1 Mar 1979—1 Mar 1979: 32.5% of Scots vote in favor of devolution (40% needed) - Welsh vote overwhelmingly against
30 Mar 1979—30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave killed by a car bomb at Westminster
31 Mar 1979—31 Mar 1979: Withdrawal of the Royal Navy from Malta
4 May 1979—4 May 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman UK Prime Minister
1 Jul 1979—1 Jul 1979: Sony introduces the Walkman
27 Aug 1979—27 Aug 1979: Lord Mountbatten and 3 others killed in bomb blast off coast of Sligo, Ireland
18 Sep 1979—18 Sep 1979: ILEA votes to abolish corporal punishment in its schools
2
1980
5 May 1980—5 May 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages
8 Dec 1980—8 Dec 1980: John Lennon assassinated in New York
3
1981
25 Jan 1981—25 Jan 1981: Launch of SDP by 'Gang of Four' in Britain
29 Mar 1981—29 Mar 1981: First London marathon run
11 Apr 1981—11 Apr 1981: Brixton riots in South London - 30 other British cities also experience riots
25 Apr 1981—25 Apr 1981: Worst April blizzards this century in Britain
27 Apr 1981—27 Apr 1981: First use of computer mouse (by Xerox PARC system)
29 Jul 1981—29 Jul 1981: Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 28 Aug 1996)
12 Aug 1981—12 Aug 1981: IBM launches the first PC
12 Aug 1981—12 Aug 1981: IBM launches its PC ? starts the general use of personal computers
4
1982
26 Jan 1982—26 Jan 1982: Unemployment reached 3 million in Britain (1 in 8 of working population)
5 Feb 1982—5 Feb 1982: Laker Airways collapses
19 Feb 1982—19 Feb 1982: DeLorean Car factory in Belfast goes into receivership
18 Mar 1982—18 Mar 1982: Argentinians raised flag in South Georgia
2 Apr 1982—2 Apr 1982: Argentina invades Falkland (Malvinas) Islands
5 Apr 1982—5 Apr 1982: Royal Navy fleet sails from Portsmouth for Falklands
2 May 1982—2 May 1982: British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks Argentine cruiser General
Belgrano
28 May 1982—28 May 1982: First land battle in Falklands (Goose Green)
14 Jun 1982—14 Jun 1982: Ceasefire in Falklands
21 Jun 1982—21 Jun 1982: Prince William is born
20 Jul 1982—20 Jul 1982: IRA bombings in London (Hyde Park and Regents Park)
19 Sep 1982—19 Sep 1982: Smiley emoticon :-) said to have been used for the first time
11 Oct 1982—11 Oct 1982: Mary Rose' raised in the Solent (sank in 1545)
31 Oct 1982—31 Oct 1982: Thames Barrier raised for first time (some say first public demonstration Nov 7)
2 Nov 1982—2 Nov 1982: Channel 4 TV station launched - first programme 'Countdown'
4 Nov 1982—4 Nov 1982: Lorries up to 38 tonnes allowed on Britain's roads
12 Dec 1982—12 Dec 1982: Women's peace protest at Greenham Common (Cruise missiles arrived 14 Nov
1983)
5
1983
1983—1983: First female Lord Mayor of London elected (Dame Mary Donaldson)
17 Jan 1983—17 Jan 1983: Start of breakfast TV in Britain
31 Jan 1983—31 Jan 1983: Seat belt law comes into force
21 Apr 1983—21 Apr 1983: ?1 coin into circulation in Britain
7 Oct 1983—7 Oct 1983: Plans to abolish GLC announced
26 Nov 1983—26 Nov 1983: Brinks Mat robbery: 6,800 gold bars worth nearly ?26 million are stolen from a
vault at Heathrow Airport
6
1984
6 Mar 1984—6 Mar 1984: Miners strike begins
17 Apr 1984—17 Apr 1984: Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher killed by gunfire from the Libyan Embassy in
London
22 Jun 1984—22 Jun 1984: Inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic
9 Jul 1984—9 Jul 1984: York Minster struck by lightning - the resulting fire damaged much of the building
but the Rose Window' not affected
12 Oct 1984—12 Oct 1984: IRA bomb explodes at Tory conference hotel in Brighton - 4 killed
24 Oct 1984—24 Oct 1984: Miners' strike ? High Court orders sequestration of NUM assets
3 Dec 1984—3 Dec 1984: British Telecom privatised - shares make massive gains on first day's trading
7
1985
3 Mar 1985—3 Mar 1985: Miners agree to call off strike
11 Mar 1985—11 Mar 1985: Al Fayed buys Harrods
13 Jul 1985—13 Jul 1985: Live Aid' pop concert raises over ?50M for famine relief
1 Sep 1985—1 Sep 1985: Wreck of Titanic' found (sank 1912)
8
1986
31 Mar 1986—31 Mar 1986: GLC and 6 metropolitan councils abolished
26 Apr 1986—26 Apr 1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident - radiation reached Britain on 2 Ma
26 May 1986—26 May 1986: The European Community adopts the European flag
23 Jul 1986—23 Jul 1986: Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey
27 Oct 1986—27 Oct 1986: 'Big Bang' (deregulation) of the London Stock Market
29 Oct 1986—29 Oct 1986: M25 motorway ring around London completed
9
1987
1987—1987: World population crossed the 5 billion mark
2 Feb 1987—2 Feb 1987: Terry Waite kidnapped in Beirut (released 17 Nov 1991)
6 Mar 1987—6 Mar 1987: Car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise' capsizes off Zeebrugge - 188 die
1 Jul 1987—1 Jul 1987: Excavation begins on the Channel Tunnel
19 Aug 1987—19 Aug 1987: Hungerford Massacre - Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a rifle
16 Oct 1987—16 Oct 1987: The 'Hurricane' sweeps southern England
19 Oct 1987—19 Oct 1987: 'Black Monday' in the City of London - Stock Market crash
8 Nov 1987—8 Nov 1987: Enniskillen bombing at a Remembrance Day ceremony
18 Nov 1987—18 Nov 1987: King's Cross fire in London - 31 people die
10
1988
5 Feb 1988—5 Feb 1988: First 'Red Nose Day' in UK, raising money for charity
6 Jul 1988—6 Jul 1988: Piper Alpha disaster - North Sea oil platform destroyed by explosion and fire
killing 167 men
15 Nov 1988—15 Nov 1988: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act - reformulated the statutory basis of
copyright law (including performing rights) in the UK
12 Dec 1988—12 Dec 1988: Clapham Junction rail crash kills 35 and injures hundreds after two collisions of
three commuter trains
21 Dec 1988—21 Dec 1988: Lockerbie disaster - Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Scotland
11
1989
1989—1989: Poll Tax implemented in Scotland
14 Feb 1989—14 Feb 1989: The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit
2 Mar 1989—2 Mar 1989: EU decision to ban production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of
the century
9 Nov 1989—9 Nov 1989: Berlin Wall torn down
21 Nov 1989—21 Nov 1989: Proceedings of House of Commons first televised live
12
1990
11 Feb 1990—11 Feb 1990: Nelson Mandela released in South Africa
31 Mar 1990—31 Mar 1990: Riots in London against Poll Tax which had been implemented in England &
Wales
25 Apr 1990—25 Apr 1990: Hubble space telescope launched
22 Nov 1990—22 Nov 1990: Margaret Thatcher resigns as Conservative party leader (and Prime Minister)
1 Dec 1990—1 Dec 1990: Channel Tunnel excavation teams meet in the middle
13
1991
1991—1991: Poll Tax replaced (by Council Tax)
1991—1991: The 'Internet' comes into existence
18 May 1991—18 May 1991: Helen Sharman is first British Astronaut in Space
Aug 1991—Aug 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union
6 Sep 1991—6 Sep 1991: Leningrad renamed St Petersburg
5 Nov 1991—5 Nov 1991: Robert Maxwell drowns at sea
14
1992
7 Feb 1992—7 Feb 1992: European Union formed by The Maastricht Treaty
22 Apr 1992—22 Apr 1992: Betty Boothroyd elected as first female Speaker of the House of Commons
15 Aug 1992—15 Aug 1992: Football Premier League kicks off in England
16 Sep 1992—16 Sep 1992: 'Black Wednesday' as Pound leaves the ERM
20 Nov 1992—20 Nov 1992: Fire breaks out in Windsor Castle causing over ?50 million worth of damage
24 Nov 1992—24 Nov 1992: The Queen describes this year as an 'Annus Horribilis'
15
1993
1993—1993: Betty Boothroyd first woman Speaker of the House of Commons (to 2000)
1993—1993: Elizabeth II becomes first British Monarch to pay Income Tax
Jul 1993—Jul 1993: Ratification of Maastricht Treaty, established the European Union (EU)
16
1994
1994—1994: 15 million people now connected to the Internet
12 Mar 1994—12 Mar 1994: Church of England ordains its first female priests
6 May 1994—6 May 1994: Channel Tunnel open to traffic
19 Nov 1994—19 Nov 1994: National Lottery starts
17
1995
26 Feb 1995—26 Feb 1995: Nick Leeson brings down Barings Bank
15 Jul 1995—15 Jul 1995: First item sold on Amazon.com
16 Nov 1995—16 Nov 1995: The Queen Mother has a hip replacement operation at 95 years old
22 Nov 1995—22 Nov 1995: Toy Story' released - first feature-length film created completely using
computer-generated imagery
18
1996
9 Feb 1996—9 Feb 1996: IRA bomb explodes in London Docklands - ends 17 month ceasefire
13 Mar 1996—13 Mar 1996: Dunblane massacre
15 Jun 1996—15 Jun 1996: IRA bomb explodes in Manchester
5 Jul 1996—5 Jul 1996: Scientists in Scotland clone a sheep (Dolly)
28 Aug 1996—28 Aug 1996: Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales are divorced