| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1980 | - 5 May 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages
- 8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
|
| 2 | 1981 | - 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 – 30 other British cities also experience riots
- 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 — starts the general use of personal computers
|
| 3 | 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 – first programme 'Countdown'
- 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)
|
| 4 | 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: £1 coin into circulation in Britain
- 7 Oct 1983: Plans to abolish GLC announced
- 26 Nov 1983: Brinks Mat robbery: 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from a
vault at Heathrow Airport
|
| 5 | 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 – the resulting fire damaged much of the building
but the "Rose Window" not affected
- 12 Oct 1984: IRA bomb explodes at Tory conference hotel in Brighton – 4 killed
- 24 Oct 1984: Miners' strike — High Court orders sequestration of NUM assets
- 3 Dec 1984: British Telecom privatised – shares make massive gains on first day's trading
|
| 6 | 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 £50M for famine relief
- 1 Sep 1985: Wreck of "Titanic" found (sank 1912)
|
| 7 | 1986 | - 31 Mar 1986: GLC and 6 metropolitan councils abolished
- 26 Apr 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident – radiation reached Britain on 2 Ma
- 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
|
| 8 | 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 – 188 die
- 1 Jul 1987: Excavation begins on the Channel Tunnel
- 19 Aug 1987: Hungerford Massacre – Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a rifle
- 16 Oct 1987: The 'Hurricane' sweeps southern England
- 19 Oct 1987: 'Black Monday' in the City of London – Stock Market crash
- 8 Nov 1987: Enniskillen bombing at a Remembrance Day ceremony
- 18 Nov 1987: King's Cross fire in London – 31 people die
|
| 9 | 1988 | - 5 Feb 1988: First 'Red Nose Day' in UK, raising money for charity
- 6 Jul 1988: Piper Alpha disaster – North Sea oil platform destroyed by explosion and fire
killing 167 men
- 15 Nov 1988: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act – reformulated the statutory basis of
copyright law (including performing rights) in the UK
- 12 Dec 1988: Clapham Junction rail crash kills 35 and injures hundreds after two collisions of
three commuter trains
- 21 Dec 1988: Lockerbie disaster – Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Scotland
|
| 10 | 1989 | - 1989: Poll Tax implemented in Scotland
- 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
|
| 11 | 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
- 22 Nov 1990: Margaret Thatcher resigns as Conservative party leader (and Prime Minister)
- 1 Dec 1990: Channel Tunnel excavation teams meet in the middle
|
| 12 | 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
|
| 13 | 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 £50 million worth of damage
- 24 Nov 1992: The Queen describes this year as an 'Annus Horribilis'
|
| 14 | 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
- Jul 1993: Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
|
| 15 | 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
|
| 16 | 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 – first feature-length film created completely using
computer-generated imagery
|
| 17 | 1996 | - 9 Feb 1996: IRA bomb explodes in London Docklands – ends 17 month ceasefire
- 13 Mar 1996: Dunblane massacre
- 15 Jun 1996: IRA bomb explodes in Manchester
- 5 Jul 1996: Scientists in Scotland clone a sheep (Dolly)
- 28 Aug 1996: Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales are divorced
|
| 18 | 1997 | - 30 Mar 1997: Channel 5 TV begins in UK (launched by the Spice Girls)
- 1 May 1997: 'New' Labour landslide victory in Britain (Tony Blair replaces John Major as
Prime Minister)
- 6 May 1997: Announcement that Bank of England to be made independent of Government
control
- 11 May 1997: First time a computer beats a master at chess (IBM's Deep Blue v Garry
Kasparov)
- 1 Jul 1997: Hong Kong returned to China
- 19 Jul 1997: IRA declares a ceasefire
- 31 Aug 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales killed in car crash in Paris
- 25 Sep 1997: Land speed record breaks sound barrier for first time
|
| 19 | 1998 | - 10 Apr 1998: Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland – effectively implemented in
May 2007
- 14 Aug 1998: Car bomb explodes in Omagh killing 29 people
- 27 Sep 1998: 'Google' search engine founded
|
| 20 | 1999 | - 1999: World population reaches 6 billion
- 1 Jan 1999: European Monetary Union begins – UK opts out – by the end of the year the
Euro has approximately the same value as the US Dollar
- 1 Jul 1999: The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth – powers are
officially transferred from the Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish
Executive in Edinburgh
- 11 Aug 1999: Total eclipse of the sun visible in Devon and Cornwall
- 11 Nov 1999: Hereditary Peers no longer have right to sit in House of Lords
|
| 21 | 2000 | - 1 Jan 2000: The year in Britain started with a 'flu bug rather than a millennium bug
- Mar 2000: London Eye opens, late but popular
- 22 Apr 2000: The Big Number Change takes place in the UK – affected telephone dialling
codes assigned to Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton
- 4 May 2000: Ken Livingstone elected first Mayor of London (not to be confused with Lord
Mayor of London!)
- 10 Jun 2000: Millennium footbridge over the Thames opens, but wobbles and is quickly
declared dangerous and closed – finally reopened Feb 2002
- 25 Jul 2000: A chartered Air France Concorde crashes on take-off at Paris with the loss of all lives
- Sep 2000: 'People Power' emerged suddenly as protestors against high Road Fuel Tax used
mobile phones and the Internet to co-ordinate blockades on fuel depots – resulted in
nationwide panic buying of fuel and service stations running out across the country
- Oct 2000: Heavy rains cause worst flooding since records began (1850s) in many
parts of Britain (Oct-Dec)
- 17 Oct 2000: Derailment at speed on the main London-North eastern line at Hatfield caused
by a broken rail
|
| 22 | 2001 | - Feb 2001: Outbreak of Foot & Mouth disease in UK – lasted until October – caused
postponement of local and general elections from May to June
- 12 May 2001: FA Cup Final played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff – first time away from Wembley since 1922
- 7 Jun 2001: General Election – Labour returned again with a large majority, the first time
they had succeeded in gaining a second term
- 1 Sep 2001: New-style number plates on road vehicles in UK [eg. AB 51 ABC]
- 7 Nov 2001: Concorde flights resume after modifications to tyres and fuel tanks
- Dec 2001: UK Christmas stamps self-adhesive for the first time (self-adhesive 1st & 2nd class
definitives already on sale)
|
| 23 | 2002 | - 1 Jan 2002: Twelve major countries in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Holland, Irish Republic,
Italy, Luxembourg, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal) and their
dependents start using the Euro instead of their old national currencies; the UK stays
out – the Euro worth 62½p at this time
- 22 Feb 2002: Millennium Bridge over the Thames in London finally opens
- 30 Mar 2002: The Queen Mother dies, aged 101 years
- 2 Jul 2002: Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a
balloon
|
| 24 | 2003 | - 17 Feb 2003: Start of Congestion Charge for traffic entering central London
- 10 Aug 2003: Temperatures reach record high of 101 F (38.3 C) in Kent
- 24 Oct 2003: Last commercial flight of Concorde
- 22 Nov 2003: England wins Rugby World Cup in nail-biting final in Australia – first northern
hemisphere team to do this
- 13 Dec 2003: Saddam Hussein captured near his home town of Tikrit (executed 30 Dec 2006)
- 26 Dec 2003: Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton from the builder's yard in France 2004
|
| 25 | 2004 | - 29 Mar 2004: Ireland becomes first country in the world to ban smoking in public places
- 29 Mar 2004: Alistair Cooke dies at the age of 95 – until four weeks previously, and since
1946, he had broadcast his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio
- 1 May 2004: Enlargement of the European Union to include 25 members by the entry of 10
new states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary,
Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus
|
| 26 | 2005 | - 16 Feb 2005: Kyoto Protocol on climate change came into force
- 18 Feb 2005: Ban on hunting with dogs came into force in England & Wales (had already
been a similar law for about two years in Scotland)
- 6 Jul 2005: London chosen as venue for the 2012 Olympic Games
- 7 Jul 2005: Suicide bombers attack London for the first time
- 28 Jul 2005: IRA declare an end to their 'armed struggle'
- 12 Sep 2005: England regain the 'Ashes' after a gripping Test series (but are whitewashed 5-0
in the return series in Australia 2007)
- 9 Dec 2005: Last Routemaster bus runs on regular service in London
- 11 Dec 2005: Explosions at the Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead
- 21 Dec 2005: Same-sex civil partnerships begin
– famously, on this day, between Elton John and David Furnish
|
| 27 | 2006 | - 1 Mar 2006: Welsh Assembly Building opened by the Queen
- 26 Mar 2006: Prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places in Scotland
- 21 Apr 2006: 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
- 21 Aug 2006: UK postage rates start to be measured by size as well as by weight
|
| 28 | 2007 | - 1 Jan 2007: Further enlargement of the European Union to include Bulgaria and Romania
- 19 Feb 2007: Extension of Congestion Charge zone for London, westwards
- 8 May 2007: A Northern Ireland Executive formed under the leadership of Ian Paisley (DUP)
and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fein)
- 1 Jul 2007: Prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places in England (thus completing
cover of the entire UK)
- 14 Nov 2007: First rail service direct from St Pancras to France (replacing that from Waterloo)
|
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