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India gains independence from Britain
India was regarded as the most valuable British imperial possession. World War Two forced Britain to realise that it could not maintain a global empire and the British agreed to Indian self-government. However, they could not find a political solution that was acceptable to both Hindus and Muslims, and the country was partitioned into India and Pakistan. The British were unable to prevent the resulting inter-communal violence which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. -
Period: to
Most important historical events
15 August 1947 -
National Health Service is established
The National Health Service, established by the post-war Labour government, represented a fundamental change in the provision of medical services. The General Practitioner (GP) service became organised on the basis of a 'capitation fee' paid by the government on every patient registered with a doctor. Voluntary and municipal hospitals were integrated under state control, exercised by the Ministry of Health -
Olympic Games open at Wembley Stadium in London
The so-called 'Austerity Games' were held in London while rationing was still in force in Britain. Fifty nine nations took part, but the defeated powers of Germany and Japan were excluded. London saw the first Olympic photo finish, in the 100 metres, and the introduction of starting blocks for sprinters. These were the first Games since Berlin in 1936. The 1940 Games went to Tokyo, then Stockholm, but were cancelled - as were the 1944 games - due to World War Two. -
British troops arrive to support US forces in the Korean War
British troops were sent to help the US-led United Nations force repel the Communist invasion of South Korea by North Korea. The conflict set the pattern for the Cold War, with South Korea backed by the US and its allies, and North Korea backed by the Soviet Union and China. An armistice was agreed in July 1953 and Korea was partitioned. Approximately two million Korean civilians, 1.5 million Communist troops and 450,000 UN and South Korean troops were killed. No peace treaty was ever agreed. -
Elizabeth II succeeds her father, George VI
Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya when news of her father's death reached her. She immediately returned to Britain and was crowned on 2 June 1953. Elizabeth II proved an experienced and skilful adviser of successive prime ministers, but was careful to main constitutional conventions and not take a political stand publicly. Nonetheless, she held strong opinions, not least a belief in the Commonwealth. Under Elizabeth, members of the royal family maintained their important charitable role. -
Watson and Crick publish their discovery of the structure of DNA
Scientists James Watson and Francis Crick were the first to describe the structure of a chemical called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, which makes up the genes that pass hereditary characteristics from parent to child. They received the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, which they shared with another DNA pioneer, Maurice Wilkins. A hugely important discovery, it has since formed the basis for a wide range of scientific advances. -
'Cambridge spies' surface in Moscow after disappearing in 1951
Two British diplomats, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, were among five men recruited by the Soviet secret service, the KGB, at Cambridge University in the 1930s. The others were Harold (Kim) Philby, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross. All had been involved in passing to the Soviets highly damaging military information, and the identities of British agents. Burgess and Maclean, who had fled Britain five years before, suddenly reappeared in the Soviet Union where they denied being spies. -
Britain and France invade Egypt after nationalisation of the Suez Canal
The Suez Crisis was sparked when Britain and France, allied with Israel, invaded Egypt over its decision to nationalise the Suez Canal - a vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. Under American pressure, the canal was handed back to Egypt and the invasion force was withdrawn. The crisis revealed Britain's declining world status and its subordination to the US. -
Ghana becomes the first British colony in Africa to gain independence
The British colony of Gold Coast gained its independence, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first leader, following election victories for Nkrumah's nationalist Convention People's Party (CPP). The country was renamed Ghana in the declaration of independence. This event marked the beginning of rapid decolonisation in Africa. -
New universities open and students get state support
The Robbins Report on Higher Education (1963) was followed by the state-funded growth of universities. Government support was seen as necessary, not least in order to change the social composition of the student body. State-paid fees and maintenance were designed to help increase the percentage of working-class students. New universities were established, including Essex, Lancaster, Kent and Sussex. -
Death penalty is abolished
The abolition of the death penalty for murder - one of the few remaining crimes for which capital punishment could still be handed down - effectively meant the final abolition of the death penalty. This was a major symbolic act in the reduction of the power of the state. The death sentence for treason and piracy with violence remained on the statue books until 1998 when they were abolished by the Crime and Disorder Act. -
Abortion and homosexuality are legalised
A number of Acts of Parliament in this period reflected the changing social climate. As well as the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which legalised homosexuality between men over 21, and the 1967 Abortion Act which legalised abortion under certain conditions, there was also the 1969 Divorce Reform Act and the 1970 Equal Pay Act. -
British army kills 14 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Bloody Sunday
British troops opened fire on a crowd of civil rights protestors in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 civilians and injuring a further 17. The crowd of between 7,000 and 10,000 people had been marching in protest at the policy of detention without trial. The sequence of events on 'Bloody Sunday' remains highly controversial, with accusations that senior IRA figures were present on the day and shot at British troops. -
Scotland and Wales reject devolution
The referenda required the support of 40% of the electorate, not simply the majority of votes. This was not obtained in Scotland, although the majority of votes were in favour of devolution. Devolution was heavily defeated in Wales. As a result of the referenda, the Scottish Nationalists joined the Conservatives and Liberals in passing a vote of no confidence in the government, and Labour lost control of the House of Commons - a bad prelude to the general election. -
Argentina invades the British territory of the Falkland Islands
Three days after the invasion, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent a naval task force to liberate the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The subsequent conflict cost the lives of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen, many of them sailors who died during attacks on Royal Navy warships. The conflict ended on 14 June when the commander of the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley surrendered to British troops. -
First women priests are ordained by the Church of England
The decision to ordain women to the priesthood in the Church of England was taken in 1992 and implemented in 1994. It was a controversial step, welcomed by most of the church but rejected by traditionalists, some of whom joined the Catholic Church in protest. -
Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in Paris Diana was the ex-wife of the heir to the British throne,
Diana was the ex-wife of the heir to the British throne, Charles, Prince of Wales. A controversial figure in life, Diana's death in a car crash in Paris provoked widespread public mourning. On 6 September, one million people lined the streets of London for her funeral. It was later discovered that the driver of the car in which he, Diana and her friend Dodi Al Fayed were killed had more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood and was travelling at over 100mph.
