Incumbents

• Monarch - Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister - James Callaghan
  James Callaghan
  Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
  
  , Labour
  Labour 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...
  
  

Events

• 3 January - Roy Jenkins
  Roy Jenkins
  Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
  
  , the Home Secretary
  Home Secretary
  The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
  
  , announces he is leaving the House of Commons
  British House of Commons
  The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
  
   to become President of the European Commission
  President of the European Commission
  The President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission ― the executive branch of the :European Union ― the most powerful officeholder in the EU. The President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed...
  
  .
• 6 January - Record company EMI
  EMI
  The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
  
   sacks the controversial British punk rock
  Punk rock
  Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
  
   group the Sex Pistols
  Sex Pistols
  The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
  
   for their behaviour on ITV
  ITV
  ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
  
  's Today Show, whose presenter Bill Grundy
  Bill Grundy
  William "Bill" Grundy was an English television presenter and former host of Today, a regional news programme broadcast on Thames Television...
  
   was also dismissed by his employers for inciting them.
• 10 January - Clive Sinclair
  Clive Sinclair
  Sir Clive Marles Sinclair is a British entrepreneur and inventor, most commonly known for his work in consumer electronics in the late 1970s and early 1980s....
  
   introduces his new two-inch screen television set, which retails at £175.
• 29 January - Seven IRA
  Irish Republican Army
  The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
  
   bombs explode in the West End of London
  West End of London
  The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
  
  , but there are no fatalities or serious injuries.
• 4 February
  • Fleetwood Mac
    Fleetwood Mac
    Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
    
    's Grammy-winning album Rumours
    Rumours
    Rumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record peaked at the top of both the...
    
    is released, featuring songs that include "The Chain
    The Chain
    "The Chain" is a song from Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album Rumours. "The Chain" is unique in being the only song credited to all five members of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac lineup: Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks; this is partly because John McVie...
    
    ", "Don't Stop
    Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac song)
    "Don't Stop" is a song by the rock group Fleetwood Mac, written by vocalist and keyboard player Christine McVie. Sung by Christine McVie and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was a single taken from the band's 1977 hit album, Rumours. It is one of the band's most enduring hits, peaking at number...
    
    ", and "Go Your Own Way".
  • Police discover an IRA bomb factory in Liverpool
    Liverpool
    Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
    
    .
• 5 February - 28-year-old homeless woman Irene Richardson is murdered in Leeds, at almost the exact location where prostitute Marcella Claxton was badly injured nine months ago. Police believe that this murder and attempted murder may be connected, along with the murders of Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson and the attempted murders of at least three other women.
• 10 February
  • Elizabeth II visits American Samoa
    American Samoa
    American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
    
    .
  • The three IRA terrorists involved in the 1975 Balcombe Street Siege
    Balcombe Street Siege
    The Balcombe Street Siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Metropolitan Police Service of London, England lasting from 6 December to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA volunteers and the release of their two hostages...
    
     in London
    London
    London 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...
    
     are sentenced to life imprisonment
    Life imprisonment
    Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
    
     on six charges of murder.
• 11 February - Queen Elizabeth II visits Western Samoa
  Samoa
  Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
  
  .
• 13 February - Anthony Crosland
  Anthony Crosland
  Charles Anthony Raven Crosland , otherwise Tony Crosland or C.A.R. Crosland, was a British Labour Party politician and author. He served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire and later for Great Grimsby...
  
  , Foreign Secretary, is seriously ill in hospital after suffering a stroke.
• 14 February - Queen Elizabeth II visits Tonga
  Tonga
  Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
  
  .
• 16 February–17 February - Queen Elizabeth II visits Fiji
  Fiji
  Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
  
  .
• 17 February - George Newman, chairman of Staffordshire County Council, is sentenced to 15 months in prison for corruption.
• 22 February - David Owen
  David Owen
  David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
  
  , 38, becomes the youngest post-Second World War Foreign Secretary, succeeding the late Anthony Crosland.
• 22 February–7 March - Queen Elizabeth II visits New Zealand
  New Zealand
  New 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...
  
  .
• 28 February - State Opening of the New Zealand Parliament, by Queen Elizabeth II.
• 1 March - James Callaghan
  James Callaghan
  Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
  
   threatens to withdraw state aid to British Leyland unless it puts an end to strikes.
• 7 March–30 March - Queen Elizabeth II visits Australia
  Australia
  Australia , 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...
  
  .
• 8 March - State Opening of the Australian Parliament, Canberra
  Canberra
  Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
  
   by Queen Elizabeth II.
• 12 March - The Centenary Test
  Centenary Test
  Centenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
  
   between Australia and England begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
  Melbourne Cricket Ground
  The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
  
  .
• 14 March - The government reveals that inflation has pushed prices up by nearly 70% within three years.
• 15 March - British Leyland managers announce intention to dismiss 40,000 toolmakers who have gone on strike at the company's Longbridge plant
  Longbridge plant
  The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....
  
   in Birmingham
  Birmingham
  Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
  
  , action which is costing the state-owned carmaker more than £10million a week.
• 17 March–23 March - The Prince of Wales
  Charles, Prince of Wales
  Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
  
   visits Ghana
  Ghana
  Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
  
  .
• 23 March - Government wins a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons after James Callaghan
  James Callaghan
  Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
  
   strikes a deal with the leader of the Liberal Party
  Liberal Party (UK)
  The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
  
  , David Steel
  David Steel
  David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...
  
  .
• 23 March–25 March - Elizabeth II visits Papua New Guinea
  Papua New Guinea
  Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
  
  .
• 29 March - Income tax is slashed to 33p in the pound from 35p in the budget.
• 31 March - Elizabeth II visits Muscat
  Muscat, Oman
  Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...
  
  .
• 2 April - Red Rum
  Red Rum
  Red Rum was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years...
  
   wins Grand National
  Grand National
  The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
  
   for the third time.
• 8 April - Punk band The Clash
  The Clash
  The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
  
  's debut album The Clash
  The Clash
  The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
  
  is released in the UK on CBS Records
  CBS Records
  CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
  
  .
• 11 April - London Transport
  London Transport Executive (GLC)
  The London Transport Executive was the executive agency within the Greater London Council, responsible for public transport in Greater London from 1970 to 1984...
  
  's Silver Jubilee buses
  Routemaster
  The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
  
   are launched.
• 18–30 April - The Embassy World Snooker Championship moves to the Crucible Theatre
  Crucible Theatre
  The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
  
  , Sheffield
  Sheffield
  Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
  
  , and attracts television coverage for the first time.
• 23 April
  • National Front marchers clash with anti-Nazi protesters in London.
  • Prostitute Patricia Atkinson is murdered in Bradford
    Bradford
    Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
    
    ; she is believed to be the fourth woman to die at the hands of the mysterious Yorkshire Ripper.
• 29 April - British Aerospace
  British Aerospace
  British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
  
   is formed to run the nationalised aviation industry.
• 3 May - HMS Invincible
  HMS Invincible (R05)
  HMS Invincible was a British light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 3 May 1977 and is the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with , she took over as flagship of the British fleet when...
  
   is launched at Barrow-in-Furness
  Barrow-in-Furness
  Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
  
   by Queen Elizabeth II.
• 5 May
  • Silver Jubilee review of the Police
    Police
    The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
    
     at Hendon
    Hendon
    Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
    
     by Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Conservatives
    Conservative 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...
    
     make gains in local council elections, including winning the Greater London Council
    Greater London Council
    The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
    
     from Labour.
• 7 May
  • 3rd G7 summit
    3rd G7 summit
    The 3rd G7 Summit was held at London, United Kingdom between 7-8 May 1977. The venue for the summit meetings was the British Prime Minister's official residence at No...
    
     held in London.
  • Prime Minister of Canada
    Prime Minister of Canada
    The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
    
     Pierre Elliot Trudeau does a pirouette behind the back of Queen Elizabeth II.
• 13 May - The Silver Jubilee
  Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II
  The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth realms...
  
   Air Fair is held at Biggin Hill.
• 15 May - Liverpool F.C.
  Liverpool F.C.
  Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
  
   are English Football League champions for the tenth time.
• 17 May - Queen Elizabeth II commences her Jubilee tour in Glasgow
  Glasgow
  Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
  
  .
• 18 May
  • The UK is among 29 signatories of a Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques.
  • Queen Elizabeth II visits Cumbernauld
    Cumbernauld
    Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
    
     and Stirling
    Stirling
    Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
    
    .
• 19 May - Queen Elizabeth II visits Perth
  Perth, Scotland
  Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
  
   and Dundee
  Dundee
  Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
  
  .
• 21 May - Manchester United
  Manchester United F.C.
  Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
  
   win the FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
   for the fourth time by defeating Liverpool
  Liverpool F.C.
  Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
  
   2-1 at Wembley Stadium
  Wembley Stadium
  The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
  
   in the final. It is their first major trophy since they won the European Cup in 1968.
• 23 May–27 May - Queen Elizabeth II visits Edinburgh
  Edinburgh
  Edinburgh 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...
  
  .
• 25 May - Liverpool win their first European Cup by defeating the West German
  West Germany
  West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
  
   league champions Borussia Mönchengladbach
  Borussia Mönchengladbach
  Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth...
  
   3-1 in the final in Rome
  Rome
  Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
  
  .
• 27 May -
  • Queen Elizabeth II opens the new Air Terminal Building at Edinburgh Airport
    Edinburgh Airport
    Edinburgh Airport is located at Turnhouse in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2010, handling just under 8.6 million passengers in that year. It was also the sixth busiest airport in the UK by passengers and the fifth busiest by aircraft movements...
    
    .
  • Prime minister James Callaghan
    James Callaghan
    Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
    
     officially opens the M5 motorway
    M5 motorway
    The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
    
    , which is now complete with the opening of the final stretch around Exeter
    Exeter
    Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
    
    , 15 years after the first stretch of the motorway (beginning near Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
    
    ) was opened.
• 28 May - Climax of Windsor
  Windsor, Berkshire
  Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
  
   Silver Jubilee celebrations: Queen Elizabeth II visits the town on her Jubilee tour.
• 30 May - A gala performance for the Silver Jubilee is held at the Royal Opera House
  Royal Opera House
  The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
  
  , London
  London
  London 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...
  
  .
• 6 June–9 June - Jubilee
  Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II
  The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth realms...
  
   celebrations are held 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...
  
   to celebrate twenty-five years of Elizabeth II's reign, with a public holiday on 7 June.
• 20 June
  • Anglia Television
    Anglia Television
    Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
    
     broadcasts the fake documentary "Alternative 3
    Alternative 3
    Alternative 3 is a television programme, broadcast once only in the United Kingdom in 1977, and later broadcast in Australia and New Zealand, as a fictional hoax, an heir to Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds...
    
    ". It enters into the conspiracy theory canon.
  • Seventeen people are arrested during clashes between pickets and police at the Grunwick film processing laboratory.
• 26 June - 16-year-old shop assistant Jayne McDonald is found battered and stabbed to death in Chapeltown
  Chapeltown
  Chapeltown or Chapletown may refer to:*Chapeltown, Lancashire, a village in the borough of Blackburn with Darwen*Chapeltown, South Yorkshire, a suburb of Sheffield**Chapeltown Central railway station**Chapeltown railway station...
  
  , Leeds
  Leeds
  Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
  
  ; police believe she is the fifth person to be murdered by the Yorkshire Ripper.
• 4 July - Manchester United
  Manchester United F.C.
  Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
  
   manager Tommy Docherty
  Tommy Docherty
  Thomas Henderson "Tommy" Docherty , commonly known as "The Doc", is a Scottish former footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...
  
   is sensationally dismissed by the club's directors due to his affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist.
• 10 July - Bradford
  Bradford
  Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
  
   woman Maureen Long, 42, is injured in an attack - believed to have been committed by the Yorkshire Ripper - in the West Yorkshire
  West Yorkshire
  West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
  
   city.
• 11 July
  • Gay News
    Gay News
    Gay News was a pioneering fortnightly newspaper in the United Kingdom founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality...
    
    found guilty of blasphemous libel
    Blasphemous libel
    Blasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. It is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland. It is a statutory offence in Canada and New Zealand...
    
     in a case (Whitehouse v. Lemon
    Whitehouse v. Lemon
    Whitehouse v. Lemon is a 1976 court case involving the blasphemy law in the United Kingdom.- Facts :James Kirkup's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name was published in the 3 June 1976 issue of Gay News...
    
    ) brought by Mary Whitehouse
    Mary Whitehouse
    Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
    
    's National Viewers and Listeners Association.
  • Don Revie
    Don Revie
    Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
    
     announces his resignation after three years as manager of the England national football team
    England national football team
    The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
    
    .
• 12 July - Within 24 hours of resigning as manager of the England national football team, Don Revie accepts an offer to become the highest paid football manager in the world when he is appointed manager of the United Arab Emirates national football team
  United Arab Emirates national football team
  The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in association football and is controlled by the United Arab Emirates Football Association, the governing body for football in United Arab Emirates...
  
   on a four-year contract worth £340,000.
• 14 July - Manchester United appoint Dave Sexton
  Dave Sexton
  David "Dave" Sexton OBE is an English former football manager and player.-Playing career:Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he started his playing career with West Ham United in 1948. Playing mainly at inside-forward, he would finish his career with time at Luton Town, Leyton Orient,...
  
  , manager of Queen's Park Rangers and previously Chelsea
  Chelsea F.C.
  Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
  
  , as their new manager.
• 23 July - Chrysler Europe
  Chrysler Europe
  Chrysler Europe was a division of the Chrysler Corporation that operated between 1967 and 1979.-Formation:In the 1960s, Chrysler sought to become a world producer of automobiles. The company had never had much success outside North America, contrasting with Ford's worldwide reach and General...
  
   launched the Sunbeam
  Chrysler Sunbeam
  The Chrysler Sunbeam is a small supermini 3-door hatchback manufactured by Chrysler Europe at the former Rootes Group factory in Linwood in Scotland. The Sunbeam's development was funded by a British government grant with the aim to keep the Linwood plant running, and the small car was based on the...
  
  , a three-door rear-wheel drive small hatchback similar in concept to the Ford Fiesta
  Ford Fiesta
  The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa...
  
   and Vauxhall Chevette
  Vauxhall Chevette
  The Chevette was a supermini model of car manufactured by Vauxhall in the UK from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the family of small "T-Cars" from Vauxhall's parent General Motors ; the family included the Opel Kadett in Germany, the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in...
  
  .
• August - Government introduces voluntary Stage III one-year pay restraint.
• 10 August
  • The Queen visits Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
    
     as part of her Jubilee celebrations under tight security.
  • Kenny Dalglish
    Kenny Dalglish
    Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
    
    , 26-year-old Scotland
    Scotland national football team
    The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
    
     striker, becomes Britain's most expensive footballer in a £440,000 transfer from Glasgow Celtic
    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...
    
     to Liverpool
    Liverpool F.C.
    Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
    
    .
• 11 August - Cricketer Geoff Boycott scores the 100th century of his career for England against Australia at Headingley
  Headingley Stadium
  Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
  
  , Leeds
  Leeds
  Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
  
  .
• 12 August–19 September - Union-Castle Line
  Union-Castle Line
  The Union-Castle Line was a prominent British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line...
  
   RMS Windsor Castle (1959) makes the line’s last passenger mail voyage out of Southampton
  Southampton
  Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
  
   for Cape Town
  Cape Town
  Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
  
  , the last major British ship to operate in the regular ocean liner
  Ocean liner
  An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
  
   trade.
• 13 August - Battle of Lewisham
  Battle of Lewisham
  The Battle of Lewisham refers to the events of 13 August 1977, when an attempt by the far-right National Front to march from New Cross to Lewisham in southeast London led to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes...
  
  : an attempt by the far-right National Front to march from New Cross
  New Cross
  New Cross is a district and ward of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross. The ward covered by London post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich...
  
   to Lewisham
  Lewisham
  Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
  
   in southeast London
  London
  London 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...
  
   leads to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes.
• 15 August - Rioting breaks out in Birmingham
  Birmingham
  Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
  
   during demonstrations against the National Front.
• 17 August - Ron Greenwood, general manager of West Ham United
  West Ham United F.C.
  West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
  
  , who guided the East London
  East End of London
  The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
  
   club to FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
   and European Cup Winners' Cup
  UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
  
   glory as their team manager during the 1960s, accepts an offer from the Football Association to manage the England team on a temporary basis until December.
• 23 August - A new, smaller, £1 note is introduced.
• September - Ford
  Ford Motor Company
  Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
  
   launches the second generation of its popular Granada
  Ford Granada (Europe)
  The March 1972 released Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German P7-series as Ford's European executive car offering. At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul, but from 1975 on they were all called Granadas. The car soon became popular for taxi, fleet and...
  
   top-of-the-range model.
• 6 September - Car industry figures show that foreign cars are outselling British-built ones for the first time. Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
  ese built Datsun
  Datsun
  Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
  
  s, German
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
   Volkswagen
  Volkswagen
  Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
  
  s and French
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
   Renault
  Renault
  Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
  
  s are proving particularly popular with buyers, although British-built products from Ford
  Ford Motor Company
  Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
  
  , British Leyland, Vauxhall
  Vauxhall Motors
  Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
  
   and Chrysler UK
  Chrysler
  Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
  
   are still the most popular.
• 19 September - Manchester United
  Manchester United F.C.
  Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
  
  , the English FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
   holders, are expelled from the European Cup Winners' Cup
  UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
  
   after their fans rioted in France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
   during a first round first leg game with AS Saint-Etienne
  AS Saint-Étienne
  Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...
  
   (which ended in a 1-1 draw) five days ago.
• 26 September -
  • - Freddie Laker
    Freddie Laker
    Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was a British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982...
    
     launches his new budget Skytrain
    SkyTrain
    SkyTrain or Skytrain may refer to:In mass transit:* SkyTrain , a partly elevated rapid transit system in Vancouver, Canada* BTS Skytrain, an elevated rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand...
    
     airline, with the first single fare from Gatwick to New York
    New York
    New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
    
     costing £59 - compared to the normal price of £186.
    • - UEFA
      UEFA
      The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
      
       reinstates Manchester United to the European Cup Winners' Cup on appeal. However, they are ordered to play their return leg against AS Saint-Etienne at least 120 miles away from their Old Trafford
      Old Trafford
      Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
      
       stadium.
• 3 October - Undertakers go on strike in London, leaving more than 800 corpses unburied.
• 10 October - Missing 20-year-old prostitute Jean Jordan is found dead in Chorlton
  Chorlton-cum-Hardy
  Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about four miles southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: and are both common....
  
  , Manchester
  Manchester
  Manchester 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...
  
  , nine days after she was last seen alive. Police believe that the Yorkshire Ripper may have killed her; the first crime outside Yorkshire
  Yorkshire
  Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
  
   which the killer has been suspected of.
• 14 October - Fourteen people are injured in a bomb explosion at a London pub.
• 25 October - Michael Edwardes succeeds Richard Dobson
  Richard Dobson
  Richard Dobson is an American singer/songwriter.He was born in Tyler, Texas. He spent time in the 1970s with Townes Van Zandt, Mickey White, Rex "Wrecks" Bell, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell and "Skinny" Dennis Sanchez....
  
   as chief of British Leyland.
• 27 October
  • Former Liberal
    Liberal Party (UK)
    The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
    
     leader Jeremy Thorpe
    Jeremy Thorpe
    John Jeremy Thorpe is a British former politician who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976 and was the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979. His political career was damaged when an acquaintance, Norman Scott, claimed to have had a love affair with Thorpe at a time...
    
     denies allegations of attempted murder of and having a relationship with male model Norman Scott.
  • Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is released in the UK
    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...
    
    .
• 28 October - Police in Yorkshire
  Yorkshire
  Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
  
   appeal for help in finding the Yorkshire Ripper, who is believed to be responsible for a series of murders and attacks on women across the county during the last two years.
• 14 November - Firefighters go on first ever national strike, in hope of getting a 30% wage increase.
• 15 November - The Queen becomes a grandmother for the first time when The Princess Anne
  Anne, Princess Royal
  Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
  
   gives birth to a son.
• 22 November - British Airways
  British Airways
  British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
  
   inaugurates regular London
  London
  London 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...
  
   to New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
   supersonic Concorde
  Concorde
  Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
  
   service.
• 3 December - The England football team fails to achieve World Cup qualification
  1978 FIFA World Cup
  The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...
  
   for the second tournament in succession.
• 10 December
  • James Meade
    James Meade
    James Edward Meade CB, FBA was a British economist and winner of the 1977 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences jointly with the Swedish economist Bertil Ohlin for their "Pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements."Meade was born in...
    
     wins the 1977 Nobel Prize in Economics jointly with the Norwegian Bertil Ohlin
    Bertil Ohlin
    Bertil Gotthard Ohlin was a Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at the Stockholm School of Economics from 1929 to 1965. He was also leader of the People's Party, a social-liberal party which at the time was the largest party in opposition to the governing Social...
    
     for their "Pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements."
  • Nevill Francis Mott
    Nevill Francis Mott
    Sir Nevill Francis Mott, CH, FRS was an English physicist. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977 for his work on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems, especially amorphous semiconductors. The award was shared with Philip W. Anderson and J. H...
    
     wins the Nobel Prize in Physics
    Nobel Prize in Physics
    The 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...
    
     jointly with Philip Warren Anderson
    Philip Warren Anderson
    Philip Warren Anderson is an American physicist and Nobel laureate. Anderson has made contributions to the theories of localization, antiferromagnetism and high-temperature superconductivity.- Biography :...
    
     and John Hasbrouck van Vleck
    John Hasbrouck van Vleck
    John Hasbrouck Van Vleck was an American physicist and mathematician, co-awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics, for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electrons in magnetic solids....
    
     "for their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems".
• 12 December
  • Chrysler Europe
    Chrysler Europe
    Chrysler Europe was a division of the Chrysler Corporation that operated between 1967 and 1979.-Formation:In the 1960s, Chrysler sought to become a world producer of automobiles. The company had never had much success outside North America, contrasting with Ford's worldwide reach and General...
    
     announces its new Horizon
    Chrysler Horizon
    The Horizon was a subcompact automobile developed by Chrysler Europe and was sold in Europe between 1977 and 1985 under the Chrysler, Simca and Talbot nameplates...
    
     range of five-door front-wheel drive hatchbacks, which will be built in Britain as a Chrysler and France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
    
     as a Simca
    Simca
    Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
    
    . It will give buyers a more modern alternative to the Avenger
    Hillman Avenger
    The Hillman Avenger was a rear-wheel drive small family car originally manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1970–1976, and made by Chrysler Europe from 1976–1981 as the Chrysler Avenger and finally the Talbot Avenger...
    
     range of rear-wheel drive saloons and estates.
  • Ron Greenwood signs a permanent contract as England manager, despite England's failure to qualify for next summer
    1978 FIFA World Cup
    The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...
    
    's World Cup
    FIFA World Cup
    The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
    
    . The appointment is controversial, as there had been widespread support for Brian Clough
    Brian Clough
    Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
    
     of Nottingham Forest
    Nottingham Forest F.C.
    Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
    
     to be appointed.
• 14 December - 25-year-old Leeds
  Leeds
  Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
  
   prostitute Marilyn Moore is injured in an attack believed to have been committed by the Yorkshire Ripper.
• 16 December - The Queen opens a £71million extension to the London Underground
  London Underground
  The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
  
   which runs to Heathrow Airport.
• 21 December - Four children die at a house fire in Wednesbury
  Wednesbury
  Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
  
  , West Midlands
  West Midlands (county)
  The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
  
  , as Green Goddess
  Green Goddess
  The Green Goddess is the colloquial name for the Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump, a fire engine used originally by the Auxiliary Fire Service , and latterly by the British Armed Forces. These green-painted vehicles were built between 1953 and 1956 for the Auxiliary Fire Service...
  
   fire appliances crewed by hastily-trained troops are sent to deal with the blaze while firefighters are still on strike. 119 people have now died as a result of fires since the strike began, but this is the first fire during the strike which has resulted in more than two deaths.
• 22 December - The Queen's first grandchild is christened
  Christening
  Christening is a naming ceremony associated with:*Baptism*Infant baptism*Ship naming and launching...
  
   Peter Mark Andrew Phillips
  Peter Phillips
  Peter Phillips is the son of Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.Peter Phillips or Philips may also refer to:* Peter Philips Peter Phillips (born 1977) is the son of Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.Peter Phillips or Philips may also refer to:* Peter Philips Peter Phillips (born...
  
  .
• 27 December - The much-acclaimed Star Wars
  Star Wars
  Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
  
  film, which has been a massive hit in America, is screened in British cinemas for the first time.

Undated

• Inflation has fallen slightly this year to 15.8%, but it is the fourth successive year that has seen double digit inflation.

Publications

• Bruce Chatwin
  Bruce Chatwin
  Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
  
  's travel book In Patagonia
  In Patagonia
  -Preparations:In 1972, Chatwin was hired by the Sunday Times Magazine as an adviser on art and architecture. His association with the magazine cultivated his narrative skills and he travelled on many international assignments, writing on such subjects as Algerian migrant workers and the Great Wall...
  
  .
• Patrick Leigh Fermor
  Patrick Leigh Fermor
  Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor, DSO, OBE was a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Cretan resistance during World War II. He was widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer", with books including his classic A Time of...
  
  's travel book A Time Of Gifts
  A Time Of Gifts
  A Time of Gifts is regarded by many critics as one of the classics of travel literature. Written by Patrick Leigh Fermor and published by John Murray in 1977 when the author was 62, it is an account of the first part of the author's journey on foot across Europe from the Hook of Holland to...
  
  .
• John Fowles
  John Fowles
  John 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:...
  
  ' novel Daniel Martin
  Daniel Martin (novel)
  Daniel Martin is a novel by John Fowles. It was released in 1977 and can be taken as a Bildungsroman, following the life of the eponymous protagonist. The novel uses both first and third person voices, whilst employing a variety of literary techniques such as multiple narratives and flashback...
  
  .
• Edith Holden
  Edith Holden
  Edith Blackwell Holden was a British artist and art teacher. She became famous following the posthumous publication of her Nature Notes for 1906, in facsimile form, as the book The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady in 1977, which was an enormous publishing success, frequently given as a gift...
  
  's nature notes The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady (posthumous), which sells an initial print run of 148,000.
• Paul Scott's novel Staying On
  Staying On
  Staying On is a novel by Paul Scott, which was published in 1977 and won the Booker Prize.-Plot summary:Staying On focuses on Tusker and Lucy Smalley, who are briefly mentioned in the latter two books of the Raj Quartet, The Towers of Silence and A Division of the Spoils, and are the last British...
  
  .
• J. R. R. Tolkien
  J. R. R. Tolkien
  John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
  
  's collection The Silmarillion
  The Silmarillion
  The 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...
  
  (posthumous).

Births

• 7 January - Michelle Behennah
  Michelle Behennah
  Michelle Behennah is an English model.- Early life :Behennah was born in Singapore where her father was a school administrator. The youngest of three children, Michelle relocated to Sheffield, England, after her parents' divorce...
  
  , model
• 13 January - Orlando Bloom
  Orlando Bloom
  Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
  
  , actor
• 24 January - Hayley Tamaddon
  Hayley Tamaddon
  Hayley Tamaddon , is an English actress of Iranian descent, who is most notable for portraying Delilah Dingle in ITV's Emmerdale and winning ITV's Dancing on Ice on 28 March 2010.-Background:...
  
  , actress
• 5 February - Ben Ainslie
  Ben Ainslie
  Charles Benedict Ainslie, CBE is an English sailor and three-times Olympic gold medalist. He started sailing at the age of 8 and first competed at the age of 10...
  
  , sailor
• 10 March - Colin Murray
  Colin Murray
  Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...
  
  , radio DJ
• 13 May - Samantha Morton
  Samantha Morton
  Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier and Boon before making her film debut in the 1997 drama film This Is the Sea, playing the character of Hazel Stokes...
  
  , actress
• 30 May - Rachael Stirling
  Rachael Stirling
  Rachael Atlanta Stirling is an English stage, film and television actress. She is a two-time Olivier nominee for her stage work, but is best known for her performance as Nancy Astley in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet.-Personal life:...
  
  , actress
• 31 May
  • Debbie King, TV presenter
  • Joel Ross
    Joel Ross
    Joel Ross is a British radio DJ. Along with Jason King he presented the coveted UK Top 40 show on BBC Radio 1 each Sunday from March 2005 to October 2007...
    
    , DJ
• 3 August - Angela Beesley, internet entrepreneur
• 10 August - Danny Griffin
  Danny Griffin
  Daniel Joseph "Danny" Griffin is a Northern Irish footballer who is currently without a club. He is primarily a defender, but he can play in midfield.-Career:...
  
  , footballer
• 8 September - Gavin Meadows
  Gavin Meadows
  Gavin Meadows is a former international freestyle swimmer for England and Great Britain.Meadows competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics for Great Britain...
  
  , freestyle swimmer
• 1 November - Alistair Griffin
  Alistair Griffin
  Alistair Richard Griffin is an English singer/songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame Academy 2 in 2003, where he was "spotted" and championed by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees...
  
  , singer/songwriter
• 4 November - Kavana
  Kavana
  Kavana is a British singer and actor.-Career:He released two albums Kavana and Instinct and enjoyed a number of chart singles including "Crazy Chance"...
  
  , singer
• 15 November - Peter Phillips
  Peter Phillips
  Peter Phillips is the son of Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.Peter Phillips or Philips may also refer to:* Peter Philips Peter Phillips (born 1977) is the son of Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom.Peter Phillips or Philips may also refer to:* Peter Philips Peter Phillips (born...
  
  , son of The Princess Anne
  Anne, Princess Royal
  Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
  
  
• 22 November - Michael Preston
  Michael Preston (footballer)
  Michael John Preston is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Torquay United. He was born in Plymouth, Devon....
  
  , footballer
• 6 December - Paul McVeigh
  Paul McVeigh
  Paul Michael McVeigh is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Norwich City.-Club career:...
  
  , footballer
• 23 December - Matt Baker, television presenter

Deaths

• 14 January
  • Anthony Eden
    Anthony Eden
    Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
    
    , former Prime Minister
    Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    The 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...
    
     (born 1897
    1897 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1897 in the United Kingdom. This is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year.-Incumbents:* Monarch—Queen Victoria* Prime Minister—Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
    
    )
  • Peter Finch
    Peter Finch
    Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
    
    , actor (born 1912
    1912 in the United Kingdom
    Events from the year 1912 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - Post Office takes over National Telephone Company....
    
    )
• 19 February - Anthony Crosland
  Anthony Crosland
  Charles Anthony Raven Crosland , otherwise Tony Crosland or C.A.R. Crosland, was a British Labour Party politician and author. He served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire and later for Great Grimsby...
  
  , Politician (born 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...
  
  )
• 26 March - Madeleine Dring
  Madeleine Dring
  Madeleine Winefride Isabelle Dring was an English composer and actress.-Life:Madeleine Dring was born into a musical family. Growing up in Raleigh Road, Harringay, she showed talent at an early age and took lessons in the junior division of the Royal College of Music beginning on her tenth birthday...
  
  , composer and actress (born 1923
  1923 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1923 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative Party , Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
  
  )
• 17 April - William Conway
  William Conway
  William Conway may refer to:*William Conway , Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland*William Conway , 19th century American sailor...
  
  , cardinal (born 1913
  1913 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1913 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - British Board of Film Censors receives the authority to classify and censor films....
  
  )
• 2 June - Stephen Boyd
  Stephen Boyd
  Stephen Boyd was an Irish actor, from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in around 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in Ben-Hur.-Biography:...
  
  , actor (born 1931
  1931 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1931 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, Labour and national coalition-Events:* 6 January - Sadler's Wells Theatre opens in London....
  
  )
• 3 June - Archibald Vivian Hill, physiologist, Nobel Prize
  Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
  The 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...
  
   laureate (born 1886
  1886 in the United Kingdom
  Events 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...
  
  )
• 19 June - Lady Olave Baden-Powell
  Olave Baden-Powell
  Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell, GBE was born Olave St Clair Soames in Chesterfield, England...
  
  , Chief Girl Guide (born 1889
  1889 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1889 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
  
  )
• 4 August - Lord Adrian, physiologist, Nobel Prize
  Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
  The 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...
  
   laureate (born 1889)
• 13 August - Henry Williamson
  Henry Williamson
  Henry William Williamson was an English naturalist, farmer and prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter....
  
  , author (born 1895
  1895 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1895 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord Rosebery, Liberal , Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:* January–February — ”Great Frost”....
  
  )
• 29 August - Edward Sinclair
  Edward Sinclair
  Edward "Teddy" Sinclair was a British actor most famous for his role as the verger Maurice Yeatman in Dad's Army. He also made appearances in Z Cars and Danger Man.Edward's father was the son of a stage actor who died when he was 14...
  
  , actor (born 1914
  1914 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1914 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the start of World War I.-Incumbents:* Monarch - King George V* Prime Minister - H. H...
  
  )
• 6 September - John Littlewood
  John Edensor Littlewood
  John Edensor Littlewood was a British mathematician, best known for the results achieved in collaboration with G. H. Hardy.-Life:...
  
  , mathematician (born 1885
  1885 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1885 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
  
  )
• 13 September - Leopold Stokowski
  Leopold Stokowski
  Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
  
  , conductor (born 1882
  1882 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1882 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 25 January — London Chamber of Commerce founded....
  
  )
• 16 September - Marc Bolan
  Marc Bolan
  Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
  
  , musician (born 1947
  1947 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1947 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Clement Attlee, Labour-Events:* January – One of the most severe winters on record in the UK....
  
  )
• 30 November - Terence Rattigan
  Terence Rattigan
  Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
  
  , playwright (born 1911
  1911 in the United Kingdom
  Events from the year 1911 in the United Kingdom. This is a Coronation and Census year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
  
  )
• 12 December - Clementine Churchill
  Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill
  Clementine Ogilvy Spencer-Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, GBE, CStJ was the wife of Sir Winston Churchill and a life peeress in her own right.-Early life:...
  
  , widow of Winston Churchill
  Winston Churchill
  Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
  
   (born 1885)
• 25 December - Charlie Chaplin
  Charlie Chaplin
  Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
  
  , comedian (born 1889)