Twentieth Century Timeline , Puccini's Tosca Freud publishes his Interpretations of Dreams , Ferdinand Zeppelin invents a rigid framed dirigible or airship that became known as the Zeppelin, Max Planck formulates quantum theory, First Browning revolvers manufactured, Fessenden transmits human speech via radio waves, F.E. Dorn discovers Rad 1901Commonwealth of Australia formed, Australian Immigration Restriction Act, Persia sells a 60 year oil concession to William D'Arcy, Peace of Beijing ends Boxer Rebellion, Marconi transmits telegraphic radio message from Cornwall to Newfoundland, Mombasa to Lake Victoria railway completedDeath of Queen Victoria , Edward VII becomes King, First British Submarine launchedRoosevelt takes over from assasinated McKinley, Cuba becomes an American Protectorate, Treaty to build Panama Canal under US supervision, Trans-Siberian Railroad reaches Port ArthurPicasso's Blue Period (until 1905), Elgar's Cockaigne Overture , Kipling's Kim Max Planck's Laws of Radiation , W.H.

Nernst postulates third law of thermodynamics, First Mercedes car constructed, The hormone adrenalin is isolated 1902Treaty of Vereeniging ends Boer War, Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Ashanti territory incorporated into Gold Coast , Aswan Dam opened in Egypt, Third Colonial Conference, Colonial Office takes over East Africa Protectorate Arthur James Balfour PM, King Edward establishes Order of Merit, The Anglo-American Pilgrim Society is foundedTriple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is renewed, Ibn Saud captures RiyadhJ.A. Hobson's Imperialism is published, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness , Arthur Conan-Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles , Kipling's Just So Stories , A.E.W.

Mason's The Four Feathers , Elgar composes first of Pomp and Circumstance Marches , Claude Monet's Waterloo Bridge Heaviside discovers atmospheric layer which aids conduction of radio waves, Poulsen invents the arc generator 1903Britain incorporates Sokoto into Northern Nigeria , Great Coronation Durbar in Delhi, Curzon sends an expedition to Tibet, Dartmouth Naval College established, Settlement of Alaska-Canada Boundary with US, Joseph Chamberlain launches campaign for Tariff Reform Edward VII visits Paris, Suffragettes established Bolsheviks split from Mensheviks at London Congress, Sixth Zionist conference refuses to consider EAst Africa for Jewish settlement, First Tour de FranceHenry James' The Ambassadors , Jack London's The Call of the Wild , Erskine Childers' The Riddle of the Sands First powered flight by the Wright brothers, Perthe establishes link between X-Rays and cancer, Wilhelm Einthoven invents the electrical cardiograph, J.J.

Thomson's The Conduction of Electricity through Gases 1904 First Empire day celebrated Entente Cordiale with France, Alcohol Licensing Laws introducedRusso-Japanese War (until 1905), Herero Revolt in South-West Africa is savagely put down by Germans, Paris Conference on white slave trade, Russian Interior Minister Plehve is assassinatedDvorak dies in Prague, Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard , Claude Monet's The Thames , Joseph Conrad's Nostromo , George Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island , J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan , Puccini's Puccini: Madama Butterfly , Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 , Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation , L.T. Hobhouse's Democracy and Reaction , Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism , G.K. Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill , Jack London's The Sea Wolf Freud's The Psychopathology of Everyday Life , Rutherford and Soddy develop general theory of radioactivity, Elster devises first practical photoelectric cell, W.C.

Gorgas eradicates yellow fever from Panama Canal Zone, Rolls Royce founded, First telegraphic transmission of photographs, Sir John Fleming uses thermionic tube to generate radio waves, Wireless radio distress signal CQD is adopted 1905Colonial Office takes over Somaliland Protectorate, British partition of Bengal, British New Guinea transferred to Australia, Alberta and Saskatchewan become Provinces in Canada, Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman PM, Aliens Act introduces first restrictions to immigration to Britain, Anglo-Japanese Alliance renewed for 10 yearsRussians lose fleet at Tsushima, Russians defeated by Japanese, Revolution in Russia, Constitutional Revolution in Persia, Maji Maji rebellion in German East Africa, Norway breaks from SwedenDeath of Jules Verne, Strauss' Strauss:Salome , E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread , Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel , H.G.

Wells' Kipps - The Story of a Simple Soul Einstein formulates Special Theory of Relativity, Sigmund Freud's Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex , Wright Brothers improve their flying machine, Commercial Rayon production begins in Coventry 1906Muslim league established in India, Britain and France rule New Hebrides , Lagos absorbed into Southern Nigeria , Zulu Rebellion suppressed, Self-government restored to Transvaal and Orange River Colony , Young Men's Buddhist Association founded in Burma , British force Turks to cede Sinai Peninsula to Egypt , Ahina and Britain agree to reduce opium productionReforming Liberals win election, Campbell Bannerman PM, First Dreadnought launched, Kaiser meets Edward VII , Patents Act, Merchant Shipping ActAlgeciras Conference over First Morocco Crisis, First Duma in Russia, US troops occupy Cuba, Theodore Roosevelt is first US President to travel overseas whilst in office by visiting Panama Canal Zone, Germany decides to widen Kiel Canal to take new and larger battleships and also expands naval construction programme, Roald Amundsen traverses North-west Passage and determines position of magnetic North Pole, San Francisco earthquake HMS Dreadnought and HMS Victory Clemens von Pirquet coins the term 'allergy' in medicine for

 first time, 'Typhoid Mary' incarcerated in New York 1907 New Zealand gains Dominion status, Colonial Office takes over Nyasaland Protectorate, Colonial Conference becomes institutionalised as a four yearly event, Dominions Department created within Colonial Office, Mahatma Gandhi begins first non-violent resistance campaign in South Africa, Indian National Congress splits, British and French come to an agreement on Siamese independence, Anglo-Russian Entente resolves differences over spheres of influence in Persia and British influence in the Persian Gulf, Baden Powell founds Boys Scout movement Huka Falls, NZ 'Open Door' Agreement on China between France and Japan, Japan claims protectorate over Korea, Peace Conference at the Hague, Roosevelt bans Japanese immigration to US, Rasputin gains influence in court of Tsar, Dutch complete the occupation of Sumatra with defeat of Achinese, Financial panic and run on banks in USA halted by J.P.

Morgan, Sun Yat Sen announces program for a Chinese Democratic Republic, Lenin flees Russia, Norway gives women the voteFirst Cubist exhibition in Paris, Rudyard Kipling receives Nobel prize for Literature, Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent , Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 Ivan Pavlov studies conditioned reflexes, Ross Harrison develops tissue culture techniques, Louis Lumiere develops a process for colour photography using a three-colour screen, Anschutz and Schuler improve the gyrocompass, Lusitania and Mauretania launched 1908 Oil discovered in Persia Herbert Henry Asquith PM, London hosts Olympic Games, Daily Telegraph interview with Kaiser alienates British public opinion towards Germany, Lord Northcliffe buys 'The Times'Bulgaria declares independence, Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzogovina, Crete proclaims union with Greece, Belgium takes over Congo Free state from King Leopold, King and Crown Prince of Portugal assassinated, Sicily earthquake, Civil war in Morocco, Young Turk Revolution in Ottoman Empire, Sven Hedin explores Persia and Tibet, Jack Johnson becomes first black heavyweight boxing champion, Dutch take BaliE.M.

Forster's A Room with a View , Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows , Lucy M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables , Liebknecht's Militarism and Antimilitarism , G. Sorel's Reflection on Violence , F. Meinecke's Cosmopolitanism and the National State , Death of Rimsky-Korsakov, Elgar's Symphony No 1 , J.M. Barrie's What Every Woman Knows Fritz Haber synthesizes ammonia, H. Kamerlinggh Onnes liquifies helium, Bakelite invented by L.H.

Baekeland, Zeppelin disaster at Echterdingen, General Motors Corporation formed, Fountain pens become widespread, Ford Model 'T' roles off production lines for the first time 1909Canberra becomes Australian capital, Anglo-Persian Oil Company founded to exploit D'Arcy Concession, Anglo-Siamese Treaty cedes rights for Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Trengganu to Britain, Formation of Federal Council in Federated Malay States, Creation of Canadian Department of External Affairs, Morley-Minto Reforms in India, Anglo-German discussions on Berlin to Baghdad Railway, Girl Guides foundedLloyd George's battle with House of Lords begins, Formation of Foreign Section of Secret Service Bureau (later MI6) and Military Section (later MI5), State visit by Edward VII to Berlin and Rome, Selfridges opens in LondonYoung Turks overthrow Ottoman Sultan, Franco-German agreement in Morocco, Civil War in Honduras, Robert Peary claims to have reached North PoleF.T.

Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto is published calling for an appreciation of the modern, speed and creative destruction, Kandinsky begins first abstract paintings, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Paul Ehrlich develops Salvarsan 606 as a cure for syphilis, T.H. Morgan begins research into genetics, Louis Bleriot flies across the English Channel, Henri Farman becomes first person to fly 100 miles 1910Union of South Africa becomes a Dominion, Royal Colonial Institute Emigration Conference, Canadian Immigration Act, Egyptian Premier Boutros Ghali is assassinated George V King, First labour exchanges opened, Execution of notorious wife-murdered Dr. CrippenJapan fully annexes Korea, Revolt in Albania, China abolishes slavery, Portugese revolution overthrows monarchy, Mexican revolution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is establishedStravinsky's Firebird is performed in Paris, Palace of Knossos excavated by Arthur Evans, Elgar's Violin Concerto , The Tango becomes popular in Buenos Aires, E.M. Forster's Howard's End , H.G.

Wells' The History of Mr Polly Halley's Comet observed, Seaplane first developed, Death of Robert Koch, J.J. Thomson works on deflection of 'positive rays' in a magnetic field, Murray and Hjort undertake first deep-sea research expedition 1911Imperial Conference provides for direct consultation with Dominions on international agreements, Coronation Durbar at New Delhi (New Capital), Extension of railway in Nigeria from Lagos to Kano, Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty signedNational Health Insurance Bill introduced in parliament, Constitutional crisis resolved, Winston Churchill becomes First Lord of Admiralty, Official Secrets Act introducedGermans send Panther Gunboat to Morocco precipitating second Morocco crisis known as the Agadir Crisis, Kaiser asserts Germany's 'Place in the Sun', Beginning of Italian invasion of Ottoman controlled Libya, Chinese revolution, Sun Yat Sen first President with Chiang Kai Shek as military adviser, President Diaz of Mexico overthrown, Roald Amundsen reaches South PoleKatherine Mansfield's In a German Pension , Saki's Chronicles of Clovis Rutherford's formulates his theory of atomic structure, C.F.

Kettering develops first practical self-starter for automobiles, First air mail 1912 Robert Falcon Scott dies whilst returning from South Pole, Native Recruiting Corporation is established in South Africa , ANC forms in South Africa , Ulster Covenant to strive to keep Ulster in BritainTitanic sinks, Royal Flying Corps established, GPO takes over telephone systemsWilson president of US, Balkan Wars, French protectorate of Morocco, Italy conquers Libya, Widespread Balkan War, Turkey closes Dardanelles to shipping, Sun Yat Sen founds Kuomintang, German-Italian-Austro-Hungarian Alliance renewed Titanic leaving Belfast Jung's Psychology of the Unconscious , Paul Ehrlich introduces acriflavine as an antiseptic, Kasimir Funk coins the term 'vitamin', Edwin Brandenberger invents a process to manufacture cellophane, Death of Joseph Lister, Wilson detects protons and electrons with cloud-chamber photography, V.F. Hess discovers cosmic radiation, C.G.

Jung's The Theory of Psychoanalysis , Piltdown Man hoax is 'found', First successful parachute jump 1913Crisis in Ireland, Ulster volunteers formed, South Africa Native Lands Act, Language tests for immigrants to South Africa , Formation of National Party in South Africa Widespread suffragette disturbances and demonstrations, Sidney and Beatrice Webb found ' 'Turkey loses most of European lands as Balkan Wars continue, Zabern affair in Alsace-Lorraine worsens German-French relations, Opening of Panama canal, US Federal Reserve system and US income tax established, King George I of Greece is assassinatedFirst Charlie Chaplin movies, George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion is first performed in Vienna, D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers , Thomas Mann's Death in Venice , Jack London's John Barleycorn , Maxim Gorki's My Childhood , Elgar's Falstaff J.J. Thomson's Rays Of Positive Electricity And Their Application To Chemical Analyses , H. Geiger develops first device to count individual alpha rays, Niels Bohr formulates his theory of atomic structure, Frederick Soddy coins the term 'isotope', Richard Willstatter discovers composition of cholorophyll, H.N.

Russell formulates theory of stellar evolution, Friedrich Bergius converts coal dust into oil, Max Bodenstein formulates his concept of chemical chain reaction, Rene Lorin states the basis for jet propulsion, Protactinium discovered, Zippers become widespread, Sigmund Freud's Totem and Taboo 1914Home Rule Act for Ireland , Imperial troops assembled for war, Egypt becomes British Protectorate, New Zealand forces occupy German Samoa, Australian forces take German New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago and Solomons, Cyprus annexed, occupation of German West African colonies, Unification of Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria , British Government obtains 51% share in Anglo-Persian Oil Company, British give permission to Japanese to occupy German colonies north of the equator, Gandhi leaves South Africa and supports British war effort, Battle of the Falkland Islands British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, Widescale incarceration of German aliens, Bank of England authorised to issue money in excess of statutory limitPeace treaty between Serbia and Turkey, Calmette-Caillaux affair in France, Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated, World War I (until 1918), Battle of Tannenburg, Battle of the Marne, Panama

 Canal opens, American occupation of Vera Cruz, Resignation of Mexican dictator Victoriano Huerta James Joyce's The Dubliners , Joseph Conrad's Chance , Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes , Vaughan Williams' A London Symphony The Empire's Sturdy Sons 1915Mesopotamian campaign, Afrikaner Revolt suppressed, Chilembwe rising put down in Nyasaland , Ottomans invade Aden and occupy Lahej, Mutiny of Sikh soldiers in Singapore , Gallipoli landings, British forces take Lake Tanganyika, Sinhalese-Muslim riots in Ceylon , Shackleton's Endurance becomes stuck in Antarctic, McMahon letter promises British support for an Arab homeland in return for their help in fighting the Ottoman TurksZeppelin raids on east coast of England, U-boat blockade of Britain and Royal Naval blockade of Germany, First use of tanks at Cambrai, Germans sink Lusitania off the coast of Ireland, Lord Beaverbrook buys 'Daily Express'World War One continues, Second battle of Ypres, Italy joins Britain, Russia and France, Edith Cavell is executed by Germans, Japan imposes 21 demands on ChinaSomerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage

 , John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps , Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis , Joseph Conrad's Victory , D.H.

Lawrence's The Rainbow , D.W.

Griffith's The Birth Of A Nation film, Manuel De Falla's El Amor Brujo Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, James Kendall isolates dysentery bacillus, Henry Ford develops a farm tractor, Wireless service established between US and Japan 1916British defeated at Kut, Shariff of Mecca revolts against Ottomans, Secret Sykes-Picot agreement on map of Middle East, Easter rising in Dublin, Troops enter Yaounde in Cameroons; Drive Germans out of East Africa, Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands combined to form Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Home Rule League established in India, Lucknow Pact between Muslim League and Indian National Congress, Battle of Jutland sees first challenge to Royal Naval power since Trafalgar, Lionel Curtis' The Commonwealth of Nations David Lloyd George PM, Daylight saving introduced, Foundation of Federation of British Industries, National Savings introducedWorld War One continues with Somme Offensive, Brusilov Offensive and Battle for Verdun, Tanks used at Cambrai for first time, Pancho Villa raids US, Pershing launches expedition into Mexico, US lands troops in Santo Domingo (remain until 1924), Yrigoyen's Radical Party takes

 power in Argentina, China descends into warlordism, US purchases the Danish Virgin IslandsDada movement in Zurich, John Buchan's Greenmantle , Harold Brighouse's Hobson's Choice , James Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Arthur Eddington investigates physical properties of the stars, Blood is refrigerated for transfusions on the battlefield, F.W.

Mott diagnoses 'Shell Shock' as a medical condition, G.N. Lewis proposes new valence theory, Paul Langevin constructs an underwater ultrasonic source to detect submarines 1917Balfour declaration promises Palestine to Jews, Imperial War Conferences promises to consider admitting India as a member and to consider a constitution for the Empire after the war, Creation of Imperial War Cabinet, British forces take Jerusalem, Montagu Declaration on responsible government in India, Government of India ends practice of allowing indentured labour contractsPasschendale, Bread rationing, Royal family renounces all German titles and names, Imperial War Museum founded, Order of the British Empire establishedWorld War One continues, Battle of Passchendaele, Germany urges Mexico to invade United States, Unrestricted submarine warfare by Germans, US enters war, China enters war against Germany, Russian Revolution, Mexico adopts new 'revolutionary' constitution, Widespread labour unrest begins in Latin America (until 1920), Trans-Siberian Railroad completedT.S. Eliot's Prufrock and Other Observations , First jazz recordingsSigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis , C.G.

Jung's Psychology of the Unconscious 1918Troops take Syria and Palestine, Rhodesian native congress formed, Mutiny of West Indian Regiment in Taranto, Italy, Sinn Fein victory in December elections in Ireland , Vilhjalmur Steffanson returns from 5 year voyage of discovery in Arctic Circle, Hong Kong Jockey Club racetrack collapses killing 600Establishment of national food kitchens and further rationing due to food shortages, Royal Air Force created, British intervention in Russian Civil War, Women get the vote, Coupon election splits Liberal vote and sees rise of Labour partyTreaty of Brest-Litovsk sees Russians agree to German surrender terms, Ludendorff Offensives, Execution of Romanov Royal Family by Bolsheviks, Allied counter-offensives, Kiel mutiny by German sailors, Abdication of Kaiser, Armistice, Influenza Pandemic, Mexico nationalises oilfields, Wilson issues 14 Points, Iceland becomes sovereign stateLytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians , Holst's The Planets Hall of Mirrors 1919Amritsar massacre in India, Arab rebellion in Egypt, Irish war for independence (until 192

1), IRA formed, ANC demonstrates against pass laws in South Africa , Abortive Anglo-Persian agreement precipitates anti-British riots and protests in Persia, Government of India Act, Third Afghan War, Ceylon National Congress established, Riots and disturbances in Caribbean coloniesNancy Astor the first Woman MPSpartacist Revolt in Germany, Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations formed, Flu epidemic, First Pan-African Congress held in Paris, May Fourth movement in China protests against imperialism and calls for cultural regeneration, U.S.

curtails immigrationP.G. Wodehouse's My Man Jeeves , Siegfried Sassoon's War Poems , Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence , Joseph Conrad's The Arrow of Gold , Bauhaus founded and developed by Walter Gropius, Edward Lutyens designs the Cenotaph, Ernest Shackleton publishes South , J.M. Keynes' The Economic Consequences of the Peace Alcock and Brown become the first people to fly non-stop across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Ireland, Ross and Keith Smith fly from London to Australia in 135 hours, F.W.

Aston builds mass spectrograph and establishes isotopy, Rutherford demonstrates that the atom is not the smallest building block in chemistry, First experiments with shortwave radio 1920San Remo Conferences assigns German and Ottoman colonies to become Allied Mandates, Mahatma Gandhi becomes leader of Congress, British East Africa becomes Kenya , Milner Mission recommends early independence for Egypt with conditions, Nationalist uprising against Britain in Iraq mandate, Formation of National Congress of British West Africa, Mahatma Gandhi launches non-cooperation movement, Sinhalese-Tamil discord over constitutional reforms in Ceylon , Formation of General Council of Buddhist Association in Burma Government of Ireland Act establishes Parliament in Northern Ireland, Conscription abolished, Unemployment Insurance introducedLeague of Nations formed, The Hague is selected as seat of International Court of Justice, Prohibition in US (until 1933), Nazis taken over by Hitler, Treaty of Rapallo Middle Eastern Mandates Emile Coue's Autosuggestion which made his mantra 'every day in every way I am getting better and better' more widely known, A.S.

Eddington's Space, Time and Gravitation , Marconi opens first public broadcasting station in Britain at Writtle, Herman Rorschach devises 'inkblot' test, Hermann Staudinger shows that small small molecules polymerize by chemical interaction and lays foundation of plastics, Max Wolf shows the true structure of the Milky Ways thanks to photography 1921Imperial Conference rejects need for a constitutional conference, Australia given mandate over German New Guinea, Settlers Plot in Kenya , Reza Khan coup d'etat in Persia, British place Prince Faisal on throne of Iraq , Washington Conferences (until 1922) - ends Anglo-Japanese Alliance and limits naval strength of Royal Navy, Winston Churchill becomes Colonial SecretaryAnglo-Irish Treaty partitions Ireland , British Legion founded, Chequers is donated by Lord Lee as the official country residence of the sitting PMKronstadt Mutiny, Spanish war against Berbers (until 1926), Japanese PM assassinated, Spanish PM assassinated, Ku Klux Klan resurgant in USAD.H.

Lawrence's Women in Love , Ezra Pound's Poems 1918 - 1921 , Lytton Strachey's Queen Victoria , Virginia Woolf's Monday or Tuesday , Pablo Picasso's The Three Musicians Friedrich Bergius hydrogenates coal to oil, BCG vaccine developed, Rutherford and Chadwick distintegrate most elements in an attempt to split the atom 1922Creation of Transjordan , Egypt unilaterally given Independence but Britain reserves control of defence, Suez Canal and the Sudan , Irish Civil War (until 1924), White miners' strike in South Africa leading to martial law, Southern Rhodesia rejects union with South Africa . Limited franchise introduced in West African Legislative Council elections, Lugard's The Dual Mandate Andrew Bonar Law PM, BBC foundedIrish Free State officially proclaimed, Chanak Crisis, Japanese return Shantung Province to China, Benito Mussolini's March on Rome, Treaty of Rapallo sees Germany and Soviet Union normalise relations, Erskine Childers is executed by Irish Free State, Mustapha Kemal proclaims Turkish Republic Tutankhamun's tomb discovered by Howard Carter, Katherine Mansfield's The Garden Party , F.

Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned , John Galsworthy's The Forsythe Saga , Herbert Hoover's American Individualism , F.W. Murnau's film Nosferatu Johannesburg Riots 1923Devonshire White Paper on status of Indians in Kenya asserts doctrine of Native Paramountcy, Southern Rhodesia granted self-governmentStanley Baldwin PM, London Dock Strike, First FA Cup (won by Bolton), J.M. Keynes' A Tract on Monetary Reform German Hyper-inflation, Munich Putsch, Tokyo earthquake, Teapot Dome scandal in US, Ankara becomes capital of TurkeyP.G. Wodeshouse's The Inimitable Jeeves , End of Dada movement, Bela Bartok's Dance Suite , Karel Capek's R.U.R. , Sidney and Beatrice Webb's The Decay of Capitalist Civilisation , Romain Rolland's Mahatma Gandhi , Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces , Kandinsky's Circles in a Circle E.N. da C. Andrade's The Structure of the Atom , Theory of acids and bases proposed by J.N. Bronsted, A.H.

Compton discovers that x-rays change in wavelength when scattered by matter, Lee De Forest demonstrates how to incorporate sound with moving images presaging 'talkies' 1924 Northern Rhodesia administered by Colonial Office, Planning begins for Singapore Naval Base, Egyptian Nationalist assassinate Sir Lee Stack the Governor General of Sudan and Sirdar of Egyptian Army, British suppress Egyptian mutiny in Khartoum and evict all Egyptians from Sudan , Election of members of Legislative Councils in Caribbean Colonies British Empire Exhibition , First Labour victory, James Ramsay MacDonald PM, Stanley Baldwin PM, New Zealand 'All Blacks' complete undefeated tour of Britain, Zinoviev Letter publishedIbn Saud captures Mecca, Dawes plan, Death of Lenin, Hitler imprisoned, Matteoti murder in Italy, Paris Olympic GamesDeath of Joseph Conrad, E.M. Forster's A Passage to India , P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves , Death of Frances Hodgson Burnett, Ancient Monuments Society founded, Pablo Picasso's abstract period begins, Karl Haushofer's Geopolitics of the Pacific Ocean British Imperial Airways begins operations, R.C.

Andrews discovers skulls and skeletons of Mesozoic dinosaurs in Gobi Desert, Insecticides used for first time, Arthur Eddington discovers the luminosity of a star is related to its mass 1925Dominions Office established, Cyprus becomes a Crown Colony, Indirect Rule instituted in Tanganyika , British troops open fire in Shanghai at anti-British protesters Orama at Aden Treaty of Locarno, France begins construction of Maginot defensive line, Norway annexes Spitzbergen, May 30th Movement in China leading to widespread anti-British and Anti-Western strikes and boycotts, US lands troops in Shanghai, Scopes 'monkey trial' in USEstablishment of International Institute of African Languages and Cultures in London, Franz Kafka's The Trial , Eisentstein's Battleship Potemkin , Arnold Bax' Symphony No.2 John Logie Baird transmits television signal, Carl Bosch invents process for manufacture of hydrogen, Synthetic oil synthesised, First Leica cameras, Heisenberg, Bohr and Jordan develop quantum mechanics for atoms, Rhenium discovered 1926Imperial conference agrees on definition of Dominion status, Lord Halifax becomes Viceroy of IndiaGeneral Strike

, Birth of Elizabeth WindsorChiang Kai Shek begins Nationalist reunification of China, US lands troops in Nicaragua, Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud proclaims himself King of Saudi Arabia, Druze revolt in French Lebanon is suppressed, Italy and Albania sign Treaty of Tirana, Germany admitted to League of Nations, End of Riff War, Tension between Germany and Italy over South Tirol, Rise of Stalin T.E.

Lawrence's. Seven Pillars of Wisdom , A.A.

Milne's Winnie the Pooh , Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises , William Faulkner's Soldier's Pay , Graham Greene's Stamboul Train , Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd , Puccini's Turandot , Death of Claude Monet, Fritz Lang's film Metropolis , Death of Rudolph Valentino and Harry HoudiniJohn Logie Baird demonstrates concept of television, Alan Cobham flies from Britain to South Africa and back in an attempt to judge feasibility of long distance air routes, Imperial Chemical Industries formed, Scott Polar Institute opened in Cambridge, Werner Heisenberg further develops the quantum theory, Flights over North Pole, Kodak produces the first 16mm film 1927British abandon concession in Hankow in China, Prince of Wales College opens in Gold Coast, Doughmore Commission on Ceylon Constitution, Sir John Maffey institutes Indirect Rule in Sudan , USA and Canada exchange diplomatic legations for first time, Large quantities of oil discovered in Iraq , Parliament House opens in Canberra Australia Britain breaks off diplomatic relations with USSR, British Broadcasting Corporation takes over from British Broadcasting CompanySplit between Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party, Trotsky removed from Politburo The

 Jazz Singer is the first 'talkie' to be released, Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic, Pavlov publishes Conditioned Reflexes , Aeroplanes first used to 'dust' crops with insecticide in Canada, Iron lung developed 1928Simon Commission on Constitution of India , Flying Doctor service in Australia , Muslim Brotherhood established in Egypt , Takoradi Harbour opened in Gold Coast , British High Commissioner appointed to Canada , British Guiana becomes Crown ColonyWomen over 21 given voteChiang Kai Shek nominally unites China, Kellogg Briand Pact, Beginning of first 5 year plan in USSR, Olympic Games in AmsterdamMoscow Habima theatre tours Palestine , D.H.

Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover , Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall , Mickey Mouse makes first appearance for Disney, Eisenstein's October , Ravel's Bolero Zeppelin flies across the Atlantic, Discovery that Penicillin has anti-biotic properties, Colour TV developed, Jung's The Relation of the Ego to the Unconscious , First Geiger Counter 1929Colonial Development Act, Secretary of State for Dominions created, Uprising of Mau in Samoa , Wailing Wall incident sees Arab-Jewish riots in Palestine , Anti-Tax protests in Nigeria , Lord Irwin declares intention of turning India into a DominionJames Ramsay MacDonald PM, Presbyterian Churches in Scotland unite to form Church of ScotlandWall Street Crash, Dictatorship established in Yugoslavia, Trotsky sent into Exile, Lateran treaties sees creation of Vatican CityHenri Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front , Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That , Ernest Hemingway's A Farewall to Arms , J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions , R.C.

Sheriff's Journey's End , Martin Heidigger's What is Philosophy , Bertrand Russell's Marriage and Morals , Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail , Salvador Dali joins surrealist group Einstein proposes Unified Field Theory, Construction of Empire State Building begins, W.A. Morrison introduces quartz crystal clocks for precise time keeping, Richard Byrd lies across South Pole, Zeppelin circumnavigates the world 1930Passfield White Paper advises limits on Jewish immigration to Palestine , Nehru's declaration of Indian Independence, Gandhi's Salt March and disobedience campaign, First Round Table conference between Britain and Indian parties (until 1932), Formation of Malayan Communist Party, Hsaya San rebellion in Burma , Red shirts campaign begins insurgency on North-West Frontier, Dunning tariff gives preferential treatment to British imports in Canada Onset of Military Dictatorships in Latin America, Nazi Party wins over 6 million votes in German elections, America imposes Smoot-Hawley tariffs, Last allied occuping troops leave RhinelandCoward's Private Lives , William Faulkner's As I lay Dying , Earl Derr Biggers' Charlie Chan Carries On Death of Arthur Conan Doyle, W.H.

Auden's Poems , J.M. Keynes' Treatise on Money , Harold Laski's Liberty in the Modern State , Film of All Quiet on the Western Front Discovery of Plutio, A.S. Eddington attempts to unify general relativity and quantum theory, Using x-rays P.J.W.

Debye investigates molecular structure, Max Theiler develops a yellow fever vaccine 1931Statute of Westminster gives Dominions provides Constitutional autonomy for Dominions and lays down mechanism for achieving Dominion Status, Greek Nationalist revolts in Cyprus , Select Parliamentary Committee advises against closer union in East African colonies, Gandhi-Irwin talks leading to a truce to end non-cooperation, London Round Table Conference on India , Zionist extremist Irgun Zvai Leumi is formed, Edwin Lutyens' redesigned New Delhi is ready for useGreat Depression, National government formedunder Ramsay MacDonald, Invergordon mutiny over pay cuts in Royal Navy, Britain abandons Gold StandardJapanese occupation of Manchuria after Mukden Incident, Severe difficulties afflict German banks after Danatbank goes bankrupt, Formation of Jehovah's Witnesses, International Colonial Exhibition held in ParisSalvador Dali's Persistence of Memory , Victoria Sackville-West's All Passion Spent , John Buchan's The Blanket of the Dark , Lytton Strachey's Portraits in Miniature Electron Microscope developed, Deuterium discovered, Australian explorer G.H.

Wilkins captains submarine under the Arctic Ice Cap 1932Ottawa Conference establishes Imperial Preferences system, Anglo-Irish Economic War (until 1938), Anglo-Iraqi Treaty establishes Iraq 's Independence with British Influence, Gandhi resumes disobedience campaign, Indian National Congress decalred illegal, Gandhi jailed, Oil discovered in BahrainBritish Union of Fascists formed by Oswald MosleyJapanese attack Shanghai, Japanese warn Americans not to interfere, Charles Lindbergh's son is kidnapped and murdered, Nazis become largest party in German ParliamentLondon Philharmonic formed, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World , Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon , Somerset Maugham's The Narrow Corner , John Strachey's The Coming Struggle for Power , Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan movies begin, Evelyn Waugh's Black Mischief James Chadwick discovers the neturon, C.D.

Anderson discovers positron, Radio astronomy begins, Sulphanomides developed 1933Australian Antarctic Territory established, Bodyline Cricket tour of Australia , South Africa leaves Gold StandardRoca-Runciman Pact between Britain and ArgentinaHitler comes to power in Germany, Reichstag Fire allows Hitler to expand powers, Japan leaves League of Nations after being criticised over Manchuria, Germany also announces intention to leave League, First German concentration camps established to deal with political opponents, Dictatorship established in Austria, Byrd's second expedition to AntarcticaBook burnings begin in Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill's Marlborough, his life and times , Jung's Modern Man in Search of a Soul , George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London The Rise of Nazi Germany 1934Malan forms Purified National Party in South Africa which advocates apartheid system, Formation of Southern Rhodesian Africa National Congress, Suppression of Ghanese radicals (until 1936), Strikes and disturbances in British Caribbean colonies, Commission on Government of Newfoundland First Driving Tests required, Oswald Mosley and the BUF are increasingly active, British Iron and Steel Federation establishedNight of the Long Knives in Germany, Stavisky Affair brings political turmoil to France, Nazis attempt to seize power

 in Austria, Japan repudiates Washington Treaties, International Rubber Regulation Agreement, USSR joins League of Nations, Mao Tse Tung starts the Long March to avoid Nationalists, Hitler and Mussolini meet in Venice, Kirov murdered in Leningrad presaging purge of Communist PartyGeorge Orwell's Burmese Days , John Buchan's The Free Fishers , Robert Graves' I, Claudius , Graham Greene's It's a Battlefield , J.B.

Priestley's English Journey , John Ford's film The Lost Patrol , Benjamin Britten's Fantasy Quartet , Death of Gustav Holst, Harold Nicolson's Curzon, the Last Phase , Oxford History of England begins to be published, Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History , Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust SS Queen Mary launched 1935Government of India Act allowing limited local government and separates Burma from India , Canadian-American Trade Act, Death of T.E.

Lawrence , Reza Shah changes name of Persia to Iran, African miners' strike in Northern Rhodesia , Bank of Canada establishedStanley Baldwin PM, British Council established, Silver Jubilee celebrationsHitler creates Luftwaffe and introduces conscription in defiance of Treaty of Versailles, Saar returned to Germany, Italian invasion of Abyssinia Mutiny on the Bounty Richter scale devised by Charles Richter, Domagk announces the discovery of Prontosil to treat streptococcal infections, Oil pipelines linking the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean are opened, Radar equipment developed by Robert Watson Watt 1936Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, Peel Commission on Palestine , Restriction of representation of Black South AfricansAccession of and Abdication of Edward VIII , George VI King, Battle of Cable Street sees Oswald Mosley and BUF driven out of London, BBC television service begins in LondonSpanish Civil War (until 1939), German troops reoccupy Rhineland, Italy completes annexation of Abyssinia, London Naval Convention, Mussolini and Hitler proclaim Rome-Berlin Axis, Germany begins construction of Siegfried Line of Defences, Berlin OlympicsAllen Lane founds Penguin Books, Prokoviev's Peter And The Wolf ,

 Death of G.K.

Chesterton, Irwin Shaw's Bury the Dead , Dylan Thomas' Twenty Five Poems , John Gunther's Inside Europe , Walter Edmonds' Drums Along the Mohawk , J.M. Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money , H.A.L. Fisher's An Introductory History of England and Europe , John Knittel's El Hakim , Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times , Nazi exhibition of 'Degenerate Art' in Munich Dr Alexis Carrel develops artificial heart, First Operational Helicopter is built by Focke-Wulf, Jean Batten flies solo from Britain to New Zealand in 11 days, Amy Johnson flies from Britain to Cape Town 1937Empire Settlement Act renewed, Aden becomes Crown Colony, Trade boycott by Gold Coast and Nigerian cocoa farmers, Bledisloe's Royal Commission on Nyasaland and Southern Rhodesia , Indian National Congress electoral success in provincial elections, Ba Maw government in Burma Neville Chamberlain PM, Lord Halifax visits Hitler with start of Appeasement Policy, A.R.P.

formed, Duke of Westminster marries Wallis Simpson in Paris, First Butlins Holiday Camp opensFull scale war between Japan and China - Rape of Nanking, Ireland adopts new constitution, Spanish Civil War sees destruction of Guernica as Republicans retreat to Barcelona, Disappeance of Amelia EarhartMargery Perham's Native Administration in Nigeria , J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit , Picasso's Guernica , Orwell's Road to Wigan Pier , Kenneth Roberts' Northwest Passage , Laurence Housman's Victoria Regina , W.H.

Auden and Christopher Isherwood's The Ascent of F6 'Hindenburg' dirigible bursts into flames in US, First Jet Engine built by Frank Whittle, Insulin used to control diabetes for first time, Nylon patented for Du Pont Company 1938 Singapore Naval Base completed on a reduced scale, Anglo-American-Canadian trade agreements, Appointment of West India Royal CommissionIRA bombings in England, Anthony Eden resigns as Foreign Minister over Appeasement PolicyGerman Anschluss of Austria, Nationalisation of British and American oil companies in Mexico, German annexation of Sudetenland, Appeasement of Hitler by French and British, Kristallnacht, Show Trials in USSRLord Hailey's An African Survey , Orson Welles' radio production of H.G.

Wells' War of the Worlds leads to panic, Ernest Hemingway's The Fifth Column , Graham Greene's Brighton Rock , Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin , Louis Bromfield's The Rains Came - A Novel of Modern India , Evelyn Waugh's Scoop Queen Elizabeth 1939Failure of London Conference on Palestine , Curtailment of Jewish Immigration into Palestine , Japanese blockade of British Concession at Tientsin, Mobilisation of Dominion and Imperial forces to fight WW2, Start of bulk purchasing from the colonies for the war effortConscription introduced, Britain and Poland sign treaty of Mutual Assistance, Evacuation of women and children from cities as war breaks out, Sutton Hoo burial mound excavatedGermany occupies Czechoslovakia, Spanish Civil War Ends with victory for Franco, Italy invades Albania, World War II breaks out', Nazi Soviet Pact, Fall of Poland, USSR invades FinlandC.S.

Forester's Captain Horatio Hornblower , Film of Goodbye Mr Chips , Robert Graves' The Long Weekend , Jan Struther's Mrs Miniver , James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake , Film of Gunga Din BOAC formed by merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways - operates flying boat services throughout the Empire, Radar stations built along coastline of Britain, Hahn and Strassman obtain barium isotopes by bombarding uranium with neutrons, DDT insecticide developed, FM radio developed 1940Colonial Development and Welfare Act, Stern Gang established in Palestine , Strikes by miners in Northern Rhodesia , Indian National Congress resigns from provincial governments, Muslim League proposes 'Pakistan' solution, Canadian-US Ogdensburg Agreement, Establishment of Fabian Colonial Bureau, Anglo-American Bases for destroyers dealGeorge Cross instituted, Blitz, Winston Churchill PM, Evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk, Battle of BritainFall of France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway to Germans, Italy declares war on allies, Trotsky murdered in MexicoCharlie Chaplin's film The Great Dictator , Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls , Arthur Bryant's English Saga Howard Florey develops Penicillin as a practical antibiotic, Combustion chamber

 for jet engines designed, first electron microscope, Discovery of Neptunium 1941Hailey Report on Native Administration and Political Development criticises Indirect Rule systems, Fall of Hong Kong, Ethiopia captured by Commonwealth troops, British overthrow Iraqi government by force, British and Soviet forces divide and occupy Iran, Lend Lease and Atlantic Charter with USA in return for opening British Imperial Trade to American firms Orson Wells' film Citizen Kane , Death of James Joyce, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit , A.J.

Cronin's The Keys of the Kingdom , Lightweight, wooden 'mosquito' fighter comes into operation, Plutonium discovered by Edwin McMillan and Glenn Seaborg, Donald Bailey develops portable military bridge, Hans Haas develops underwater photography 1942Fall of Singapore , Malaya and Burma , Dieppe raid by Canadian forces, Anglo-American Caribbean Commission, Cripps Mission to India , Australia adopts Statute of Westminster, Battle of El Alamein secures Egypt , Africans appointed to Executive Councils in Nigeria , Sierra Leone and Gold Coast , Quit India movement in India Beveridge report, Mildenhall Roman Treasure discovered, Oxfam foundedBattle of Midway, Operation Torch landings of North Africa, Stalingrad , Noel Coward's This Happy Breed , Harold Laski's Reflections on the Revolution of Our Time , A.D.

Lindsay's The Modern Democratic State , Vaughan Williams' Symphony No.5 Colossus machine developed to help crack Enigma codes, First successful use of Penicillin, Aqualung developed by Cousteau and Gagnan 1944Stern Gang assassinate Lord Moyne, Formation of Nyasaland African National Congress, Canberra Pact between Australia and New Zealand , Burma recaptured, Jamaica given new constitution with universal suffrageButler's Education Act, William Beveridge expounds upon full employment plans for the post-war periodLiberation of Rome, Russians enter Poland, D - Day, Arnhem Campaign, Battle of the Bulge, Bretton Woods Conference establishes World Bank and International Monetary FundLaurence Olivier's film Henry V , Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge , Kathleen Winsor's Forever Amber , Shostakovich's Symphony No.

8 First non-stop flight between Britain and Canada, Quinine synthesized, Uranium Pile built 1945Irgun renews terrorist campaign in Palestine , Fifth Pan-African Conference held in Manchester, Indian National Congress leaders released from custody and begin negotiations on independence, Publication of Royal Commission Report on West Indies Clement Attlee PMDefeat of Germany, Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Defeat of Japan, United Nations formed, Arab League formed, Nuremberg trials beginEvelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited , Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love , George Orwell's Animal Farm , Britten's Britten: Peter Grimes , Brief Encounter First atomic bomb detonated in New Mexico, British atomic research centre established in Harwell 1946 Transjordan becomes independent, Sarawak ceded to British Crown and North Borneo becomes a Colony, Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine , Irgun blow up King David Hotel in Palestine , New constitutions in Nigeria , Gambia and Gold Coast Britain seeks loans from USA and Canada, National Health Service started, William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) is hanged for treason, Death of J.M.

KeynesCold War begins, Peron becomes President of Argentina, Civil War resumes in China, French return to Indo-China King David Hotel Development of ENIAC computer 1947Indian Independence, partition of India and Pakistan, Britain warns US that it can no longer meet its commitment to defend the Middle East, Britain announces its intention to withdraw from Palestine , Montego Bay Conference on Closer Association of British West Indies, Canadian Citizenship Act, Australia and New Zealand resume assisted passage schemes, New Zealand adopts Statute of WestminsterNationalisation of Coal Industry, Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten, Severe winterGreek Civil War, Marshall plan and Truman Doctrine, Nationalisation of British railways in Argentina, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)First Edinburgh Festival, Black Narcissus , Compton Mackenzie's Whisky Galore , Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Wadi QumranTransistor invented at Bell laboratories, First supersonic flights, First British atomic pile at Harwell 1948 Britain withdraws from Palestine , Afrikaner National Party win power in South Africa , Ceylon and Burma becomes Independent, Communist insurgency in Malaya , Secretary of State for Colonies Creech Jones issues a memorandum on local government in the Colon

ies which confirmed the intention to introduce responsible government, Ireland leaves Commonwealth, Formation of Northern Rhodesian African National Congress, Riots in Gold Coast , Canada pulls out of Canada-US free trade negotiationsLondon hosts Olympic Games, British Citizenship Act grants British passports to all Commonwealth citizens, Railways nationalised, End of bread rationingCommunist coup in Czechoslovakia, Berlin airlift, Israel created, Gandhi assassinatedW.H.

Auden's The Age of Anxiety , Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter , Nevil Shute's No Highway , Churchill's The Gathering Storm LP's invented by Peter Goldmark, First port radar system used in Liverpool 1949 Newfoundland joins Canadian Federation, Kwame Nkrumah founds Convention People's Party in Gold Coast , Canada ends appeals to Privy CouncilBritain devalues sterling, Gas companies nationalisedNATO created, China becomes Communist - expels all British interests from China (until 1954), Declaration of Irish Republic, Berlin blockade lifted, Soviets explode their first atomic bombGeorge Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four , The Third Man , T.S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party Philip Hench discovers cortisone, USSR tests its first atomic bomb 1950Establishment of Congress of Peoples Against Imperialism, Colombo Plan on economic development in South and South-East Asia (until 1977), Death of Jan Smuts Commonwealth Troops in Korea Korean war (until 1953), Schumann plan, Chinese occupy Tibet, Klaus Fuchs found guilty of betraying atomic secrets, McCarthy hysteria begins in USC.P.

Snow's The Masters , Evelyn Waugh's Helena , Nevil Shute's The Legacy , Film of Kim First Kidney transplant, Einstein's General Field Theory , Anti-histamines become a popular remedy for colds and allergies 1951Nationalisation of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Egypt abrogates 1936 Treaty and allows nationalists to attack British troops in Suez Canal Zone, Britain hands over Libya after occupation since WW2, Cyprus bids for Independence, ANZUS pact between Australia , New Zealand and USA, Canada reintroduces assisted passage schemes, Nkrumah's CPP wins elections in Gold Coast Winston Churchill PM, Festival of Britain, Burgess and Maclean flee to MoscowChinese join Korean War and capture Seoul, General MacArthur is sacked, Rosenbergs convicted to death for selling atomic secrets to Soviets, Japan regains full independence from post-war occupation, ANZUS pact in PacificGerald Hanley's The Consul at Sunset , John Masters' Nightrunners of Bengal , Graham Greene's The End of the Affair , Death of Ludwig Wittgenstein, The African Queen First electric power generated from atomic energy in USA 1952Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya (until 19

59), Empire Settlement Act renewed, Nkrumah becomes PM of Gold Coast Elizabeth II becomes Queen, Britain's first atomic testsAmericans explode first Hydrogen bomb, Military coup in Egypt, Korean War stabilises but continues, Michael Ventris deciphers Linear B, John Masters' The Deceivers , Beckett's Waiting for Godot , Paul Scott's Johnnie Sahib , Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms Kenyan Police 1953Creation of Central African Federation combing Northern Rhodesia , Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland , Mount Everest climbed, Mussadiz overthrown as PM of Iran by MI6 and CIA, Second Conference on Federation of West Indies, Adult suffrage introduced to British Guiana , Jomo Kenyatta arrested, Bermuda conference with Eisenhower and Churchill , Vaughan Williams' 'Sinfonia Antarctica' , Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex DNA unravelled, Large uranium deposits discovered in Canada, , B.F.

Skinner's Science and Human Behaviour , Prehistoric paintings discovered near Cougnac 1954Withdrawal from Sudan begins (completed 1956), British troops removed from Egypt , Establishment of the Movement for Colonial Freedom in London, Canada and USA agree to build line of radar stations in Arctic, Nigerian Federal Constitution created, Queen Elizabeth begins her first Commonwealth tourIndependent Television Authority established, Roger Banniseter breaks 4 minute mileDien Bien Phu forces French out of Vietnam, Algerian crisis begins, Nasser seizes power in Egypt, SEATO established, McCarthy era results in televised hearings on Communist infiltration of US institutionsJohn Masters' Bhowani Junction , William Golding's Lord of the Flies , J.R.R.

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings , Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim , Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood , Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw Robert Oppenheimer is dismissed from US atomic program, Nuclear submarines developed by US, Polio inoculations begin, Fortran programming language developed, first oral contraceptives 1955EOKA terrorist campaign in Cyprus , Britain joins Baghdad Pact Anthony Eden PM, Duke of Edinburgh starts scheme to help young peopleWarsaw Pact signed, Bandung Conference of non-aligned nations, Overthrow of Peron in Argentina, Vienna Treaty restores Austrian independence, Bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama over segregated busesJohn Masters' Coromandel , Gerald Hanley's Drinkers of Darkness , Robert Ruark's Something of Value , Graham Greene's The Quiet American , Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita , T.E. Lawrence's The Mint , Evelyn Waugh's Officers and Gentlemen , P.H.

Newby's The Picnic at Sakkara Hovercraft first developed, First commercial use of atomic power in US, Ultra-high frequency waves produced 1956Nasser nationalises Suez Canal precipitating Suez crisis, Sudan becomes Independent, British deport Cypriot nationalist leader Archbishop Makairos to the Seychelles , Eisenhower and Eden issue Declaration of Washington which declared that they favoured self-government for those countries that desired and could sustain an independent existenceKrushchev visits Britain, Run on pound and increased interest rates in aftermath of Suez Crisis, Anthony Eden leaves Britain to recuperate in Jamaica naming R.A.

Butler as Deputy PMCastro and Guevara land in Cuba, Krushchev denounces Stalin, Hungarian revolt, Japan admitted to UN, Melbourne Olympics Sea Hawks at Suez Videotape developed, Dido reactor opened at Harwell, Ion microscope developed, Transatlantic cable telephone service introduced, oral vaccine for polio developed 1957 Gold Coast becomes independent as Ghana, New Constitution for Sierra Leone , Malay States become independent as Malaysia with Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement, NORAD Air Defence Agreement between USA and Canada , Self-government in Western and Eastern Nigeria Harold Macmillan PM, Macmillan meets Eisenhower in Bermuda, Wolfenden report on homosexuality and prostitution publishedEEC formed with the signing of the Treaty of Rome, Eisenhower Doctrine instigated to help protect Middle Eastern countries from CommunismKerouac's On the Road , M.M, Kaye's Shadow of the Moon , Richard Mason's The World of Suzie Wong , Nevil Shute's On the Beach , Film of The Bridge on the River Kwai , P.H.

Newby's Revolution and Roses Soviet launches first Sputnik flight, Nobelium discovered 1958West Indies Federation formed, Hashemites Overthrown in IraqSterling becomes fully convertible, First life peerages introduced, Prince Charles formally becomes Prince of Wales, Last presentation of debutantnes at the Royal CourtFrench political crisis over Algerian issue, China's Great Leap Forward, Iraqi Revolution establishes a Republic, USSR grants loan to Egypt to build new Aswan Dam, Little Rock school integration issues in US, Fidel Castro launches 'total war' against Batista in CubaHarold Pinter's The Birthday Party , Shelagh Delaney's play of A Taste of Honey , Lawrence Durrell's Balthazar and Mount Olive , Elvis Presley joins the US army, Film of Look Back in Anger , J.K.

Galbraith's The Affluent Society Silicon chip developed, US establishes NASA to coordinate their space programs in response to the Soviet Sputnik programme, US satellite launched, stereophonic recordings come into regular use, 1959Emergency declared in Central Africa resulting in Devlin Report, Hola Camp atrocities denounced in House of Commons, Archbishop Makarios returns to Cyprus North Sea gas discovered, First motorway opens linking London to BirminghamBatista flees Cuba, Antarctic Treaty, Belgium grants reforms in Congo, Hawaii becomes 50th state of USA, KrusHchev visits USA, Singapore becomes an independent nation after leaving MalaysiaElspeth Huxley's The Flame Trees of Thika , Ian Fleming's Goldfinger , James Michener's Hawaii , Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus , Colin MacInnes' Absolute Beginners , V.S.

Naipaul's Miguel Street , Arnold Wesker's Roots , Garret Mattingly's The Defeat of the Armada , William Golding's Free Fall , Film of Our Man in Havana , Film of North West Frontier Integrated circuits developed, Hovercraft crosses the English Channel, De Beers manufactures synthetic diamonds 1960Harold Macmillan makes 'Wind of Change' Speech to South African Parliament, British Somaliland , Cyprus and Nigeria become Independent, End of Malayan Emergency, Lancaster House Conference recommends majority rule in Kenya Britain joins EFTAOPEC formed, Wave of independent nations created in Africa with colonies leaving French, British and Belgian control, Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, US U-2 shot down over USSR, Kruschev cancels summit with Eisenhower, Krushchev declares that the 'Monroe Doctrine' has run its course and no longer applies especially in the case of Cuba, Rome OlympicsD.H.

Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover ban removed after loss of court case, Lawrence Durrell's final part of the Alexandria Quartet Clea , Benjamin Britten's Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream , William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich , Allan Sillitoe's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Film of Exodus , P.H.

Newby's A Guest and His Going Lasers developed, USS Triton completes first underwater circumnavigation of the globe, First weather satellite launched 1961 Sierra Leone , Tanganyika and British Cameroons become independent, South Africa leaves Commonwealth, Saudis agree to take over defence of Kuwait from Britain Wind of Change Speech Berlin wall erected, US bungles Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, UN Secretary General is killed in the Congo, Relations deteriorate between China and USSR Britten's War Requiem , Joseph Heller's Catch 22 , Raymond Williams' The Long Revolution Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in space, Alan Shepard makes first US space flight, Atlas computer installed at Harwell 1962Commonwealth Settlement Act and Commonwealth Immigrants Act, Jamaica , Trinidad and Tobago , Uganda and Samoa all become independent, Canada ends ethnic discrimination in immigration process, British give military support to Oman in its Dhofar War (until 1976)Kennedy and Macmillan meet at Nassau, First series of satirical program 'That Was the Week That Was'Cuban Missile Crisis, Nelson Mandela arrested, Indo-Chinese WarThe Beatles, Evelyn Waugh's Unconditional Surrender , David Lean's film of

 Lawrence Of Arabia , Shostakovich's Symphony No.

12 Death of Niels Bohr, Telstar satellite launched, Thalidomide birth defects, Compact cassette tapes invented 1963 Kenya and Zanzibar become independent, Aden Emergency begins (until 1967)Profumo affair, Sir Alexander Douglas-Home PM, Kim Philby defects to USSR, De Gaulle objects to British membership of EEC, Great Train Robbery, Very severe winterKennedy assassination, Hot line initiated between Moscow and Washington, Nuclear Testing Ban agreed by US, USSR and BritainM.M. Kaye's Trade Wind , John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove Aden Patrol 1964 Northern Rhodesia , Nyasaland and Malta all become independent, Zanzibar and Tanganyika combine to form Tanzania, Ian Smith elected as premier of Southern Rhodesia Harold Wilson PM, Mods v Rocker disturbances, Britain grants first licenses to drill for North Sea oil and gasBrezhnev ousts Krushchev, Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment, Tokyo OlympicsFilm of Zulu , William Golding's The Spire , C.P.

Snow's Corridors of Power Word Processor developed, Ranger VII takes close-up photographs of moon 1965Creation of Commonwealth Secretariat in London, Gambia , Maldive Islands and Cook Islands become independent, Southern Rhodesia declares unilateral independence (UDI)Pirate radio stations proliferate in North Sea, Death of Winston Churchill, Opening of Post Office Tower, 750th anniversary of signing of Magna CartaUS forces formally join ground war in South Vietnam, Indo-Pakistan warDeath of Somerset Maugham, Ian Fleming's Thunderball First space walk 1966 Bechuanaland , Basutoland , Barbados and British Guiana gain independence, HMS Tiger meeting between Wilson and Smith over future of RhodesiaEngland wins World CupCultural Revolution in China, Military coup in Nigeria, NATO forces withdrawn from FrancePaul Scott's The Jewel in the Crown , Graham Greene's The Comedians , Robert Blake's Disraeli , Film of Khartoum Soviet Luna 9 and US Surveyor 1 lands on the moon, B-52 carrying nuclear weapons crashes off coast of Spain 1967British evacuate from Aden which gains its independence, Canada celebrates centennial celebrations although De Gaulle makes '

Free Quebec' speech, British embassy in Beijing burned and Red Guards open fire on Hong Kong police killing 5, Communist journalists detained in Hong Kong.

, Death of Woodie Guthrie, The Forsyte Saga first televised on BBCChina explodes their first hydrogen bomb, Synthetic DNA developed, Dr Christian Barnard performs first heart transplant in Sough Africa, Soviets and Americans have deaths in their respective space programs 1968British decide to withdraw militarily from 'East of Suez' and from the Persian Gulf by 1971, Mauritius , Nauru and Swaziland gain IndependenceCommonwealth Immigrants Acts, Beginning of 'Troubles' in Northern IrelandTet Offensive in Vietnam, Czechoslovakia invaded by Warsaw Pact, US intelligence gathering ship 'Pueblo' is seized by North Koreans, Assassination of Martin Luther King, Riots in Paris, Olympics in MexicoP.H.

Newby's Something to Answer For , Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie , Film of Carry on Up the Khyber James Watson's The Double Helix , Pulsating radio sources discovered by Hewish and Bell, Intelsat, communications satellite launched 1969 , Film of Battle of Britain First man on the moon, Concorde makes first flight, Oil fields open in Alaska 1970 Fiji and Tonga gain independence, Oman gains full independence but enters integral defence agreement with BritainEdward Heath PM, Cancellation of South African cricket tour of EnglandNigerian Civil War ends, Kent State students killed by US National GuardJ.G. Farrell's The Troubles , George MacDonald Fraser's Royal Flash , Christopher Hill's God's Englishman , Anthony Grey's Hostage in Peking , Death of E.M.

Forster, John Mortimer's A Voyage Round My Father , Miles Copeland's The Game of Nations Floppy disk developed, Apollo 13 1971 Bahrain and Qatar become independentImmigration Act, Decimalisation of currency, Internment in Northern IrelandUS invades Cambodia, Ping Pong Diplomacy sees Chinese send table tennis team to US as precursor to warmer ties between USA and China, Bangladesh leaves Pakistan, Third Indo-Pakistan WarGeorge MacDonald Fraser's Flash for Freedom! , E.M.

Forster's Maurice , Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange HMS Belfast Arrives in London 1972Asians expelled from Uganda , Pakistan leaves CommonwealthSterling area ends as sterling floats, Commonwealth Settlement Act allowed to expire, Britain assumes direct rule over Northern Ireland, Bloody Sunday sees Paras open fire on civilians in Northern Ireland, Death of Duke of Windsor the former Edward VIIIPeriod of Detente between US and USSR, Munich Olympics with terrorist outrage, US returns Okinawa archepelago to Japan, Watergate Affair in US Dhofar War Home video games, Apollo 16, Stone age tribe called the Tasadays was discovered living in caves in the Philippines 1973 Bahamas becomes Independent, Australia ends ethnic discrimination in immigration rulesBritain joins European Community, Three day week to conserve electricity supplies following coal strikeYom Kippur War, Watergate scandal continues, Oil Shock, Coup in Greece, Salvador Allende overthrown in ChileJ.G. Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur , George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman at the Charge , Death of J.R.R.

Tolkein, Film of Young Winston , James Morris' Pax Britannica Skylab, Pioneer 10 transmits images of Jupiter 1974 Grenada and Niue gain independence Harold Wilson PM, Three day week, IRA bombing of mainlandWidespread inflation due to oil spike, Watergate scandal leads to the resignation of Richard Nixon, Cyprus invaded by TurkeyJohn Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Mariner 10 sends pictures of Mercury and Venus, USSR space probe lands on Mars, India explodes nuclear device 1975 British New Guinea gains IndependenceIMF assists Britain, Margaret Thatcher leads Conservative PartyEnd of Vietnam war, Khmer Rouge take control in Cambodia, Political turmoil in Portugal resulting in the independence of its colonies, US take control of Mariana IslandsDeath of P.G.

Wodehouse, James Clavell's Taipan , George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman in the Great Game , Film of The Man Who Would Be King , Peter Matthiessen's Far Tortuga , Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago , Film of Picnic At Hanging Rock - Deluxe 3 Disc Edition Altair 8800 is the first personal computer, US Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft link together in space, Viking journeys to Mars 1976 Seychelles and Tokelau gain independenceJames Callaghan PM, Death of Bernard MontgomeryDeath of Mao Tse Tung, Montreal Olympics, Venezuela nationalises its petrol industry, Spain relinquishes control of Spanish Sahara, Bicentennial of US independence, Lebanese Civil War breaks out, Mozambique closes border with Rhodesia, South Africa relaxes its support for RhodesiaDeath of Agatha Christie, Alex Haley's Roots , Ira Levin's The Boys From Brazil , Peter Maxwell Davies' Symphony No.1 Viking lands on Mars, Reports of damage to ozone layer due to aerosol cans 1977 Rhodesian Bush War Punk becomes a cultural force, Death of Anthony EdenDeng Xiaoping leads China, Djibouti receives its independence from FranceDeath

 of Elvis, Pompidou center opens in Paris, George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman's Lady , John Le Carre's The Honourable Schoolboy , P.G.

Wodehouse's Sunset at Blandings , J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion , Bernard Pomerance's The Elephant Man , Michael Tippett's Symphony No. 10 US space shuttle 'Enterprise' makes first test flight, Apple Computer incorporated, Voyager 2 launched, Concorde begins regular passenger service to US 1978 Dominica , Solomon Islands and Ellice Islands gain Independence'Winter of Discontent' and widespread industrial strifeCamp David Accords, Sandanistas threat in Nicaragua, John Paul II becomes Pope, Military government takes over in IranM.M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions , J.G.

Farrell's The Singapore Grip , Mini series on Disraeli , Herman Wouk's War and Remembrance , Graham Greene's The Human Factor , James Michener's Chesapeake , John Updike's The Coup First test tube baby, Everest climbed without artificial oxygen, Naomi Uemura becomes first person to travel solo to North Pole, Soviets set endurance record for cosmonauts in space 1979 Rhodesia settlement reached at Lancaster House, St Lucia , St Vincent , Ocean Island , Canton and Enderbury Islands , Christmas Island (Pacific) and Gilbert Islands gain IndependenceMargaret Thatcher PM, Lord Mountbatten killed by IRAUSSR invades Afghanistan, Shah of Iran overthrown, American hostages in Teheran, Second oil crisis, China fails to renew treaty of friendship with USSR, Idi Amin is forced out of Uganda by Tanzanian troops seeking to end his violent period of rule, Sandanistas seize control of NicaraguaJohn Le Carre's Smiley's People , Film of Zulu Dawn , V.S.

Naipaul's A Bend in the River , William Golding's Darkness Visible Cell phones invented, Cray supercomputer invented by Seymour Cray, Walkman invented by Sony, Smallpox eradicated 1980 New Hebrides gains independence, Rhodesia becomes independent Zimbabwe under majority rule Patrolling in N. Ireland Iran Iraq war (until 1988), Tanzania invades Uganda to overthrow Idi Amin, Moscow Olympics with widespread boycott, Strike in PolandJohn Lennon is murdered in New York, Staying on broadcast on British TV, William Golding's Rites of Passage , Anthony Burgess' Earthly Powers , Shirley Hazzard's The Transit of Venus , Isabel Colegate's The Shooting Party , J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country , Hepatitis B vaccine developed, Eruption of Mount St. Helens 1981 Antigua , Barbuda , Redonda and British Honduras gain independenceSDP formed from split in LabourSadat assassinated in Egypt, Israel sends jets to destory Iraq nuclear reactor, Jerry Rawlings seizes power in a coup in GhanaJ.G.

Farrell's The Hill Station , Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children , Paul Theroux' Mosquito Coast , Space shuttle Columbia, first reports of AIDS, MS-DOS invented and first IBM PCs 1982 Falklands War , New Canadian ConstitutionSignificant naval cuts proposed by defence minister John Knox but avoided due to events in South AtlanticIsrael invades Lebanon, Death of Brezhnev in USSR replaced by AndropovGeorge MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Redskins , Richard Attenborough's film of Gandhi US Invasion of Grenada J.M. Coetzee's Life and Times of Michael K Soft bifocal contact lenses invented 1984 Brunei gains independence, China and Britain reach agreement on Hong Kong handover processMiners' strikeLos Angeles Olympics with Eastern Bloc boycott, Death of Andropov, Golden Temple at Amritsar is stormed by Indian soldiers The Jewel in the Crown shown on British TV, J.G.

Ballard's Empire of the Sun , William Golding's The Paper Men Genetic fingerprinting, The CD-ROM invented, First Apple Macintosh computers 1985Britain isolated in Commonwealth over South African sanctionsAnglo-Irish agreementUS backs contras in Nicaragua, Chernenko dies and is replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev in USSR, Coup in Uganda and in Nigeria Live Aid, George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Dragon Desk Top Publishing, Windows released by Microsoft 1986Constitution Acts repealing Statute of Westminster in Australia and New Zealand Peak Unemployment of 3.5mPrice of oil falls dramatically, US bombing of Libya, Duvalier flees Haiti, Olaf Palme the PM of Sweden is assassinated Commonwealth Prime-Ministers Banquet Chernobyl disaster, Synthetic skin invented by G.

Gregory Gallico, Voyager passes Neptune, Challenger disaster 1987 Fiji leaves Commonwealth after coup, New Zealand Immigration ActChannel Tunnel begins to be constructed, Herald of Free Enterprise sinksStock Market crisis, Gorbachev launches Perestroika, Iran-Contra affair in US, Reagan and Gorbachev agree to reduce nuclear arsenalsGore Vidal's Empire , Peter Wright's Spycatcher , William Golding's Close Quarters James van House and Arthur Rich invent the positron microscope.

1988 Fiji's Army Liberal Democrats formed, Pan-Am Lockerbie DisasterUS accidentally shoots down Iranian airliner, Iran-Iraq War comes to an end, Seoul Olympics, Iraq uses chemical weapons against KurdsFilm of Flame Trees Of Thika , Rushdie's Satanic Verses , Graham Greene's The Captain and the Enemy , Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda Hawking's Brief History of Time , Digital cellular phones invented, Doppler radar invented by Christian Andreas Doppler, NASA resumes space shuttle flights, Photoshop available, Man-made global warming identified by James Hansen 1989Canadian-US Free Trade Agreement takes effect Berlin Wall crumbles, Tiananmen Square protests and suppression, Nelson Mandela begins negotiations with De KlerkWilliam Golding's Fire Down Below , Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day , Ronald Harwood's Another Time , Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man High-definition television invented 1990 South West Africa becomes Independent Namibia, Canada joins Organisation of American StatesJohn Major PM, Poll Tax riotsNelson Mandela freed, Iraq invades Kuwait , US invades PanamaGeorge MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Mountain of Light , Film of Mountains of the Moon , Thomas Pynchon

's Vineland The World Wide Web and Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML) created by Tim Berners-Lee 1991 First Gulf War British forces join in the war to liberate KuwaitGulf War, Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by Tamil, Capital of Germany shifts to Berlin, Yugoslavian disintegration begins, Attempted counter-revolutionary coup in RussiaNicholas Lemann's The Promised Land The digital answering machine invented 1992IRA bomb at OmaghJohn Major reelected, Princess Diana's unhappy marriage to Charles revealed publicly<, Windsor Castle damaged by fire/TD>Break up of Yugoslavia, Barcelona OlympicsMichael Ondaatje's The English Patient Pope John Paul II apologises and lifts the edict of the Inquisition against Galileo Galilei 1993IRA bomb Warrington killing 3 and 12 year old, The Downing Street Declaration on Northern IrelandBuckingham Palace opened to the public, Maastricht rebellion, UK Independence Party established, James Bulger murderPalestinian Israeli peace accordsSebastian Faulk's Birdsong , Film of The Remains Of The Day View from Buckingham Palace 1994Mozambique joins CommonwealthIRA ceasefire in Northern Ireland

 comes into force, Cash for Questions undermines governmentMulti-racial elections in South Africa, NAFTA established, US withdraws from Somalia, Rwandan GenocideGeorge MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Angel of the Lord Channel Tunnel opens, First complete skull of Australopithecus afarensis discovered in Ethiopia 1995Nigeria suspended from CommonwealthBarings Bank collapse due to rogue traderWTO established, Rabin assassinated, Sarin gas attack in Tokyo underground, Oklahoma bombing, NATO airstrikes against SerbiaJohn Le Carre's The Tailor of Panama DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) invented, Microsoft releases Windows 95, Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns after setting a record for 438 days in space 1996South Africa rejoins CommonwealthDunblane massacreAtlanta Olympics, Taleban comes to power in AfghanistanFilm of Michael Collins Rise and rise of the Internet, CERN creates particles of anti-matter 1997 Hong Kong handed back to ChineseTony Blair PM, Death of Princess DianaNATO and Russia agree on NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe, Sierra Leone coup Hong Kong Handover Dolly the sheep is the first cloned adult animal, Mars landing 1998The

 Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement on Northern Ireland, Omagh bombing by Real IRA opposed to peace deal Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas (Irish parliament)

Question: During 20th century what was the longest period in years between General Elections in Britain?
Answer: 10 YEARS