1991 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Events from the year 1991 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 - HM Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, 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
- January - Tax-Exempt Special Savings AccountTax-Exempt Special Savings AccountIn the UK, the Tax-Exempt Special Savings Account was one of a number of tax-free savings accounts. The TESSA was announced by John Major in his only Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1990...
s introduced as a government concession to promote personal savings. - 3 January - The UK expels all 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....
i diplomats from the country due to Iraq's invasion of KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
five months ago. - 5 January - 27 people die as a result of gale force winds across Britain.
- 8 January - A train crash at Cannon Street stationCannon Street stationCannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
kills one person and injures over 500. - 11 January - As the recession deepens, 335 workers at the PeugeotPeugeotPeugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
car factory in CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
are made redundant while 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...
is looking for up to 1,000 voluntary redundancies at its British factories. Thousands of jobs in the financial services factor are reportedly at threat, as the total UK unemployment is currently standing at nearly 1,800,000 but is expected to rise to well over 2,000,000 by the end of the year. - 14 January - Donald ColemanDonald ColemanDonald Richard Coleman, CBE, JP, DL was the Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for Neath from 1964 until his death in 1991....
, Labour MP for NeathNeath (UK Parliament constituency)Neath is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election and one Assembly Member by the first past the post system of election.- The Constituency of Neath :The constituency...
in South WalesSouth WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, dies aged 65. - 16 January - The final phase of the M40 motorwayM40 motorwayThe M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
through OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
is opened, giving the West Midlands conurbationWest Midlands conurbationThe West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
its first direct motorway link with 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...
. - 17 January - The Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
begins, as the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
joins Allied aircraft in bombing raids on Iraq. - 18 January - In spite of the deepening recession, the Conservatives have climbed back to the top of the opinion polls, a MORI poll placing them five points ahead of Labour on 46%.
- 19 January - It is announced that 1,844,000 people are now unemployed in the United Kingdom, and experts warn that the figure will exceed 2,000,000 before the end of the year.
- 29 January - John Major resists calls from the Labour Party for interest rates to be cut in a bid to combat the recession.
- 7 February - The Provisional Irish Republican ArmyProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
launch a mortar attack against 10 Downing StreetDowning Street mortar attackThe Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 10 Downing Street, London, the British Prime Minister John Major's official residence. The 7 February 1991 attack, an assassination attempt on Major and his War Cabinet who were meeting to discuss the...
, blowing in all the windows of the cabinet room, during a session of the War Cabinet, but there are no injuries. - 8 February - Heavy snow disrupts the country for a second time during the winter 1990-1991 seasonWinter of 1990–1991 in Western EuropeThe winter of 1990–1991 was a particularly cold winter in Western Europe, noted especially for its effect on the United Kingdom, and for two significantly heavy falls of snow which occurred in December 1990 and February 1991. Sandwiched in between was a period of high winds and heavy rain which...
as Britain experiences a prolonged cold snap. - 17 February - Barclays Bank is reported to be on the verge of axing more than 13,000 workers.
- 18 February - The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington stationPaddington stationPaddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
and Victoria station in London. - 25 February - Alan GreenAllan Green (barrister)Sir Allan David Green, KCB , QC is a barrister in England and Wales. He was Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales and second head of the Crown Prosecution Service from 1987 to 1992....
, Director of Public Prosecution, announces that the Birmingham SixBirmingham SixThe Birmingham Six were six men—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 in the United Kingdom for the Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and quashed by the Court of...
could soon be free from prison after 17 years as their convictions for terrorism and mass murder are no longer considered safe and satisfactory. - 27 February - The National Institute of Economic and Social Research predicts that the recession will end this summer.
- 28 February - Iraq accepts a provisional ceasefire, and British troops halt their advance on BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. - 3 March - An Ipsos MORI poll shows that John Major is more popular with his voters than his Conservative government is.
- 8 March - Ribble ValleyRibble ValleyRibble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...
, the tenth safest Conservative seat in Britain, is won by the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
in a by-election. - 10 March - The UK reportedly has the fastest pace in rising unemployment than any other European Community country.
- 14 March - The Birmingham SixBirmingham SixThe Birmingham Six were six men—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 in the United Kingdom for the Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and quashed by the Court of...
are freed after the Court of Appeal quashes their convictions over the 1974 pub bombings in 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...
which killed 21 people and injured more than 160 others. - 15 March - Unemployment is now above 2,000,000 for the first time in two years. The number of British workers employed in the manufacturing industry has fallen below 5,000,000 for the first time since records began.
- 19 March - Norman Lamont predicts 2% economic contraction for this year.
- 21 March - Education Secretary Kenneth ClarkeKenneth ClarkeKenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
announces plans to remove further education and sixth form colleges from local authority control. - 23 March
- The Government launches its Citizen's CharterCitizen's CharterThe Citizen's Charter was a British political initiative launched by the then Prime Minister, John Major, on 22 July 1991, less than a year into his premiership.It aimed to improve public services in the UK by:...
campaign. - John Major announces the abolition of the Community ChargeCommunity ChargeThe Community Charge, popularly known as the "poll tax", was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of the rates to part fund local government in Scotland from 1989, and England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the...
.
- The Government launches its Citizen's Charter
- 28 March - An inquest in SheffieldSheffieldSheffield 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...
into the Hillsborough disasterHillsborough disasterThe Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
records a verdict of accidental death on the 95 people who died as a result of the tragedy almost two years ago. Many of the victims' families criticise the verdict, as many of them had been hoping for a verdict of unlawful killing against the police officers who patrolled the game. - 29 March - Sir John Stradling ThomasJohn Stradling ThomasSir John Stradling Thomas was a Welsh Conservative Party politician.Thomas was educated at Rugby School and the University of London. He served as a councillor on Carmarthen Borough Council 1961-64. He was a farmer, company director and broadcaster.Thomas contested Aberavon in 1964 and...
, Conservative MP for MonmouthMonmouth (UK Parliament constituency)Monmouth is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post of election...
, dies aged 65. - 4 April
- Social services in the Orkney IslandsOrkney IslandsOrkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
are criticised for their handling of more than 100 children who have returned to their families after being taken away over allegations of child abuse. - Labour retains the Neath seat in a by-election with new MP Peter HainPeter HainPeter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
gaining more than half of the vote.
- Social services in the Orkney Islands
- 8 April - The Football Association announces plans for a new "super league" of 18 clubs to replace 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....
as the highest division of English football. The move is attacked by smaller Football League clubs, who fear that they could go out of business if TV revenue was confined to the proposed super league. - 18 April - Despite the continuing recession, the ConservativesConservative 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...
are still top of the opinion polls as the latest MORI poll puts them two points ahead of LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
on 42%. The Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
have trebled their showing in the last 15 months, now gaining 15% of the vote. - 19 April - George CareyGeorge CareyGeorge Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton PC, FKC is a former Archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1991 to 2002. He was the first modern holder of the office not to have attended Oxford or Cambridge University...
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...
. - 23 April - Government confirms that the unpopular Community ChargeCommunity ChargeThe Community Charge, popularly known as the "poll tax", was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of the rates to part fund local government in Scotland from 1989, and England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the...
is to be replaced by a new Council TaxCouncil taxCouncil Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
in 1993. - 5 May - Hopes for a quick end to the recession are boosted by CBIConfederation of British IndustryThe Confederation of British Industry is a British not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal charter which promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies.-Role:The CBI works...
predictions that a sharp recovery in business profits will begin shortly. - 16 May - Unemployment is now at 2,175,000 - the highest since late 1988. It is also above the European average for the first time since 1987.
- 17 May - The Conservatives suffer another by-election defeat when Labour gain their MonmouthMonmouthMonmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
seat 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...
. - 18 May - Helen SharmanHelen SharmanHelen Patricia Sharman, OBE PhD , is a British chemist. She was the first Briton in space, visiting the Mir space station aboard Soyuz TM-12 in 1991....
becomes the first British personBritish peopleThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
in space, flying with the Soyuz TM-12Soyuz TM-12-Mission highlights:12th expedition to Mir. Included first Briton in space.The Derbents welcomed aboard Mir Anatoli Artsebarski, Sergei Krikalev , and British cosmonaut-researcher Helen Sharman, who was aboard as part of Project Juno, a cooperative venture partly sponsored by British private...
mission. As of 2011 she is the only British astronaut. - 21 May - South WalesSouth WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, one of the regions hardest hit by unemployment, receives a boost when the go-ahead is given for 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...
ese electrical company SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
to build a new factory in BridgendBridgendBridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
that will create 1,400 jobs when it opens in 1993. - 22 May - Nearly six months after the breakthrough in the Channel TunnelChannel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
service tunnel, the breakthrough in the North rail tunnel is achieved. On the same day, road links to the British terminal are improved when the final section of the M20 motorwayM20 motorwayThe M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It runs from the M25 motorway to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long...
is opened between MaidstoneMaidstoneMaidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and AshfordAshford, KentAshford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
, meaning that the Chunnel's unbroken motorway link with 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...
has already been completed an estimated three years before the first trains move between Britain and FranceFranceThe 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...
. - 24 May - Labour tops a MORI poll for the first time this year as they stand six points ahead of the Conservatives on 43%.
- 27 May - Eric HefferEric HefferEric Samuel Heffer was a British socialist politician. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton from 1964 until his death. His working-class background and consciousness fed in to his left-wing politics, but to an extent disguised the depth of his knowledge: with 12,000 books in...
, Labour MP for Liverpool WaltonLiverpool Walton (UK Parliament constituency)Liverpool, Walton is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, dies after an 18-month battle against cancer. - 29 May - Economists warn that the economy is still in an "exceptionally steep" recession and that it could be another year before the first real signs of recovery become visible.
- June - KiaKia MotorsKia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, the KoreanSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
carmaker, begins importing cars to the United Kingdom for the first time; initially it will only import the Pride (a rebadged version of the 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...
ese Mazda 121Mazda 121The Mazda 121 name has been used on a variety of Mazda automobiles for various export markets from 1975 until 2002:* 1975–1981 — Piston engined variants of the second generation Mazda Cosmo sports car...
), but at least one further model is expected to join it by 1994. - 3 June - The British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
kill three IRA gunmen in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern 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...
. - 6 June - Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock condemns John Major for high interest rates, as much as 17%, being charged on small businesses by banks.
- 10 June - The National Gallery (London) opens its new Sainsbury Wing to the public.
- 13 June - Unemployment is reported to have risen to 2,250,000, but it is the lowest monthly rise reported this year.
- 19 June - Secretary of State for EmploymentSecretary of State for EmploymentThe Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
Michael HowardMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
announces a £230million plan to tackle rising unemployment. - 25 June - Nissan, the Japanese carmaker with a plant at Sunderland, starts "price wars" by reducing the cost of its cars in order to boost flagging sales brought on by the recession.
- 28 June
- Seven months after her resignation as prime minister, Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
announces that she will stand down as a Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
at the general election, which has to be held within the next 12 months. - The final breakthrough in the Channel Tunnel is achieved when the last section of clay in the South rail tunnel is bored away.
- Seven months after her resignation as prime minister, Margaret Thatcher
- July - South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n produced cars are imported to Britain for the first time, with the launch of the Sao PenzaSao PenzaThe Sao Penza was a car sold in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 1993 by Automotive Holdings, a subsidiary of Mazda Cars Ltd, the official UK importer. It was simply a rebadged version of the Mazda 323, imported from South Africa, where the 1985 model was still assembled by Samcor...
, a rebadged version of the Mazda 323. - 4 July - Labour retains the Walton seat in a by-election, with new MP Peter KilfoylePeter KilfoylePeter Kilfoyle is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton from 1991 to 2010.-Early life:...
gaining more than half of the vote. - 5 July - The Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
closes down the Bank of Credit and Commerce InternationalBank of Credit and Commerce InternationalThe Bank of Credit and Commerce International was a major international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The Bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. Within a decade BCCI touched its peak...
amid fraud allegations. Several local authorities in the UK lose millions of pounds in investments held with the bank. - July - Production of the Vauxhall BelmontVauxhall BelmontThe Vauxhall Belmont was a saloon car sold in the United Kingdom by Vauxhall, the British division of General Motors between January 1986 and July 1991. It was equivalent to a saloon version of the award-winning Opel Kadett E, launched in the autumn of 1984, whose other body styles were marketed...
compact saloon ends, and a newer AstraVauxhall AstraAstra is a model name which has been used by Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of General Motors , on their small family car ranges since 1979. Astras are technically essentially identical with similar vehicles offered by GM's German subsidiary Opel in most other European countries...
range of hatchbacks, estates, saloons and convertibles begins. - 8 July - Two suspected IRA terrorists shoot their way out of Brixton Prison in London.
- 11 July - Labour Party MP, Terry FieldsTerry FieldsTerence Fields was a British trades unionist and Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Broadgreen. He was a supporter of the Militant tendency.-Early life:...
, joins the list of people jailed for refusal to pay Poll TaxPoll taxA poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
after he receives a 60-day prison sentence. He is the first MP to be jailed for refusing to pay the controversial tax which was introduced early last year. - 15 July - 17th G7 summit17th G7 summitThe 17th G7 Summit was held in London, England, United Kingdom between July 15 to 17, 1991. The venue for the summit meetings was Lancaster House in London....
held in London. - 16 July - A government survey of children's school reading reveals that Roald DahlRoald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
, who died eight months ago, has now overtaken Enid BlytonEnid BlytonEnid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
as the most popular author of children's books. - 18 July - Economists warn that unemployment will reach 3,000,000 (a level not seen since early 1987) by the end of next year.
- 23 July - The Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
proposes the merge of 22 army regiments as part of a general reform programme. - 24 July - ChancellorChancellorChancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
Norman Lamont assures the House of Commons that the economic recovery will begin before the end of this year. - 6 August - Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-LeeSir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
establishes the first websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
at CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
. - 8 August - John McCarthyJohn McCarthy (journalist)John Patrick McCarthy CBE is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster, and one of the hostages in the Lebanon hostage crisis...
, a British hostage held in LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
for over 5 years is freed. - 12 August - 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...
reports that every job vacancy is being chased by 22 applicants. - 16 August - The Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
declares that the worst of the current recession is now over. - 23 August - Growing confidence over economic recovery has helped boost the Conservative government's popularity, as they return to the top of the MORI poll with a two-point lead over Labour putting them on 42%.
- 29 August
- Rioting breaks out in 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...
and CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. - Princess Diana attends the funeral of Adrian Ward-Jackson, her friend who died of AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
earlier this month. - Alick Buchanan-SmithAlick Buchanan-SmithAlick Laidlaw Buchanan-Smith was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist politician.The second son of Alick Drummond Buchanan-Smith, Baron Balerno and Mary Kathleen Smith, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Glenalmond College, Pembroke College, Cambridge and University of Edinburgh...
, Conservative MP for Kincardine and Deeside, dies aged 59.
- Rioting breaks out in Leeds
- 30 August - 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...
runner Liz McColganLiz McColganElizabeth McColgan MBE is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games...
becomes the first British gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, 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...
. - 3 September - Following the recent outbreaks of violence in Leeds and Cardiff, rioting breaks out at HandsworthHandsworth, West MidlandsHandsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
in 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...
, Kates HillKates HillKates Hill is a residential area in Dudley, West Midlands, England.-History:Kates Hill was the scene of chaos in 1648 when parliamentarians used it as their base in the Civil War against King Charles I...
in DudleyDudleyDudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and Blackbird LeysBlackbird LeysBlackbird Leys is a civil parish and ward in Oxford, England, and is one of the largest council estates in Europe. According to the 2001 census, the ward had a population of 5,803. Unlike most parts of the City of Oxford, the area has a civil parish. The parish was created in 1990. Its 2001 parish...
in OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. - 12 September - Unemployment has hit 2,400,000 - the highest level since the spring of 1988 - completing a 50% rise in just over a year. However, the rate of rising unemployment is slowing down and retail sales are improving.
- 13 September - Further rioting breaks out in TynesideTynesideTyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
. - 14 September - George Buckley, Labour MP for HemsworthHemsworth (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 2000s:- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1940s :- Elections in the 1930s :- Elections in the 1920s :...
in West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest 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....
), dies aged 56. - 15 September - A poll shows that 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...
leader Neil KinnockNeil KinnockNeil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
is a liability to his party, who are now behind John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
's Conservative PartyConservative 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...
in the opinion polls. - 17 September - Neil Kinnock hits out at claims that he is to blame for his party falling behind in the opinion polls, sparking speculation that John Major will call a general election within the next two months.
- 19 September - Robin Leigh-Pemberton, governor of the Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
, says that he is confident that the recession is now over in Britain. - 21 September - Richard HoltRichard HoltRichard Holt was British Conservative Member of Parliament for Langbaurgh from 1983 until he died suddenly in his sleep, aged 60 in 1991. His successor in the resulting by-election was Labour's Ashok Kumar...
, Conservative MP for LangbaurghLangbaurgh (UK Parliament constituency)Langbaurgh was a parliamentary constituency in the Langbaurgh area of North East England to the east of Middlesbrough. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system, and existed from 1983 to...
in Cleveland, dies suddenly at the age of 60. - 25 September - Kidnappers in Beirut release hostage Jackie MannJackie MannJackie Mann DFM was a British former RAF fighter pilot in the "Battle of Britain", who in later life was kidnapped by Islamic Jihadist terrorists in Lebanon in May 1989, and held hostage for more than two years.- Early life :...
after over 2 years in captivity. - October - VauxhallVauxhall MotorsVauxhall 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...
launches the third generation of its popular AstraVauxhall AstraAstra is a model name which has been used by Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of General Motors , on their small family car ranges since 1979. Astras are technically essentially identical with similar vehicles offered by GM's German subsidiary Opel in most other European countries...
family hatchback and estate, with saloon and cabriolet variants due next year. - 2 October - Just over two weeks after Neil Kinnock was damned by a poll as a "liability" to the Labour Party, the leader and his MPs are celebrating after they overtake the Conservatives by two points in the opinion polls.
- 9 October - The first SumoSumois a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
tournmament to be held outside 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...
is hosted at the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
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...
. - 11 October - John Major outlines his vision of a "classless" Britain in a party conference at BlackpoolBlackpoolBlackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, where his predecessor Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
voices her support for him. - 17 October - The smallest monthly rise in unemployment since last November is cited by the government as an "unmistakable" sign that the recession is drawing to a close.
- 18 October - Labour's hopes of election success are boosted by the latest MORI poll, which shows them six points ahead of the Conservatives on 45%.
- 19 October - CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
makes history when his hit single (Everything I Do) I Do It for You(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" I Do It for You" is a power ballad performed by Bryan Adams and co-written with Michael Kamen and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, featured on the soundtrack album from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and on Adams' album Waking Up the Neighbours...
, which features in the film Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves (released on 14 June this year, and starring Kevin CostnerKevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
) enters its 15th successive week at number one in the UK singles charts. - 22 October - Leonora Knatchbull, the five-year-old daughter of Norton Knatchbull, 8th Baron BrabourneNorton Knatchbull, 8th Baron BrabourneNorton Louis Philip Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne , known until 2005 as Lord Romsey, is a British Peer.-Life and education:...
and his wife Penelope, dies after a one-year battle against a kidney tumour. She was also a great-grandchild of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRAProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
in 1979. She is buried at Romsey AbbeyRomsey AbbeyRomsey Abbey is a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the dissolution it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery.-Background:...
on 26 October. - 23 October - In the legal case of R v R decided on appeal, the Law Lords unanimously decide that spousal rapeSpousal rapeMarital rape, also known as spousal rape, is non-consensual sex in which the perpetrator is the victim's spouse. As such, it as a form of partner rape, of domestic violence, and of sexual abuse. Once widely condoned or ignored by law, spousal rape is now repudiated by international conventions and...
is a crime in England and Wales, overturning the principle established by Chief Justice HaleMatthew Hale (jurist)Sir Matthew Hale SL was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise Historia Placitorum Coronæ, or The History of the Pleas of the Crown. Born to a barrister and his wife, who had both died by the time he was 5, Hale was raised by his father's relative, a strict...
in 1736. - 27 October - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" I Do It for You" is a power ballad performed by Bryan Adams and co-written with Michael Kamen and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, featured on the soundtrack album from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and on Adams' album Waking Up the Neighbours...
, the power ballad performed by CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, loses its number one position at the top of the singles charts after a record 16 consecutive weeks, displaced by U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's The Fly. - 29 October - Hopes that the recession is drawing to a close are boosted by CBIConfederation of British IndustryThe Confederation of British Industry is a British not for profit organisation incorporated by Royal charter which promotes the interests of its members, some 200,000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100 companies and around 50% of FTSE 350 companies.-Role:The CBI works...
findings that show that manufacturers are now more optimistic than at any time in the past three years. - November
- Computer retailer PC WorldPC World (retailer)PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
opens its first store in CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. - Dr Alan SkedAlan SkedAlan Sked is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics . He studied History at Glasgow, then Merton College, Oxford. His doctoral supervisor at Oxford was A. J. P. Taylor, who was a major influence on Sked. In particular, Sked's writings on the Habsburg Monarchy owe much...
forms the Anti-Federalist LeagueAnti-Federalist LeagueThe Anti-Federalist League was a small cross-party organisation in Britain, formed in 1991 to campaign against the Maastricht Treaty. It is mainly remembered now as the forerunner of the United Kingdom Independence Party....
, a political party aiming to field election candidates opposed to the Maastricht TreatyMaastricht TreatyThe Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
.
- Computer retailer PC World
- 1 November - The recent upturn in Labour's fortunes seems to have ended as the Latest MORI poll places the Conservatives a point ahead at the top of the opinion polls on 42%.
- 5 November - Robert MaxwellRobert MaxwellIan Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
, owner of numerous business interests including the Daily Mirror newspaper, is found dead off the coast of TenerifeTenerifeTenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
; his cause of death is unconfirmed, but reports suggest that he has committed suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. - 7 November - Labour retains its control of Hemsworth in the by-election, with the new MP being Derek EnrightDerek EnrightDerek Anthony Enright was a Labour politician in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Born in Thornaby-on-Tees, he attended the St Michael's College on St John's Road in Leeds , then a grammar school...
, while the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
gain Kincardine and DeesideKincardine and Deeside (UK Parliament constituency)Kincardine and Deeside was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It was mainly replaced by West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, apart from the parts of the seat within the borders of Aberdeen City Council, which joined...
from the Conservatives in another by-election. Another by-election sees the Conservatives lose Langbaurgh to Labour, who gain a new MP in 35-year-old IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n born Ashok KumarAshok KumarAshok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...
. - 9 November - First ever controlled and substantial production of fusion energy achieved at the Joint European TorusJoint European TorusJET, the Joint European Torus, is the largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment worldwide currently in operation. Its main purpose is to open the way to future nuclear fusion experimental tokamak reactors such as ITER and :DEMO....
in OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. - 15 November - Britain's hopes of economy recovery are dealt with a major blow when shares on the Wall StreetWall StreetWall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
Stock ExchangeStock exchangeA stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
fall by 120 points. - 16 November - Two IRA bombers die in St AlbansSt AlbansSt Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, when a bomb explodes prematurely. - 18 November - Terry WaiteTerry WaiteTerry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
, a British hostage held in LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, is freed after four-and-a-half years in captivity. - 23 November - Freddie MercuryFreddie MercuryFreddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
, the lead singer of rock band QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, announces that he is suffering from AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. The British media had been speculating about 45-year-old Mercury's health since last year1990 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1990 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative , John Major, Conservative-Events:...
. - 24 November - Freddie Mercury dies at his home 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...
, just 24 hours after going public with the news that he was suffering from AIDS. - 26 November - Julin BristolJulin BristolJulin Bristol was the last British nuclear test, and took place at the Nevada Test Site on 26 November 1991. With a yield of less than 20 kilotons it may have been a proof test of some aspect of the British-designed warheads fitted to those Trident missiles in the British arsenal, possibly of a...
, the last UK nuclear test, takes place at the Nevada Test SiteNevada Test SiteThe Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
. - 27 November
- Freddie Mercury is cremated after a funeral service at West London Crematorium.
- The government announces that joyriders who are found guilty should face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment as well as unlimited fines and unlimited automatic driving bans.
- 28 November - First performance of Alan BennettAlan BennettAlan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
's play The Madness of George IIIThe Madness of George III (play)The Madness of George III is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of Great Britain, his battle with mental illness and the inability of his court to handle his condition...
in London. - 1 December - Thousands of British shops, including retail giants AsdaAsdaAsda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
and TescoTescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, defy trading laws and open their doors on a Sunday in a bid to boost trade that has been badly hit by the ongoing recession. - 5 December - The Robert Maxwell Business Empire goes into receivership with £1billion+ debts, exactly one month after Robert Maxwell's death. The Daily Mirror reports that Maxwell had wrongly removed £350million from its pension fund shortly before he died.
- 10 December - Ronald CoaseRonald CoaseRonald Harry Coase is a British-born, American-based economist and the Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago Law School. After studying with the University of London External Programme in 1927–29, Coase entered the London School of Economics, where he took...
wins the Nobel Prize in Economics "for his discovery and clarification of the significance of transaction costs and property rights for the institutional structure and functioning of the economy". - 16 December - Stella RimingtonStella RimingtonDame Stella Rimington, DCB is a British author, who was the Director General of MI5 from 1992 to 1996. She was the first female DG of MI5, and the first DG whose name was publicised on appointment...
announced as the first female director general of MI5MI5The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
. - 19 December - Unemployment is now above 2,500,000 for the first time since early 1988.
- 23 December - Bohemian RhapsodyBohemian Rhapsody"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
returns to the top of the British singles charts after 16 years, with the re-release's proceeds being donated to the Terence Higgins Trust. - 27 December - The last MORI poll of 1991 shows that Labour are six points ahead of the Conservatives with 44% of the vote.
- 29 December - A quarterly opinion poll shows that Neil Kinnock and Labour are three points ahead of John Major and the Conservatives, sparking hope for Labour that they will win the next election (which has to be held within five months) or at least the election will result in a hung parliamentHung parliamentIn a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
for the first time since 1974.
Undated
- The economy remains rooted in the recession which began last year.
- Despite the deepening recession, inflation has been substantially decreased to 5.9%.
- The Communist Party of Great BritainCommunist Party of Great BritainThe Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
dissolves. - Scout GroupScout GroupThe Scout Group is the local organisation for Scouting in most countries where it is active. It combines together the different sections into a single body. Scout Groups can consist of any number of sections in the different Age Groups in Scouting and Guiding...
s may admit girls to all their sections. - Despite the onset of the recession and a sharp fall in new car sales (with fewer than 1,600,000 new cars being sold in 1991 compared to the record of more than 2,300,000 in 1989), Nissan's British car plant at SunderlandCity of SunderlandThe City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
returns a profit for the first time, making £18.4million this year. It currently only makes the PrimeraNissan PrimeraThe Nissan Primera is a medium sized family car produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan for the Japanese domestic and European markets.-Nissan Primera P10 :...
family saloon and hatchbacks there, but from August next year it will be joined by the new version of the entry-level Micra.
Publications
- Martin AmisMartin AmisMartin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
's novel Time's ArrowTime's Arrow (novel)Time's Arrow: or The Nature of the Offence is a novel by Martin Amis. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize .- Plot summary :The novel recounts the life of a German Holocaust doctor in a disorienting reverse chronology...
. - Beryl BainbridgeBeryl BainbridgeDame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...
's novel The Birthday BoysThe Birthday BoysThe Birthday Boys is a novel by Beryl Bainbridge. First published in 1991, this book tells the story of Captain Robert Scott's 1910-13 expedition to Antarctica.-Plot introduction:...
. - Iain M. Banks' short story collection The State of the ArtThe State of the ArtThe State of the Art is a short story collection by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1991. The collection includes some stories originally published under his other byline, Iain Banks as well as the title novella and others set in Banks' Culture fictional universe.-Summary:*Road of...
. - Pat BarkerPat BarkerPat Barker CBE, FRSL is an English writer and novelist. She has won many awards for her fiction, which centres around themes of memory, trauma, survival and recovery. Her work is described as direct, blunt and plainspoken.-Personal life:...
's novel RegenerationRegeneration (novel)For the 1997 film adaptation of the novel see Regeneration .Regeneration is a prize-winning novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1991. The novel was a Booker Prize nominee and was described by the New York Times Book Review as one of the four best novels of the year in its year of publication...
. - Louis de BernièresLouis de BernièresLouis de Bernières is a British novelist most famous for his fourth novel, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Novelists", part of a promotion in Granta magazine...
' novel Señor Vivo and the Coca LordSeñor Vivo and the Coca LordSeñor Vivo and the Coca Lord is a novel by Louis de Bernières, first published in 1991. It is the second of his Latin American trilogy, following on from The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts and preceding The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman.- Setting :Set in an imagined Latin American...
. - Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's DiscworldDiscworldDiscworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novels Reaper ManReaper ManReaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
and Witches AbroadWitches AbroadWitches Abroad is the twelfth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, originally published in 1991.-Plot:Following the death of Witch, Desiderata Hollow, Magrat Garlick is sent her magic wand, for Desiderata was not only a witch, but also a Fairy Godmother. Having given the wand to Magrat, she...
.
Births
- 12 January - Pixie LottPixie LottVictoria Louise "Pixie" Lott is an English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress. Her debut single "Mama Do" was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Her second single "Boys and Girls", also topped the UK charts in September 2009. Her debut album Turn It...
, singer - 31 January - Amy JacksonAmy JacksonAmy Louise Jackson is a British model and film actress. Before starting her acting career, Jackson won the Miss Teen World competition in 2008 and went on to win Miss Liverpool in 2010 and was hotly tipped to be Miss England in 2010 but lost out to Jessica Linley...
, model and actress - 17 February - Bonnie WrightBonnie WrightBonnie Francesca Wright is a British actress and fashion model. She is best known for playing Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film series.-Early life and education:...
, actress - 23 March - George William Carnegie, second son of the Earl of SoutheskDavid Carnegie, Earl of SoutheskDavid Charles Carnegie, Earl of Southesk , styled Earl of Macduff until 16 February 1992, is the only son of the 3rd Duke of Fife, and his former wife, now The Hon. Lady Worsley...
and grandson of the Duke of FifeJames Carnegie, 3rd Duke of FifeJames George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife is a great grandson of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and a member of the extended British Royal Family, in the line of succession to the British Throne... - 27 April - Rebecca RyanRebecca RyanRebecca Ryan is an English actress from Manchester. She is best known as Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 series Shameless, and as Vicki McDonald in the BBC show Waterloo Road....
, actress - 16 June - Joe McElderryJoe McElderryJoseph "Joe" McElderry is an English singer and model. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Charts. He was also crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar, two...
, singer - 14 July - Lewis McGibbonLewis McGibbonLewis Owen McGibbon is an English actor, whose first movie performance was the critically praised role of Anthony, the elder and more materialistic son in Danny Boyle's 2004 family comedy, Millions...
, actor - 30 July - Diana VickersDiana VickersDiana Vickers is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2008...
, singer - 5 September - Skandar KeynesSkandar KeynesSkandar Keynes is a British actor. He is best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005. He has appeared in all three installments, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and most recently The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was...
, actor - 13 October - Sarah Payne, murder victim (killed 20002000 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2000 in the United Kingdom.-January:* Japanese carmaker Nissan adds a third model to its factory near Sunderland; the new version of the Almera hatchback and slaoon, which goes on sale in March....
) - 19 December - Declan GalbraithDeclan GalbraithDeclan John Galbraith is an English singer. He is best known for his 2002 hit single, "Tell Me Why", which peaked at #29 in the UK Singles Chart.-Early influence:...
, singer
Deaths
- 8 January - Steve ClarkSteve ClarkStephen Maynard Clark was an English musician, co-lead guitarist for the British hard rock band Def Leppard up until his death in 1991 due to a combination of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs...
, guitarist (Def LeppardDef LeppardDef Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
) (born 1960) - 14 January - Donald ColemanDonald ColemanDonald Richard Coleman, CBE, JP, DL was the Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for Neath from 1964 until his death in 1991....
, politician (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:...
) - 20 January - Alfred WainwrightAlfred WainwrightAlfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
, author and illustrator (born 1907) - 21 February - Margot FonteynMargot FonteynDame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
, ballet dancer (born 19191919 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1919 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-Events:* 1 January - In Scotland, HMS Iolaire is wrecked on rocks: 205 die....
) - 21 March - George AbecassisGeorge AbecassisGeorge Edgar Abecassis DFC was an English racing driver, and co-founder of the HWM Formula One team.-Pre-1946 career:...
, race car driver (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....
) - 20 April - Steve MarriottSteve MarriottStephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
, singer, musician (Small Faces and Humble PieHumble Pie (band)Humble Pie was a rock band from England, finding success both in the UK and the US. They are remembered for songs such as "Black Coffee" "30 Days in the Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", and "Natural Born Bugie"...
) (born 19471947 in the United KingdomEvents 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....
) - 24 March - Maudie EdwardsMaudie EdwardsMaudie Edwards was a Welsh actress and singer, now best remembered as a member of the original cast of Coronation Street....
, actress and singer (born 19061906 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1906 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:...
) - 16 April - David LeanDavid LeanSir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
, film director and producer (born 19081908 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1908 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal , H. H...
) - 22 May - Stan MortensenStan MortensenStanley Harding "Stan" Mortensen was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final , in which he became the only player ever to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup Final...
, former footballer (born 19211921 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1921 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-January to June:* 1 January - Car tax discs introduced....
) - 31 May - Angus WilsonAngus WilsonSir Angus Frank Johnstone Wilson, CBE was an English novelist and short story writer. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot and later received a knighthood for his services to literature.-Biography:Wilson was born in Bexhill, Sussex, England, to...
, novelist and short story writer (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....
) - 14 June
- Peggy AshcroftPeggy AshcroftDame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
, actress (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....
) - Bernard MilesBernard MilesBernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
, actor and director (born 1907)
- Peggy Ashcroft
- 15 June - Arthur Lewis, economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 19151915 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1915 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I, which had broken out in the August of the previous year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 12 August - Edward George BowenEdward George BowenEdward George 'Taffy' Bowen, CBE, FRS was a British physicist who made a major contribution to the development of radar, and so helped win both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic...
, CBE, physicist (born 19111911 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1911 in the United Kingdom. This is a Coronation and Census year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 30 August - Cyril KnowlesCyril KnowlesCyril Barry Knowles was a footballer who played full-back for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He was the brother of fellow professional footballer Peter Knowles.- Early career :...
, footballer (born 19441944 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1944 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Winston Churchill, coalition-Events:...
) - 27 September -
- - Roy FullerRoy FullerRoy Broadbent Fuller was an English writer, known mostly as a poet. He was born in Failsworth, Lancashire, and brought up in Blackpool. He worked as a lawyer for a building society, serving in the Royal Navy 1941-1946.Poems was his first book of poetry. He began to write fiction also in the 1950s...
, poet (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....
)- - Joe HulmeJoe HulmeJoseph Harold Anthony "Joe" Hulme was an English footballer and cricketer.-Football career:Born in Stafford, Staffordshire Hulme usually played as a right-winger...
, former footballer and cricketer (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...
)
- - Joe Hulme
- - Roy Fuller
- 13 October - Donald HoustonDonald HoustonDonald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
, actor (born 19231923 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1923 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative Party , Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 27 October - George BarkerGeorge Barker (poet)George Granville Barker was an English poet and author.-Life and work:Barker was born in Loughton, near Epping Forest in Essex, England, elder brother of Kit Barker [painter] George Barker was raised by his Irish mother and English father in Battersea, London. He was educated at an L.C.C. school...
, poet (born 1913) - 5 November - Robert MaxwellRobert MaxwellIan Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
, media proprietor (born 1923, Czechoslovakia) - 14 November - Tony RichardsonTony RichardsonCecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
, film director (born 19281928 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1928 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 24 November - Freddie MercuryFreddie MercuryFreddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
, singer (QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
) (born 19461946 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1946 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Clement Attlee, Labour-Events:* 1 January** The first international flight from London Heathrow Airport, to Buenos Aires....
) - 4 December - Cliff BastinCliff BastinClifford Sydney Bastin was an English football player.Born in Heavitree near Exeter, Bastin started his career at Exeter City, making his debut for the club in 1928, at the age of 16...
, former footballer (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....
) - 6 December - Richard StoneRichard StoneSir John Richard Nicholas Stone was an eminent British economist who in 1984 received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for developing an accounting model that could be used to track economic activities on a national and, later, an international scale...
, economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)