| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1963 | |
| 2 | 1964 | - 16 Oct 1964—19 Jun 1970: Harold Wilson, UK Prime Minister (Labour)
Harold Wilson
|
| 3 | 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)
|
| 4 | 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
|
| 5 | 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
|
| 6 | 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
|
| 7 | 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
|
| 8 | 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
|
| 9 | 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
|
| 10 | 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
|
| 11 | 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
|
| 12 | 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
|
| 13 | 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
|
| 14 | 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
|
| 15 | 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
|
| 16 | 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)
|
| 17 | 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
|
| 18 | 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
|
| 19 | 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)
|
| 20 | 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
|
| 21 | 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
|
| 22 | 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
|
| 23 | 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
|
1969 - 1989 (20 years)
