1931 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1931 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1929 1929 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1929 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative , Ramsay MacDonald, Labour-Events:... | 1930 1930 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1930 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - King George V* Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, Labour-Events:* 1 February - The Times publishes its first crossword.... | 1931 | 1932 1932 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1932 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:* 8 January - The Archbishop of Canterbury forbids church remarriage of divorcees.... | 1933 1933 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1933 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:* January - The London Underground diagram designed by Harry Beck is introduced to the public.... |
| Sport |
| 1931 English cricket season 1931 English cricket season -Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Leicestershire II*Wisden - Bill Bowes, Charles Dempster, James Langridge, Nawab of Pataudi, senior, Hedley Verity-Test series:... |
| 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...  England1930-31 in English football The 1930–31 season was the 56th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Of note this season was Manchester United's record of the worst start in a major European league – they lost their first twelve games of the season and went on to be relegated.... |  Scotland1930-31 in Scottish football The 1930–31 season was the 41st season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: RangersRelegated: Hibernian, East Fife-Scottish League Division Two:Promoted: Third Lanark, Dundee United... |
Events from the year 1931 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...
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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 - Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonaldJames Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
, LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and national coalition
Events
- 6 January - Sadler's Wells TheatreSadler's Wells TheatreSadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
opens 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...
. - 29 January - For the fourth time in nine years, there is a fatal underground explosion at Haig Pit, Whitehaven, in the Cumberland CoalfieldCumberland CoalfieldThe Cumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in Cumbria, north-west England. It extends from Whitehaven in the south to Maryport and Aspatria in the north.The following coal seams occur within the Coal Measures Group in this coalfield...
, killing 27. - 14 April - The Highway CodeHighway CodeThe Highway Code is the official road user guide for Great Britain. In Northern Ireland the applies while the Republic of Ireland has its own Rules of the Road. It contains 306 numbered rules and 9 annexes covering pedestrians, animals, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers...
issued. - 15 May - Shoppers 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...
escape with their lives when a chemical factory in Bayswater explodes. - 23 May - Whipsnade Zoo opens in BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. - June - Publication of Report of the Committee on Finance and Industry (the 'Macmillan CommitteeMacmillan CommitteeThe Macmillan Committee, officially known as the Committee on Finance and Industry, was a committee, composed mostly of economists, formed by the British government after the 1929 stock market crash to determine the root causes of the depressed economy of the United Kingdom...
') on the relationship between the banking and financial system and British trade and industry, largely authored by John Maynard KeynesJohn Maynard KeynesJohn Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
. - 7 June - The Dogger Bank earthquake1931 Dogger Bank earthquakeThe Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931 was the strongest earthquake recorded in the United Kingdom since measurements began. It measured 6.1 on the Richter Scale....
is felt across Britain. - 12 June - Charlie ParkerCharlie Parker (cricketer)Charles Warrington Leonard "Charlie" Parker was an English cricketer, who stands as the third highest wicket taker in the history of first-class cricket, behind Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman.-Life and career:Parker took no serious attention to cricket in his childhood, preferring to concentrate...
equals J.T. Hearne'sJack Hearne (John Thomas Hearne)John Thomas Hearne was a Middlesex and England medium-fast bowler...
record for the earliest date to reach 100 wickets. - 24 August - LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Government of Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonaldJames Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
resigns and is replaced by a National GovernmentUK National GovernmentIn the United Kingdom the term National Government is an abstract concept referring to a coalition of some or all major political parties. In a historical sense it usually refers primarily to the governments of Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain which held office from 1931...
of people drawn from all parties also under MacDonald, as suggested by 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....
earlier in the year. - 5 September - John ThomsonJohn ThomsonJohn Thomson may refer to:*John Arthur Thomson , Scottish naturalist*John Charles Thomson , New Zealand politician*John Edgar Thomson , American civil engineer, railroad executive and industrialist...
, goalkeeper of Glasgow Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, dies in hospital after fracturing his skull in a collision with RangersRangers F.C.Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
forward Sam EnglishSam EnglishSamuel English was an Irish football player who played for several clubs, but is mainly remembered for his time with Rangers.-Early life:He was born in the hamlet of Crevolea in Aghadowey, Northern Ireland...
in the 'Old FirmOld FirmThe Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
' LeagueScottish Football LeagueThe Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
derbyLocal derbyIn many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
at Ibrox ParkIbrox StadiumIbrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...
. - 6 September - Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden announces salary cuts for all government employees, and reductions to unemployment benefitUnemployment benefitUnemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
. - 13 September - Schneider TrophySchneider TrophyThe Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
seaplaneSeaplaneA seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
raceAir racing- History :The first ever air race was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1908. The participants piloted the only 4 airships in the U.S. around a course located at Forest Park...
flown at Calshot SpitCalshot SpitCalshot Spit is a one-mile long sand and shingle bank, located on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England....
. For the third successive time the British team (sponsored by Lady HoustonLucy, Lady HoustonLucy, Lady Houston, DBE , born Fanny Lucy Radmall, was an English benefactor, philanthropist, adventuress and patriot.-Early life:...
) wins with Flt. Lt.Flight LieutenantFlight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
John BoothmanJohn BoothmanAir Chief Marshal Sir John Nelson Boothman KCB KBE DFC AFC RAF was a senior Royal Air Force officer during World War II who went on to high command in the post-War years.- RAF career :...
flying the course in Supermarine S.6BSupermarine S.6B|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....
serialUnited Kingdom military aircraft serialsIn the United Kingdom to identify individual aircraft, all military aircraft are allocated and display a unique serial number. A unified serial number system, maintained by the Air Ministry , and its successor the Ministry of Defence , is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force , Fleet...
S1595 designed by R. J. MitchellR. J. MitchellReginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, was an aeronautical engineer, best known for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire.-Early years:...
with Rolls-Royce RRolls-Royce RThe Rolls-Royce R was a British aero engine designed and built specifically for air racing purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited. Nineteen R engines were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931...
engines at a world record speed of 340.09 mph (547.31 km/h). On 29 September Flt Lt. George StainforthGeorge StainforthWing Commander George Hedley Stainforth AFC RAF was a British Royal Air Force pilot and the first man in the world to exceed 400 miles per hour.-Early life:...
in S.6B serial S1596 breaks the 400 mph air speed recordAir speed recordAn air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , which also ratifies any claims. Speed records are divided into multiple classes with sub-divisions...
barrier at 407.5 mph (655.67 km/h). - 15 September - The Invergordon MutinyInvergordon MutinyThe Invergordon Mutiny was an industrial action by around 1,000 sailors in the British Atlantic Fleet, that took place on 15–16 September 1931...
: StrikesStrike actionStrike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
due to decreased salaries. - 20 September - Pound sterlingPound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
comes off the gold standardGold standardThe gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
. - Autumn - Means testMeans testA means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for help from the government.- Canada :In Canada means tests are used for student finance , and "welfare" . They are not generally used for primary education and secondary education which are tax-funded...
introduced for those in receipt of unemployment insurance for more than six months. - 27 October - General electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1931The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
results in victory for the National Government. Ramsay Macdonald remains Prime Minister. This election is held on a Tuesday: all subsequent ones will be on Thursdays. - 12 November - The Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London are opened by Sir Edward ElgarEdward ElgarSir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
. - 11 December - ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
enacts the Statute of WestminsterStatute of Westminster 1931The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free StateIrish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, NewfoundlandDominion of NewfoundlandThe Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, the Dominion of New ZealandDominion of New ZealandThe Dominion of New Zealand is the former name of the Realm of New Zealand.Originally administered from New South Wales, New Zealand became a direct British colony in 1841 and received a large measure of self-government following the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852...
, and the Union of South AfricaUnion of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
.
Undated
- The Vic-Wells Ballet, later to become the Royal BalletRoyal Ballet, LondonThe Royal Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois, it became the resident ballet...
, debuts 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...
. - National Trust for ScotlandNational Trust for ScotlandThe National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
established. - Ulster CanalUlster CanalThe Ulster Canal is a disused canal running through part of County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland...
abandoned.
Publications
- Arthur BryantArthur BryantSir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant, CH, CBE , was a British historian and a columnist for the Illustrated London News. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history, and a life of George V...
's biography King Charles the Second. - Herbert ButterfieldHerbert ButterfieldSir Herbert Butterfield was a British historian and philosopher of history who is remembered chiefly for two books—a short volume early in his career entitled The Whig Interpretation of History and his Origins of Modern Science...
's study The Whig Interpretation of History. - 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 novel The Sittaford MysteryThe Sittaford MysteryThe Sittaford Mystery is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1931 under the title of The Murder at Hazelmoor and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on 7 September of the same year under Christie's original title...
. - A. J. CroninA. J. CroninArchibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
's first novel Hatter's CastleHatter's CastleHatter's Castle is the first novel of author A. J. Cronin. The story is set in 1879, in the fictional town of Levenford, on the Firth of Clyde. The plot revolves around many characters and has many subplots, all of which relate to the life of the hatter, James Brodie, whose narcissism and cruelty...
. - Frances IlesAnthony Berkeley CoxAnthony Berkeley Cox was an English crime writer. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley and A. Monmouth Platts.- Life :...
’ novel Malice AforethoughtMalice AforethoughtMalice Aforethought is a murder mystery novel written by Anthony Berkeley Cox, using the pen name Francis Iles. It involves a Devon physician who slowly poisons his domineering wife so that he may be with the woman he loves. It is an early and prominent example of the "inverted detective story",...
. - Anthony PowellAnthony PowellAnthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
's novel Afternoon MenAfternoon MenAfternoon Men is the first published novel by the English writer Anthony Powell. In its characters and themes it anticipates some of the ground Powell would cover in his masterpiece, A Dance to the Music of Time, a twelve-volume cycle spanning much of the 20th century.Published in 1931, it focuses...
. - Vita Sackville-WestVita Sackville-WestThe Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH , best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author, poet and gardener. She won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927 and 1933...
's novel All Passion SpentAll Passion SpentAll Passion Spent is a literary fiction novel by Vita Sackville-West.Published in 1931, it is one of Sackville-West’s most popular works and hasbeen adapted for television by the BBC.This charming and gentle novel addresses peoples’, especially women’s,...
. - Virginia WoolfVirginia WoolfAdeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's novel The WavesThe Waves- External links :* The Waves, at wikilivres.info...
.
Births
- 10 January - Peter BarnesPeter BarnesPeter Barnes was an English Olivier Award-winning playwright and screenwriter. His most famous work is the play The Ruling Class, which was made into a 1972 film for which Peter O'Toole received an Oscar nomination....
, playwright and screenwriter (d. 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:...
) - 2 February - Les DawsonLes DawsonLeslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...
, comedian (d. 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...
) - 24 February - Brian CloseBrian CloseDennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England,...
, cricket player - 26 February - Ally McLeod, football manager (died 2004)
- 6 March - Jimmy StewartJimmy Stewart (racing driver)James Robert Stewart was a British racing driver from Scotland who participated in a single World Championship Grand Prix, driving for Ecurie Ecosse. He was born in Milton, West Dunbartonshire. He also competed in several non-Championship Formula One races...
, racing driver (d. 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:...
) - 13 March - Michael PodroMichael PodroMichael Podro CBE, FBA was a British art historian. Podro, the son of Jewish refugees from central Europe, was born in and grew up in Hendon, Middlesex. He attended Berkhamsted school in Hertfordshire, served in the RAF, and read English at Jesus College, Cambridge and philosophy at University...
, art historian (d. 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:...
) - 14 March - Frank SandoFrank SandoFrank Dennis Sando is a retired British World Cross-Country Champion. Regarded as one of Britain's most accomplished athletes, Frank was a dominant force throughout the 1950s, winning the International Cross-Country Championship in 1955 and 1957, and representing Great Britain in two consecutive...
, long-distance runner - 19 March - Alan NewtonAlan NewtonAlan Newton is a retired track cyclist from Great Britain, who represented his native country at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. There he won the bronze medal in the men's 4.000 metres team pursuit, alongside Donald Burgess, George Newberry, and Ronald Stretton.-References:*...
, track cyclist - 7 April - Jeff Elliott, decathlete and pole vaulter
- April 9 - Ken WilmshurstKen WilmshurstKenneth Stanley David Wilmshurst was an Olympic athlete from England. He specialised in the triple jump and long jump events during his career....
, triple jumper (d. 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...
) - 29 April - Lonnie DoneganLonnie DoneganAnthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
, musician (d. 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:...
) - 7 June
- Virginia McKennaVirginia McKennaVirginia A. McKenna OBE is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner.-Early career:McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked on stage in London's West End theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952...
, actress - Malcolm MorleyMalcolm MorleyMalcolm Morley is an English artist now living in the United States. He is best known as a photorealist.-Early life:Morley was born in north London. He had a troubled childhood, and did not discover art until serving a three-year stint in Wormwood Scrubs prison...
, painter
- Virginia McKenna
- 28 August - John Shirley-QuirkJohn Shirley-QuirkJohn Shirley-Quirk CBE is an English bass-baritone.He was born in Liverpool, England, and sang in his high school choir. He played the violin and was awarded a scholarship. While studying chemistry and physics at Liverpool University, he studied voice with Austen Carnegie...
, bass-baritone - 8 September - Jack RosenthalJack RosenthalJack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
, playwright (d. 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:...
) - 22 September - Fay WeldonFay WeldonFay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
, author - 22 September - George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of LeckieGeorge Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of LeckieGeorge Kenneth Hotson Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie KT KCVO TD PC was a British politician and banker....
, politician (d. 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....
) - 4 October - Terence ConranTerence ConranSir Terence Orby Conran, FCSD, is an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer.-Early life and education:Terence Conran was born in Kingston upon Thames, the son of Christina Mabel and South African-born Gerard Rupert Conran, a businessman who owned a rubber importation company in East...
, designer and businessman - 19 October - John le CarréJohn le CarréDavid John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
, novelist - 23 October - Diana DorsDiana DorsDiana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
, actress (d. 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....
) - 9 November - Eric SandstromEric SandstromEric Roy Sandstrom is a retired track and field sprinter, who represented Great Britain in the men's 100, 200 metres and 4 x 100metres relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia....
, track and field sprinter
Deaths
- 22 January - Alfred MaudslayAlfred MaudslayAlfred Percival Maudslay was a British colonial diplomat, explorer and archaeologist. He was one of the first Europeans to study Mayan ruins....
, colonial diplomat, explorer and archaeologist (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:...
) - 11 February - Charles Algernon ParsonsCharles Algernon ParsonsSir Charles Algernon Parsons OM KCB FRS was an Anglo-Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the steam turbine. He worked as an engineer on dynamo and turbine design, and power generation, with great influence on the naval and electrical engineering fields...
, inventor (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"....
) - 5 March - Arthur ToothArthur ToothArthur Tooth SSC was a Ritualist priest in the Church of England and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross . Tooth is best known for having been prosecuted in 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 for using proscribed liturgical practices...
, Anglican clergyman prosecuted for Ritualist practices in the 1870s1870sThe 1870s continued the trends of the previous decade, as new empires, imperialism and militarism rose in Europe and Asia. America was recovering from the Civil War. Germany declared independence in 1871 and began its Second Reich. Labor unions and strikes occurred worldwide in the later part of...
(born 18391839 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1839 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Melbourne, Whig-Events:* January — The first parallax measurement of the distance to Alpha Centauri is published by Thomas Henderson....
) - 17 March - James StewartJames Stewart (Glasgow MP)James Stewart was a Scottish Labour Party politician.He was elected at the 1922 general election as Member of Parliament for Glasgow St. Rollox constituency, having contested the seat unsuccessfully at the 1918 general election...
, Scottish Labour Party politician, MP for Glasgow St. Rollox 1922–1931 (born 1863) - 27 March - Arnold BennettArnold Bennett- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
, novelist (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....
) - 30 April - Sammy WoodsSammy WoodsSamuel Moses James "Sammy" Woods was an Australian sportsman who represented both Australia and England at Test cricket, and appeared thirteen times for England at rugby union, including five times as captain. He also played at county level in England at both soccer and hockey...
, cricketer (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....
) - 13 June - Jesse Boot, 1st Baron TrentJesse Boot, 1st Baron TrentJesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent transformed The Boots Company, founded by his father, John Boot, into a national retailer, which branded itself as "Chemists to the Nation", before he sold out his controlling interest to American investors in 1920.John Boot offered his best friend, John Harston, the...
, businessman (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:...
) - 5 September - John ThomsonJohn Thomson (footballer)John Thomson was a football goalkeeper for Celtic and Scotland who died as a result of an accidental collision with the Rangers player Sam English during an Old Firm match at Ibrox.-Early life:...
, footballer (born 19091909 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1909 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - National old age pension scheme comes into force....
) - 2 October - Thomas LiptonThomas LiptonSir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, merchant, and yachtsman. He created the Lipton tea brand and was the most persistent challenger in the history of the America's Cup.-Parentage and childhood:Lipton was born in Glasgow...
, merchant and yachtsman (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:...
)
Unknown dates
- Lancelot SpeedLancelot SpeedLancelot Speed was a famous Victorian illustrator of books, usually of a fantastical or romantic nature. He is probably most well-known for his illustrations for Andrew Lang's fairy story books. Speed is credited as the designer on the 1916 silent movie version of the novel She by H...
, illustrator (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....
) - Joseph TabrarJoseph TabrarJoseph Tabrar was one of the most famous songwriters of British music hall , probably most famous for the song "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow Wow" ....
, songwriter (born 18571857 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1857 in the United Kingdom. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal-Events:* 7 January — London General Omnibus Company begins operating....
)