I often wonder what significant anniversaries are due at some point in the future as some of them might be of interest as triggers for blog posts or visits somewhere. However, it is often difficult to find out quickly what events have significant anniversaries - hence this section on the website.
By "significant anniversaries", I mean dates that are not, for example, the 73rd anniversary of something, but the 50th, 100th, 200th etc.
It should help to flag up interesting events.
Significant anniversaries during May 2020
Anniversary | Details |
1st | The UK's first 5G mobile network becomes operational, initially covering parts of six cities: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Manchester. (30th May 2019) |
1st | The first black female Oxbridge master, Sonia Alleyne, is appointed to lead Jesus College, Cambridge, from October. (26th May 2019) |
1st | Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Conservative Party leader, effective 7 June. (24th May 2019) |
1st | Jamie Oliver's restaurant group collapses into administration, putting 1,300 jobs at risk. (21st May 2019) |
1st | The Ministry of Justice announces plans to introduce "Helen's Law", which would require a person convicted of murder without the presence of a body to reveal the location of their victim's remains before being considered for parole. (17th May 2019) |
1st | The Jeremy Kyle Show is suspended indefinitely following the death of a participant, shortly after appearing on an unbroadcast programme. The show is axed by ITV two days later. (13th May 2019) |
1st | Broadcaster Danny Baker is fired from BBC Radio 5 Live after tweeting a "royal baby" image of a chimpanzee. (9th May 2019) |
1st | A British teenager, Isabelle Holdaway, 17, is reported to be the first patient to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection. (8th May 2019) |
1st | Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is sacked, after a leak from a National Security Council meeting, in which plans by Chinese firm Huawei to contribute to the UK's 5G network were discussed. He is replaced by Penny Mordaunt. (1st May 2019) |
5th | An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 is felt across East Kent. (22nd May 2015) |
5th | Cashless payments now exceed the use of notes and coins, with cash volumes expected to fall by 30% over the next ten years, according to the Payments Council. (21st May 2015) |
5th | The Church of Scotland votes to allow the ordination of gay ministers in civil partnerships. (16th May 2015) |
5th | Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a daughter at St Mary's Hospital in London who becomes fourth in line to the throne and Queen Elizabeth II's fifth great-grandchild. She is subsequently named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. (2nd May 2015) |
10th | Netto announced the sale of all its UK stores to Asda in a £778 million deal. (27th May 2010) |
10th | After a month of disruption, flight restrictions were lifted at all British airports after the volcanic ash over the nation's airspace moved away. (17th May 2010) |
10th | Stephen Timms, Labour MP and former treasury minister, was wounded in a stabbing in his East Ham constituency in Newham, London. (14th May 2010) |
10th | With a coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats still being finalised, David Cameron was appointed Prime Minister by the Queen following Brown's resignation. (11th May 2010) |
60th | More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. (6th May 1960) |
75th | William Joyce, known as "Lord Haw-Haw" is captured. He is later charged with high treason in London for his English-language wartime broadcasts on German radio. He is hanged in January 1946. (28th May 1945) |
75th | German forces in the Channel Islands, the only occupied part of the British Isles, surrender. (12th May 1945) |
75th | World War II: The Channel Islands are liberated by the British after five years of German occupation. (9th May 1945) |
75th | World War II: V-E Day, combat ends in Europe. German forces agree in Rheims, France, to an unconditional surrender. (8th May 1945) |
75th | V-E Day is celebrated throughout the UK. Churchill makes a victory speech and appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Street parties take place throughout the country. (8th May 1945) |
80th | Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons. (13th May 1940) |
80th | World War II: The first German bombs of the war fall on England at Chilham and Petham, in Kent. (10th May 1940) |
80th | World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister (10th May 1940) |
80th | The Norway Debate in the House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later. (7th May 1940) |
125th | Oscar Wilde is convicted of "committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison. (25th May 1895) |
175th | Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England. (19th May 1845) |
200th | Launch of HMS Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage. (11th May 1820) |
350th | King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America. (2nd May 1670) |
Alternatively, see all anniversaries for this month.
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