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GENEALOGY OF MY MITCHELL FAMILIES - AND A LOT MORE BESIDES!

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1929 - 1995 (65 years)

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Timeline

Winifred Betty Pearse (1929 - 1995)

	Date	Event(s)
1	1923	2 Aug 1923—3 Mar 1929: Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States Calvin Coolidge
2	1924	4 Nov 1924—5 Jun 1929: Stanley Baldwin, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Stanley Baldwin
3	1929	1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain 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: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions 1929: US Stock Market The stock market crash in New York. 1929—1935: James Ramsay MacDonald, UK Prime Minister (Labour) James Ramsay MacDonald 4 Mar 1929—3 Mar 1933: Herbert Clark Hoover, 31st President of the United States Herbert Clark Hoover
4	1930	1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag 1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain 30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany 31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape 6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas 5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster
5	1931	1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states 1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close 1931: The unemployment rate in the Netherlands soars to unprecedented heights. 14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued 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: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis
6	1932	1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London 1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists 1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus 1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra 21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot 3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain 3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
7	1933	1933: ICI scientists discover polythene 1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year 4 Mar 1933—12 Apr 1945: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt 12 Nov 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
8	1934	1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany 18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel 26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched 30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
9	1935	1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme 1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell 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: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas in Britain 1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK 7 Jun 1935—26 May 1937: Stanley Baldwin, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Stanley Baldwin 30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
10	1936	1936: Jet engine first tested 20 Jan 1936: George V dies 5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire 24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK 2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's first public TV transmission 30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire 5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10)
11	1937	1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London 1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp 12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft 12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI 28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister 29 May 1937—10 May 1940: Neville Chamberlain, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Neville Chamberlain 3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson 4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
12	1938	1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain 1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar 1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro 12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria 3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive 27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank 29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich 30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
13	1939	1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia 1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London 1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time 1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland 3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany 6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain 11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France 14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives 7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain 17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
14	1940	1940—1945: Netherlands enters World War II with a surprise attack by a huge force from Germany. 1940—1945: In the next five years, Netherlands came to be increasingly under a regime of terror. During the winter of starvation, Netherlands was systematically looted by the Nazis. Tens of thousands of people died from starvation or deprivation. 1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd 10 May 1940—26 Jul 1945: Sir Winston Churchill, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Sir Winston Churchill 11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill 13 May 1940: Germany invades France 27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun) 25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany 7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing 15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the RAF 14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
15	1941	1941: Britain introduces severe rationing 1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle 1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge 1941: First use of antibiotics 10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland 27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk 22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa) 1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain Dec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England Dec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America 7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour 7 Dec 1941: World War II 8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII 24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
16	1942	1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with Max Neumann 1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam 30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne 4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway 19 Aug 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops 6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad 3 Oct 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany 23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein 2 Dec 1942: 'Manhattan Project'
17	1943	1943: Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins 16 May 1943: 'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF 24 Jul 1943: Allies invade Italy
18	1944	6 Apr 1944: PAYE income tax begins 4 Jun 1944: Allies enter Rome 6 Jun 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy 12 Jun 1944: First V1 flying bombs hit London 8 Sep 1944: First V2 rocket bombs hit London 11 Sep 1944: Allies enter Germany 16 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
19	1945	1945: Netherlands Hunger Winter and liberation. 4 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin 29 Mar 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack 12 Apr 1945—20 Jan 1953: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States Harry S. Truman 25 Apr 1945: Berlin surrounded by Russian troops 30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide 8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe) 9 May 1945: Channel Islands liberated 26 Jun 1945: UN Charter signed in San Francisco 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: Labour win UK General Election 26 Jul 1945—26 Oct 1951: Clement Attlee, UK Prime Minister (Labour) Clement Attlee 29 Jul 1945: BBC Light Programme starts 6 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima 9 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki 15 Aug 1945: VJ Day (Victory in Japan) 2 Sep 1945: Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri 24 Oct 1945: United Nations Organisation comes into existence 4 Nov 1945: UNESCO founded
20	1946	1946: Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948) 1946: Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio 1 Jan 1946: First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport 1 Mar 1946: Bank of England nationalised
21	1947	1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year 1947: First British nuclear reactor developed 1947: Netherlands First police action in the Dutch Indies 1 Jan 1947: Coal Mines nationalised 23 Feb 1947: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded 1 Mar 1947: International Monetary Fund begins financial operations 1 Apr 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain 26 Oct 1947: British military occupation ends in Iraq 20 Nov 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey
22	1948	1948: British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports 1948: Transistor radio invented 1948: Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark 1948: Netherlands Second police action in the Dutch Indies 1948: Netherlands Queen Wilhelmina resigns . It will be followed by her daughter Juliana 1 Jan 1948: British Railways nationalised 5 Jul 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain 29 Jul 1948: London Olympics begin
23	1949	1949: Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap) 1949: De Haviland produces the Comet 15 Mar 1949: Clothes rationing ends in Britain 4 Apr 1949: Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO 3 May 1949: !!Roger Mitchell was born!!
24	1950	19 May 1950: Points rationing ends in Britain 26 May 1950: Petrol rationing ends in Britain 25 Jun 1950: Korean War 11 Jul 1950: 'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV 9 Sep 1950: Soap rationing ends in Britain 28 Dec 1950: The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
25	1951	1951: The first official television broadcast in the Netherlands. 3 May 1951: Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London 28 May 1951: First Goon Show broadcast 26 Oct 1951—6 Apr 1955: Sir Winston Churchill, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Sir Winston Churchill 20 Dec 1951: Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
26	1952	1952: Contraceptive pill invented 1952: Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia 1952: Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects 1952: Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany 1952: The last execution takes place in the Netherlands. 6 Feb 1952: King George VI dies 21 Feb 1952: Identity Cards abolished in Britain 2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London and Johannesburg 5 Jul 1952: Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross) 16 Aug 1952: Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster 6 Sep 1952: DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed 3 Oct 1952: End of tea rationing in Britain 1 Nov 1952: The first H-bomb ever ('Mike') was exploded by the USA 25 Nov 1952: Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London 4 Dec 1952: Great smog hits London
27	1953	1 Jan 1953: As a result of a long series of errors, Netherlands was not ready when during a heavy storm, the sea broke through the dikes. There were many more victims than had been necessary. 1835 people perished. Thousands of livestock animals were drowned. 20 Jan 1953—20 Jan 1961: Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States Dwight David Eisenhower 31 Jan 1953: Said to be the biggest civil catastrophe in Britain in the 20th century 5 Feb 1953: Sweet rationing ends in Britain 5 Mar 1953: Death of Stalin 26 Mar 1953: Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine 24 Apr 1953: Winston Churchill knighted 25 Apr 1953: Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA 2 Jun 1953: Coronation of Elizabeth II 26 Sep 1953: Sugar rationing ends in Britain (after nearly 14 years)
28	1954	1954: First comprehensive school opens in London 1954: Routemaster bus starts operating in London 1954: First transistor radios sold 6 May 1954: First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs) 3 Jul 1954: Food rationing officially ends in Britain 5 Jul 1954: BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin 30 Sep 1954: First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
29	1955	1955: 'Mole' self-grip wrench patented by Thomas Coughtrie of Mole & Sons 6 Apr 1955—10 Jan 1957: Sir Anthony Eden, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Sir Anthony Eden 27 Jul 1955: Jul 27: Allied occupation of Austria (after WW2) ends 22 Sep 1955: Commercial TV starts in Britain
30	1956	1956: Britain constructs world's first large-scale nuclear power station in Cumberland 1 Mar 1956: Radiotelephony spelling alphabet introduced (Alpha, Bravo, etc) 17 Apr 1956: Premium Bonds first launched 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: Britain and France invade Suez
31	1957	1957: Britain introduces parking meters 1957: Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland) 10 Jan 1957—19 Oct 1963: Harold Macmillan, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Harold Macmillan 11 Jan 1957: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister 14 May 1957: Post-Suez petrol rationing ends 15 May 1957: Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island 25 May 1957: Treaty of Rome to create European Economic Community (EEC) of six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg 4 Dec 1957: Lewisham rail disaster 25 Dec 1957: Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
32	1958	1958: Easter: First anti-nuclear protest march to Aldermaston (emergence of CND) 1958: Computers begin to be used in research, industry and commerce 1958: USA begins to produce Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) 13 May 1958: Velcro trade mark registered 26 Jul 1958: Prince Charles' Investiture as "Prince of Wales" 5 Dec 1958: Inauguration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) in Britain (completed in 1979) 5 Dec 1958: Preston by-pass opens
33	1959	3 Feb 1959: 'The Day The Music Died' 17 Feb 1959: Vanguard 2 satellite launched 24 May 1959: Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day Aug 1959: BMC Mini car launched 26 Sep 1959: Vietnam War 3 Oct 1959: Postcodes introduced in Britain 1 Nov 1959: First section of M1 motorway opened
34	1960	17 Mar 1960: New 18 Mar 1960: Last steam locomotive of British Railways named 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: Echo I, the first (passive) communications satellite, launched 12 Sep 1960: MoT tests on motor vehicles introduced 1 Oct 1960: HMS "Dreadnought" nuclear submarine launched 2 Nov 1960: Penguin Books found not guilty of obscenity in the "Lady Chatterley's Lover" case
35	1961	1 Jan 1961: Farthing ceases to be legal tender in UK 20 Jan 1961—22 Nov 1963: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy 13 Mar 1961: Black & White 14 Mar 1961: New English Bible (New Testament) published 1 May 1961: Betting shops legal in Britain
36	1962	1962: Britain passes Commonwealth Immigrants Act to control immigration 1962: Thalidomide withdrawn after it causes deformities in babies 1962: Britain and France agree to construct "Concorde" 25 May 1962: Consecration of new Coventry Cathedral (old destroyed in WW2 blitz) 15 Jun 1962: First nuclear generated electricity to supplied National Grid (from Berkeley, Glos) Jul 1962: First passenger-carrying hovercraft enters service, along the North Wales Coast from Moreton to Rhyl 10 Jul 1962: First TV transmission between US and Europe (Telstar) 24 Oct 1962: Cuba missile crisis
37	1963	1963: France vetoes Britain's entry into EEC Jan 1963: Cold weather forces cancellation of most football matches (only 4 English First Division matches in the month) 27 Mar 1963: Beeching Report on British Railways (the 'Beeching Axe') 1 Aug 1963: Minimum prison age raised to 17 8 Aug 1963: 'Great Train Robbery' on Glasgow to London mail train 17 Sep 1963: Fylingdales (Yorks) early warning system operational 19 Oct 1963—16 Oct 1964: Sir Alec Douglas-Home, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Sir Alec Douglas-Home 18 Nov 1963: Dartford Tunnel opens 20 Nov 1963—20 Jan 1969: Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States Lyndon Baines Johnson 23 Nov 1963: First episode of "Dr Who" on BBC TV
38	1964	1 Jan 1964: First 'Top of the Pops' on BBC TV 9 Apr 1964: First Greater London Council (GLC) election 21 Apr 1964: BBC2 TV launched 22 Aug 1964: "Match of the Day" starts on BBC2 4 Sep 1964: Forth road bridge opens 16 Oct 1964—19 Jun 1970: Harold Wilson, UK Prime Minister (Labour) Harold Wilson
39	1965	1965: Britain enacts first Race Relations Act 7 Feb 1965: First US raids against North Vietnam 7 Apr 1965: Winston Churchill dies 1 Aug 1965: TV cigarette advertising banned in Britain 8 Oct 1965: Post Office Tower operational in London 28 Oct 1965: Death penalty for murder suspended in Britain for five-year trial period, then abolished 18 Dec 1969 22 Dec 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced on British roads
40	1966	1966: Netherlands Princess Beatrix and Claus von Amsberg marry 14 Feb 1966: Australia converts from 3 May 1966: "The Times" begins to print news on its front page in place of classified advertisements 30 Jul 1966: World Cup won by England at Wembley (4-2 in extra time v West Germany) 8 Sep 1966: First Severn road bridge opens 21 Oct 1966: Aberfan disaster 1 Dec 1966: First Christmas stamps issued in Britain
41	1967	1967: Netherlands The government's decision to close Limburg mines 4 Jan 1967: Donald Campbell dies attempting to break his world water speed record on Conniston Water 18 Mar 1967: "Torrey Canyon" oil tanker runs aground off Lands End 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: First withdrawal from a cash dispenser (ATM) in Britain 1 Jul 1967: First colour TV in Britain 14 Aug 1967: Offshore pirate radio stations declared illegal by the UK 20 Sep 1967: "QE2" launched on Clydebank 27 Sep 1967: "Queen Mary" arrives Southampton at end of her last transatlantic voyage 30 Sep 1967: BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 & 4 open 5 Oct 1967: Introduction of majority verdicts in English courts
42	1968	18 Feb 1968: British Standard Time introduced 18 Apr 1968: London Bridge sold (and eventually moved to Arizona) 20 Apr 1968: Enoch Powell 'Rivers of Blood' speech on immigration 23 Apr 1968: Issue of 5p and 10p decimal coins in Britain 29 May 1968: Manchester United first English club to win the European Cup 11 Aug 1968: Last steam passenger train service ran in Britain (Carlisle 16 Sep 1968: Two-tier postal rate starts in Britain 5 Oct 1968: Beginning of disturbances in N Ireland
43	1969	20 Jan 1969—9 Aug 1974: Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th President of the United States Richard Milhous Nixon 2 Mar 1969: Maiden flight of 'Concorde', at Toulouse 7 Mar 1969: Victoria Line tube opens in London 17 Apr 1969: Voting age lowered from 21 to 18 2 May 1969: Maiden voyage of liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) 31 Jul 1969: Halfpenny ceases to be legal tender in Britain 14 Aug 1969: Civil disturbances in Ulster 7 Sep 1969: First episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" recorded 14 Oct 1969: 50p coin introduced in Britain (reduced in size 1998)
44	1970	1970: Boeing 747 (Jumbo jet) goes into service 17 Jun 1970: Decimal postage stamps first issued for sale in Britain 19 Jun 1970: Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister 19 Jun 1970—4 Mar 1974: Sir Edward Heath, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Sir Edward Heath 30 Jul 1970: Damages awarded to Thalidomide victims 19 Sep 1970: First Glastonbury Festival held 20 Nov 1970: Ten shilling note (50p after decimalisation) goes out of circulation in Britain
45	1971	1971: Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971: Sunday becomes the seventh day in the week as UK adopts decision of the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) to call Monday the first day 1971: 'Greenpeace' founded 1971: Rolls-Royce declared bankrupt 3 Jan 1971: Open University starts 15 Feb 1971: Decimalisation of coinage in UK and Republic of Ireland 9 Aug 1971: Internment without trial introduced in N Ireland 28 Oct 1971: Parliament votes to join Common Market (joined 1973) 28 Oct 1971: UK launches its first (and only) satellite, Prospero
46	1972	1972: Britain imposes direct rule in Northern Ireland 1972: Strict anti-hijack measures introduced internationally, especially at airports 1972: Dutch Elm disease devastates trees across UK 1972: Domestic video cassette recorders introduced 30 Jan 1972: 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry, Northern Ireland 28 May 1972: Duke of Windsor (ex-King Edward VIII) dies in Paris
47	1973	1 Jan 1973: Britain enters EEC Common Market (with Ireland and Denmark) 17 Mar 1973: Modern London Bridge opened by the Queen 1 Apr 1973: VAT introduced in Britain 26 Sep 1973: Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time 14 Oct 1973: Marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey 31 Dec 1973: Miners strike and oil crisis precipitate 'three-day week' (till 9 Mar 1974) to conserve power
48	1974	1974: New counties formed in Britain after re-organisation of some county boundaries 4 Mar 1974—5 Apr 1976: Harold Wilson, UK Prime Minister (Labour) Harold Wilson 1 Jun 1974: Flixborough disaster: explosion at chemical plant kills 28 people 9 Aug 1974—20 Jan 1977: Gerald Rudolph Ford, 38th President of the United States Gerald Rudolph Ford 7 Nov 1974: Lord Lucan disappears 21 Nov 1974: Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA
49	1975	1975: Unemployment in Britain rises above 1M for first time since before WW2 11 Feb 1975: Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of Conservative party (in opposition) 28 Feb 1975: Moorgate tube crash in London 4 Mar 1975: Charlie Chaplin knighted 5 Jun 1975: UK votes in a referendum to stay in the European Community 29 Oct 1975: 'Yorkshire Ripper' commits his first murder 3 Nov 1975: First North Sea oil comes ashore 29 Nov 1975: The name 'Micro-soft' coined by Bill Gates (Microsoft' became a Trademark the following year) 27 Dec 1975: Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act come into force
50	1976	1976: 'Cod War' between Britain and Iceland 1976: Deaths exceeded live births in E&W for first time since records began in 1837 1976: James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister 1976: National Theatre opens in London 21 Jan 1976: Concorde enters supersonic passenger service 1 Apr 1976: Apple Computer formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak 5 Apr 1976—4 May 1979: James Callaghan, UK Prime Minister (Labour) James Callaghan 6 Aug 1976: Drought Act 1976 comes into force
51	1977	20 Jan 1977—21 Jan 1981: Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States James Earl Carter, Jr. 2 Mar 1977: "Red Rum" wins a third Grand National 25 May 1977: George Lucas' film "Star Wars" released 5 Jun 1977: Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale 7 Jun 1977: Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in London 22 Nov 1977: Regular supersonic Concorde service betweeen London and NY inaugurated
52	1978	8 Apr 1978: Regular broadcast of proceedings in Parliament starts 1 May 1978: First May Day holiday in Britain 25 Jul 1978: World's first 'test tube' baby, Louise Browne born in Oldham 30 Nov 1978: Publication of The Times suspended
53	1979	1 Mar 1979: 32.5% of Scots vote in favour of devolution (40% needed) 30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave killed by a car bomb at Westminster 31 Mar 1979: Withdrawal of the Royal Navy from Malta 4 May 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman UK Prime Minister 4 May 1979—28 Nov 1990: Baroness Margaret Thatcher, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Baroness Margaret Thatcher 1 Jul 1979: Sony introduces the Walkman 27 Aug 1979: Lord Mountbatten and 3 others killed in bomb blast off coast of Sligo, Ireland 18 Sep 1979: ILEA votes to abolish corporal punishment in its schools
54	1980	1980: In the Netherlands, the abdication of Queen Juliana in favour of her eldest daughter Beatrix takes place. The inauguration of the Netherlands Queen Beatrix is accompanied by large squatter riots. Establishment of the Dutch Language Union. 5 May 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages 8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
55	1981	20 Jan 1981—20 Jan 1989: Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of the United States Ronald Wilson Reagan 25 Jan 1981: Launch of SDP by 'Gang of Four' in Britain 29 Mar 1981: First London marathon run 11 Apr 1981: Brixton riots in South London 25 Apr 1981: Worst April blizzards this century in Britain 27 Apr 1981: First use of computer mouse (by Xerox PARC system) 29 Jul 1981: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 28 Aug 1996) 12 Aug 1981: IBM launches the first PC 12 Aug 1981: IBM launches its PC
56	1982	26 Jan 1982: Unemployment reached 3 million in Britain (1 in 8 of working population) 5 Feb 1982: Laker Airways collapses 19 Feb 1982: DeLorean Car factory in Belfast goes into receivership 18 Mar 1982: Argentinians raised flag in South Georgia 2 Apr 1982: Argentina invades Falkland (Malvinas) Islands 5 Apr 1982: Royal Navy fleet sails from Portsmouth for Falklands 2 May 1982: British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks Argentine cruiser General Belgrano 28 May 1982: First land battle in Falklands (Goose Green) 14 Jun 1982: Ceasefire in Falklands 21 Jun 1982: Prince William is born 20 Jul 1982: IRA bombings in London (Hyde Park and Regents Park) 19 Sep 1982: Smiley emoticon :-) said to have been used for the first time 11 Oct 1982: "Mary Rose" raised in the Solent (sank in 1545) 31 Oct 1982: Thames Barrier raised for first time (some say first public demonstration Nov 7) 2 Nov 1982: Channel 4 TV station launched 4 Nov 1982: Lorries up to 38 tonnes allowed on Britain's roads 12 Dec 1982: Women's peace protest at Greenham Common (Cruise missiles arrived 14 Nov 1983)
57	1983	1983: First female Lord Mayor of London elected (Dame Mary Donaldson) 17 Jan 1983: Start of breakfast TV in Britain 31 Jan 1983: Seat belt law comes into force 21 Apr 1983: 7 Oct 1983: Plans to abolish GLC announced 26 Nov 1983: Brinks Mat robbery: 6,800 gold bars worth nearly
58	1984	6 Mar 1984: Miners strike begins 17 Apr 1984: Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher killed by gunfire from the Libyan Embassy in London 22 Jun 1984: Inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic 9 Jul 1984: York Minster struck by lightning 12 Oct 1984: IRA bomb explodes at Tory conference hotel in Brighton 24 Oct 1984: Miners' strike 3 Dec 1984: British Telecom privatised
59	1985	3 Mar 1985: Miners agree to call off strike 11 Mar 1985: Al Fayed buys Harrods 13 Jul 1985: "Live Aid" pop concert raises over 1 Sep 1985: Wreck of "Titanic" found (sank 1912)
60	1986	31 Mar 1986: GLC and 6 metropolitan councils abolished 26 Apr 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident 26 May 1986: The European Community adopts the European flag 23 Jul 1986: Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey 27 Oct 1986: 'Big Bang' (deregulation) of the London Stock Market 29 Oct 1986: M25 motorway ring around London completed
61	1987	1987: World population crossed the 5 billion mark 2 Feb 1987: Terry Waite kidnapped in Beirut (released 17 Nov 1991) 6 Mar 1987: Car ferry "Herald of Free Enterprise" capsizes off Zeebrugge 1 Jul 1987: Excavation begins on the Channel Tunnel 19 Aug 1987: Hungerford Massacre 16 Oct 1987: The 'Hurricane' sweeps southern England 19 Oct 1987: 'Black Monday' in the City of London 8 Nov 1987: Enniskillen bombing at a Remembrance Day ceremony 18 Nov 1987: King's Cross fire in London
62	1988	5 Feb 1988: First 'Red Nose Day' in UK, raising money for charity 6 Jul 1988: Piper Alpha disaster 15 Nov 1988: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 12 Dec 1988: Clapham Junction rail crash kills 35 and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains 21 Dec 1988: Lockerbie disaster
63	1989	1989: Poll Tax implemented in Scotland 20 Jan 1989—20 Jan 1993: George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States George Herbert Walker Bush 14 Feb 1989: The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit 2 Mar 1989: EU decision to ban production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century 9 Nov 1989: Berlin Wall torn down 21 Nov 1989: Proceedings of House of Commons first televised live
64	1990	11 Feb 1990: Nelson Mandela released in South Africa 31 Mar 1990: Riots in London against Poll Tax which had been implemented in England & Wales 25 Apr 1990: Hubble space telescope launched 2 Aug 1990: Gulf War 22 Nov 1990: Margaret Thatcher resigns as Conservative party leader (and Prime Minister) 28 Nov 1990—2 May 1997: Sir John Major, UK Prime Minister (Conservative) Sir John Major 1 Dec 1990: Channel Tunnel excavation teams meet in the middle
65	1991	1991: Poll Tax replaced (by Council Tax) 1991: The 'Internet' comes into existence 18 May 1991: Helen Sharman is first British Astronaut in Space Aug 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union 6 Sep 1991: Leningrad renamed St Petersburg 5 Nov 1991: Robert Maxwell drowns at sea
66	1992	7 Feb 1992: European Union formed by The Maastricht Treaty 22 Apr 1992: Betty Boothroyd elected as first female Speaker of the House of Commons 15 Aug 1992: Football Premier League kicks off in England 16 Sep 1992: 'Black Wednesday' as Pound leaves the ERM 20 Nov 1992: Fire breaks out in Windsor Castle causing over 24 Nov 1992: The Queen describes this year as an 'Annus Horribilis'
67	1993	1993: Betty Boothroyd first woman Speaker of the House of Commons (to 2000) 1993: Elizabeth II becomes first British Monarch to pay Income Tax 20 Jan 1993—20 Jan 2001: Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton Jul 1993: Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
68	1994	1994: 15 million people now connected to the Internet 12 Mar 1994: Church of England ordains its first female priests 6 May 1994: Channel Tunnel open to traffic 19 Nov 1994: National Lottery starts
69	1995	26 Feb 1995: Nick Leeson brings down Barings Bank 15 Jul 1995: First item sold on Amazon.com 16 Nov 1995: The Queen Mother has a hip replacement operation at 95 years old 22 Nov 1995: "Toy Story" released