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686 The Isle of Wight becomes the last place in the United Kingdom to convert to Christianity
806 Vikings slaughter all inhabitants on the religious island of Iona, Scotland, UK.
1527 Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK is founded by Bishop John Vesey.
1607 The British national anthem, ''God Save the King'', is first sung.
1704 British forces under Sir George Rooke capture Gibraltar.
1704 French and British fleets clash off Malaga, causing heavy casualties in both sides but without sinking any ships.
1708 Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from a militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
1712 Thomas Newcomen builds the first piston-operated steam engine at Tipton, Staffordshire, UK.
1742 Robert Walpole was elevated to the peerage and thus moved from the House of Commons to the House of Lords, effectively ending his reign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (see February 16, above).
1745 British Government forces are defeated at the Battle of Prestonpans.
1755 French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition - British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.
1761 British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
1768 Boston citizens refuse to quarter British troops
1777 American Revolutionary War: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
1777 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Bennington - British forces are defeated by American troops.
1777 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Germantown - Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.
1777 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Saratoga - American troops defeat the British.
1782 Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca. In Ohio the Gnadenhutten massacre of Native Americans takes place in which 29 men, 27 women, and 34 children were killed by white militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by another Native American group.
1796 British government purchase a 40 acre (162,000 mē) site at Norman Cross the first purposely built prisoner of war camp in England at that time.
1800 Great Britain passes the Act of Union to join Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom to take effect on 1 January 1801. The act is signed by King George III in August.
1801 Second Battle of Abukir: a British army under Ralph Abercromby defeats the French troops.
1801 First Battle of Copenhagen - The British fleet under Admiral Hyde Parker, along with Admiral Horatio Nelson, attack Copenhagen. Armed Neutrality of the North dissolved.
1801 Cairo falls to British troops.
1801 Battle of Algeciras: The French fleet beats the British fleet.
1802 Treaty of Amiens between France and United Kingdom ends the War of the Second Coalition.
1803 The United Kingdom redeclares war on France after France refused to withdraw from Dutch territory.
1804 Spain declares war on Britain.
1805 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar - British naval fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain. Admiral Nelson is fatally shot
1807 Disastrous British attack to Buenos Aires.
1807 With the death of Henry Benedict Stuart, the last Stuart claimant to the throne of the United Kingdom, the movement of Jacobitism comes to an effective end.
1809 Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna.
1810 King George III of the United Kingdom recognized as insane.
1812 U.S. President James Madison enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
1812 War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the U.S. Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
1812 The War of 1812 begins between the United States and the United Kingdom.
1812 Peninsular War: Battle of Salamanca - British forces led by Lord Wellington defeat French troops near Salamanca in Spain.
1812 War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships; ''HMS Detroit'' and ''HMS Caledonia''.
1812 War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights - As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock (although he dies during the battle).
1813 War of 1812: Battle of Stoney Creek - A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeat an American force three times its size under William Winder and John Chandler.
1813 War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin.
1813 War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York
9 de noviembre cumpleaņos de gabriela
1814 Guyana transferred from Netherlands to Britain; it is renamed "British Guiana".
1814 War of 1812: Battle of Lundy's Lane - Reinforcements arrive near Niagara Falls, Ontario for General Riall's British and Canadian force, and bloody, all-night battle with Jacob Brown's Americans commences at 18.00; Americans retreat to Fort Erie.
1814 Alexandria, Virginia offers surrender to the British fleet without a fight.
1814 peace treaty of Ghent ends War of 1812 between United States and Britain.
1815 In Britain, use of pillory is limited to punishment for perjury
1815 Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.
1815 In France, Napoleon surrenders at Rochefort to British forces.
1818 A convention between the U.S. and the United Kingdom establishes the northern boundary as the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, also creating the Northwest Angle.
1819 Peterloo Massacre in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, UK. Cavalry charge into a crowd of protesters results in 11 deaths and over 400 injuries.
1820 Last hanging drawing and quartering in Britain - Cato Street conspirators for treason (only hanged and beheaded) (See Capital punishment in the United Kingdom.)
1822 Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom. (See Treaty Timeline - Individual Treaties with maps at .)
1822 George Canning appointed British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
1824 Ashanti crush British forces in the Gold Coast (See also Wars between Britain and Ashanti in Ghana and Ashanti Confederacy).
1827 UK: Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich becomes Prime Minister of the UK following the death of Canning.
1829 Greece receives autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. This effectively ends the Greek War of Independence. Greece continues to seek full independence through diplomatic negotiations with the Empire as well as with Russia, France and Britain.
1829 India: In the face of fierce opposition, British Lord William Bentinck carries a regulation declaring that all who abetted suttee in India were guilty of culpable homicide.
1830 Greece gains full independence from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence. Negotiations for the borders between the two states continue until 1832, under the supervision of Russia, France and Britain.
1830 William IV succeeds George IV as King of the United Kingdom.
1833 January 3, British invades the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
1833 The British Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act giving all slaves in the British Empire their freedom (enacted 1834).
1837 Queen Victoria, monarch of the United Kingdom ascends to the throne
1838 The People's Charter drawn up in the United Kingdom demanding universal suffrage.
1840 British colonists reach New Zealand. Official founding date of Wellington.
1840 Britain issues the Penny Black, world's first postage stamp.
1840 Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia sign a London Treaty with the Sublime Porte, ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
1841 The United Kingdom occupies Hong Kong. Later during the year, the first census of the island recorded a population of about 7,500.
1841 United Kingdom annexes Sarawak from Brunei; James Brooke is appointed rajah.
1842 Income Tax Act 1842 passed in the United Kingdom; 7 pence on the pound sterling, for incomes over 150 pounds.
1846 Electric Telegraph Company founded in Britain.
1846 The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
1848 British, Dutch, and German governments lay claim to New Guinea.
1848 Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt - In Tipperary, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put-down by a government police for
1849 Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom.
1849 The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab
1851 A population census was taken of all people living in the United Kingdom.
1852 United Kingdom recognizes independence of the Transvaal
1852 First British public toilet for women opens in Bedford Street, London
1852 New Palace of Westminster opened in Britain
1854 The British recognize the independence of the Orange Free State.
1854 United Kingdom declares war on Russia - Crimean War begins.
1855 Stamp duty was removed from newspapers in Britain creating mass market media in the UK.
1857 Divorce without parliamentary approval becomes legal in Britain
1857 France and the United Kingdom declare war on China in the Second Opium War
1858 The Miners Association established in Cornwall, UK.
1858 Felice Orsini and his accomplices fail to assassinate Napoleon III in Paris but their bombs kill 156 bystanders. Because of the involvement of French émigrés living in Britain, there is a brief anti-British feeling in France but the emperor refuses to support it.
1859 The British Crown colony of Queensland in Australia is created by devolving part of the territory of New South Wales
1859 British naturalist Charles Darwin publishes ''The Origin of Species'', a book which argues that organisms gradually evolve through natural selection. (It immediately sold out its initial print run.)
1860 Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire form a commission to investigate causes of clashes between Maronites and Druzes in Lebanon earlier in the year.
1861 American Civil War: The "Trent Affair" - The ''USS San Jacinto'' stops the United Kingdom mail ship ''Trent'' and arrests two Confederate envoys, James Mason and John Slidell, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the UK and US.
1862 Britain annexes Lagos island in modern-day Nigeria
1865 First speed limit introduced in Britain - 2 mph in town and 4 mph in the country
1868 Last public hanging in Britain - Fenian bomber Michael Barrett
1872 The crewless American ship ''Mary Celeste'' is found by the British brig ''Dei Gratia'' (the ship was abandoned for 9 days but was only slightly damaged).
1873 The United Kingdom declares war against Ghana's King Kofi KariKari, who was involved in the trading of slaves. The war ended by July and the British established the Gold Coast Colony.
1873 The British steamer RMS ''Atlantic'' sinks off Nova Scotia killing 547.
1874 Home Rule Movement created to protest British Government control over Ireland. (see History of Ireland)
1874 Signing of the Pangkor Treaty (also known as the Pangkor Engagement), by which the British extended their control over, first the Sultanate of Perak and later the other independent Malay States.
1877 Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act, introduced by United Kingdom Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
1878 The UK frigate ''Eurydice'' sinks, killing 300.
1878 Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
1879 Zulu troops massacre British troops at the Battle of Isandlwana. At Rorke's Drift, outnumbered British soldiers drive the attackers away after hours of fighting.
1879 Anglo-Zulu War: A British force over one-hundred strong is ambushed and destroyed by Zulu forces.
1879 Anglo-Zulu War: British forces suffer a defeat at the Battle of Hlobane.
1879 Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
1879 Anglo-Zulu War: British forces successfully lift the two-month Siege of Eshowe.
1879 Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
1880 The British recognise Abdur Rahman Khan as amir of Afghanistan.
1881 Pretoria Convention peace treaty signed, officially ending the war between the Boers and Britain
1882 Married Women's Property Act 1882 in Britain enables women to buy, own and sell property and to keep their own earnings
1882 The British Chartered Institute of Patent Agents is founded.
1884 Colchester earthquake, England; the UK's most destructive.
1884 University of Wales, Bangor (UK) founded.
1885 ''The Times'' reports that "A lady well-known in literary and scientific circles" has been cremated by the Cremation Society in Woking, Surrey. Jeannette C. Pickersgill was the first person to be officially cremated in the United Kingdom
1885 The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland.
1886 Royal Holloway, University of London opened by Queen Victoria in Surrey United Kingdom.
1887 Britain celebrates a Golden Jubilee, marking the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign.
1888 Camborne School of Mines founded in Cornwall, UK.
1890 Britain receives Zanzibar from Germany in exchange for Heligoland.
1892 Abu Dhabi becomes a British protectorate.
1892 British conquest of Ijebu-Ode marks major extension of colonial power into Nigerian interior.
1892 William Ewart Gladstone assumes British premiership at head of Liberal government with Irish Nationalist Party support.
1893 The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
1895 The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C (measured as -17°F) was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. This record was equalled in 1982 and again in 1995.
1897 A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the Oba of Benin. This leads to a Punitive Expedition against Benin.
1899 Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
1900 Irish leader John Edward Redmond calls for a revolt against British rule.
1900 United Kingdom forces fighting Boers in South Africa ask for reinforcements.
in 1900]]
1900 British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
1900 Second Boer War: In South Africa, 20,000 British troops invade the Orange Free State.
1900 Second Boer War: Battle of Hart's Hill - In South Africa the Boers and British troops battle.
1900 Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje.
1900 Second Boer War: British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.
1900 Prime Minister Lord Salisbury of the United Kingdom rejects U.S. President McKinley's offer to mediate in the Boer War
1900 Oscar II, King of Sweden, declares support for Britain at the time of the Second Boer War.
1900 Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking
1900 The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
1900 Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria, South Africa.
1901 In the United Kingdom, Factory Act forbids child labor under 12
1901 Nigeria becomes a British protectorate
1902 Second Boer War: South African Boers win their last battle over British forces, with the capture of a British general and 200 of his men.
1902 Edward VII is crowned King of the United Kingdom.
1904 Entente Cordiale signed between the UK and France.
1908 At Masjid-al-Salaman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
1909 Old age pensions in Britain
1910 George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII.
1910 fire at World Exhibition in Brussels destroys exhibitions of Britain and France.
1911 A national seamen's strike begins in Britain.
1911 Raunds, Northamptonshire records a temperature of 98°F (36.7°C), the highest UK temperature until 1990.
1912 Piltdown Man presented in Britain.
1912 In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) is established.
1914 The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
1914 German troops invade neutral Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany after the latter fails to respect Belgian neutrality. The United States declares neutrality.
1914 London Agreement - no member of Triple Entente (Britain, France, or Russia) may seek a separate peace with Central Powers.
1914 World War I: Battle of Coronel fought - A Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock is met and defeated by the superior German forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee. This is the first British naval defeat of the war.
1914 Britain and France declare war on Turkey.
1914 The United Kingdom annexes Cyprus, and together with France declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
1915 German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom for the first time, killing more than 20.
1915 Britain, France and Russia agree to give Constantinople and the Bosporus to Russia in case of victory (the treaty is later nullified by the Bolshevik revolution)
1915 World War I: British attack on the Dardanelles fails.
1915 World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium.
1916 Britain initiates daylight saving time.
1917 World War I: United States ambassador to the United Kingdom Walter H. Page is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany offers to give the American Southwest back to Mexico if Mexico will declare war on the United States.
1917 World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends - United Kingdom forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.
1917 British troops occupy Tel Aviv and Jaffa in Palestine.
1919 April 13 At the Amritsar Massacre, British and Gurkha troops massacre 379 Indians.
1919 August 19 Afghanistan gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1920 Britain announces it will build 1,000,000 homes for war veterans. The promise will never be fulfilled in full.
1920 United Kingdom and France ratify the border between French-held Syria and British-held Palestine.
1921 In the Four Power Treaty on Insular Possessions Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and France agree to recognize the status quo in the Pacifi
1922 Flu epidemic has claimed 804 victims in Britain.
1922 Five Power Naval Disarmament Treaty signed between United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy
1922 The United Kingdom accepts the independence of Egypt.
1922 Egypt having gained nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt.
1922 The broadcasting license fee of ten shillings introduced in the United Kingdom
1922 In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) begins radio service in the United Kingdom. 2LO became the first radio station in the United Kingdom.
1923 Grouping of all UK railway companies into four larger companies
1924 The United Kingdom recognizes Soviet Union.
1925 John Logie Baird creates Britain's first television transmitter.
1926 UK General Strike 1926: In the United Kingdom, a general strike by trade unions ends (the strike began on May 3).
1927 Saudi Arabia becomes independent of the United Kingdom (Treaty of Jedda).
1928 The right to vote extended to all women in the United Kingdom.
1930 The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
1931 Austria, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden and USA recognize the Spanish Republic
1935 November 14 In General Election in Britain, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin returned to office at the head of a National Government led by the Conservative Party with a large but reduced majority.
1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement: Britain agrees to a German navy equal to 35% of her own naval tonnage.
1935 Samuel Hoare resigns as British foreign secretary; replaced by Anthony Eden. The socialist party of Sri Lanka, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party founded.
1937 First science fiction convention in Leeds, United Kingdom.
1937 The National House Builders Registration Council (now the NHBC) was formed in the United Kingdom.
1939 United Kingdom and France recognize Franco's government
1939 World War II: France, Australia and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany.
1940 World War II: Axis powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
1940 World War II: Iceland invaded by the United Kingdom.
1940 World War II: Dunkirk evacuation ends - British forces complete evacuating 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France.
1940 World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
1940 World War II: 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux.
1940 World War II: Agreement between United States and Great Britain announced. Fifty U.S. destroyers needed for escort work transferred to Britain. In return, the United States gains 99-year leases on British bases in the North Atlantic, West Indies and Bermuda.
1940 World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Britain.
1940 World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Britain.
1940 World War II: The German Hilfskreuzer (cruiser) ''Atlantis'' captures top secret British mail, and sends it to Japan
1941 British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
1941 World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
1941 World War II: The United Kingdom's House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
1941 World War II: Operation Countenance - United Kingdom and Soviet forces invade Iran.
1941 Formation of the Political Warfare Executive in the United Kingdom
1941 Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran is forced to resign in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran under pressure from the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.
1942 World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom
1942 World War II: Operation Ironclad - United Kingdom forces invades french colony of Madagascar.
1942 Indian leader, Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces.
1942 Holocaust: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews.
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1942 World War II: Operation Torch - United States and United Kingdom forces land in French North Africa.
1943 The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China.
1943 World War II: British forces capture Tripoli from the Nazis.
1943 World War II: Operation Gomorrah begins: British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, those of the Americans by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives will have killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
1943 World War II: Operation Gomorrah - The British bomb Hamburg causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
1943 World War II: After flying from Britain, 160 American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vemork, Norway.
1944 British forces, in Italy, cross the Garigliano River.
1944 More than 1000 British bombers drop 5000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
1944 Battle of Imphal: Japanese forces call off their advance, ending the battle in a British victory.
1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen.
1944 The British 11th Armored Division liberates the city of Antwerp in Belgium.
1944 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin begin a nine-day conference in Moscow to discuss the future of Europe.
1945 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference at Zonhoven describing his contribution to the Battle of the Bulge.
1945 World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma
1945 President of Germany Karl Dönitz and Chancellor of Germany Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk are arrested by British forces at Flensburg. They would respectively be the last German Head of state and Head of government until 1949.
1945 Winston Churchill resigns as Britain's prime minister after his Conservative Party is soundly defeated by the Labour Party in the 1945 general election. Clement Attlee becomes the new prime minister.
1946 Eight British servicemen are killed in Jerusalem by Jewish terrorists.
1947 Following wide media and UNSCOP coverage, Exodus (ship) is captured by British troops and refused entry to Palestine in the port of Haifa
1947 New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.
1948 Nationalisation of UK railways to form British Railways. Arab militants lay siege to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. First day of the Italian republican constitution, first day of the New Jersey State Constitution.
1948 Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1949 Dock strike in the UK
1950 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
1950 Lord Balfour criticizes the fact that rationing is still in force in Britain
1951 IBM United Kingdom formed
1951 The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran.
1951 Malayan Emergency - communist insurgents kill British commander Sir Henry Gurney
1952 Winston Churchill scraps UK compulsory national Identity Cards
1952 United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.
1952 British passenger jet flies twice over Atlantic Ocean in the same day.
1953 Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, ''Casino Royale'' in the United Kingdom
1953 Rationing of sugar ends in the United Kingdom
1953 United Kingdom and Iran reform diplomatic relations
1954 The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the Berlin Conference.
1954 Food rationing ends in Britain
1955 The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.
1956 The United Kingdom bans heroin.
1956 Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
1956 Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately.
1957 Consumers' Association founded (UK).
1957 United Kingdom colonies Gold Coast and British Togoland become the independent Republic of Ghana.
1957 United Kingdom announces that Singapore will gain self rule January 1 1958.
1957 The Federation of Malaya, which does not include Singapore, gains independence from the United Kingdom. Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan becomes the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
1957 Lewisham train disaster in UK leaves 92 dead.
1958 Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by the Queen when she dials a call from Bristol to Edinburgh and speaks to the Lord Provost.
1958 The Preston bypass, the United Kingdom's first motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. This stretch is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
1959 import tariffs lifted in the United Kingdom.
1959 The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independen
1960 June 24 Avro 748 makes its first flight at Woodford, UK.
1960 June 26 British Somaliland gains independence from UK 5 days later it unites with the former Italian Somaliland to create the modern Somali Republic.
1960 August 16 Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1960 October 30 Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom, at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
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1960 The Blue Streak missile is cancelled, heralding an end to the United Kingdom's imperial ambitions.
1961 The farthing coin, used since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
1961 British authorities announce that they have discovered a large Soviet spy ring in London.
1961 Black and white Ģ5 notes cease to be legal tender in the UK.
1961 Kuwait requests British help; the United Kingdom sends in troops.
1962 The Commonwealth Immigration Bill in the United Kingdom removes free immigration from the citizens of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1962 In what the press dubs the "the Night of the Long Knives", United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses one-third of his Cabinet.
1962 The UN General Assembly requests the United Kingdom to suspend enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but the constitution comes into effect on November 1.
1963 The divorce case of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll causes scandal in the United Kingdom
1963 French President Charles De Gaulle vetoes the United Kingdom's entry into the EEC.
1963 The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
1963 The first episode of the BBC television series ''Doctor Who'' is broadcast in the United Kingdom.
1964 BBC2 starts broadcasting in the UK.
1964 Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
1964 Murderers Gwynne Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen are executed. They are the last people to be executed in the United Kingdom.
1964 The island of Malta obtains independence from the United Kingdom.
1964 United Kingdom's Labour Party wins the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom, ending 13 years of Conservative Party rule.
1964 United Kingdom's Labour Party wins the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom, ending 13 years of Conservative Party rule.
1965 The Council for National Academic Awards is established in the UK
1965 The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1965 The UN General Council recommends that the United Kingdom try everything to stop a rebellion in Rhodesia.
1965 African countries demand that the United Kingdom use force to prevent Rhodesia from declaring unilateral independen
1965 Members of the Organization of African Unity decide to sever diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, unless the British government ends the rebellion of Rhodesia by mid-December.
1965 Tanzania and Guinea sever diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom.
1966 The United Kingdom ceases all trade with Rhodesia.
1966 The naval minister of the United Kingdom, Christopher Mayhew, resigns.
1966 The United Kingdom asks the UN Security Council for authority to use force to stop oil tankers that violate the embargo against Rhodesia. Authority is given April 10.
1966 A sailors' strike, organised by the National Union of Seamen, ends in the United Kingdom.
1966 Gwynfor Evans becomes member of Parliament for Carmarthen, the first Plaid Cymru MP in the UK.
1966 The Beatles release ''Revolver (album)'' in the United Kingdom.
1966 The Aberfan disaster occurs in South Wales, United Kingdom.
1966 Spain demands that United Kingdom stop military flights to Gibraltar - Britain says no the next day.
1966 Thirty-eight African states demand that the United Kingdom use force against the Rhodesian government.
1967 Parker Morris Standards became mandatory for all housing built in New Towns in the UK.
1967 The United Kingdom enters the first round of negotiations for EEC membership in Rome.
1967 Italy announces support for the United Kingdom's EEC membership.
1967 The USA, Soviet Union and UK sign the Outer Space Treaty.
1967 Aleksei Kosygin arrives in the UK for an eight-day visit. He meets the Queen on February 9.
1967 Dominica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1967 ''Puppet On A String'' by Sandie Shaw (music and text by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter) wins Eurovision Song Contest 1967 for United Kingdom.
1967 Harold Wilson announces that the United Kingdom has decided to apply for EEC membership
1967 The United Kingdom and Ireland apply officially for EEC membership.
1967 The Soviet Union ratifies a treaty with the United States and the United Kingdom, banning nuclear weapons from outer spa
1967 The first colour television broadcasts begin on BBC2 in UK on certain programmes. A full colour service begins on BBC2 on December 2.
1967 The United Kingdom announces the closing of its military bases in Malaysia and Singapore. Australia and the U.S. do not approve.
1967 The UK Marine Broadcasting Offences Act declares participation in offshore pirate radio illegal.
1967 An abortion bill passes in the British Parliament.
1967 British troops and Chinese demonstrators clash on the border of China and Hong Kong during the Hong Kong Riots.
1967 The UK pound is devalued from 1 GBP = 2.80 USD to 1 GBP = 2.40 USD.
1967 The People's Republic of South Yemen becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
1969 The United Kingdom and Rhodesia sever diplomatic ties.
1969 British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland.
1969 Regular colour television broadcasts begin on BBC1 and ITV in UK.
1970 Rhodesia severs its last tie with the United Kingdom, declaring itself a racially-segregated republic.
1970 Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1970 Edward Heath is elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1970 Richard Nixon begins a tour of Europe and visits Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
1970 October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de Libération du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days. Police negotiate his release and in return the Government of Canada grants five terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request for safe passage to Cuba.
1971 BBC Open University begins in the United Kingdom.
1971 The United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership.
1971 The United Kingdom increases its troops in Northern Ireland to 11,000.
1971 The United Kingdom opts out of the Space Race, with the cancellation of its Black Arrow launch vehicle.
1971 Qatar gains independence from the United Kingdom. Unlike most nearby emirates, Qatar declines to become part of either the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.
1971 The United Kingdom becomes the 6th nation to launch a satellite into orbit, the Prospero X-3.
1971 The United Kingdom gives up its military bases in Malta.
1972 The United Kingdom begin to train Special Air Service for anti-terrorist duties.
1972 Anti-British riots throughout Ireland take pla The British Embassy in Dublin is burned to the ground, as are several British-owned businesses.
1972 The United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China elevate diplomatic exchanges to the ambassadorial level after 22 years.
1972 To prevent further unionist misrule, Britain takes over direct rule of Northern Ireland.
1972 ''Rainbow'', a British television programme for children, debuts.
1973 The National House Building Council was formed in the United Kingdom.
1973 The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the ''European Economic Community'', which later became the European Union.
1973 In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries a commoner, Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey (they divorce in 1992).
1973 In the UK, as a result of high coal and oil prices, the Three-Day Week officially comes into for
1974 The United Kingdom general election results in an almost dead-heat. Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister again, despite his Labour Party (UK) having received fewer votes than the Conservative Party (UK).
1974 Flixborough disaster: An explosion at a chemical plant in Flixborough, UK, kills 28 people.
1974 The second United Kingdom general election of the year results in a narrow victory for Labour, still led by Harold Wilson.
1974 The Prevention of Terrorism Act is passed in the United Kingdom.
1975 Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for the leadership of the UK Conservative Party in the United Kingdom.
1975 The United Kingdom votes yes in a referendum to stay in the European Community.
1975 The Irish Republican Army is outlawed in Britain.
1976 Harold Wilson resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1976 The 21st Eurovision Song Contest 1976 is held in The Hague. With Corry Brokken as the presenter, the contest is won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United Kingdom, with their song ''Save Your Kisses For Me''.
1976 UK and Iceland end the Cod War.
1976 The great heat wave in the United Kingdom, which is currently suffering from drought conditions, reaches its peak.
1976 The United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Uganda.
1977 Record company EMI sacks the controversial UK punk rock group the Sex Pistols.
1977 ''Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols'' is released in the UK.
1978 The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
1978 The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
1978 Louise Brown becomes the first human born from in vitro fertilization, in the United Kingdom.
1978 Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1979 Saint Lucia becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
1979 In Britain, Jim Callaghan's government loses a motion of confidence by one vote, forcing a general election.
1979 Conservatives win the British general election; Margaret Thatcher becomes the new prime minister.
1979 The Soviet Union exchanges Gerald Brook for spies Peter and Helen Kroger with United Kingdom.
1980 Spain and the United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969.
1980 Zimbabwe gains independence from the United Kingdom; Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister.
1980 Iranian Embassy Siege - Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London, UK. SAS retakes the Embassy on May 5; one terrorist survives.
1980 Iraqi security forces shoot dead three gunmen who attacked the British Embassy in Baghdad. The unknown attackers are killed in the embassy gardens by Iraqi security men, sent at the urgent request of the British ambassador, Alex Stirling.
1981 Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom
1982 The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C is recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. This equals the record set in the same place in 1895, and the record will be equalled again at Altnaharra in 1995.
1982 By Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on Parliament Hill, Canada repatriates its constitution, granting full political independence from the United Kingdom; included is the country's first entrenched bill of rights.
1982 The fourth terrestrial television channel is launched in the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland (known as Channel 4) with the first programme broadcast being the game show Countdown, which is still in production.
1983 Seatbelt use for drivers and front seat passengers becomes mandatory in the United Kingdom.
1983 Brunei gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1984 The biggest exam shake-up in the British education system in over 10 years is announced, with O-level and CSE exams to be replaced by a new exam, the GCSE.
1984 The United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China sign the initial agreement to return Hong Kong to China in 1997.
1984 The PIRA attempts to assassinate the British Cabinet in the Brighton hotel bombing.
1984 The People's Republic of China and United Kingdom sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong.
1985 Thirteen-year-old Ruth Lawrence achieves a first in mathematics at Oxford University, becoming the youngest British person ever to earn a first-class degree and the youngest known graduate of Oxford University.
1986 The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
1986 The ''Today'' national tabloid newspaper is launched in the United Kingdom, pioneering the use of computer photosetting and full-colour offset printing at a time when British national newspapers still use Linotype machines and letterpress.
1988 Section 28 (outlawing promotion of homosexuality in schools) is passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom.
1988 The United Kingdom bans broadcast interviews with IRA members. BBC gets around this by using actors' voices.
1989 Iran breaks off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom over Salman Rushdie's ''The Satanic Verses''.
1989 NATO debates modernising short range missiles; although the U.S. and UK are in favour, West German chancellor Helmut Kohl obtains a concession deferring a decision.
1989 Deal barracks bombing: An IRA bomb explodes at the Royal Marine School of Music in Deal, United Kingdom, leaving 11 dead and 22 injured.
1990 The United Kingdom and Argentina restore diplomatic relations after 8 years. The UK had severed ties in response to Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands, a British Dependent Territory, in 1982.
1990 Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying. Daphne Parish, a British nurse, is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment as an accompli
1990 Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 meters beneath the English Channel seabed, establishing the first ground connection between the United Kingdom and the mainland of Europe since the last Ice Age.
1990 Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 meters beneath the English Channel seabed, establishing the first ground connection between the United Kingdom and the mainland of Europe since the last Ice Age.
1991 In Iraq, Saddam Hussein releases 6 U.S., 3 British and 1 Italian prisoner of war.
1991 Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
1992 The Council for National Academic Awards, UK is wound up.
1992 United Kingdom general election: John Major is unexpectedly re-elected.
1993 Stephen Lawrence is murdered in London, UK.
1993 In the United Kingdom, 11-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are convicted of the child murder of 2-year-old James Bulger of Liverpool (they were sentenced to "indefinite detention")
1993 Downing Street Declaration - United Kingdom commits itself to the search for an answer to the problems of Northern Ireland.
1994 Fire destroys Norwich Central Library in the UK, including most of its historical records.
1995 The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm, Barings Bank, collapses after securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
1995 The UK Prime Minister, John Major, wins his battle to remain leader of the Conservative Party.
1995 The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C is recorded at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands. This equals the record set at Braemar, Aberdeenshire in 1895 and 1982.
1996 ''Doctor Who'' makes its return to British television for the first time since 1989. Paul McGann starred in the US-made movie which pitted the Doctor against Eric Roberts' Master.
1997 The UK's Labour Party ends 18 years of Conservative rule in the 1997 UK general election.
1997 The United Kingdom hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.
1997 UK scientists Moira Bruce and John Collinge, with their colleagues, independently show that the new variant form of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the same disease as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad-cow disease".
1997 Andy Green sets the first supersonic land speed record for the ThrustSSC team, led by Richard Noble of the United Kingdom. ThrustSSC goes through the flying mile course at Black Rock Desert, Nevada at an average speed of 1,227.985 km/h (763.035 mph).
1997 British au pair Louise Woodward is found guilty of the baby-shaking death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.
1998 Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad, preventing military action by the U.S. and Britain.
1998 The UK bans the importation of landmines.
1998 Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq announces its intention to fire upon US and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern "no-fly zones".
1999 The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive.
2000 Demolition of the old Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham, UK begins.
shortly before the fatal crash on July 25.]]
2001 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson resigns from the British cabinet for the second time.
2001 UK politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer, is sentenced to 4 years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justi
2002 Irish Football Captain Roy Keane is sent home from the Training Camp in Saipan, by Manager Mick McCarthy, after an argument over training arrangements. This causes a huge media sensation in Ireland and Britain. Many people split over the 2 sides and some call it the Second Irish Civil War.
2003 Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Denmark, and the Czech Republic release a statement, The Letter of the Eight, demonstrating support for the United States' plans to invade Iraq.
, during world-wide protests against war in Iraq.]]
'' cover]].
2003 The Druid Network is founded in the United Kingdom.
2003 Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United States, Britain, Portugal, and Spain meet at a summit in the Azores Islands. U.S. President Bush calls March 17th the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or be disarmed by for
2003 2003 Iraq war: Land troops from United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invade Iraq.
2003 The highest temperature ever is recorded in the UK - 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Brogdale near Faversham in Kent . It is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
2003 The highest temperature ever is recorded in the UK - 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Brogdale near Faversham in Kent . It is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
2003 Several bombs explode in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC and the British consulate.
2003 The use of hand-held mobile phones while driving is made illegal in the United Kingdom.
2003 The United Kingdom announces plans to build a new runway at Stansted Airport in Essex and a short-haul runway at Heathrow Airport, sparking anger from environmental groups.
2004 All outgoing flights from the UK are temporarily grounded following an air traffic control computer failure.
2004 A 163 metre high radio mast in Peterborough, UK collapses at a fire.
2005 In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.
2005 The United Kingdom votes in the 2005 general election. The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority.
2005 The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar is observed, with celebrations held around the United Kingdom.
2005 Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year old British man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.
2005 The Safeway (UK) brand in the United Kingdom retail disappears after 43 years of operation due to its takeover by Wm Morrison Supermarkets.
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