Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

All British Historical Anniversaries in September 2015

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.

Anniversaries during September 2015

Note: This page lists ALL anniversaries, not just the key dates.
For that more useful list, click here.

AnniversaryDetails
483rd Lady Anne Boleyn is made Marquess of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII of England. (1st Sep 1532)
95th The Fountain of Time opens as a tribute to the 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain following the Treaty of Ghent. (1st Sep 1920)
57th Iceland expands its fishing zone, putting it into conflict with the United Kingdom, beginning the Cod Wars. (1st Sep 1958)
-3rd As part of the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs, it becomes illegal to import non-directional halogen light bulbs into the United Kingdom. (1st Sep 2018)
-2nd Women are eligible to join the RAF Regiment, making the Royal Air Force the first of the British armed services to accept both genders in all roles. (1st Sep 2017)
-1st The Francis Crick Institute, Europe's largest biomedical research facility, opens in London. (1st Sep 2016)
61st Kidbrooke School in the London Borough of Greenwich opens as Britain's first purpose-built comprehensive school. (exact day unclear). (1st Sep 1954)
47th First phase of the Victoria Line on the London Underground opens between Walthamstow and Highbury. (1st Sep 1968)
69th Opening of the Britain Can Make It exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, promoted by the Council of Industrial Design and the Board of Trade to show off good domestic and industrial design. (1st Sep 1946)
249th "Bread and butter riots": civil unrest across England following a poor harvest. (1st Sep 1766)
5th Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's memoirs, A Journey, are published, containing criticisms of his successor, Gordon Brown, claiming that Brown could be "maddening" and is "lacking emotional intelligence". (1st Sep 2010)
8th The Gaming Act 1845 was repealed meaning that, for the first time in more than 150 years, gambling debts can be enforced by the courts. (1st Sep 2007)
-7th In one of his last actions as Prime Minister, Johnson confirms that the government will provide £700 million in funding for the Sizewell C nuclear power station. (1st Sep 2022)
-6th Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab appears before MPs of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and is questioned about the ending of the UK's campaign in Afghanistan. (1st Sep 2021)
263rd Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe. (2nd Sep 1752)
208th The Royal Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon. (2nd Sep 1807)
-3rd A huge fire destroys part of the Littlewoods Pools building, one of the most famous landmarks in Liverpool. (2nd Sep 2018)
-1st Nicholas Chamberlain, the Bishop of Grantham becomes the first Church of England bishop to openly declare he is gay and in a relationship. (2nd Sep 2016)
126th Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. move into their new Molineux stadium in the grounds of Wolverhampton's Molineux Hotel. (2nd Sep 1889)
99th William Leefe-Robinson becomes the first pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain. (2nd Sep 1916)
172nd The Economist newspaper first published (preliminary issue dated August). (2nd Sep 1843)
-7th Sky News reports that a Cabinet minister and a senior Downing Street aide in the Johnson Government are facing allegations of sexual misconduct following claims made by two women at Westminster. (2nd Sep 2022)
-7th Following an 11-hour meeting between unions and council leaders hosted by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh, unions call off school and bin strikes in Scotland. (2nd Sep 2022)
-7th Buckingham Palace confirms the Queen will miss the 2022 Braemar Games, which she was scheduled to attend the following day. Prince Charles will attend instead. (2nd Sep 2022)
-7th Extinction Rebellion stage a protest in the House of Commons, with three people gluing themselves together next to the Speaker's chair and demanding a "citizens' assembly" to discuss the climate crisis. (2nd Sep 2022)
826th Richard I of England (a.k.a. Richard "the Lionheart") is crowned at Westminster. (3rd Sep 1189)
365th In the Battle of Dunbar, English Parliamentarian forces led by Oliver Cromwell defeat an army loyal to King Charles II of England and led by David Leslie, Lord Newark. (3rd Sep 1650)
364th Battle of Worcester - Charles II of England is defeated in the last main battle of the Third English Civil war. (3rd Sep 1651)
357th Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England (3rd Sep 1658)
213th William Wordsworth composes the sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge. (3rd Sep 1802)
212th English scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements. (3rd Sep 1803)
137th Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat Princess Alice collides with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames. (3rd Sep 1878)
80th Sir Malcolm Campbell reaches a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph (3rd Sep 1935)
76th France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies. (3rd Sep 1939)
2nd The Library of Birmingham, the largest public library in the UK, is opened. (3rd Sep 2013)
131st The United Kingdom ends its policy of penal transportation to New South Wales in Australia. (4th Sep 1884)
76th World War II: a Bristol Blenheim is the first British aircraft to cross the German coast following the declaration of war and German ships are bombed. (4th Sep 1939)
71st World War II: the British 11th Armoured Division liberates the Belgian city of Antwerp. (4th Sep 1944)
51st Scotland's Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh officially opens. (4th Sep 1964)
-2nd A survey by the National Centre for Social Research finds that, for the first time, a majority (53%) of adults in the UK describe themselves as non-religious. (4th Sep 2017)
60th Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall become the first BBC Television newsreaders to be seen reading the news. (4th Sep 1955)
39th Peace March in Derry attracts 25,000 people in a call to end violence in Northern Ireland. (4th Sep 1976)
349th A large fire breaks out in the City of London in the house of a baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. The fire destroys more than 13,000 buildings including Old St Paul's Cathedral. (4th Sep 1666)
12th The rebuilt Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore. (4th Sep 2003)
-7th A 21-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of trespass after climbing The Shard in central London. Two other men are detained on suspicion of causing a public nuisance. (4th Sep 2022)
215th Napoleon surrenders Malta to Great Britain. (5th Sep 1800)
128th Fire at Theatre Royal in Exeter, England killed 186. (5th Sep 1887)
52nd Christine Keeler is arrested for perjury. On 6th December she is sentenced to 9 months in prison. (5th Sep 1963)
101st Cover of magazine London Opinion first carries the iconic drawing by Alfred Leete of Lord Kitchener with the recruiting slogan Your Country Needs You. (5th Sep 1914)
40th The London Hilton hotel was bombed by the IRA killing two people and injuring 63 others. (5th Sep 1975)
49th Selective Employment Tax imposed. (5th Sep 1966)
57th a severe storm over the South-East of England seriously disrupts communications. (5th Sep 1958)
14th Peter Bray completes the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a kayak. (5th Sep 2001)
-7th September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election: Liz Truss is elected as the leader of the Conservative Party, beating Rishi Sunak, winning 57.4% of the members' vote to Sunak's 42.6%. (5th Sep 2022)
234th The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting a British victory. (6th Sep 1781)
127th Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season - a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times). (6th Sep 1888)
66th Allied military authorities relinquish control of former Nazi Germany assets back to German control. (6th Sep 1949)
-3rd The 659-megawatt Walney Extension, the world's largest offshore wind farm, opens off the coast of Cumbria. (6th Sep 2018)
102nd Arsenal F.C., previously based in Plumstead, South London, move into their new stadium at Highbury, North London. (6th Sep 1913)
100th Little Willie, the prototype military tank developed by William Foster & Co. of Lincoln, is first tested by the British Army. (6th Sep 1915)
149th The Great Tea Race of 1866 ends in London, narrowly won by the clipper ship Taeping. (6th Sep 1866)
249th Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, marries the illegitimately-born Maria Walpole, Dowager Countess of Waldegrave at her home in Pall Mall, London, an event kept secret from his brother the King until after passage of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. (6th Sep 1766)
67th flying the de Havilland DH 108, John Derry becomes the first British pilot to break the sound barrier. (6th Sep 1948)
-7th Liz Truss becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and forms the Truss ministry. (6th Sep 2022)
-7th For the first time in British political history, no white men hold positions in the Great Offices of State. (6th Sep 2022)
-6th The government announces a plan to increase the limit for human sperm, egg and embryo cryopreservation from 10 to 55 years. (6th Sep 2021)
824th Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf - Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. (7th Sep 1191)
239th World's first submarine attack: the American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor. (7th Sep 1776)
108th Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City. (7th Sep 1907)
75th World War II: The Blitz - Nazi Germany begins to rain bombs on London. This will be the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. (7th Sep 1940)
37th While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Giullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially-designed umbrella. (7th Sep 1978)
3rd Greater Gabbard wind farm construction completed. (7th Sep 2012)
122nd Featherstone 'Massacre': troops fire on locked-out coal miners, killing two. (7th Sep 1893)
14th One million children in over 3,000 schools participate in an experiment to discover if it is possible to create earthquakes by all jumping off chairs. (7th Sep 2001)
-6th In the Commons, Johnson reveals the government's long-awaited plan for social care reforms, including a 1.25% rise in National Insurance to raise £36bn over three years, and a cap of £86,000 on lifetime care costs in England. (7th Sep 2021)
288th A barn fire during a puppet show in the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire, England kills 78 people, many of whom are children. (8th Sep 1727)
254th Marriage of King George III of the United Kingdom to Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. (8th Sep 1761)
127th In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found. (8th Sep 1888)
127th In England the first six Football League matches are played. (8th Sep 1888)
101st World War I: Private Thomas Highgate becomes the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war. (8th Sep 1914)
71st World War II: London is hit by a V2 rocket for the first time. (8th Sep 1944)
53rd Last run of the famous Pines Express over the Somerset and Dorset Railway line (UK) fittingly using the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, 9F locomotive 92220 Evening Star. (8th Sep 1962)
49th The Severn Bridge is officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. (8th Sep 1966)
48th The formal end of steam traction in the North East of England by British Railways. (8th Sep 1967)
42nd The IRA detonated bombs in Manchester and Victoria Station in London -- followed 2 days later with bombs at King's Cross and Euston railway stations, then in Oxford Street and Sloane Square two days later. (8th Sep 1973)
69th Mass squat by homeless families of empty properties in London organised by the Communist Party. (8th Sep 1946)
79th Arson attack on a school building at Penyberth on the Llyn Peninsula as part of the Tan yn Llyn campaign. (8th Sep 1936)
-7th In the early afternoon, Buckingham Palace announces that the Queen is under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health. Senior members of the royal family travel to Balmoral to be with her. (8th Sep 2022)
-7th Death of Elizabeth II: At 6:30pm, Buckingham Palace announces that Queen Elizabeth II has died peacefully, aged 96. Charles becomes King of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth of Nations upon the death of his mother. (8th Sep 2022)
-7th (8th Sep 2022)
-7th Following the announcement of the Queen's death, the RMT and ASLEF rail unions suspend strikes planned for 15 and 17 September. A Royal Mail strike planned for the following day is also suspended. (8th Sep 2022)
-7th Liz Truss announces plans to limit energy bills, with a bill for a typical household capped at £2,500 a year for the next two years. A new six month scheme to limit bills for businesses is also announced. (8th Sep 2022)
-6th MPs vote in favour of the government's NHS and social care tax rise plan by 319 votes to 248, a majority of 71. (8th Sep 2021)
502nd James IV of Scotland is defeated and dies in the Battle of Flodden Field, ending Scotland's involvement in the War of the League of Cambrai. (9th Sep 1513)
472nd Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned "Queen of Scots" in the central Scottish town of Stirling. (9th Sep 1543)
176th John Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph. (9th Sep 1839)
101st World War I: The creation of the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, the first fully mechanized unit in the British Army. (9th Sep 1914)
77th Auxiliary Territorial Service, as a women's voluntary service. (9th Sep 1938)
6th Westcountry Television completes the digital switchover process with the turning off of all analogue signals from the Caradon Hill transmitter. (9th Sep 2009)
-7th The House of Commons begins two days of tributes to the Queen, after which Parliament will be suspended until after 21 September. Liz Truss opens the proceedings by describing the late monarch as "one of the greatest leaders the world has known". (9th Sep 2022)
-7th Across the country, members of the public leave flowers and tributes outside palaces and churches to mark the Queen's passing. Gun salutes are fired in many locations, including British overseas territories such as Gibraltar. King Charles III and Queen Camilla, meet crowds outside Buckingham Palace. In a televised address from inside the palace, Charles renews his mother's "lifelong promise of service", calling her his "darling mama". A service of prayer and reflection is later held at St Paul's Cathedral. The service closes with the first official singing of God Save the King in over 70 years. (9th Sep 2022)
-7th A man is arrested at Birmingham Airport in connection with the 1996 Manchester IRA bombing. (9th Sep 2022)
468th The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, the last full scale military confrontation between England and Scotland, resulting in a decisive victory for the forces of Edward VI. (10th Sep 1547)
76th World War II: The submarine HMS Oxley is mistakenly sunk by the submarine HMS Triton near Norway and becomes the Royal Navy's first loss. (10th Sep 1939)
48th The people of Gibraltar vote to remain a British dependency rather than becoming part of Spain. (10th Sep 1967)
201st The last recorded duel in Wales is fought at Newcastle Emlyn: Thomas Heslop of Jamaica is killed; a local landowner, Beynon, is found guilty and fined one shilling. (10th Sep 1814)
1st The first Invictus Games are held in London, beginning with an opening ceremony attended by Prince Harry, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. (10th Sep 2014)
59th Guy Mollet visits London and proposes a merger of France and the United Kingdom. However, the idea is rejected by Anthony Eden. (10th Sep 1956)
5th The government unveils plans to privatise Royal Mail. (10th Sep 2010)
14th The Bank of Scotland and the Halifax merge to form HBOS plc. (10th Sep 2001)
-7th Historic ceremonies take place at St James's Palace and the Royal Exchange, with Prince William, Queen Camilla, serving politicians and former prime ministers in attendance, as Charles III is formally proclaimed king. (10th Sep 2022)
-7th The UK Government announces that Monday 19 September, the date of the state funeral of Elizabeth II, will be a national bank holiday. (10th Sep 2022)
718th Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly-led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English. (11th Sep 1297)
366th Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's English Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison. (11th Sep 1649)
306th Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria fight against France. (11th Sep 1709)
257th Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War. (11th Sep 1758)
71st World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500. (11th Sep 1944)
0th MPs reject plans for a right to die in England and Wales in their first vote on the issue in almost twenty years. (11th Sep 2015)
-7th The Queen's coffin is delivered by hearse from Balmoral to Edinburgh. Silent onlookers throw floral tributes along the route, as the cortege makes a six-hour journey to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. (11th Sep 2022)
52nd The Beatles reach the number one for the second time with the single "She Loves You". (12th Sep 1963)
0th Jeremy Corbyn is elected as the new leader of the Labour Party, with Tom Watson as deputy leader. (12th Sep 2015)
59th Manchester United become the first English team to compete in the European Cup. (12th Sep 1956)
-7th Charles III addresses Parliament as monarch for the first time, then travels to Edinburgh to lead a procession behind the Queen's coffin. (12th Sep 2022)
-7th Addressing the Scottish Parliament, the King speaks of his 'great admiration' for Scotland. (12th Sep 2022)
-7th COVID-19 in the UK: Data released by the Office for National Statistics indicates that cases of COVID-19 are at their lowest since October 2021, with fewer than a million people (roughly one in 70) with the virus in the last week of August. (12th Sep 2022)
-6th COVID-19 in the UK: A plan for vaccine passports in England is ditched by the government, but kept "in reserve" should it be needed over autumn or winter. (12th Sep 2021)
272nd Great Britain, Austria and Savoy-Sardinia sign the Treaty of Worms. (13th Sep 1743)
75th World War II: German bombs damage Buckingham Palace. (13th Sep 1940)
-1st The UK experiences its hottest September day since 1911, with 34.4 degrees C recorded in Gravesend, Kent. (13th Sep 2016)
77th Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain meets German Chancellor Adolf Hitler in an attempt to negotiate an end to German expansionist policies. (13th Sep 1938)
-7th The Queen's coffin is flown to RAF Northolt before being transported to Buckingham Palace by hearse. (13th Sep 2022)
-7th Margaret Ferrier, the MP who travelled by train from London to Scotland after receiving a positive COVID test in September 2020, is given 270 hours of community service after previously pleading guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to culpably and recklessly exposing the public to the virus. (13th Sep 2022)
333rd Bishop Gore School, one of the oldest schools in Wales, is founded. (14th Sep 1682)
263rd The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2). (14th Sep 1752)
-2nd A new £10 polymer banknote is released, featuring Jane Austen. (14th Sep 2017)
51st The final edition of the left-wing Daily Herald newspaper is published. It is replaced by The Sun newspaper the following day. (14th Sep 1964)
91st First BBC broadcast from Belfast (station 2BE). (14th Sep 1924)
8th Northern Rock bank sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England. (14th Sep 2007)
-7th The Queen's coffin is taken from Buckingham Palace's Bow Room, placed on a gun carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and moved in a procession to Westminster Hall for her lying in state. The first public mourners are then allowed to pay their respects. An estimated 400,000 people are expected to file past the coffin over the next four days, with queues of up to 30 hours stretching for miles along the River Thames. (14th Sep 2022)
-7th Inflation falls slightly, from 10.1% the previous month to 9.9%. Food price inflation continues to be rapid, reaching a 14-year high of 13.1%, but is outweighed in the annual index by a drop in the cost of motor fuels. (14th Sep 2022)
185th The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens. (15th Sep 1830)
180th HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands. (15th Sep 1835)
99th World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme. (15th Sep 1916)
75th World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft. (15th Sep 1940)
-2nd A blast and fire on a tube train at Parsons Green station is treated as a terrorist attack. A number of people suffer burn injuries, while others are injured during the trample to escape. There are 29 injures in total, but no deaths and no reports of any life-threatening injuries. The UK terror threat is raised to its highest level as police hunt the perpetrator, with hundreds of officers looking through CCTV footage. (15th Sep 2017)
-1st The government approves the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, which will cost £18bn, and says it will introduce "new safeguards" to future projects. (15th Sep 2016)
49th Britain's first Polaris submarine, HMS Resolution, launched at Barrow-in-Furness, (15th Sep 1966)
-6th Johnson reshuffles the cabinet. Dominic Raab is appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (15th Sep 2021)
-6th The UK joins AUKUS, a trilateral security pact with Australia and the United States, to counter the influence of China. (15th Sep 2021)
615th Owain Glynd?r is declared Prince of Wales by his followers. (16th Sep 1400)
395th The Mayflower starts her voyage to North America (16th Sep 1620)
314th James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the "Old Pretender", becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland. (16th Sep 1701)
220th The first occupation by United Kingdom of Cape Colony, South Africa with the Battle of Hout Bay, after successive victories at the Battle of Muizenberg and Wynberg, after William V requested protection against revolutionary France's occupation of the Netherlands. (16th Sep 1795)
69th Popular quiz show Have a Go! with Wilfred Pickles first broadcast nationally on BBC Radio. (16th Sep 1946)
5th Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Edinburgh to start a four-day state visit to Britain - its first papal visit since that of his predecessor Pope John Paul II in 1982. He meets with the Queen and on 19 September officially proclaims the beatification of John Henry Newman in Birmingham. (16th Sep 2010)
47th General Post Office divides post into first-class and second-class services. (16th Sep 1968)
57th relaxation of restrictions on hire purchase. (16th Sep 1958)
-7th King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Cardiff for a service at Llandaff Cathedral. The King addresses the Senedd in Welsh and English before attending a Welsh Government reception at Cardiff Castle. (16th Sep 2022)
-7th The pound falls more than 1% against the U.S. dollar and reaches a new 37-year low of $1.13, amid concerns over poor retail figures. (16th Sep 2022)
-7th Two police officers are stabbed in central London, leaving one with a potentially life-changing injury and the other with neck and chest wounds. A man is arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker. The attack is not terror-related or connected to the Queen's death. (16th Sep 2022)
-6th COVID-19 vaccination in the UK: The booster programme begins in England and Wales, starting with NHS staff. (16th Sep 2021)
-6th Co-op Food announces a partnership with Amazon Prime, enabling same-day grocery deliveries, while also expanding the use of robots from 200 to 500 units. (16th Sep 2021)
76th World War II: A German U-boat U 29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous. (17th Sep 1939)
52nd RAF Fylingdales radar station on the North York Moors begins operation as part of the United States Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. (17th Sep 1963)
226th William Herschel discovers Mimas, another of Saturn's moons. (17th Sep 1789)
49th Oberon-class submarine HMCS Okanagan launched at Chatham Dockyard, the last warship to be built there. (17th Sep 1966)
14th Gateshead Millennium Bridge opens to the public. (17th Sep 2001)
206th The Royal Opera House in London opens. (18th Sep 1809)
177th The Anti-Corn Law League is established by Richard Cobden. (18th Sep 1838)
136th The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time. (18th Sep 1879)
71st World War II: The British submarine HMS Tradewind torpedoes Juny? Maru, 5,600 killed. (18th Sep 1944)
-3rd Storm Ali leaves homes and businesses without power and effects road, rail and air travel, killing one man in Northern Ireland. (18th Sep 2018)
61st Marble head of Mithras unearthed in Walbrook Square, London. (18th Sep 1954)
101st The Government of Ireland Act, granting Home Rule to the whole of Ireland, and the Welsh Church Act, disestablishing the Church in Wales, receive Royal Assent but implementation of both is postponed for the duration of World War. (18th Sep 1914)
301st King George arrives in Britain for the first time, landing at Greenwich. (18th Sep 1714)
76th Fascist politician William Joyce begins broadcasting Nazi propaganda under the name Lord Haw-Haw. (18th Sep 1939)
1st A referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country takes place. (18th Sep 2014)
60th United Kingdom annexes Rockall. (18th Sep 1955)
-7th In a pre-recorded television address, Queen Camilla pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II who she describes as being in the "difficult position" of being a "solitary woman" in a male-dominated world. (18th Sep 2022)
-7th At 8.00pm the UK holds a minute's silence in honour of the Queen. (18th Sep 2022)
-7th Large-scale disorder breaks out in Leicester, amid tensions involving mainly young men from sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities. (18th Sep 2022)
-6th Princess Beatrice gives birth to her first child, a baby girl. (18th Sep 2021)
659th Battle of Poitiers: an English army under the command of Edward, the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures the French king, John II. (19th Sep 1356)
70th Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce) is sentenced to death in London. (19th Sep 1945)
69th The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich. (19th Sep 1946)
63rd The United States bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England. (19th Sep 1952)
45th The first Glastonbury Festival is held at Michael Eavis's farm in Glastonbury, United Kingdom. (19th Sep 1970)
43rd A parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat. (19th Sep 1972)
40th The first episode of the sitcom Fawlty Towers was broadcast on BBC2 television. (19th Sep 1975)
49th Scotland Yard arrests Ronald "Buster" Edwards, suspected of being involved in the Great Train Robbery. (19th Sep 1966)
37th British Police launch a massive murder hunt, following the discovery of the dead body of newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater (13) at a farmhouse near Kingswinford in the West Midlands. Carl is believed to have been shot dead after disturbing a burglary at the property. (19th Sep 1978)
-7th State funeral of Elizabeth II: At 6.30am, public viewing of the Queen's lying-in-state comes to an end. At 8am, the funeral congregation which includes around 100 presidents and heads of government from around the world begins to gather nearby at Westminster Abbey. At 10:30, the Queen's coffin is delivered by gun carriage from Westminster Hall to the abbey, followed inside by the King and other members of the royal family. A service is then held from 11:00 to 12:15, watched by a global audience estimated in the billions. The coffin is then drawn in a 1.5-mile walking procession to Wellington Arch, with crowds of mourners packing the streets of central London, arriving at 13:00. It is then transferred to a hearse, for delivery to Windsor Castle and a committal service at St George's chapel. This is followed by a private ceremony attended by her family in the King George VI Memorial chapel. The Queen is buried alongside her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. (19th Sep 2022)
155th The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States. (20th Sep 1860)
109th Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (20th Sep 1906)
104th White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with british warship HMS Hawke. (20th Sep 1911)
48th RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland. It is operated by the Cunard Line. (20th Sep 1967)
580th An agreement between Charles VII of France and Philip the Good ends the partnership between the English and Burgundy in Hundred Years' War. (20th Sep 1435)
4th The UK's first commercial hydrogen filling station opened in Swindon. (20th Sep 2011)
13th Police confirm that human remains found in woodland in north Hampshire are those of Amanda Dowler, who went missing in Surrey six months ago. A murder investigation is launched. (20th Sep 2002)
-6th Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng holds crisis talks with industry bosses, as firms struggle to stay afloat amid a surge in natural gas wholesale prices. (20th Sep 2021)
-6th The Northern line extension to Battersea opens, the first major expansion of the London Underground in over 20 years. (20th Sep 2021)
270th Battle of Prestonpans: A Hanoverian army under the command of Sir John Cope is defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (21st Sep 1745)
119th British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan. (21st Sep 1896)
78th J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published. (21st Sep 1937)
51st Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom. (21st Sep 1964)
254th George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen, respectively, of the Kingdom of Great Britain. (21st Sep 1761)
100th Cecil Chubb acquires Stonehenge at an auction for £6600 (21st Sep 1915)
4th An energy firm which had been test drilling for controversial shale gas in Lancashire said it had found vast gas resources underground. (21st Sep 2011)
-7th The government announces a scheme that will freeze wholesale gas and electricity prices for businesses for six months from 1 October. (21st Sep 2022)
119th Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history. (22nd Sep 1896)
105th The Duke of York's Picture House opens in Brighton, now the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain. (22nd Sep 1910)
81st An explosion takes place at Gresford Colliery in Wales, leading to the deaths of 266 miners and rescuers. (22nd Sep 1934)
60th The television channel ITV goes live for the first time. (22nd Sep 1955)
60th First ITV franchises of Independent Television Authority begin broadcasting the UK's first commercial television ending the 18-year monopoly of the BBC. The first advertisement shown is for Gibbs SR toothpaste. (22nd Sep 1955)
-4th An article in the Sunday Times accuses Prime Minister Boris Johnson of misconduct in office while Mayor of London, alleging that US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri received favourable treatment with the awarding of grants to her company because of her friendship with Johnson. (22nd Sep 2019)
13th An earthquake in Dudley is felt throughout England and Wales. (22nd Sep 2002)
-7th The government reverses the ban on fracking in England. (22nd Sep 2022)
-7th UK interest rates rise from 1.75 to 2.25%, the biggest increase in 27 years, as the Bank of England attempts to curb inflation. (22nd Sep 2022)
-7th The UK government announces a 1.25% rise in National Insurance contributions will be reversed from 6 November. The planned Health and Social Care Levy will also be scrapped. (22nd Sep 2022)
556th Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, is fought at Blore Heath in Staffordshire. (23rd Sep 1459)
374th The Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure worth over a billion US dollars, is lost at sea off Land's End. (23rd Sep 1641)
52nd The Robbins Report recommends immediate expansion of universities, and that university places "should be available to all who were qualified for them by ability and attainment". (23rd Sep 1963)
41st Ceefax was started by the BBC - one of the first public service information systems. (23rd Sep 1974)
39th A fire on the destroyer HMS Glasgow while being fitted out at Swan Hunter' yard at Wallsend on Tyne kills eight men (23rd Sep 1976)
5th The Thanet Wind Farm is officially opened by Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne and Oystein Loseth - head of Swedish firm Vatenfall, who built the turbines, at a cost of £750 million over two years. (23rd Sep 2010)
497th Royal College of Physicians founded in London. (23rd Sep 1518)
-4th Travel company Thomas Cook collapses after 178 years in business, triggering the largest ever peacetime repatriation as 150,000 holidaymakers are left stranded. (23rd Sep 2019)
-7th Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivers an emergency mini-budget in which he announces the biggest tax cuts in the UK since 1972. The 45% top rate of income tax, paid by only the highest earners in England Wales and Northern Ireland, will be scrapped, while the basic rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be reduced from 20% to 19%. The cap on bankers' bonuses is lifted, and a planned rise in corporation tax is also scrapped. An increase in National Insurance is reversed, while the threshold before stamp duty is paid in England and Northern Ireland is raised to £425,000 for first time buyers and £250,000 for everyone else. (23rd Sep 2022)
-7th Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, hints that she is unlikely to match income tax cuts for the highest earners elsewhere in the UK, describing the mini-budget as "reckless". (23rd Sep 2022)
-6th The government announces plans to prevent employers in the hospitality industry from withholding tips given by customers to staff. (23rd Sep 2021)
370th Battle of Rowton Heath, Parliamentarian victory over a Royalist army commanded in person by King Charles (24th Sep 1645)
351st The Dutch Republic surrenders New Amsterdam to England. (24th Sep 1664)
174th The Sultan of Brunei cedes Sarawak to the United Kingdom. (24th Sep 1841)
949th The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Viking invasions of England. (24th Sep 1066)
40th Dougal Haston and Doug Scott became the first British people to climb Mount Everest. (24th Sep 1975)
-4th The 11 justices of the Supreme Court rule unanimously that the prorogation brought forward by Boris Johnson is both justiciable and unlawful, and therefore null and of no effect. (24th Sep 2019)
59th TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated. (25th Sep 1956)
197th Dr James Blundell carries out the first blood transfusion using human blood. (25th Sep 1818)
62nd End of post-War sugar rationing. (25th Sep 1953)
82nd London Underground's Central Line opens platforms at Holborn Station to replace Museum Street, which closed the day before. (25th Sep 1933)
2nd Chessington World of Adventures bans animal print clothing because it says animals at the wildlife park find it confusing. (25th Sep 2013)
5th Ed Miliband is elected to become Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, narrowly beating his brother David in the final round of the leadership contest. (25th Sep 2010)
435th Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth. (26th Sep 1580)
328th The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution. (26th Sep 1687)
81st Steamship RMS Queen Mary is launched. (26th Sep 1934)
42nd Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time. (26th Sep 1973)
60th Birdseye begins selling fish fingers in Britain. (26th Sep 1955)
47th Theatres Act 1968 ends censorship of the theatre. (26th Sep 1968)
-7th Pound sterling falls again, briefly hitting an all-time low against the dollar of $1.03, before recovering slightly to $1.07. (26th Sep 2022)
-7th EasyJet announces a plan to reach net zero by 2050. (26th Sep 2022)
-6th 2021 fuel supply crisis: Amid panic buying at petrol stations, ministers suspend competition laws to enable fuel suppliers to talk to one another and prioritise locations most in need. (26th Sep 2021)
949th William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme River, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. (27th Sep 1066)
190th The Stockton and Darlington Railway opens, and begins operation of the world's first service of locomotive-hauled passenger trains. (27th Sep 1825)
51st The British TSR-2 aircraft XR219 makes its maiden flight from Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. (27th Sep 1964)
47th The stage musical Hair opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, where it played 1,998 performances until its closure was forced by the roof collapsing in July 1973. (27th Sep 1968)
-2nd Measles is declared eradicated in the UK for the first time. (27th Sep 2017)
77th RMS Queen Elizabeth is launched at Clydebank; she is the largest ship in the world at this time. (27th Sep 1938)
40th The National Railway Museum was opened in York, becoming the first national museum outside London. (27th Sep 1975)
-7th Sir Keir Starmer delivers his speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, presenting his vision for a "fairer, greener Britain". Alongside a boost in NHS funding, this plan would include a new publicly owned company, Great British Energy, and a target for 100% of the country's electricity being from zero carbon sources by 2030. (27th Sep 2022)
909th The Battle of Tinchebrai - Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose. (28th Sep 1106)
87th The U.K. Parliament passes the Dangerous Drugs Act outlawing cannabis. (28th Sep 1928)
87th Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin. (28th Sep 1928)
44th Parliament passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 banning the medicinal use of cannabis. (28th Sep 1971)
40th The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London. (28th Sep 1975)
92nd First publication of the Radio Times listings magazine. (28th Sep 1923)
151st The International Workingmen's Association is founded in London. (28th Sep 1864)
40th The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people were taken as hostages, took place in London. (28th Sep 1975)
150th Elizabeth Garrett Anderson graduates as Britain's first woman doctor. (28th Sep 1865)
87th Dangerous Drugs Act 1925 comes into effect, placing restrictions on the use of cannabis. (28th Sep 1928)
-7th The International Monetary Fund makes an unprecedented criticism of UK fiscal policy, urging the government to re-evaluate the mini-budget. (28th Sep 2022)
-6th The United Kingdom's international vehicle registration code is officially changed from "GB" to "UK", after more than 110 years. (28th Sep 2021)
651st Battle of Auray: English forces defeat the French in Brittany; end of the Breton War of Succession. (29th Sep 1364)
365th Henry Robinson opens his Office of Addresses and Encounters in Threadneedle Street, London. (29th Sep 1650)
186th The Metropolitan Police of London, later also known as the Met, is founded. (29th Sep 1829)
165th The Roman Catholic hierarchy is re-established in England and Wales by Pope Pius IX. (29th Sep 1850)
130th The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England. (29th Sep 1885)
52nd The University of East Anglia is established in Norwich, England. (29th Sep 1963)
69th BBC Third Programme begins broadcasting. (29th Sep 1946)
299th The original Portland Bill Lighthouse is first illuminated. (29th Sep 1716)
77th Chamberlain signs the Munich Agreement; and a resolution with Germany determining to resolve all future disputes between the two countries through peaceful means. (29th Sep 1938)
97th first performance of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets, before an invited audience at the Queen's Hall in London, conducted by Adrian Boult. (29th Sep 1918)
12th The comeback of Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham) in EastEnders is screened, fourteen years after the character was supposedly killed off, and just over four months after the BBC confirmed that Grantham would be returning to the series. (29th Sep 2003)
-6th 2021 fuel supply crisis: Businesses involved in the fuel industry issue a joint statement saying that they are "now seeing signs that the situation at the pumps has begun to improve". (29th Sep 2021)
616th Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. (30th Sep 1399)
155th Britain's first tram service begins in Birkenhead, Merseyside. (30th Sep 1860)
127th Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. (30th Sep 1888)
114th Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner. (30th Sep 1901)
70th The Bourne End rail crash, in Hertfordshire, England, kills 43 (30th Sep 1945)
49th The British protectorate of Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana. Seretse Khama takes office as the first President. (30th Sep 1966)
48th BBC Radio 1 is launched and Tony Blackburn presents its first show; the BBC's other national radio stations also adopt numeric names. (30th Sep 1967)
77th Neville Chamberlain returns to the UK from Munich, at Heston Aerodrome memorably waving the resolution signed the day earlier with Germany, and later in Downing Street giving his famous Peace for our time speech. (30th Sep 1938)
50th First episode of Thunderbirds airs. (30th Sep 1965)
80th The London and North Eastern Railway begins to run the Silver Jubilee train between London King's Cross and Newcastle upon Tyne, Britain's first streamliner, using Nigel Gresley's LNER Class A4 steam locomotives. (30th Sep 1935)
79th Official opening of Pinewood Studios. (30th Sep 1936)
-7th The Royal Mint, unveils the new coin design effigy of King Charles III. A new 50p and a commemorative £5 Crown which include an image of the King by British sculptor Martin Jennings. The monarch will now face to the left, to keep with the tradition of the opposite way to his predecessor. (30th Sep 2022)
-7th Human remains are discovered on Saddleworth Moor, which Greater Manchester Police believe could be the body of Moors murderers victim Keith Bennett, killed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in 1964. (30th Sep 2022)
-6th Former police officer Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard, is sentenced at the Old Bailey to a whole-life tariff. Lord Justice Fulford calls the case "devastating, tragic and wholly brutal" and tells Couzens he has eroded public confidence in the police. (30th Sep 2021)

 

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