History of the United Kingdom/Timelines

(Sources in addition to those shown: Bernard Grun The Timetables of History, Simon & Schuster, 1991; Norman Davies: The Isles, A History,  Appendix 42, Macmillan 1999;   Key Dates of Parliament, House of Commons, 2008.[];  .Chris Scarre (ed) The Human Past, Thames and Hudson, 2005. James Ingham's translation of the ''Anglo Saxon Chronicle )

For population estimates see the addendum subpage

Prehistory

 * Canyon Cave Man [c 8980 BCE]
 * Cheddar Man [c 7,000 BCE]
 * The Sleeve (La Manche) The English Channel separates Britain from the European mainland [c 6000 to 4000 BCE].
 * Farmers in Britain and Ireland [from c 4000 BCE]
 * The Beaker people [c 2500 to 1600].
 * Megalith builders
 * - Stonehenge.[c 3000 to 1500 BCE]

600 BCE to 48 CE
Celtic immigration


 * Goidals reach Ireland and Brythons reach Britain


 * Bell Beaker, Halstatt and La Tené cultures.

49 to 410 CE
Roman occupation 49 - 410 CE
 * Claudius begins the conquest [49 CE]
 * Rebellion of the Iceni - led by Queen Boudica [61 AD]
 * Agricola[78 AD]
 * Hadrian's wall [122 CE]
 * Christianity reaches Britain [200+]
 * St Alban's martrydom
 * Septimus Severus' campaign [208-211}
 * Edict of Caracalla - all free men eligible for Roman citizenship [212]
 * Constantius' Caledonian campaign[306]
 * Edict of Milan - the tolerance of Christianity [313]
 * Council of Arles - attended by 3 British bishops [314]
 * Council of Nicea
 * Theodosius' campaign against Picts and Scots [367]
 * Christianity becomes Rome's state religion - Emperor Theodosius forbids other forms of worship (391).
 * Withdrawal of the legions [401]
 * The end of Britain's allegiance to Rome [410]

400 to 800
Celtic Ireland
 * Saint Palladius becomes first Bishop of Ireland - having been sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine [431].
 * Saint Patrick(432-c459) returns to Ireland and helps to spread Christianity there. [432]
 * - becomes Bishop of Ireland following the transfer of Palladius to Ireland.

Saxon Britain (the term Saxon is used in this article to refer to people from Northern Germany that are sometimes known as Angles, Saxons and Jutes)
 * Scotti from the Irish kingdom of Dal Riada settle on Argyll in Scotland.
 * Saint Ninian founds a monastery in Scotland [400?].
 * King Vortigern(c425-c459) of Kent invites a force  of Saxon mercenaries under Hengist(?)  to help him defeat his enemies. [449]
 * Ambrosius Aurelanius (c460-c475) leads resistance to the Saxons
 * King Arthur(?)(c475-c515) takes over leadership of resistence the Saxons.
 * Saxons defeated at Mount Badon [500?]
 * Gradual disintegration of the British state following death of Arthur followed by local rule by various warlords.
 * Aethelferth of Northumbria and Aethelbert of Kent share total control of England (605?) completing the Saxon takeover of England.
 * Saint Columba lands on Iona in Western Scotland, founds a monastery there [563] and converts the Scotti of Dal Riada to Christianity
 * The Book of Kells illuminated  manuscript thought to have been the work of the monks of Iona.
 * Saint David(c550-589) helps to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of Western Britain and becomes Archbishop of Wales
 * Saint Augustine(597-604) becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, having been sent to Britain by Pope Gregory with 40 other monks (597).
 * Saint Aidan travels from the monastery of Iona to Northumbria, becomes Bishop of Lindisfarne (634-51) and helps convert Northumbria to Christianity.
 * Synod of Whitby (664) - Augustine persuades representatives of the indigenous Christian church to accept Roman practice.
 * Adam Bede's History of the English Church and People(731).

801 to 1066

 * Viking and Danish invasions
 * Viking settlements at Dublin, Waterford and Limerick [914-920]
 * First wave of Danish invasions of England
 * Danes occupy York
 * Alfred the Great, King of Wessex (871-899)
 * Alfred takes refuge from his enemies in the Somerset marshes (878)
 * Danish armies take control of all of England except the kingdom of Wessex (865-879)
 * Alfred commissions the writing of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle
 * Alfred recaptures London (885)
 * Second Danish invasion (890)
 * Massacre of Danes on St Brice's day (1002)
 * Danish Conquest of England (1013)
 * Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, (reigned 1002-14), defeated the  Vikings at Battle of Clontarf, Co.Dublin, (1014)
 * Canute the Great, King of Denmark and England (1016-1035), and the Danish conversion to Christianity
 * Edward the Confessor made King (1042)
 * Harold (1035 - 1066) becomes King of England (1066)
 * Battle of Dunsinane (1054) - Malcolm Canmore defeats of MacBeth at Dunsinane with the help of Edward the Confessor and becomes Malcolm III King of Scotland
 * Harold subdues Wales (1063)

1066-1154
Norman Conquest
 * William I (1066 - 1087
 * Treaty of Abernethy (1072) - Malcolm III of Scotland swears allegiance to William the Conquerer (and later to Rufus (1091)).
 * Domesday Book (1086)
 * William II (1087 - 1100)
 * First Crusade (1096)
 * Feudal system.
 * Henry I (1100 - 1135)
 * David I of Scotland invites Norman barons to establish estates in Scotland (1124)
 * Stephen (1135 - 1154)
 * The Anarchy (1135 - 1154)- an armed dispute over the succession between Stephen and Matilda
 * Treaty of Winchester -an agreement that Matilda's son Henry was to be Stephen's successor.
 * The Welsh Marches

1154- 1216

 * Henry II (1154-1189)
 * Thomas à Becket Archbishop of Canterbury (1162 -1170)
 * Rory O'Connor, High King of Ireland [1166-1175]
 * Richard I (1189 - 1199)
 * Norman invasion of Ireland
 * Irish kings do homage to Henry II (1171)
 * Third Crusade 1189
 * King John(1199 - 1216)
 * Ireland is formally designated a part of the Kingdom of England
 * Magna Carta (1215) - the founding principles of the British constitution.

13th century

 * Henry III (1216 - 1272)
 * The Provisions of Oxford - Simon de Monfort's parliamentary reforms. (The Great Council is now referred to as a "parliament")
 * Edward I (1272 - 1307)
 * "Model Parliament" (1295) - summoned by Edward I with extended representation compared with earlier parliaments.
 * "The Auld Alliance" between Scotland and France (1295)
 * Battle of Stirling Bridge - at which a Scottish army led by William Wallace defeated the English
 * John Baliol yields Scottish Throne to Edward I who thus becomes King of Scotland (1296 -1306)

14th century
1300   Edward I invades Scotland.

1307    Edward II (1307-1327)

1320   Declaration of Arbroath - a plea to the Pope for Scotland's independence.

1323   William of Occam's Summa Logicae (logic handbook) - rejects the Church's contention  that theology is a science.

1327   Edward III (1327 - 1377)

1337   Beginning of Hundred Years War

1348-50 The Black Death reduces the population by about a third.

1366   Statutes of Kilkenny

1377   Richard II (1377-1399)

1381   Peasant's Revolt .- against taxes and serfdom.

1382   John Wycliffe's Confession Concerning the Eucharist - challenges the doctrine of the Church.

1390   Richard III's Irish expedition

1397   The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards - an attack on the doctrines and conduct of the Church.

1399   Henry IV (1399 -1413)

15th century
1401    De Heretico Comburendo - legislation enacting death by burning as the penalty for heresy.

1413   Henry V (1413-22)

1415   Agincourt

1422   Henry VI (1422-61)

1429    Franchise Act  - restricted voting in elections to freeholders of land worth more than 40 shillings.

1453   End of Hundred Years War - leaving England with no French possessions except Calais.

1455 -1485 The Wars of the Roses - small-scale fighting that causes heavy casualties among the aristocracy and results in the victory of the House of Lancaster over the House of York.

1460   Statute of Drogheda (Poyning's Law) - under which Ireland adopts the entire body of English law. 1461   Edward IV (1461-83)

1476   Caxton's printing press

1483   Richard III (1483-85)

Tudor Era 1485-1605

1485   Henry VII (1485-1509)

16th century
1509   Henry VIII (1509-47)

1511   England joins Holy League - against France.

1513    Battle of Flodden  - major defeat of Scots army.

1526    William Tyndale's translation of the New Testament.

1534    The Act of Supremacy - makes Henry VIII the head of the new Anglican Church, legalising the break with Rome.

1535    Dissolution of the monasteries

1535    Thomas More, Lord Chancellor,  executed for refusing to recognise the break with Rome.

1536    Pilgrimage of Grace - a popular uprising against the closure of the monasteries.

1541   Henry VIII  is declared King of Ireland

1542    Battle of Solway Moss - minor defeat of Scottish raiders.


 * James V of Scotland succeeded by Mary Queen of Scots

1542    Great Debasement - reduces the silver content of the coinage from 75% to 25% by 1551.

1547    Edward VI (1547-53)

1549    Cranmer's English Prayer Book (revised 1552).

1553    Mary I becomes Queen, reimposes Cathoiicism and crushes Wyatt's rebellion.

1558   Elizabeth I (1559-1603) - restores Anglicanism.

1559   The Armada  - an unsuccessful attempt at invasion.

1562    The 39 Articles -  the beliefs to be practised by the  Anglican church.

1570   Gunpowder Plot

1587   Franchise Act (Scotland) sets a land ownership-based entitlement to vote as in England.

17th century
1601    Poor Law - created a national system to provide for the poor, replacing the parish-based systems of the Acts of 1552, 1563, 1572, 1576 and 1597.

1605    Francis Bacon's "The Advancement of Learning"  - makes the case for the inductive method of reasoning.

Stuart Era 1605-1688

1605   James I (1603-25).

1625   Charles I (1625-49)

1642    Charles I enters the Commons to arrest dissidents and is defied by  the Speaker.

1643-46   Civil War.


 * 1644     Marston Moor


 * 1645     Naseby


 * 1646      Surrender of the King's army at Oxford and capture of the King


 * 1648    Execution of the King after his escape and recapture

1649   Oliver Cromwell declares England  to be a Commonwealth.

Cromwell invades Ireland.

1660   Restoration. Charles II (1660-85)

1665    Great Plague

1666    Fire of London

1673   Test Act. Catholics excluded from office.

1685    James II (1685-88)       Monmouth Rebellion.

1688   "The Glorious Revolution" and Bill of Rights  - limited the power of the king over Parliament.

1689    William and Mary.

1690    The Battle of the Boyne

1694    The Bank of England

18th century
1707   Act of Union - with Scotland.

1713   Treaty of Utrecht.

1714     Hanoverian succession. George I (1714-27)

1727   Geoge II (1727-1760)

1715   First Jacobite Rising

1739-48   War of Jenkins Ear - with Spain.

1744-8 War of the Austrian Succession.

1745   Second Jacobite Rising - "the '45"

1746   Battle of Culloden.

Industrial Revolution 1715-1815

1756-63 Seven Years War - acquisition of India and Canada.

1760   George III (1760-1820).

War of American Independence 1775 -81 - the creation of the United States of America.

1783   Rotunda Parliament

1787    Kingdom of Ireland granted autonomy.

Napoleonic Wars 1789 - 1815.

19th century
1801   Act of Union - with Ireland.

1805   Battle of Trafalgar.

1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade.

1815   Battle of Waterloo.

1820   George IV (1820-30).

1830   William IV (1830-37).

1832    Reform Act Raised the  proportion of adult English males entitled to vote to 20 per cent.

1833    Abolition of slavery.

1837     Queen Victoria (1837-1901)/

Irish Famine 1845-1850.

1846   Repeal of Corn Laws.

Crimean War 1833 - 36.

Indian Mutiny 1857 - 8.

1874   Disraeli's First Conservative Government (1874-80).

1880   Gladstone's Liberal Government.

1898   Battle of Omdurman

1899-1902 Boer War.

20th century
1902-05 Balfour's Conservative Government.

1902   Edward VII (1902-10).

1905-08 Campbell-Bannerman's Liberal Government.

1908-1915 Asquith's Liberal Government (Lloyd George Chancellor of the Exchequer)

1911    George V (1911-36). Lloyd George's National Insurance Bill.

First World War. 1914-18

1915-16 Asquith's Coalition Government.

1916 Easter Rising

The inter-war years
1918    Representation of the People Act - gave the vote to men over 21 and women over 30 - increasing the electorate from 8 million to 21 million.

1919   Treaty of Versailles.

1919-23 Lloyd George's Coalition Governments.

1920   Ireland gets Home Rule.

1922-23 Bonar Law's Conservative Government.

1923-24 Baldwin's First Conservative Government

1924    Macdonald's First Labour Government.

1924-29 Baldwin's Second Conservative Government.

1926   General Strike. Baird's television system.

1928    Fleming discovers penicillin

1929-31 Macdonald's Second Labour Government.

1931   Britain leaves the gold standard.

1931-35 Macdonald's National Government.

1935-37 Baldwin's National Government.

1936   Abdication of Edward VII.

1937   George VI (1937-52}

1937-40 Chamberlain's Conservative Government.

1938   Munich Pact with Germany.

Second World War 1939-45

1940-45 Churchill's Wartime Coalition Government.

Post-war Britain
1945   Churchill's  First Conservative Government.

1945-51 Clement Atlee's Labour Government

1948    National Health Service.

1951-55 Winston Churchill's Second Conservative Government.

1953   Elizabeth II. Crick and Watson establish the structure of DNA.

1955-57 Anthony Eden's Conservative Government.

1956   Suez war.

1957-63 Harold MacMillan's Conservative Government.

1963-70  Home's Conservative Government.

1970-79 Edward Heath's Conservative Governments.

1973   Britain joins the European Community. European Communities Act makes EC law enforceable in the UK.

1979-1990 Thatcher's Conservative Governments.

1986    Single European Act - introduced Qualified Majority Voting to most European Union decisions.

1982    Falklands war. 1990    Major's Conservative Government

1997 - 2007 Tony Blair's New Labour Government

21st century
Iraq War (2003 - 09)


 * Crash of 2008
 * Recession of 2008


 * Gordon Brown's Labour Government (2007 - )