Timeline: Past and Present Company

1902 - 1940

Home Search Search Print Print Login - User: anonymous Login Bookmark

	Date	Event(s)
1	1902	Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education Cremation Act â€“ cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued Marie Curie discovers radioactivity 24 May 1902: Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated 31 May 1902: Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War 9 Aug 1902: Coronation of Edward VII
2	1903	Workers' Education Association (WEA) formed in Britain Women's Social and Political Union formed in Britain by Emmeline Pankhurst Henry Ford sets up his motor company 14 Dec 1903: First flight of Wilbur & Orville Wright
3	1904	Leeds University established 8 Apr 1904: France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale 4 May 1904: America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
4	1905	The title 'Prime Minister' noted in a royal warrant for the first time â€“ placed the Prime Minister in order of precedence in Britain immediately after the Archbishop of York Aliens Act in Britain: Home Office controls immigration Germany lays down the first Dreadnought battleship 11 Apr 1905: Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity
5	1906	Introduction of free school meals for poor children 10 Feb 1906: Launching of HMS Dreadnought, first turbine-driven battleship 15 Mar 1906: Rolls-Royce Ltd registered 26 May 1906: Vauxhall Bridge opened in London 20 Sep 1906: Launching of Cunard's RMS Mauretania on the Tyne
6	1907	New Zealand becomes a Dominion Imperial College, London, is established First airship flies over London Lumiere develops a process for colour photography Jul 1907: Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated 1 Aug 1907: Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island 9 Nov 1907: The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
7	1908	Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement 1 Jul 1908: SOS became effective as an international signal of distress 12 Aug 1908: First 'Model T' Ford made
8	1909	Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges Peary reaches the north pole First commercial manufacture of Bakelite â€“ start of the plastic age 1 Jan 1909: Old Age Pensions Act came into force 16 Jan 1909: Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole 15 Mar 1909: Selfridges department store opens in London 25 Jul 1909: Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
9	1910	Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain Constitutional crisis in Britain Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville Madame Curie isolates radium Halley's comet reappears Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe 6 May 1910: Edward VII dies â€“ George V becomes King
10	1911	Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords British MPs receive a salary First British Official Secrets Act Rutherford: theory of atomic structures Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912) 2 Apr 1911: Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 22 Jun 1911: Coronation of George V 14 Dec 1911: National Insurance introduced in Britain
11	1912	Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain Britain nationalises the telephone system Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' â€“ hoax, exposed in 1953 18 Jan 1912: Captain Scott's last expedition â€“ he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November 14 Apr 1912: The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage â€“ loss of 1,513 lives 13 May 1912: Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
12	1913	Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords â€“ threat of civil war in Ireland â€“ formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule Suffragette demonstrations in London â€“ Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity 4 Jun 1913: Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby and dies
13	1914	Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster to be decided after the War Chaplin and De Mille make their first films 28 Jun 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo 4 Aug 1914: Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason 5 Aug 1914: British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph links to the outside world 15 Aug 1914: Panama Canal opened, the Canal cement boat 'Ancon' making the first official transit (plans for a grand opening were cancelled due to the start of WW1) Oct 1914: Battle of Ypres â€“ beginning of trench warfare on western front 27 Nov 1914: First policewoman goes on duty in Britain 16 Dec 1914: German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
14	1915	Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane First automatic telephone exchange in Britain 19 Jan 1915: First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia â€“ four killed Feb 1915: Submarine blockade of Britain starts Apr 1915: Second Battle of Ypres â€“ poison gas used for first time 25 Apr 1915: Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916) 7 May 1915: RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland â€“ 1,198 died 16 May 1915: First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
15	1916	Compulsory military service introduced in Britain Feb 1916: Battle of Verdun â€“ appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues 24 Apr 1916: Easter Rising in Ireland â€“ after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs independence 21 May 1916: First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK 31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland â€“ only major naval battle between the British and German fleets 5 Jun 1916: Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener 3 Aug 1916: Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason 15 Sep 1916: First use of tanks in battle, but of limited effect (Battle of the Somme 1 July to 18 Nov: over 1 million casualties) 7 Dec 1916: Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
16	1917	Battle of Cambrai â€“ first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual Ministry of Labour is established in Britain Feb 1917: February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates 16 Apr 1917: Lenin returns to Russia after exile 17 Apr 1917: USA declares war on Germany 26 May 1917: George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal proclamation on 17 July) Jul 1917: Battle of Passchendaele â€“ little gained by either side (Jul-Nov) 7 Nov 1917: 'October' Revolution in Russia â€“ Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government; Lenin becomes Chief Commissar 6 Dec 1917: Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, one of the world's largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to date: a ship loaded with wartime explosives blew up after a collision, obliterating buildings and structures within two square kilometres of the explosion 9 Dec 1917: British forces capture Jerusalem
17	1918	Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons) War of Independence in Ireland 18 Jan 1918: Bentley Motors founded 8 Mar 1918: Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic Jul 1918: Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug) 1 Oct 1918: Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus 11 Nov 1918: Armistice signed Dec 1918: First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn FÃ©in member refused to take her seat
18	1919	Britain adopts a 48-hour working week Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom 15 Jun 1919: Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic 28 Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
19	1920	Regular cross-channel air service starts Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun) Feb 1920: First roadside petrol filling station in UK â€“ opened by the Automobile Association at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
20	1921	Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies â€“ only four remained Insulin discovery announced First birth control clinic 19 Jun 1921: Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million 6 Dec 1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
21	1922	Law of Property Act â€“ the manorial system effectively ended 1 Jun 1922: Royal Ulster Constabulary founded Oct 1922: BBC established as a monopoly, and begins transmissions in November (2LO in London on 14 Nov; 5IT in Birmingham and 2ZY in Manchester on 15 Nov)
22	1923	Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way First American broadcasts heard in Britain 1 Jan 1923: The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR â€“ lasted until nationalisation in 1948 16 Feb 1923: Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun 28 Apr 1923: First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) â€“ "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," popular song of the time, became the West Ham anthem 28 Sep 1923: First publication of Radio Times
23	1924	4 Jan 1924: First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald 5 Feb 1924: Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast by the BBC 31 Mar 1924: British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British airline companies â€“ became BOAC in 1940)
24	1925	Britain returns to gold standard 18 Jul 1925: Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
25	1926	First public demonstration of television (TV) by John Logie Baird Adoption of children is legalised in Britain Kodak produces 16mm movie film Walt Disney arrives in Hollywood 21 Apr 1926: Princess Elizabeth born 3 May 1926: General Strike begins. Lasts until May 12 (mine workers for 6 months more) 31 Oct 1926: Death of Harry Houdini
26	1927	Release of the first 'talkie' film (The Jazz Singer) 7 Jan 1927: First transatlantic telephone call â€“ New York City to London 22 Jan 1927: First football broadcast by BBC (Arsenal v Sheffield United at Highbury) 1 May 1927: First cooked meals on a scheduled flight introduced by Imperial Airways from London to Paris 20 May 1927: Lindbergh makes solo flight across the Atlantic, in 33Â½ hours 31 May 1927: Last Ford Model T rolls off assembly line 24 Jul 1927: The Menin Gate war memorial unveiled at Ypres
27	1928	Women over 21 get vote in Britain â€“ same qualification for both sexes 26 Apr 1928: Madame Tussauds opens in London 15 Sep 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin (results published 1929)
28	1929	Abolition of Poor Law system in Britain Minimum age for a marriage in Britain (which had been 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl) now 16 for both sexes, with parental consent (or a licence) needed for anyone under 21 BBC begins experimental TV transmissions
29	1930	First Nazis elected to the German Reichstag Youth Hostel Association (YHA) founded in Britain 30 Jan 1930: Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany 31 Jan 1930: 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape 6 Mar 1930: Clarence Birdseye first marketed frozen peas 5 Oct 1930: R101 airship disaster â€“ British abandons airship construction
30	1931	Statute of Westminster: British Dominions become independent sovereign states Collapse of the German banking system; 3,000 banks there close 14 Apr 1931: Highway Code first issued 26 Apr 1931: Census: Population - England and Wales; 40 Million; Scotland: 4.8 Million; N Ireland: 1.24 Million (Unfortunately, the census was destroyed by fire in WW2) 21 Oct 1931: National Government formed to deal with economic crisis â€“ Britain comes off gold standard
31	1932	Great Hunger March of unemployed to London Moseley founds British Union of Fascists Cockroft and Walton accelerate particles to disintegrate an atomic nucleus Sir Thomas Beecham established the London Philharmonic Orchestra 21 May 1932: Amelia Earhart first solo nonstop flight across Atlantic by a female pilot 3 Oct 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain 3 Oct 1932: 'The Times' introduces 'Times New Roman' typeface
32	1933	ICI scientists discover polythene Only 6 pennies minted in Britain this year 12 Nov 1933: First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
33	1934	Hitler becomes Fuehrer of Germany 18 Jul 1934: King George V opens Mersey Tunnel 26 Sep 1934: RMS Queen Mary launched 30 Nov 1934: First time a steam locomotive travels at 100 mph ('Flying Scotsman')
34	1935	London adopts a 'Green Belt' scheme Land speed record of 301.13 mph by Malcolm Campbell 28 Feb 1935: Nylon first produced by Gerard J. Berchet of Wallace Carothers' research group at DuPont (there is no evidence to the widely-supposed story that the name derives from New York-London) 12 Mar 1935: Hore-Belisha introduces pedestrian crossings and speed limits for built-up areas in Britain 1 Jun 1935: Voluntary driving tests introduced in UK 30 Jul 1935: Penguin paperbacks launched
35	1936	Jet engine first tested 20 Jan 1936: George V dies 5 May 1936: First flight of a Spitfire 24 Jul 1936: 'Speaking clock' service starts in UK 2 Nov 1936: British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, world's first public TV transmission 30 Nov 1936: Crystal Palace destroyed by fire 5 Dec 1936: Edward VIII abdicates (announced Dec 10) â€“ popular carol that Christmas: "Hark the Herald Angels sing, Mrs Simpson's got our King"
36	1937	'999' emergency telephone call facility starts in London Billy Butlin opens his first holiday camp 12 Apr 1937: Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft 12 May 1937: Coronation of King George VI 28 May 1937: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister â€“ policy of appeasement towards Hitler 3 Jun 1937: Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson 4 Dec 1937: 'The Dandy' first published
37	1938	Principle of paid holidays established in Britain HMS Rodney first ship to be equipped with radar First practical ball-point pen produced by Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro 12 Mar 1938: Germany invades and annexes Austria 3 Jul 1938: 'Mallard' reaches 126 mph (203 km/h); still world record for a steam locomotive 27 Sep 1938: Largest ocean liner ever built, Queen Elizabeth launched on Clydebank 29 Sep 1938: Chamberlain visits Hitler in Munich â€“ promises 'peace in our time' 30 Oct 1938: Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of HG Wells 'The War of the Worlds', causing panic in the USA
38	1939	Germany annexes Czechoslovakia Start of evacuation of women and children from London Coldest winter in Britain since 1894, though this could not be publicised at the time 1 Sep 1939: Germany invades Poland 3 Sep 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany 6 Sep 1939: First air-raid on Britain 11 Sep 1939: British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France 14 Oct 1939: HMS Royal Oak sunk in Scapa Flow with loss of 810 lives 7 Dec 1939: 'First flight' of Canadian troops sail for Britain â€“ 7,400 men on 5 ships 17 Dec 1939: 'Admiral Graf Spee' scuttled outside Montevideo
39	1940	1 Apr 1940: BOAC starts operations, replacing Imperial and British Airways Ltd 11 May 1940: National Government formed under Churchill 13 May 1940: Germany invades France 27 May 1940: Start of the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk (27 May - 4 Jun) 25 Jun 1940: Fall of France to Germany 7 Sep 1940: Germany launches bombing blitz on Britain, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing 15 Sep 1940: Battle of Britain: massive waves of German air attacks decisively repulsed by the RAF â€“ Hitler postpones invasion of Britain 14 Nov 1940: Coventry heavily bombed and the Cathedral almost completely destroyed

Jean Maitland MACKIE