from Malta
- 4 May 1979โ4 May 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman UK Prime Minister
- 1 Jul 1979โ1 Jul 1979: Sony introduces the Walkman
- 27 Aug 1979โ27 Aug 1979: Lord Mountbatten and 3 others killed in bomb blast off coast of Sligo, Ireland
- 18 Sep 1979โ18 Sep 1979: ILEA votes to abolish corporal punishment in its schools
|
72 | 1980 | - 1980โ1980: The hepatitis-B vaccine invented
- 5 May 1980โ5 May 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages
- 8 Dec 1980โ8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
|
73 | 1981 | - 1981โ1981: MS-DOS invented
- 1981โ1981: The first IBM-PC invented
- 1981โ1981: The scanning tunneling microscope invented by Gerd Karl Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer
- 20 Jan 1981โ20 Jan 1989: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan U.S. Presidency
- 25 Jan 1981โ25 Jan 1981: Launch of SDP by 'Gang of Four' in Britain
- 29 Mar 1981โ29 Mar 1981: First London marathon run
- 11 Apr 1981โ11 Apr 1981: Brixton riots in South London - 30 other British cities also experience riots
- 25 Apr 1981โ25 Apr 1981: Worst April blizzards this century in Britain
- 27 Apr 1981โ27 Apr 1981: First use of computer mouse (by Xerox PARC system)
- 29 Jul 1981โ29 Jul 1981: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 28 Aug 1996)
- 12 Aug 1981โ12 Aug 1981: IBM launches its PC ? starts the general use of personal computers
- 12 Aug 1981โ12 Aug 1981: First IBM PC
IBM launches the first PC
- 1 1981โ20 Jan 1989: Ronald Reagan
|
74 | 1982 | - 1982โ1982: Human growth hormone genetically engineered
- 26 Jan 1982โ26 Jan 1982: Unemployment reached 3 million in Britain (1 in 8 of working population)
- 5 Feb 1982โ5 Feb 1982: Laker Airways collapses
- 19 Feb 1982โ19 Feb 1982: DeLorean Car factory in Belfast goes into receivership
- 18 Mar 1982โ18 Mar 1982: Argentinians raised flag in South Georgia
- 2 Apr 1982โ2 Apr 1982: Argentina invades Falkland (Malvinas) Islands
- 5 Apr 1982โ5 Apr 1982: Royal Navy fleet sails from Portsmouth for Falklands
- 2 May 1982โ2 May 1982: British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks Argentine cruiser General
Belgrano
- 28 May 1982โ28 May 1982: First land battle in Falklands (Goose Green)
- 14 Jun 1982โ14 Jun 1982: Ceasefire in Falklands
- 21 Jun 1982โ21 Jun 1982: Prince William is born
- 20 Jul 1982โ20 Jul 1982: IRA bombings in London (Hyde Park and Regents Park)
- 19 Sep 1982โ19 Sep 1982: Smiley emoticon :-) said to have been used for the first time
- 11 Oct 1982โ11 Oct 1982: Mary Rose' raised in the Solent (sank in 1545)
- 31 Oct 1982โ31 Oct 1982: Thames Barrier raised for first time (some say first public demonstration Nov 7)
- 2 Nov 1982โ2 Nov 1982: Channel 4 TV station launched - first programme 'Countdown'
- 4 Nov 1982โ4 Nov 1982: Lorries up to 38 tonnes allowed on Britain's roads
- 12 Dec 1982โ12 Dec 1982: Women's peace protest at Greenham Common (Cruise missiles arrived 14 Nov
1983)
- 4 1982โ17 Apr 1982: Canadian Constitution Act replaces British North America Act of 1867
Royal assent given to 'patriate the Constitution' and to create the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
|
75 | 1983 | - 1983โ1983: First female Lord Mayor of London elected (Dame Mary Donaldson)
- 1983โ1983: The Apple Lisa invented
- 1983โ1983: Soft bifocal contact lens invented
- 1983โ1983: First Cabbage Patch Kids sold
- 1983โ1983: Programmer Jaron Lanier first coins the term "virtual reality"
- 17 Jan 1983โ17 Jan 1983: Start of breakfast TV in Britain
- 31 Jan 1983โ31 Jan 1983: Seat belt law comes into force
- 21 Apr 1983โ21 Apr 1983: ?1 coin into circulation in Britain
- 7 Oct 1983โ7 Oct 1983: Plans to abolish GLC announced
- 26 Nov 1983โ26 Nov 1983: Brinks Mat robbery: 6,800 gold bars worth nearly ?26 million are stolen from a
vault at Heathrow Airport
- 10 1983โ31 Oct 1983: Grenada
United States Intervention
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76 | 1984 | - 1984โ1984: The CD-ROM invented
- 1984โ1984: The Apple Macintosh invented
- 6 Mar 1984โ6 Mar 1984: Miners strike begins
- 17 Apr 1984โ17 Apr 1984: Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher killed by gunfire from the Libyan Embassy in
London
- 22 Jun 1984โ22 Jun 1984: Inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic
- 9 Jul 1984โ9 Jul 1984: York Minster struck by lightning - the resulting fire damaged much of the building
but the Rose Window' not affected
- 12 Oct 1984โ12 Oct 1984: IRA bomb explodes at Tory conference hotel in Brighton - 4 killed
- 24 Oct 1984โ24 Oct 1984: Miners' strike ? High Court orders sequestration of NUM assets
- 3 Dec 1984โ3 Dec 1984: British Telecom privatised - shares make massive gains on first day's trading
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77 | 1985 | - 1985โ1985: Windows program invented by Microsoft
- 3 Mar 1985โ3 Mar 1985: Miners agree to call off strike
- 11 Mar 1985โ11 Mar 1985: Al Fayed buys Harrods
- 13 Jul 1985โ13 Jul 1985: Live Aid' pop concert raises over ?50M for famine relief
- 1 Sep 1985โ1 Sep 1985: Wreck of Titanic' found (sank 1912)
- 12 Dec 1985โ12 Dec 1985: Plane crash in Gander, Newfoundland
A DC-8 crashes just after take-off killing 256
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78 | 1986 | - 1986โ1986: Census of Canada
1986 census asks about activity limitations
- 1986โ1986: A high-temperature super-conductor invented by J. Georg Bednorz and Karl A. Muller
- 1986โ1986: Synthetic skin invented by G. Gregory Gallico, III
- 1986โ1986: Fuji introduced the disposable camera
- 31 Mar 1986โ31 Mar 1986: GLC and 6 metropolitan councils abolished
- 26 Apr 1986โ26 Apr 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident - radiation reached Britain on 2 Ma
- 26 May 1986โ26 May 1986: The European Community adopts the European flag
- 23 Jul 1986โ23 Jul 1986: Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey
- 27 Oct 1986โ27 Oct 1986: 'Big Bang' (deregulation) of the London Stock Market
- 29 Oct 1986โ29 Oct 1986: M25 motorway ring around London completed
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79 | 1987 | - 1987โ1987: World population crossed the 5 billion mark
- 1987โ1987: The first 3-D video game invented
- 1987โ1987: Disposable contact lenses invented
- 2 Feb 1987โ2 Feb 1987: Terry Waite kidnapped in Beirut (released 17 Nov 1991)
- 6 Mar 1987โ6 Mar 1987: Car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise' capsizes off Zeebrugge - 188 die
- 1 Jul 1987โ1 Jul 1987: Excavation begins on the Channel Tunnel
- 19 Aug 1987โ19 Aug 1987: Hungerford Massacre - Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a rifle
- 16 Oct 1987โ16 Oct 1987: The 'Hurricane' sweeps southern England
- 19 Oct 1987โ19 Oct 1987: 'Black Monday' in the City of London - Stock Market crash
- 8 Nov 1987โ8 Nov 1987: Enniskillen bombing at a Remembrance Day ceremony
- 18 Nov 1987โ18 Nov 1987: King's Cross fire in London - 31 people die
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80 | 1988 | - 1988โ1988: Digital cellular phones invented
- 1988โ1988: The RU-486 (abortion pill) invented
- 1988โ1988: Doppler radar invented by Christian Andreas Doppler
- 1988โ1988: Prozacยฎ invented at the Eli Lilly Company by inventor Ray Fuller
- 1988โ1988: The first patent for a genetically engineered animal is issued to Harvard University researchers Philip Leder and Timothy Stewar
- 1988โ1988: Ralph Alessio and Fredrik Olsen received a patent for the Indiglo ยฎ nightlight
- 5 Feb 1988โ5 Feb 1988: First 'Red Nose Day' in UK, raising money for charity
- 6 Jul 1988โ6 Jul 1988: Piper Alpha disaster - North Sea oil platform destroyed by explosion and fire
killing 167 men
- 15 Nov 1988โ15 Nov 1988: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act - reformulated the statutory basis of
copyright law (including performing rights) in the UK
- 12 Dec 1988โ12 Dec 1988: Clapham Junction rail crash kills 35 and injures hundreds after two collisions of
three commuter trains
- 21 Dec 1988โ21 Dec 1988: Lockerbie disaster - Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Scotland
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81 | 1989 | - 1989โ1989: Poll Tax implemented in Scotland
- 1989โ1989: High-definition television invented
- 1 Jan 1989โ1 Jan 1989: Free Trade Agreement with U.S.
- 20 Jan 1989โ20 Jan 1993: George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush U.S. Presidency
- 14 Feb 1989โ14 Feb 1989: The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit
- 2 Mar 1989โ2 Mar 1989: EU decision to ban production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of
the century
- 9 Nov 1989โ9 Nov 1989: Berlin Wall torn down
- 21 Nov 1989โ21 Nov 1989: Proceedings of House of Commons first televised live
- 1 1989โ20 Jan 1993: George H.W. Bush
- 12 1989โ3 Jan 1990: US Invasion of Panama
United States vs Panama
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82 | 1990 | - 1990โ1990: The World Wide Web/Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML) created by Tim Berners-Lee
- 8 Feb 1990โ28 Feb 1991: Persian Gulf War
United States and Coalition Forces vs Iraq
- 11 Feb 1990โ11 Feb 1990: Nelson Mandela released in South Africa
- 31 Mar 1990โ31 Mar 1990: Riots in London against Poll Tax which had been implemented in England &
Wales
- 25 Apr 1990โ25 Apr 1990: Hubble space telescope launched
- 2 Aug 1990โ28 Feb 1991: Gulf War
Gulf War
- 22 Nov 1990โ22 Nov 1990: Margaret Thatcher resigns as Conservative party leader (and Prime Minister)
- 1 Dec 1990โ1 Dec 1990: Channel Tunnel excavation teams meet in the middle
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83 | 1991 | - 1991โ1991: The 'Internet' comes into existence
- 1991โ1991: Poll Tax replaced (by Council Tax)
- 1991โ1991: Census of Canada
1991 census asks about common-law status for the first time
- 1991โ1991: The digital answering machine invented
- 18 May 1991โ18 May 1991: Helen Sharman is first British Astronaut in Space
- Aug 1991โAug 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union
- 6 Sep 1991โ6 Sep 1991: Leningrad renamed St Petersburg
- 5 Nov 1991โ5 Nov 1991: Robert Maxwell drowns at sea
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84 | 1992 | - 1992โ1992: The smart pill invented
- 7 Feb 1992โ7 Feb 1992: European Union formed by The Maastricht Treaty
- 22 Apr 1992โ22 Apr 1992: Betty Boothroyd elected as first female Speaker of the House of Commons
- 5 Jul 1992โ7 May 1992: 27th Amendment ratified
- 15 Aug 1992โ15 Aug 1992: Football Premier League kicks off in England
- 16 Sep 1992โ16 Sep 1992: 'Black Wednesday' as Pound leaves the ERM
- 20 Nov 1992โ20 Nov 1992: Fire breaks out in Windsor Castle causing over ?50 million worth of damage
- 24 Nov 1992โ24 Nov 1992: The Queen describes this year as an 'Annus Horribilis'
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85 | 1993 | - 1993โ1993: Elizabeth II becomes first British Monarch to pay Income Tax
- 1993โ1993: Betty Boothroyd first woman Speaker of the House of Commons (to 2000)
- 1993โ1993: The pentium processor invented
- 20 Jan 1993โ20 Jan 2001: Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton U.S. Presidency
- Jul 1993โJul 1993: Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
- 1 1993โ20 Jan 2001: William Jefferson Clinton
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86 | 1994 | - 1994โ1994: 15 million people now connected to the Internet
- 1994โ1994: HIV protease inhibitor invented
- 12 Mar 1994โ12 Mar 1994: Church of England ordains its first female priests
- 6 May 1994โ6 May 1994: Channel Tunnel open to traffic
- 19 Nov 1994โ19 Nov 1994: National Lottery starts
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87 | 1995 | - 1995โ1996: Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina
United States as part of NATO acted peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia
- 1995โ1995: The Java computer language invented
- 1995โ1995: DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) invented
- 26 Feb 1995โ26 Feb 1995: Nick Leeson brings down Barings Bank
- 15 Jul 1995โ15 Jul 1995: First item sold on Amazon.com
- 16 Nov 1995โ16 Nov 1995: The Queen Mother has a hip replacement operation at 95 years old
- 22 Nov 1995โ22 Nov 1995: Toy Story' released - first feature-length film created completely using
computer-generated imagery
|
88 | 1996 | - 1996โ1996: Web TV invented
- 9 Feb 1996โ9 Feb 1996: IRA bomb explodes in London Docklands - ends 17 month ceasefire
- 13 Mar 1996โ13 Mar 1996: Dunblane massacre
- 15 Jun 1996โ15 Jun 1996: IRA bomb explodes in Manchester
- 5 Jul 1996โ5 Jul 1996: Scientists in Scotland clone a sheep (Dolly)
- 28 Aug 1996โ28 Aug 1996: Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales are divorced
- 5 1996โ15 May 1996: Census of Canada
1996 census counts 28,846,761 individuals. Asks about unpaid housework and mode of transportation to work
|
89 | 1997 | - 1997โ1997: The gas-powered fuel cell invented
- 30 Mar 1997โ30 Mar 1997: Channel 5 TV begins in UK (launched by the Spice Girls)
- 1 May 1997โ1 May 1997: 'New' Labour landslide victory in Britain (Tony Blair replaces John Major as
Prime Minister)
- 6 May 1997โ6 May 1997: Announcement that Bank of England to be made independent of Government
control
- 11 May 1997โ11 May 1997: First time a computer beats a master at chess (IBM's Deep Blue v Garry
Kasparov)
- 1 Jul 1997โ1 Jul 1997: Hong Kong returned to China
- 19 Jul 1997โ19 Jul 1997: IRA declares a ceasefire
- 31 Aug 1997โ31 Aug 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales killed in car crash in Paris
- 25 Sep 1997โ25 Sep 1997: Land speed record breaks sound barrier for first time
|
90 | 1998 | - 1998โ1998: Viagraยฎ invented
- 10 Apr 1998โ10 Apr 1998: Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland - effectively implemented in
May 2007
- 14 Aug 1998โ14 Aug 1998: Car bomb explodes in Omagh killing 29 people
- 27 Sep 1998โ27 Sep 1998: 'Google' search engine founded
|
91 | 1999 | - 1999โ1999: World population reaches 6 billion
- 1999โ1999: Scientists measure the fastest wind speed ever recorded on earth, 509 km/h(318 mph)
- 1999โ1999: Tekno Bubbles patented
- 1 Jan 1999โ1 Jan 1999: European Monetary Union begins - UK opts out - by the end of the year the
Euro has approximately the same value as the US Dollar
- 4 Jan 1999โ1 Apr 1999: Nunavut created in the Arctic
Canada's third territory, Nunavut, formed from part of the Northwest Territories to give the Inuit people more autonomy
- 1 Jul 1999โ1 Jul 1999: The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth - powers are
officially transferred from the Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish
Executive in Edinburgh
- 11 Aug 1999โ11 Aug 1999: Total eclipse of the sun visible in Devon and Cornwall
- 11 Nov 1999โ11 Nov 1999: Hereditary Peers no longer have right to sit in House of Lords
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92 | 2000 | - 1 Jan 2000โ1 Jan 2000: The year in Britain started with a 'flu bug rather than a millennium bug
- Mar 2000โMar 2000: London Eye opens, late but popular
- 22 Apr 2000โ22 Apr 2000: The Big Number Change takes place in the UK - affected telephone dialling
codes assigned to Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton
- 4 May 2000โ4 May 2000: Ken Livingstone elected first Mayor of London (not to be confused with Lord
Mayor of London!)
- 10 Jun 2000โ10 Jun 2000: Millennium footbridge over the Thames opens, but wobbles and is quickly
declared dangerous and closed - finally reopened Feb 2002
- 25 Jul 2000โ25 Jul 2000: A chartered Air France Concorde crashes on take-off at Paris with the loss of all lives
- Sep 2000โSep 2000: 'People Power' emerged suddenly as protestors against high Road Fuel Tax used
mobile phones and the Internet to co-ordinate blockades on fuel depots - resulted in
nationwide panic buying of fuel and service stations running out across the country
- Oct 2000โOct 2000: Heavy rains cause worst flooding since records began (1850s) in many
parts of Britain (Oct-Dec)
- 17 Oct 2000โ17 Oct 2000: Derailment at speed on the main London-North eastern line at Hatfield caused
by a broken rail
|
93 | 2001 | - 20 Jan 2001โ20 Jan 2009: George W. Bush
George W. Bush U.S. Presidency
- Feb 2001โFeb 2001: Outbreak of Foot & Mouth disease in UK - lasted until October - caused
postponement of local and general elections from May to June
- 12 May 2001โ12 May 2001: FA Cup Final played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff - first time away from Wembley since 1922
- 7 Jun 2001โ7 Jun 2001: General Election - Labour returned again with a large majority, the first time
they had succeeded in gaining a second term
- 1 Sep 2001โ1 Sep 2001: New-style number plates on road vehicles in UK [eg. AB 51 ABC]
- 7 Oct 2001โ28 Dec 2014: War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan
- 7 Nov 2001โ7 Nov 2001: Concorde flights resume after modifications to tyres and fuel tanks
- Dec 2001โDec 2001: UK Christmas stamps self-adhesive for the first time (self-adhesive 1st & 2nd class
definitives already on sale)
- 5 2001โ15 May 2001: Census of Canada
2001 census counts 30,007,094 individuals
- 1 2001โ20 Jan 2009: George W. Bush
|
94 | 2002 | - 1 Jan 2002โ1 Jan 2002: Twelve major countries in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Holland, Irish Republic,
Italy, Luxembourg, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal) and their
dependents start using the Euro instead of their old national currencies; the UK stays
out - the
- 22 Feb 2002โ22 Feb 2002: Millennium Bridge over the Thames in London finally opens
- 30 Mar 2002โ30 Mar 2002: The Queen Mother dies, aged 101 years
- 2 Jul 2002โ2 Jul 2002: Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a
balloon
|
95 | 2003 | - 2003โ1 May 2003: Invasion of Iraq
United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq
- 17 Feb 2003โ17 Feb 2003: Start of Congestion Charge for traffic entering central London
- 20 Mar 2003โ18 Dec 2011: Iraq War
Iraq War
- 10 Aug 2003โ10 Aug 2003: Temperatures reach record high of 101 F (38.3 C) in Kent
- 24 Oct 2003โ24 Oct 2003: Last commercial flight of Concorde
- 22 Nov 2003โ22 Nov 2003: England wins Rugby World Cup in nail-biting final in Australia - first northern
hemisphere team to do this
- 13 Dec 2003โ13 Dec 2003: Saddam Hussein captured near his home town of Tikrit (executed 30 Dec 2006)
- 26 Dec 2003โ26 Dec 2003: Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton from the builder's yard in France 2004
|
96 | 2004 | - 29 Mar 2004โ29 Mar 2004: Alistair Cooke dies at the age of 95 - until four weeks previously, and since
1946, he had broadcast his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio
- 29 Mar 2004โ29 Mar 2004: Ireland becomes first country in the world to ban smoking in public places
- 1 May 2004โ1 May 2004: Enlargement of the European Union to include 25 members by the entry of 10
new states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary,
Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus
|
97 | 2005 | - 16 Feb 2005โ16 Feb 2005: Kyoto Protocol on climate change came into force
- 18 Feb 2005โ18 Feb 2005: Ban on hunting with dogs came into force in England & Wales (had already
been a similar law for about two years in Scotland)
- 6 Jul 2005โ6 Jul 2005: London chosen as venue for the 2012 Olympic Games
- 7 Jul 2005โ7 Jul 2005: Suicide bombers attack London for the first time
- 28 Jul 2005โ28 Jul 2005: IRA declare an end to their 'armed struggle'
- 12 Sep 2005โ12 Sep 2005: England regain the 'Ashes' after a gripping Test series (but are whitewashed 5-0
in the return series in Australia 2007)
- 9 Dec 2005โ9 Dec 2005: Last Routemaster bus runs on regular service in London
- 11 Dec 2005โ11 Dec 2005: Explosions at the Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead
- 21 Dec 2005โ21 Dec 2005: Same-sex civil partnerships begin
- famously, on this day, between Elton John and David Furnish
|
98 | 2006 | - 1 Mar 2006โ1 Mar 2006: Welsh Assembly Building opened by the Queen
- 26 Mar 2006โ26 Mar 2006: Prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places in Scotland
- 21 Apr 2006โ21 Apr 2006: 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
- 21 Aug 2006โ21 Aug 2006: UK postage rates start to be measured by size as well as by weight
|
99 | 2007 | - 1 Jan 2007โ1 Jan 2007: Further enlargement of the European Union to include Bulgaria and Romania
- 19 Feb 2007โ19 Feb 2007: Extension of Congestion Charge zone for London, westwards
- 8 May 2007โ8 May 2007: A Northern Ireland Executive formed under the leadership of Ian Paisley (DUP)
and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fein)
- 1 Jul 2007โ1 Jul 2007: Prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places in England (thus completing
cover of the entire UK)
- 14 Nov 2007โ14 Nov 2007: First rail service direct from St Pancras to France (replacing that from Waterloo)
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