1917 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1917 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1915 1915 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1915 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I, which had broken out in the August of the previous year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H... | 1916 1916 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1916 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H... | 1917 | 1918 1918 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1918 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the end of World War I after four years, which Britain and its allies won, and a major advance in women's suffrage.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V... | 1919 1919 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1919 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-Events:* 1 January - In Scotland, HMS Iolaire is wrecked on rocks: 205 die.... |
| Sport and Music |
| 1917 English cricket season 1915 to 1918 English cricket seasons The 1915 to 1918 English cricket seasons were all but wiped out by the First World War. This article looks at how cricket coped with the war.The 1914 English cricket season ended prematurely after the outbreak of the war and it was not until the 1919 season that normal first-class fixtures could... |
| Football Football in the United Kingdom Football in the United Kingdom is organised on a separate basis in each of the four countries of the United Kingdom, with each having a national football association responsible for the overall management of football within their respective country. There is no United Kingdom national football team...  England1916-17 in English football The 1916–17 season was the second season of special wartime football in England during World War I.-Overview:Between 1914 and 1919 competitive football was suspended in England. Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead... |  Scotland1916-17 in Scottish football The 1916–17 season was the 27th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: CelticNote: Due to increasing travel difficulties under war-time conditions, Aberdeen, Dundee and Raith Rovers were asked to retire from the League at the end of the season... |
Events from the year 1917 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This year is dominated by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Incumbents
- Monarch - King George VGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
- Prime Minister - David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, coalition
Events
- 19 January - Silvertown explosionSilvertown explosionThe Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in West Ham, Essex on Friday, 19 January 1917 at 6.52 pm. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturing explosives for Britain's World War I military effort...
: a blast at a munitions factory in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2M-worth of damage. - 26 January - The sea defences at the village of Hallsands, DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
are breached, leading to all but one of the houses becoming uninhabitable. - 2 February - Bread rationingRationingRationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
introduced. - 21 February - Elder Dempster Line troopshipTroopshipA troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
SS MendiSS MendiSS Mendi was a steamship of the Elder Dempster Line, chartered by the British government as a troopship, which sank off the Isle of Wight in 1917 with the loss of 646 lives...
is rammed by SS Darro off the Isle of WightIsle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, killing 646. - February - Formation of the Women's Land ArmyWomen's Land ArmyThe Women's Land Army was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls...
, superseding the Women's National Land Service Corps. - March - Establishment of the Imperial War CabinetImperial War CabinetThe Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British Empire's military policy during the First World War...
, a body composed of the chief British ministers and the prime ministers of the DominionDominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
s (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) to set policy. - 11 March - World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
: British forces led by Sir Stanley MaudeFrederick Stanley MaudeLieutenant General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude KCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander, most famous for his efforts in Mesopotamia during World War I and for conquering Baghdad in 1917.-Family:...
capture BaghdadFall of Baghdad (1917)The British Indian Army fought the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. On 11 March 1917, after a series of defeats, it captured Baghdad after a two-year campaign.-Arrival of General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude:...
, the southern capital of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. - 26 March - World War I: First Battle of GazaFirst Battle of GazaThe First Battle of Gaza was fought in and around the town of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast in the southern region of Ottoman Palestine on 26 March 1917, during World War I...
- British cavalry troops retreat after 17,000 Turks block their advance. - 28 March - The Women's Army Auxiliary CorpsWomen's Army Auxiliary Corps (Britain)The UK's Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was later named Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps . Over 57,000 women served between January 1917 and November 1918. On 31 March 1917 women in the WAAC were first sent to the battlefields in France, just 14 cooks and waitresses...
founded. - 6/7 May - First bomb dropped on London by a fixed-wing aircraft (one death).
- 25 May - First daylight bombing raid on the UK by fixed-wing aircraft: 95 killed in FolkestoneFolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
area. - 13 June - First daylight bombing raid on London by fixed-wing aircraft: 162 killed.
- 9 July - HMS VanguardHMS Vanguard (1909)The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was a St Vincent-class battleship, an enhancement of the "" design built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness...
is blown apart by an internal explosion at her moorings in Scapa FlowScapa Flowright|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, Orkney, killing an estimated 843 crew with no survivors. - 17 July - King George VGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
issues a ProclamationProclamationA proclamation is an official declaration.-England and Wales:In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of...
stating that the male line descendants of the British Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
will bear the surname WindsorHouse of WindsorThe House of Windsor is the royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom...
. - 2 August - Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning becomes the first pilot to land his aircraft on a ship when he lands his Sopwith PupSopwith PupThe Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...
on in Scapa Flow. He is killed five days later during another landing on the ship. - 17 August - One of English literature's most important and famous meetings takes place when Wilfred OwenWilfred OwenWilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
introduces himself to Siegfried SassoonSiegfried SassoonSiegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
at Craiglockhart War HospitalCraiglockhart HydropathicCraiglockhart Hydropathic, now a part of Edinburgh Napier University and known as Craiglockhart Campus, is a building with surrounding grounds in Craiglockhart, Edinburgh, Scotland.-Origins:...
in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. - 21 August - Most provisions of Corn Production Act come into force. This guarantees minimum prices for wheatWheatWheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and oatsOATSOATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
and specifies a minimum wage for agricultural workers. - 5 October - Sir Arthur LeeArthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of FarehamArthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham, GCB, GBE, GCSI, PC was a British soldier, diplomat, politician and patron of the arts. After military postings and an assignment to the British Embassy in Washington, he entered politics and served as Minster of Agriculture and Fisheries and First...
donates the country house ChequersChequersChequers, or Chequers Court, is a country house near Ellesborough, to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills...
to the nation. - November – Women's Royal Naval ServiceWomen's Royal Naval ServiceThe Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...
established. - 2 November - The Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for Jewish settlement in PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. - 7 November - World War I: Third Battle of GazaThird Battle of GazaThe Third Battle of Gaza was fought in 1917 in southern Palestine during the First World War. The British Empire forces under the command of General Edmund Allenby successfully broke the Ottoman defensive Gaza-Beersheba line...
ends — British forces capture GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
from the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. - 16 November - British troops occupy Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and JaffaJaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
in PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. - 17 November - People's Dispensary for Sick Animals established by Maria DickinMaria DickinMaria Elisabeth Dickin CBE was an animal welfare pioneer who founded the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917.-External links:*...
. - 20 November - World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins — British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are soon beaten back.
- 11 December - British troops take Jerusalem from the troops of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Undated
- Women's Forestry Service under Miss Rosamond Crowdy instituted under the Timber Supply Department of the Board of TradeBoard of TradeThe Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
. - Creation of the Cottingley FairiesCottingley FairiesThe Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10...
photographs apparently depicting fairies; a hoax not admitted by the creators until 1981. - Charles Glover BarklaCharles Glover BarklaCharles Glover Barkla was a British physicist, and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917 for his work in X-ray spectroscopy and related areas in the study of X-rays .-Biography:...
wins the Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
"for his discovery of the characteristic Röntgen radiation of the elements." - Gay CrusaderGay CrusaderGay Crusader was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the English Triple Crown in 1917.Owner/breeder Alfred W Cox mated his horse Bayardo with the mare Gay Laura to produce the ill-tempered colt Gay Crusader...
wins the English Triple CrownTriple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingThe Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
by finishing first in the DerbyEpsom DerbyThe Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
, 2,000 Guineas and St LegerSt. Leger StakesThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
. - J.R.R. Tolkien begins writing the original Book of Lost TalesThe Book of Lost TalesThe Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
(the first version of The SilmarillionThe SilmarillionThe Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
); thus Middle-earthMiddle-earthMiddle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
is first chronicled.
Publications
- The anthologyAnthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of British war poetry The Muse in ArmsThe Muse in ArmsThe Muse in Arms is an anthology of British war poetry published in November 1917 during World War I. It consists of 131 poems by 52 contributors, with the poems divided into fourteen thematic sections. The poets were from all three branches of the armed services, land, sea and air, from a range of...
. - Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's novella The Shadow LineThe Shadow LineThe Shadow-Line is a short novel based at sea by Joseph Conrad; it is one of his later works, being written from February to December 1915. It was first published in 1916 as a serial in New York's Metropolitan Magazine in the English Review and published in book form in 1917 in the UK and America...
(in book form). - Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
short story collection His Last BowHis Last BowHis Last Bow is a collection of seven Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the title of the last story in that collection...
. - T. S. EliotT. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's poems Prufrock, and other observationsThe Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, commonly known as Prufrock, is a poem by T. S. Eliot, begun in February 1910 and published in Chicago in June 1915. Described as a "drama of literary anguish," it presents a stream of consciousness in the form of a dramatic monologue, and marked the beginning of...
. - Robert GravesRobert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
' poems Fairies and Fusiliers. - Ivor GurneyIvor GurneyIvor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
's poems Severn and Somme. - Daniel JonesDaniel Jones (phonetician)Daniel Jones was a London-born British phonetician. A pupil of Paul Passy, professor of phonetics at the École des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne , Daniel Jones is considered by many to be the greatest phonetician of the early 20th century...
's An English Pronouncing Dictionary. - Siegfried SassoonSiegfried SassoonSiegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
's The Old Huntsman, and Other Poems. - Edward ThomasEdward Thomas (poet)Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh writer of prose and poetry. He is commonly considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences. Already an accomplished writer, Thomas turned to poetry only in 1914...
's collection Poems (posthumous) (including AdlestropAdlestropAdlestrop is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is known as Tedestrop in the Domesday Book.The civil parish also includes the village of Daylesford...
). - P. G. WodehouseP. G. WodehouseSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
's short story collection The Man with Two Left FeetThe Man With Two Left FeetThe Man With Two Left Feet, and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on March 8, 1917 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States in 1933 by A.L. Burt and Co., New York...
. - W. B. Yeats's poetry collection The Wild Swans at CooleThe Wild Swans at CooleThe Wild Swans at Coole is a collection of poems by William Butler Yeats, first published in 1917. It is also the name of a poem in that collection...
.
Births
- 19 January - Graham HigmanGraham HigmanGraham Higman FRS was a leading British mathematician. He is known for his contributions to group theory....
, mathematician (died 2008) - 25 February - Anthony BurgessAnthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
, author (died 19931993 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1993 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - John Major, Conservative-January:* January - The economy grew in the final quarter of last year - the second successive quarter of economic growth - but the recovery was still too weak for the end...
) - 2 March - John GardnerJohn Gardner (composer)John Linton Gardner, CBE is an English composer of classical music.-Biography:Gardner was born in Manchester, England and brought up in Ilfracombe, North Devon. His father Alfred Linton Gardner was a local GP and amateur composer who was killed in action in the last months of the First World War....
, composer - 12 March - Googie WithersGoogie WithersGeorgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
, actress - 20 March - Vera LynnVera LynnDame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
, actress and singer - 22 March - Paul RogersPaul Rogers (actor)Paul Rogers is an English actor of film, stage and television.Rogers was born in Plympton, Devon, England, and later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall and made his film debut in 1932...
, actor - 24 March - John KendrewJohn KendrewSir John Cowdery Kendrew, CBE, FRS was an English biochemist and crystallographer who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Max Perutz; their group in the Cavendish Laboratory investigated the structure of heme-containing proteins.-Biography:He was born in Oxford, son of Wilford George...
, molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
(died 19971997 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1997 in the United Kingdom.-Overview:1997 in the United Kingdom is noted for a landslide General Election victory for the Labour Party under Tony Blair; and for the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.-Incumbents:...
) - 10 June - Ruari McLeanRuari McLeanJohn David Ruari McLean CBE, DSC was a leading British typographic designer.-Early life and apprenticeship:Ruari McLean was born in Newton Stewart, Galloway, Scotland and educated at the Dragon School and Eastbourne College. He was apprenticed in the printing trade at the Shakespeare Head Press,...
, typographer (died 20062006 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2006 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Anthony Blair, Labour Party-January:...
) - 1 July - Humphry OsmondHumphry OsmondHumphry Fortescue Osmond was a British psychiatrist known for inventing the word psychedelic and for using psychedelic drugs in medical research...
, psychiatrist (died 20042004 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2004 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-January:...
) - 10 July - Reg SmytheReg SmytheReginald Smyth , best known by his Reg Smythe pseudonym, was a British cartoonist who created the popular, long-running Andy Capp comic strip....
, cartoonist (died 19981998 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1998 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-January:* 5 January - The UK takes over the Presidency of the EC's Council of Ministers until 30 June.-February:...
) - 30 August - Denis HealeyDenis HealeyDenis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
, author and politician - 3 September - Anthony Robert KlitzAnthony Robert KlitzAnthony Robert Klitz was an artist who specialised in cityscapes, notably London. He was born in Southport, attended Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and studied art at the Cheltenham Art College , whilst simultaneously training to be an architect...
, artist (died 20002000 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2000 in the United Kingdom.-January:* Japanese carmaker Nissan adds a third model to its factory near Sunderland; the new version of the Almera hatchback and slaoon, which goes on sale in March....
) - 2 October - Christian de DuveChristian de DuveChristian René, viscount de Duve is a Nobel Prize-winning cytologist and biochemist. De Duve was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, Great Britain, as a son of Belgian refugees. They returned to Belgium in 1920...
, biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will... - 8 October - Rodney Robert PorterRodney Robert PorterRodney Robert Porter, FRS was an English biochemist and Nobel laureate.Born in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Lancashire, England, Rodney Robert Porter received his Bachelors of Sciences degree from the University of Liverpool in 1939 for Biochemistry. He moved to the University of Cambridge where...
, biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
(died 19851985 in the United KingdomImportant events from the year 1985 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - The first British mobile phone call is made ....
) - 22 October - Joan FontaineJoan FontaineJoan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
, actress - 22 November - Andrew HuxleyAndrew HuxleySir Andrew Fielding Huxley, OM, FRS is an English physiologist and biophysicist, who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his experimental and mathematical work with Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin on the basis of nerve action potentials, the electrical impulses that enable the activity...
, scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will... - 22 November - Shabtai RosenneShabtai RosenneShabtai Rosenne , formerly known as Sefton Wilfred David Rowson was a Professor of International Law and an Israeli diplomat....
, British-born Israeli diplomat and recipient of the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
(d. 20102010 in Israel-Incumbents:* Prime Minister of Israel – Benjamin Netanyahu * President of Israel – Shimon Peres* Chief of General Staff – Gabi Ashkenazi* Government of Israel – 32nd Government of Israel-Events:...
) - 16 December - Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
, science fiction author and inventor (died 20082008 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2008 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Gordon Brown, Labour Party-January:...
) - Mary Berry, canoness, choral conductor and musicologist (died 2008)
Deaths
- 2 January - Edward Burnett TylorEdward Burnett TylorSir Edward Burnett Tylor , was an English anthropologist.Tylor is representative of cultural evolutionism. In his works Primitive Culture and Anthropology, he defined the context of the scientific study of anthropology, based on the evolutionary theories of Charles Lyell...
, anthropologist (born 18321832 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1832 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King William IV*Prime Minister - Earl Grey, Whig-Events:...
) - 25 March - John George WillJohn George WillJohn George Will was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I an air battle over Arras.He played for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for in 1912-14....
, Scottish international rugby player (killed in action) (born 18921892 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1892 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative , William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:...
) - 2 April - Bryn LewisBryn LewisMajor Brinley 'Bryn' Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Newport and Cambridge University. He is one of twelve Welsh internationals to have died in active duty during World War I....
, Wales international rugby player (killed in action) (born 18911891 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1891 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 9 April - Edward ThomasEdward Thomas (poet)Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh writer of prose and poetry. He is commonly considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences. Already an accomplished writer, Thomas turned to poetry only in 1914...
, poet (killed in action) (born 18781878 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1878 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:* January — Cleopatra's Needle arrives in London....
) - 31 July
- Ellis Humphrey Evans ("Hedd WynHedd WynHedd Wyn was a Welsh language poet who was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod...
"), Welsh-language poet (killed in action) (born 18871887 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1887 in the United Kingdom. This is the Queen's Golden Jubilee year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - James Llewellyn DaviesJames Llewellyn DaviesJames Llewellyn Davies VC was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, VC recipient (killed in action) (born 18861886 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1886 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative , William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:* 13 January — After six years of campaigning, the...
) - James Young Milne HendersonJames Young Milne HendersonJames Young Milne Henderson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Watsonians and was capped for in 1911.-References:...
, Scottish international rugby player (killed in action) (born 18911891 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1891 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - Francis LedwidgeFrancis LedwidgeFrancis Edward Ledwidge was an Irish war poet from County Meath. Sometimes known as the "poet of the blackbirds", he was killed in action at the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I.-Early life:...
, Irish poet (killed in action) (born 18871887 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1887 in the United Kingdom. This is the Queen's Golden Jubilee year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
)
- Ellis Humphrey Evans ("Hedd Wyn
- 15 August - Thomas CrispThomas CrispSkipper Thomas Crisp VC, DSC, RNR was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, Victoria Cross recipient (born 18761876 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1876 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:...
) - 30 August - Alan LeoAlan LeoAlan Leo, born William Frederick Allan, , was a prominent British astrologer, author, publisher and theosophist, and is considered by many to be the father of modern astrology....
, astrologer (born 18601860 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1860 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Cray Wanderers Football Club formed in St Mary Cray, north Kent....
) - 8 November
- Colin BlytheColin BlytheColin Blythe , also known as Charlie Blythe, was a Kent and England left arm spinner who is regarded as one of the finest bowlers of the period between 1900 and 1914 - sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age" of cricket.-Career:Blythe first played...
, cricketer (born 18791879 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1879 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:* 1 January — Benjamin Henry Blackwell opens the first Blackwell's bookshop in Oxford....
) - Arthur Matthew Weld DowningArthur Matthew Weld DowningArthur Matthew Weld Downing was a British astronomer.He was born in Carlow, Ireland.He became an assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1873. He became superintendent of HM Nautical Almanac Office from 1891 to 1910. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1896 He...
, astronomer (born 18501850 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1850 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
)
- Colin Blythe
- 14 December - Phil WallerPhil WallerPhil Waller was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Johannesburg. He won six caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa....
, Wales and British Lions rugby player (killed in action) (born 18891889 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1889 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
)