BRITISH TIMELINE

 

 

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Thousands of years ago, Great Britain was joined to Europe and was covered with ice. About 15,000 years ago, the weather became warmer. The ice melted and the sea level rose...

 

  1. Prehistoric Britain BC  
  2. Roman Britain 43 AD ®
  3. Anglo Saxon Britain 450 ®
  4. Viking Britain 793 ®
  5. Medieval Britain 1066 ®
  6. Tudor Britain 1485 ®
  7. Stuart Britain 1603 ®
  8. Georgian Britain 1714 ®
  9. Victorian Britain 1837 ®
  10. Modern Britain 1900 ®

 

 

 

Prehistoric Britain

6500

Seas rise, cutting Britain off from mainland Europe

3000

New Stone Age begins: farming people arrive from Europe; First stone circles erected

2100

Bronze Age begins

2150

People learn to make bronze weapons and tools

2500

Stonehenge built

1650

Trade routes begin to form

1200

Small Villages are first formed

750

Iron Age begins: iron replaces bronze as most useful metal
Population about 150,000

500

The Celtic people arrive from Central Europe; The Celts were farmers and lived in small village groups in the centre of their arable fields; They were also warlike people; The Celts fought against the people of Britain and other Celtic tribes.

 

 

Roman Britain

The Romans were the first to invade Britain nearly 2000 years ago. The Roman Empire made its mark on Britain, and even today, the ruins of Roman buildings, forts, roads, and baths can be found all over Britain. Britain was part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years! By the time the Roman armies left around 410 AD, they had established medical practice, a language of administration and law and had created great public buildings and roads. Many English words are derived from the latin language of the Romans.

 

Britain
 
Abroad
55 BC

Julius Caesar heads first Roman Invasion but later withdraws

55 BC

 
AD

 

AD

 
43

Romans invade and Britain becomes part of the Roman Empire

 43

 
50

London Founded

50

 
61

Boadicea leads the Iceni in revolt against the Romans

61

 
70

Romans conquer  Wales and the North

 70

 
 122    -   128

Emperor Hadrian builds a wall on the Scottish Border

  122    -   128

 
140

Romans conquer  Scotland

 140

 
209

St Alban becomes the 1st Christian martyr

 209

 
306

Constantine the Great declared Emperor at York

306

 
350

The Picts and Scots attack the border

 350

 
 401   -   410

The Romans withdraw from Britain: Anglo Saxons migrants begin to Settle

 401   -   410

 

 

 

Anglo-Saxon Britain

The Roman army left Britain about AD 410. When they had gone there was no strong army to defend Britain, and tribes called the Anglo, Saxon, and Jute (the Anglo-Saxons) invaded. They left their homelands in (today) northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland and rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats. The Anglo-Saxons ruled most of Britain but never conquered Cornwall in the south-west, Wales in the west, or Scotland in the north. They divided the country into kingdoms. Meantime missionaries spread Christianity across southern Britain.

 

Britain
 

Abroad

450   -   750

Invasion of the Jutes from Jutland, Angles from South of Denmark and Saxons from Germany.
Britain is divided up into the Seven Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Kent.

450    -    750

 

450

Saxons Hengist and Horsa settle in Kent.

450

 

460

St Patrick returns to convert Ireland

460

 

510

The Battle of Mount Badon: British (Celtic) victory over the Saxons

510

 

597

St Augustine brings Christianity to Britain from Rome and becomes the 1st Archbishop of Canterbury

597

 

617

Northumbria becomes the Supreme Kingdom

617

 

779

Mercia becomes the Supreme Kingdom and King Offa builds a Dyke along the Welsh Border to keep the Welsh out

779

 

 

 

Viking Britain

The Viking Age in Britain began about 1,200 years ago in the 8th Century AD and lasted for 300 years.

 

Britain
 

Abroad

793

First invasion by the Vikings

793

 

821

Wessex becomes the Supreme Kingdom

821

 

 866    -    877

Invasion of the Great Danish (Viking) Army.

 866    -    877

 

867

The Vikings take Northumbria

867

 

871

King Alfred defeats the Vikings but allows them to settle in Eastern England

871

 

886

The North subjected to the Danelaw, the rules of the Vikings

886

  

889

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle starts

889

 

926

Eastern England (Danelaw) conquered by the Saxons

926

 

1016

King Canute of Denmark captures the English Crown

1016

 

1042

Edward the Confessor becomes King

1042

 

1055

Westminster Abbey completed

1055

 

 

 

Medieval Britain

The Middle Ages in Britain cover a huge period. They take us from the shock of the Norman Conquest, which began in 1066, to the devasting Black Death of 1348, the Hundred Years' War with France and the War of the Roses, which finally ended in 1485. The Normans built impressive castles, imposed a feudal system and carried out a census of the country.

 

Britain

 

Abroad

1066

The Battle of Stamford Bridge:
 Saxon victory over invading Vikings

1066

 

1066

The Battle of Hastings: The invading Normans defeat the Saxons
William of Normandy (Conqueror) defeats Harold and becomes King of England - Norman Conquest (4 years)

1066

 

1070

Work starts on Canterbury Cathedral

1070

 

1078

Work starts on The Tower of London

1078

 

1080 -  1100

Great monastery and cathedral building begins

1080  -  1100

 

1086

The Domesday Book is compiled, a complete inventory of Britain

1086

 

1154

Henry II Establishes Plantagenet Rule in England;
Work starts on York Minster

1154

 

1167

Oxford University Founded

1167

 

1170

Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket is murdered by the knights of Henry II

1170

 

1170

Population of London exceeds 30,000 for the first time

1170

 

1174

Work starts on Wells Cathedral

1174

 
1209 Cambridge University Founded 1209  

1215

Civil War

1215

 

1215

The Magna Carta is signed by King John

1215

 

1220

Work starts on Salisbury Cathedral

1220

 
1245 Westminster Abbey built 1245  

1282 - 1283

King Edward conquers  Wales. Llewellyn ab Gruffydd, the country's last Welsh Prince is killed

1282  -  1283

 

1296

King Edward invades  Scotland and takes the Stone of Destiny from Scone to Westminster (returned in 1996)

1296

 

1297

The Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Scots under William Wallace defeat the English

1297

 

1298

The Battle of Falkirk. King Edward defeats Wallace.

1298

 

1306

Robert Bruce crowned King of the Scots

1306

 

1314

Scots led by Robert the Bruce defeat the English at the battle of Bannockburn

1314

 

1321  - 1322

Civil War

1321  -  1322

 

1337

King Edward III claims the Throne of France

1337

 

1337 - 1453

Hundred Years' War with France

1337  -  1453

 

1348 - 1349

The Black Death (bubonic plague) arrived in England and killed nearly half of the population

1348  -  1349

 

1387

Geoffrey Chaucer starts writing the Canterbury Tales

1387

 
1402 Owen Glendower leads a successful revolt against Henry IV in Wales, proclaims himself Prince of Wales, and establishes a Welsh parliament. Henry V gradually reconqueres Wales between 1405 and 1413. 1402  

1415

English defeat the French at the battle of Agincourt

1415

 

1453

The Hundred Years War against France ends

1453

 

1455

Civil War: The War of the Roses starts

1455

 

 

 

 

Tudor Britain

The Tudors were a Welsh-English family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603 - one of the most exciting periods of British history. Henry VIII's matrimonial difficulties led to the split with the Roman Catholic Church. Henry made himself head of the Church of England (Anglican Church).

 

Britain

 

Abroad

1485

The War of the Roses ends at the Battle of Bosworth. Henry Vll crowned king.

1485

 

1497

John Cabot sails from Bristol aboard the 'Matthew' and discovers North America

1497

 

1509 - 1547

Henry Vlll is king of England (later of Wales and Ireland)

1509  -  1547

 

1513

English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Flodden

1513

 

1534

Henry VIII forms the 'Church of England'. Henry is confirmed as 'Supreme Head of the Church of England 'following a parliamentary Act of Supremacy

1534

 

1536

Act of Union joins England and Wales

1536

 
1536 Coverdale Publishes First Complete English Translation of the Bible (  1541 New Testament in print) 1536  

1536 - 1539

Destruction or closure of 560 monasteries and religious houses

1536  -  1539

 

1542

Mary, Queen of Scots lays claim to the English throne

1542

 
1560 The Scottish parliament adopts the Knox's Confession of Faith as the authorized creed. It becomes a symbol of Scottish nationalism and identity. 1560  

1558

Elizabeth I begins her 45 year reign

1558

 

1570

Sir Francis Drake sets sail for his first voyage to the West Indies

1570

 

1587

Queen Elizabeth I executes Mary, Queen of Scots

1587

 

1588

The English (and the weather) defeat the Spanish Armada

1588

 
1589 Christopher Marlowe: Dr Faustus 1589  

1591

First performance of a play by William Shakespeare

1591

 
1596 The Triple Alliance signed by England, France, and the United Provinces (Netherlands), forms a confederation against Spain 1596  
1597 - 1598 Poor Laws (Elizabeth I) make provisions for the disadvantaged: the elderly, the sick, and destitute children 1597  -  1598  

1600

First British involvement in the Indian continent - East India Company formed.
Population of Britain just over 4 million

1600

 

 

 

Stuart Britain

The Stuarts had ruled Scotland since 1371, but James VI of Scotland was the first Stuart king of England.

 

Britain

 

Abroad

1603

James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England uniting the two kingdoms (only personal union)

1603

 

1605

Guy Fawkes is thwarted when he tries to blow up Parliament. (Gunpowder Plot)

1605

 

1606

The Union Flag adopted as the National Flag

1606

 
1607

First permanent British settlement at Jamestown;

Ulster Plantation: colonization of Irish land by English and Scottish (protestant) settlers

1607  
1611

King James Version of the Bible

(  1590 Károli, Hungarian translation)

 1611  
1614 John Napier (Scottish mathematician) invents the system of logarithms 1614  

1620

The Pilgrim Fathers set sail for New England from Plymouth, aboard the 'Mayflower';

1620

 
1620 Francis Bacon: Indications Respecting the Interpretations of Nature ® rise of empiricism 1620  

1624  -  1630

War with Spain

1624  -  1630

 

1626  -  1629

War with France

1626  -  1629

 

1629

Parliament dissolved by King Charles

1629

 
1632 William Oughtred (English mathematician) invents slide-rule. It was used by engineers and scientists until the invention of the electronic calculator 1632  

1642  -  1651

Civil War

1642  -  1651

 

1649

King Charles executed

1649

 

1649  -  1650

Cromwell's conquest of Ireland

1649  -  1650

 

1650  -  1652

Cromwell's conquest of Scotland

1650   -  1652

 

1652

Tea arrives in Britain

1652

 
1652  -  1674 Wars (maritime battles) between England and the Netherlands resulted from commercial and trading rivalry 1652  -  1674  

1653

Cromwell proclaimed Lord Protector

1653

 

1660

Restoration of the Monarchy under King Charles II

1660

 
1660 Royal Society Founded 1660  
1661 Robert Boyle (Irish-born English chemist): disproves Aristotle’s theory that all matter is made up of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water - rather made of “corpuscles” 1661  

1664  -  1665

The Great Plague breaks out and up to 100,000 people die in London

1664  -  1665

 
1666 Newton: bases of differentiation and integration 1666  

1666

Great Fire of London

1666

 
1667 John Milton: Paradise Lost 1667  
1668 The Triple Alliance of England, Sweden, and the United Provinces (Netherlands), forms a confederation against Louis XIV 1668  
1675  -  1710 Christopher Wren: (new) St Paul's Cathedral; the old cathedral burned down in the Great Fire of London 1675  -  1710  
1678 John Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress 1678  
1687 Sir Isaac Newton: Principia; theory on gravity 1687  
1688  -  1689 'Glorious' 'Revolution' & Bill of Rights 1688  -  1689  
1688  -  1697   1688  -  1697 Nine Years’ War between Louis XIV of France and the Grand Alliance of 1689: formed by the Holy Roman emperor, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Savoy, Sweden, and some German states
1690 John Locke: Essay Concerning Human Understanding; empiricism 1690  

1692

William III (of Orange) massacres the Jacobites at Glencoe

1692

 
1694 Bank of England established: today the only bank in England that has the right to issue notes 1694  
1697   1697 Peace of Ryswick; Louis XIV recognizes William III as king of England
1701 Jethro Tull (English agriculturist) invents the rotary seed drill 1701  
1702  -  1713 Queen Anne’s  War (2nd of four North American wars) between the British and the French for territorial supremacy 1702  -  1713  
1705 Thomas Newcomen (blacksmith) invents the steam engine 1705  

1707

Act of Union between Scotland and England. The Scottish parliament was dissolved and England and Scotland became one country (Great Britain)

1707

 

 

 

Georgian Britain

In 1714 the British throne passed to a German family, the Hanoverians.

 

Britain

 

Abroad

1714

George of Hanover succeeds Queen Anne to the Throne

1714

 

1719

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe

1719

 

1721

Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister

1721

 

1726

Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels

1726

 

1730

John Hadley (English) invents the sextant; navigation on the sea

1730

Thomas Godfrey (American) invents the sextant

1740 - 1748

 

1740  -  1748

First Carnatic War: between Britain and France in India for controls of the region

1744 - 1748

King George’s War (3rd of four North American wars) between the British and the French

1744  -  1748

 

1746

Bonnie Prince Charlie is defeated at the Battle of Culloden (Sc)

1746

 

1748

David Hume: A Treatise on Human Nature; rationalistic, sceptical, and empirical philosophy

1748

 

1751  - 1754

 

1751  -  1754

2nd Carnatic War: between Britain and France in India for controls of the region

1754 - 1763

 

1754  -  1763

The French and Indian War between Britain and France for (today) Canadian and US territories ® Treaty of Paris

1757

First canal in Britain is completed

1757

 

1763

 

1763

Treaty of Paris: confirms British colonial dominance, especially in Canada, America, and India

1768

Royal Academy of Arts Founded

1768

 

1770

 

1770

James Cook reaches Australia claims the land for Britain

1774

Joseph Priestley isolates oxygen

1774

 

1775

James Watt improves the steam engine

1775

 

1776

America declares independence from Britain (July 4)

1776

 

1778

Catholic Relief Act: gives some citizen rights to Roman Catholics loyal to the British Crown

1778

 

1779

First cast-iron bridge spanning the river Severn

1779

 

1780s

Industrial Revolution Begins

1780s

 

1780

First horse race (Derby) at Epsom

1780

 

1783

Steam powered cotton mill invented by Sir Richard Arkwright

1783

 

1783

 

1783

The Treaty of Paris: Britain recognizes the independence of 13 of its former colonies as the sovereign United States of America.

1785

Edmund Cartwright invents power loom

1785

 

1786

Robert Burns: Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect

1786

 

1788

First convict ships are sent to Australia (January 26)

1788

 

 1796

Edward Jenner invented a vaccination against small pox

 1796

 

1798

Irish rebellion pulled down resulting union between Britain and Ireland (in 1800)

1798

 

1798

Collection from William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Lyrical Ballads

1798

 

1798

Henry Cavendish calculates the mass of the Earth

1798

 

1800

Act of Union with  Ireland

1800

 

 1801

The first census. Population of Britain 8 million. Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom

 1801

 

 1804

Richard Trevithick builds the first steam locomotive

 1804

 

1805

Lord Nelson defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar (October)

1805

 

1807

Abolition of Slave Trade

1807

 

1815

Duke of Wellington defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo

1815

 

1818

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

1818

 

1820

Sir Walter Scott: Ivanhoe

1820

 

1825

World's first railway opens between Stockton and Darlington

1825

 

 1829

Robert Peel set up the Metropolitan Police force

 1829

 

1829

Catholic Emancipation Act: grants Roman Catholics full civil and political liberties

1829

 

1829

George Stephenson builds Rocket locomotive

1829

 

1831

Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction

1831

 

1834

The Poor Law set up workhouses, where people without homes or jobs could live in return for doing unpaid work.

1834

 

 

 

Victorian Britan

Victorian Britain (1837 to 1901) was a time of enormous change. In 1837 most people lived in villages and worked on the land; by 1901, most lived in towns and worked in offices, shops and factories.

 

Britain

 

Abroad

1837

Queen Victoria becomes Queen at the age of 18

1837

 

1840

The first postage stamps (Penny Post) came into use

1840

 

1842

Mines Act ended child labour

1842

 
1844      

1845 - 1849

Ireland suffered the Great Potato Famine when entire crops of potao, the staple Irish food, were ruined.  About 1 million people died. About a million Irish emigrated to Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia.

1845  -  1849

 
1847 Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre 1847  
1849 - 1950

Charles Dickens: David Copperfield

 1849  -  1950  

1850s

The first post boxes were built

1850s

 

1851

The Great Exhibition
Census showed just over half of Britain's population (of 20 million) lived in towns

1851

 
1853 - 1856

Crimean War

 1853  -  1856

 

1854

A cholera epidemic led to demands for a clean water supply and proper sewage systems in the big cities

1854

 
1855 David Livingstone Reaches Victoria Falls 1855  

1856

Britain defeats Russia in the Crimean War

1856

 
1858 Alfred Russel Wallace's Theory of Evolution 1858  
1859 Charles Darwin: On the Origin of Species 1859  

1860

The first public flushing toilet opens

1860

 
1860 The first Open Golf Championship (Scotland) 1860  
1860 Sir Henry Bessemer: process for making 'cheaper' steel 1860  

1861

Death of Prince Albert

1861

 

1863

London Underground opens
The foundation of the Football Association

1863

 
1865 Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 1865  

1868

Joseph Lister discovers disinfectant

1868

 

1868

The last public hanging

1868

 

1869

The first Sainsbury's shop opened in Dury Lane, London

1869

 

1870

Education Act means state-supported elementary school for everyone

1870

 

1871

Queen Victoria opens the Albert Hall

1871

 
1873 James Clerk Maxwell unifies the theories of electricity and magnetism + developes electormagnetic theory of light 1873  
1873 - 1874 James Starley invents early bicycle 1873  -  1874  

1876

Alexander Bell (born in Scotland) invents the telephone in the US
Primary education is made compulsory

1876

 

1877

The first public electric lighting in London

1877

 

1883

First electric railway

1883

 

 1887

The invention of the gramophone

 1887

 

1891

Free education for every child

1891

 
1894 Tower Bridge finished 1894  
1897 Joseph Thomson discovers the electron 1897  

1901

Population of Britain 40 million

1901

 

 

Modern Britain

 

Britain

 

Abroad

1902

Britain defeats Dutch settlers in the Boer War in South Africa

1902

 

1902

The first old age pension

1902

 
1902 Sinn Féin Founded (Ir) 1902  
1903 -  1914 Suffragette Movement: Women’s political movement, which campaigns for the right of women to have the vote. 1903 -  1914  
1912 Bertrand Russell: The Problems of Philosophy - realism, rejects idealism, which at the time dominated  philosophical thinking 1912  

1914  -  1918

First World War
Compulsory military service and food rationing introduced

1914  -  1918

 
1916 (Apr) Easter Rising: uprising of armed Irish nationalists in Dublin, aimed against the rule of Britain in Ireland 1916 (Apr)  
1918 British women get the vote 1918  
1919 Rutherford transmutes Nitrogen into Oxygen: first artificial nuclear reaction 1919  

1920 

Republic of Ireland gains independence from Britain

1920 

 
1926 John Logie Baird (Sc) demonstrates the Television in public 1926  
1928 Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin 1928  
1931 British Commonwealth of nations formed 1931  

1931

Sir Frank Whittle invents the Jet Engine

1931

  
1932 James Chadwick discovers the Neutron 1932  
1935 Robert Watson-Watt develops radar 1935  
1936 Chaplin's Modern Times 1936  
1937 Sir George Thomson demonstrates the wave behaviour of electrons 1937  

1939 - 1945

The Second World War

1939  -  1945

 
1940 Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister 1940  
1949   1949 Irish Republic declared
1949 George Orwell: 1984 1949  

1951

Festival of Britain

1951

 

1952

Elizabeth II becomes Queen

1952

 
1952 First Brisitsh nuclear reactor &  nuclear bomb 1952  

1953

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

1953

 
1953 Francis Crick (UK) and James Dewey Watson (US) describe structure of DNA (Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962) 1953  
1955 Ian Donald invents ultrasound scanner (safer than X-rays) 1955  
1956   1956 Suez Crisis: UK, France and Israel against Egypt (US forces the UK to hault operations)
1959 Christopher Cockerell invents the hovercraft 1959  
1967 Abortion legalized in Britain 1967  

1972

Jan

30

 Bloody Sunday (Londonderry, NI): 13 people killed

1972

Jan

30

  

1973

Britain joins the European Community

1973

Ireland and Denmark join the EC

1979

Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first woman prime minister

1979

 

1982

Falklands War (Br defeats Argentinian forces)

1982

 

1991

Gulf War

1991

 

1991

Sir Tim Berners Lee invents the World Wide Web

1991

 

1994

Channel Tunnel links Britain back to the European continent

1994

 
1997   1997 Hong Kong returned to China
1998 Good Friday Agreement (Belfast): Protestant-Catholic power-sharing self-government in Northern Ireland 1998  

1999 

Welsh National Assembly and Scottish parliament open

1999 

 
1999 Manchester United wins Treble: winning the Premiership, the FA Cup and the European Champions League in one season 1999  

2003

Iraqi War

2003

 

 

sources:

National Statistics, UK 2002, The Official Yearbook of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Microsoft Encarta 2004 Encyclopedia Plus