This is atimeline of British history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in theUnited Kingdom and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, seeHistory of England,History of Wales,History of Scotland,History of Ireland,Formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland andHistory of the United Kingdom.
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 55 BC | 1 January[1] | RomanGeneralJulius Caesar invadesGreat Britain for the first time, gaining abeachhead on the coast ofKent. |
| 54 BC | ? | Caesar invades for the second time, gaining a third of the country. These two invasions are known asCaesar's invasions of Britain. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 43 | ? | Aulus Plautius leads an army of forty thousand to invadeGreat Britain.Emperor Claudius makesBritain a part of theRoman Empire. This is known as theRoman conquest of Britain. |
| 50 | ? | London is founded.[2][3] |
| 61 | ? | Boudica's organised rebellion against the Romans is defeated. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 122 | ? | EmperorHadrian orders awall to be built to mark Roman territory of Britain in the north. |
| 197 | ? | Britain is divided into two parts –Britannia Superior andBritannia Inferior. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 206 | ? | GovernorLucius Alfenus Senecio repairsHadrian's Wall and appeals for help from the Emperor against the northern tribes. |
| 208 | ? | EmperorSeptimius Severus and his sonCaracalla take personal command of the army in Britain. |
| 209 | ? | Severus and Caracalla lead an expedition against theCaledonii, and build forts atCramond and theTay estuary. |
| 210 | ? | Caracalla leads an expedition against the rebelliousMaeatae tribe. |
| 211 | ? | 4 February – Severus dies atYork, while preparing another expedition against the northern rebels. Caracalla, now Emperor, abandons territory north of Hadrian's Wall, and returns to Rome |
| c. 214 | ? | Britain divided into two provinces,Britannia Superior andBritannia Inferior, with administrative centres at London and York respectively |
| c. 220 | ? | Saxons raid south-east coast; forts built atReculver andBranodunum (Brancaster). |
| 245 | ? | Many thousands of acres of modern-dayLincolnshire are inundated by a greatflood. |
| 255 | ? | Work begins on a riverside wall in London. |
| 259 | ? | Rebel leaderLatinus Postumus proclaims Britain as part of his "Empire of the Gauls". |
| 270 | ? | Construction of forts along theSaxon Shore begins in response to increased raiding. |
| 273 | ? | Stone walls built aroundSt Albans. |
| 274 | ? | Postumus's Gallic Empire is reabsorbed into the Roman Empire underAurelian. |
| 277 | ? | Imperial edict lifts restrictions on Britishwine production. GeneralVictorinus puts down revolt, and settlesBurgundian andVandal prisoners in Britain. |
| 286–296 | Britannic Empire | |
| 287 | ? | Mausaeus Carausius takes power in Britain and proclaims himself Emperor |
| 289 | ? | Carausius defeats EmperorMaximian in a naval battle. |
| 293 | ? | Finance ministerAllectus murders Carausius and seizes power; employsFrankish mercenaries. |
| 296 | ? | Julius Constantius defeats Britons nearSilchester, killing Allectus; prevents retreating Franks from sacking London |
| 297 | ? | Re-building of forts near Hadrian's Wall begins. Constantius returns toGaul. First mention on record of thePicts attacking from the north in Eumenius'Panegyrici Latini. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1017 | ? | Cnut the Great is crownedking ofEngland inLondon. |
| 1034 | 25 November | Malcolm II of Scotland dies atGlamis. He is succeeded asking ofScotland by his grandsonDuncan I the Diseased of Scotland. |
| 1035 | 12 November | Cnut dies. He is succeeded asking ofEngland,Denmark andNorway by his sonHarthacnut. |
| 1040 | 17 March | Harold Harefoot dies atOxford.Harthacnut, his brother, succeeds him asking ofEngland. |
| 14 August | Duncan the Diseased is killed in action atElgin, Moray attempting to suppress a rebellion byMacbeth, King of Scotland,Mormaer of Moray, who replaces him asking ofScotland. | |
| 1042 | 8 June | Harthacnut dies, probably due to a stroke after excessive drinking at a wedding inLambeth. He is succeeded asking ofEngland by his brotherEdward the Confessor. |
| 1057 | 15 August | Battle of Lumphanan:Macbeth is killed in battle atLumphanan byDuncan the Diseased's sonMalcolm III of Scotland. He is succeeded asking ofScotland by his stepsonLulach. |
| 1058 | 17 March | Lulach is assassinated byMalcolm III, who succeeds him asking ofKingdom of Scotland. |
| 1066 | 5 January | Edward the Confessor dies, probably after a series of strokes. He is succeeded asking ofEngland by his brother-in-lawHarold Godwinson. |
| 28 September | Norman conquest of England:William the Conqueror,duke ofNormandy, lands with an army atPevensey. | |
| 14 October | Battle of Hastings:Harold Godwinson is killed in battle against the forces ofWilliam the Conqueror atBattle, East Sussex, causing the collapse of his army. | |
| 25 December | William the Conqueror is crownedking ofEngland atWestminster Abbey. | |
| 1078 | ? | The construction ofTintern Abbey begins. |
| 1086 | 12 june | Acensus begins whose results would be collected in the Domesday Book. |
| 1087 | 9 September | William the Conqueror dies atRouen. He is succeeded by one son,Robert Curthose, asduke ofNormandy and by another,William II of England, asking ofEngland. |
| 1093 | 13 November | Battle of Alnwick (1093):Malcolm III and his eldest son are ambushed and killed atAlnwick by an army ofknights led byRobert de Mowbray,earl of Northumbria. |
| 1100 | 2 August | William II is killed by an arrow through the lung while hunting in theNew Forest. He is succeeded by his brotherHenry I of England. |
| ? | TheWhite Tower ofLondon is completed. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1135 | 1 December | Henry I dies of illness. |
| 22 December | Stephen, King of England is crownedking ofEngland atWestminster Abbey. | |
| 1137 | ? | The Anarchy:Stephen entersNormandy in an attempt to conquer it fromEmpress Matilda, his rival for the succession in Normandy andEngland. |
| ? | Gruffudd ap Cynan,king ofGynedd, dies. He is succeeded by his sonOwain Gwynedd. | |
| 1154 | 25 October | Stephen dies of a stomach disease. He is succeeded asking ofEngland byHenry II of England, grandson ofHenry I. |
| 1164 | ? | Henry II issues theConstitutions of Clarendon, which provided that members of theCatholic Church accused of serious crimes would be tried and sentenced in secular courts. |
| 1170 | 28 November | Owain dies. |
| 29 December | Thomas Becket,archbishop ofCanterbury, is murdered inCanterbury Cathedral by followers ofHenry II. | |
| 1189 | 6 July | Henry II dies of illness atChâteau de Chinon. He is succeeded asking ofEngland by his sonRichard I of England. |
| 1192 | December | Richard is captured nearVienna on the orders ofLeopold V, Duke of Austria,duke ofAustria, while returning fromthe Crusades. |
| 1194 | 4 February | Richard is released following the payment of fifty tons of silver toAustria. |
| ? | Battle of Aberconwy:Llywelyn the Great defeats his uncleDafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, one of twoprinces ofKingdom of Gwynedd, in battle. | |
| 1199 | 6 April | Richard dies of a crossbow wound sustained two weeks earlier during a siege ofChâteau de Châlus-Chabrol. He was succeeded asking ofEngland by his brotherJohn, King of England. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1209 | November | ThepopePope Innocent IIIexcommunicatesJohn. |
| 1215 | 15 June | John agrees toMagna Carta, grantingpolitical rights including theright to a fair trial to hisbarons. |
| 1216 | 19 October | John dies of illness. He is succeeded asking ofEngland by his sonHenry III of England. |
| 1237 | 25 September | Henry III andAlexander II of Scotland sign theTreaty of York, under which the latter renounced his claims onEnglish territory inNorthumberland,Cumberland andWestmorland. |
| 1240 | 11 April | Death ofLlywelyn ab Iorwerth,prince of Wales;Dafydd ap Llywelyn succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd. |
| 1246 | 25 February | Death ofDafydd ap Llywelyn;Llywelyn ap Gruffudd succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd (he does not claim the title ofprince of Wales until 1258). |
| 1249 | 6 July | Death ofAlexander II, king of Scots;Alexander III succeeds to the throne of Scotland. |
| 1263 | 2 October | Battle of Largs, an inconclusive battle, is fought betweenHaakon IV of Norway and the Scots. |
| 1264 | 14 May | Simon de Montfort leads rebel English barons to defeatHenry III at theBattle of Lewes. |
| 1266 | 2 July | Scotland and Norway sign theTreaty of Perth under which Scottish control of the Western Isles is acknowledged. |
| 1267 | September | Henry III of England recognises the authority ofLlywelyn ap Gruffudd in Wales. |
| 1272 | 16 November | Death ofHenry III,Edward I succeeds to the English throne. |
| 1277 | July | England annexesWales, a state of affairs which lasted until 1283. |
| 1279 | ? | Statute of Mortmain. |
| 1282 | 11 December | Death ofLlywelyn ap Gruffudd,prince of Wales;Dafydd ap Gruffudd succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd. |
| 1283 | 3 October | Death ofDafydd ap Gruffudd; English conquest of Wales. |
| 1287 | ? | Revolt ofRhys ap Maredudd in Wales. |
| 1294 | 29 September | Revolt ofMadog ap Llywelyn in Wales. |
| 1297 | 11 September | William Wallace and the Scots defeat the English at theBattle of Stirling Bridge. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1305 | 23 August | Capture and execution of Scottish resistance fighterWilliam Wallace by the English on a charge of treason. |
| 1307 | 7 July | Death ofEdward I,Edward II accedes to the English throne. |
| 1314 | 24 June | Decisive victory for Scotland over England at theBattle of Bannockburn. |
| 1316 | 28 January | Revolt ofLlywelyn Bren inSouth Wales. |
| 1322 | 16 March | Edward II defeats a rebellious baronial faction atBattle of Boroughbridge. |
| 1327 | 25 January | Edward III usurps the English throne. |
| 21 September | Edward II is killed. | |
| 1328 | ? | England recognises Scotland's independence in theTreaty of Edinburgh–Northampton |
| 1338 | ? | Edward III claims the throne of France, initiating theHundred Years' War. |
| 1348 | June | TheBlack Death first arrives in England and ultimately kills c. one third of the population. |
| 1356 | 19 September | Battle of Poitiers. |
| 1377 | 21 June | Death ofEdward III, his grandsonRichard II accedes to the English throne. |
| 1381 | 30 May – November | Peasants' Revolt of 1381. |
| 1392 | ? | Statute of Praemunire. |
| 1399 | 30 September | Henry Bolingbroke usurps the English throne becomingHenry IV. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1413 | 20 March | Henry IV dies and is succeeded by his son,Henry V. |
| 1415 | 25 October | Henry V is welcomed back to England after a major victory at theBattle of Agincourt, France. |
| 1422 | 31 August | Henry V dies and is succeeded by his son,Henry VI. |
| 1471 | 21 May | Henry VI is murdered andEdward IV is restored to the English throne. |
| 1483 | 9 April | Death ofEdward IV,Edward V accedes to the throne. |
| 1485 | 22 August | TheBattle of Bosworth Field ends the Yorkist reign ofRichard III and ushers in Tudor reign, with the reign ofHenry VII. |
| 1487 | 16 June | TheBattle of Stoke is fought betweenHenry VII andLambert Simnel a Yorkist claimant to the throne. It is the last battle of theWars of the Roses. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1509 | 22 April | England –Henry VIII crowned and married toCatherine of Aragon. |
| 1513 | 9 September | England and Scotland –James IV and thousands of Scots killed in defeat at thebattle of Flodden. |
| 21 September | Scotland –James V crowned King. | |
| 1516 | ? | England –Royal Mail is originally established. |
| 1521 | ? | England –Lutheran writings begin to circulate. |
| 1525 | ? | England – Henry VIII seeks an annulment of his marriage, which is refused. |
| 1526 | ? | England –Cardinal Wolsey orders the burning of Lutheran books. |
| 1532 | ? | Scotland – Creation of the College of Justice and theCourt of Session. |
| 1534 | 3 November | Act of Supremacy passed by Henry VIII |
| 18 December | England –Treasons Act 1534. | |
| 1535 | 22 June | England – Execution of CardinalJohn Fisher. |
| 6 July | England – Execution ofThomas More. | |
| 1536 | 6 October | England – Execution ofWilliam Tindale in Antwerp. |
| 1542 | 14 December | Scotland –Mary, Queen of Scots, accedes to the Scottish throne. |
| 1547 | 28 January | England –Edward VI crowned King. |
| 1549 | 6 June – 17 August | England –Prayer Book Rebellion in south-west. |
| 1553 | July | England –Mary I accedes to the throne. |
| 1558 | 17 November | England –Elizabeth I accedes to the throne. |
| 1559 | April | England –Act of Supremacy 1559.[4] |
| 2 May | Scotland –John Knox returns fromGeneva to promoteCalvinism. | |
| 1560 | 1 August | Scotland – Parliament legislatesProtestant Reformation of theChurch of Scotland. |
| 1563 | 4 June | Scotland –Witchcraft Act 1563. |
| 1567 | 24 July | Scotland – The CatholicMary, Queen of Scots, abdicates and flees Scotland after an uprising by Protestant lords |
| 1571 | May | England –Treasons Act 1571. |
| 1582 | 14 April | Scotland – Establishment of theUniversity of Edinburgh by Royal Charter.[5] |
| 1587 | 8 February | England and Scotland – Execution ofMary, Queen of Scots, atFotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. |
| 1588 | 8 August | England –Spanish Armada destroyed. |
| 1592 | ? | Scotland –James VI enacts the "Golden Act" recognising the power ofPresbyterianism within the Scottish church. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1603 | 24 March | England – Death ofQueen Elizabeth I.James VI of Scotland crowned King of England (asJames I of England). |
| 1605 | 5 November | England and Scotland – TheGunpowder Plot is uncovered, in whichGuy Fawkes and others attempted to blow up the king,James VI and I and theParliament of England. |
| 1606 | 10 April | England –King James I issues theFirst Virginia Charter, establishing theColony of Virginia inNorth America.[6] |
| 1618 | 29 October | England – Execution of SirWalter Raleigh |
| 1625 | 27 March | England and Scotland – Death ofJames VI and I. |
| 1639–1644 | ? | England and Scotland – At war in what became known as theBishops' Wars. |
| 1640 | November | England – TheLong Parliament summoned. |
| 1642 | 22 August | England –English Civil War begins (seeTimeline of the English Civil War). |
| 1652 | ? | England –Tea arrives in Britain. |
| 1666 | 2 – 6 September | England – TheGreat Fire of London ravages the city. |
| 1688 | 11 December | England – TheGlorious Revolution replacesJames II withWilliam III. |
| 1689 | April | Scotland – TheClaim of Right Act 1689 is enacted by theParliament of Scotland. |
| 16 December | England – TheBill of Rights 1689 is enacted by theParliament of England. | |
| 1694 | 27 July | England – TheBank of England is established. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1707 | 1 May | TheKingdom of Great Britain comes into being,[7][8][9][10] and QueenAnne becomes its first monarch. |
| 1713 | 11 April | Signing of theTreaty of Utrecht ends theWar of the Spanish Succession. |
| 1714 | 1 August | Queen Anne dies. Accession ofGeorge I, Elector of Hanover. |
| 1721 | 3 April | Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. |
| 1727 | 11 June | KingGeorge I dies andGeorge II ascends the throne. |
| 1742 | 16 February | Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1743 | 27 August | Henry Pelham becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1754 | 16 March | Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1755 | 15 April | Samuel Johnson published hisA Dictionary of the English Language. |
| 1756 | 16 November | William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1757 | 29 June | Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1760 | 25 October | KingGeorge II dies andGeorge III ascends the throne. |
| 1762 | 26 May | John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1763 | 16 April | George Grenville becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1764 | ? | The Castle of Otranto is written and published, which was the first-ever story classed as agothic horror story. |
| 1765 | 13 July | Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1766 | 30 July | William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1768 | 14 October | Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1770 | 28 January | Frederick North, Lord North becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1775 | 19 April | TheAmerican War of Independence begins. |
| 1776 | 4 July | The Declaration of Independence is created and the new country is recognised as the USA. |
| 1777–1779 | November 1777 – July 1779 | The world's first iron bridge calledThe Iron Bridge, is built-inShropshire. |
| 1782 | 27 March | Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 4 July | William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1783 | 2 April | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister. |
| 4 September | TheAmerican War of Independence ends with theTreaty of Paris. | |
| 19 December | William Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1785 | 1 January | The Times is first published and becomes the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such asThe New York Times. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 1 January | TheUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland comes into being,[11] and KingGeorge III becomes its first monarch. |
| 1801 | 17 March | Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1804 | 10 May | William Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1805 | 21 October | The navalBattle of Trafalgar takes place. |
| 1806 | 11 February | William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1807 | 25 March | TheSlave Trade Act 1807 is passed. |
| 31 March | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
| 1809 | 4 October | Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1810 | Discovery of the first complete Icthyosaur by Mary Anning | |
| 1812 | 8 June | Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1815 | 18 June | TheBattle of Waterloo takes place. |
| 20 November | TheNapoleonic Wars ends. | |
| 1819 | SS Savannah undergoes the first steamshiptransatlantic crossing. | |
| 1820 | 29 January | KingGeorge III dies andGeorge IV ascends the throne. |
| 1821 | 5 May | The Guardian is first published, asThe Manchester Guardian. |
| 1823 | Discovery of Plesiosaurus by Mary Anning | |
| 1825 | 27 September | TheStockton and Darlington railway, the world's first public passenger railway, opens. |
| 1827 | 12 April | George Canning becomes Prime Minister. |
| 31 August | F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1828 | 22 January | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister. |
| Discovery ofPterodactylus by Mary Anning | ||
| 1829 | 13 April | TheRoman Catholic Relief Act 1829 is passed. |
| 1830 | 26 June | KingGeorge IV dies andWilliam IV ascends the throne. |
| 22 November | Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1832 | 7 June | TheGreat Reform Act is passed, doubling the franchise. |
| 1833 | 28 August | TheSlavery Abolition Act 1833 gains royal assent, banning slavery throughout the British Empire. |
| 1834 | ? | TheConservative Party is founded. |
| 16 July | William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 14 August | TheNew Poor Law is passed. | |
| 17 November | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
| 10 December | Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1835 | 18 April | William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1837 | 20 June | The reign ofQueen Victoria begins. |
| 1838 | 1 August | TheSlavery Abolition Act 1833 enters into force,abolishing slavery in the British Empire. |
| 1840 | 10 January | The first postage stamps (Penny Post) come into use. |
| June | Vaccination for the poor is introduced. | |
| 1841 | 30 August | Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1842 | Summer | The first peacetime income tax isintroduced. |
| 1846 | 27 January | TheCorn Laws are repealed. |
| 30 June | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1848 | Late February | The Communist Manifesto is published byKarl Marx andFriedrich Engels. |
| 1850 | TheEast Coast Main Line opens. | |
| 1851 | 1 May | TheGreat Exhibition opens. |
| 1852 | 23 February | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister. |
| 19 December | George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1853–1856 | 16 October 1853 – 30 March 1856 | TheCrimean War is fought between Russia and a British alliance who feared Russian expansion in theBalkans, resulting in allied victory. |
| 1854 | ? | DoctorJohn Snow discovers that cholera is from contaminated water[12] |
| 1855 | 6 February | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston becomes Prime Minister. |
| 29 June | The Daily Telegraph is first published. | |
| 1858 | 20 February | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1859 | 12 June | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1861 | 14 December | Victoria's husband,Prince Albert, dies at the age of 42. |
| 1863 | 10 January | TheLondon Underground opens, the oldest underground railway network in the world. |
| 1865 | 29 October | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1866 | 28 June | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
| 1867 | 15 August | The1867 Reform Act doubles the franchise and the Dominion ofCanada was created. |
| 1868 | 27 February | Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister. |
| 29 May | Thelast publicexecution is carried out. | |
| 3 December | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1869 | TheWest Coast Main Line opens. | |
| 1870 | 17 February | TheElementary Education Act 1870 is passed, introducing universal education in England and Wales. |
| 1872 | 6 August | TheEducation (Scotland) Act 1872 expands access to primary education and makes it compulsory in Scotland. |
| 1874 | 20 February | Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1880 | 23 April | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 26 August | TheElementary Education Act 1880 is passed, making primary schooling compulsory in England and Wales. | |
| 1885 | 23 June | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister. |
| 25 June | TheReform Act 1885 is passed. | |
| 1886 | 1 February | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
| 21 June | Construction begins onTower Bridge in London. | |
| 25 July | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
| 1887 | November | The fictional detectiveSherlock Holmes first appears in print. |
| 1892 | 15 August | William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the fourth time. |
| 1894 | 5 March | Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1895 | 25 June | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
| 1896 | 4 May | TheDaily Mail is first published. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 27 February | TheLabour Party is founded. |
| 1901 | 22 January | Queen Victoria dies andEdward VII ascends the throne. |
| 1902 | 12 July | Arthur Balfour becomes Prime Minister. |
| 9 August | Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra. | |
| 31 May | Treaty of Vereeniging ends theSecond Boer War. | |
| 1903 | September | TheLib-Lab pact enables Labour to break into national politics. |
| 1904 | 8 April | Entente Cordiale signed between Britain and France |
| 1905 | 5 December | Henry Campbell-Bannerman becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1908 | 5 April | H. H. Asquith becomes Prime Minister. |
| 27 April | The Summer Olympics open atWhite City in London. | |
| 27 October | Parliamentapproves old agepensions. | |
| 1910 | 6 May | Edward VII dies andGeorge V ascends the throne. |
| 1911 | 22 June | Coronation of George V and Mary. |
| 1912 | 13 April | Royal Flying Corps established. |
| 14 – 15 April | TheRMS Titanic sinks after hitting aniceberg. Over 1500 crew and passengers die. | |
| 1914 | 4 August | World War I: Great Britain declares war on Germany in response to the invasion ofBelgium. |
| 5 November | Britain declares war on theOttoman Empire. | |
| 1916 | 6 December | David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1918 | 6 February | Women get the vote for the first time – women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification could vote as a result of theRepresentation of the People Act 1918. |
| 1 April | TheRoyal Air Force is founded, becoming the first independent air force in the world. | |
| 11 November | World War I ends. | |
| 1919 | 1 December | Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to take her seat in parliament. |
| 1921 | TheGreat Britain road numbering scheme. | |
| 1922 | 18 October | TheBBC is founded as the British Broadcasting Company. |
| 23 October | Bonar Law becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1923 | 22 May | Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1924 | 22 January | Ramsay MacDonald becomes Prime Minister. |
| 4 November | Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister for the second time. | |
| 1926 | 4 May – 12 May | The1926 United Kingdom general strike takes place. |
| 1928 | 2 July | Women receive the right to vote on the same terms as men (over the age of 21) as a result of theRepresentation of the People Act 1928. |
| September | The first film with dialogue is shown in Britain,The Jazz Singer. | |
| 30 September | Alexander Fleming discoverspenicillin. | |
| 1929 | 5 June | Ramsay MacDonald becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1931 | ? | The Dominion of Canada later has more recognition as Canada. |
| 1934 | 30 November | TheLNER Class A3 4472Flying Scotsman built inDoncaster becomes the first steam locomotive to reach 100 mph (160 km/h). |
| 1935 | 7 June | Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister for the third time. |
| 1936 | 20 January | George V dies andEdward VIII ascends the throne. |
| 5 – 31 October | TheJarrow March protest occurs. | |
| 10 December | Edward VIIIabdicates the throne over his proposal to marry American divorceeWallis Simpson. Automatic accession ofGeorge VI. | |
| 1937 | 12 May | Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth. |
| 28 May | Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 30 June | First available in the London area, the999 telephone number is introduced as the world's firstemergency telephone service. | |
| 1938 | 3 July | TheLNER Class A4 4468Mallard built inDoncaster breaks the land speed record for the fastest steam locomotive, reaching 203 km/h (126 mph); the record still stands. |
| 1939 | 3 September | British entry intoWorld War II. |
| 1940 | 10 May | Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1945 | 8 May | World War II ends in Europe. |
| 26 July | Clement Attlee becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 24 October | Britain becomes a founding member of theUnited Nations. | |
| 1947 | 15 August | India gains independence from Britain. |
| 1948 | 1 January | British Rail is established. |
| 5 July | TheNational Health Service is founded, bringing state-funded healthcare to all. | |
| 29 July – 14 August | London hosts the1948 Summer Olympics. | |
| 14 November | Birth ofCharles, Prince of Wales. | |
| 1950 | 15 August | Birth ofAnne, Princess Royal. |
| 29 August | British troops arrive to support US forces in theKorean War. | |
| 1951 | 26 October | Sir Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1952 | ? | Autocode, regarded as the first compiled programming language, is developed byAlick Glennie. |
| 6 February | Death of George VI. Automatic accession ofElizabeth II. | |
| 1953 | 25 April | James Watson andFrancis Crick publish their discovery of the structure ofDNA. |
| 2 June | Coronation of Elizabeth II. | |
| 1954 | 6 May | Roger Bannister breaks thefour-minute mile with a time of 3:59.4. |
| 1955 | 6 April | Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister. |
| 22 September | Commercial television starts with the firstITV broadcast. | |
| 1956 | 17 October | Britain opens its firstnuclear power station,Calder Hall. |
| 1957 | 10 January | Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1958 | 5 December | The British motorway system opens with theM6Prestonbypass. |
| 1960 | 19 February | Birth ofPrince Andrew, Duke of York. |
| 1961 | 1 July | Birth ofDiana, Princess of Wales. |
| 1963 | 27 March | The first report of theBeeching cuts – a railway restructuring plan – was published,The Reshaping of British Railways. |
| 19 October | Alec Douglas-Home becomes Prime Minister but lasts only 363 days. | |
| 1964 | 10 March | Birth ofPrince Edward, Earl of Wessex. |
| 16 October | Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister. | |
| 1965 | 24 January | Death of Sir Winston Churchill. |
| 8 November | The death penalty isabolished officially. | |
| 1967 | 27 July | TheSexual Offences Act 1967 legaliseshomosexuality between men over 21. |
| 27 October | TheAbortion Act 1967 is passed, legalisingabortion on certain grounds. | |
| 1969 | 2 March | Concorde, the world's first supersonic airliner, makes its maiden flight. |
| 1970 | 19 June | Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1971 | 15 February | Decimal Day; the United Kingdom introduces a decimalised currency. |
| 1972 | 22 January | The United Kingdomsigns the Treaty of Accession in a ceremony inBrussels which was attended by Prime Minister Edward Heath in preparedness for membership of theEuropean Communities from 1 January 1973. |
| 1973 | 1 January | The United Kingdomjoins and becomes a member state of the European Communities. |
| 1974 | 4 March | Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
| 1975 | 5 June | The United Kingdom chooses toremain a member state of theEuropean Communities in a non-binding referendum. |
| 1976 | 5 April | James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister. |
| September | Britain becomes the first major Western state to be forced to ask to borrow money from theInternational Monetary Fund. | |
| 1978 | 25 July | Louise Brown becomes the firsthuman in history to be born viain vitro fertilisation. |
| 1979 | 4 May | Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister. |
| 27 August | TheIRA kill the Queen's cousinLord Mountbatten. | |
| 1981 | 24 June | TheHumber Bridge opens, the longest single-span bridge in the world. |
| 29 July | Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. | |
| 1982 | 21 June | Birth ofPrince William of Wales. |
| 2 April – 14 June | TheFalklands War is fought againstArgentina, resulting in a British victory and the United Kingdom reclaiming theFalkland Islands. | |
| 2 November | Channel 4 launches across most of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. | |
| 1984–1985 | 6 March 1984 – 3 March 1985 | TheUK miners' strike takes place, a major strike and protest to prevent Margaret Thatcher's government from closing down the Britishcoal mining industry. |
| 1984 | 15 September | Birth ofPrince Harry of Wales. |
| 1986 | 25 December | The Christmas episode of thesoap operaEastEnders becomes the most-watched programme in the United Kingdom with a viewing of 30.1 million. |
| 1988 | 3 March | TheLiberal Democrats are founded. |
| 1989 | 12 March | Tim Berners-Lee invents theWorld Wide Web. |
| 1990 | 28 November | John Major becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1991 | 18 – 26 May | Helen Sharman becomes the first British person and the first European woman in space. |
| 1994 | 6 May | TheChannel Tunnel opens, the first physical connection between the United Kingdom andFrance. |
| 1996 | ? | A sheep namedDolly becomes the firstmammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. |
| 1997 | 2 May | Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1 July | The United Kingdom handsHong Kong back to China, marking the end of theBritish Empire. | |
| 31 August | Diana, Princess of Wales, dies due to a traffic collision inParis. | |
| 1999 | 6 May | First elections to theScottish Parliament andWelsh Assembly take place which will now be responsible for aspects ofScotland andWales's governance. |
| 2 December | TheGood Friday Agreement comes into effect, two agreements intended to bring about the end ofthe Troubles inNorthern Ireland. | |
| 31 December | TheMillennium Dome andLondon Eye are opened to mark the new millennium. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 9 February | Princess Margaret dies. |
| 30 March | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother dies aged 101. | |
| 2003 | 20 March – 1 May | The United Kingdom, alongside the US,invades Iraq. |
| 2005 | 9 April | Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. |
| 2007 | 27 June | Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister. |
| 2010 | 11 May | David Cameron becomes Prime Minister. |
| 2011 | 29 April | Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. |
| 2012 | 30 March | The Shard tops out in construction, becoming the tallest building inWestern Europe. |
| 27 July – 12 August | London hosts theOlympic Games for the third time. | |
| 2013 | 17 July | Same-sex marriageis legalised in the United Kingdom. |
| 22 July | Birth ofPrince George of Cambridge. | |
| 2014 | 18 September | TheScottish independence referendum takes place;Scotland decides to remain part of the United Kingdom. |
| 2015 | 2 May | Birth ofPrincess Charlotte of Cambridge. |
| 9 September | Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning monarch in British history. | |
| 15 December | Tim Peake becomes the first BritishESA astronaut to board theInternational Space Station. | |
| 2016 | 23 June | The United Kingdomvotes to leave theEuropean Union. |
| 13 July | Theresa May becomes the second female Prime Minister. | |
| 5 – 21 August | Great Britain ranks second on the2016 Summer Olympics medal table with 27 Gold Medals, the best result since 1908. | |
| 2018 | 23 April | Birth ofPrince Louis of Cambridge. |
| 19 May | Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. | |
| 2019 | 15 January | The motion to approve theBrexit withdrawal agreement – otherwise known as the "meaningful vote" – was rejected 202–432. This was the largest defeat on a government motion in history.[13][14] |
| 24 July | Theresa May formally tenders her resignation as prime minister toElizabeth II, and is succeeded byBoris Johnson. | |
| 2020 | 31 January | The United Kingdomwithdraws from the European Union. |
| 23 March – 2021 | A national lockdown takes place due to thecoronavirus pandemic. Freedom of movement is restricted and this becomes enforceable in law. Non-essential shops and services close. | |
| 2022 | 8 September | Elizabeth II dies aged 96, seven months afterher Platinum Jubilee. Automatic accession ofCharles III. Aged 73, he becomes the oldest person to accede to the throne. |
| 20 October | Liz Truss resigns as prime minister after 44 days, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. | |
| 25 October | Rishi Sunak becomes the first prime minister of Asian descent. | |
| 2023 | 6 May | Coronation of KingCharles III and Queen Camilla. |
| 2024 | 5 July | Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister. |