1926 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1926 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1924 1924 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1924 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative , Ramsay MacDonald, Labour , Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - Meteorological Office issues its first broadcast... | 1925 1925 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:... | 1926 | 1927 1927 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1927 in the United Kingdom.1927 saw the renaming of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising in name the Irish free state's independence, it having come into existence with the Anglo-Irish Treaty... | 1928 1928 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1928 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1926 English cricket season 1926 English cricket season The 1926 English cricket season saw England regain the Ashes. Lancashire overcame its eternal rivals and began a hat-trick sequence of county titles.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire*Minor Counties Championship - Durham... |
| 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...  England |  Scotland |
Events from the year 1926 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...
. The year is dominated by the General Strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
.
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 – Stanley BaldwinStanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Events
- 2 January – Contributory old age pensions payable to those between 65 and 70 years of age under the provisions of the Widows', Orphans', and Old-Age Contributory Pensions Act of 1925.
- 16 January – BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio play about worker's revolution causes a panic 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...
. - 27 January – John Logie BairdJohn Logie BairdJohn Logie Baird FRSE was a Scottish engineer and inventor of the world's first practical, publicly demonstrated television system, and also the world's first fully electronic colour television tube...
demonstrates a mechanical television system in London. - 31 January – British and Belgian troops leave CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. - 9 February – FloodFloodA flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing of London suburbs. - 6 March – The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
is destroyed by fire. - 1 May – Coal miner's strike begins in Britain over planned pay reductions.
- 3 May – General Strike1926 United Kingdom general strikeThe 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
begins in support of the coal strike. - 4 May – The BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcasts five news bulletins a day as no newspapers are published due to the General Strike. - 9 May – Martial lawMartial lawMartial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in Britain because of the General Strike. - 10 May – Talks between government and strikers begin.
- 12 May – The General Strike ends.
- 24 July – First greyhound trackGreyhound racingGreyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
in Britain opens in ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. - 25 July – BBC historyTimeline of the BBC- 1920s :* 1922** 18 October - The British Broadcasting Company is formed.** 14 November - First BBC broadcasts from London .** 15 November - First broadcasts from Birmingham and Manchester ....
: The previously experimental long-wave station 5XX moves from ChelmsfordChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
to DaventryDaventryDaventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
and becomes the first station to achieve near national coverage. The Daventry station will later become the main transmitter of the BBC National ProgrammeBBC National ProgrammeThe BBC National Programme was a BBC radio station from the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II.-Foundation:When the BBC first began transmissions on 14 November 1922, the technology for both national coverage and joint programming between transmitters did not exist – transmitter powers were...
. - 6 August – American swimmer Gertrude EderleGertrude EderleGertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...
becomes the first woman to swim the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
from France to England. - 7 August – The first British Grand PrixBritish Grand PrixThe British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire...
held at the BrooklandsBrooklandsBrooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
circuit near WeybridgeWeybridgeWeybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
. - 18 August – British miners' union begins negotiations with the government.
- 30 August – Cricketer Jack HobbsJack HobbsSir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
scores 316 runs at match at Lord'sLord's Cricket GroundLord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, the highest individual total scored at that ground. - 12 October – British miners agree to end their strike.
- December
- Imperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
formed by merger of Brunner MondBrunner MondTata Chemicals Europe is a UK-based chemicals company that is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Limited, itself a part of the India-based Tata Group...
, Nobel ExplosivesNobel EnterprisesNobel Enterprises is a chemicals business based at Ardeer, near to the North Ayrshire town of Stevenston in Scotland. It specialises in nitrogen-based propellants and explosives and nitrocellulose-based products such as varnishes and inks...
, the United Alkali CompanyUnited Alkali CompanyUnited Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890. Producer of soda ash by the Leblanc process and used in the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in 1926 with Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives and...
, and the British Dyestuffs CorporationBritish Dyestuffs CorporationBritish Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd was a British company formed in 1919 from the merger of British Dyes Ltd with Levinstein Ltd. The British Government was the company's largest shareholder, and had two directors on the board....
. - Council for the Preservation of Rural England formed by Patrick AbercrombiePatrick AbercrombieSir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie ) was an English town planner. Educated at Uppingham School, Rutland; brother of Lascelles Abercrombie, poet and literary critic.-Career:...
to limit urban sprawlUrban sprawlUrban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
and ribbon development.
- Imperial Chemical Industries
- 2 December – The Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Stanley BaldwinStanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
ends the martial lawMartial lawMartial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
that had been declared due to General Strike. - 3 December – Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
disappears from her home in SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
; on 14 December she is found in a HarrogateHarrogateHarrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
hotel by journalist Ritchie CalderPeter Ritchie CalderPeter Ritchie Ritchie-Calder, Baron Ritchie-Calder was a noted Scottish author, journalist and academic....
.
Undated
- Electricity (Supply) Act creates the Central Electricity BoardCentral Electricity BoardThe United Kingdom Central Electricity Board was set up under The Electricity Act 1926 to standardise the nation's electricity supply. At that time, the industry consisted of more than 600 electricity supply companies and local authority undertakings, and different areas operated at different...
to set up the National Grid. - K2 red telephone boxRed telephone boxThe red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be seen in many places and in current or former...
introduced, chiefly in London area. - First appearance of the Gill SansGill SansGill Sans is a sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill.The original design appeared in 1926 when Douglas Cleverdon opened a bookshop in his home town of Bristol, where Eric Gill painted the fascia over the window in sans-serif capitals that would later be known as Gill Sans...
sans-serifSans-serifIn typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....
typefaceTypefaceIn typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
, designed by Eric GillEric GillArthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...
for Douglas CleverdonDouglas CleverdonDouglas James Cleverdon was an English bookseller and radio producer, in both fields associated with numerous leading cultural figures in the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
.
Publications
- Patrick AbercrombiePatrick AbercrombieSir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie ) was an English town planner. Educated at Uppingham School, Rutland; brother of Lascelles Abercrombie, poet and literary critic.-Career:...
's tract The Preservation of Rural England. - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Hercule PoirotHercule PoirotHercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
novel The Murder of Roger AckroydThe Murder of Roger AckroydThe Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in June 1926 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company on the 19th of the same month. It features Hercule Poirot as the lead detective...
. - Georgette HeyerGeorgette HeyerGeorgette Heyer was a British historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer...
's historical romance novelRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
These Old ShadesThese Old ShadesThese Old Shades is a Georgian romance novel written by British novelist Georgette Heyer . It was an instant success, and established her as a writer.-Plot summary:...
. - D. H. LawrenceD. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
's novel The Plumed SerpentThe Plumed SerpentThe Plumed Serpent is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, begun when writer was living at the D. H. Lawrence Ranch near Taos in U.S. state of New Mexico in 1924. It was first published by Martin Secker in 1926...
. - Hugh MacDiarmidHugh MacDiarmidHugh MacDiarmid is the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve , a significant Scottish poet of the 20th century. He was instrumental in creating a Scottish version of modernism and was a leading light in the Scottish Renaissance of the 20th century...
's Scots languageScots languageScots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
poem A Drunk Man Looks at the ThistleA Drunk Man Looks at the ThistleA Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle is a long poem by Hugh MacDiarmid written in Scots and published in 1926. It is composed as a form of monologue with influences from stream of consciousness genres of writing...
. - A. A. MilneA. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
's children's book Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
.
Births
- 3 January – George MartinGeorge MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
, producer of The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr... - 13 January – Michael BondMichael BondThomas Michael Bond, OBE is an English author, most celebrated for his Paddington Bear series of books.-Life:Bond was educated at Presentation College, a Catholic school in Reading...
, author and creator of Paddington BearPaddington BearPaddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum.... - 14 January – Warren MitchellWarren MitchellWarren Mitchell is an English actor who rose to initial prominence in the role of bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in the BBC television sitcom Till Death Us Do Part , and its sequels Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health , all of which were written by Johnny Speight...
, actor - 17 January – Moira ShearerMoira ShearerMoira Shearer, Lady Kennedy , was an internationally famous Scottish ballet dancer and actress.-Early life:She was born Moira Shearer King in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the daughter of actor Harold V. King...
, actress and dancer (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:...
) - 10 February – Danny BlanchflowerDanny BlanchflowerRobert Dennis "Danny" Blanchflower was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager, and journalist who captained Tottenham Hotspur F.C. during its double-winning season of 1961. He was ranked as the greatest player in Spurs history by The Times in 2009...
, footballer and football manager (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...
) - 11 February – Alexander GibsonAlexander Gibson (conductor)Sir Alexander Gibson, CBE was a Scottish conductor and opera intendant.Gibson was born in Motherwell and studied music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, as well as in London, Salzburg and Siena, Italy...
, conductor and founder of the Scottish Opera (died 19951995 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1995 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - John Major, Conservative-January:* 1 January - South Korean industrial giant Daewoo announces plans to build a new car factory in the United Kingdom within the next few years, costing up to...
) - 16 February – John SchlesingerJohn SchlesingerJohn Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
, film director (died 20032003 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2003 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-Events:* January - Toyota launches an all-new Avensis to be built at TMUK....
) - 20 February – Gillian LynneGillian LynneGillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...
, director and choreographer - 22 February – Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, actor (died 19881988 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1988 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:...
) - 31 March – John FowlesJohn FowlesJohn Robert Fowles was an English novelist and essayist. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Fowles among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Birth and family:...
, writer (died 20052005 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2005 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the 7/7 London bombings.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Tony Blair -January:* 1 January...
) - 6 April – Ian PaisleyIan PaisleyIan Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
, politician - 21 April – HRH Princess Elizabeth of York (now Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms)
- 22 April – James StirlingJames Stirling (architect)Sir James Frazer Stirling FRIBA was a British architect. He is considered to be among the most important and influential British architects of the second half of the 20th century...
, architect (died 19921992 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1992 in the United Kingdom.-Overview:1992 in the United Kingdom is notable for a fourth term General Election victory for the Conservative Party; "Black Wednesday" , the suspension of Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism; and an Annus Horribilis for the...
) - 26 April – David ColemanDavid ColemanDavid Coleman, OBE is an English former sports commentator and TV presenter who worked for the BBC for almost fifty years. In 2000, he was awarded the Olympic Order, the highest honour of the Olympic movement....
, television sports broadcaster - 30 April – Edmund CooperEdmund CooperEdmund Cooper was an English poet and prolific writer of speculative fiction, romances, technical essays, several detective stories, and a children's book. These were published under his own name and several pen names...
, author and poet (died 19821982 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1982 in the United Kingdom. The year was dominated by the Falklands War.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:...
) - 8 May – David AttenboroughDavid AttenboroughSir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
, broadcaster and naturalist - 14 May – Eric MorecambeEric MorecambeJohn Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
, comedian (died 19841984 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1984 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:* 3 January - FTSE 100 Index starts....
) - 15 May – Peter ShafferPeter ShafferSir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
, playwright - 26 June – Sir Rex Hunt, diplomat
- 21 July – Bill PertweeBill PertweeWilliam Desmond Anthony Pertwee MBE is a British comedy actor. He is best known for playing the part of antagonist ARP Warden Hodges in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.-Early and personal life:...
, actor - 30 July – Thomas Patrick RussellThomas Patrick RussellSir Thomas Patrick Russell PC, QC , styled The Rt Hon Lord Justice Russell was a British high court judge and Lord Justice....
, High Court Judge (died 20022002 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2002 in the United Kingdom. This year was the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-Events:...
) - 3 August – Anthony SampsonAnthony SampsonAnthony Terrell Seward Sampson was a British writer and journalist. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford and served with the Royal Navy from 1944-47. During the 1950s he edited the magazine Drum in Johannesburg, South Africa...
, journalist and biographer (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:...
) - 17 August – George MellyGeorge MellyAlan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
, jazz singer (died 20072007 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2007 in the United Kingdom. The year sees changes in the leadership of the ruling Labour Party and of the Liberal Democrats, and the country is hit by severe weather events throughout the year.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II...
) - 12 September – Dave ValentineDave ValentineDavid Donald Valentine was a Scottish representative rugby union and Rugby League World Cup winning footballer, a dual-code rugby international of the 1940s and '50s.-Rugby union:...
(d. 1976), Scottish representative rugby union and rugby league footballer - 18 September - Sir Thomas HetheringtonThomas HetheringtonMajor Sir Thomas Chalmers Hetherington, KCB, CBE, QC, TD , better known as Sir Tony Hetherington, was a British barrister. He was Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales from 1977 to 1987, and was the first head of the Crown Prosecution Service for the year after it was founded in...
, barrister (died 20072007 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2007 in the United Kingdom. The year sees changes in the leadership of the ruling Labour Party and of the Liberal Democrats, and the country is hit by severe weather events throughout the year.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II...
) - 21 October – Leonard RossiterLeonard RossiterLeonard Rossiter was an English actor known for his roles as Rupert Rigsby, in the British comedy television series Rising Damp , and Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin...
, actor (died 19841984 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1984 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - Elizabeth II*Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:* 3 January - FTSE 100 Index starts....
) - 31 October – Jimmy SavileJimmy SavileSir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops...
, television and radio personality (died 20112011 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2011 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - David Cameron, Conservative Party-January:...
) - 5 November – John BergerJohn BergerJohn Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
, art critic, novelist and painter - 6 November – Frank CarsonFrank CarsonFrank Carson is a Northern Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas.-Early life:...
, comedian - 20 December – Geoffrey HoweGeoffrey HoweRichard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, PC is a former British Conservative politician. He was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons...
, politician
Deaths
- 7 February – William Evans HoyleWilliam Evans HoyleDr William Evans Hoyle was the first director of the National Museum of Wales between 1909 and 1926. Trained as a medical anatomist, Hoyle is most famous for his monographic studies on cephalopods from major exploring expeditions of his era including the Challenger, the Albatross, the British...
, director of the National Museum of Wales (born 18551855 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1855 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch — Queen Victoria* Prime Minister — Earl of Aberdeen, Peelite , Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:...
) - 12 July – Gertrude BellGertrude BellGertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along...
, archaeologist, writer, spy, and administrator known as the "Uncrowned Queen of Iraq" (born 18681868 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1868 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl of Derby, Conservative , Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative , William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal...
) - 25 September – Herbert BoothHerbert BoothHerbert Henry Howard Booth was the third son of William and Catherine Booth. He oversaw the Limelight Department's development and he was the writer and director for Soldiers of the Cross....
, the third son of WilliamWilliam BoothWilliam Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...
and Catherine BoothCatherine BoothCatherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Army Mother'....
(born 18621862 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1862 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 6 January — French and British forces arrive in Mexico, beginning the French intervention in Mexico....
) - 5 October – Dorothy TennantDorothy TennantDorothy Tennant was a Victorian neoclassicist painter , born in Wales. She studied painting under Edward Poynter at the Slade School of Fine Art and with Jean-Jacques Henner in Paris. In 1890, she married the explorer of Africa, Henry Morton Stanley, and became known as Lady Stanley...
(Lady Stanley), artist (born 18551855 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1855 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch — Queen Victoria* Prime Minister — Earl of Aberdeen, Peelite , Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:...
) - 12 October – Edwin Abbott AbbottEdwin Abbott AbbottEdwin Abbott Abbott , English schoolmaster and theologian, is best known as the author of the satirical novella Flatland .-Biography:...
, schoolmaster and theologian (born 18381838 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1838 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:* 10 January — A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London....
) - 13 October – Eliseus WilliamsEliseus Williams (Eifion Wyn)Eliseus Williams, better known by his bardic name Eifion Wyn , was a Welsh language poet, born in Porthmadog in the old county of Caernarfonshire, north Wales...
, poet (born 18671867 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1867 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl of Derby, Conservative-Events:* 5 March — Fenian rising in Ireland....
) - 4 November – John OwenJohn Owen (bishop)John Owen was the Professor of Welsh at the St David's College, as well as the Dean of St Asaph. He became the Bishop of St David's in 1897....
, Bishop of St David's (born 18541854 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1854 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Aberdeen, Peelite-Events:* 21 January — Loss of the RMS Tayleur — 380 drowned, later dubbed "the first Titanic"....
)