Key Dates in British History

Let's study the most important dates in British History!

55 and 54 BC

Julius Caesar sends expeditions to England.

43 AD

Roman Conquest begins under Claudius with 40,000 troops.

61 AD

Rebellion by the Iceni people under Boudicca. Romans crush the revolt after overrunning London.

122-138

Hadrian's Wall built to keep out marauding Scots, running from the North.

410

Britain loses its Roman forces.

449

Jutes, Saxons, and Angles land in Britain and begin establishing the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

597

Roman prist St. Augustine is sent by the Pope to refound Christianity in Britain. He becomes first Archbishop of Canterbury.

789-795

First Viking raids.

832-860

Scots and Picts form what is to become the Kingdom of Scotland.

886-899

Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons.

1066

William the Conqueror invades England and seizes the English throne after winning the Battle of Hastings.

1189

Richard I, "The Lion-Heart", is crowned, and sets out on the Third Crusade in 1191.

1215

King John is forced to sign Magna Carta which sets limits on royal power.

13th century

First Oxford and Cambridge Colleges founded.

1314

Robert the Bruce defeats the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, ensuring the survival of a separate Scottish kingdom.

1337

Hundred Years War with France begins.

1348-1349

Black Death (bubonic plague) wipes out a third of England's population.

1455-1485

Wars of the Roses. Yorkists and Lancastrians fight for the English throne. The Lancastrians win and begin the Tudor dynasty with Henry VII.

1534

Henry VIII breaks with Rome, founding the Church of England.

1536

Acts of Union join England and Wales.

1547

Protestantism becomes the official religion of England under Edward VI.

1553-1558

Mary I ("Bloody Mary") supports the return of Catholicism and burns Protestant "heretics" at the stake.

1558-1603

Reign of Elizabeth I and the Golden Age of the Tudors.

1588

English fleet defeats the Spanish Armada.

1590-1613

The plays of William Shakespeare are written.

1603

Union of the crowns of Scotland and England, when James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England.

1607

First successful English colony in Virginia (Northern America).

1642-1651

Civil War between King Charles I and Parliament.

1649

Execution of Charles I.

1653-1658

Britain becomes a republic, the "Commonwealth," ruled by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.

1660

The monarchy is restored under Charles II (1660-85).

1665

Great Plague - the last major epidemic of its kind in England.

1666

Great Fire of London begins in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane and burns for three days.

1689

The "Glorious Revolution." A bloodless coup (гос. переворот) against the last Stuart monarch, James II. It results in his expulsion and the coronation of William and Mary.

1707

Acts of Union unite the English and Scottish Parliaments.

1721-1742

Robert Walpole is first British Prime Minister.

1760-1840

The Industrial Revolution transforms Britain.

1775-1783

Under the reign of George III (1760-1811) American War of Independence leads to the loss of the Thirteen Colonies. The Empire continues to expand in Canada, India, and Australia.

1801

Act of Union unites Great Britain and Ireland, governed by a single Parliament.

1805

Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson defeats the French navy.

1815

Battle of Waterloo and final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. Duke of Wellington is among the commanders who won the battle.

1815-1914

A century of expansion of the British Empire.

1832

Abolition of slavery in the British Empire (the British slave trade as such having been abolished in 1807).

1836-1901

Reign of Queen Victoria.

1910-1936

The British Empire reaches its territorial zenith.

1914-1918

World War I.

1918

Women receive the vote.

1919-1921

Anglo-Irish war. The Anglo-Irish Treaty establishes the Irish Free State. Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom.

1939-1945

World War II.

1947

Independence given to India and Pakistan. Britain begins to dismantle the Empire.

1952

The reign of Elizabeth II begins.

1960-1970

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time.

1966

England wins the football World Cup. They won 4-2 against Germany. The match was played at Wembley Stadium in London.

1994

The Channel Tunnel linked the UK and the continent.

It is a 50,5-kilometre underwater railway tunnel that connects England with France beneath the English Channel.

At its lowest point, it is 75 metres below the sea bed.

The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour.

2012

London hosts the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

London hosted the Olympic Games in 1908, 1948 and 2012. The 2012 Summer Olympics made London the first city to have hosted the modern Games of three Olympiads.

2022

Charles became king upon his mother's death on 8 September 2022. At the age of 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne. His coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.