|  | Date | Event(s) | 
	
| 1 | 1907 | 1907—1907: New Zealand becomes a Dominion1907—1907: Imperial College, London, is established1907—1907: First airship flies over London1907—1907: Lumiere develops a process for colour photographyJul 1907—Jul 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its
shape after being heated1 Aug 1907—1 Aug 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island9 Nov 1907—9 Nov 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
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| 2 | 1908 | 1908—1908: Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day1908—1908: Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain1908—1908: Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress12 Aug 1908—12 Aug 1908: First 'Model T' Ford made
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| 3 | 1909 | 1909—1909: Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges1909—1909: Peary reaches the north pole1909—1909: First commercial manufacture of Bakelite -  start of the plastic age1 Jan 1909—1 Jan 1909: Old Age Pensions Act came into force16 Jan 1909—16 Jan 1909: Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole15 Mar 1909—15 Mar 1909: Selfridges department store opens in London25 Jul 1909—25 Jul 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
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| 4 | 1910 | 1910—1910: Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain1910—1910: Constitutional crisis in Britain1910—1910: Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville1910—1910: Madame Curie isolates radium1910—1910: Halley's comet reappears1910—1910: Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe6 May 1910—6 May 1910: Edward VII dies -  George V becomes King
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| 5 | 1911 | 1911—1911: Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords1911—1911: British MPs receive a salary1911—1911: First British Official Secrets Act1911—1911: Rutherford: theory of atomic structures1911—1911: Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912)2 Apr 1911—2 Apr 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911: Coronation of George V14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
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| 6 | 1912 | 1912—1912: Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain1912—1912: Britain nationalises the telephone system1912—1912: Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' -  hoax, exposed in 195318 Jan 1912—18 Jan 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 November14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage -  loss of 1,513 lives13 May 1912—13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
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| 7 | 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 Rule1913—1913: Suffragette demonstrations in London -  Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned1913—1913: Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political
purposes1913—1913: Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield1913—1913: Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity4 Jun 1913—4 Jun 1913: Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the
Epsom Derby and dies
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| 8 | 1914 | 1914—1914: Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster
to be decided after the War1914—1914: Chaplin and De Mille make their first films28 Jun 1914—28 Jun 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason5 Aug 1914—5 Aug 1914: British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph
links to the outside world15 Aug 1914—15 Aug 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)Oct 1914—Oct 1914: Battle of Ypres -  beginning of trench warfare on western front27 Nov 1914—27 Nov 1914: First policewoman goes on duty in Britain16 Dec 1914—16 Dec 1914: German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
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| 9 | 1915 | 1915—1915: Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane1915—1915: First automatic telephone exchange in Britain19 Jan 1915—19 Jan 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia -  four killedFeb 1915—Feb 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain startsApr 1915—Apr 1915: Second Battle of Ypres -  poison gas used for first time25 Apr 1915—25 Apr 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 died16 May 1915—16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll
(aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
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| 10 | 1916 | 1916—1916: Compulsory military service introduced in BritainFeb 1916—Feb 1916: Battle of Verdun -  appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues24 Apr 1916—24 Apr 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland -  after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs
independence21 May 1916—21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK31 May 1916—31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland -  only major naval battle between the British and
German fleets5 Jun 1916—5 Jun 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener3 Aug 1916—3 Aug 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason15 Sep 1916—15 Sep 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 Dec 1916—7 Dec 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
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| 11 | 1917 | 1917—1917: Battle of Cambrai -  first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual1917—1917: Ministry of Labour is established in BritainFeb 1917—Feb 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates16 Apr 1917—16 Apr 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile17 Apr 1917—17 Apr 1917: USA declares war on Germany26 May 1917—26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal
proclamation on 17 July)Jul 1917—Jul 1917: Battle of Passchendaele -  little gained by either side (Jul-Nov)7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia -  Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government;
Lenin becomes Chief Commissar6 Dec 1917—6 Dec 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 explosion9 Dec 1917—9 Dec 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
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| 12 | 1918 | 1918—1918: Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)1918—1918: War of Independence in Ireland18 Jan 1918—18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemicJul 1918—Jul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug)1 Oct 1918—1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus11 Nov 1918—11 Nov 1918: Armistice signedDec 1918—Dec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein
member refused to take her seat
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| 13 | 1919 | 1919—1919: Britain adopts a 48-hour working week1919—1919: Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom15 Jun 1919—15 Jun 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic28 Jun 1919—28 Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
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| 14 | 1920 | 1920—1920: Regular cross-channel air service starts1920—1920: Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain1920—1920: Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun)Feb 1920—Feb 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK -  opened by the Automobile Association
at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
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| 15 | 1921 | 1921—1921: Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies -  only four remained1921—1921: Insulin discovery announced1921—1921: First birth control clinic19 Jun 1921—19 Jun 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million6 Dec 1921—6 Dec 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free
State and Northern Ireland
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| 16 | 1922 | 1922—1922: Law of Property Act -  the manorial system effectively ended1 Jun 1922—1 Jun 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary foundedOct 1922—Oct 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)
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| 17 | 1923 | 1923—1923: Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers1923—1923: Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way1923—1923: First American broadcasts heard in Britain1 Jan 1923—1 Jan 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 194816 Feb 1923—16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun28 Apr 1923—28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) -  'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time  became the West Ham anthem28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
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| 18 | 1924 | 4 Jan 1924—4 Jan 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald5 Feb 1924—5 Feb 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were
first broadcast by the BBC31 Mar 1924—31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British
airline companies -  became BOAC in 1940)
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| 19 | 1925 | 1925—1925: Britain returns to gold standard18 Jul 1925—18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
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| 20 | 1926 | 1926—1926: First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird1926—1926: Adoption of children is legalised in Britain1926—1926: Kodak produces 16mm movie film1926—1926: Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood21 Apr 1926—21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth born3 May 1926—3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more)31 Oct 1926—31 Oct 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
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| 21 | 1927 | 1927—1927: Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer)7 Jan 1927—7 Jan 1927: First transatlantic telephone call -  New York City to London22 Jan 1927—22 Jan 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 Paris20 May 1927—20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33? hours31 May 1927—31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line24 Jul 1927—24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
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| 22 | 1928 | 1928—1928: Women over 21 get vote in Britain -  same qualification for both sexes26 Apr 1928—26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London15 Sep 1928—15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
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| 23 | 1929 | 1929—1929: Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain1929—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 211929—1929: BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
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| 24 | 1930 | 1930—1930: First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag1930—1930: Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain30 Jan 1930—30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany31 Jan 1930—31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape6 Mar 1930—6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas5 Oct 1930—5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster -  British abandons airship construction
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| 25 | 1931 | 1931—1931: Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states1931—1931: Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close14 Apr 1931—14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued26 Apr 1931—26 Apr 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 Oct 1931—21 Oct 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis -  Britain comes off
gold standard
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| 26 | 1932 | 1932—1932: Great Hunger March of unemployed to London1932—1932: Moseley founds British Union of Fascists1932—1932: Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus1932—1932: Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra21 May 1932—21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain3 Oct 1932—3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
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| 27 | 1933 | 1933—1933: ICI scientists discover polythene1933—1933: Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year12 Nov 1933—12 Nov 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
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| 28 | 1934 | 1934—1934: Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany18 Jul 1934—18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel26 Sep 1934—26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched30 Nov 1934—30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
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| 29 | 1935 | 1935—1935: London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme1935—1935: Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell28 Feb 1935—28 Feb 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 Mar 1935—12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas
in Britain1 Jun 1935—1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK30 Jul 1935—30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
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| 30 | 1936 | 1936—1936: Jet engine first tested20 Jan 1936—20 Jan 1936: George V dies5 May 1936—5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire24 Jul 1936—24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK2 Nov 1936—2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's
first public TV transmission30 Nov 1936—30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire5 Dec 1936—5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) -  popular carol that Christmas:
'Hark the Herald Angels sing  Mrs Simpson's got our King'
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| 31 | 1937 | 1937—1937: '999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London1937—1937: Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp12 Apr 1937—12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft12 May 1937—12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI28 May 1937—28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister -  policy of appeasement towards
Hitler3 Jun 1937—3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson4 Dec 1937—4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
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| 32 | 1938 | 1938—1938: Principle of paid holidays established in Britain1938—1938: HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar1938—1938: First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro12 Mar 1938—12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria3 Jul 1938—3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive27 Sep 1938—27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank29 Sep 1938—29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich -  promises 'peace in our time'30 Oct 1938—30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
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| 33 | 1939 | 1939—1939: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia1939—1939: Start of evacuation of women and children from London1939—1939: Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time1 Sep 1939—1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland3 Sep 1939—3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany6 Sep 1939—6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain11 Sep 1939—11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France14 Oct 1939—14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives7 Dec 1939—7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain -  7,400 men on 5 ships17 Dec 1939—17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
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| 34 | 1940 | 1 Apr 1940—1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd11 May 1940—11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill13 May 1940—13 May 1940: Germany invades France27 May 1940—27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun)25 Jun 1940—25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany7 Sep 1940—7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of
bombing15 Sep 1940—15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the
RAF -  Hitler postpones invasion of Britain14 Nov 1940—14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed
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| 35 | 1941 | 1941—1941: Britain introduces severe rationing1941—1941: First British jet aircraft flies, based on work of Whittle1941—1941: Bailey invents his portable military bridge1941—1941: First use of antibiotics10 May 1941—10 May 1941: Rudolf Hess flies to Scotland27 May 1941—27 May 1941: 'Bismark' sunk22 Jun 1941—22 Jun 1941: Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa)1 Jul 1941—1 Jul 1941: First Canadian armoured regiments arrive in BritainDec 1941—Dec 1941: Canadian forces given operation role in defending south coast of EnglandDec 1941—Dec 1941: 'Manhattan Project' of nuclear research begins in America7 Dec 1941—7 Dec 1941: Japan attackes US fleet at Pearl Harbour8 Dec 1941—8 Dec 1941: USA enters WWII24 Dec 1941—24 Dec 1941: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese
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| 36 | 1942 | 1942—1942: Invention of world's first programmable computer by Alan Turing in co-operation with
Max Neumann -  used to crack German codes1942—1942: Gilbert Murray founds Oxfam30 May 1942—30 May 1942: Over 1,000 allied bombers raid Cologne4 Jun 1942—4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway19 Aug 1942—19 Aug 1942: Abortive raid on Dieppe, largely by Canadian troops6 Sep 1942—6 Sep 1942: Germans defeated at Stalingrad3 Oct 1942—3 Oct 1942: First successful launch of V2 rocket in Germany -  first man-made object to reach
space23 Oct 1942—23 Oct 1942: Battle of El Alamein -  Montgomery defeats Rommel2 Dec 1942—2 Dec 1942: 'Manhattan Project' -  a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining
nuclear chain reaction
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