Timeline: William Hedley Potter: The genealogy of the Selwyn and related families.

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Abt 1893 -

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Timeline

Marjorie Ann Matthew (1884 - 1968)

	Date	Event(s)
1	1884	31 May 1884—31 May 1884: John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884: Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
2	1885	1885—1885: Carl Benz builds the 'Motorwagen', a single-cylinder motor car 1885—1885: Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle 1885—1885: Eastman makes first coated photographic paper 1885—1885: Canadian Pacific Railway completed Mar 1885—Mar 1885: First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking 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
3	1886	20 Jan 1886—20 Jan 1886: Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales May 1886—May 1886: Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage later named 'Coca-Cola' 29 May 1886—29 May 1886: Putney Bridge opens in London
4	1887	1887—1887: Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
5	1888	1888—1888: Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace 1888—1888: Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year 1888—1888: County Councils set up in Britain 1888—1888: Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre 1888—1888: First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888: Football League formed
6	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
7	1890	4 Mar 1890—4 Mar 1890: Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build 4 Nov 1890—4 Nov 1890: City & South London Railway opens - London's first deep-level tube railway and first major railway in the world to use electric traction
8	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
9	1892	1892—1892: Electric oven invented 1892—1892: Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's 6 Oct 1892—6 Oct 1892: Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
10	1893	1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
11	1894	1894—1894: Picture postcard introduced in Britain 1 Jan 1894—1 Jan 1894: Manchester Ship Canal opens 1 Mar 1894—1 Mar 1894: Blackpool Tower opens 30 Jun 1894—30 Jun 1894: Tower Bridge first opens 2 Aug 1894—2 Aug 1894: Death duties first introduced in Britain
12	1895	1895—1895: Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London 12 Jan 1895—12 Jan 1895: The National Trust founded in England 24 May 1895—24 May 1895: Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted 28 May 1895—28 May 1895: Oscar Wilde sent to prison 12 Jul 1895—12 Jul 1895: First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain 17 Oct 1895—17 Oct 1895: First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey Nov 1895—Nov 1895: X-rays discovered
13	1896	5 Apr 1896—5 Apr 1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens 2 Jun 1896—2 Jun 1896: Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
14	1897	1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
15	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)
16	1899	6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899: Start of Second Boer War
17	1900	1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years 1900—1900: Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified 1900—1900: Escalator shown at Paris exhibition 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900: Davis Cup tennis competition established 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900: Labour Party formed
18	1901	1901—1901: Commonwealth of Australia founded 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner 22 Jan 1901—22 Jan 1901: Queen Victoria dies - Edward VII king 2 Feb 1901—2 Feb 1901: Queen Victoria's funeral - interred beside Prince Albert in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park Jun 1901—Jun 1901: Denunciation of use of concentration camps by British in Boer War 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
19	1902	1902—1902: Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education 1902—1902: Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity 24 May 1902—24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated 31 May 1902—31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War 9 Aug 1902—9 Aug 1902: Coronation of Edward VII
20	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
21	1904	1904—1904: Leeds University established 8 Apr 1904—8 Apr 1904: France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale 4 May 1904—4 May 1904: America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
22	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
23	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
24	1907	1907—1907: New Zealand becomes a Dominion 1907—1907: Imperial College, London, is established 1907—1907: First airship flies over London 1907—1907: Lumiere develops a process for colour photography Jul 1907—Jul 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated 1 Aug 1907—1 Aug 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island 9 Nov 1907—9 Nov 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
25	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 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
26	1909	1909—1909: Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges 1909—1909: Peary reaches the north pole 1909—1909: First commercial manufacture of Bakelite - start of the plastic age 1 Jan 1909—1 Jan 1909: Old Age Pensions Act came into force 16 Jan 1909—16 Jan 1909: Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole 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)
27	1910	1910—1910: Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain 1910—1910: Constitutional crisis in Britain 1910—1910: Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville 1910—1910: Madame Curie isolates radium 1910—1910: Halley's comet reappears 1910—1910: Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe 6 May 1910—6 May 1910: Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
28	1911	1911—1911: Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords 1911—1911: British MPs receive a salary 1911—1911: First British Official Secrets Act 1911—1911: Rutherford: theory of atomic structures 1911—1911: Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912) 2 Apr 1911—2 Apr 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911: Coronation of George V 14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
29	1912	1912—1912: Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain 1912—1912: Britain nationalises the telephone system 1912—1912: Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' - hoax, exposed in 1953 18 Jan 1912—18 Jan 1912: Captain Scott's last expedition - he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives 13 May 1912—13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
30	1913	1913—1913: Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords - threat of civil war in Ireland - formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule 1913—1913: Suffragette demonstrations in London - Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned 1913—1913: Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes 1913—1913: Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield 1913—1913: Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity 4 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
31	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
32	1915	1915—1915: Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane 1915—1915: First automatic telephone exchange in Britain 19 Jan 1915—19 Jan 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia - four killed Feb 1915—Feb 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain starts Apr 1915—Apr 1915: Second Battle of Ypres - poison gas used for first time 25 Apr 1915—25 Apr 1915: Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916) 7 May 1915—7 May 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland - 1,198 died 16 May 1915—16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
33	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
34	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
35	1918	1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons) 1918—1918: War of Independence in Ireland 18 Jan 1918—18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic Jul 1918—Jul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug) 1 Oct 1918—1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus 11 Nov 1918—11 Nov 1918: Armistice signed Dec 1918—Dec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein member refused to take her seat
36	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
37	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
38	1921	1921—1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained 1921—1921: Insulin discovery announced 1921—1921: First birth control clinic 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
39	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)
40	1923	1923—1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers 1923—1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way 1923—1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain 1 Jan 1923—1 Jan 1923: The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR - lasted until nationalisation in 1948 16 Feb 1923—16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun 28 Apr 1923—28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem 28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
41	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)
42	1925	1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard 18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
43	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
44	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
45	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)
46	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
47	1930	1930—1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag 1930—1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain 30 Jan 1930—30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany 31 Jan 1930—31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape 6 Mar 1930—6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas 5 Oct 1930—5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
48	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
49	1932	1932—1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London 1932—1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists 1932—1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus 1932—1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra 21 May 1932—21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain 3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
50	1933	1933—1933: ICI scientists discover polythene 1933—1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year 12 Nov 1933—12 Nov 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
51	1934	1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany 18 Jul 1934—18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel 26 Sep 1934—26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched 30 Nov 1934—30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
52	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
53	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'
54	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
55	1938	1938—1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain 1938—1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar 1938—1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro 12 Mar 1938—12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria 3 Jul 1938—3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive 27 Sep 1938—27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank 29 Sep 1938—29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time' 30 Oct 1938—30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
56	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
57	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
58	1941	1941—1941: Britain introduces severe rationing 1941—1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle 1941—1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge 1941—1941: First use of antibiotics 10 May 1941—10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland 27 May 1941—27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk 22 Jun 1941—22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa) 1 Jul 1941—1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain Dec 1941—Dec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England Dec 1941—Dec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America 7 Dec 1941—7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour 8 Dec 1941—8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII 24 Dec 1941—24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
59	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
60	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
61	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
62	1945	4 Feb 1945—4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin 29 Mar 1945—29 Mar 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack 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
63	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
64	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
65	1948	1948—1948: British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports 1948—1948: Transistor radio invented 1948—1948: Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark 1 Jan 1948—1 Jan 1948: British Railways nationalised 5 Jul 1948—5 Jul 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain 29 Jul 1948—29 Jul 1948: London Olympics begin
66	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
67	1950	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
68	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
69	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
70	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)
71	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
72	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
73	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
74	1957	1957—1957: Britain introduces parking meters 1957—1957: Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland) 11 Jan 1957—11 Jan 1957: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister 14 May 1957—14 May 1957: Post-Suez petrol rationing ends 15 May 1957—15 May 1957: Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island 25 May 1957—25 May 1957: Treaty of Rome to create European Economic Community (EEC) of six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg - became operational Jan 1958 4 Dec 1957—4 Dec 1957: Lewisham rail disaster - 90 killed as two trains collide in thick fog and a viaduct collapses on top of them 25 Dec 1957—25 Dec 1957: Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
75	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
76	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
77	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
78	1961	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
79	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
80	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
81	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
82	1965	1965—1965: Britain enacts first Race Relations Act 7 Feb 1965—7 Feb 1965: First US raids against North Vietnam 7 Apr 1965—7 Apr 1965: Winston Churchill dies 1 Aug 1965—1 Aug 1965: TV cigarette advertising banned in Britain 8 Oct 1965—8 Oct 1965: Post Office Tower operational in London 28 Oct 1965—28 Oct 1965: Death penalty for murder suspended in Britain for five-year trial period, then abolished 18 Dec 1969 22 Dec 1965—22 Dec 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced on British roads
83	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
84	1967	4 Jan 1967—4 Jan 1967: Donald Campbell dies attempting to break his world water speed record on Conniston Water - his body and Bluebird recovered in 2002 18 Mar 1967—18 Mar 1967: 'Torrey Canyon' oil tanker runs aground off Lands End first major oil spill 28 May 1967—28 May 1967: Francis Chichester arrives in Plymouth after solo circumnavigation in Gipsy Moth IV (he was knighted 7th July at Greenwich by the queen using the sword with which Elizabeth I had knighted Sir Francis Drake four centuries earlier 27 Jun 1967—27 Jun 1967: First withdrawal from a cash dispenser (ATM) in Britain - at Enfield branch of Barclays 1 Jul 1967—1 Jul 1967: First colour TV in Britain 14 Aug 1967—14 Aug 1967: Offshore pirate radio stations declared illegal by the UK 20 Sep 1967—20 Sep 1967: 'QE2' launched on Clydebank 27 Sep 1967—27 Sep 1967: 'Queen Mary' arrives Southampton at end of her last transatlantic voyage 30 Sep 1967—30 Sep 1967: BBC Radios 1 2 3 & 4 open first record played on Radio 1 was the controversial 'Flowers in the Rain' by 'The Move' 5 Oct 1967—5 Oct 1967: Introduction of majority verdicts in English courts
85	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