Timeline Of London (1900s)
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The following is a timeline of the
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
of London in the 20th century, the capital of England and the United Kingdom.


1900 to 1909

* 1900 ** 9 January:
Influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
outbreak in London. ** 15 January: The
London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...
opens as a venue for
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
performances. ** 3 March: The
Boundary Estate The Boundary Estate is a housing development in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The estate, constructed from 1890, was one of the earliest social housing schemes built by a local government authority. It was b ...
,
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
, Britain's first council estate to be commenced 10 years previously, is officially inaugurated. ** c. July: The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice at
Postman's Park Postman's Park is a public garden in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the former headquarters of the General ...
in the City is unveiled. ** 5 July:
Thames Ironworks F.C. Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor (Thames Ironworks F.C. founder), Dave Taylor in ...
is relaunched as
West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, having moved from their ...
** 30 July: The
Central London Railway The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railwayA "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a cylindrical tunnel by the use of a tunnelling shield, usually deep below g ...
, core of the modern-day
Central line (London Underground) The Central line is a London Underground line that runs between or in the west, and or Hainault Loop, Woodford via Hainault in the north-east, via the West End of London, West End, City of London, the City, and the East End of London, East En ...
, opens. ** 18 October: The
Passmore Edwards Museum The Passmore Edwards Museum was a museum in Stratford, east London. Earlier in its life it was also known as the Essex Local and Educational Museum of Natural History. It began life as the collection and library of the Essex Field Club, which ...
is opened in
West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...
; it closes in 1994. ** 1 November:
London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 ( 62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 42 loc ...
comes into effect, dividing the
County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
into 28
metropolitan boroughs A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...
:
Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...
,
Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
,
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...
,
Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
, Chelsea,
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
,
Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manorialism, Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man c ...
,
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
,
Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
,
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...
, Hackney,
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
,
Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
,
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
,
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
,
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
,
Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
,
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
, Poplar,
St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropoli ...
, St Pancras,
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
,
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
,
Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
,
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
,
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
,
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, and
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
(including
North Woolwich North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London, England, on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel. Despite ...
). Westminster has been confirmed in its
city status in the United Kingdom City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the the Crown, monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of city, cities. , there are List of cities in the Un ...
by
letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
on 27 October. ** Prince Henry's Room at 17
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
is the first historic building to be acquired by the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
. **
Hotel Russell The Kimpton Fitzroy London is a historic five-star hotel, located on Russell Square, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. From its opening in 1900 until 2018, it was known as the Hotel Russell. History The Hotel Russell was built in 1 ...
in
Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...
opens to guests. ** The music hall song "
Burlington Bertie "Burlington Bertie" is a music hall song composed by Harry B. Norris in 1900 and notably sung by Vesta Tilley. It concerns an Aristocracy (class), aristocratic young idler who pursues a life of leisure in the West End of London. Burlington Arcade ...
" is composed. * 1901 ** 2 February: The funeral procession of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
takes place from Victoria station to
Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...
. ** 21 February: The
Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.
opens on
Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadill ...
. ** 12 March: The
Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...
, designed by
Charles Harrison Townsend Charles Harrison Townsend (13 May 185126 December 1928) was an English architect. He was born in Birkenhead, educated at Birkenhead School and articled to the Liverpool architect Walter Scott in 1870. He moved to London with his family in 1880 an ...
, opens. ** 1 April: The
United Kingdom Census 1901 The United Kingdom Census 1901 was the 11th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was done on 31 March 1901 "relating to the persons returned as living at midnight on Sunday, March 31st". The total pop ...
takes place. London's population is over 4.5 million in the central area and over 6.6 million in the greater metropolitan area. ** 4 April:
Electric tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...
s are introduced. ** 18 May:
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...
opens to the public. ** 20 June:
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
premières his
concert overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were ...
''
Cockaigne (In London Town) ''Cockaigne (In London Town)'', Op. 40, also known as the ''Cockaigne Overture'', is a concert overture for full orchestra written by the British composer Edward Elgar in 1900–1901. History The success of the ''Enigma Variations'' in 1899 was ...
'' at the
Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...
. ** 29 June: The
Horniman Museum The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a museum in Forest Hill, London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Modern Style. It has displays of anthropology, natural history and music ...
, designed by
Charles Harrison Townsend Charles Harrison Townsend (13 May 185126 December 1928) was an English architect. He was born in Birkenhead, educated at Birkenhead School and articled to the Liverpool architect Walter Scott in 1870. He moved to London with his family in 1880 an ...
, opens in Forest Hill. ** 5 August: Britain's first permanent cinema opens in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
. ** 20 November: The
Metropolitan Borough of Kensington The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Vict ...
is granted royal status by charter. **
Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
Tenants begin the development of the
Brentham Garden Suburb Brentham Garden Suburb near Pitshanger in Ealing was the first garden suburb in London to be built in co-partnership housing movement principles, predating the larger and better-known Hampstead Garden Suburb by some years. It was mostly built ...
housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...
. ** The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
begins the development of the
Norbury Estate The Norbury Estate originated as a London County Council cottage estate constructed between 1901 and 1920 at Norbury in what is now the north of the London Borough of Croydon. It was declared a conservation area in 2008. The site was a former br ...
, the first beyond its boundaries at this time. ** The London County Council takes over the
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
scheme from the
Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
. ** The
Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...
opens as a
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
. **
Will Barker William Barker may refer to: Politicians *William Barker (translator) ( 1570), English translator and MP for Great Yarmouth and Bramber *William Barker (MP for Berkshire) (died 1685), English Member of Parliament for Berkshire (UK Parliament const ...
begins making moving pictures in London. * 1902 ** 1 March: The first GPO
telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...
in London opens in the
Faraday Building The Faraday Building is in the southwest of the City of London close to St Paul's Cathedral. The land was first acquired by the General Post Office in the 1870s, for the Post Office Savings Bank. In 1902 it was converted to a GPO telephone e ...
. ** April ***
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, under the alias Jacob Richter, begins a year's stay in London, where he edits the newspaper ''
Iskra ''Iskra'' (, , ''the Spark'') was a fortnightly political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History ''Iskra'' was published in exile and then smuggl ...
'' at 37a Clerkenwell Green and studies in the
British Museum Reading Room The British Museum Reading Room, situated in the centre of the Great Court of the British Museum, used to be the main reading room of the British Library. In 1997, this function moved to the new British Library building at St Pancras, London, ...
. In October,
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
first meets him at Lenin's rented flat, 30 Holford Square,
Pentonville Pentonville is an area in North London, located in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the London Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient p ...
. *** The
Roehampton Club Roehampton Club is a private members’ sports club in southwest London, England. It is set in of parkland, close to Richmond Park. Originally established in 1901 as an officers’ polo club, Roehampton Club has sporting and leisure facilities i ...
is opened as a private members'
sporting club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
. ** 9 April: The
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London, Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an un ...
(UERCL) is formed to consolidate the group of Underground lines controlled by American financier
Charles Yerkes Charles Tyson Yerkes Jr. ( ; June 25, 1837 – December 29, 1905) was an American financier. He played a part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicago and London. Philadelphia Yerkes was born into a Quaker family in the Northern Libertie ...
. ** 29 May: The
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
is opened. ** June: A cast of
Thomas Thornycroft Thomas Thornycroft (19 May 1815 – 30 August 1885) was an English sculptor and engineer. Biography Thornycroft was born at Great Tidnock, near Gawsworth, Cheshire, the eldest son of John Thornycroft, a farmer. He was educated at Congleton ...
's sculpture ''
Boadicea and Her Daughters ''Boadicea and Her Daughters'' is a bronze sculpture, bronze sculptural group in London representing Boudica, queen of the Celts, Celtic Iceni tribe, who led an uprising in Roman Britain. It is located to the north side of the western end of West ...
'' is erected posthumously on the
Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment (the other section is the Chelsea Embankment), a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to ...
in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
. ** July: The
Leicester Galleries Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...
open to exhibit modern art in
Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...
. ** 4 August: The
Greenwich foot tunnel The Greenwich Foot Tunnel crosses beneath the River Thames in East London, linking Greenwich ( Royal Borough of Greenwich) on the south bank with Millwall (London Borough of Tower Hamlets) on the north. Approximately 4,000 people use the tunne ...
under the Thames opens. ** 9 August:
Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony h ...
at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
, postponed from 26 June due to the King's illness. ** 22 November: The
Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...
, the first in London, opens. ** 1 December: The Metropolis Water Act creates the
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
to absorb existing water suppliers on 24 June 1904. ** The
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
are established for filmmaking by
Will Barker William Barker may refer to: Politicians *William Barker (translator) ( 1570), English translator and MP for Great Yarmouth and Bramber *William Barker (MP for Berkshire) (died 1685), English Member of Parliament for Berkshire (UK Parliament const ...
. ** The original
Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, London, White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the ...
is established. **
Rosa Lewis Rosa Lewis (''née'' Ovenden; 1867–1952) was an English cook and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St. James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly pr ...
acquires
The Cavendish Hotel The Cavendish Hotel is a modern 4-star, 230-bedroom, luxury hotel in St James's, London, United Kingdom, facing the restaurant front of Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly. Across Piccadilly is Mayfair. It is currently known as "The Cavendish London ...
. * 1903 ** 27 January: A fire at Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum kills 51 people. ** 6 March: The
Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...
Convent and Shrine of the Martyrs is established by the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre. ** 21 April: The new
Baltic Exchange (building) The Baltic Exchange was an important listed building and historic landmark at 24–28 St Mary Axe in the City of London, occupied by the Baltic Exchange, a market for shipping, marine insurance, and information on maritime transportation. The bu ...
opens in the City. ** 20 May: The new
Kew Bridge Kew Bridge is a wide-span bridge over the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) linking the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow. The present bridge, which was opened in 1903 as King Edward VII Bridge by King Edward VII and Q ...
is opened by
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
. ** By June: The
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...
is opened. ** June–August: London's wettest summer and year is recorded at
Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
. ** 18 June: An explosion at
Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...
,
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
kills 16 people. ** 23–27 June: The
Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and was known as the English Agricultural Society until it received i ...
holds its annual show at its
Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, divided between the London Borough of Ealing and the London Borough of Brent. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, togethe ...
ground for the first time. Although this is intended to be a permanent site, the RAS sells it after 3 years. ** August:
2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held from July 30 to August 23 (July 17 – August 10, O.S.) 1903, starting in Brussels, Belgium (until August 6) and ending in London, England. Probably as a result of diplomat ...
moves from
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
to London. ** 2 November: The tabloid national newspaper ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' begins publication. ** November: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
erects its first
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
, to the historian
Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...
, who died in 1859, at Holly Lodge,
Campden Hill Campden Hill is a hill in Kensington, West London, bounded by Holland Park Avenue on the north, Kensington High Street on the south, Kensington Palace Gardens on the east and Abbotsbury Road on the west. The name derives from the former ''Camp ...
. ** 16 December: The London County Council erects its earliest surviving blue plaque, to the novelist
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
, who died in 1870, on his former home in Doughty Street. ** The London County Council's
Latchmere Estate Latchmere Estate is a housing estate in Battersea, Greater London, which was constructed in 1903. It is the first example of a housing estate built with labour directly employed by a local council authority. Between 1832 and the 1880s, Batterse ...
opens in Battersea, making it the first
public housing in the United Kingdom Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...
to be built using a council's own direct labour force. ** William Foyle and his brother Gilbert establish the bookselling business of
Foyles Foyles, a trading name of Waterstones Booksellers Limited (formerly W & G Foyle Ltd.), is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in England. It is best known for its flagship store in Charing Cross Road, London. Foyles was once listed in ...
. ** The
Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament, but is most remembered today for the diary he kept for almost a decade. Though ...
Club is founded. **
Clement's Inn The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from at ...
, last of the
Inns of Chancery The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from a ...
, is dissolved and demolished to make way for the redevelopment of
Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
. * 1904 ** 9 February: The 1904 City of London by-election is held. ** 22 March:
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...
's novel '' The Napoleon of Notting Hill'' is published. ** 25 April:
Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...
establishes an Academy of Dramatic Art, which will become
RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...
, at His Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket. ** 9 June: The
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
(LSO) performs its first concert. ** 4 July: The branch railway to the original Uxbridge station is opened by the
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
. ** 15 August: The Metropolitan Fire Brigade is renamed as the
London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...
. ** 1 September:
Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club is a professional association football club based in Brentford, England. The team competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Nicknamed "The Bees", the club was founded in 1889 and played home matc ...
first plays at
Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...
. ** 11 October: The
Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...
Stadium is first used by Shepherd's Bush F.C. ** Late October: The first members of what will become the
Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...
move to the
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
district. ** ca. November: The
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...
fire brigade becomes the first to take delivery of a petrol-engined self-propelled motor
fire pump A fire pump usually refers to a pressure-increasing component of the water supply for fixed-place fire suppression systems such as fire sprinklers, standpipes, and foam systems. Fire pumps are also a critical component integrated into fire tr ...
. ** 24 December: The
Coliseum Theatre The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
opens. ** 27 December: The première of
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
's play ''
Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled ''Peter and Wendy''. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievou ...
'' takes place at the
Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...
; it is published as a novel in 1911. * 1905 ** February:
Lots Road Power Station Lots Road Power Station is a disused gas- and oil-fired power station (originally coal) on the River Thames at Lots Road in Chelsea, London in the south-west of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, which supplied electricity to the Lon ...
begins generating electricity for the
Underground Group The Underground Electric Railways Company of London, Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an un ...
railways and tramways. Through the year, the
District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...
and Circle line convert their passenger operations from steam to electric trains. ** 1 May: The
Anglican Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark ( ) is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient ...
created, which raises the Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie to the dignity of
Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ), formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother c ...
, and Edward Talbot is consecrated as the first bishop. ** 10 March:
Chelsea Football Club Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...
is founded. ** 6 May: The Naval, Shipping and Fisheries Exhibition opens at
Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
. ** 12 May: The
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...
unveils its popular exhibit of "
Dippy Dippy is a composite ''Diplodocus'' skeleton in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the holotype of the species ''Diplodocus carnegii''. It is considered the most famous single dinosaur skeleton in the world, due to the numerou ...
", an exact replica of the skeleton of the ''
Diplodocus carnegii ''Diplodocus'' (, , or ) is an extinct genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs known from the Late Jurassic of North America. The first fossils of ''Diplodocus'' were discovered in 1877 by Samuel Wendell Williston, S. W. Williston. The generi ...
'' dinosaur. ** 18 October: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
's new street at Kingsway and the redevelopment of
Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
are opened. ** 21 October:
Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...
first conducts a performance of his ''
Fantasia on British Sea Songs Fantasia on British Sea Songs or Fantasy on British Sea Songs is a medley of British sea songs arranged by Sir Henry Wood in 1905 to mark the centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. For many years it has been an indispensable item at the BBC's La ...
'' at a
Trafalgar Day Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. History The formation of the Navy Le ...
concert. * 1906 ** 13 January:
Woolwich Town Hall Woolwich Town Hall is an early 20th-century town hall located in the historic Bathway Quarter in the centre of Woolwich, South East London. Until 1965 it was the seat of local government of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, after which it b ...
is opened by the Labour MP
Will Crooks William Crooks (6 April 1852 – 5 June 1921) was a noted trade unionist and politician from Poplar, London, and a member of the Fabian Society. He is particularly remembered for his campaigning work against poverty and inequality. Early life ...
, with the Woolwich Council having resisted a royal opening. ** 24 February: The
Kingsway tramway subway The Kingsway tramway subway is a Tunnel#Cut-and-cover, cut-and-cover tunnel in central London, built by the London County Council, and the only one of its kind in Britain. The decision in 1898 to clear slum districts in the Holborn area prov ...
opens. ** 27 February: The
February 1906 City of London by-election The February 1906 City of London by-election was a by-election, parliamentary by-election held on 27 February 1906 for the British House of Commons United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of City of London (UK Parliament constituency), City o ...
is held. ** 10 March: The
Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs par ...
opens. ** 15 May: Our Dumb Friends League opens its first
animal hospital ''Animal Hospital'' is a British television show starring Australian singer and TV presenter Rolf Harris that ran on BBC One from 29 August 1994 to 13 September 2004. Other presenters included Lynda Bryans, Steve Knight, Mairi McHaffie, Rhodri W ...
in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. ** 24 May *** The Ritz Hotel opens in
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
, making it the first significant steel-framed building in London, although regulations require the
masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
external walls to be loadbearing. ***
Greenwich Power Station Greenwich Power Station is a standby gas and formerly oil and coal-fired power station by the River Thames at Greenwich in south-east London. Originally constructed to supply power for London's tram system, since 1988 it has been London Und ...
, which had begun construction in 1902, begins generating electricity for the
London County Council Tramways The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways operated by the London County Council, council throughout the County of London, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over by the London Passenger Trans ...
. ** 26 May: The replacement
Vauxhall Bridge Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, it r ...
opens. ** 28 July: The
Tooting Bec Lido Tooting Bec Lido is an open-air fresh water swimming pool in South London. It is the largest fresh water swimming pool by surface area in the United Kingdom, being long and wide. The Lido (swimming pool), Lido is on Tooting Commons, Tootin ...
is opened as the Tooting Bathing-Lake on
Tooting Commons The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between Balham, Streatham and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common. Since 1996, they have been wholly within the London Borough of W ...
. ** 15 September: The
Brown Dog affair The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Britain from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish feminists, battles between medical students and the ...
: An anti-
vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal test ...
Brown Dog statue is erected in
Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...
and provokes riots. ** 23 October:
Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
s disrupt the
State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each Legislative session, session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His or Her Majesty's "Speech from the throne, gracious speech ...
. ** 15 December: The
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...
opens. ** The
Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is a suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century ...
is established by
Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
and
Henrietta Barnett Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett, DBE (''née'' Rowland; 4 May 1851 – 10 June 1936) was an English social reformer, educationist, and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first "University Settlement" at ...
, and it is laid out by
Raymond Unwin Sir Raymond Unwin (2 November 1863 – 29 June 1940) was a prominent and influential English engineer, architect and town planner, with an emphasis on improvements in working class housing. Early years Raymond Unwin was born in Rotherham, Yor ...
. * 1907 ** 7 February: The " Mud March", the first large procession organized by the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...
, takes place. ** 11 February: Explosions at
Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...
,
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
shatter windows within a large radius. ** 27 February: The
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
(criminal court) building opens. ** 22 March: The first
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
s with
taximeter A taximeter or fare meter is a mechanical or electronic device installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws that calculates passenger fares based on a combination of distance travelled and waiting time. Its shortened form, "taxi", is also a meton ...
s begin operating in London. ** 13 May–1 June: The
5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 5th (London) Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held in London between May 13 and June 1, 1907. The 5th Congress had the largest attendance of the Congresses of the unified RSDLP.Thatcher, Ian D. Trotsky'. Routledge Hist ...
is held at the
Brotherhood Church The Brotherhood Church is a Christian anarchist and pacifist community. An intentional community with Quaker origins has been located at Stapleton, near Pontefract, Yorkshire, since 1921. History The church can be traced back to 1887 when a ...
in Hackney.
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
,
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
,
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
and
Litvinov Litvinov or Litvinoff () is a Russian surname derived from the term ''Litvin'', meaning Lithuania, Lithuanian person (Litva/Литвa). The female form of this surname is Litvinova (). Notable persons with that name include: Litvinov * Alexander L ...
attend, the latter two staying in the
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
Rowton House. ** 22 June: The
Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead Tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for ...
opens; it is later merged into the
Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...
. ** 8 July:
Imperial College of Science and Technology Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums, ...
is formed by amalgamation of the Royal College of Science and the Royal School of Mines. ** September: A cast of G. F. Watts' sculpture ''
Physical Energy Energy () is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy sta ...
'' is erected posthumously in
Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...
. ** 11 September: The
Camden Town Murder The Camden Town murder was a murder which took place in Camden Town, London, England, in 1907. Robert Wood, an artist, was tried for the murder of sex worker Emily Dimmock and acquitted after a defence by Edward Marshall Hall. Januszczak, Walde ...
takes place. ** London County Council's Open Air School at Plumstead is established for physically
handicapped Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
children. * 1908 ** 26 May–October: The
Franco-British Exhibition The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London between 14 May and 31 October 1908. It was the first in the series of the White City Exhibitions. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordial ...
is held at what becomes known as White City in
Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...
. ** 12 June: The
Rotherhithe Tunnel The Rotherhithe Tunnel, designated the A101, is a road tunnel under the River Thames in East London, connecting Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the ...
opens to road traffic and pedestrians. ** 13 June: The
Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
march and rally takes place at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. ** June: The distinctive 'bar and circle' design of station nameboards is introduced on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
. ** 13–25 July: The
1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
is held at the
White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...
as part of the Franco-British Exhibition and of a festival of sport that began on 14 May. The marathon is run on 24 July, and
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
events are held in
Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...
on 28–29 October. ** 19 July: The
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
converts the last of its steam-hauled passenger services south of
Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...
to electric operation. ** October: The first
Ideal Home Exhibition The Ideal Home Show (formerly called the Ideal Home Exhibition) is an annual event in London, England, held at Olympia. The show was devised by the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper in 1908 and continued to be run by the ''Daily Mail'' until 2009. It w ...
is held at Olympia sponsored by the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' newspaper. ** November: Horace, Eustace and
Oswald Short Hugh Oswald Short, AFRAeS (16 January 1883 – 4 December 1969) was an English aeronautical engineer. Early life Oswald Short was born at Stanton by Dale, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, the son of mining engineer Samuel Short and his second wife Emma ...
found
Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
in
Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...
, making it the first aircraft manufacturing company in England. **
Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
paints the series of
problem picture A problem picture is a genre of art popular in late Victorian painting, characterised by the deliberately ambiguous depiction of a key moment in a narrative that can be interpreted in several different ways, or which portrays an unresolved dilemma. ...
s ''
The Camden Town murder ''The Camden Town Murder'' is a title given to a group of four paintings by Walter Sickert painted in 1908. The paintings have specific titles, such as the problem picture ''What Shall We Do for the Rent'' or ''What Shall We Do to Pay the Rent' ...
''. ** The first illuminated advertising sign at
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
is for
Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of bottled water marketed as coming from its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard '' département''. Perrier was part of the Perrier Vittel Group SA, which became Nestlé Waters France after the acqu ...
. * 1909 ** 23 January: The "
Tottenham outrage The Tottenham Outrage of 23 January 1909 was an armed robbery in Tottenham, North London, that resulted in a two-hour chase between the police and armed criminals over a distance of , with an estimated 400 rounds of ammunition fired by the thie ...
", an armed robbery and the murder of a 10-year-old boy and a
police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...
in
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
, is carried out by 2 Latvian
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...
. ** 26 February: The first colour film using ''
Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process. Used commercially from 1909 to 1915, it was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. It was a two-colour additive colour process, photographing a black-and-white film behind ...
'' is shown at the
Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...
. ** 15 March: The
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
Selfridges, Oxford Street The Selfridges flagship store is a Grade II listed department store on Oxford Street in Marylebone, London, England, and is also the headquarters of the Selfridges department store chain. It was designed by Daniel Burnham for Harry Gordon Sel ...
opens. ** 31 March: The
Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...
takes over the London docks, and also management of the Thames
Tideway The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending ...
from the
Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of River Thames, that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines-upon-T ...
. ** 5 May: The
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
's
Honor Oak Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the London Borough of Lewisham, with part in the London Borough of Southwark. It is named after the oak tree on One Tree Hill that Elizabeth I is reputed to have picnicked under. Overview One ...
covered reservoir is inaugurated. ** 20 May: The
Imperial International Exhibition The ''Imperial International Exhibition'' was a world's fair held in White City, London in 1909. The exhibition was opened by the Duke of Argyll on 20 May 1909 and continued for five months before closing in October. This was the second of five ...
opens at White City. ** 5 June:
Alliott Verdon Roe Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe OBE, Hon. FRAeS, FIAS (26 April 1877 – 4 January 1958) was a pioneer English pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of the Avro company. After experimenting with model aeroplanes, he made flight tr ...
begins flights in the first fixed-wing aircraft of all-British manufacture, the
Roe I Triplane The Roe I Triplane (often later referred to as the Avro Triplane) was an early aircraft designed and built by Alliot Verdon Roe, A.V. Roe which was the first all-British aircraft to fly.Jackson 1990 p.6 (Roe's Roe I Biplane, previous biplane ...
, from Walthamstow Marshes. ** 26 June: The
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
opens in the building designed for it by
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb, (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
in South Kensington by
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
and
Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...
, and the
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...
is constituted as a fully independent institution. ** 1 July: Senior British Indian Government official
Curzon Wyllie Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie (5 October 1848 – 1 July 1909) was a British Indian army officer, and later an official of the British Indian Government. Over a career spanning three decades, Curzon Wyllie rose to be a Lieutenant Colonel in t ...
is shot dead at the Imperial Institute in
South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...
and a bystander fatally wounded; the assassin,
Madan Lal Dhingra Madan Lal Dhingra (18 September 1883 – 17 August 1909) was an Indian student and a revolutionary freedom fighter at University College London who in 1909 assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, the political aide-de-camp to the Secret ...
, an Indian nationalist student, is subsequently sentenced to death and hanged at
Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...
on 17 August. ** 14 September: *** The owners of
J. Lyons and Co. J, or j, is the tenth letter of the English alphabet. J may also refer to: * Palatal approximant in the International Phonetic Alphabet * J, Cyrillic letter Je Astronomy * J, a provisional designation prefix for some objects discovered be ...
open the
Strand Palace Hotel The Strand Palace Hotel is a large hotel on the north side of the Strand, London, England, positioned close to Covent Garden, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square and the River Thames. History The hotel was built after Exeter Hall was demolished in 1907. ...
and their first Corner House restaurant on
Coventry Street Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4 road (England), A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Cov ...
in the same year. ***
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are brought into the City for the first time when the Lord Mayor of London, George Wyatt Truscott">"type": ...
are brought into the City for the first time when the Lord Mayor of London, George Wyatt Truscott, ceremonially drives the first tram over Blackfriars Bridge, which has been widened to accommodate the tramway. ** 2 October: The first match is played at the Rugby Football Union's Twickenham Stadium, Harlequin F.C., Harlequins v.
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
. ** 1 December: The
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...
publicly inaugurates London's first suburban surface
railway electrification system Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), electric multiple units ( passenger cars with their own ...
on its South London line, known as the "Elevated Electric". ** 20 December: A fire at Arding & Hobbs department store in Clapham kills 9 staff.


1910 to 1919

* 1910 ** 24 February: The
Electric Cinema, Notting Hill The Electric Cinema is a cinema in Notting Hill, London. One of the oldest working film theatres in Britain, it became Britain's first black-owned cinema in 1993, and remained so until it was sold in 2000. , after several changes in ownership ...
opens. ** 6 May: King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
dies at
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
. No later monarch will die in London for at least a century. ** 14 May–29 October: The
Japan–British Exhibition The took place at White City, London in Great Britain from 14 May 1910 to 29 October 1910. It was the largest international exposition that the Empire of Japan had ever participated in. It was driven by the Japanese government's desire to shake ...
at White City. ** 28 June: The
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...
is
consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
. ** 18 October *** Dr. Crippen is put on trial at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
for
uxoricide Uxoricide (from Latin ''uxor'' meaning "wife" and -cide, from ''caedere'' meaning "to cut, to kill") is the killing of one's own wife. It can also be used in the context of the killing of one's own girlfriend. It can refer to the act itself or ...
, of which he is convicted on 22 October. He is hanged on 23 November in
Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...
. *** First B-type
double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They app ...
, built and operated by the
London General Omnibus Company The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer. Overview The London General Omnibus Company was f ...
, enters service. It was designed by Frank Searle, and is considered to be the first
mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...
bus. Around 2,800 are built up to 1919, displacing LGOC's last horse buses by the end of 1911 with examples in regular use up to 1926, around 900 seeing service on the
Western Front (World War I) The Western Front was one of the main Theatre (warfare), theatres of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the Imperial German Army, German Army opened the Western Front by German invasion of Belgium (1914), invad ...
. ** 26 December: The
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
music hall opens. ** After May:
Admiralty Arch The Admiralty Arch is a historic landmark building in London, providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, London, The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Commissioned by King Edward VII in mem ...
is completed. ** Crosby Hall is moved from
Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...
to Chelsea. ** The
Fine Art Trade Guild The Fine Art Trade Guild is an organisation representing the fine art and framing industry. Based in London, the Guild operates primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also in a smaller capacity in New Zealand. History The first fine art tra ...
is established in London. * 1911 ** 3 January:
Siege of Sidney Street The siege of Sidney Street of January 1911, also known as the Battle of Stepney, was a gunfight in the East End of London between a combined police and army force and two Latvian revolutionaries. The siege was the culmination of a series of ...
: the Metropolitan Police and
Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...
engage in a shootout with a criminal gang of Latvian
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...
holed up in a building in the East End following a bungled jewel robbery on 16 December 1910 in
Houndsditch Houndsditch is a street running through parts of the Portsoken and Bishopsgate Without wards of the City of London; areas which are also a part of the East End of London. The road follows the line of the outside edge of the ditch which once ...
and the shooting of 3 policemen. ** 1 February: The last and largest warship built on the Thames, HMS ''Thunderer'' is launched by the
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cann ...
in Blackwall. ** 11 March: The
Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a large marble monument in the Maidan in Central Kolkata (Calcutta), having its entrance on the Queen's Way. It was built between 1906 and 1921 by the British Raj. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, the ...
is dedicated outside
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
. ** 2 April: The 1911
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
is taken, and the suffragette
Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Polit ...
hides in a cupboard in the crypt of the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
so that she can legitimately be recorded as resident on census night at the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. Greater London population: 7,251,338. ** 12 May: The
Festival of Empire The 1911 Festival of Empire was the biggest single event held at the Crystal Palace in London since its opening. It opened on 12 May and was one of the events to celebrate the coronation of King George V. The original intention had been that Ed ...
opens at
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
to celebrate the forthcoming
coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
. ** 16 May: The
Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a large marble monument in the Maidan in Central Kolkata (Calcutta), having its entrance on the Queen's Way. It was built between 1906 and 1921 by the British Raj. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, the ...
is unveiled outside
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
, and The Mall is completed as a ceremonial approach. ** 18 May:
The Other Club The Other Club is a British political dining society founded in 1911 by Winston Churchill and F. E. Smith. It met to dine fortnightly in the Pinafore Room at the Savoy Hotel during periods when Parliament was in session. The club's members ove ...
political dining society holds its first dinner. ** 22 June: The coronation of King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
and Queen Mary takes place in Westminster Abbey, and the processions pass through
Admiralty Arch The Admiralty Arch is a historic landmark building in London, providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, London, The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Commissioned by King Edward VII in mem ...
for the first time. ** 9–26 September: The world's first scheduled
airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...
post service flies between
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
and
Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The town is situated we ...
. ** 4 October: The first
escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
system opens to the public at
Earl's Court tube station Earl's Court is a Grade II listed London Underground station in Earl's Court, London, on the District and Piccadilly lines. It is an important interchange for both lines and is situated in both Travelcard Zone 1 and Zone 2. The station has ...
. ** November: Virginia Stephen begins to share her brother
Adrian Stephen Adrian Leslie Stephen (27 October 1883 – 3 May 1948) was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, an author and psychoanalyst, and the younger brother of Thoby Stephen, Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. He and his wife, Karin, became interested in t ...
's London house at 38
Brunswick Square Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre to the we ...
with other members of the
Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...
:
Leonard Woolf Leonard Sidney Woolf (; – ) was a British List of political theorists, political theorist, author, publisher, and civil servant. He was married to author Virginia Woolf. As a member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party and the Fabian Socie ...
(her future husband),
John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...
and
Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a Scottish painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets, and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...
. ** 21 November:
Suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...
storm
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
; all those arrested choose prison terms. ** 26 December: The New Prince's theatre is the last to open on
Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadill ...
**
Westminster Central Hall The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue in the City of Westminster, London, serving primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre. The building also houses an art gallery, a restaur ...
is completed as a Wesleyan Methodist church. ** Gidea Park, as the Romford Garden Suburb, and Totterdown Fields, the first
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
Public housing in the United Kingdom, cottage estate, are completed. ** The Royal Automobile Club moves to "a somewhat florid French Renaissance style" building on Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall. ** The Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionism, post-Impressionist artists are established. * 1912 ** 1 January: *** The
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London, Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an un ...
(UERCL) takes over the
London General Omnibus Company The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer. Overview The London General Omnibus Company was f ...
, which leads to the widespread adoption of the 'bar and circle' logo in publicity. *** The General Post Office takes over the whole business of the National Telephone Company. ** 1 March:
Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
s smash shop windows in the West End of London, West End, especially around Oxford Street. ** 21 March: London Museum (1912–1976), London Museum inaugurated in Kensington Palace (opens to public 8 April). ** 30 March: The Boat Race 1912, The Boat Race is abandoned after both crews sink. It is restarted on 1 April, and Oxford University Boat Club, Oxford win. ** April/May: Thousands of Jewish workers in the West End garment trade strike, followed by thousands more in the East End inspired by Rudolf Rocker. ** May: The Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley Picturedrome, built in 1910, opens as a cinema. ** 1 May: The Statue of Peter Pan appears in
Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...
. ** June: The Cheapside Hoard of early 17th-century jewellery is found in the City of London, City and secured for the new London Museum. ** 10 August: Francis McClean, Frank McClean flies a
Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
floatplane up the Thames between the upper and lower spans of Tower Bridge and underneath London Bridge. ** 26 October: The Woolwich foot tunnel opens under the Thames. * 1913 ** 8 January: The Poetry Bookshop is established in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
by Harold Monro; it serves as a literary meeting place until its closure in 1926. ** 10 February: News of the failure of Robert Falcon Scott, Capt. Scott's 1912 Polar expedition reaches London. ** 15 March: The King George V Reservoir in London Borough of Enfield, Enfield is inaugurated for the
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
. ** 20 May: The first Chelsea Flower Show takes place. ** Summer–Autumn: Sir
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb, (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
remodels
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
's main East Front. ** 26 June: Miss Emily Dawson is the first female magistrate to be appointed. ** 19 July: The
London County Council Tramways The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways operated by the London County Council, council throughout the County of London, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over by the London Passenger Trans ...
operates its last horse trams, in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
. ** 26 July *** 50,000 women take part in a pilgrimage in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park organised by the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...
. *** King's College Hospital opens on its new site in Camberwell. ** 6 September: Arsenal F.C., which was previously based in Plumstead in South London, move into their Arsenal Stadium, new stadium in Highbury. ** November: John Archer (British politician), John Archer becomes the first black mayor of a London borough in Battersea. ** Caroline Spurgeon becomes the first female professor at the University of London. ** The London Group of artists is formed by merger of the Camden Town Group and the Vorticists. ** The Twickenham Film Studios are established. ** The Middlesex Guildhall building is completed in Parliament Square in the Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic style. ** Carter's Crisps of London introduce the commercial manufacture of Potato chip, potato crisps to the UK. ** Ralph Vaughan Williams completes his Symphony No. 2 'A London Symphony', with its premiere taking place in March 1914. * 1914 ** March: The London Group hold their first art exhibition at the Goupil Gallery. ** 10 March: The suffragette Mary Richardson damages the Diego Velázquez, Velázquez painting the ''Rokeby Venus'' in the National Gallery, London, National Gallery with a meat cleaver. ** 2 April: The Geffrye Museum is opened in
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
by the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
. ** 4 May: The suffragette Mary Wood attacks John Singer Sargent's portrait of Henry James at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition with a meat cleaver. At the same exhibition on 12 May, Gertrude Mary Ansell attacks the recently deceased Hubert von Herkomer's portrait of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, and on 26 May, 'Mary Spencer' (Maude Kate Smith) attacks George Clausen's painting ''Primavera''. ** 8 June: The City Livery Club is founded. ** 11 June: A suffragette bomb explodes in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
near the coronation chair. ** 14 June: 7 people, including 4 children, are killed by lightning on Wandsworth Common. ** 1 July: Isleworth Studios officially opens for film production. ** 31 July: London Stock Exchange closes until 4 January 1915. ** 4 August *** London's last horsebus operates in Peckham. *** World War I, War is declared by the United Kingdom on the German Empire at 23:00. ** September: The cover of magazine ''London Opinion'' first carries the iconic drawing by Alfred Leete of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Lord Kitchener with the recruiting slogan ''Lord Kitchener Wants You, Your Country Needs You'', used as poster in the London district. ** 11 September: Reduction in street lighting as an air raid precaution. ** 14 October: The Royal Flying Corps first permanently stations aircraft at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome. ** 17 October: Anti-German riots break out in Deptford. ** 6 November: Carl Hans Lody becomes the first of 11 convicted World War I German spies to be shot at dawn by firing squad in the Tower of London up to 1916. ** December: The Post office sets up its Home Depot to sort mail for the military and covers 4 acres (1.6 ha) of Regent's Park. * 1915 ** 1 January: The Ilford rail crash (1915), Ilford rail crash kills 10 people on the Great Eastern Main Line. ** February: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
establishes an emergency ambulance corps, predecessor of the London Ambulance Service, under the control of the
London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...
. By July 1916, it is staffed entirely by women. ** 3 May: The Royal Flying Corps opens RAF Northolt, Northolt aerodrome, which eventually becomes RAF Northolt. ** 26 May: The King George V Military hospital opens in a converted new stationery warehouse in Waterloo, London, Waterloo. ** 31 May: The effective bombing by German Zeppelins begins, and 7 people are killed. ** 19 July: A cast of Auguste Rodin's sculpture ''The Burghers of Calais'' is unveiled in Victoria Tower Gardens in Westminster. ** 8 September: A Zeppelin raid destroys No. 61 Farringdon Road; it is rebuilt in 1917 as The Zeppelin Building. ** 13 October: Zeppelin bombs hit West End theatres, a bus, and shatter the fine Flemish windows in Lincoln's Inn#Chapel, Lincoln's Inn chapel. ** October: Stag Lane Aerodrome is set up in Edgware. ** The Statue of Florence Nightingale, London, Statue of Florence Nightingale in St James's is erected. ** The term 'Metro-land' is first coined to promote the area served by the
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
. * 1916 ** 5 June: The SOAS, University of London, School of Oriental Studies is chartered. ** 3 August: *** The Musical theatre, musical comedy ''Chu Chin Chow'', written, produced, directed and starring Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, premières at His Majesty's Theatre. It will run for 5 years and a total of 2,238 performances, more than twice as many as any previous musical and a record that will stand for nearly 40 years. *** Sir Roger Casement is executed by hanging at
Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...
for treason. ** 28 November: The first German strategic bombing during World War I, bombing of central London by a fixed-wing aircraft takes place when a German LVG C.II biplane drops 6 bombs near Victoria station. ** Big Ben is silenced until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. ** The
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London, Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an un ...
adopts Johnston (typeface) as part of its corporate identity. * 1917 ** 19 January: Silvertown explosion: a blast at a munitions factory in east London kills 73 people and injures over 400 people. The resulting fire causes over £2,000,000 worth of damage. ** April: Leonard Woolf, Leonard and Virginia Woolf take delivery of the hand printing press they require to establish the Hogarth Press at their home, Hogarth House in Richmond upon Thames. ** 4/5 May: Cleopatra's Needle (London), Cleopatra's Needle is damaged by bombs dropped on London by fixed-wing aircraft. ** 6/7 May: 1 person is killed by a bomb dropped on London by a fixed-wing aircraft. ** 7 May: The mass explosion of Mines in the Battle of Messines (1917), mines in the Battle of Messines on the
Western Front (World War I) The Western Front was one of the main Theatre (warfare), theatres of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the Imperial German Army, German Army opened the Western Front by German invasion of Belgium (1914), invad ...
can be felt in London. ** 13 June: Daylight bombing raid on the London area by fixed-wing aircraft: 162 people are killed, including at least 18 children in a primary school in Poplar, London, Poplar and considerable damage to Liverpool Street station. ** 7 July: A bomb damages the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers#Ironmongers' Hall, Ironmongers' Hall beyond repair. ** 15 August: American troops march through London. ** 19 October: The worst Zeppelin bombing of London takes place, killing 32 people: 7 in
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
, 10 in Camberwell and 15 in Hither Green. ** 23 December: The
London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...
last uses a steam fire engine, at a fire in Southampton Street, Peckham. ** The Ivy (United Kingdom), The Ivy restaurant is opened by Abel Giandellini. ** The London postal districts are subdivided by numbers. * 1918 ** 28 January: Night of unusually heavy bombing in London and south-east England. ** 17 February: Bomb damage to St Pancras railway station. ** March 7: A single bomb destroys 4 4-storey houses in Paddington. ** 30 August: British police strikes in 1918 and 1919, Strike of 20,000 London policemen with demands of increased pay and union recognition. ** 27 October–2 November: 2,200 deaths in London over this period due to the "Spanish flu". ** 11 November: Armistice of 11 November 1918, The Armistice: World War I ends at 11.00. From 1919, a minute's silence on this date commemorates the lives lost; this is increased to 2 minutes after World War II. ** The British Antique Dealers' Association is headquartered in London. ** The South Suburban Co-operative Society, a consumers' co-operative, is formed by merger of the Croydon Co-operative Society, which was established in 1887, with others. * 1919 ** 27 February: Princess Patricia of Connaught is married to Commander The Hon. Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer), Alexander Ramsay, making this the first List of royal weddings, royal wedding at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
since the 14th century. ** March: The "Battle of Bow Street" takes place between North American servicemen and the Metropolitan Police. ** 18 July: The Cenotaph, Whitehall is unveiled as a temporary memorial. ** 31 July: British police strikes in 1918 and 1919, Police strike in London and Liverpool for recognition of the National Union of Police and Prison officers; over 2,000 strikers are dismissed. ** 25 August: The Aircraft Transport and Travel airline begins operating its daily route to Paris–Le Bourget Airport from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome. ** 12 September: The first gold fixing takes place in the City of London. From later this month until 2004, it takes place in the N M Rothschild & Sons offices in New Court, St Swithin's Lane. ** 30 September: The compositors and pressmen working at the ''Daily Sketch'' newspaper refuse to print the paper until an editorial criticising an ongoing railway strike is deleted. ** September: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
admits its first adult students to its literary institutes, of which the City Literary Institute will be the only survivor. ** October: The "Mobile Patrol Experiment", forerunner of the Metropolitan Police Service's Flying Squad, is created. ** 30 December: Lincoln's Inn admits its first female bar student. ** Of the 13,794 hackney carriages licensed to ply for hire this year, less than 2,000 are Horse-drawn vehicle, horse-drawn. ** The construction of the Wormholt Estate in Hammersmith, a pioneering example of postwar
public housing in the United Kingdom Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...
, begins.


1920 to 1929

* 1920 ** 17 March: The Edith Cavell Memorial is unveiled by
Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...
in St Martin's Place. ** 29 March: Croydon Aerodrome opens. ** 13 May: In the "Hands Off Russia" campaign, London dockers refuse to load the SS ''Jolly George'' with munitions intended for Poland in the Polish–Soviet War. ** 9 June: The Imperial War Museum opens at
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
. ** 13 July: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
bans foreigners from almost all council jobs. ** 18 August: The first night bus services are introduced. ** September: The London Co-operative Society, a consumers' co-operative, is established by merger of the Stratford, London, Stratford and Edmonton, London, Edmonton Co-operative Societies. ** 11 November: The Cenotaph, Whitehall, designed by Edwin Lutyens, is unveiled as a permanent memorial to commemorate the dead of World War I; and The Unknown Warrior is buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. ** 14 December: 1920 Golders Green Handley Page O/400 crash: two airline passengers and both crew killed after take-off from Cricklewood Aerodrome. ** Devonshire House in
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
is demolished. ** The London School of Journalism is founded. ** The Woolwich foot tunnel is used by about 28,000 pedestrians on average. * 1921 ** 17 March: Dr Marie Stopes opens the UK's first birth control clinic in Holloway, London, Holloway. ** 26 April: The police patrol London on motorcycles for the first time. ** 6 June: Southwark Bridge opens. ** 19 June: The Greater London population is 7,476,168. ** 8 July: The
Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...
opens King George V Dock, London, King George V Dock, the last of London's upstream enclosed docks to be constructed. ** 1 September: The Poplar Rates Rebellion takes place, led by George Lansbury. The Borough council in Poplar, London, Poplar withholds collection of part of its Rates (tax), rates, which leads to 6 weeks’ imprisonment for 30 councillors, including 7 women, and hasty passage of The London Authorities (Financial Provision) Act through
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
to equalise tax burdens between rich and poor boroughs. ** 9 September: Charlie Chaplin visits London, where he was probably born in 1889, and is met by thousands. ** The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
begins the construction of a large estate of Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing in Bellingham, London, Bellingham. It is followed by the nearby Downham Estate from 1924. ** The total length of tramways in Greater London is 350 miles. ** Around 400 passengers a week fly from Croydon Airport, Croydon aerodrome to Paris,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, and Amsterdam. * 1922 ** 21 March: The rebuilt London Waterloo railway station, Waterloo station officially opens. ** 11 May: 2LO becomes the second radio station to broadcast regularly in the UK, operating from Marconi House on Strand, London, The Strand on a daily basis. ** 19 May: The 1922 City of London by-election is held. ** 22 June: Field marshal Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet, Sir Henry Wilson is killed by Irish Republican Army (1922-1969), Irish republican gunmen outside his home in Belgravia. ** 17 July: County Hall, London, County Hall opens as the new headquarters of the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
. ** July: is permanently moored on the Thames alongside
Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment (the other section is the Chelsea Embankment), a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to ...
as a Drillship, drill ship for the Royal Naval Reserve. ** 9 November: Ada Salter becomes the first female mayor of a London borough in
Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
and the country's first Labour mayoress. ** 14 November: The radio station 2LO transfers to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). * 1923 ** 28 April: The Wembley Stadium (1923), Empire Stadium, Wembley, opens to the public for the first time and holds the FA Cup Final 1923, FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers and London club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United Association football, football clubs. Crowds are cleared from the pitch by mounted police, including one on a white horse. Bolton win. ** September: T. S. Eliot's poem ''The Waste Land'' (1922) is first published in Britain in book form complete with notes in a Limited edition books, limited edition by the Hogarth Press of Richmond upon Thames. This is run by Eliot's
Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...
friends Leonard Woolf, Leonard and Virginia Woolf, with the type handset by Virginia being completed in July. ** 27 November: The City and South London Railway Tube tunnel, which is under reconstruction, collapses under Newington Causeway. * 1924 ** 1 February: The 1924 City of London by-election is held. ** 2 February: A substantially rewritten version of Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter Hackett's 1914 farce ''It Pays to Advertise (play), It Pays to Advertise'' in a new production by actor-manager Tom Walls opens at the Aldwych Theatre. It runs until 10 July 1925 for a total of 598 performances, and is the first of a sequence of 12 "Aldwych farces". ** March: Leonard Woolf, Leonard and Virginia Woolf move themselves and the Hogarth Press back to a house in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
at 52 Tavistock Square. ** 31 March: The last of 1,702 new steam locomotives is built at Stratford Works, a GER Class L77 for suburban services from Liverpool Street station. This is the last full-size locomotive built in London. ** 20 April: The opening of a Euston tube station, Euston–Camden Town tube station, Camden Town link connects the previously separate City and South London Railway, City & South London and Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Tube railways. ** 23 April: The British Empire Exhibition opens at Wembley for the first of 2 seasons. * 1925 ** February: The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, statue of Eros is taken away from
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
so that the new Piccadilly Circus tube station, Underground station can be built. It is temporarily located in Victoria Embankment Gardens until returned in 1931. ** 14 May: Virginia Woolf's novel ''Mrs Dalloway'' is published by the Hogarth Press in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
. Woolf is beginning work on ''To the Lighthouse''. ** 19 May: Jacob Epstein's :File:Rima, the Hudson memorial.jpg, ''Rima'', the Hudson memorial, is unveiled in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park by the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, who is among those disconcerted by the sculpture's modernity. ** 13 June: The
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
's Queen Mary Reservoir opens in Middlesex. ** 22 July: The first of Ben Travers' "Aldwych farces", ''A Cuckoo in the Nest'', opens at the Aldwych Theatre. ** 2 October *** John Logie Baird successfully transmits the first television pictures with a Grayscale, greyscale image. *** London's first
double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They app ...
es with covered top decks are introduced. ** The West African Students' Union is established. * 1926 ** 16 January: A BBC radio play about a worker's revolution in London causes a panic among those who have not heard the preliminary announcement that it is a satire on broadcasting. ** 26 January: John Logie Baird demonstrates his television system from a room in Frith Street, Soho. In 1928, Selfridges sell the first set. ** 9 February: Flooding in London suburbs. ** c. February: The K2 red telephone box, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, is introduced, chiefly in the London area. ** 3–12 May: The 1926 United Kingdom general strike takes place. ** 13 September: An extension of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
Tube line from Clapham Common tube station, Clapham Common to Morden tube station, Morden and a new link under the Thames between Kennington tube station, Kennington and Embankment tube station, Charing Cross complete a through rail route between Morden tube station, Morden and Edgware tube station, Edgware. of 19.32 mi. (31.94 km). This is initially known as the Edgware, Highgate & Morden line, and later the
Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...
, and the station buildings for the Morden extension are the first significant designs for the network by the architect Charles Holden. ** 23 October: The Fazal Mosque, the first purpose-built in London and the first Ahmadiyya mosque in Britain, is completed. * 1927 ** 14 February: Alfred Hitchcock's silent film Thriller (genre), thriller ''The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog'' released. ** 25 March: Evelyn Sharp (suffragist), Evelyn Sharp's ''The London Child'', which deals with the plight of slum children, is published. ** 4 May: Charing Cross Trunk Murder. ** 12 May: The police raid the London office of the Soviet trading company All Russian Co-operative Society, ARCOS. ** 29 May: 120,000 people welcome Charles Lindbergh to Croydon Airport. ** 7 October: The death of Anglo-Irish businessman and philanthropist Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh takes place at Grosvenor Place. He leaves Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath to the nation as a museum for his art collection, the "Iveagh Bequest", and the surrounding estate is added to the Heath to preserve it from housing development, opening to the public in 1928. ** 3 December: The London Post Office Railway, Post Office Railway, a private Tube line for carrying mail, opens. ** 21 December ("Slippery Wednesday"): 1,600 people are hospitalised in London when they hurt themselves on the icy streets. There is a White Christmas (weather), White Christmas. * 1928 ** 6–7 January: The 1928 Thames flood, caused by a storm surge meeting a high river level due to snowmelt, occurs, and 14 people drown. On 7 January, the moat at the Tower of London, which was drained in 1843 and planted with grass, is completely refilled, and the basement of the Tate Britain, Tate Gallery floods. ** March: The
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...
opens in its own building in Exhibition Road. ** 28 April–5 March 1929: Three members of the same family in South Croydon die from arsenic poisoning; no-one is ever arrested in connection with the incident. ** 3 September: Alexander Fleming accidentally rediscovers the antibiotic Penicillin at St Mary's Hospital, London, St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. ** October: The Firestone tyre factory (London), Firestone Tyre Factory, designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners in Art Deco style, opens on the 'Golden Mile (Brentford), Golden Mile' of the Great West Road, London, England, Great West Road. ** 20 December: Gas explosion in High Holborn. ** British Home Stores (BHS) opens its first department store in Brixton. ** The first police boxes with telephones are erected in London. * 1929 ** 3 March: Ludgate Hill railway station closes to passengers. ** 14 May: The Grosvenor House Hotel opens on Park Lane. ** 5 July: Heston Aerodrome, Heston Air Park opens. ** 20 September: Clarence Hatry confesses to financial forgery. ** 3 October: The Dominion Theatre opens on Tottenham Court Road. ** 28 October: There is a sharp fall on the London Stock Exchange following a similar crash on Wall Street in New York City on 24 October. ** 1 December: The
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London, Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an un ...
, designed by Charles Holden, officially opens its notable new headquarters building at 55 Broadway above St James's Park tube station, St James's Park station, incorporating sculptures by Jacob Epstein, Eric Gill and Henry Moore. ** The Oxo Tower is completed in Southwark. ** First Tesco grocery store is opened in Burnt Oak, Edgware by Jack Cohen (businessman), Jack Cohen. **
Foyles Foyles, a trading name of Waterstones Booksellers Limited (formerly W & G Foyle Ltd.), is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in England. It is best known for its flagship store in Charing Cross Road, London. Foyles was once listed in ...
bookshop moves to its new larger premises in the Foyles Building on Charing Cross Road. ** The author
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
donates the copyrights of his play ''Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' to Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children. By special legislation, the hospital continues to benefit from royalties in perpetuity.


1930 to 1939

* 1930 ** 9 March: The BBC radio station 2LO becomes the London BBC Regional Programme, Regional Programme. ** June: History of Heathrow Airport, Harmondsworth Aerodrome at Heathrow begins operating. ** 29 September: The Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall Theatre opens. ** 15 October: The Apollo Victoria Theatre, New Victoria Cinema and variety theatre opens. ** The new offices for Crawford's Advertising Agency at :File:233 High Holborn (geograph 4086453).jpg, 233 High Holborn, designed by Frederick Etchells with Herbert A. Welch, are London's earliest significant example of the International Style (architecture), International Style in architecture. * 1931 ** 6 January: Sadler's Wells Theatre reopens under the management of Lilian Baylis. ** 13 March: The League of Coloured Peoples is founded. ** 18 April: The Dorchester hotel opens on Park Lane. ** 26 April: The Census in the United Kingdom, UK Census takes place. London's population is 4,397,003 in the county and 8,203,942 in Greater London. ** 5 May: The Vic-Wells Ballet, later to become The Royal Ballet, debuts. ** 15 May: Shoppers in Bayswater escape with their lives when a chemical factory explodes. ** 16 May: The London United Tramways introduce the first trolleybuses in London between Twickenham and Teddington. ** 23 May: The Zoological Society of London opens Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. ** 19 July: Sudbury Town tube station, Sudbury Town station on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
's
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...
opens as rebuilt by Charles Holden, making it the first of his iconic modern designs for the network. ** 7 September *** The Round Table Conferences (India)#Second Round Table Conference (September 1931 – December 1931), Second round Table Conference on the constitutional future of India opens in London with Mahatma Gandhi representing the Indian National Congress. *** The Granada, Tooting, Granada Cinema, Tooting opens with a spectacular interior. ** October: The first vehicle, a light truck, comes off the Ford Dagenham production line. ** 12 November: The Abbey Road Studios are opened by Sir
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
. ** 21 November: The infamous Red-and-White Party, given by Arthur Jeffress in Maud Allan's Regent's Park townhouse, marks the end of the "Bright young things" subculture in Britain. ** 27 December: The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, statue of Eros returns to
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
after a nine-year absence. ** Daily Express Building, London, Daily Express Building in
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
constructed. * 1932 ** 3 February: The Windmill Theatre in Soho opens as a revue venue (closes 1964). ** 8 March: The Honourable Company of Master Mariners, formed on 25 June 1926, becomes the first City livery company to be granted this status since 1746. ** 10 March: Victoria Coach Station opens. ** 15 March: The first BBC radio broadcast comes from the new Broadcasting House, and all programmes transfer from Savoy Hill on 15 May. ** 19 July: The replacement Lambeth Bridge opens. ** Summer: The Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park is established as a regular venue. ** October: The Courtauld Institute of Art opens. ** 7 October: The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) makes its debut, at the
Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...
. ** 27 October: The arrival of the National Hunger March, 1932, National Hunger March in London leads to several violent clashes with police. ** 10 December: The branch railway to Stanmore tube station, Stanmore is opened by the
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
(it transfers to the
Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs par ...
, then to the Jubilee line by 1979). ** The Hoover Building on the Western Avenue, London, Western Avenue in Perivale is designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners in Art Deco style. ** Ford of Britain begins Fordson tractor production at Dagenham. ** Queen Mary's Rose Garden is laid out in Regent's Park in place of the Royal Botanic Society's gardens. ** The Jewish Museum London is founded. * 1933 ** January: The Tube map, London Underground diagram designed by Harry Beck is introduced to public. ** 9 January: George Orwell's ''Down and Out in Paris and London'' is published. ** 10 January: Eric Coates' orchestral ''London Suite (Coates), London Suite'' is premiered, with its sequel, ''London Again Suite'', premiering in 1936. ** 13 March: Another of Charles Holden's masterpieces, Southgate tube station, Southgate station on the
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...
, opens to the public. ** 1 July: The London Passenger Transport Board begins operation, taking over operation of all buses, trams and Underground railways in the Greater London area, with Lord Ashfield as Chairperson, chairman and Frank Pick as vice-chairman and chief executive officer. ** 3 July: New Chiswick Bridge, Twickenham Bridge and Hampton Court Bridge over the Thames are officially opened. ** 19 July: The new Freemasons' Hall, London, Freemasons' Hall (Masonic Peace Memorial) opens on Great Queen Street. ** Battersea Power Station begins operation. ** The new store for Derry & Toms opens on Kensington High Street. * 1934 ** 9 March: Labour's Herbert Morrison becomes the London County Council#Leaders of the London County Council, Leader of the London County Council. ** 31 May: Hendon Police College is opened for the Metropolitan Police. ** 23 July: Tower Beach, London, Tower Beach is opened adjacent to the Tower of London. ** 13 September: The Silvertown Way flyover is opened. ** 19 September: Mitcham, London, Mitcham becomes a borough. ** 12 December: Queen Mary College incorporated under this name in East London. ** The following key examples of modern architecture are built: London Zoo#Architecture, Penguin Pool, London Zoo, designed by Berthold Lubetkin and Ove Arup (completed in May), and Isokon building (Lawn Road flats), Hampstead, designed by Wells Coates (9 July). Also, the terraced houses in Genesta Road, Plumstead designed by Lubetkin are completed and 35 houses are built as part of a 'Modern Homes' exhibition in Gidea Park. ** Harrow Garden Village is completed by the Metropolitan Railway Country Estates. ** P. L. Travers' children's story ''Mary Poppins (book series), Mary Poppins'' is first published. * 1935 ** January: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
launches a green belt scheme. ** 3 July: The Geological Museum opens in a new building in Exhibition Road,
South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...
. ** 13 July: The London County Council's Becontree estate, the largest housing estate in the world, is officially completed, consisting of some 27,000 new Council housing, council houses, which are home to more than 100,000 people. This is marked by the opening of Parsloes Park. The first families had moved to the estate, which straddles the borders of Dagenham, Barking, London, Barking and Ilford, in 1921. ** 30 September: The Municipal Borough of Bexley is chartered. ** The following further notable examples of modern architecture are completed: Hornsey Town Hall, by Reginald Uren; Highpoint I flats, Highgate, by Lubetkin and Arup; and houses in Kerry Avenue, Stanmore. * 1936 ** 6 June: The Beehive, Gatwick Airport terminal opens in West Sussex. ** 7 July: The Imperial War Museum opens in the adapted buildings of Bethlem Royal Hospital in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, Southwark. ** 4 October: The Battle of Cable Street takes place in the East End between Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists and anti-fascist demonstrators. ** 13 October: The ''Night Ferry'' railway service is inaugurated between Paris and London, serving Victoria station (until 1980). ** 31 October: The Jarrow March of 207 miners from Jarrow arrive in London on a protest against unemployment and poverty. ** 2 November: The BBC launch the world's first regular "High-definition television, high definition" television service, broadcast from Alexandra Palace television station, Alexandra Palace. ** 30 November:
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
is destroyed in a fire. ** 9 December: A KLM (Netherlands airline) Douglas DC-2 airliner crashes in Purley, London, Purley shortly after takeoff from Croydon Airport, killing 14 passengers, including Juan de la Cierva and Arvid Lindman with just 2 survivors. ** The new Peter Jones (department store) opens in Sloane Square. ** The Adelphi, London, Adelphi Buildings are demolished; the replacement Art Deco building is completed in 1938. ** The Geographers' A–Z Map Company, Geographers' Map Co.'s first ''Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas, A to Z Atlas and Guide to London and the Suburbs'' is published. * 1937 ** 20 April: The Granada Cinema, Woolwich, opens. ** 27 April: The National Maritime Museum opens in Greenwich on the former Royal Hospital School premises. ** 1–27 May: Buses in London, London's busmen go on strike. ** 6 May: The replacement Chelsea Bridge opens. ** 12 May: The Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth takes place in Westminster Abbey. ** 28 August: The
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
's Morden–Edgware line is renamed the
Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...
. ** 1 September: The Earls Court Exhibition Centre opens. ** October: *** Senate House (University of London), designed by Charles Holden, is completed. *** Formation of the Euston Road School, a private School of Drawing and Painting originally established in Fitzroy Street, London, Fitzroy Street by William Coldstream, Claude Rogers (artist), Claude Rogers and Victor Pasmore; it gives name to the group of Naturalism (art), naturalist artists associated with it. ** October–December: Croydon typhoid outbreak of 1937: 341 cases of typhoid fever, of which 43 are fatal, resulting from a polluted well in Addington, London, Addington. ** 16 December: The Musical play, musical ''Me and My Girl'' opens in the West End theatre, West End Victoria Palace Theatre; the dance number "The Lambeth Walk" becomes popular. ** December: The Hawker Hurricane enters service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) as its first monoplane Fighter (aircraft), fighter aircraft with No. 111 Squadron RAF, No. 111 Squadron at RAF Northolt, Northolt. ** The Dolphin Square flats are completed. ** Kensal House in Ladbroke Grove, two low-rise blocks of modernist flats for the working class commissioned by the Gas Light and Coke Company and designed by Maxwell Fry, are completed as a prototype for modern urban living. * 1938 ** 6 January: The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud arrives in London having fled from Vienna. ** 6 April: The 1938 City of London by-election is held. ** June: The London Green Belt is placed on a statutory basis by the Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938, Green Belts (London & Home Counties) Act. ** 2 June: The children's zoo at London Zoo is opened by Robert F. Kennedy, Robert and Ted Kennedy, 2 of the sons of new United States ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. ** 30 June: The London Underground's London Underground 1938 Stock, 1938 Stock enters public service on the
Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...
. By the time the last examples are withdrawn from the Isle of Wight's Island Line, Isle of Wight, Island Line on 3 January 2021, it will be the oldest non-heritage rolling stock operating in the UK. ** July: The AEC Regent III RT, RT type bus enters public service in London. ** 20 August: Parliament Hill Lido opens. ** 30 September: The Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returns to the UK from Munich at Heston Aerodrome memorably waving the resolution signed the day earlier with Germany. He later gives his famous ''Peace for our time'' speech from Downing Street. George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth appear with Chamberlain on the balcony of
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
to celebrate the agreement. ** 2 December: First Kindertransport from Berlin arrives at Liverpool Street station. * 1939 ** January/February: ''Poetry London, Poetry London: a Bi-Monthly of Modern Verse and Criticism'', founded and edited by Tambimuttu with Dylan Thomas and others, is first published. ** 3 February: The Irish Republican Army (1922–69), Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombs 2
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
stations. ** 25 February: The first Anderson shelter is built in London. ** 29 March: The Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), IRA plants bombs on Hammersmith Bridge. ** 9 August: The London Passenger Transport Board introduces the first AEC Regent III RT bus into service. ** 27 August: The Cabinet War Rooms are operational. ** late August: Most of the paintings in the National Gallery are evacuated to Wales. ** 1 September: "Operation Pied Piper", the 4-day evacuation of children, begins and central London hospitals are evacuated. ** 3 September: World War II, War is declared by the United Kingdom on Nazi Germany, which begins World War II. Shortly after 11.00, Chamberlain announces this news on BBC Radio, speaking from 10 Downing Street. 20 minutes later, Civil defense siren, air raid sirens sound in London, but it is a false alarm. ** 29 September: London population as recorded in the national register of citizens reaches 8,615,254, a figure which will not be exceeded this century. ** September–December: The Tower of London serves as a general prisoner of war collection centre. ** The large
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
estate of flats in White City is completed.


1940 to 1949

* 1940 ** 5 February: The 1940 City of London by-election is held. ** 24 August: The first air raid of the war strikes London. ** 7 September: The Blitz begins with "Black Saturday" bombing of the city by the Luftwaffe, the first of 57 consecutive nights of strategic bombing. ** 10 September: South Hallsville School (evacuation centre) bombing in Canning Town: at least 77 people, and perhaps 4 times as many, are killed. ** 13 September: Bombing damages
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
and destroys the chapel, but the George VI, King and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen survive without injury and inspect the damage. ** 15 September: Battle of Britain Day, the climax of the Battle of Britain, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) resists a mass bombing attack by the Luftwaffe in the skies over London and south east England. Pilot officer Ray Holmes uses his Hawker Hurricane to ram a Dornier Do 17 bomber, causing it to crash on Victoria station. ** 25 September: The replacement steel Wandsworth Bridge opens across the Thames. ** Autumn: The War Cabinet begins meeting at the disused Down Street tube station. ** 13 October: 19 people, mostly Belgian refugees, are killed when a German bomb penetrates Bounds Green tube station, Bounds Green station on the London Underground, Underground, which is being used as an air-raid shelter ** 14 October: At least 66 people are killed when a German bomb penetrates Balham station on the Underground, which is being used as an air-raid shelter. A double-decker bus falls into the crater. ** 15 October: New River (London)#Dame Alice Owen's School bombing, Dame Alice Owen's School bombing: around 150 people sheltering in a basement are killed, chiefly through flooding from the New River. ** 9 November: Church of All Hallows, Twickenham, a partial reconstruction of Christopher Wren's All Hallows Lombard Street (1694–1937), is consecrated. ** November–March 1942: Tube tunnels built for the Central line (London Underground), Central line's eastern extension are converted into aircraft component factories for Plessey. ** 29–30 December: The Second Great Fire of London is caused by bombing. More than 160 people and 14 firemen are killed. The Guildhall, London, Guildhall, St Lawrence Jewry and St Bride's Church are among many buildings badly damaged or destroyed, and the famous photograph ''St Paul's Survives'' is taken this morning. ** The name of the area known as Fitzrovia is first recorded. * 1941 ** 11 January: At least 56 people are killed when a German bomb hits Bank Underground station, leaving a large crater in the road at Bank junction. ** 8 March: At least 34 people are killed when a German bomb hits the Café de Paris (London), Café de Paris nightclub. ** 16–17 April: Serious bomb damage to railway routes across the Thames, the Metropolitan line, the north transept of St Paul's Cathedral and Chelsea Old Church; and Lord Stamp is among those killed. ** 18 April: Heaviest The Blitz, air-raid of the year on London. ** 10–12 May: Bombing guts many notable buildings in London, including the Palace of Westminster#Commons Chamber, Commons Chamber of the Palace of Westminster, Houses of Parliament, which causes its debates to be relocated to the Lords Chamber; the Queen's Hall, which causes The Proms to be relocated to the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
; and the Great Synagogue of London, St Clement Danes and St Mary-le-Bow.
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
's roof is badly damaged and 250,000 books are lost in a fire at the British Museum. The intensive period of The Blitz now ends, leaving around 25,000 people dead in London. ** 17–21 May: Rudolf Hess is detained in the Tower of London, making him the last official Prisoner of war, state prisoner to be held here. ** Spring: Noël Coward composes the song "London Pride (song), London Pride". ** August: Patrick Hamilton (writer), Patrick Hamilton's darkly comic eve-of-war novel ''Hangover Square, Hangover Square: a tale of darkest Earl's Court'' is published. ** 15 August: Josef Jakobs, who parachuted into England as a German spy, is shot by a military firing squad at the Tower of London, making him the last person to be executed here. * 1942 ** January: The MARS Group plan for postwar London is published. ** 9–12 February: Gordon Cummins murders and mutilates 4 women in the Blackout (wartime), blackout, for which he will be hanged at Wandsworth Prison on 25 June during an air raid. ** 11 August: Traffic is admitted onto the new Waterloo Bridge across the Thames. * 1943 ** 17 January: Anti-aircraft shrapnel shells kill 23 people and injure 60 people during a raid on London by 118 planes, of which 6 are reported losses. ** 20 January: Sandhurst Road School Disaster: a bomb kills 38 children and 6 teachers at a school in Catford. ** 3 March: Bethnal Green tube station disaster: 173 would-be shelterers are crushed to death in a panic. ** July: The ''County of London Plan'', prepared by J. H. Forshaw and Patrick Abercrombie to guide the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
in Postwar Britain (1945–1979), postwar reconstruction, is published. ** August: John Christie (murderer), John Christie begins his serial killings at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill. * 1944 ** 21–22 January: ''Operation Steinbock'' (the "Baby Blitzkrieg, Blitz"), a nocturnal ''Luftwaffe'' bombing offensive chiefly targeted at the Greater London area (continues until May), starts, but on the first attack, few aircraft reach the target area. ** 26 February: The last heavy Airstrike, air-raids by conventional aircraft take place in London. ** 13 June: The first V-1 flying bomb attack on London takes place, and 8 civilians are killed when one lands in Grove Road, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney. The bomb earns the nickname "Doodlebug (flying bomb), doodlebug". ** 18 June: A V-1 flying bomb hits the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, killing 121 people. ** July: London deep-level shelters, Deep-level shelters that were built in 1941–2 are opened to the public. ** 12 August: The V-1 flying bomb campaign against London by the Germany, Germans reaches its 60th day, with more than 6,000 deaths, 17,000 injuries and damage or destruction to around 1,000,000 buildings. ** 8 September: The first V-2 rocket attack (launched from The Hague) strikes London, where it strikes in the Chiswick district and resulting in the deaths of 3 people. ** October: The "Cleft chin murder": United States Army, U.S. Army deserter Karl Hulten and 18-year-old Welsh-born waitress Elizabeth Jones go on a 6-day crime spree including the murder of a taxi driver, for which Hulten will be hanged at
Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...
. ** 25 November: A V-2 rocket destroys the Woolworths (United Kingdom), Woolworths store in New Cross Road and kills 168 people, the highest death toll from one of these weapons. More than 100 people survive with injuries. ** 14 December: Town planner Patrick Abercrombie publishes the ''Greater London Plan''. ** The Ministry of Works (United Kingdom), Ministry of Works builds the first demonstration Prefabs in the United Kingdom, prefabs, designed to provide temporary postwar housing, in Northolt; another is exhibited in the summer outside the Tate Britain, Tate Gallery on Millbank. ** Hubert Gregg composes the song "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner". * 1945 ** 8 March: A V-2 rocket hits Smithfield Market and kills 110 people. ** 27 March: Last day of V-2 rocket attacks on London. One hits Hughes Mansions, Stepney and kills 134 people and the last falls in Orpington with 1 fatality. ** April: Sybil Campbell is appointed as a stipendiary magistrate in London, making her the first woman to become a professional judge in the UK. ** 8 May: Victory in Europe Day, V-E Day. Crowds in London celebrate the end of World War II in Europe. ** 17 July: Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, is born in Claridge's hotel. ** 26 July: 1945 United Kingdom general election (5 July) results declared. As part of a national landslide, Labour take 21 London constituencies from the Conservatives. ** July: London women begin to campaign against the necessity to queue for goods in short supply. ** 15 August: V-J Day. Crowds in London celebrate the end of World War II. ** 2 October:
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
introduces fluorescent lighting on the westbound
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...
platforms at Piccadilly Circus tube station, Piccadilly Circus. * 1946 ** 1 January: The first international flight from London Heathrow Airport takes off. On 31 May, it opens fully for civilian use. ** 10 January: The first United Nations General Assembly convenes at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. On 17 January, the United Nations Security Council holds its first meeting at Church House (Church of England), Church House. ** 20 February: The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden re-opens after the War, with The Royal Ballet, which has relocated from Sadler's Wells Theatre, performing ''The Sleeping Beauty (ballet), The Sleeping Beauty''. ** 8 June: The London Victory Celebrations of 1946, London Victory Celebrations take place. ** 8 September: Mass Squatting, squat by homeless families of the Ivanhoe Hotel and other empty properties in London, organised by the Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Party. ** 9 November: The murder of Margaret Cook takes place in Carnaby Street. A confession to the shooting takes place in 2015. ** 11 November: Stevenage, a village in Hertfordshire, is designated by the government as Britain's first new town to relieve overcrowding and replace bombed homes in London. ** 4 December: The
Central line (London Underground) The Central line is a London Underground line that runs between or in the west, and or Hainault Loop, Woodford via Hainault in the north-east, via the West End of London, West End, City of London, the City, and the East End of London, East En ...
is extended from Liverpool Street station, Liverpool Street to Stratford station, Stratford. ** 19 December: A Railway Air Services Douglas DC-3 taking off from RAF Northolt, RAF Northholt crashes into 46 Angus Drive, Ruislip, after icing of the wings, but there are no injuries. ** The development of Churchill Gardens housing estate in Pimlico by Westminster City Council, to the design of Philip Powell (architect), Powell and Hidalgo Moya, Moya, begins construction. ** Garnett College opens for the training of further and higher education lecturers; it ultimately becomes a constituent of the University of Greenwich. * 1947 ** 23 February:
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
release the film ''Hue and Cry (film), Hue and Cry'', filmed largely on location in London and regarded as the first of the Ealing Comedies. ** 5 May: The Central line is extended from Stratford station, Stratford to Leytonstone tube station, Leytonstone. ** 15 May: London Philharmonic Choir makes its debut, at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. ** 5 November: Guy the Gorilla arrives at London Zoo. ** 20 November: Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh: Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II, and the daughter of George VI) marries Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Edinburgh at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. ** December: The tradition of a Christmas tree donated by Norway for Trafalgar Square begins. ** The last horse-drawn hackney carriage operates in London. * 1948 ** 1 January: London's Underground, buses and trams come under control of the London Transport Executive while mainline railways become part of British Railways as part of the nationalisation of the UK's public transport under overall management of the British Transport Commission. ** 12 January: The London Co-operative Society opens Britain's first supermarket in Manor Park, London, Manor Park. In the same month, Marks & Spencer introduce self-service in the food department of their Wood Green store. ** 1 April: The London Electricity Board takes up its powers as part of the nationalisation of the electricity supply industry under terms of the Electricity Act 1947. ** June *** The Austin FX3 Hackney carriage, taxi is launched. *** Professor Lillian Penson becomes the first woman to serve as a Vice-Chancellor of a British university at the University of London. ** 4 July: 1948 Northwood mid-air collision: a Scandinavian Airlines Douglas DC-6 and an Avro York of No. 99 Squadron RAF collide over Northwood, London, Northwood and crash, killing all 39 people aboard both aircraft. ** 29 July–14 August: The 1948 Summer Olympics, originally scheduled for 1944, are held, based at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium. ** 7 November: The
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
's King George VI Reservoir near Staines-upon-Thames, Staines in Middlesex is filled and opened. ** 21 November: The Central line (London Underground), Central line is extended to Woodford tube station, Woodford–Woodford tube station, Woodford via the Fairlop Loop, Greenford station, and West Ruislip station. ** December *** Sloop HMS Wellington (U65), HMS ''Wellington'' (1934) is permanently moored on the Thames alongside the
Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment (the other section is the Chelsea Embankment), a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to ...
as the headquarters ship of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners. *** Smog kills 700–800. ** The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
begins the development of the Harold Hill estate, and Span Developments begin their first housing development, Oaklands in Whitton, London, Whitton. ** The Colony Room Club, a private members' drinking club at 41 Dean Street, Soho, is founded and presided over by Muriel Belcher. The painter Francis Bacon (artist), Francis Bacon becomes a member the day after it opens, which establishes it as a centre for the city's alcoholic artistic elite. * 1949 ** Early: The Spa Green Estate in Clerkenwell, designed by Berthold Lubetkin of the Tecton Group as a model for postwar public housing, is completed. ** 26 April: The Ealing Comedies, Ealing Comedy film ''Passport to Pimlico'' is premièred in London. ** 10 May: The UK's first Self-service laundry, self-service launderette opens on Queensway (London), Queensway. ** 6 July: The London Transport Executive opens the bus stand at Newbury Park tube station. ** 27 November: Brumas becomes the first polar bear born at London Zoo. ** Construction of the Woodberry Down estate by the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
begins.


1950 to 1959

* 1950 ** 9 March: Timothy Evans is hanged at HM Prison Pentonville for the murder of his baby daughter and, by imputation, his wife at their residence at 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill. 3 years later, his downstairs neighbour John Christie (murderer), John Christie is found to be a serial killer of at least 7 women at this address, for which he is also hanged at Pentonville, with Evans being posthumously pardoned in 1966. ** 31 July: Sainsbury's opens the first purpose-built supermarket, at Croydon. ** 30 September: The London Transport Executive begins the closure of the trams in London. ** 26 October: The Palace of Westminster#Commons Chamber, Commons Chamber of the Palace of Westminster, Houses of Parliament is reopened to MPs after the restoration work (following war damage) by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott is completed. ** 25 December: The Stone of Scone is stolen from
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
by a group of 4 Scottish students. It is recovered the following year. ** The UK Parliament constituency of the Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency), Cities of London and Westminster is created, which ends the separate City of London (UK Parliament constituency), City of London constituency that has existed since 1298. ** The Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras flats in St Pancras Way are completed, and the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking begins operation. * 1951 ** 6 April: The last trams operate through the
Kingsway tramway subway The Kingsway tramway subway is a Tunnel#Cut-and-cover, cut-and-cover tunnel in central London, built by the London County Council, and the only one of its kind in Britain. The decision in 1898 to clear slum districts in the Holborn area prov ...
. ** 8 April: London's population has declined to 3,348,336 in the county and 8,346,137 in Greater London. ** 3 May–30 September: The Festival of Britain takes place on the South Bank, which includes the Royal Festival Hall, Dome of Discovery and Skylon (tower), Skylon. Pleasure Gardens and a Fun Fair are opened in Battersea Park, and the Lansbury Estate in Poplar, London, Poplar is begun this year as a housing showcase. ** 11 June: The London Transport Executive introduces a Tootbus London, Circular Tour of London using double-decker buses for the Festival. ** 15 June: The Ealing Comedies, Ealing Comedy film ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is released. ** 15 August: The first Miss World beauty pageant is held as the 'Festival Bikini Contest'. ** 4 September: The William Girling Reservoir is opened in the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain by the
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
. ** 3 November: Express Dairies open Britain's first full-size supermarket in Streatham Hill. ** December: John Wyndham's novel ''The Day of the Triffids'', which opens in a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic London, is published. * 1952 ** 7 February: The new Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh return to London from their tour in Kenya after the death of George VI. ** April: The London Transport Executive opens Stockwell Garage, which has Europe's largest unsupported roof span at this date. ** 21 May: The Eastcastle Street robbery takes place, in which a post office van is held up in the West End and £287,000 stolen, making it Britain's largest postwar robbery up to this date; the robbers are never caught. ** 15 June: The Polish secret agent Krystyna Skarbek is murdered at the Shelbourne Hotel in
Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
. ** 5 July: The last of the original trams in London operates, and the citizens of London turn out in force to say farewell. ** 8 October: Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash, a multiple collision which claims the lives of 112 people. ** November: The new Bankside Power Station is commissioned. Also this year, Brunswick Wharf Power Station in Blackwall begins to generate electricity. ** 25 November: Agatha Christie's play ''The Mousetrap'' starts its run at the Ambassadors Theatre (London), New Ambassadors Theatre. It will still be running in London as of 2022, having transferred next door to St Martin's Theatre in 1974. ** 4–9 December: The Great Smog blankets London, causing transport chaos and, it is believed, around 4,000 deaths. ** 30 December: Tower Bridge's bascules are raised as a London Transport Executive, London Transport bus crosses, and the driver, Albert Gunter, is awarded £10 (£290 in 2022) and a day off for his bravery. * 1953 ** 8 April: 12 people are killed in the Stratford tube crash, making this the first major accident on the Tube with passenger fatalities. ** 2 June: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II takes place in Westminster Abbey. ** ca. June: Kieran Kelly begins his career as the serial killer of at least 16 men between now and 1983, mostly by pushing them under London Underground trains. ** Civil Service Club founded. ** The Moka on Frith Street, Soho is the first Italians in the United Kingdom, Italian Coffeehouse#Espresso bar, espresso coffee bar to open in the UK. ** 1st century Roman leather bikini briefs are found in Queen Street, London, Queen Street in the city. * 1954 ** September: Kidbrooke School in Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich opens as England's first purpose-built comprehensive school. ** 18 September: The marble head of Mithras from the London Mithraeum is unearthed in Walbrook Square. ** 10 December: The tea clipper ''Cutty Sark'' (1869) is towed into a permanent dry dock in Greenwich for preservation. ** The first UK Wimpy (restaurant), Wimpy Bar opens at the Lyons Corner House on Coventry Street. ** Span Developments begin the development of the Cator Estate in Blackheath, London, Blackheath. * 1955 ** 13 July: Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman to be hanged in the UK at HM Prison Holloway for shooting dead a lover, David Blakely, outside a pub in Hampstead on 10 April (Easter Sunday). ** 22 September: The first ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchise covering London, Associated-Rediffusion, begins broadcasting from Croydon transmitting station. ** 2 December: Barnes rail crash: a collision due to a signal error and consequent fire kills 13 people with another 35 people injured. ** 8 December: The Ealing Comedies, Ealing Comedy film ''The Ladykillers (1955 film), The Ladykillers'', set around King's Cross, London, King's Cross, is released. ** 16 December: The new terminal at London Heathrow Airport, London Airport is opened by Elizabeth II, The Queen. * 1956 ** January:
Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...
Poltergeist first manifests. ** 24 January: Plans are announced for the construction of thousands of new homes in the Barbican Estate, Barbican area, which was devastated by the Luftwaffe during World War II. ** 8 February: London Transport Executive, London Transport introduces the first (experimental) AEC Routemaster double-deck bus into public service, on London Buses route 2, route 2. At the 9 November Lord Mayor's Show it forms part of the procession, where it is advertised as "London's Bus Of The Future". ** 14 March: A memorial to Karl Marx is unveiled at the new site of his grave in Highgate Cemetery by Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain. ** 28 March: The Crystal Palace transmitting station is brought into use for BBC Television. From its erection until around 1990 it is the tallest structure in London. ** 22 April: The 2i's Coffee Bar opens in Old Compton Street, Soho; its basement rapidly becomes a pioneering venue for rock and roll music in Britain. ** 21 May: 24-hour fire in the former Goodge Street tube station, Goodge Street London deep-level shelters, deep-level shelter. ** 5 July:
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
passes the Clean Air Act 1956, Clean Air Act in response to the Great Smog of 1952. ** December: Smog kills around 1000 people. ** The Leo Baeck College, the first Jewish seminary for Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom), Liberal and Reform Judaism in England, opens as the Jewish Theological College of London at West London Synagogue, and its first 2 students are Lionel Blue and Michael Leigh. ** Pollock's Toy Museum is established. * 1957 ** 13 June: Oxford Street bus accident: 8 people are killed when a double-decker collides with a queue. ** 4 December: Lewisham rail crash on the Southern Region of British Railways: 90 people are killed in a rear-end collision in fog and bridge collapse. ** 19 December: St Bride's Church is reconsecrated in the presence of Elizabeth II, The Queen. ** The first stage of Golden Lane Estate in Finsbury, designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, is officially opened, and :File:Gold Block - geograph.org.uk - 681894.jpg, Great Arthur House is briefly the tallest residential building in Britain at the time of construction. ** Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington, Michael Young and Peter Willmott (sociologist), Peter Willmott's sociological study ''Family and Kinship in East London'' is published. * 1958 ** 30 January: The Dagenham East rail crash takes place in the Eastern Region of British Railways, in which 10 people are killed in a rear-end collision in fog. ** 21 March: The London Planetarium, the first in Britain, opens. ** 19 April: The Marquee Club first opens as a jazz venue. ** 5 May–19 June: A London bus crew strike takes place. ** 9 June: Gatwick Airport opens in West Sussex. ** 10 June: The City of Westminster installs the first regular parking meters in Grosvenor Square following an experimental installation in 1956. Double yellow lines are also introduced in the Metropolitan Police District during the year. ** 26 July: The presentation of débutantes to the royal court is abolished. ** 30 August–5 September: The 1958 Notting Hill race riots take place. ** 26 September: The Austin FX4 Hackney carriage, taxi is launched. ** 13 October: Michael Bond's children's story ''A Bear Called Paddington'', introducing the character Paddington Bear, is published. ** His Clothes is the first boutique to be opened by John Stephen in Carnaby Street. ** The new store for Barkers of Kensington, which had begun construction in the 1930s, is completed. * 1959 ** January *** Ealing Jazz Club opens. *** The first Caribbean carnival in Britain is staged at St Pancras Town Hall by Claudia Jones. ** 6 April: The subscriber trunk dialling telephone code 01 is allocated to London. ** 23 April: London Heliport opens adjacent to the Thames in
Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...
. ** 28 May: The Mermaid Theatre opens in the City of London. ** 30 September *** The Chiswick flyover is opened by Jayne Mansfield. *** The last flights take off from Croydon Aerodrome. ** 12 October: Large-scale diamond robbery in London. ** 17 October: The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
opens Park Lane Underpass. ** 30 October: Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club opens in Soho. ** 11 November: London Transport Executive, London Transport introduces the production AEC Routemaster double-deck bus into full public service. ** Bracken House, London, Bracken House, the ''Financial Times'' headquarters in the City of London designed by Albert Richardson (architect), Sir Albert Richardson, is completed. ** The
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
completes the first portion of Alton Estate in Roehampton, considered a model of post-war public housing. ** London Pride (beer) is first produced at Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick. ** Colin MacInnes' novel ''Absolute Beginners (novel), Absolute Beginners'' is published.


1960 to 1969

* 1960 ** 18 April: 60,000 protestors stage a demonstration in London against nuclear weapons. ** 15 September: The first traffic wardens are deployed in London. ** 27 September: Travolator inclined moving walkway installed at Bank and Monument stations, Bank station. ** September: The
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
's Thames–Lea Valley Aqueduct is inaugurated. ** The Embassy of the United States, London, Embassy of the United States London Chancery (building), Chancery Building, designed by Eero Saarinen, opens in Grosvenor Square on land leased from Grosvenor Group#The Grosvenor Estate, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair. * 1961 ** 6 July: The last judicial execution at HM Prison Pentonville takes place for 21-year-old Edwin Bush, who is Hanging, hanged by Harry Allen (executioner), Harry Allen for the stabbing of Elsie Batten in an antique shop in Cecil Court on 3 March. He is also the first British criminal caught through the Identikit facial composite system. ** 8 September: The last judicial execution in London takes place for Henryk Niemasz, who is hanged at HM Prison Wandsworth by Harry Allen for double murder. ** 16 November: The Hammersmith flyover opens. ** December: The demolition of the Euston Arch begins; much of the stone is used for repairs to the Prescott Channel. ** The Empress State Building is completed on the site of the Empress Hall in West Brompton. * 1962 ** May: Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell are prosecuted and jailed for defacing
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
library books. ** 8 May: The last trolleybuses in London run. ** 6 June: The Beatles play their first session at Abbey Road Studios. ** 1 July: A heavy smog develops over London. ** 12 July: The Rolling Stones play their first gig at the Marquee Club in Oxford Street. From February 1963, they get a residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, London, Richmond. ** 31 July: A crowd assaults a rally of the right-wing Union Movement of Sir Oswald Mosley. ** 10 October: The former Anglicanism, Anglican church of All Saints in
Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...
(1849) is elevated to be the Dormition Cathedral (London), Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh. ** 6 November: The new building for the Commonwealth Institute opens in Kensington. ** 2–7 December: A severe smog in London causes numerous deaths. ** Queen's Gallery opens. * 1963 ** 11 February: American-born poet Sylvia Plath commits suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in her London flat at age 30. ** 19 March: Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop premières the ensemble musical play ''Oh, What a Lovely War!'' at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. ** 16 May: The London Tourist Board is established. ** 31 July: London Government Act 1963 passed. ** 22 October: The Royal National Theatre, National Theatre Company, newly formed under artistic director Laurence Olivier, gives its first performance with Peter O'Toole as Hamlet in London. ** 23 November: The design of the London police box is first used as the inspiration for the design of the TARDIS in the BBC television series ''Doctor Who''. It is still used into the 21st century, albeit with a modified design. ** The Millbank Tower is completed as a headquarters for Vickers. ** The construction of the Aylesbury Estate begins in Walworth by the London Borough of Southwark. ** Nell Dunn's short story collection ''Up the Junction'' is published; Up the Junction (film), a film adaptation is released in 1968. * 1964 ** 21 January: The Strand Underpass opens using part of the former
Kingsway tramway subway The Kingsway tramway subway is a Tunnel#Cut-and-cover, cut-and-cover tunnel in central London, built by the London County Council, and the only one of its kind in Britain. The decision in 1898 to clear slum districts in the Holborn area prov ...
. ** 2 February: The Hammersmith nude murders case begins when the first of 6 definite prostitute victims of an unknown serial killer, "Jack the Stripper", is found. ** 5 September: Biba opens its first store in Kensington. ** 4 November: The automaton clock over the main entrance of Fortnum & Mason's grocery store is inaugurated. ** 5 December: There is a major fire in Bishopsgate railway station, Bishopsgate railway goods depot. ** 23 December: The Pirate radio in the United Kingdom, "Pirate" radio station Wonderful Radio London, Radio London begins broadcasting from USS Density (AM-218), MV ''Galaxy'', anchored outside British territorial waters off Frinton-on-Sea, Frinton, Essex. ** December: The London Record Society is founded as a text publication society. * 1965 ** 7 January: The Kray Twins are arrested on suspicion of running a protection racket. ** 30 January: The State funeral procession of Winston Churchill takes place. ** 11 March: Goldie the Eagle is recaptured 13 days after escaping from London Zoo. ** 1 April: Local government in London is reorganised. The Greater London Council (GLC) comes into its powers, replacing the
London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
and greatly expanding the metropolitan area of the city. Labour have an elected majority. The county of Middlesex is abolished as an administrative district with most being incorporated into the GLC area (except Staines-upon-Thames, Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames, Sunbury transferred to Surrey, and Potters Bar transferred to Hertfordshire). London Ambulance Service and London Metropolitan Archives, Greater London Record Office established. *** The following inner London boroughs are created: London Borough of Camden, Camden, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Hammersmith and Fulham, London Borough of Islington, Islington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Kensington and Chelsea, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth, London Borough of Lewisham, Lewisham, London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London Borough of Wandsworth, Wandsworth, and City of Westminster, Westminster (the latter incorporating the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington, Metropolitan Boroughs of Paddington and
St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropoli ...
). Inner London Education Authority takes responsibility for schools in these areas. *** The following outer London boroughs are created: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet, London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Brent, Brent, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Ealing, Ealing, London Borough of Enfield, Enfield, London Borough of Haringey, Haringey, London Borough of Harrow, Harrow, London Borough of Havering, Havering, London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon, London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames, London Borough of Merton, Merton, London Borough of Newham, Newham, London Borough of Redbridge, Redbridge, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, and London Borough of Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest. (Epsom and Ewell remains outside the Greater London area.) ** 8 July: The Great Train Robbery (1963), Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison. ** 24 July: Freddie Mills, former British boxing champion, is found shot in his car in Soho, dying of his injuries the next day. ** 8 October: The Post Office Tower officially opens as a telecommunications hub. ** 4 November: The 1965 Cities of London and Westminster by-election is held. ** Mary Quant introduces the miniskirt from her shop ''Bazaar'' on the Kings Road in Chelsea. * 1966 ** February: Granny Takes a Trip is opened on King's Road, Chelsea by Nigel Waymouth, Sheila Cohen and John Pearse, and is claimed as the first Psychedelic era, psychedelic boutique in London. ** 8 March *** The City University London is chartered. *** The London Free School is established. ** 9 March: Ronnie Kray, Ronnie, one of the Kray twins, shoots George Cornell, an associate of rivals The Richardson Gang, dead at The Blind Beggar pub in
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
, a crime for which he is finally convicted in 1969. ** 27 March: 1966 theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy: Pickles (dog), Pickles, a mongrel dog, finds the FIFA World Cup Trophy, stolen 7 days earlier from an exhibition, wrapped in newspaper in a south London garden. ** 15 April: The ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine uses the phrase "Swinging London". ** 9 June: Brunel University London, Brunel University is chartered in Uxbridge. ** July: The Playboy Club and casino opens in Park Lane. ** 12 August: Shepherd's Bush murders: 3 policemen are shot dead in Braybrook Street,
Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...
. ** 22 August: Centre Point, a 32-floor office building at St Giles Circus designed by Richard Seifert for property speculator Harry Hyams, is completed. It remains empty for around a decade; between 2015 and 2018 it is converted into luxury apartments. ** 22 October: British spy George Blake escapes from Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison), Wormwood Scrubs prison; he is next seen in Moscow. ** 18 September: Notting Hill Fayre and Pageant, initiated by Rhaune Laslett, opens, predecessor of Notting Hill Carnival. ** 23 December: The UFO Club, part of the UK underground scene, opens in a Tottenham Court Road basement. ** 31 December: Thieves steal 8 paintings worth millions of pounds from Dulwich Art Gallery; they are all recovered locally within a week. ** The Greater London Council (GLC) proposes the construction of the London Ringways#Ringway 1, Ringway 1, the inner city "Motorway Box". ** 1966–January 1970: The introduction of all-figure dialling within the London Director telephone system ends the use of alphabetic exchange names. * 1967 ** January: The London-set film ''Blowup'' is released in the UK. ** 23 January: Milton Keynes, a village in Buckinghamshire, 50 miles north of London, is formally designated as a new town by the government. It is intended to accommodate overspill population from London. ** 1 March: The Queen Elizabeth Hall opens as a concert venue on the South Bank. ** 31 March: The Royal Ordnance Factory closes at the
Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...
,
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
. ** 3 April: Anguillan-born Norwell Roberts becomes the first black officer in the Metropolitan Police Service. ** 13 April: The Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party wins the Greater London Council elections. ** 5 May: The Kinks' single "Waterloo Sunset" is released. ** 20 May: In the first all-London FA Cup 1967 FA Cup Final, final, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur defeat Chelsea F.C., Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium. ** 9 July: The Southern Region of British Railways operates the last steam locomotives into a London terminus (London Waterloo railway station, Waterloo) in regular service. ** 9 August: 34-year-old playwright Joe Orton is battered to death by his lover Kenneth Halliwell, who then commits suicide, in their
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
home. ** October–November: Unofficial London dock workers' strike. ** 5 November: Hither Green rail crash on the Southern Region of British Railways: 49 people are killed in a high-speed derailment. ** 7 November: St Pancras railway station is made a Grade I listed building, a landmark in the appreciation of Victorian architecture. ** 5 December: The Beatles open the Apple Boutique, Apple Shop in Baker Street; it will close on 31 July 1968. ** The Royal Lancaster Hotel opens at Lancaster Gate. ** Le Gavroche restaurant opens in Mayfair; it will close in January 2024. ** St Christopher's Hospice, the world's first purpose-built secular hospice specialising in palliative care of the terminally ill, is established in South London by Cicely Saunders with the support of Albertine Winner. * 1968 ** 3 January: Heston services fully opens on the M4 motorway. ** 24 January: Inaugural concert of the London Sinfonietta at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. ** 17 March: Police and protestors clash at an anti-Vietnam War protest outside the Embassy of the United States, London, Embassy of the United States in Grosvenor Square, with many people being injured and arrested. ** 5 April: Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incident: The 50th anniversary of the RAF occurs without a flypast; as a protest, airman Alan Pollock flies his Hawker Hunter through Tower Bridge, the only time a jet aircraft has flown through the structure. ** 18 April: The facing stones of the 1831 London Bridge are sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch. He then rebuilds it in London Bridge (Lake Havasu City), Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it reopens in 1971. ** 16 May: The Ronan Point tower block in London Borough of Newham, Newham partially collapses following a gas explosion, and 4 people are killed. ** 30 July: Thames Television takes over the weekday independent television franchise for the London area. ** 2 August: London Weekend Television takes over the weekend independent television franchise for the London area. ** 1 September: The London Transport Board opens the first section of Victoria line Tube railway. ** 30 September: St Katharine Docks is closed to commercial shipping. ** 14 October: Euston railway station officially reopens after rebuilding. ** 27 October: The police and protestors clash after an anti-Vietnam War protest outside the Embassy of the United States, London, Embassy of the United States in Grosvenor Square. ** The first residence at Thamesmead is occupied; and Balfron Tower, Greater London Authority, GLC social housing in Poplar, London, Poplar designed by Ernő Goldfinger, is completed. ** Original :File:20 Fenchurch Street.JPG, office block at 20 Fenchurch Street, designed by William H. Rogers (architect), William H. Rogers, built by Land Securities and occupied by Dresdner Kleinwort; at tall with 25 storeys it is one of the first tall buildings in the city. ** The Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile is consecrated in the former King's Weigh House Congregational church of 1891 in Mayfair. * 1969 ** 24 January: Violent protests by students close the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
, which does not re-open for 3 weeks. ** 30 January: The Beatles' rooftop concert: The Beatles give their last public performance on the roof of Apple Records in Savile Row. ** 7 March:
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
's Victoria line is officially opened between Walthamstow Central station, Walthamstow Central and Victoria station by Elizabeth II, The Queen. The remaining portion of the line to Brixton tube station, Brixton opens on 23 July 1971. ** 1 April: SR.N4 hovercraft ''Princess Margaret'' travels down the Thames and under Tower Bridge, where it then parks on a floating docking platform, as part of its introduction to service on the cross-channel route from Dover to Calais. ** 7 May: Christopher Wren's church of St Mary Aldermanbury (1677) is rededicated at Westminster College (Missouri), Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. ** 5 July: The Rolling Stones perform at the free festival ''The Stones in the Park'' outdoors in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in front of at least 250,000 fans 2 days after the death of their founder Brian Jones. ** 21 September: The police evict squatters from the London Street Commune. ** 26 September: Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road features on The Beatles' Abbey Road, album cover of the same name. ** London Gateway services, Scratchwood services opens on the M1 motorway.


1970 to 1979

* 1970 ** 1 January: The control of London Transport (brand), London Transport passes from the London Transport Board to the Greater London Council as its London Transport Executive (GLC), London Transport Executive, and London Country Bus Services passes to the National Bus Company (UK), National Bus Company. ** March: The Babes in the Wood murders (Epping Forest) take place. ** July: Westway, London, Westway opens. ** 6 July: A major power cut on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
affects 200,000 people, causing them to have to walk through the tunnels to exit the trains. ** 18 September: Death of Jimi Hendrix: American rock star Jimi Hendrix dies aged 27 at St Mary Abbots Hospital, Kensington from a suspected drug-induced heart attack, two days after last playing in public. ** 6 October: BBC Radio London begins broadcasting. ** 27 November: The Gay Liberation Front organises its first march in London. ** c. 23 December: The last ship leaves the Surrey Commercial Docks. ** The City of London Polytechnic, North East London Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic are formed by mergers. ** The Whitgift Centre shopping centre and office complex are completed in Croydon. * 1971 ** 1 May: A bomb planted by The Angry Brigade explodes in the Biba Kensington store. ** 21 May: The Polytechnic of Central London is formed by merger of previous institutions as a successor to the 1838 Polytechnic. Also this year, the Polytechnic of North London is founded by merger of the Northern and North-Western polytechnics. ** 15 February: Decimal Day sees decimalisation of the UK currency. ** 6 June: The
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
operates its last steam locomotives, which were used for maintenance trains. ** 14 June: The first Hard Rock Cafe opens near Hyde Park Corner. ** 23 July: The Victoria line's extension to Brixton tube station, Brixton (excluding Pimlico) is officially opened by Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, Princess Alexandra. ** 21 October: (1939) opens as a museum ship on the Thames. ** 31 October: A terrorist bomb explodes at the top of the Post Office Tower. ** 16 December: The trial of the Mangrove Nine, a group of black activists, concludes with them being acquitted of the most serious charge, of incitement to riot at a 1970 protest against police targeting of the Notting Hill Caribbean restaurant The Mangrove. There is also judicial acknowledgement of behaviour motivated by racial hatred within the Metropolitan Police. * 1972 ** 30 May: 5 children are killed in an accident on the Big Dipper (Battersea Park). ** 11 June: Eltham Well Hall rail crash: a speeding train derails, killing the driver and 5 passengers. ** 1 July: The first official national Gay Pride march, origin of Pride London, takes place. ** 14 September: Pimlico tube station, Pimlico station opens. ** 8 November: The Stock Exchange Tower opens. ** Richmond American University London is founded. ** The Brunswick Centre is completed in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
. ** The Robin Hood Gardens council housing complex is completed in Tower Hamlets. * 1973 ** 26 February: The Poet laureate John Betjeman's television documentary about the London suburbs, ''Metro-Land (1973 film), Metro-Land'', is broadcast. ** 3 March: 2 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombs explode in London, killing 1 person and injuring 250 others. ** 8 March: 1973 Old Bailey bombing, Old Bailey bombing, a further IRA attack, kills 1, with a further explosion in Whitehall. ** 17 March: The rebuilt London Bridge opens. ** 26 March: Women are admitted to the London Stock Exchange for the first time. ** March: The Metropolitan Police abolishes its separate A4 (Women's) division and integrates its female officers. ** 17 April: Robert Mark is appointed Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, continuing his efforts to root out corruption in the Criminal Investigation Department, CID. ** 6 June: St Mary's Church, Putney is gutted by fire, which is later revealed to be arson. ** 23 August: An IRA bomb is found at Baker Street tube station, Baker Street station and is defused, making this the first postwar terrorist targeting of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
. On 8 September, the IRA detonates further bombs, at London Victoria station, Victoria Station and in Manchester. ** 10 September *** IRA bombs at London King's Cross railway station, King's Cross and Euston railway stations injure 13 people. *** The fashion retailer Biba re-opens in the former Derry & Toms store in Kensington High Street. ** 12 September: Further IRA bombs explode in Oxford Street and Sloane Square. ** 8 October: LBC begins broadcasting, making it Britain's first independent local radio station. ** 16 October: Capital Radio begins broadcasting, making it Britain's first legitimate commercial music-based radio station. ** 20 December: The Ealing Broadway station#Accidents and incidents, Ealing Broadway rail crash results in 10 people being killed following a high-speed derailment. ** Cromwell Tower, the first tower block of the Barbican Estate in the City of London, City and at this date Tall buildings in London, London's tallest residential tower at 42 storeys and high, is completed. ** Trellick Tower, Greater London Council, GLC social housing in North Kensington designed by Ernő Goldfinger, is completed. ** Windsor House, London, Windsor House is built. ** The Bishop of London moves his official residence from Fulham Palace to The Old Deanery, Dean's Court in the City of London. ** GSM London is established as the Greenwich School of Management. * 1974 ** 20 March: Ian Ball fails in his attempt to kidnap Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Anne and her husband Capt. Mark Phillips in The Mall (London), The Mall outside
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
. ** 1 April: Thames Water, set up under the terms of the Water Act 1973, takes over the
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
and other water suppliers in the Thames catchment as well as management of the Thames above Teddington Lock from the
Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of River Thames, that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines-upon-T ...
. The piers below Staines pass from the
Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...
to the Greater London Council. ** 4 April: A replica of Francis Drake, Sir Francis Drake's 'Golden Hinde' sails past Tower Bridge. ** 27 May: Jill Viner, London Transport Executive (GLC), London Transport's first female bus driver, begins shifts. ** 15 June: The Red Lion Square disorders see members of the Fascism, fascist National Front (United Kingdom), National Front clash with counter-protesters in the West End. 21-year-old Kevin Gateley, a university student, is killed as a result. ** 17 June: A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb explodes at the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
and damages Westminster Hall. Then on 17 July, an IRA bomb explodes at the White Tower in the Tower of London, killing 1 person and injuring 41 people. Another bomb also explodes outside a government building in south London. ** 12 October: The first UK McDonald's opens in
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
. ** 22 October: An IRA bomb explodes at Brooks's club. Then on 7 November, an IRA bomb explodes at the Kings Arms, Woolwich, killing 2 people and injuring 28 people. ** 11 November: The New Covent Garden Market opens at Nine Elms. ** 22 December: A suspected IRA bomb explodes at the home of Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader and former Prime Minister Edward Heath. ** Sex (boutique) is opened by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood on the King's Road. * 1975 ** 28 February: The Moorgate tube crash takes place: 43 are killed when a Northern line train accelerates into a dead end tunnel on the Highbury Branch. ** 5 May: St Leonard's Church, Streatham is gutted by fire. ** 2 June: Snow falls at Lord's cricket ground. ** July: The Allen Hall Seminary is opened by the Catholic Church, Catholic province of
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
on the site of Thomas More's house in Chelsea. ** 14 August: The heaviest rainfall is recorded in London, where there is 17.8 cm (7 in.) in just 2 hours in Hampstead. ** 5 September: A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb explodes at The London Hilton on Park Lane, killing 2 and injuring 63 people. ** 28 September–3 October: The Spaghetti House siege takes place, during which 9 hostages are taken. ** 9 October: An IRA bomb explodes outside Green Park tube station, killing 1 person and injuring 20 people. ** 23 October: The oncologist Gordon Hamilton Fairley is killed by an IRA bomb intended for Hugh Fraser (British politician), Sir Hugh Fraser. ** November: A gold sovereign is the last coin to be minted at the Royal Mint's original London location. ** 18 November: Walton's Restaurant bombing. ** 6–12 December: The Balcombe Street siege: 4 members of the IRA take hostages before surrendering to the police. ** The Southwark Towers are built. * 1976 ** 29 January: 12 Provisional Irish Republican Army bombs explode in the West End of London, West End. ** 2 March: Brent Cross shopping centre opens. ** 13 April: Whitbread ceases brewing at Chiswell Street. ** Summer: The heatwave this year sees 16 consecutive days over 30 °C (86 °F). ** 5 August: Big Ben breaks down after the air brake speed regulator of the chiming mechanism breaks from torsional fatigue, causing the fully wound 4-ton weight to spin the winding drum out of the movement. The clock and bells remain out of action until 1977 and BBC Radio 4 has to broadcast the pips instead. ** 20 August–14 July 1978: The Grunwick dispute, an industrial dispute involving trade union recognition at the Grunwick film processing Laboratories in Willesden. ** 25 October: The Royal National Theatre, National Theatre is officially opened on the South Bank. ** December: The Museum of London is established on London Wall, close to the Barbican Centre. ** The Wat Buddhapadipa in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon is the first purpose-built (Culture of Thailand, Thai style) Buddhism, Buddhist temple built in Britain. * 1977 ** 24 February: The 1977 City of London and Westminster South by-election is held. ** 10 March: A thanksgiving service is held at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
for the late composer Benjamin Britten. ** 11 April: London Transport Executive (GLC), London Transport's 1977 Silver Jubilee, Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched for the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. ** 5 May: The 1977 Greater London Council election takes place, and the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives secure a substantial majority over Labour. ** 9 May: Big Ben resumes chiming after a nine-month shutdown, the longest break in its history. ** 13 August: "Battle of Lewisham": an attempt by the far-right National Front (United Kingdom), National Front to march from New Cross to Lewisham leads to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes. ** 31 August: Enfield poltergeist first manifests. ** 16 September: Glam rock star Marc Bolan is killed in a car crash in Barnes, London, Barnes at age 29. ** 31 October: "Frestonia" attempts to secede from the UK. ** 23 November: The new premises for the Public Record Office, later The National Archives (United Kingdom), The National Archives, opens in Kew. ** 16 December: The
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...
is extended to Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station, Heathrow Central tube station, making it the first metro system in the world to serve an airport. ** London Hydraulic Power Company closes its last pumping station, in Wapping Wall. ** The Garden Museum is established at the former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth. **
J. Lyons and Co. J, or j, is the tenth letter of the English alphabet. J may also refer to: * Palatal approximant in the International Phonetic Alphabet * J, Cyrillic letter Je Astronomy * J, a provisional designation prefix for some objects discovered be ...
closes its last Corner House restaurant. * 1978 ** 4 May: Altab Ali is murdered in
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
in a racially motivated attack, which mobilises the British Bangladeshi community to protest. ** 8 June: St Mary's Church, Barnes is gutted by fire. ** 20 August: Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al airline bus in London. ** 7 September: The Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is stabbed with a Ricin, poison-tipped umbrella as he walks across Waterloo Bridge, probably on orders of his country's intelligence service, and he dies 4 days later. ** 1 December–13 November 1979: ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' newspapers suspend publication over a dispute by journalists. ** 30 December: The first of at least 12 murders committed by Dennis Nilsen take place in north London. ** London Borough of Camden low-rise high-density social housing schemes are completed on Alexandra Road Estate (by Neave Brown) and Branch Hill (by Gordon Benson and Alan Forsyth). ** The ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' newspaper begins publication. * 1979 ** 30 March: Airey Neave, a World War II veteran and Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman, is killed by an Irish National Liberation Army bomb in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons car park. ** 7 April: The last AEC Regent III RT, RT type bus runs in London. ** 1 May: The Jubilee line is inaugurated. ** 5 September: The funeral of Louis Mountbatten, murdered by the IRA in August, takes place at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. ** 14 September: The government announces plans to regenerate the London Docklands with housing and commercial developments. ** 18 October: The new Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith), Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith opens, with the first play being George Bernard Shaw's ''You Never Can Tell (play), You Never Can Tell''. ** Stepney City Farm is founded.


1980 to 1989

* 1980 ** 28 March: The London Transport Museum opens in the former Covent Garden flower market. ** 30 April–5 May: The Iranian Embassy siege is ended by the intervention of the Special Air Service. ** 10 July:
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...
is gutted by fire for the second time in its history. ** 16 August: 2 nightclubs in Denmark Street are gutted by arson, killing 37 people. ** 30 October: The last ''Night Ferry'' train to Paris departs from London Victoria station. ** St George's Hospital moves from Hyde Park Corner to Tooting. ** The London Chinatown, London, Chinatown Community Centre is established. ** Royal Society of Chemistry is formed by merger with its headquarters at Burlington House * 1981 ** 18 January: 10 people are killed in the New Cross house fire, and on 25 January, another victim dies in hospital. ** 29 March: The London Marathon is run for the first time. ** 11 April: The 1981 Brixton riot takes place. ** 20 April: More than 100 people are arrested and 15 police officers are injured in clashes with black youths in the Finsbury Park, Forest Green and
Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
areas. ** 7 May: Ken Livingstone becomes the leader of the Greater London Council after Labour wins the Greater London Council, GLC elections. ** 11 June: The Tower 42, National Westminster Tower opens. ** 21 June: There is a fire at Goodge Street tube station. ** 2 July: The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) is set up. ** 29 July: The Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer takes place in St Paul's Cathedral. ** 4 October: London Transport Executive (GLC) introduces the 'Fares Fair', which sees an average 32% reduction of public transport fares. However, it is declared unlawful on 17 December following legal challenge by London Borough of Bexley. ** 10 October: Chelsea Barracks is bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, killing 2 people. ** November: The
Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...
closes the Royal Docks, the last functioning upstream docks, to general trade. ** The Greater London Council public housing stock passes to boroughs. ** Whiteleys department store in Bayswater closes. * 1982 ** 4 January: London & South Eastern (L&SE) is created by British Rail to provide London suburban services. ** 19 January: Billingsgate Fish Market opens on a new site in the Isle of Dogs after having closed its old site in the City 3 days earlier. ** 3 March: The Barbican Centre opens as an arts and conference venue. ** 28 May: Pope John Paul II's visit to the United Kingdom begins, and following arrival from Gatwick Airport at Victoria station he attends Mass at
Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...
. On 29 May, there is an open-air Mass at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, and on 30 May a meeting at Crystal Palace Stadium with the Polish Catholic Church, Catholic community. ** 3 June: The Israeli ambassador to the UK Shlomo Argov is shot outside the Dorchester Hotel. ** 17 June: The body of Italian banker Roberto Calvi is found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge. ** 27 June: Brymon Airways' Captain Harry Gee lands a de Havilland Canada Dash 7 turboprop aircraft on Heron Quays in the nearby West India Docks to demonstrate the feasibility of the STOLport project, the basis of London City Airport. This then officially opens on 5 November 1987. ** 20 July: The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings take place. ** 12 October: The London Victory Parade of 1982 takes place. ** October: The Thames Barrier begins operating; it is officially opened on 8 May 1984. ** The Broadgate development in the City begins. ** The Black Audio Film Collective is active. ** 1982–1986: John Duffy and David Mulcahy commit multiple murders and rapes near railway stations in and around London. * 1983 ** 14 January: Shooting of Stephen Waldorf: armed police shoot and severely injure an innocent car passenger in
Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
believing him to be an escaped prisoner. ** 4 April: Gunmen escape with £7,000,000 from a Security Express van, making it the biggest cash haul in British history. ** 16 May: Wheel clamps are first used to combat illegal parking in London. ** July–August: London temperatures reach and exceed 30 °C (86 °F). ** 22 September: The London Docklands, Docklands redevelopment begins with the opening of an Enterprise Zone on the Isle of Dogs. ** 7 October: A plan to abolish the Greater London Council is announced. ** 21 October: A thanksgiving ceremony takes place in St Martin-in-the-Fields in memory of the late David Niven. ** 4 November: Dennis Nilsen is sentenced at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
to life imprisonment for the murder of at least 12 young men in a series of killings committed since 1978 in north London. ** 26 November: Brink's-Mat robbery: £26,000,000-worth of gold bullion and other valuables are stolen from a warehouse at the Heathrow International Trading Estate. ** 17 December: Harrods bombings: a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) car bomb kills 6 people (3 police and 3 members of the public) and injures 90 people outside Harrods. A second bomb on Christmas Day in Oxford Street explodes without injuries. ** Mary Donaldson, Baroness Donaldson of Lymington, Mary Donaldson becomes the first female Lord Mayor of London, and Sam Beaver King becomes first black mayor of the London Borough of Southwark. ** Thames Water shuts down the Reciprocating engine, reciprocating stationary steam engines at its Waddon pumping station, the last in Britain to pump drinking water by steam. ** Chelsea Physic Garden opens to the general public as a heritage attraction for the first time. ** The Sankofa Film and Video Collective is founded. * 1984 ** 4 April: The Churchill War Rooms open as a museum. ** 17 April: Murder of Yvonne Fletcher: a police officer is shot from the Embassy of Libya, London, Embassy of Libya in St. James's Square. ** 29 June: London Transport (brand), London Transport passes from control of the Greater London Council to London Regional Transport (reporting to the Department of Transport). ** 23 November: Serious fire in the Victoria line tunnel at Oxford Circus tube station. ** Regent's College is established by Rockford College in Regent's Park; it moves to the premises vacated by Bedford College, London, Bedford College in 1985. ** London Fashion Week begins. * 1985 ** 6 January: The Capitalcard, predecessor of the Travelcard, is introduced, making it the first season ticket valid on both London Transport Executive, London Transport and British Rail services. ** 16 January: The Dorchester Hotel is bought by the Sultan of Brunei. ** 19 February: Soap opera ''EastEnders'' debuts on BBC television. ** 11 March: Harrods is bought by Mohammed Al Fayed. ** 13 July: Live Aid takes place at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium alongside a similar performance in Philadelphia. ** 6 October: Death of Keith Blakelock: a police constable is brutally murdered in the Broadwater Farm riot on the Broadwater Farm estate of 1967–71 in
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
. ** 25–26 December: Northolt siege, a domestic hostage-taking and murder in which for the first time an officer of the Metropolitan Police Firearms Wing opens fire. ** Bedford College, London, Bedford College merges with Royal Holloway, University of London#Royal Holloway College, Royal Holloway College and moves to the latter's Egham campus. * 1986 ** 24 January–5 February 1987: Wapping dispute: employees of News International strike over the transfer of the company's newspaper production to Wapping with the adoption of new technology. Within a year of the strike's collapse, most national newspapers will follow News International's lead in moving from
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
to the London Docklands, Docklands. ** 31 March *** The Greater London Council is abolished, and responsibility for the
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
scheme passes to English Heritage. *** A fire damages Hampton Court Palace. ** 12 April: Heathrow Terminal 4 opens. ** 10 June: London & South Eastern (L&SE) suburban rail operations rebranded as Network SouthEast (NSE). ** 27 June: The last train departs from Broad Street railway station (London), Broad Street station. ** 11–12 July: Queen (band), Queen perform at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium in front of audiences of 72,000 on each night. ** 27 October: "Big Bang (financial markets), Big Bang": deregulation of the London Stock Exchange leads to substantial changes in the City financial markets. ** 29 October: The M25 motorway (London orbital) is completed, which creates a new ''de facto'' definition of the Greater London area. ** 18 November: Lloyd's building, designed by Richard Rogers, opens. * 1987 ** January: The Westminster cemeteries scandal begins. ** 24 February–23 July: The ''London Daily News'' is published. ** 10 May: The City church of St Mary-at-Hill is gutted by fire. ** 30 July: The Docklands Light Railway begins operation. ** 15–16 October: The Great Storm of 1987 hits London, and many trees are felled. ** 26 October: London City Airport begins commercial operation. ** 18 November: 31 people are killed in the King's Cross fire. ** The
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
and
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
including St Margaret's, Westminster, St Margaret’s Church are inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom, List of World Heritage Sites. ** Richmond, London#Richmond Riverside, Richmond Riverside, London, designed by Quinlan Terry, completed. ** The American Richard Serra's Cor-Ten steel sculpture ''Fulcrum (sculpture), Fulcrum'' is installed in Broadgate in the city. * 1988 ** 16 May: Thameslink (route), Thameslink's north–south cross-London suburban rail services are introduced by Network SouthEast (NSE). ** July: Surrey Quays Shopping Centre opens on the former site of the Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe. This leads to a ''de facto'' renaming of the surrounding residential area as Surrey Quays. ** 1 August: Inglis Barracks bombing: A soldier is killed and Inglis Barracks is damaged in an IRA bombing. ** 12 December: 35 people are killed in the Clapham Junction rail crash. ** Approximate date: ''Al-Hayat'' newspaper headquartered in London. * 1989 ** 4 March: Purley station rail crash: 5 people are killed in a collision following driver's error. ** 29 June: A replacement sundial column is unveiled at Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials. ** 20 August: Marchioness disaster, ''Marchioness'' disaster: 51 people are killed when the dredger ''Bowbelle'' collides with the chartered pleasure boat ''Marchioness'' on the Thames near Cannon Street Railway Bridge in the early hours of the morning. ** October–December: Gates erected across Downing Street. ** 25 December: The first Mass (liturgy), mass of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church parish in London is celebrated. ** London's Air Ambulance begins operation. ** The Design Museum opens in Shad Thames. ** The management of Hampstead Heath is taken over by Corporation of London. ** The North East London Polytechnic is renamed as the Polytechnic of East London. ** Remains of The Rose (theatre), The Rose and Globe Theatre are discovered. ** After spending most of the decade closed down, Whiteleys re-opens as a shopping centre. ** Truman's Brewery closes.


1990 to 1999

* 1990 ** 26 January: The last trains use Holborn Viaduct railway station, and the railway bridge over Ludgate Hill is demolished. ** 4 March: The first legal terrestrial London specialist independent radio station, 102.2 Jazz FM, Jazz FM, is launched. ** 31 March: The Poll Tax Riots, Poll Tax Riot takes place. ** 1 April: The Inner London Education Authority is abolished. ** 2 May: The City bonds robbery takes place. ** 3 May: The 1990 London local elections take place; in Westminster, these give rise to the homes for votes scandal. ** 6 May: The STD code 01 is divided between 071 (exchanges in the Central sector) and 081. ** 10 July: The first Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opened by Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Anne. ** 20 July: A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb explodes at the Stock Exchange Tower. ** 1 September: The former Pirate radio in the United Kingdom, "Pirate" radio station Kiss (UK radio station), Kiss FM relaunches as a licensed broadcaster. ** Telehouse Europe begins operation of Europe's first purpose-built carrier-neutral colocation centre, in the London Docklands, Docklands, and it becomes the UK's main Internet hub. * 1991 ** 7 February: The Downing Street mortar attack is carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. ** 18 February: A man is killed in the Victoria station and Paddington station bombings. ** 2 April: HM Prison Belmarsh becomes operational on part of the
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
Arsenal site. ** 21 May: Festival Pier collapses. ** 26 August: One Canada Square, the "Canary Wharf tower", opens. ** 24 November: Queen (band), Queen frontman Freddie Mercury dies of HIV/AIDS, AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia at his home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, after announcing his diagnosis the day before. A tribute concert for him takes place at Wembley Stadium on 20 April 1992. ** 12–15 December: Concentration of vehicle exhausts in London causes an estimated 160 deaths. ** :File:Charing Cross railway station Mars 2014 01.jpg, Embankment Place office and commercial complex above Charing Cross railway station, designed by Terry Farrell and Partners, opens. * 1992 ** 28 February: 1992 London Bridge bombing, London Bridge station bombing by the IRA. ** 10 April: Baltic Exchange bombing by the IRA kills 3. ** September: First Open House London event takes place. ** October: The University of Greenwich is formed from Thames Polytechnic. ** 9 October: 2 suspected IRA bombs explode in London, but there are no injuries. ** November: The University of East London is formed from the Polytechnic of East London. ** 1 December: The University of Westminster is formed from the Polytechnic of Central London, itself a successor to the 1838 Polytechnic. ** 10 December: 2 people are injured by IRA bombs in Wood Green. Then on 16 December, 4 people are injured by IRA bombs on Oxford Street. ** London Guildhall University is formed from the City of London Polytechnic; the University of North London is formed from the Polytechnic of North London; Middlesex University is formed from Middlesex Polytechnic; and Kingston University is formed from Kingston Polytechnic. ** The Ark, London, The Ark office block in Hammersmith, designed by Ralph Erskine (architect), Ralph Erskine, completed. ** Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum originally opens at Butler's Wharf. * 1993 ** 1 January: Carlton Television takes over from Thames Television, Thames as the weekday independent television franchise holder for the London area. ** 28 January: Harrods bombings: a bomb planted by English IRA sympathisers injures 4 people outside Harrods. ** 22 April: The murder of Stephen Lawrence takes place in Eltham. ** 24 April: 1993 Bishopsgate bombing: an IRA truck bomb explodes in the City, killing 1 person and causing £350,000,000 worth of damage. ** 17 May: The Limehouse Link tunnel opens. ** 4 August: Millwall F.C.'s The Den, New Den stadium opens in Bermondsey. ** Traffic and Environmental Zone around the City of London is established. ** The Thames Water Ring Main is completed. * 1994 ** 26 February: Clerkenwell cinema fire: 11 people die as the result of arson at the Dream City adult cinema. ** 1 April: Suburban rail Network SouthEast (NSE) is disbanded with its operations transferred to train operating units ready for privatisation. On 5 April, the isolated Waterloo & City line passes from its control to the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
. ** 14 July: The SIS Building, headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service designed by Terry Farrell (architect), Terry Farrell, opens on the Albert Embankment in Vauxhall. ** 30 September: The
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
ceases the shuttle services on the Aldwych tube station, Aldwych branch and from Epping tube station, Epping to Ongar railway station, Ongar in Essex. ** 21 October: The Heathrow tunnel collapse: a rail tunnel under construction for the Heathrow Express fails. ** 30 October: London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) powers in Bermondsey revert to the London Borough of Southwark, making it the LDDC's first dedesignation. ** 14 November: The Eurostar train service to Paris Gare du Nord via the Channel Tunnel begins operating from Waterloo International railway station. ** November: The South East London Combined Heat and Power plant is opened in South Bermondsey. ** The City of London's Golden Lane Estate is brought wholly within its administrative boundary, with a boundary line down Goswell Road. ** Finsbury Park Mosque opens. * 1995 ** 16 April: As part of phONEday in the United Kingdom, London's STD codes 071 and 081 become 0171 and 0181 respectively. ** 20 August: The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Europe's first traditional-style purpose-built Hindu temple (and England's largest), is inaugurated in Neasden. ** 8 December: Head teacher Philip Lawrence (headmaster), Philip Lawrence dies after being stabbed while protecting a pupil from a teenage gang outside his school in Maida Vale. ** 13 December: 1995 Brixton riot. ** 31 December: London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) powers in Beckton revert to the London Borough of Newham. ** Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry merge together with Queen Mary and Westfield College. ** Blackwell UK, Blackwell's of Oxford open a bookshop on Charing Cross Road. * 1996 ** 9 February: 1996 Docklands bombing: A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) truck bomb explodes at Canary Wharf, killing 2 people. On 18 February an IRA bomb explodes on a London bus, bus in central London, killing the transporter, Edward O'Brien (Irish republican), Edward O'Brien, and injuring 8 other people, including the driver. On 15 July an IRA unit plotting to disrupt the London electricity supply is arrested in Operation AIRLINES. ** 13 November: The Stone of Scone is taken away from
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
after 600 years, and returned to Scotland. ** 20 December: London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) powers in Surrey Docks revert to the London Borough of Southwark. * 1997 ** 31 January: London Docklands Development Corporation powers in Limehouse and Wapping revert to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ** March: The London Aquarium opens in the former County Hall, London, County Hall on the South Bank. ** 27 May: Shakespeare's Globe, a reconstruction of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan Globe Theatre on the South Bank, opens with its first public performance. ** 6 September: The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. ** 19 September: The Southall rail crash: 7 people are killed in collision on the Great Western Main Line (GWML). ** 7 October: The Royal Victoria Dock Bridge, designed by Lifschutz Davidson, officially opens as a footbridge in the London Docklands, Docklands; the option to add a transporter bridge gondola is never adopted. ** 24 October: Death of Nina Mackay, a 25-year-old WPC who is stabbed in Stratford, London, Stratford when entering a flat to arrest a man with paranoid schizophrenia. ** 10 October: London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) powers in the Isle of Dogs and Poplar, London, Poplar revert to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ** 24 November: The new British Library building in St Pancras, London, St Pancras opens to readers. ** 18 December: London River Services is incorporated as a subsidiary of London Regional Transport to take over the responsibilities of the Thames Pier Agency. ** The Greater London Record Office is renamed as the London Metropolitan Archives. * 1998 ** 3 March: Construction of the Millennium Dome begins. ** 31 March: The London Docklands Development Corporation is wound up, and its remaining powers in the Royal Docks revert to the London Borough of Newham. ** 7 May: The 1998 Greater London Authority referendum gives support for creation of a Greater London Authority. ** 19 June: Heathrow Express, a dedicated rail service between
Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...
and the Heathrow Airport, airport, begins full operation. * 1999 ** February: The 'William Macpherson (judge), Macpherson report', produced in response to the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, finds that the Metropolitan Police is "Institutional racism, institutionally racist". ** 16 March: The ''Metro (British newspaper), Metro'' launches as a weekday tabloid free newspaper in London. ** 14 April: Edgar Pearce, the "Mardi Gras, Mardi Gra bomber", is convicted for a series of bombings targeted at banks and supermarkets around London and sentenced to 21 years in jail. ** 17–30 April: 1999 London nail bombings: David Copeland plants nail bombs targeting Black people, black, Bengalis, Bengali and Homosexuality, gay communities, killing 3 and injuring more than 100. ** May: London IMAX cinema opens on the South Bank. ** 21 May: The film ''Notting Hill (film), Notting Hill'' is released. ** 24 May: The Thames Clippers ferry service starts operating along the Thames to connect Central London with some of its inner suburbs. ** July *** The Fourth plinth, Trafalgar Square is first occupied by Mark Wallinger's ''Ecce Homo''. *** The :File:Walkway across A11 - geograph.org.uk - 715065.jpg, Green Bridge carries Mile End Park over the Mile End Road. ** 5 October: The Ladbroke Grove rail crash: 31 people are killed in a collision on the Great Western Main Line (GWML). ** 31 December: The Millennium Dome on Greenwich Peninsula, the London Eye on the South Bank, and the Jubilee Line Extension serving Canary Wharf tube station are officially opened. ** The University of Greenwich occupies portions of the Old Royal Naval College. ** Antony Gormley's sculpture ''Quantum Cloud'' is erected on the Greenwich Peninsula. ** The Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, within the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland, opens in Chiswick.


See also

* Timeline of London * History of London


References


Bibliography

''See also lists of works about London by period: Tudor London#Further reading, Tudor London, Stuart London#Further reading, Stuart London, 18th-century London#Further reading, 18th century, 19th-century London#Further reading, 19th century, History of London 1900–1939#Further reading, 1900–1939, London in the 1960s#Bibliography, 1960s'' ;published in the 19th century * * * * * * * * * * * circa 1882 * * ;published in the 20th century * * * * * * * * * * ;published in the 21st century * * * * * * * * *


External links

* British History Online
London
* * * . * Europeana

various dates. * Digital Public Library of America. Items related t
London
various dates * {{Timelines of cities in the United Kingdom History of London, * History of the City of London, * Timelines of cities in the United Kingdom, London London-related lists Years in London, * English history timelines, london Timelines of capitals, London