DATES IN BRITISH HISTORY
43-408
Period of Roman Rule
832-60
Scots and Picts
merge under Kenneth Macalpin to form what is to
become the
871-99
Reign of the Saxon king Alfred
of Wessex, 'the Creat,'who
forces Viking invaders out of
1066
Norman Conquest of England
following William the Conqueror's victory at the Battle of Hastings
1086
Domesday survey – a
detailed survey to enable the Crown to assess the financial potential of
1215
King John signs Magna Carta, to protect feudal rights against royal abuse
1236
The term Parliament is used
officially for the first time to describe the gathering of feudal barons and
representatives of counties and towns summoned by the King
1348-49
Black Death (bubonic plague)
wipes out a third of
Among the 61 clauses of Magna Carta, the charter of liberties set out by King John, were
the definition of feudal rights between king and barons and the opening of the
law courts to free men
1381
Peasants' Revolt in
1455-87
Wars of the Roses – name later
given to sporadic political and dynastic troubles, involving claims of houses
of Lancaster and York to English Crown
1534-40
English Reformation: Henry
VIII establishes the Church of England
1555
1558-1603
Reign of Elizabeth I – successful,
cautious and competent
c1590
– c1613
Plays of Shakespeare written
1649
Execution of Charles I – demanded
by army leaders and radicals after the King's defeat during the civil wars between
Crown and Parliament
1679
Habeas Corpus Amendment Act
greatly improves the means by which a person may establish a right to liberty,
for example by securing release from unjustifiable detention in prison
1694
Bank of England founded
1775-83
American War of
c1760s
– c1830
Industrial Revolution
|
1767 |
James Hargreaves's
spinning jenny invented |
|
1769 |
Richard Arkwright's
waterframe – a water-powered textile spinning'
machine – patented |
|
1779 |
Samuel Crompton's
mule – for spinning yarn for use in muslin manufacture – invented |
|
1825 |
|
|
1831 |
Michael Faraday discovers magneto-electricity |
1776
Adam Smith's Wraith of Nations, written at Kirkcaldy
in Scotland and a fundamental work in the history of economics, advocates free
trade, division of labour and minimal government
interference
1803
-15
1801
First census in
1807
Slave trade to British colonies
abolished
1829
Catholic emancipation brings
removal of civil disabilities hitherto suffered by Catholics in
1832
First Reform Act extends right
to vote to men in certain economic categories and abolishes many rotten
boroughs in
1833
1837-1901
Reign of
A horse-drawn omnibus of the London
Omnibus Company, c1860. Operation of buses at cheap fares began in
1848
Public Health Act mirrors
philanthropic activity to improve sanitary conditions and curb cholera
1860
London General Omnibus Company
carrying 40 million passengers a year reflects improvement in suburban transport
1883
Bribery and other corrupt
practices are made illegal at elections
1911
Parliament Act restricts
powers of House of Lords
1918
Fourth Reform Act gives vote
to men over twenty-one and a substantial measure of suffrage to women over thirty
1928
All women over twenty-one win
vote
1940
Battle of Britain, in which
RAF Fighter Command prevents Nazi invasion of
1942
Beveridge Report forms basis
for postwar social reconstruction and a comprehensive social security system
1944
Education Act compels local
authorities to provide secondary education, raises
school-leaving age to fifteen and paves way for further educational reforms
1975
and 1986
Sex Discrimination Acts make
discrimination between men and women unlawful in employment, education and
other spheres
1976
Race Relations Act makes
discrimination unlawful on grounds of colour, race, nationality or ethnic or
national origin
Members of the Women's Freedom League celebrate
winning of the vote by all women at a victory breakfast in the