Timeline: Lavinia Ann HOUSEMAN: The Housemans of Nidderdale

The Housemans of Nidderdale
Database Pages

Print Bookmark

- Deutsch
- English
- Francais
- Nederlands

Photos
(Log in)

1888 - 1960 (71 years)

Submit Photo / Document

Chart width: Refresh

Timeline

Lavinia Ann HOUSEMAN (1888 - 1960)

	Date	Event(s)
1	1888	1888—1888: Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace 1888—1888: Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year 1888—1888: County Councils set up in Britain 1888—1888: Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre 1888—1888: First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film 20 March 1888—20 March 1888: Football League formed
2	1889	1889—1889: Celluloid film produced 1889—1889: Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies 31 March 1889—31 March 1889: Eiffel Tower completed (to mark centenary of French Revolution) 14 May 1889—14 May 1889: Children's charity NSPCC launched in London 3 June 1889—3 June 1889: Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast 28 September 1889—28 September 1889: Length of a metre defined
3	1890	4 March 1890—4 March 1890: Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build 4 November 1890—4 November 1890: City & South London Railway opens - London's first deep-level tube railway and first major railway in the world to use electric traction
4	1891	1891—1891: Primary education made free and compulsory 18 March 1891—18 March 1891: First telephone link between London & Paris 4 May 1891—4 May 1891: Fictional date when Sherlock Holmes throws Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, then disappears for 3 years! (published in 1893) 24 August 1891—24 August 1891: Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera
5	1892	1892—1892: Electric oven invented 1892—1892: Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's 6 October 1892—6 October 1892: Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
6	1893	1893—1893: Henry Ford's first car 1893—1893: Zip fastener invented
7	1894	1894—1894: Picture postcard introduced in Britain 1 January 1894—1 January 1894: Manchester Ship Canal opens 1 March 1894—1 March 1894: Blackpool Tower opens 30 June 1894—30 June 1894: Tower Bridge first opens 2 August 1894—2 August 1894: Death duties first introduced in Britain
8	1895	1895—1895: Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London 12 January 1895—12 January 1895: The National Trust founded in England 24 May 1895—24 May 1895: Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted 28 May 1895—28 May 1895: Oscar Wilde sent to prison 12 July 1895—12 July 1895: First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain 17 October 1895—17 October 1895: First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey November 1895—November 1895: X-rays discovered
9	1896	5 April 1896—5 April 1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens 2 June 1896—2 June 1896: Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
10	1897	1897—1897: Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
11	1898	1898—1898: First photograph using artificial light 1898—1898: Zeppelin builds airship 1898—1898: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded 17 March 1898—17 March 1898: USS Holland launched, the first practical submarine 27 June 1898—27 June 1898: The first solo circumnavigation of the globe completed at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray (started from Boston, Mass on Apr 24, 1895)
12	1899	6 March 1899—6 March 1899: Aspirin first marketed by Bayer 11 October 1899—11 October 1899: Start of Second Boer War
13	1900	1900—1900: School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years 1900—1900: Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified 1900—1900: Escalator shown at Paris exhibition 9 February 1900—9 February 1900: Davis Cup tennis competition established 27 February 1900—27 February 1900: Labour Party formed
14	1901	1901—1901: Commonwealth of Australia founded 1901—1901: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner 22 January 1901—22 January 1901: Queen Victoria dies - Edward VII king 2 February 1901—2 February 1901: Queen Victoria's funeral - interred beside Prince Albert in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park June 1901—June 1901: Denunciation of use of concentration camps by British in Boer War 2 October 1901—2 October 1901: Britain's first submarine launched 12 December 1901—12 December 1901: First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
15	1902	1902—1902: Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education 1902—1902: Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued 1902—1902: Marie Curie discovers radioactivity 24 May 1902—24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated 31 May 1902—31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War 9 August 1902—9 August 1902: Coronation of Edward VII
16	1903	1903—1903: Workers' Education Association (WEA) formed in Britain 1903—1903: Women's Social and Political Union formed in Britain by Emmeline Pankhurst 1903—1903: Henry Ford sets up his motor company 14 December 1903—14 December 1903: First flight of Wilbur & Orville Wright
17	1904	1904—1904: Leeds University established 8 April 1904—8 April 1904: France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale 4 May 1904—4 May 1904: America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
18	1905	1905—1905: The title 'Prime Minister' noted in a royal warrant for the first time - placed the Prime Minister in order of precedence in Britain immediately after the Archbishop of York 1905—1905: Aliens Act in Britain: Home Office controls immigration 1905—1905: Germany lays down the first Dreadnought battleship 11 April 1905—11 April 1905: Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity
19	1906	1906—1906: Introduction of free school meals for poor children 10 February 1906—10 February 1906: Launching of HMS Dreadnought, first turbine-driven battleship 15 March 1906—15 March 1906: Rolls-Royce Ltd registered 26 May 1906—26 May 1906: Vauxhall Bridge opened in London 20 September 1906—20 September 1906: Launching of Cunard's RMS Mauretania on the Tyne
20	1907	1907—1907: New Zealand becomes a Dominion 1907—1907: Imperial College, London, is established 1907—1907: First airship flies over London 1907—1907: Lumiere develops a process for colour photography July 1907—July 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated 1 August 1907—1 August 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island 9 November 1907—9 November 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
21	1908	1908—1908: Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day 1908—1908: Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain 1908—1908: Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement 1 July 1908—1 July 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress 12 August 1908—12 August 1908: First 'Model T' Ford made
22	1909	1909—1909: Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges 1909—1909: Peary reaches the north pole 1909—1909: First commercial manufacture of Bakelite - start of the plastic age 1 January 1909—1 January 1909: Old Age Pensions Act came into force 16 January 1909—16 January 1909: Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole 15 March 1909—15 March 1909: Selfridges department store opens in London 25 July 1909—25 July 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
23	1910	1910—1910: Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain 1910—1910: Constitutional crisis in Britain 1910—1910: Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville 1910—1910: Madame Curie isolates radium 1910—1910: Halley's comet reappears 1910—1910: Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe 6 May 1910—6 May 1910: Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
24	1911	1911—1911: Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords 1911—1911: British MPs receive a salary 1911—1911: First British Official Secrets Act 1911—1911: Rutherford: theory of atomic structures 1911—1911: Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912) 2 April 1911—2 April 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 22 June 1911—22 June 1911: Coronation of George V 14 December 1911—14 December 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
25	1912	1912—1912: Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain 1912—1912: Britain nationalises the telephone system 1912—1912: Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' - hoax, exposed in 1953 18 January 1912—18 January 1912: Captain Scott's last expedition - he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November 14 April 1912—14 April 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives 13 May 1912—13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
26	1913	1913—1913: Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords - threat of civil war in Ireland - formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule 1913—1913: Suffragette demonstrations in London - Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned 1913—1913: Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes 1913—1913: Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield 1913—1913: Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity 4 June 1913—4 June 1913: Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby and dies
27	1914	1914—1914: Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster to be decided after the War 1914—1914: Chaplin and De Mille make their first films 28 June 1914—28 June 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo 4 August 1914—4 August 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason 5 August 1914—5 August 1914: British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph links to the outside world 15 August 1914—15 August 1914: Panama Canal opened, the Canal cement boat 'Ancon' making the first official transit (plans for a grand opening were cancelled due to the start of WW1) October 1914—October 1914: Battle of Ypres - beginning of trench warfare on western front 27 November 1914—27 November 1914: First policewoman goes on duty in Britain 16 December 1914—16 December 1914: German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
28	1915	1915—1915: Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane 1915—1915: First automatic telephone exchange in Britain 19 January 1915—19 January 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia - four killed February 1915—February 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain starts April 1915—April 1915: Second Battle of Ypres - poison gas used for first time 25 April 1915—25 April 1915: Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916) 7 May 1915—7 May 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland - 1,198 died 16 May 1915—16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
29	1916	1916—1916: Compulsory military service introduced in Britain February 1916—February 1916: Battle of Verdun - appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues 24 April 1916—24 April 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland - after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs independence 21 May 1916—21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK 31 May 1916—31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland - only major naval battle between the British and German fleets 5 June 1916—5 June 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener 3 August 1916—3 August 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason 15 September 1916—15 September 1916: First use of tanks in battle, but of limited effect (Battle of the Somme 1 July to 18 Nov: over 1 million casualties) 7 December 1916—7 December 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
30	1917	1917—1917: Battle of Cambrai - first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual 1917—1917: Ministry of Labour is established in Britain February 1917—February 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates 16 April 1917—16 April 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile 17 April 1917—17 April 1917: USA declares war on Germany 26 May 1917—26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal proclamation on 17 July) July 1917—July 1917: Battle of Passchendaele - little gained by either side (Jul-Nov) 7 November 1917—7 November 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government; Lenin becomes Chief Commissar 6 December 1917—6 December 1917: Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, one of the world's largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to date: a ship loaded with wartime explosives blew up after a collision, obliterating buildings and structures within two square kilometres of the explosion 9 December 1917—9 December 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
31	1918	1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons) 1918—1918: War of Independence in Ireland 18 January 1918—18 January 1918: Bentley Motors founded 8 March 1918—8 March 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic July 1918—July 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug) 1 October 1918—1 October 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus 11 November 1918—11 November 1918: Armistice signed December 1918—December 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein member refused to take her seat
32	1919	1919—1919: Britain adopts a 48-hour working week 1919—1919: Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom 15 June 1919—15 June 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic 28 June 1919—28 June 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
33	1920	1920—1920: Regular cross-channel air service starts 1920—1920: Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain 1920—1920: Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun) February 1920—February 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK - opened by the Automobile Association at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
34	1921	1921—1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained 1921—1921: Insulin discovery announced 1921—1921: First birth control clinic 19 June 1921—19 June 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 6 December 1921—6 December 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
35	1922	1922—1922: Law of Property Act - the manorial system effectively ended 1 June 1922—1 June 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary founded October 1922—October 1922: BBC established as a monopoly, and begins transmissions in November (2LO in London on 14 Nov; 5IT in Birmingham and 2ZY in Manchester on 15 Nov)
36	1923	1923—1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers 1923—1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way 1923—1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain 1 January 1923—1 January 1923: The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR - lasted until nationalisation in 1948 16 February 1923—16 February 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun 28 April 1923—28 April 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem 28 September 1923—28 September 1923: First publication of Radio Times
37	1924	4 January 1924—4 January 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald 5 February 1924—5 February 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast by the BBC 31 March 1924—31 March 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
38	1925	1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard 18 July 1925—18 July 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
39	1926	1926—1926: First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird 1926—1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain 1926—1926: Kodak produces 16mm movie film 1926—1926: Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood 21 April 1926—21 April 1926: Princess Elizabeth born 3 May 1926—3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more) 31 October 1926—31 October 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
40	1927	1927—1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer) 7 January 1927—7 January 1927: First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London 22 January 1927—22 January 1927: First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury) 1 May 1927—1 May 1927: First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from London to Paris 20 May 1927—20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33? hours 31 May 1927—31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line 24 July 1927—24 July 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
41	1928	1928—1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain - same qualification for both sexes 26 April 1928—26 April 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London 15 September 1928—15 September 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
42	1929	1929—1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain 1929—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—1929: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
43	1930	1930—1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag 1930—1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain 30 January 1930—30 January 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany 31 January 1930—31 January 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape 6 March 1930—6 March 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas 5 October 1930—5 October 1930: R101 airship disaster - British abandons airship construction
44	1931	1931—1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states 1931—1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close 14 April 1931—14 April 1931: Highway Code first issued 26 April 1931—26 April 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 October 1931—21 October 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis - Britain comes off gold standard
45	1932	1932—1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London 1932—1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists 1932—1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus 1932—1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra 21 May 1932—21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot 3 October 1932—3 October 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain 3 October 1932—3 October 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
46	1933	1933—1933: ICI scientists discover polythene 1933—1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year 12 November 1933—12 November 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
47	1934	1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany 18 July 1934—18 July 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel 26 September 1934—26 September 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched 30 November 1934—30 November 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
48	1935	1935—1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme 1935—1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell 28 February 1935—28 February 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 March 1935—12 March 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas in Britain 1 June 1935—1 June 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK 30 July 1935—30 July 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
49	1936	1936—1936: Jet engine first tested 20 January 1936—20 January 1936: George V dies 5 May 1936—5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire 24 July 1936—24 July 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK 2 November 1936—2 November 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's first public TV transmission 30 November 1936—30 November 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire 5 December 1936—5 December 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) - popular carol that Christmas: 'Hark the Herald Angels sing Mrs Simpson's got our King'
50	1937	1937—1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London 1937—1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp 12 April 1937—12 April 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft 12 May 1937—12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI 28 May 1937—28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister - policy of appeasement towards Hitler 3 June 1937—3 June 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson 4 December 1937—4 December 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
51	1938	1938—1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain 1938—1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar 1938—1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro 12 March 1938—12 March 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria 3 July 1938—3 July 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive 27 September 1938—27 September 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank 29 September 1938—29 September 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich - promises 'peace in our time' 30 October 1938—30 October 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
52	1939	1939—1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia 1939—1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London 1939—1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time 1 September 1939—1 September 1939: Germany invades Poland 3 September 1939—3 September 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany 6 September 1939—6 September 1939: First air-raid on Britain 11 September 1939—11 September 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France 14 October 1939—14 October 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives 7 December 1939—7 December 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain - 7,400 men on 5 ships 17 December 1939—17 December 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
53	1940	1 April 1940—1 April 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd 11 May 1940—11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill 13 May 1940—13 May 1940: Germany invades France 27 May 1940—27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun) 25 June 1940—25 June 1940: Fall of France to Germany 7 September 1940—7 September 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing 15 September 1940—15 September 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the RAF - Hitler postpones invasion of Britain 14 November 1940—14 November 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
54	1941	1941—1941: Britain introduces severe rationing 1941—1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle 1941—1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge 1941—1941: First use of antibiotics 10 May 1941—10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland 27 May 1941—27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk 22 June 1941—22 June 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa) 1 July 1941—1 July 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in Britain December 1941—December 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of England December 1941—December 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America 7 December 1941—7 December 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour 8 December 1941—8 December 1941: USA enters WWII 24 December 1941—24 December 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
55	1942	1942—1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with Max Neumann - used to crack German codes 1942—1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam 30 May 1942—30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne 4 June 1942—4 June 1942: Battle of Midway 19 August 1942—19 August 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops 6 September 1942—6 September 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad 3 October 1942—3 October 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany - first man-made object to reach space 23 October 1942—23 October 1942: Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery defeats Rommel 2 December 1942—2 December 1942: 'Manhattan Project' - a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
56	1943	1943—1943: Round-the-clock bombing of Germany begins 16 May 1943—16 May 1943: 'Dam Buster' raids on Ruhr dams by RAF 24 July 1943—24 July 1943: Allies invade Italy - Benito Mussolini resigns as Italian Dictator, 24 July
57	1944	6 April 1944—6 April 1944: PAYE income tax begins 4 June 1944—4 June 1944: Allies enter Rome 6 June 1944—6 June 1944: D-Day invasion of Normandy 12 June 1944—12 June 1944: First V1 flying bombs hit London 8 September 1944—8 September 1944: First V2 rocket bombs hit London 11 September 1944—11 September 1944: Allies enter Germany 16 December 1944—16 December 1944: Battle of the Bulge: German counter-offensive
58	1945	4 February 1945—4 February 1945: Yalta Conference between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin 29 March 1945—29 March 1945: Last V1 flying bomb attack 25 April 1945—25 April 1945: Berlin surrounded by Russian troops 30 April 1945—30 April 1945: Hitler commits suicide 8 May 1945—8 May 1945: VE Day (Victory in Europe) 9 May 1945—9 May 1945: Channel Islands liberated 26 June 1945—26 June 1945: UN Charter signed in San Francisco 16 July 1945—16 July 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 July 1945—26 July 1945: Labour win UK General Election - Churchill out of office 29 July 1945—29 July 1945: BBC Light Programme starts 6 August 1945—6 August 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima 9 August 1945—9 August 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki 15 August 1945—15 August 1945: VJ Day (Victory in Japan) 2 September 1945—2 September 1945: Japanese surrender signed aboard USS Missouri 24 October 1945—24 October 1945: United Nations Organisation comes into existence 4 November 1945—4 November 1945: UNESCO founded
59	1946	1946—1946: Transition to National Health Service starts in Britain (came into being 5th July 1948) 1946—1946: Alistair Cooke starts his regular 'Letter from America' on BBC radio - until 2004 1 January 1946—1 January 1946: First civillian flight from Heathrow Airport 1 March 1946—1 March 1946: Bank of England nationalised
60	1947	1947—1947: Most severe winter in Britain for 53 years at start of the year - heavy snow and much flooding later 1947—1947: First British nuclear reactor developed 1 January 1947—1 January 1947: Coal Mines nationalised 23 February 1947—23 February 1947: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) founded 1 March 1947—1 March 1947: International Monetary Fund begins financial operations 1 April 1947—1 April 1947: School leaving age raised to 15 in Britain 26 October 1947—26 October 1947: British military occupation ends in Iraq 20 November 1947—20 November 1947: Marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey
61	1948	1948—1948: British Citizenship Act : all Commonwealth citizens qualify for British passports 1948—1948: Transistor radio invented 1948—1948: Long-playing record (LP) invented by Goldmark 1 January 1948—1 January 1948: British Railways nationalised 5 July 1948—5 July 1948: National Health Service (NHS) begins in Britain 29 July 1948—29 July 1948: London Olympics begin
62	1949	1949—1949: Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon (broken up in 1953 for scrap) 1949—1949: De Haviland produces the Comet - first jet airliner 15 March 1949—15 March 1949: Clothes rationing ends in Britain 4 April 1949—4 April 1949: Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO
63	1950	19 May 1950—19 May 1950: Points rationing ends in Britain 26 May 1950—26 May 1950: Petrol rationing ends in Britain 11 July 1950—11 July 1950: 'Andy Pandy' first seen on BBC TV 9 September 1950—9 September 1950: Soap rationing ends in Britain 28 December 1950—28 December 1950: The Peak District becomes the Britain's first National Park
64	1951	3 May 1951—3 May 1951: Festival of Britain and Royal Festival Hall open on South Bank, London 28 May 1951—28 May 1951: First Goon Show broadcast 20 December 1951—20 December 1951: Electricity first produced by nuclear power, from Experimental Breeder Reactor
65	1952	1952—1952: Contraceptive pill invented 1952—1952: Britain explodes her first atomic bomb, in Australia 1952—1952: Radioactive carbon used for dating prehistoric objects 1952—1952: Bonn Convention: Britain, France and USA end their occupation of West Germany 6 February 1952—6 February 1952: King George VI dies 21 February 1952—21 February 1952: Identity Cards abolished in Britain 2 May 1952—2 May 1952: First commercial jet airliner service launched, by BOACComet between London and Johannesburg 5 July 1952—5 July 1952: Last tram runs in London (Woolwich to New Cross) 16 August 1952—16 August 1952: Lynmouth (North Devon) flood disaster 6 September 1952—6 September 1952: DH110 crashes at Farnborough Air Show, 26 killed 3 October 1952—3 October 1952: End of tea rationing in Britain 1 November 1952—1 November 1952: The first H-bomb ever ('Mike') was exploded by the USA - the mushroom cloud was 8 miles across and 27 miles high. The canopy was 100 miles wide. Radioactive mud fell out of the sky followed by heavy rain. 80 million tons of earth was vaporised. 25 November 1952—25 November 1952: Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' opens in London 4 December 1952—4 December 1952: Great smog hits London
66	1953	31 January 1953—31 January 1953: Said to be the biggest civil catastrophe in Britain in the 20th century - severe storm and high tides caused the loss of hundreds of lives - - effects travelled from the west coast of Scotland round to the south-east coast of England [The Netherlands were even worse affected with over a thousand deaths] 5 February 1953—5 February 1953: Sweet rationing ends in Britain 5 March 1953—5 March 1953: Death of Stalin 26 March 1953—26 March 1953: Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine 24 April 1953—24 April 1953: Winston Churchill knighted 25 April 1953—25 April 1953: Francis Crick and James D Watson publish the double helix structure of DNA 2 June 1953—2 June 1953: Coronation of Elizabeth II 26 September 1953—26 September 1953: Sugar rationing ends in Britain (after nearly 14 years)
67	1954	1954—1954: First comprehensive school opens in London 1954—1954: Routemaster bus starts operating in London 1954—1954: First transistor radios sold 6 May 1954—6 May 1954: First sub 4 minute mile (Roger Bannister, 3 mins 59.4 secs) 3 July 1954—3 July 1954: Food rationing officially ends in Britain 5 July 1954—5 July 1954: BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin 30 September 1954—30 September 1954: First atomic powered sumbmarine USS Nautilus commissioned
68	1955	1955—1955: 'Mole' self-grip wrench patented by Thomas Coughtrie of Mole & Sons 27 July 1955—27 July 1955: Jul 27: Allied occupation of Austria (after WW2) ends 22 September 1955—22 September 1955: Commercial TV starts in Britain
69	1956	1956—1956: Britain constructs world's first large-scale nuclear power station in Cumberland 1 March 1956—1 March 1956: Radiotelephony spelling alphabet introduced (Alpha, Bravo, etc) 17 April 1956—17 April 1956: Premium Bonds first launched - first prizes drawn on 1 Jun 1957 3 June 1956—3 June 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 October 1956—31 October 1956: Britain and France invade Suez
70	1957	1957—1957: Britain introduces parking meters 1957—1957: Helvetica typeface developed (in Switzerland) 11 January 1957—11 January 1957: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister 14 May 1957—14 May 1957: Post-Suez petrol rationing ends 15 May 1957—15 May 1957: Britain explodes her first hydrogen bomb, at Christmas Island 25 May 1957—25 May 1957: Treaty of Rome to create European Economic Community (EEC) of six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg - became operational Jan 1958 4 December 1957—4 December 1957: Lewisham rail disaster - 90 killed as two trains collide in thick fog and a viaduct collapses on top of them 25 December 1957—25 December 1957: Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast
71	1958	1958—1958: Easter: First anti-nuclear protest march to Aldermaston (emergence of CND) 1958—1958: Computers begin to be used in research, industry and commerce 1958—1958: USA begins to produce Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) 13 May 1958—13 May 1958: Velcro trade mark registered 26 July 1958—26 July 1958: Prince Charles' Investiture as 'Prince of Wales' 5 December 1958—5 December 1958: Inauguration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) in Britain (completed in 1979) 5 December 1958—5 December 1958: Preston by-pass opens - UK's first stretch of motorway
72	1959	3 February 1959—3 February 1959: 'The Day The Music Died' - plane crash kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper 17 February 1959—17 February 1959: Vanguard 2 satellite launched - first to measure cloud-cover distribution 24 May 1959—24 May 1959: Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day August 1959—August 1959: BMC Mini car launched 3 October 1959—3 October 1959: Postcodes introduced in Britain 1 November 1959—1 November 1959: First section of M1 motorway opened
73	1960	17 March 1960—17 March 1960: New ?1 notes issued by Bank of England 18 March 1960—18 March 1960: Last steam locomotive of British Railways named 21 July 1960—21 July 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 August 1960—12 August 1960: Echo I, the first (passive) communications satellite, launched 12 September 1960—12 September 1960: MoT tests on motor vehicles introduced 1 October 1960—1 October 1960: HMS 'Dreadnought' nuclear submarine launched 2 November 1960—2 November 1960: Penguin Books found not guilty of obscenity in the 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' case