Anniversaries in 2025

Which anniversaries will be marked in Britain in 2025?  Open a window on the past by reviewing a selection of noteworthy British anniversaries, from the year 2000 as far back as Roman Britain.  Also mentioned are more than 80 British celebrities born in the last 150 years. Each event and person is on someone’s calendar for 2025 – and each one offers a fascinating insight into Britain’s story.  There is a lot of information in this feature – Scroll to browse, or click/tap a year/event  (below) to go to it. Click red/white up arrow to return to the top.

A Bit About Britain highlights significant anniversaries at 25 yearly intervals – centenaries, three-quarter centuries, half centuries and quarter centuries.  Therefore, this feature only covers years ending in 00, 75, 50 and 25.  That said, we should note that 2025 marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War, with Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8 May and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day on 15 August. 

You might also be interested in the history timelines featured on this site, which provide a summary of events from prehistoric times to the 21st century.

2000 – 25 years ago

First British women reach the South Pole

Catherine Hartley and Fiona Thornewill became the first British women to walk to the South Pole on 4 January 2000.  Fiona Thornewill, with her husband Mike, became the first married couple to do so.  The 9-person team took over two months to complete the 680-mile (1,094km) trek in temperatures as low as -48°C.

MP attacked, councillor killed

On 28 January 2000, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham, Nigel Jones, was attacked by a constituent, Robert Ashman, wielding a samurai sword.  A councillor, 39-year old Andrew Pennington, coming to Jones’s aid, was fatally stabbed.  He was posthumously awarded the George Medal.  Jones was seriously injured, but survived and died in 2022 aged 74.

Life for serial killer GP

Dr Harold Shipman was sentenced to life imprisonment on 31 January 2000 having been found guilty of murdering 15 patients in Greater Manchester between 1995 and 1998. The subsequent enquiry concluding in 2002 considered him to have killed as many as 250 people.  Known as ‘Dr Death’, Shipman is Britain’s most prolific serial killer and hanged himself in his cell at Wakefield Prison on 13 January 2004.

May Day riots

About 95 people were arrested and nine police officers injured in anti-capitalist riots in central London on 1 May 2000.  In addition, the Cenotaph on Whitehall and the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square were defaced and a McDonald’s restaurant in the Strand wrecked.  Some 5,000 police officers had been deployed to deal with the protests.

Livingston becomes Mayor of London

Independent socialist Ken Livingston became the first directly elected Mayor of London on 4 May 2000.  The Conservatives came second, Labour third.  Livingston served until 2008.  He introduced the congestion charge, Oyster card, cycle hire scheme and invested heavily in bus and over ground train transport.  He was also involved in London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

UK forces intervene in the civil war in Sierra Leone

A UK military intervention to protect and help evacuate civilians in Sierra Leone began on 7 May 2000.  It was largely complete by September.  On 10 September, Operation Barras undertaken by UK special forces successfully freed five British soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment and their Sierra Leone Army liaison officer, who had been held captive by a militia group known as the ‘West Side Boys’.

Tate Modern opened

HM Queen Elizabeth officially opened the Tate Modern art gallery on 11 May 2000.  It is housed in a converted power station on Bankside, which cost £134m and took four years to reconstruct.

National Botanic Garden of Wales opened

The 500-acre National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW) opened on 24 May 2000.  It is on the site of a Regency-period park, the Middleton Estate, in Carmarthenshire.

London’s Millennium Bridge

London’s pedestrian Millennium Bridge links the City of London near St Paul’s Cathedral on the north bank of the Thames with the south bank at Tate Modern.  It was officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth on 10 June 2000, but was closed two days later due to a worrying wobbling motion exacerbated by thousands of people walking across it. It was reopened on 27 February 2002 following the installation of 91 dampers, similar to car shock absorbers.

Land speed record broken

On 5 July 2000, engineer Colin Fallows set the British land speed record at 300.3 mph (483.3 km/h), at Elvington, Yorkshire, in the Vampire turbojet-propelled dragster.

Internet use increased

On 10 July 2000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that one in four homes in Britain was using the Internet.  Their estimate for the first quarter of the year was that 6.5 million households were accessing the Internet, double the total for the same period in 1999.

Big Brother

The Big Brother reality TV series launched on Channel 4 on 14 July 2000.  It featured eleven contestants, isolated from the outside world for several weeks in a custom-built house, where they were filmed and recorded.  Big Brother was being watched.  You couldn’t make it up, could you?

Sex offender riots

Rioting broke out on 3 August 2000 on the Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth, when more than 100 people besieged a block of flats where an alleged sex offender lived.  It was one of several instances of vigilante violence against suspected paedophiles following a ‘naming and shaming’ campaign launched by the News of the World newspaper.

Royal centenarian

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother celebrated her 100^th birthday on 4 August.  She was the first member of the Royal Family to reach her centenary. She died on 30 March 2002 at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, at the age of 101.

Fuel protests

The entrances to oil refineries were blocked by protesters angry at high fuel prices.  Panic buying by motorists resulted in temporary petrol shortages, with many petrol stations closing the following week.

Sydney Olympics

The 2000 Summer Olympics took place in Sydney, Australia, from 15 September to 1 October 2000.  Great Britain won 11 Gold, 10 Silver and 7 Bronze medals and came 10^th in the medal table.

MI6 attacked

The headquarters of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6) at Vauxhall Cross in Lambeth was hit by a Russian made hand-held anti-tank rocket on 20 September 2000.  Superficial damage was caused.  It is believed that the Real IRA (Irish Republican Army), an Irish republican terrorist group, was behind the attack.

Wembley Stadium closed

Wembley Stadium in north west London, built for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924, closed on 7 October 2000, following the final football match there, to enable a complete reconstruction.  In the match, the England men’s team lost 1-0 to Germany and manager Kevin Keegan resigned immediately afterwards.

Sven-Göran Eriksson

On 30 October, it was announced that the next manager of the England men’s football team would be a Swede, Sven-Göran Eriksson, at that time manager of the Italian team, Lazio.  Eriksson was the first foreign manager of the England national team.  His first match in charge was a friendly match with Spain at Villa Park on 28 February 2001, which England won 3-0.  Eriksson left the England role in 2006 and died in Sweden on 26 August 2024.

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act received Royal assent on 30 November 2000.  It created a statutory right of access to information in relation to bodies that exercise functions of a public nature. This covers public authorities, publicly owned companies and designated bodies performing public functions.

Wet autumn

The autumn and early winter of 2000 were among the wettest on record for the UK, particularly in England and Wales where there was widespread flooding as rivers burst their banks.  Overall, 10,000 homes and businesses were flooded at 700 locations.

1975 – 50 years ago

Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Leader

11 February 1975 – Margaret Thatcher, 49 year old MP for Finchley since 1959, defeated incumbent Edward Heath and three other men in the Conservative Party leadership election.  She was the first woman to lead a British political party and went on to become Britain’s first female Prime Minister in 1979.

Moorgate tube crash

Forty-three people were killed and seventy four injured when a London underground train failed to stop at Moorgate tube station on 28 February 1975.  The crash occurred at the height of the morning rush hour and the front carriages, which crashed into a wall, were packed with people going to work.  No cause was ever found.  Investigations revealed no fault with the train.  The driver, Leslie Newson, was among the dead, had been in good health, had not taken any alcohol or drugs, was considered an unlikely suicide candidate, had worked for London Underground since 1969 and was known to be a careful, conscientious driver.

Referendum on the European Economic Union

Labour’s general election manifesto of October 1974 committed Labour to a referendum on whether Britain should stay in the Common Market, or EEC.  On 25 March, 400 supporters of the National Front, an extreme right-wing organisation, protested in London against European integration.  At a Labour Party conference to debate Britain’s membership of the EEC on 26 April, members voted by almost 2-1 to leave.

On 5 June, more than 67% of voters nationwide supported the Labour government’s campaign to stay in the EEC, or Common Market.  In terms of regions and nations, only Shetland and the Western Isles voted against the EEC.

Dibbles Bridge coach crash

On 27 May 1975, a coach carrying day trippers from Thornaby on the way to Grassington plunged 16ft (5m) off Dibbles Bridge in North Yorkshire when its brakes failed.  It landed on its roof.  32 of the passengers, all of whom were women, and the driver, were killed.  13 passengers survived.  A similar accident occurred in 1925.

European Space Agency established

The ESA merged two former organisations, ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation) and ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) on 31 May 1975.  The ESA had ten founding member states: Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.  As at 2015, it had twenty-two members and additional states with associate status.

Inflation hit 24.2%

UK inflation reached 24.2% in May 1975, the highest since 1800.  It was the highest rate in Europe, followed by Italy at 20.4%, Belgium 14%, France 12.7% and West Germany 6.1%

Football hooliganism

The start of the football season on 16 August was marred by hooliganism and arrests at matches across the country, with seventy arrests at Wolverhampton, who were playing Manchester United, and at Leicester, who were at home to Birmingham.  This followed a ban on Leeds United from European competitions after the behaviour of their fans at the European Cup final in May, which Bayern Munich won 2-0.

Fawlty Towers

The first episode of the sitcom Fawlty Towers, written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, was broadcast on BBC Two on 19 September 1975.  Despite its enduring popularity, only 12 episodes were ever made, in two series of six.  The second series was broadcast in 1979.

National Railway Museum opened

The National Railway Museum opened in York on 27 September 1975.  It merged the former British Railways collection located in Clapham and the York Railway Museum and was the first national museum outside London.

Spaghetti House siege

Three armed men attempted to rob the Knightsbridge branch of the Spaghetti House restaurant on 28 September 1975.  The police were alerted and the robbers took the staff to a storeroom and barricaded themselves in.  All hostages were released unharmed on 3 October.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rock group Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was released on 31 October 1975.  It is widely regarded as one of the greatest pop-rock songs ever written and as of 2025 is the UK’s third highest selling single of all time.

Balcombe Street Siege

The Balcombe Street Siege began on 6 December when four members of an IRA (Irish Republican Army) terrorist gang being pursued by the police broke into a flat on Balcombe Street, Marylebone, and took the two residents hostage.  The gang was responsible for a series of terror attacks in Britain, mainly in and around London.  Most recently, on 9 October, it had exploded a bomb at Green Park tube station, killing one person and injuring twenty.  On 27 November, it had murdered Ross McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records.  The Balcombe Street Siege ended after six days on 12 December, when the terrorists released their hostages and gave themselves up to the police.

Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Equal Pay Act 1970 came into force on 29 December, making illegal to discriminate against either sex in the workplace.

Born in 1975 – happy 50^th birthday to:

Gary Neville – Gary Alexander Neville, footballer with Manchester United and the England national team and TV pundit, was born on 18 February 1975 in Bury, Greater Manchester.

Naga Munchetty – Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah, TV presenter and journalist, was born in Streatham, South London, on 25 February 1975.

David Beckham – David Robert Joseph Beckham, footballer, primarily with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the England national team (which he captained), but also with Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan, was born on 2 May 1975 in Leytonstone, East London.

Jamie Oliver – Jamie Trevor Oliver, celebrity chef, author and champion of healthy eating, was born on 27 May 1975 in Clavering, Essex.

Melanie Brown – Melanie Janine Brown, also known as ‘Mel B’ and ‘Scary Spice’ is a singer, celebrity and former member of the Spice Girls vocal group.  She was born on 29 May 1975 in Harehills, Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Sarah Millican – Sarah Jane King, comedian, was born on 29 May 1975 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear.

Russell Brand – Russell Edward Brand – alleged comedian, actor, celebrity – was born in Grays, Essex, on June 1975.

Liz Truss – Mary Elizabeth Truss, politician and the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, was born in Oxford on 26 July 1975.

Dec – Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly, actor, TV presenter and one half of ‘Ant and Dec’ was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 25 September 1975.

Kate Winslet – Kate Elizabeth Winslet, actress, was born in Reading, Berkshire, on 5 October 1975.

Zadie Smith – Sadie Smith, novelist and academic, was born on 25 October 1975 in Willesden, north London.

Gareth Malone – Gareth Edmund Malone, choirmaster and TV presenter, was born in London on 9 November 1975.

Ant – Anthony David McPartlin, actor, TV presenter and the other half of Ant and Dec, was born on 18 November 1975 in Newcastle upon Tyne.

1950 – 75 years ago

HMS Truculent disaster

On 12 January 1950, wartime submarine HMS Truculent accidentally collided with a Swedish tanker in the Thames Estuary.  64 naval and dockyard personnel were lost.

1950 General Election

Turnout at the General Election on 23 February 1950 was 84%, the largest in British history. The Labour Party polled more votes than ever before, but its 1945 majority of 193 seats in the House of Commons was reduced to just five.  Future Prime Minister, Edward Heath, was among the additions to the Conservative total of 298 seats.

Spy Klaus Fuchs convicted

On 1 March 1950, German-born physicist Klaus Fuchs, who had been working at the Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment, was convicted of supplying secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.  He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but was released in 1959 and went to live in Communist East Germany.

Timothy Evans wrongfully executed

Timothy Evans was hanged on 9 March 1950 for the murder of his wife and baby daughter at their home, 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill, London. He had accused his downstairs neighbour John Christie of the crime.  Christie was later found to be the real killer, and murderer of additional women, including his own wife.  Evans was posthumously pardoned in 1966.

Kenwood Chef Food Mixer

The first model of the best-selling Kenwood Chef food mixer was introduced at the Ideal Home Exhibition in March 1950.

The Eagle launched

The Eagle comic first appeared on 14 April 1950.  It featured Dan Dare, pilot of the future and Captain Pugwash and was the brainchild of Southport vicar Marcus Morris, with illustrations by Frank Hampson.

Petrol rationing ended

Fuel rationing, introduced at the start of World War II, ended on 26 May 1950.  Some motorists labelled it ‘VP Day’ – victory for petrol.

Andy Pandy

Andy Pandy made his first appearance on BBC TV’s ‘Watch with Mother’ programme on 11 July 1950. He was later joined by his Teddy, followed by a rag doll called Looby Loo.

British troops sent to Korea

Around 4,000 British troops were sent to Korea from Hong Kong on 29 August 1950 in support of the US-led United Nations force following North Korea’s Soviet-supported invasion of the South on 25 June. Eventually some 63,000 UK troops served in Korea – many of them National Service conscripts.  1,078 died and more than 1,000 were taken prisoner. An armistice was signed on 27 July 1953, but a formal peace has never been declared.

Knockshinnoch Castle colliery landslide

All 116 miners trapped underground in a landslide at Knockshinnoch Castle colliery at New Cumnock in Ayrshire on 8 September were rescued by 11 September.

Soap rationing ends

Soap rationing, in place since February 1942, came to an end on 9 September 1950.

Conscription extended

On 1 October 1950, national service, requiring healthy males from 17 to 21 years old to serve in the armed forces, was extended from an 18 month period to 24.

Stone of Scone hijacked

Narnia

C S Lewis published The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1950. Charles Staples Lewis was an academic at Oxford and Cambridge, author and theologian, born in Belfast on 29 November 1898.  He is most famous for the Chronicles of Narnia series of children’s books, but also produced academic works such as The Allegory of Love and wrote about his faith.  He was good friends with other authors, including J R R Tolkien, who met in Oxford pubs as an informal literary group, The Inklings.  Lewis died on 22 November 1963 – the same day as Aldous Huxley and the murder of John F Kennedy.

Born in 1950 – happy 75^th birthday to:

Malcolm Macdonald – Malcolm Ian Macdonald, footballer Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Arsenal and the England national team, was born in Fulham, London, on 7 January 1950.  Nicknamed ‘Supermac’ for his goal scoring ability, he went on to become a manager and pundit.

Peter Gabriel – Peter Brian Gabriel, musician known as the frontman with progrock group Genesis until 1975 and subsequent solo career, was born on 13 February 1950 in Chobham, Surrey.

Peter Hain – Peter Gerald Hain, politician, first with the Liberal, then Labour parties, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, on 16 February 1950.

Andy Powell – Andrew Powell, musician – primarily with rock group Wishbone Ash – was born in Stepney, London on 19 February 1950.

Julie Walters – Julia Mary Walters, actress, was born on 22 February 1950 in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Terry Yorath – Terence Charles Yorath, footballer with Leeds United, Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur, Vancouver Whitecaps, Bradford City, Swansea City and the Welsh national team, was born on 27 March 1950 in Grangetown, Cardiff.  He went on to pursue a long managerial career.

Robbie Coltrane – Anthony Robert McMillan, actor, was born on 30 March 1950 in Rutherglen, Scotland.  He died in Larbert, Scotland, on 14 October 2022.

Sally Thomsett – Sally Thomsett, actress, was born on 3 April 1950 in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex.

Peter Frampton – Peter Kenneth Frampton, musician, was born on 22 April 1950 in Beckenham, Kent.

Mary Hopkin – Mary Hopkin, singer, was born in Pontardawe, south Wales, on 3 May 1950.

Jeremy Paxman – Jeremy Dickson Paxman, radio and television journalist and presenter, was born in Leeds on 11 May 1950.

Jenni Murray – Jennifer Susan Bailey, journalist and radio broadcaster, was born on 12 May 1950 in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire.

Alan Johnson – Alan Arthur Johnson, Labour politician, was born in London on 17 May 1950.

Bernie Taupin – Bernard John Taupin, songwriter – primarily lyricist with Elton John – was born on 22 May 1950 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

Martin McGuinness – James Martin Pacelli McGuinness, Irish nationalist republican activist and politician, was born in Londonderry on 23 May 1950 and died there on 21 March 2017.

Tom Robinson – Thomas Giles Robinson, musician and songwriter, was born in Cambridge on 1 June 1950.

Rowan Williams – Rowan Douglas Williams, religious leader, including Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002-2012, was born on 14 June 1950 in Swansea.

Geraldine James – Geraldine James, actress, was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 6 July 1950.

Jonathon Porritt – Jonathon Espie Porritt, environmentalist and campaigner, was born on 6 July 1950 in London.

Sarah Kennedy – Sarah Mary Kennedy, radio presenter and disc jockey, was born in East Grinstead, Sussex, on 8 July 1950.

Bruce Oldfield – Bruce Oldfield, fashion designer, was born on 14 July 1950 in London.

Richard Branson – Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, entrepreneur, businessman, founder of Virgin Records, was born in Blackheath, London, on 18 July 1950.

Simon Cadell – Simon John Cadell, actor, was born on 19 July 1950 in London and died there on 6 March 1996.

Len McCluskey – Leonard David McCluskey, trade unionist, was born in Liverpool on 23 July 1950.

Susan George – Susan Melody George, actress, was born on 26 July 1950 in Surbiton, Surrey.

Harriet Harman – Harriet Ruth Harman, Labour politician, was born in Marylebone, London, on 30 July 1950.

Princess Anne – known as the Princess Royal since June 1987, Anne is the only daughter and second child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. She was born on 15 August 1950 in London.

Antony Gormley – Antony Mark David Gormley, sculptor, was born in Hampstead, London, on 30 August 1950.

Barry Sheene – Barry Steven Frank Sheene, motorcycle racer and TV presenter, was born on Gray’s Inn Road, London on 11 September 1950.  He died on 10 March 2003 on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Paul Kossoff – Paul Francis Kossoff, musician with the rock group Free, was born on 14 September 1950 in Hampstead, London.  He died on a flight to New York, USA, on 19 March 1976.

Charles Clarke – Charles Rodway Clarke, Labour politician, was born in Hammersmith, London, on 21 September 1950.

Linda Lewis – Linda Ann Fredericks, musician primarily known as a singer, was born on 27 September 1950 in West Ham, London.  She died in Waltham Abbey, Essex, on 3 May 2023.

1945 – 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War

The anniversary of the end of World War II is always marked on 8 May, with Victory in Europe (VE) Day, and on 15 August, Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.  The Second World War was the most violent and globally shattering event in mankind’s history.  Click/tap to read a bit about Britain and the Second World War and how Britain got involved.

If you are looking for commemorative events in 2025, The Royal British Legion is a good place to start.

VE Day 80 is a website with information about a national celebration of VE Day alone.

1925 – a century ago

Pink’s War

The RAF undertook its first independent air action from 9 March 1925, when three squadrons, commanded by Wing Commander RCM Pink, bombed and strafed mountain strongholds of the Mahsud tribesmen in Waziristan, India (now Pakistan).  According to the Royal Air Force history, the tribal leaders sought an honourable peace on 1 May.

Cyprus became a Crown Colony

Cyprus became a Crown Colony, governed by the UK, on 10 March 1925, having been effectively under British control since 1878.  It became independent in 1960, whilst Britain retained sovereignty over two military bases.

Percy Fawcett disappeared

Explorer Percy Fawcett disappeared in the Amazon rainforest in 1925, along with his eldest son, Jack, and one of Jack’s friends, Raleigh Rimmel, whilst attempting to find an ancient lost city.  The last communication was a letter Percy wrote to his wife, Nina, on 29 March.

Return to the gold standard

Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill announced Britain’s return to the gold standard in his budget of 28 April 1925.  This is widely considered to have caused deflation and resultant unemployment with a devastating impact on the coal industry in particular, ultimately leading to the General Strike of 1926.

Plaid Cymru formed

Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act

The Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 received royal assent on 7 August 1925.  It made the sale of honours, including peerages, illegal. The act was in response to former Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George selling honours – which was legal at the time.  Apparently, the charge for a knighthood was £10,000, £30,000 for baronetcy and £50,000 or more for a peerage.

National Library of Scotland

National Library of Scotland Act on 7 August 2025 established a publicly owned library to take over national responsibilities of the privately owned Advocates’ Library in Edinburgh, which had been a national library in all but name since 1710.

Royal Observer Corps

The Observer Corps was established (probably on 29 October 1925) as a volunteer civil defence organisation to visually detect, identify, track and report aircraft over Britain.  It was disbanded in 1995.  The ROC Association traces the history of its methods back to warning beacons, which have been used for centuries to warn of attacks.

Vauxhall Motors bought by GM

British car maker Vauxhall Motors was bought by General Motors of the United States of America for $2.5 million in 1925.  Named for the Vauxhall area of London – itself named for a 12^th century Fulk’s Hall that used to stand on the site – Vauxhall is still Britain’s oldest surviving car brand.  The firm was founded in 1857 and the first car was produced in 1903.

Locarno Treaties

The signing of the Locarno Treaties took place on 1 December 1925 at the Foreign Office in London. Named after the Swiss town where the treaties had been negotiated a few months earlier, signatories Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain and Italy mutually guaranteed peace in Western Europe.

Born in 1925 – happy centenary to:

Gerald Durrell – Gerald Malcolm Durrell, naturalist, conservationist, zookeeper, author and television presenter, was born in Jamshedpur, India, on 7 January 1925.  He died on January 30, 1995 in Jersey, Channel Islands.  The Durrells television series is based on his family’s time on the island of Corfu prior to the Second World War.

David Whitfield – David Whitfield, singer, was born on 2 February 1925 in Kingston upon Hull and was particularly successful in the early 1950s.  He died in Sydney, Australia, on 15 January 1980.

Ron Goodwin – Ronald Alfred Goodwin, musical composer and conductor particularly known for his film scores, was born in Plymouth on 17 February 1925.  He died on 8 January 2003 in the hamlet of Brimpton Common, Berkshire.

Richard Vernon – Richard Evelyn Vernon, actor particularly known for playing pompous roles, was born on 7 March 1925, in either Kenya or Reading, Berkshire.  He died on 4 December 1997 in Richmond upon Thames, London.

Tony Benn – Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, Labour politician, diarist and activist, was born in Westminster, London, on 3 April 1925.  He died in London on 14 March 2014.

Oliver Postgate – Richard Oliver Postgate, writer and creator of animated children’s programmes including Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine and the Clangers, was born on 12 April 1925 in Hendon, Middlesex.  He died in Broadstairs, Kent, on 8 December 2008.

George Cole – George Edward Cole, actor possibly best known as the character Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder, was born in Tooting, London, on 22 April 1925.  He died on 5 August 2015 in Reading, Berkshire.

Leslie Alcock – Leslie Alcock, archaeologist best known as the excavator of South Cadbury Castle, Somerset, and the author of Arthur’s Britain, was born on 24 April 1925 in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, Greater Manchester.  He died in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on 6 June 2006.

Rhodes Boyson – Rhodes Boyson, teacher and politician (first Labour, then Conservative) was born on 11 May 1925 in Haslingden, Lancashire.  He died on 28 August 2012 in Harefield, Hillingdon, London.

Richard Baker – Richard Douglas James Baker, TV newsreader and broadcaster, was born in Willesden, Middlesex (North London) on 15 June 1925 and died in Oxford on 17 November 2018.  He introduced the first BBC TV news bulletin broadcast in July 1954 and, with a keen interest in music, went on to present the Last Night of the Proms as well as regular music programmes on radio.

Charlie Drake – Charles Edward Springall, slapstick comedian and singer, was born in Elephant and Castle, Southwark, London, on 19 June 1925.  He died in Twickenham, London, on 23 December 2006.

John Stonehouse – John Thomson Stonehouse, Labour politician best known for faking his own death in 1974 in an attempt to start a new life in Australia with his then mistress, was born on 28 July 1925 in Southampton.  He died in nearby Totton, Hampshire, on 14 April 1988.  Stonehouse is alleged to have been an agent for Czechoslovak military intelligence.

Ross and Norris McWhirter – Alan Ross McWhirter and Norris Dewar McWhirter, twin founders of the Guinness Book of Records, were born on 12 August 1925 in Winchmore Hill, Middlesex (north London).  Ross was assassinated by the IRA outside his home in Enfield on 27 November 1975.  Norris died at his home in Kington Langley, Wiltshire, on 19 April 2004.

Honor Blackman – Honor Blackman, actress best known for her roles as Cathy Gale in TV’s The Avengers and Pussy Galore in the James Bond film Goldfinger, was born in Canning Town, East London, on 22 August 1925.  She died on 5 April 2020 in Lewes, East Sussex.

Nat Lofthouse – Nathaniel Lofthouse, footballer with Bolton Wanderers and the national England team, was born on 27 August 1925 in Bolton and died there on 15 January 2011.

Peter Sellers – Richard Henry Sellers, actor and comedian, was born in Southsea, Portsmouth, on 8 September 1925.  He died in London on 24 July 1980.

William Franklyn – William Leo Beare, actor known for his voice-overs and work with TV commercials, was born in Kensington, London, on 22 September 1925.  He died in London on 31 October 2006.

Stratford Johns – Alan Edgar Stratford Johns, actor, was born on 22 September 1925 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  He died on 29 January 2002 in Heveningham, Suffolk.

Margaret Thatcher – Margaret Hilda Roberts, Conservative politician, the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the role, was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, on 13 October 1925.  She died at the Ritz Hotel, London, on 8 April 2013.

Tony Hart – Norman Antony Hart, artist and children’s television presenter, was born on 15 October 1925 in Maidstone, Kent.  He died in the Surrey village of Shamley Green on 18 January 2009.

Angela Lansbury – Angela Brigid Lansbury, actress, was born in Regent’s Park, London, on 16 October 1925.  She died in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 11 October 2022.

Patricia Kneale – Patricia Kneale, actress, was born on 17 October 1925 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire.  She died on 27 December 2008 in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Robert Hardy – Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, actor, was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 29 October 1925.  He died on 3 August 2017 in Northwood, London.

Richard Burton – Richard Walter Jenkins, actor, was born on 10 November 1925 in Pontrhydyfen, Glamorgan.  He died on 5 August 1984 in Céligny, Switzerland.

June Whitfield – June Rosemary Whitfield, actress, particularly famed for her comedy roles, was born in Streatham, south London, on 11 November 1925.  She died in London on 29 December 2018.

Ernie Wise – Ernest Wiseman, one half of the Morecambe and Wise comedy duo, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on 27 November 1925.  He died on 21 March 1999 in Wexham, Buckinghamshire.

1900 – 125 years ago

Boer War

The unpopular Second Boer War, which had broken out the previous October, continued through 1900.  Key events included the British defeat at Spion Kop on 24 January, the British invasion of the Orange Free State on 14 February, the reliefs of Ladysmith on 28 February, and of Mafeking on 17 May and the British annexation of the Transvaal in October.

Creation of the Labour Party

Boxer Rebellion

An eight-nation (Germany, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, the United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary) coalition force invaded China in 1900 with the objective of relieving foreign legations in Peking (Beijing), besieged by Boxer militiamen determined to eradicate foreign influence from China. The international force, commanded by British Lieutenant-General Alfred Gaselee, reached Beijing on 14 August 1900 and achieved its objective.

Khaki Election

The 1900 United Kingdom general election, sometimes referred to as ‘the Khaki Election’, was held between 26 September and 24 October 1900.  The Conservatives were returned to government with 402 seats in Parliament, followed by the Liberals with 183 seats and the Irish Nationalists with 76.  The recently formed Labour Representation Committee achieved 2.  The election saw Winston Churchill returned as a Member of Parliament for the first time, representing Oldham.  He remained an MP until 1964.

Born in 1900

Among those born in 1900 were:

12 February – Robert Boothby, politician (died 1986);
24 April – Elizabeth Goudge, novelist (died 1984);
29 May – David Maxwell Fyfe, politician, lawyer and judge (died 1967);
6 June – Arthur Askey, comedian (died 1982);
25 June – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (murdered in 1979);
4 August – Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen consort of George VI, later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (died 2002);
9 September – James Hilton, novelist and screenwriter (died 1954);
9 October – Alastair Sim, actor (died 1976).

1875 – 150 years ago

Artisans’ and Labourers’ Dwellings Improvement Act 1875

The Artisans’ and Labourers’ Dwellings Improvement Act 1875, also known as the Cross Act after the Home Secretary at the time, Richard Cross, received royal assent on 29 June 1875.  It enabled local councils to buy up areas of slum dwellings to allow them to be cleared and rebuilt.

Public Health Act 1875

The Public Health Act of 1875 received royal assent on 11 August 1875.  The Act made it compulsory for local authorities to provide sewers, control water-supplies, and regulate lodging houses.  All new residential construction had to have running water and an internal drainage system.  Public health authorities also had to have a medical officer and a sanitary inspector.

Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875

The Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875 prohibited the mixing of harmful ingredients with food or drugs, and provision was made for the appointment of analysts.  For the first time, ingredients would have to be shown on a label.

First Channel swimmer

Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) became the first person to swim the English Channel without artificial aids on 25 August 1875.  It took him almost 22 hours.  Webb died attempting to swim through the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls.

London’s Victorian sewers

In the 19^th century, the River Thames became an open sewer. In the steaming hot summer of 1858, the hideous stench arising from it came to be labelled the ‘Great Stink’.  The hero of the hour was Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819 – 1891), chief engineer to the Metropolitan Board of Works. Bazalgette was primarily responsible for the creation of the extensive, elegant, network of brick-made sewers under the streets of central London. The system, containing 83 miles (134 km) of intercepting sewers, was opened in 1865 and fully completed in September 1875. Bazalgette’s other works included the Victoria (north side) and Albert (south side) and Chelsea embankments.  The new sewers probably made the single greatest contribution to improving the health of Londoners and physically changed the appearance of riverside London and the nature of the River Thames.   The bulk of the system remains in use today.

Born in 1875

Among those born in 1875 were:

1 April – Edgar Wallace (born Richard Horatio Edgar) writer (died 1932);
26 August – John Buchan, novelist and politician (died 1940);
12 October – Aleister Crowley, occultist (died 1947).

1825 – 200 years ago

First steam railway service

The world’s first steam railway service opened on 27 September 1825, between Stockton and Darlington. The first engine ran from Darlington to Stockton, preceded by a man on horseback carrying a flag reading Periculum privatum utilitas publica (The private danger is the public good). When the horseman was out of the way, engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) opened the throttle and pulled his train of wagons carrying 450 persons at a speed of 15 miles (24 km) per hour.  British railway engines go twice as fast as that nowadays.

1800 – 225 years ago

United Kingdom formed

1775 – 250 years ago

American War of Independence begins

The American Revolutionary War (1775-83), by which 13 of Britain’s colonies in North America became the independent United States of America, had a gestation period of some years.  However, armed hostilities began on 19 April 1775, when British troops en route to seize a depot of colonial ammunition at Concord, Massachusetts were intercepted by a small number of ‘minutemen’ (militiamen intended to be ready for action in a minute) at Lexington.  No one knows who fired ‘the shot heard round the world’, but 8 colonials died at Lexington and 70 British soldiers at Concord.

1750 – 275 years ago

Start of the Highland clearances

1750 is often given as the start of the first phase of the infamous Highland Clearances.  The process had actually been going on for some years and was marked by the removal of people – who had no security of tenure – from their traditional locations in glens to create large areas for profitable sheep grazing.  The uprooted occupants were usually invited to move to the coast in order to work in the kelp or fishing industries.  Phase Two of the Clearances, in the 19^th century, was more brutal.

Laws of modern cricket

1625 – 400 years ago

Charles I became king

King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, James I of England and VI of Scotland, on 27 March 1625.

Barbados became a British colony

Barbados was claimed as a British colony in the name of King James I of England in 1625.  It became independent in 1966.

1600 – 425 years ago

The East India Company

Britain’s East India Company was established in 1600 and received its charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December to trade into the ‘East Indies’.  The East India Company brought back many products then unknown in Europe and became, probably, the most powerful corporation in history until the advent of present-day behemoths such as Google, Amazon and Meta.  The East India Company’s methods were often unscrupulous and it traded slaves and opium.  At its height, it dominated global trade between Europe, South Asia and the Far East, fought numerous wars using its own army and navy, and conquered and colonised modern day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.

1450 – 575 years ago

Jack Cade’s rebellion

In the summer of 1450, the somewhat shadowy figure of Jack Cade led a largely Kentish rebellion against high taxes, misgovernment under Henry VI and the loss of lands in France.  The rebels, which allegedly numbered several thousand, entered London, where they executed the Lord High Treasurer and his son in law, mounting their heads on London Bridge.  Having initially enjoyed some support from Londoners, the rebels became unruly and a battle ensued.  The rebellion dispersed.  Cade was promised a pardon, but was hunted down and killed.  There is an unproven tradition that this took place at the hamlet now known as Cade Street in East Sussex.  Many historians believe that the Cade rebellion was indicative of the unrest that precipitated the so-called Wars of the Roses.  Cade famously appears in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2, where the character Dick the Butcher suggests, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

1400 – 625 years ago

Owain Glyndwr’s revolt

1225 – 800 years ago

Magna Carta modified

Magna Carta was revised several times after the original version King John put his seal to on 15 June 1215.  The version that became established in English law is that issued by King Henry III in 1225, when he came of age.  It has 47 clauses instead of the original 63.  Copies are held in the British Library, Bodleian Library, Durham Cathedral and the National Archives.

1175 – 850 years ago

Glasgow 850

1100 – 925 years ago

Death of William II, Henry I becomes king

In 1100, William II (‘Rufus’), second son of William the Conqueror, was killed by a stray arrow whilst hunting in the New Forest – maybe on the orders of his brother, Henry – who seemed to be coincidentally on hand at the time.  Henry, William the Conqueror’s third son, became king of England on the death of his brother.  According to A Bit About Britain, he is famous for dying of a surfeit of lampreys (eels) – not a surfeit of palfreys (a type of horse) and carelessly losing his only legitimate son and heir at sea in the White Ship.  This resulted in anarchy after Henry’s death in 1135, when his daughter Matilda’s claim to the throne was opposed by her cousin, Stephen.

925 – 1,100 years ago

First king of England

Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, was crowned King of Wessex in 925 AD and is generally accepted as the first king of all England. Athelstan defeated the Danes in York and Northumbria and in 927 received the submission of the kings of the Scots, Strathclyde Welsh, Cumbria and the Earl of Northumbria at Eamont Bridge, Cumbria – establishing the River Eden as the northern border of England.  He established the border with the West Welsh (Cornish) at the Tamar.  In 937, Athelstan crushed a combined invasion of Norse and Scots at the Battle of Brunanburh (possibly somewhere on the Wirral).

c550-c650 – 1475-1375 years ago

Anglo-Saxon takeover

During the 6^th century, Angles, Saxons and Jutes increasingly exert a greater hold on lowland England.  Romano-British culture was gradually and generally extinguished from England but continued in western Britain.  The invaders evolved multiple ‘kingdoms’, traditionally known as the heptarchy – the seven kingdoms of East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex.

Empire in trouble

In the late 4^th century, Roman troops begin to be withdrawn from Britain to help defend Rome against the Goths.  By this time, independent British kingdoms had been established in Strathclyde, Gododdin (present-day Lothian and Border regions) and Galloway, immediately north of Hadrian’s Wall.

 

So – that’s a selection of significant anniversaries for 2025, at intervals of 25 years.  I hope you find it useful and entertaining.  If you believe anything vital has been missed, or spot any errors, please politely drop details by email via the contact page.