1980 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Events from the year 1980 in the United Kingdom
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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 - Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Events
- 2 January - Workers at British SteelBritish SteelBritish Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
go on a nationwide strike over pay called by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, which has some 90,000 members among British Steel's 150,000 workforce, in a bid to get a 20% rise. It is the first steelworks strike since 1926. - 18 January - Granada TelevisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
airs a controversial edition of World In ActionWorld in ActionWorld in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
on ITVITVITV 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...
, in which it alleges that Manchester UnitedManchester 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...
chairman Louis EdwardsLouis EdwardsLouis Charles Edwards from Salford, Lancashire, was an English businessman and chairman of Manchester United from 1965 to 1980.- Manchester United :...
has made unauthorised payments to the parents of some of the club's younger players and had made shady deals to win local authority meat contracts for his retail outlet chain. - 20 January - The British record TV audience for a film is set when some 23,500,000 viewers tune in for the ITVITVITV 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...
showing of the James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (film)Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
(1973), starring Roger MooreRoger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
who is now in the process of filming his fifth filmFor Your Eyes Only (film)For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
as the spy. - 14 February - Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
announces that state benefit to strikers will be halved. - 14 February–23 February - Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics1980 Winter OlympicsThe 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
in Lake Placid, New YorkLake Placid, New YorkLake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and win one gold medal. - 17 February - British SteelBritish SteelBritish Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
announces that more than 11,000 jobs will be axed at its plants in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
by the end of next month. - 25 February -
- - First episode of the popular political television sitcom Yes MinisterYes MinisterYes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
broadcast by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. - - Manchester United chairman Louis Edwards dies from a heart attack at the age of 65, just weeks after allegations about his dealings with Manchester United and his retail outlet chain.
- - First episode of the popular political television sitcom Yes Minister
- 20 March - Radio CarolineRadio CarolineRadio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
, the pirate radio station, forced to cease transmission when the ship on which it is based sinks. - 25 March
- The British Olympic AssociationBritish Olympic AssociationThe British Olympic Association is the national Olympic committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1905 in the House of Commons, and at that time consisted of seven national governing body members from the following sports: fencing, life-saving, cycling, skating, rowing,...
vote to defy the government, and send athletes to the Olympic Games1980 Summer OlympicsThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
to be held in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, USSR in the summer. - Robert RuncieRobert RuncieRobert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
enthroned as Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
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- The British Olympic Association
- 26 March - The budget raises tax allowances and duties on petrol, alcohol and tobacco.
- 27 March - The Alexander Kielland North Sea accommodation platform for oil workers collapses, killing 123, when a massive wave hits one of its legs, causing it to break and fall into the sea.
- 31 March
- British Leyland agrees to sell the MG carsMG (car)The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
factory at AbingdonAbingdon, OxfordshireAbingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
to a consortium headed by Aston MartinAston MartinAston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
-LagondaLagondaLagonda is a British luxury car marque, founded as a company in 1906 in Staines, Middlesex by a former opera singer from Ohio, but of Scottish ancestry, named Wilbur Gunn . He named the company after a river near the town of his birth, Springfield, Ohio, United States...
when the plant closes this autumn. - National Heritage Act sets up the National Heritage Memorial FundNational Heritage Memorial FundThe National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
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- British Leyland agrees to sell the MG cars
- 1 April - The steelworkers' strike is called off.
- 10 April - The UK reaches agreement with SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to re-open its border with GibraltarGibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. - 18 April - ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
becomes independent of the United Kingdom. - 22 April - Unemployment stands at 1,500,000 - the highest in two years.
- 30 April - The Iranian Embassy SiegeIranian Embassy SiegeThe Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, London. The gunmen took 26 people hostage—mostly embassy staff, but several visitors and a police officer, who had been guarding the embassy, were also...
begins. A six-man terrorist team calling itself the "Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan" (DRMLA) captures the Embassy of IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in Prince's Gate, KnightsbridgeKnightsbridgeKnightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, central London, taking 26 hostages. - 1 May - British AerospaceBritish AerospaceBritish 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...
privatised. - 3 May - LiverpoolLiverpool 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...
win the Football League First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
title for 12th time. - 5 May - The SASSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
storm the Iranian Embassy building, kill 5 out of the 6 terrorists and free all the hostages. - 6 May - The BBC's five-year-old CeefaxCeefaxCeefax is the BBC's teletext information service transmitted via the analogue signal, started in 1974 and will run until April 2012 for Pages from Ceefax, while the actual interactive service will run until 24 October 2012, in-line with the digital switchover.-History:During the late 60s, engineer...
service is rebranded as Orbit. - 10 May - West Ham UnitedWest 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...
win the FA CupFA CupThe 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...
with a 1-0 victory over ArsenalArsenal F.C.Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in the final at Wembley Stadium. Trevor BrookingTrevor BrookingSir Trevor David Brooking CBE is a football player turned manager, on-air analyst, and administrator.Brooking attended Ripple Infants School and left Ilford County High School with 11 O-levels and 2 A-levels....
scores the only goal of the game to make West Ham United only the second team from the Second Division to have won the trophy in postwar years. It is West Ham's third FA Cup triumph.http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/English_Football_League/FA_Cup_Finals/1980-1989.html - 16 May - Inflation has risen to 21.8%.
- 27 May - Inquest into the death of New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
born teacher Blair PeachBlair PeachClement Blair Peach was a New Zealand-born teacher who was fatally assaulted by a police officer during an anti-racism demonstration in London, England....
(who was killed during a demonstration against the National FrontBritish National FrontThe National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
last year) returns a verdict of misadventure, sparking a public outcry. - 28 May - Nottingham ForestNottingham 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...
retain the European Cup with a 1-0 win over Hamburger SVHamburger SVHamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
, the West GermanWest GermanyWest 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, in MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. The winning goal is scored by Scotland international John RobertsonJohn Robertson-United Kingdom politicians:* John Robertson , MP for Bothwell, Lanarkshire 1919–1926* John Robertson , British Labour Party MP 1961–1979 for Berwick and Haddington, then Berwick and East Lothian...
. - June
- British Leyland launches its Morris ItalMorris ItalThe Morris Ital was a medium-sized saloon car built by British Leyland from 1980 until 1984.-Design and launch:The Ital was first launched on 1 July 1980. It took its name from Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio, who had been employed by BL to manage the re-engineering of Morris Marina, a car...
range of family saloons and estates, which are a reworking of the nine-year-old MarinaMorris MarinaThe Morris Marina is a car which was manufactured by the Morris division of British Leyland in the UK throughout the 1970s, which was a period of great turbulence and difficulty for the British car industry. It was known in some markets as the Austin Marina, Leyland Marina, and Morris 1.7...
that was one of Britain's most popular cars during the 1970s1970sFile:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. It will be produced for up to four years until an all-new front-wheel drive model is launched, and sales begin on 1 August - the same day that the new W-registered cars go on sale. - The UK economyEconomyAn economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
slides into recessionRecessionIn economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
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- British Leyland launches its Morris Ital
- 6 June - Two Malaysian men are jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of running a drug smuggling ring in London which generated millions of pounds.
- 12 June - Gail Kinchen (a pregnant 16-year-old) and her unborn baby are accidentally shot dead by a police marksman who entered the BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham 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...
flat where her boyfriend David Pagett was holding her hostage at gunpoint.http://www.expressandstar.com/days/1976-2000/1980.html http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/Courses/la205_criminal_law_and_procedure_1/cases/R_v_Pagett.html - 17 June - Secretary of State for DefenceSecretary of State for DefenceThe Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
, Francis PymFrancis Pym-Bibliography:****- External links :...
reveals to the House of Commons that US nuclear cruise missiles would be located at RAF Greenham CommonRAF Greenham CommonRAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....
in BerkshireBerkshireBerkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and the disused RAF MolesworthRAF MolesworthRAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a history dating back to 1917.Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s...
base in CambridgeshireCambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. - 19 June - Gunmen attack the British embassy in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
; three unknown attackers are shot dead by Iraqi security forces. - 24 June - Unemployment has reached a postwar high of 1,600,000.
- 30 June - The pre-decimal Sixpence withdrawn from circulation.
- July - Alexandra PalaceAlexandra PalaceAlexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
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...
gutted by fire. - 1 July - MG's Abingdon car factory looks set to close completely this autumn as Aston Martin fails to raise the funds to buy it from British Leyland.
- 8 July - Miners threatening to strike demand a 37% pay increase, ignoring pleas from Margaret Thatcher to hold down wage claims.
- 19 July–3 August - Great Britain and Northern IrelandGreat Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1980 Summer OlympicsThe United Kingdom competed as Great Britain at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 219 competitors, 149 men and 70 women, took part in 145 events in 14 sports....
compete at the Olympics1980 Summer OlympicsThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and win 5 gold, 7 silver and 9 bronze medals. - 22 July - Unemployment has hit a 44-year high of nearly 1,900,000.
- 29 July - Prime Minister Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
announces the introduction of Enterprise Zones as an employment relief effort in some of regions of Britain which have been hardest hit by deindustrialisation and unemployment.http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1980/07/29/T29078010/?s=Enterprise+Zone - 11 August - Margaret Thatcher visits the Harold HillHarold HillHarold Hill is a place in the London Borough of Havering, east London, England. It is a suburban development situated 16.6 miles east-northeeast of Charing Cross....
area of East LondonEast End of LondonThe 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...
to hand of the keys to the 12,000th council tenants in Britain to buy their home under the right to buy scheme. However, she is met by jeering from neighbours of the family. - 15 August - 37 people die as a result of fires started by arsonArsonArson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
at adjacent London nightclubs. - 28 August = Unemployment has increased to more than 2,000,000 - the highest since 1935. Economists warn that it could rise to up to 2,500,000 by the end of next year.
- 1 September - FordFord Motor CompanyFord 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 one of the most important new cars of the year - the mark 3 Escort, which is a technological innovation in the small family car market, spelling the end of the traditional rear-wheel drive saloon in favour of the front-wheel drive hatchback. An estate version is also available. - 9 September - Bibby LineBibby LineThe Bibby Line is a British company concerned with shipping and marine operations.Its parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, can be traced back to the shipbroking partnership of Bibby & Hall, which was founded in 1801. It is and always has been based in Liverpool...
’s LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool 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...
-registered ore-bulk-oil carrierOre-bulk-oil carrierAn Ore-bulk-oil carrier, also known as combination carrier or OBO, is a ship designed to be capable of carrying wet or dry cargoes. The idea is to reduce the number of empty voyages, in which large ships only carry a cargo one way and return empty for another. These are a feature of the larger...
MV DerbyshireMV DerbyshireThe MV Derbyshire was an ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built in 1976 by Swan Hunter, as the last in the series of the Bridge-class sextet. She was registered at Liverpool and owned by Bibby Line....
sinks with the loss of all 44 crew south of JapanJapanJapan 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...
in Typhoon Orchid following structural failure. At 91,655 gross tonsGross tonnageGross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...
, she is the largest UK-registered ship ever lost. - 11 September- The Marlborough diamond is stolen 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...
. - 12 September - The Marlborough diamond thieves are arrested in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
after getting off a British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish 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...
flight in the city. However, the stolen diamond has not been found.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/11/newsid_2514000/2514065.stm - 13 September - HerculesHercules (bear)Hercules was a trained grizzly bear from Scotland who appeared in a number of cameo roles for various television productions, reaching the height of his popularity in the 1980s...
, a bear which had gone missing on a ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
island filming a KleenexKleenexKleenex is a brand name for a variety of toiletry paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, and diapers. The name Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. Often used as a genericized trademark, especially in the United States, "Kleenex"...
advertisement, is found. - 21 September - First CNDCampaign for Nuclear DisarmamentThe Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
rally at RAF Greenham CommonRAF Greenham CommonRAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....
. - 24 September - 34-year-old SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
born doctor Upadhya Bandara is attacked and injured in HeadingleyHeadingleyHeadingley is a suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds 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...
; the Yorkshire Ripper is believed to have been responsible. - 3 October - Housing ActHousing Act 1980The Housing Act 1980 was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave five million council house tenants in England and Wales the Right to Buy their house from their local authority. The Act came into force on the 3 October 1980 and is seen as a defining policy of...
comes into effect, giving council houseCouncil houseA council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
tenants of three years' standing in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
the right to buyRight to buy schemeThe Right to buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom which gives tenants of council housing the right to buy the home they are living in. Currently, there is also a right to acquire for the tenants of housing associations...
their home from their local authority at a discount. - 6 October - DeregulationDeregulationDeregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of express coachCoach (vehicle)A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
services. - 8 October - British Leyland launches the Austin Metro, a small hatchback which uses much of the MiniMiniThe Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
's mechanical design but an entirely different body which offers more space and practicality. Production of the 21-year-old Mini, however, is set to continue for the foreseeable future, although it is expected to be scaled back along with that of the larger Austin AllegroAustin AllegroThe Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...
. - 9 October - Gloagtrotter of Perth, ScotlandPerth, ScotlandPerth 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...
, trading as GT Coaches, begins operation of a coach service from DundeeDundeeDundee 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...
to St Pancras, LondonSt Pancras, LondonSt Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...
, as The Stage Coach, origin of the Stagecoach GroupStagecoach GroupStagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
. - 10 October - Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
makes her famous "The lady's not for turning" speech to the Conservative Party conference after party MP's warn that her economic policy was responsible for the current recession and rising unemployment. - 15 October - James CallaghanJames CallaghanLeonard 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...
, who was ousted as prime minister by the Conservative victory 17 months ago, resigns as Labour Party leader after four and a half years. - 17 October - Elizabeth II makes history by becoming the first British monarch to make a state visit to the VaticanVatican CityVatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. - 22 October - Lord Thomson announces that The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and Sunday Times will be closed down within five months unless a buyer is found. - 24 October - MG car production ends after 56 years with the closure of the AbingdonAbingdonAbingdon may refer to the following places:In Australia :* Abingdon, Queensland, a place in Northern QueenslandIn Britain:*Abingdon, Oxfordshire**Abingdon School**Abingdon Abbey**Abingdon Lock**Abingdon Bridge**Abingdon Air & Country Show...
plant in OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, where 1,155,032 MG's have been built in just over half a century. - 28 October - Margaret Thatcher declares that the government will not give in to seven jailed IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe 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...
terrorists who are on hunger strike in the Maze Prison in hope of winning prisoner of war status. - 5 November - Theresa Sykes, a 16-year-old HuddersfieldHuddersfieldHuddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
mother-of-one, is wounded in a stabbing near her home in the town. The Yorkshire Ripper is believed to be responsible. - 10 November - Michael FootMichael FootMichael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
is elected Leader of the Labour PartyLabour 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...
. - 13 November - George Smith, a security guard, is shot dead when the van he is guarding is intercepted by armed robbers in WillenhallWillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
, West MidlandsWest 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...
.http://www.expressandstar.com/days/1976-2000/1980.html http://www.shercliff.demon.co.uk/whs2008/streetc.htm - 17 November - University student Jacqueline Hill, aged 20, is murdered in Headingley, Leeds.
- 19 November - Police investigating the murder of Jacqueline Hill establish that she was probably the 13th woman to be killed by the Yorkshire Ripper.
- 23 November - Despite the economy now being in recession and the government's monetaristMonetarismMonetarism is a tendency in economic thought that emphasizes the role of governments in controlling the amount of money in circulation. It is the view within monetary economics that variation in the money supply has major influences on national output in the short run and the price level over...
economic policy to tackle inflation being blamed for the downturn, the government announces further public spending cuts and taxation rises. - 8 December - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
is shot dead in New YorkNew YorkNew 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...
. - 10 December - Frederick SangerFrederick SangerFrederick Sanger, OM, CH, CBE, FRS is an English biochemist and a two-time Nobel laureate in chemistry, the only person to have been so. In 1958 he was awarded a Nobel prize in chemistry "for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin"...
wins his second Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
, jointly with Walter GilbertWalter GilbertWalter Gilbert is an American physicist, biochemist, molecular biology pioneer, and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Gilbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1932...
, "for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids". - 14 December - Thousands of music fans hold a 10-minute vigil in LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool 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...
for John Lennon. - 18 December - Michael Foot's hopes of becoming prime minister in the next general election are given a boost by an MORI poll which shows Labour on 56% with a 24-point lead over the Conservatives.http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=103
- 28 December - The Independent Broadcasting AuthorityIndependent Broadcasting AuthorityThe Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
award contracts for commercial broadcasting on ITVITVITV 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...
. TV-amTV-amTV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
is awarded the first ever breakfast TV contract, and is set to go on air by 1983.
Undated
- Inflation has risen to 18% as Margaret Thatcher's battle against inflation is still in its early stages.http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp99/rp99-020.pdf
- Britain becomes self-sufficient in oilNorth Sea oilNorth Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
. - Alton TowersAlton TowersAlton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
begins development as a theme park.
Publications
- The Alternative Service BookAlternative Service BookThe Alternative Service Book 1980 was the first complete prayer book produced by the Church of England since 1662. Its name derives from the fact that it was proposed not as a replacement for the Book of Common Prayer but merely as an alternative to it...
. - Douglas AdamsDouglas AdamsDouglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
' novel The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseThe Restaurant at the End of the UniverseThe Restaurant at the End of the Universe is the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction trilogy of five by Douglas Adams. It was originally published by Pan Books as a paperback. The book was inspired by the song "Grand Hotel" by British rock band Procol Harum...
. - Julian BarnesJulian BarnesJulian Patrick Barnes is a contemporary English writer, and winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, for his book The Sense of an Ending...
' first novel Metroland. - Anthony BurgessAnthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
's novel Earthly PowersEarthly PowersEarthly Powers is a panoramic saga of the 20th century by Anthony Burgess first published in 1980. On one level it is a parody of a "blockbuster" novel, with the 81-year-old hero, Kenneth Toomey , telling the story of his life in 82 chapters...
. - William GoldingWilliam GoldingSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
's novel Rites of Passage, first of the To the Ends of the EarthTo the Ends of the EarthTo the Ends of the Earth is a trilogy of novels by William Golding, consisting of Rites of Passage , Close Quarters , and Fire Down Below...
trilogy. - David LodgeDavid Lodge (author)David John Lodge CBE, is an English author.In his novels, Lodge often satirises academia in general and the humanities in particular. He was brought up Catholic and has described himself as an "agnostic Catholic". Many of his characters are Catholic and their Catholicism is a major theme...
's novel How Far Can You Go?How Far Can You Go?How Far Can You Go? is a novel by British writer and academic David Lodge. It was renamed Souls and Bodies when published in the United States...
. - Iris MurdochIris MurdochDame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious...
's novel Nuns and SoldiersNuns and SoldiersNuns and Soldiers is a 1980 novel by Iris Murdoch. The setting is England and two of the main characters are Gertrude, a widow, and Anne, an ex-nun.- Plot :...
. - Benjamin ZephaniahBenjamin ZephaniahBenjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
's first poetry collection Pen Rhythm.
Births
- 2 January — Rebekah TeasdaleRebekah TeasdaleRebekah Teasdale is an English glamour model, former Page 3 girl, and former journalist with the British men's magazine Maxim.- Biography :...
, model and journalist - 20 January — Jenson ButtonJenson ButtonJenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
, racecar driver - 10 February — Steve TullySteve TullyStephen Richard Tully is an English footballer, currently playing in defence for League One side Exeter City. He was born in Paignton, Devon....
, footballer - 13 March — Linda ClementLinda ClementLinda Clement is a female field hockey forward and midfielder from Scotland. She plays club hockey for Bonagrass Grove, and made her debut for the Women's National Team in 1999. A resident of Edinburgh Clement represented Scotland in the U17 schoolgirls athletics team in 1996.-References:*...
, Scottish field hockey player - 8 April
- Ben FreemanBen FreemanBenedict "Ben" Freeman is an English television actor, best known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as Scott Windsor.-Personal life:...
, actor - Cheryl ValentineCheryl ValentineCheryl Valentine is a female field hockey midfield player from Scotland. She plays club hockey for Bonagrass Grove, and made her debut for the Women's National Team in 2000. Valentine works as a physiotherapist in Edinburgh. Her sister represented Scotland at gymnastics, her father competed for...
, Scottish field hockey midfielder
- Ben Freeman
- 30 May — Steven GerrardSteven GerrardSteven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
, footballer
- 1 June
- Martin DevaneyMartin DevaneyMartin Thomas Devaney is an English football midfielder who plays for Tranmere Rovers. Born of Irish parents, Devaney has played for the Republic of Ireland under-16s.-Career:...
, footballer - Oliver JamesOliver James (entertainer)Oliver James is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his roles in the American films What a Girl Wants and Raise Your Voice.-Acting career:...
, actor
- Martin Devaney
- 4 June — Philip OlivierPhilip OlivierPhilip Olivier is an English actor, model and stage performer best known for playing the role of Tim O'Leary in the soap opera Brookside.-Early life:...
, actor - 23 June — Jessica TaylorJessica Taylor (Liberty X)Jessica Taylor is an English singer, previously with the Brit Award winning pop group, Liberty X. The group consisted of herself, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, and Kelli Young.-Personal life:...
, singer Liberty XLiberty XLiberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor... - 29 June — Katherine JenkinsKatherine JenkinsKatherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
, mezzo soprano - 28 October — Alan Smith, footballer
- 19 November — Adele SilvaAdele SilvaAdele Silva is an English actress and television personality who has been on stage and television since she was a young girl. She is best known for playing the role of Kelly Windsor in the television soap opera Emmerdale....
, actress - 6 December — Steve LovellSteve LovellStephen William Henry "Steve" Lovell is a former English footballer who played as a striker.-Portsmouth:...
, footballer - 7 December — John TerryJohn TerryJohn George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...
, footballer - 20 December — Ashley ColeAshley ColeAshley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
, footballer - 25 December — Laura SadlerLaura SadlerLaura Ruth Sadler was an English actress best known for her role as nurse Sandy Harper in the BBC One hospital drama series Holby City.-TV career:...
, television actress (died 20032003 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2003 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-Events:* January - Toyota launches an all-new Avensis to be built at TMUK....
)
Deaths
- 11 January - Barbara PymBarbara PymBarbara Mary Crampton Pym was an English novelist. In 1977 her career was revived when two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century...
, novelist (born 19131913 in the United KingdomEvents 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....
) - 18 January - Sir Cecil BeatonCecil BeatonSir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
, photographer (born 19041904 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1904 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Arthur Balfour, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - Number plates are introduced as cars are licensed for the first time...
) - 17 February - Graham SutherlandGraham SutherlandGraham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London...
, artist (born 19031903 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1903 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Arthur Balfour, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India....
) - 1 March - Dixie DeanDixie DeanWilliam Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
, football player (born 19071907 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1907 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:* January - The steamship Pengwern founders in the North Sea: crew and 24 men lost....
) - 29 April - Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, film director (born 18991899 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1899 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:* 6 January — Lord Curzon becomes Viceroy of India....
) - 14 May - Hugh GriffithHugh GriffithHugh Emrys Griffith was a Welsh film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Griffith was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, Wales, the son of Mary and William Griffith. He was educated at Llangefni County School and attempted to gain entrance to university, but failed the English examination...
, actor (born 19121912 in the United KingdomEvents 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....
) - 18 May - Ian CurtisIan CurtisIan Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...
, musician and singer (Joy DivisionJoy DivisionJoy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
) (born 19561956 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1956 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the Suez Crisis.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Anthony Eden -Events:* 1 January – Possession of heroin becomes fully criminalised....
) - 7 June - Elizabeth Craig, writer (born 18831883 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1883 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* January 1 — Augustus Pitt Rivers takes office as Britain's first Inspector of Ancient Monuments....
) - 12 June - Billy ButlinBilly ButlinSir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin, , was a British, South Africa-born entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.American Heritage Dictionary 2004, p. 135.Scott 2001, p. 5...
, founder of ButlinsButlinsButlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
(born 1899, South Africa) - 23 June - John LaurieJohn LaurieJohn Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...
, actor (born 18971897 in the United KingdomEvents 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:...
) - 1 July - C. P. SnowC. P. SnowCharles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of the City of Leicester CBE was an English physicist and novelist who also served in several important positions with the UK government...
, novelist and physicist (born 19051905 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1905 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Arthur Balfour, Conservative , Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:...
) - 24 July - Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, actor (born 19251925 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 26 July - Kenneth TynanKenneth TynanKenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
, theatre critic (born 19271927 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1927 in the United Kingdom.1927 saw the renaming of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising in name the Irish free state's independence, it having come into existence with the Anglo-Irish Treaty...
) - 24 August - Yootha JoyceYootha JoyceYootha Joyce was an English actress, best known for playing Mildred Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.-Early life:...
, actress (born 1927) - 25 September - John BonhamJohn BonhamJohn Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
, drummer (Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
) (born 19481948 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1948 in the United Kingdom. The Olympics are held in London and some of the government's key social legislation takes effect.-Incumbents:* Monarch – King George VI* Prime Minister – Clement Attlee, Labour-Events:...
) - 6 October - Hattie JacquesHattie JacquesJosephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
, Carry On films actress (heart attack) (born 19221922 in the United KingdomThe social and political problems of most prominence in the United Kingdom in 1922 showed a further departure from those that chiefly occupied public attention during World War I, and the country had by then almost returned to its normal condition...
) - 4 November - Johnny OwenJohnny OwenJohnny Owen was a professional boxer from Wales. His fragile appearance earned him many epithets, including ‘the Bionic Bantam’ and ‘the Merthyr Matchstick’. During his brief career, he held the Bantamweight Championships of Great Britain and Europe and became the first ever Welsh holder of the...
, boxer (born 19561956 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1956 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the Suez Crisis.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Anthony Eden -Events:* 1 January – Possession of heroin becomes fully criminalised....
) - 22 November - Norah McGuinnessNorah McGuinnessNorah McGuinness was an Irish painter and illustrator.Norah McGuinness trained at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and at Chelsea Polytechnic in London before spending the 1920s working in Dublin as a book illustrator and stage designer...
, painter and illustrator (born 19011901 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1901 in the United Kingdom. This year marks the transition from the Victorian to the Edwardian era.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria , King Edward VII...
) - 26 November - Rachel RobertsRachel Roberts (British actress)Rachel Roberts was a Welsh actress noted for her fervour and passion; Roberts is best remembered for her forthright screen performances in two key films of the 1960s, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and This Sporting Life, in both of which she played the older mistress of the central male...
, actress (suicide) (born 19271927 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1927 in the United Kingdom.1927 saw the renaming of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising in name the Irish free state's independence, it having come into existence with the Anglo-Irish Treaty...
) - 3 December - Oswald MosleyOswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, leader of the British Union of FascistsBritish Union of FascistsThe British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
(born 18961896 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1896 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 8 December - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
) (murdered) (born 19401940 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1940 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.- Incumbents :* Monarch - King George VI* Prime Minister - Neville Chamberlain, national coalition , Winston Churchill, coalition- Events :...
)