Geoffrey Chaucer (born 1341), author of The Canterbury Tales, and one of the first major writers in the English language, dies and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Henry V defeats the French at the Battle of Agincourt, renewing claims to the French throne. Inflicting a humiliating defeat on the much larger French army, the English archers play a key role in the victory.
Henry VI, who had acceded to the throne before his first birthday after the sudden death of his father in 1422, is now considered old enough to rule himself.
A power struggle between two branches of the royal family results in civil war. The Wars of the Roses, fought between the Lancaster and York houses, would last for a further thirty years.
William Caxton publishes the first printed book in England, "Dictes of Sayengs of the Philosophres", from his press in Westminster.
Author of "Utopia" Thomas More is born. Originally written in Latin and published in 1516, the best-selling satire of the travel literature of the day is translated into English in 1551.
Founded by King Henry VI as "The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor" Eton College is established in this year.
On 21 April, at the age of seventeen, Henry VIII inherits the throne from his father, Henry VII.
As a reward for helping Henry VIII’s campaign in France, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey is made lord chancellor of England on 24 December.
Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary is proclaimed queen on 3 August, and becomes the first woman to be crowned monarch of England in her own right.
William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and baptised on 26 April. The first collected edition of his works, known as "the First Folio", is published in 1623.
The first London theatre (aptly called "The Theatre") opens to the public. Built by James Burbage, the Elizabethan entrepreneur also constructed the "Globe" theatre.
Harrow School was formally founded in 1572 by John Lyon under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I.
Rugby School was founded as a provision in the will of Lawrence Sheriff, who had made his fortune supplying groceries to Queen Elizabeth I.
The licence to found Brentwood School in Essex, as "The Grammar School of Antony Browne, Serjeant at the Law, in Brentwood" was granted by Queen Mary to Sir Antony Browne on 5 July.
In his will, Sir William Laxton decreed the founding of a school, Oundle School, for the local boys of Oundle, which was to be maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers.
Part of the Foundation of schools, King Edward’s School in Birmingham is founded by King Edward VI. Christ’s Hospital school was also founded in this year.
The Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne is founded by Thomas Horsley, the city’s mayor.
Bolton Grammar School is established.
Pocklington School in East Riding, Yorkshire, was founded by John Dolman.
Founded by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of London, as Macclesfield Grammar School, The King’s School, Macclesfield is established in this year.
A gunpowder plot to assassinate James I and the government is discovered and foiled. Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators had planned to blow up the houses of parliament by igniting barrels of gunpowder in a vault.|
The authorised version of the Bible (also known as the "King James Bible") is first published in English.
Escaping religious persecution in England, the Pilgrim Fathers, set sail for America in the Mayflower. They land at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.
Samuel Pepys starts his decade long diary. A naval administrator and later a member of parliament, Pepys’ diaries would provide historians with valuable insights into life in 17th century.
The Great Fire of London destroys two-thirds of the city, leaving 65,000 homeless. The fire started in a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane.
Scottish merchant William Paterson establishes the Bank of England to assist the Crown in managing its considerable debts. It continues to issue bank notes to this day.
Sir Robert Walpole becomes first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. Walpole is given 10 Downing Street, still the prime minister’s official residence today.
Inventor and mechanical engineer in steam engine technology, James Watt is born in Greenock on 18 January.
The British naval commander George Anson begins his four year round the world voyage in HMS ’Centurion’. He returns with nearly £500,000 of Spanish treasure.
Captain James Cook leads the first of his expeditions aboard HMS Endeavour. He sails to the Pacific, circumnavigates New Zealand and charts the east coast of Australia.
Inventor Richard Arkwright opens the first cotton mill in Cromford, Derbyshire, using his own patented spinning machine, the water frame.
The first edition of "The Times of London" (originally founded in 1785 as the Daily Universal Register) is published on 1 January.
England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are formally joined under the Act of Union to create the United Kingdom.
After an act to end the supply of slaves on British ships to colonies passes in parliament the year before, the trade is completely abolished in Britain, ending 200 years of slavery.
Masterminded by British general, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, the Battle of Waterloo ends in a decisive victory for Britain and its allies in the Napoleonic wars.
On 27 September, the first public steam railway runs between Stockton and Darlington, ushering in the Railway Age with the building of an extensive railway network in Britain.
Chemist and physicist Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction, the principle behind the electric transformer and generator.
After Rowland Hill’s proposal to make a uniform rate of a penny per letter (irrespective of distance) is implemented in 1840, the volume of post sent in Britain soars.
Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (b.1806) dies, five years before his design for the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, is completed.
The Metropolitan Railway opens the world’s first underground railway between Bishop’s Road, Paddington and Farringdon Street.
William Booth, a London minister, takes his message to the streets, where he can reach the poor and homeless. From these early missions the Salvation Army is formed.
Sir Frank Bowden purchases an interest in a small bicycle company on Raleigh Street, Nottingham. Taking its name from the street, the Raleigh Bicycle Company is formed three years later.
Guglielmo Marconi is awarded a patent following his first successful wireless radio communication from Lavernock Point in South Wales, to Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel.
Frank Hornby applies for a patent that would later lead to the establishment of Meccano Ltd.
Lord Robert Baden-Powell organises a camping expedition on Brownsea Island, bringing together 20 boys from different backgrounds, and starting the Scouts movement.
On 29 November of the previous year, an Act of Parliament establishing an Air Force received the Royal Assent, and the Royal Air Force and Women’s Royal Air Force were formed on 1 April 1918.
On 26 January, John Logie Baird demonstrates his invention of a machine for the transmission of pictures, which he called television.
The jet engine makes its first test flight on 15 May. Royal Air Force officer Frank Whittle, made a major contribution to its invention.
Former Welsh miner turned Labour politician Nye Bevan’s vision of free health care for everyone becomes a reality on 5 July when the National Health Service is formed.
Elizabeth II succeeds her father, George VI who passed away on 6 February 1952. She is crowned a year later on 2 June 1953.
Scientists James Watson and Francis Crick discover the structure of a chemical called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.
Known as "Mr Motor Racing", Sir Stirling Moss OBE achieves his first Grand Prix win at British Grand Prix at Aintree, driving the Mercedes-Benz W196.
After joining EMI’s Parlophone label, "Love Me Do", the Beatles’ first single is released, reaching number 17 in the UK chart.
England beat Germany 4 - 2 in a closely contested final to win the World Cup at Wembley stadium. Geoff Hurst scores three of England’s four goals - the only footballer to get a hat-trick in a world cup final.
Concorde, the supersonic airliner jointly developed by Britain and France, makes its maiden flight. It will be another seven years before it begins commercial flights.
Developed by BBC engineers working on ways to provide subtitles for the deaf, Ceefax (a play on "see facts") first broadcast on 23 September.
Legendary motorbike racer Barry Sheene won the first of two consecutive 500cc Motorcycle Championships.
Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first female prime minister. One of the dominant political figures of the twentieth century, she would go on to serve three consecutive terms in office.
On 2 November at 4.45pm, Channel 4 began its broadcast, showing the quiz show "Countdown" with Richard Whiteley.
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure form the charity group Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" is the Christmas number one, and sells more than 3,000,000 copies.
Tim Berners-Lee invents a new way to share information using existing internet technology. The World Wide Web is born. A year later he programs the first web browser.
The Channel Tunnel opens, linking the UK with mainland Europe. An average of 40m below the sea bed, measuring 50km in length, it is the world’s longest undersea tunnel.
After demonstrating his invention on the Tomorrow’s World TV programme, Trevor Baylis’ innovative wind-up radio goes into production in Cape Town, South Africa.
A former 150 acre safari park in Windsor is transformed by more than 25 million bricks to become the first LEGOLAND theme park outside of Denmark.
England win the Rugby Union World Cup in Australia, beating the hosts, with Jonny Wilkinson scoring the winning drop-goal in extra time.
Kelly Holmes wins gold medals in both the 1500m and 800m events at the Olympic Games in Athens.
On 7 February, Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE becomes the world record holder for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe.
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