Introduction

January

• 1969: Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch wins control of 'News of the World', his first Fleet Street paper.
• 1905: The Russian Fleet at Port Arthur, China, surrenders to the Japanese - a shock to established world order.
• 45 BC: Julius Caesar's calendar reform - 365 days in 12 months with leap years every four years - is introduced.
• 1940: Britain introduces food rationing with bacon, butter and sugar the first commodities affected.
• 1962: France vetoes Britain joining the European Common Market, believing the UK will act for US interests.
• 2002: Britain is declared free of 'Foot and Mouth' disease after the slaughter of four million animals.
• 1919: The peace conference to draw up the treaties to end World War One opens in Paris.
• 1954: The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS 'Nautilus', is launched on the Thames, Connecticut.
• 1793: Louis XVI, King of France is executed at the guillotine in Paris, following his conviction for treason.
• 814: Charlemagne, king of the Franks and creator of the Holy Roman Empire, dies in Aachen.
• 1829: Notorious grave-robber turned serial killer William Burke is hanged in Edinburgh.
• 2002: Iraq, North Korea and Iran are branded the 'axis of evil' by US President George W Bush.

February

• 1793: Britain goes to war with France, starting 22 years of conflict that ends with the Battle of Waterloo.
• 1966: The Soviet probe 'Luna 9' makes the first controlled landing of a manmade object on the Moon.
• 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots is executed for treason against Elizabeth I at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire.
• 1983: Record-breaking Derby winner Shergar is kidnapped by the IRA and ransomed for £2m. He is never seen again.
• 1531: Henry VIII is recognised by the newly Protestant Church of England as its 'supreme head'.
• 1975: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to head a British political party, leading the Conservatives.
• 1979: China invades Vietnam, after Vietnam invades Cambodia to oust Pol Pot, but the attack is quickly repelled.
• 1779: British historian Edward Gibbon publishes the ‘The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’.
• 1472: Scotland claims the Orkney and Shetland islands after the king of Norway defaults on a dowry payment.
• 2001: Afghanistan's Taliban regime orders the demolition of 'un-Islamic' statues, including two ancient Buddhas.
• 1993: Islamic extremists detonate a car bomb in the basement of the World Trade Centre in New York.
• 1994: In the first offensive action in Nato history, US fighters shoot down four Serb aircraft over Bosnia.

March

• 1562: A massacre of Protestants by Catholics near Paris ignites the first of eight French 'wars of religion'.
• 1979: Referendums in Scotland and Wales both reject devolution, crippling Britan's minority Labour government.
• 1941: A daring British raid on the Lofoten Islands, Norway, captures a German Enigma machine and code books.
• 1969: East End gang bosses Ronald and Reginald Kray are found guilty of murder. Both will die in prison.
• 241 BC: A crushing Roman naval victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Aegusa ends the First Punic War.
• 1801: The first official census is held in Britain, revealing a population of approximately 10 million people.
• 44 BC: Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome for life, is assassinated in a conspiracy led by Cassius and Brutus.
• 1877: England and Australia begin play in the first ever cricket test match. Australia win by 45 runs.
• 1933: The first Nazi concentration camp is completed at Dachau, near Munich.
• 2003: 'Operation Iraqi Freedom', the invasion of Iraq by US and British forces, begins with airstrikes.
• 1603: Elizabeth I dies and is succeeded by James VI of Scotland, unifying the English and Scottish crowns.
• 1939: Madrid surrenders to Franco, ending the Spanish Civil War. His Falange Party will rule until 1975.

April

• 1721: Robert Walpole becomes the first 'prime minister' of Britain, but the title is not in use at this time.
• 1955: Winston Churchill steps down from his second term as prime minister, finally retiring aged 80.
• 1847: The world's first municipal park, designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, opens in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
• 1944: Two inmates of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz escape, to later reveal details of the genocide there.
• 1945: Japan's 'Yamato', the largest battleship ever built, is sunk by US warplanes in the battle for Okinawa.
• 1606: The combined English-Scottish 'Union Jack' is created by royal decree, originally for use at sea only.
• 73: Roman troops breach the walls of Masada fortress to find the Jewish defenders have committed mass suicide.
• 1945: The notorious high-security prisoner of war camp at Colditz Castle in Germany is liberated by US troops.
• 1918: The 'Red Baron', Manfred von Richtofen, a German ace credited with 80 victories, is shot down and killed.
• 1916: The Easter Rising - a nationalist rebellion against British rule during World War One - begins in Dublin.
• 1908: London hosts its first Olympic Games, at White City, after the orginal host, Rome, drops out.
• 1994: The first post-Apartheid, non-racial election is held in South Africa. Nelson Mandela's ANC party wins.

May

• 2004: Ten new states join the European Union, making it the world's biggest trade bloc with 455 million people.
• 1945: The Battle for Berlin ends after less than two weeks with the capture of the city by Soviet forces.
• 1926: The only General Strike in British history begins over fears of pay cuts and increased working hours.
• 1942: The first 'selection' for gassing takes place at the Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• 1821: Former emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, dies in exile on the South Atlantic island of St Helena.
• 1992: The Channel Tunnel - an immense engineering achievement - opens, linking London and Paris by rail.
• 1945: Nazi Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies at General Eisenhower's HQ in Rheims, France.
• 1660: Parliament proclaims Charles II king of England, restoring the monarchy after more than a decade.
• 1386: England and Portugal sign the Treaty of Windsor, the oldest alliance in Europe still in force.
• 1994: Former political prisoner Nelson Mandela is sworn in as the first black president of South Africa.
• 330: Constantine dedicates his new capital, Constantinople, formally shifting Roman power away from Rome.
• 1655: English troops take Jamaica from the Spanish, making it a hub for rum production and slave trading.

June

• 1962: Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel for orchestrating genocide against the Jewish people.
• 1953: Elizabeth II is crowned queen in Westminster Abbey, London.
• 1989: Chinese troops open fire on pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds.
• 1832: The Great Reform Act redistributes parliamentary seats, giving due weight to Britain's industrial cities.
• 1916: A British-backed Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire is proclaimed with an attack on Medina.
• 1944: The Allied invasion of Europe begins with the 'D-Day' landings of more than 150,000 troops in Normandy.
• 1917: The British detonate 19 huge mines under German lines at Messines, and the salient is soon captured.
• 1946: Field Marshal Lord Montgomery leads a grand victory parade for World War Two through London.
• 68: The Roman emperor Nero is deposed and commits suicide, ending the Julian-Claudian imperial dynasty.
• 1999: Nato suspends its 11-week air campaign against Serb forces as they begin to withdraw from Kosovo.
• 1987: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wins an historic third term, the first politician to do so in 160 years.
• 1964: Nelson Mandela, leader of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, is jailed for life for sabotage.

July

• 1916: The British Army suffers its worst day, losing 19,240 men on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
• 1937: American aviator Amelia Earhart goes missing over the Pacific during an attempt to fly round the world.
• 1940: British warships destroy the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria, to prevent Germany seizing it.
• 1946: In the worst post-war pogrom, 42 returning Jewish survivors of Nazi genocide are killed in Kielce, Poland.
• 1943: The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history, begins with a German attack on Soviet forces.
• 1535: Sir Thomas More is executed for refusing to accept Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.
• 2005: Four Islamic extremist suicide bombers kill 52 people on London's transport system.
• 1709: Peter the Great of Russia defeats and effectively destroys the Swedish Empire at Poltava, Ukraine.
• 1900: The bill bringing into existence the Commonwealth of Australia (on 1 January 1901) receives royal assent.
• 1940: The Battle of Britain begins with German air raids on British ports and shipping.
• 1804: US Vice President Aaron Burr kills former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
• 1450: A rebellion against war taxes ends when its leader, Jack Cade, is driven out of London and later killed.

August

• 1870: Irish Land Act gives limited, but symbolically important rights to tenants of Ireland's landlords.
• 1100: William II (Rufus) is killed by an arrow shot by Walter Tyrell while hunting in the New Forest.
• 1958: The nuclear-powered submarine USS 'Nautilus' makes the first submerged crossing of the North Pole.
• 1265: Prince Edward defeats a rebellious baronial army at Evesham, killing its leader Simon de Montfort.
• 1925: Plaid Cymru is formed to disseminate knowledge of the Welsh language, which is in danger of dying out.
• 1890: Murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair, at Buffalo, US.
• 1926: Britain’s first motor racing grand prix is held at Brooklands, Surrey, and is won by the French team.
• 1945: An atom bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US bomber 'Enola Gay'.
• 1945: An atom bomb is dropped on the Japanese port of Nagasaki by the US bomber 'Bock's Car'.
• 1911: The House of Lords loses its power of veto over legislation, ending a two-year constitutional crisis.
• 1968: The last steam passenger service runs on British railways, hauled by the locomotive 'Oliver Cromwell'.
• 2003: Nato takes over peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, the first time it has operated outside Europe.

September

• 1939: Germany invades Poland, despite British and French guarantees, bringing Europe to the brink of war.
• 1666: The Great Fire of London begins in a bakery on Pudding Lane and will destroy much of the city.
• 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany over the invasion of Poland - the start of World War Two.
• 1940: Hitler switches air raids away from military targets, promising to raze British cities 'to the ground'.
• 1774: At the First Continental Congress, 12 of the 13 American colonies adopt a trade embargo with Britain.
• 1651: Charles II spends the day hiding in an oak tree following defeat by Oliver Cromwell at Worcester.
• 1191: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf, ending the sultan's aura of invincibility.
• 1944: The first German V2 rocket lands on London. It hits Chiswick, killing three people.
• 1513: The English kill James IV of Scotland and defeat his army at the Battle of Flodden Field, Northumbria.
• 1922: Turkish troops capture Smyrna, massacring the Greek population and ending the Greek-Turkish War.
• 2001: Attacks by Islamic terrorists on New York's World Trade Centre and Washington kill 2,973 people.
• 2001: US President George W Bush declares a 'war on terror' following the 11 September terror attacks.

October

• 1949: The People’s Republic of China is proclaimed, following the Communist victory in China’s civil war.
• 1944: The German army crushes the Warsaw Uprising after 63 days, razing the city and murdering thousands.
• 1980: The Housing Bill gives more than five million council tenants in Britain the right to buy their homes.
• 1993: The Battle of Mogadishu, triggered by a US raid, ends with 18 US soldiers and up to 1,000 Somalis dead.
• 1986: Details of Israel's secret nuclear arsenal, leaked by dissident Mordechai Vanunu, appear in the Times.
• 1973: The Yom Kippur War begins as Egypt and Syria attack Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year.
• 1944: Inmates of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz revolt, killing SS guards and destroying one crematorium.
• 1940: The US advises its citizens to leave the Far East, despite not yet being at war with Japan.
• 1964: In the US, a day is named for Lief Erikson, believed to be the first European to land in North America.
• 1903: Emmeline Pankhurst forms the Women’s Social and Political Union to fight for women's rights in Britain.
• 1982: Henry VIII's flagship 'Mary Rose' is raised to the surface after 437 years at the bottom of the Solent.
• 1915: British nurse Edith Cavell is shot by the Germans for aiding the escape of Allied prisoners of war.

November

• 866: Vikings seize control of Eboracum (York), the first major city to fall in their conquest of England.
• 1917: The 'Balfour Declaration' gives British backing for 'a national home for Jewish people' in Palestine.
• 1839: British and Chinese warships clash over trading rights at the outbreak of the First Opium War.
• 1956: A massive Soviet force invades Hungary, crushing the popular uprising that began in October.
• 1605: The 'Gunpowder Plot' - a plan by disaffected Catholics to blow up James I - is discovered and Guy Fawkes is arrested.
• 1999: In a national referendum, Australians vote to keep the British monarch as their head of state.
• 1956: The UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling on Britain, France and Israel to withdraw from Suez.
• 1942: The Allies launch 'Operation Torch', the massive amphibious landing of 400,000 troops in North Africa.
• 1989: The Berlin Wall is breached as the border is opened and East Germans are allowed to travel to the west.
• 1871: Journalist Henry Stanley finds the missing explorer Dr David Livingstone at Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika.
• 1940: The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm cripples or sinks nine Italian warships in a surprise attack at Taranto.
• 1944: The last great German battleship, 'Tirpitz', is sunk by RAF bombers in Tromso fjord, Norway.

December

• 1955: Civil rights activist Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat for a white passenger in Alabama.
• 1823: US President James Monroe outlines the 'Monroe Doctrine' of neutrality in future European conflicts.
• 1944: Britain's Home Guard is officially stood down at a special farewell parade in Hyde Park, London.
• 1961: The female oral contraceptive, or 'pill', becomes available on the National Health Service.
• 2005: The Civil Partnership Act comes into force in Britain, giving same-sex couples legal recognition.
• 1877: Thomas Edison makes the first recording of the human voice - his own, reciting 'Mary had a little lamb'.
• 43 BC: Roman orator and advocate Cicero is executed on the orders of the warlord Mark Antony.
• 1941: The mass murder of Jewish people by the Nazis begins at Chelmno, Poland, in specially-adapted 'gas vans'.
• 1917: The Ottoman garrison of Jersusalem surrenders the city to British general Sir Edmund Allenby.
• 1979: Soviet forces invade Afghanistan in support of the Marxist government, beginning a nine-year occupation.
• 800: Charlemagne, King of the Franks, is crowned the first holy Roman emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome.
• 2004: More than 280,000 people die after an Indian Ocean earthquake triggers a series of tsunamis.