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Jessie Ellen Whitfield

Female 1862 - 1924  (61 years)


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   Date  Event(s)
1856 
  • 1856—1862:
    SA - Approximately 700 juveniles arrive from Holland.
1857 
  • 1857—1862:
    SA - Assisted immigration schemes bring about 12 000 settlers.
1861 
  • 1861—1862:
    SA - Griqua trek under Adam Kok III from Philippolis to Nomansland
1862 
  • 1862—1862:
    Lincoln issues first legal US paper money (Greenbacks)
  • 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862:
    First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
1863 
  • 1863—1863:
    SA - The Hill Presbyterian Church started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 1863—1863:
    SA - North End Cemetery started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 1863—1863:
    Football Association founded (UK)
  • 1863—1863:
    Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England
  • 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863:
    First section of the London Underground Railway opens
1864 
  • 1864—1864:
    SA - St. George's Cemetery established in Port Elizabeth.
  • 1864—1864:
    A man-powered submarine, 'Hunley' sank a Federal steam ship USS Housatonic at the entrance to Charleston harbour in 1864 - the first recorded successful attack by a submarine on a surface ship
  • 11 Mar 1864—11 Mar 1864:
    The Great Sheffield Flood - over 250 died when a new dam broke while it was being filled for the first time
  • 20 Aug 1864—20 Aug 1864:
    Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention
  • 8 Dec 1864—8 Dec 1864:
    Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon officially opened
1865 
  • 1865—1866:
    SA - Albania Settlement Scheme
  • 1865—1865:
    SA - Ostriches first domesticated.
  • 1865—1866:
    SA - Economic depression throughout South Africa. War between Orange Free State and Basutos.
  • 1865—1865:
    Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) becomes first woman doctor in England [she later became the first woman mayor in England, in Aldeburgh 1908]
  • 1865—1865:
    First concrete roads built in Britain
  • 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865:
    End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
  • 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865:
    Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
  • 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865:
    William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
1866 
  • 1866—1866:
    SA - India officially stops sending Indian labourers to Natal.
1867 
  • Apr 1867—1867:
    SA - 21.25 carat diamond found near Hopetown.
  • 1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867:
    The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
10 1868 
  • 1868—1869:
    SA - Korana War along Orange River
  • 1868—1868:
    Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
11 1869 
  • 1869—1869:
    SA - Railway from Port Nolloth to O'Kiep
  • 1869—1869:
    SA - Star of South Africa diamond discovered. Gold and diamond rush starts.
  • 1869—1869:
    Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
  • 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869:
    Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
12 1870 
  • 1870—1870:
    SA - Galeshewe of Tlhaping born
  • 1870—1884:
    SA - |Xam prisoners at Cape Town interviewed by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd
  • 1870—1871:
    SA - The Anglican St. Peter's Church started in Port Elizabeth.
  • 1870—1870:
    SA - Opening of Cape Town Docks.
  • 1870—1870:
    GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
  • 1870—1870:
    Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children
  • 1870—1870:
    Water closets come into wide use
  • 1870—1870:
    Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa
  • 1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870:
    First British postcard - halfpenny post
13 1871 
  • 1871—1871:
    SA - Diamonds found at New Rush; renamed Kimberley; 1873. Griqua claim to Diamond Fields recognised and Waterboer seeks British protection. Diamond mining stimulates migrant labour on unprecedented scale. Two thirds of black workforce comes from Limpopo valley
  • 1871—1871:
    SA - Gold discovered in Eastern Transvaal. Britain annexes the diamond fields of Kimberley and Griqua West. First mail from Cape Town to the diamond fields.
  • 27 Mar 1871—27 Mar 1871:
    First Rugby Football international, England v Scotland, played in Edinburgh
  • 29 Mar 1871—29 Mar 1871:
    Opening of Royal Albert Hall, London
  • 29 Jun 1871—29 Jun 1871:
    Trades Unions legalised in Britain, but picketing made illegal
14 1872 
  • 1872—1872:
    Licensing hours introduced
  • 1872—1872:
    Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
  • 4 Dec 1872—4 Dec 1872:
    American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean
15 1873 
  • 1873—1873:
    SA - Griqualand West proclaimed Crown Colony
  • 1873—1873:
    SA - Griqualand West established as a British colony. Gold discovered in Lydenburg district of Transvaal.
  • 1873—1875:
    SA - Approximately 3300 men, women and children arrive as agricultural settlers or labourers for public works.
16 1874 
  • 1874—1874:
    SA - College founded at Stellenbosch (later Victoria College, today University of Stellenbosch). Railway line opened from Port Elizabeth to Uitenhage.
  • 1874—1874:
    Factory Act introduces 56-hour week
  • 5 Apr 1874—5 Apr 1874:
    Birkenhead Park opened, said to be the first civic public park in the world - features of it later copied in Central Park, New York
17 1875 
  • 1875—1875:
    SA - Black Flag Rebellion by white diggers at Kimberley
  • 1875—1875:
    SA - Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners (Association for True Afrikaners) formed
  • 1875—1875:
    London's main sewage system completed
  • 1 Jan 1875—1 Jan 1875:
    Midland Railway abolishes Second Class passenger facilities, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies followed during the rest of the year. (Third Class was renamed Second Class in 1956)
18 1876 
  • 1876—1876:
    SA - Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje born
  • 14 Feb 1876—14 Feb 1876:
    Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each file a patent for the telephone - Bell awarded the rights
19 1877 
  • 1877—1877:
    SA - Native Locations for Tswana established in Griqualand West
  • 1877—1877:
    SA - Britain annexes the Transvaal Republic. Ninth Frontier War.
  • 1877—1877:
    Edison invents microphone and phonograph
20 1878 
  • 1878—1879:
    SA - Griqualand West Rebellion and Korana War coincide with similar conflicts elsewhere in South Africa.
  • 1878—1879:
    SA - Griqualand West and Tswana Rebellion
  • 1878—1878:
    SA - Koegas atrocities
  • 1878—1878:
    SA - Walvis Bay proclaimed British territory. Telegraph service between Natal and Transvaal.
  • 1878—1878:
    Edison & Swan invent electric lamp
  • 1878—1878:
    Red Flag Act in Britain limits mechanical road vehicles to 4mph
  • 1878—1878:
    CID established at New Scotland Yard
21 1879 
  • 1 Sep 1879—1879:
    SA - Zulu War starts, battles at Isandhlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi.
  • 18 Sep 1879—18 Sep 1879:
    Blackpool illuminations switched on for first time
22 1880 
  • 1880—1880:
    SA - Griqualand West annexed to Cape Colony
  • 1880—1880:
    SA - First Legislative Council in Transvaal. Formation of De Beers Company. Formation of the Afrikander Bond.
  • 1880—1881:
    SA - First Anglo-Boer War, Boers defeat Britain.
  • 1880—1880:
    Education Act: schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
  • 1880—1880:
    Mosquito found to be the carrier of malaria
  • 2 Aug 1880—2 Aug 1880:
    Greenwich Mean Time adopted throughout UK
23 1881 
  • 1881—1881:
    SA - Jantje Mothibi of Tlhaping dies
  • 1881—1882:
    SA - Tswana-Kora wars with white mercenary involvement
  • 1881—1881:
    SA - Battle of Laing's Nek, 28 January. Battle of Majuba, 27 February. Britain recognises South African Republic (ZAR).
  • 1881—1881:
    Postal Orders introduced
  • 1881—1881:
    Flogging abolished in Army and Royal Navy
  • Sep 1881—Sep 1881:
    Godalming in Surrey became the first town in England to have a public electricity supply installed (but in 1884 it reverted to gas lighting until 1904)
  • 26 Oct 1881—26 Oct 1881:
    Gunfight at OK Corral
24 1882 
  • 1882—1882:
    SA - Abraham September (freed slave) begins Orange River irrigation
  • 1882—1882:
    SA - Approximately 4645 settlers arrive. South End Cemetery in Port Elizabeth started. Use of Dutch recognised in Cape Parliament.
  • 1882—1882:
    Fourth Eddystone Lighthouse completed
  • 29 Aug 1882—1882:
    SA - 229 Norwegians arrive aboard the "Lapland" and settle at the mouth of the Umzimkulu river (Port Shepstone), Natal.
25 1883 
  • 1883—1890:
    SA - Germans occupy South West Africa and German East Africa
  • 1883—1883:
    SA - Revd Gwayi Tyamzashe; last black man to hold a claim in Kimberley mines; loses his claim
  • 1883—1883:
    Statue of Liberty presented to USA by France
  • 24 May 1883—24 May 1883:
    Brooklyn Bridge, New York opens (crosses East River)
  • 1 Aug 1883—1 Aug 1883:
    Parcel post starts in Britain
  • 27 Aug 1883—27 Aug 1883:
    Eruption of Krakatoa near Java - 30,000 killed by tidal wave
26 1884 
  • 1884—1885:
    SA - Warren takes over Stellaland and Goshen; establishes Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland and Bechuanaland Protectorate
  • 1884—1884:
    SA - The Anglican St. Cuthbert's Church built in Port Elizabeth. Barberton goldfields opened.
  • 31 May 1884—31 May 1884:
    John Harvey Kellogg patents corn flakes
  • 13 Oct 1884—13 Oct 1884:
    Greenwich made prime meridian of the world
27 1885 
  • 1885—1885:
    SA - Railway line opened from Cape to Kimberley.
  • 1885—1885:
    Carl Benz builds the 'Motorwagen', a single-cylinder motor car
  • 1885—1885:
    Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle
  • 1885—1885:
    Eastman makes first coated photographic paper
  • 1885—1885:
    Canadian Pacific Railway completed
  • Mar 1885—Mar 1885:
    First UK cremation in modern times took place at Woking
  • 5 Sep 1885—5 Sep 1885:
    The first train runs through the Severn Tunnel
  • 29 Sep 1885—29 Sep 1885:
    First electric tramcar used at Blackpool
28 1886 
  • 1886—1886:
    SA - Gold found on Witwatersrand
  • 1886—1886:
    SA - Gold discovered in the Transvaal (Witwatersrand)
  • 20 Jan 1886—20 Jan 1886:
    Mersey railway (under Mersey) opened by Prince of Wales
  • May 1886—May 1886:
    Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage later named 'Coca-Cola'
  • 29 May 1886—29 May 1886:
    Putney Bridge opens in London
29 1887 
  • 1887—1887:
    Daimler produces a four-wheeled motor car
30 1888 
  • 1888—1888:
    SA - C.J. Rhodes amalgamates Kimberley mining companies as De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
  • 1888—1888:
    SA - 'Rudd concession' signed by Lobengula
  • 1888—1888:
    SA - British South Africa Company founded.
  • 1888—1888:
    Convention of Constantinople guarantees free maritime passage through Suez Canal in war and peace
  • 1888—1888:
    Jack the Ripper active in east London during the latter half of the year
  • 1888—1888:
    County Councils set up in Britain
  • 1888—1888:
    Dunlop invents pneumatic tyre
  • 1888—1888:
    First box camera - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film
  • 20 Mar 1888—20 Mar 1888:
    Football League formed
31 1889 
  • 1889—1889:
    Celluloid film produced
  • 1889—1889:
    Dock Strike - docker's won their 'Docker's Tanner' 6 old pennies
  • 31 Mar 1889—31 Mar 1889:
    Eiffel Tower completed (to mark centenary of French Revolution)
  • 14 May 1889—14 May 1889:
    Children's charity NSPCC launched in London
  • 3 Jun 1889—3 Jun 1889:
    Canadian Pacific Railway completed from coast to coast
  • 28 Sep 1889—28 Sep 1889:
    Length of a metre defined
32 1890 
  • 1890—1890:
    SA - Pioneer Column of Rhodes's British South Africa Company departs from Kimberley to occupy Rhodesia
  • 1890—1890:
    SA - Railway line reaches from Cape to Bloemfontein. First railway line in Transvaal, from Johannesburg to Boksburg.
  • 4 Mar 1890—4 Mar 1890:
    Forth railway bridge opens - took six years to build
  • 4 Nov 1890—4 Nov 1890:
    City & South London Railway opens - London's first deep-level tube railway and first major railway in the world to use electric traction
33 1891 
  • 1891—1891:
    Primary education made free and compulsory
  • 18 Mar 1891—18 Mar 1891:
    First telephone link between London & Paris
  • 4 May 1891—4 May 1891:
    Fictional date when Sherlock Holmes throws Moriarty over Reichenbach Falls, then disappears for 3 years! (published in 1893)
  • 24 Aug 1891—24 Aug 1891:
    Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera
34 1892 
  • 1892—1892:
    SA - Mankurwane of Tlhaping dies
  • 1892—1892:
    SA - Railway line to Johannesburg completed with connections from Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London.
  • 1892—1892:
    Electric oven invented
  • 1892—1892:
    Shop Hours Act - limit 74 hours per week for under-18's
  • 6 Oct 1892—6 Oct 1892:
    Alfred Lord Tennyson dies, aged 83, at his house Aldworth, near Haslemere
35 1893 
  • 1893—1893:
    Henry Ford's first car
  • 1893—1893:
    Zip fastener invented
36 1894 
  • 1894—1894:
    SA - Glen Grey Act passed in Cape to control African labour and land
  • 1894—1894:
    Picture postcard introduced in Britain
  • 1 Jan 1894—1 Jan 1894:
    Manchester Ship Canal opens
  • 1 Mar 1894—1 Mar 1894:
    Blackpool Tower opens
  • 30 Jun 1894—30 Jun 1894:
    Tower Bridge first opens
  • 2 Aug 1894—2 Aug 1894:
    Death duties first introduced in Britain
  • 2 Nov 1894—1894:
    SA - Railway line between Lourenco Marques and Johannesburg opened.
37 1895 
  • 1895—1895:
    Sir Henry Wood starts Promenade Concerts in London
  • 1895—1895:
    SA - The Jameson Raid takes place in the Johannesburg district in December. The Pretoria-Delagoa Bay railway line opened by the South African Republic. Railway line opened between Durban and Johannesburg on 16 Dec 1896. Rinderpest causes big loss of cattle.
  • 12 Jan 1895—12 Jan 1895:
    The National Trust founded in England
  • 24 May 1895—24 May 1895:
    Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted
  • 28 May 1895—28 May 1895:
    Oscar Wilde sent to prison
  • 12 Jul 1895—12 Jul 1895:
    First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain
  • 17 Oct 1895—17 Oct 1895:
    First people in Britain to be charged with motor offences - John Henry Knight and James Pullinger of Farnham, Surrey
  • Nov 1895—Nov 1895:
    X-rays discovered
38 1896 
  • 1896—1896:
    SA - Montshiwa of Rolong dies
  • 1896—1896:
    SA - Rinderpest epidemic; spreading through Africa; breaks out here
  • 1896—1897:
    SA - Bechuanaland Campaign/Galeshewe's War begins at Phokwane and spreads to Langeberg
  • 5 Apr 1896—5 Apr 1896:
    First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
  • 2 Jun 1896—2 Jun 1896:
    Guglielmo Marconi receives a British patent (later disputed) for the radio
39 1897 
  • 1897—1897:
    Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector
  • 1897—1897:
    SA - Luka Mothibi killed in Langeberg
  • 1897—1897:
    SA - Zululand incorporated into Natal. Railway line opened between Cape Town and Bulawayo.
40 1898 
  • 1898—1898:
    First photograph using artificial light
  • 1898—1898:
    Zeppelin builds airship
  • 1898—1898:
    Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company founded
  • 17 Mar 1898—17 Mar 1898:
    USS Holland launched, the first practical submarine
  • 27 Jun 1898—27 Jun 1898:
    The first solo circumnavigation of the globe completed at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray (started from Boston, Mass on Apr 24, 1895)
41 1899 
  • 6 Mar 1899—6 Mar 1899:
    Aspirin first marketed by Bayer
  • 11 Oct 1899—11 Oct 1899:
    Start of Second Boer War
  • 11 Oct 1899—31 May 1902:
    SA - The Second Anglo-Boer War.
  • 13 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Boers invade Natal
  • 14 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Sieges of Mafeking and Kimberley started.
  • 20 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Talana.
  • 21 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Elandslaagte.
  • 30 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Lombard's Kop.
  • 30 Oct 1899—1899:
    SA - Siege of Ladysmith started.
  • 23 Nov 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Belmont.
  • 25 Nov 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Graspan.
  • 28 Nov 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Modder River.
  • 10 Dec 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Stormberg.
  • 11 Dec 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Magersfontein.
  • 15 Dec 1899—1899:
    SA - Battle of Colenso. Battle of Dundee. Imperial Penny Postage adopted by Cape Colony
42 1900 
  • 1900—1900:
    School leaving age in Britain raised to 14 years
  • 1900—1900:
    Central Line opens in London: underground is electrified
  • 1900—1900:
    Escalator shown at Paris exhibition
  • 6 Jan 1900—1900:
    SA - Boers attack Ladysmith.
  • 23 Jan 1900—24 Jan 1900:
    SA - Battle of Spion Kop.
  • 5 Feb 1900—1900:
    SA - Battle of Vaal Krantz.
  • 9 Feb 1900—9 Feb 1900:
    Davis Cup tennis competition established
  • 15 Feb 1900—1900:
    SA - Relief of Kimberley.
  • 27 Feb 1900—27 Feb 1900:
    Labour Party formed
  • 28 Feb 1900—1900:
    SA - Ladysmith relieved.
  • 7 Mar 1900—1900:
    SA - Battle of Poplar Grove.
  • 13 Mar 1900—1900:
    SA - Bloemfontein captured.
  • 11 Jun 1900—1900:
    SA - Battle of Diamond Hill. Burning of farms (scorched earth) policy authorised in July / August. Amalgamation of Union and Castle Steamship Lines.
43 1901 
  • 1901—1901:
    Commonwealth of Australia founded
  • 1901—1901:
    Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner
  • 1901—1901:
    SA - Bubonic plague in Cape Town.
  • 1901—1902:
    SA - 200 teachers arrive from England to teach in the British concentration camps, followed by 100 teachers from Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
  • 22 Jan 1901—22 Jan 1901:
    Queen Victoria dies - Edward VII king
  • 2 Feb 1901—2 Feb 1901:
    Queen Victoria's funeral - interred beside Prince Albert in the Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park
  • Jun 1901—Jun 1901:
    Denunciation of use of concentration camps by British in Boer War
  • 2 Oct 1901—2 Oct 1901:
    Britain's first submarine launched
  • 12 Dec 1901—12 Dec 1901:
    First successful radio transmission across the Atlantic, by Marconi - Morse code from Cornwall to Newfoundland
44 1902 
  • 1902—1902:
    Balfour's Education Act provides for secondary education
  • 1902—1902:
    Cremation Act - cremation can only take place at officially recognised establishments, and with two death certificates issued
  • 1902—1902:
    Marie Curie discovers radioactivity
  • 31 Feb 1902—1902:
    SA - Peace of Vereeniging signed, ending Anglo-Boer War.
  • 24 May 1902—24 May 1902:
    Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day) first celebrated
  • 31 May 1902—31 May 1902:
    Treaty of Vereeniging ends Second Boer War
  • 9 Aug 1902—9 Aug 1902:
    Coronation of Edward VII
45 1903 
  • 1903—1903:
    Workers' Education Association (WEA) formed in Britain
  • 1903—1903:
    Women's Social and Political Union formed in Britain by Emmeline Pankhurst
  • 1903—1903:
    Henry Ford sets up his motor company
  • 14 Dec 1903—14 Dec 1903:
    First flight of Wilbur & Orville Wright
46 1904 
  • 1904—1904:
    Leeds University established
  • 1904—1904:
    SA - Chinese labourers recruited for the Transvaal mines.
  • 8 Apr 1904—8 Apr 1904:
    France and UK sign the Entente Cordiale
  • 4 May 1904—4 May 1904:
    America takes over construction of the Panama Canal from the French (completed 1914)
47 1905 
  • 1905—1905:
    The title 'Prime Minister' noted in a royal warrant for the first time - placed the Prime Minister in order of precedence in Britain immediately after the Archbishop of York
  • 1905—1905:
    Aliens Act in Britain: Home Office controls immigration
  • 1905—1905:
    Germany lays down the first Dreadnought battleship
  • 11 Apr 1905—11 Apr 1905:
    Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity
48 1906 
  • 1906—1906:
    Introduction of free school meals for poor children
  • 10 Feb 1906—10 Feb 1906:
    Launching of HMS Dreadnought, first turbine-driven battleship
  • 15 Mar 1906—15 Mar 1906:
    Rolls-Royce Ltd registered
  • 26 May 1906—26 May 1906:
    Vauxhall Bridge opened in London
  • 20 Sep 1906—20 Sep 1906:
    Launching of Cunard's RMS Mauretania on the Tyne
49 1907 
  • 1907—1907:
    New Zealand becomes a Dominion
  • 1907—1907:
    Imperial College, London, is established
  • 1907—1907:
    First airship flies over London
  • 1907—1907:
    Lumiere develops a process for colour photography
  • 1907—1907:
    SA - Asiatic Registration Act passed in Transvaal, Indians oppose it.
  • Jul 1907—Jul 1907:
    Leo Hendrik Baekeland patents Bakelite, the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated
  • 1 Aug 1907—1 Aug 1907:
    Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island
  • 9 Nov 1907—9 Nov 1907:
    The Cullinan Diamond presented to Edward VII on his birthday
50 1908 
  • 1908—1908:
    Coal Mines Regulation Act in Britain limits men to an eight hour day
  • 1908—1908:
    Separate courts for juveniles established in Britain
  • 1908—1908:
    Lord Baden-Powell starts the Boy Scout movement
  • 1908—1908:
    SA - Second Asiatic Registration Act passed in Transvaal, beginning of passive resistance campaigns.
  • 1 Jul 1908—1 Jul 1908:
    SOS became effective as an international signal of distress
  • 12 Aug 1908—12 Aug 1908:
    First 'Model T' Ford made
51 1909 
  • 1909—1909:
    Beveridge Report prompts creation of labour Exchanges
  • 1909—1909:
    Peary reaches the north pole
  • 1909—1909:
    First commercial manufacture of Bakelite - start of the plastic age
  • 1909—1909:
    SA - S.S. Waratah lost between Durban and Cape Town.
  • 1 Jan 1909—1 Jan 1909:
    Old Age Pensions Act came into force
  • 16 Jan 1909—16 Jan 1909:
    Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole
  • 15 Mar 1909—15 Mar 1909:
    Selfridges department store opens in London
  • 25 Jul 1909—25 Jul 1909:
    Bleriot flies across the Channel (36 minutes, Calais to Dover)
52 1910 
  • 1910—1910:
    Railway strike and coal strikes in Britain
  • 1910—1910:
    Constitutional crisis in Britain
  • 1910—1910:
    Dr Crippen caught by radio telegraphy; hanged 23 Nov at Pentonville
  • 1910—1910:
    Madame Curie isolates radium
  • 1910—1910:
    Halley's comet reappears
  • 1910—1910:
    Tango becomes popular in North America and Europe
  • 1910—1910:
    SA - Laying of foundation stone of Union Buildings in Pretoria.
  • 1910—1910:
    SA - Union of South Africa established
  • 6 May 1910—6 May 1910:
    Edward VII dies - George V becomes King
  • 31 May 1910—1910:
    SA - Union of South Africa established by joining the British colonies and the Boer republics
53 1911 
  • 1911—1911:
    Parliament Act in Britain reduces the power of the House of Lords
  • 1911—1911:
    British MPs receive a salary
  • 1911—1911:
    First British Official Secrets Act
  • 1911—1911:
    Rutherford: theory of atomic structures
  • 1911—1911:
    Strikes by seamen, dock and transport workers (1911-1912)
  • 2 Apr 1911—2 Apr 1911:
    Census: Population - England and Wales: 36 Million; Scotland: 4.6 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
  • 17 May 1911—1911:
    SA - Census of population taken.
  • 22 Jun 1911—22 Jun 1911:
    Coronation of George V
  • 14 Dec 1911—14 Dec 1911:
    National Insurance introduced in Britain
54 1912 
  • 1912—1912:
    Irish Home Rule crisis grows in Britain
  • 1912—1912:
    Britain nationalises the telephone system
  • 1912—1912:
    Discovery of the 'Piltdown Man' - hoax, exposed in 1953
  • 1912—1912:
    The Titanic sinks
  • 18 Jan 1912—18 Jan 1912:
    Captain Scott's last expedition - he and his team reach the south pole on Jan 18th; all die on the way back, their bodies found in November
  • 14 Apr 1912—14 Apr 1912:
    The 'unsinkable' Titanic sinks on maiden voyage - loss of 1,513 lives
  • 13 May 1912—13 May 1912:
    Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF) founded in Britain
55 1913 
  • 1913—1913:
    Third Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by House of Lords - threat of civil war in Ireland - formation of Ulster Volunteers to oppose Home Rule
  • 1913—1913:
    Suffragette demonstrations in London - Mrs Pankhurst imprisoned
  • 1913—1913:
    Trade Union Act in Britain establishes the right to use Union funds for political purposes
  • 1913—1913:
    Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield
  • 1913—1913:
    Geiger invents his counter to measure radioactivity
  • 1913—1913:
    SA - Miners' strikes and riots on Witwatersrand. Indian riots in Natal. March of Natal Indians into Transvaal. Natives Land Act restricts black ownership of land.
  • 4 Jun 1913—4 Jun 1913:
    Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the king's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby and dies
56 1914 
  • 1914—1914:
    Irish Home Rule Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland; the position of Ulster to be decided after the War
  • 1914—1914:
    Chaplin and De Mille make their first films
  • 28 Jun 1914—28 Jun 1914:
    Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo
  • 4 Aug 1914—4 Aug 1914:
    Britain declares war on Germany, citing Belgian neutrality as reason
  • 5 Aug 1914—5 Aug 1914:
    British cableship Telconia cut through all five of Germany's undersea telegraph links to the outside world
  • 15 Aug 1914—15 Aug 1914:
    Panama Canal opened, the Canal cement boat 'Ancon' making the first official transit (plans for a grand opening were cancelled due to the start of WW1)
  • Oct 1914—Oct 1914:
    Battle of Ypres - beginning of trench warfare on western front
  • 27 Nov 1914—27 Nov 1914:
    First policewoman goes on duty in Britain
  • 16 Dec 1914—16 Dec 1914:
    German battleships bombard Hartlepool and Scarborough
57 1915 
  • 1915—1915:
    Junkers construct first fighter aeroplane
  • 1915—1915:
    First automatic telephone exchange in Britain
  • 1915—1915:
    SA - Afrikaans becomes the second official language, after English. South West Africa and South Africa linked by railway line.
  • 19 Jan 1915—19 Jan 1915:
    First Zeppelin air raid on England, over East Anglia - four killed
  • Feb 1915—Feb 1915:
    Submarine blockade of Britain starts
  • Apr 1915—Apr 1915:
    Second Battle of Ypres - poison gas used for first time
  • 25 Apr 1915—25 Apr 1915:
    Gallipoli campaign starts (declared ANZAC Day in 1916)
  • 7 May 1915—7 May 1915:
    RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off coast of Ireland - 1,198 died
  • 16 May 1915—16 May 1915:
    First meeting of a British WI (Women's Institute) took place in Llanfairpwll (aka Llanfair PG), Anglesey
58 1916 
  • 1916—1916:
    Compulsory military service introduced in Britain
  • Feb 1916—Feb 1916:
    Battle of Verdun - appalling losses on both sides, stalemate continues
  • 24 Apr 1916—24 Apr 1916:
    Easter Rising in Ireland - after the leaders are executed, public opinion backs independence
  • 21 May 1916—21 May 1916:
    First use of Daylight Saving Time in UK
  • 31 May 1916—31 May 1916:
    Battle of Jutland - only major naval battle between the British and German fleets
  • 5 Jun 1916—5 Jun 1916:
    Sinking of HMS Hampshire and death of Kitchener
  • 3 Aug 1916—3 Aug 1916:
    Sir Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison for treason
  • 15 Sep 1916—15 Sep 1916:
    First use of tanks in battle, but of limited effect (Battle of the Somme 1 July to 18 Nov: over 1 million casualties)
  • 7 Dec 1916—7 Dec 1916:
    Lloyd-George becomes British Prime Minister of the coalition government
59 1917 
  • 1917—1917:
    Battle of Cambrai - first use of massed tanks, but effect more psychological than actual
  • 1917—1917:
    Ministry of Labour is established in Britain
  • Feb 1917—Feb 1917:
    February revolution in Russia; Tsar Nicholas abdicates
  • 16 Apr 1917—16 Apr 1917:
    Lenin returns to Russia after exile
  • 17 Apr 1917—17 Apr 1917:
    USA declares war on Germany
  • 26 May 1917—26 May 1917:
    George V changes surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor (Royal proclamation on 17 July)
  • Jul 1917—Jul 1917:
    Battle of Passchendaele - little gained by either side (Jul-Nov)
  • 7 Nov 1917—7 Nov 1917:
    'October' Revolution in Russia - Bolsheviks overthrow provisional government; Lenin becomes Chief Commissar
  • 6 Dec 1917—6 Dec 1917:
    Halifax (Nova Scotia) Explosion, one of the world's largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to date: a ship loaded with wartime explosives blew up after a collision, obliterating buildings and structures within two square kilometres of the explosion
  • 9 Dec 1917—9 Dec 1917:
    British forces capture Jerusalem
60 1918 
  • 1918—1918:
    Vote for women over 30, men over 21 (except peers, lunatics and felons)
  • 1918—1918:
    War of Independence in Ireland
  • 1918—1918:
    SA - Influenza epidemic with pneumonia.
  • 18 Jan 1918—18 Jan 1918:
    Bentley Motors founded
  • 8 Mar 1918—8 Mar 1918:
    Start of world-wide 'flu pandemic
  • Jul 1918—Jul 1918:
    Second Battle of the Marne: last major German offensive in WW1 (Jul-Aug)
  • 1 Oct 1918—1 Oct 1918:
    Arab forces under Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus
  • 11 Nov 1918—11 Nov 1918:
    Armistice signed
  • Dec 1918—Dec 1918:
    First woman elected to House of Commons, Countess Markiewicz as a Sinn Fein member refused to take her seat
61 1919 
  • 1919—1919:
    Britain adopts a 48-hour working week
  • 1919—1919:
    Sir Ernest Rutherford publishes account of splitting the atom
  • 15 Jun 1919—15 Jun 1919:
    Alcock and Brown complete first nonstop flight across the Atlantic
  • 28 Jun 1919—28 Jun 1919:
    Treaty of Versailles signed
62 1920 
  • 1920—1920:
    Regular cross-channel air service starts
  • 1920—1920:
    Marconi opens a radio broadcasting station in Britain
  • 1920—1920:
    Thompson patents his machine gun (Tommy gun)
  • Feb 1920—Feb 1920:
    First roadside petrol filling station in UK - opened by the Automobile Association at Aldermaston on the Bath Road
63 1921 
  • 1921—1921:
    Railway Act in Britain amalgamates companies - only four remained
  • 1921—1921:
    Insulin discovery announced
  • 1921—1921:
    First birth control clinic
  • 1921—1921:
    SA - Diamond mines closed down in Kimberley, economic depression.
  • 19 Jun 1921—19 Jun 1921:
    Census: Population - England and Wales: 37.9 Million; Scotland: 4.9 Million; N Ireland: 1.25 Million
  • 6 Dec 1921—6 Dec 1921:
    Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in London, leading to the formation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
64 1922 
  • 1922—1922:
    Law of Property Act - the manorial system effectively ended
  • 1 Jun 1922—1 Jun 1922:
    Royal Ulster Constabulary founded
  • Oct 1922—Oct 1922:
    BBC established as a monopoly, and begins transmissions in November (2LO in London on 14 Nov; 5IT in Birmingham and 2ZY in Manchester on 15 Nov)
  • 4 Oct 1922—1922:
    SA - Inauguration of Witwatersrand University.
65 1923 
  • 1923—1923:
    Roads in Great Britain classified with A and B numbers
  • 1923—1923:
    Hubble shows there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way
  • 1923—1923:
    First American broadcasts heard in Britain
  • 1923—1923:
    SA - Platinum discovered in Waterberg district of Transvaal.
  • 1 Jan 1923—1 Jan 1923:
    The majority of the railway companies in Great Britain grouped into four main companies, the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, LMSR - lasted until nationalisation in 1948
  • 16 Feb 1923—16 Feb 1923:
    Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun
  • 28 Apr 1923—28 Apr 1923:
    First Wembley cup final (West Ham 0, Bolton 2) - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles ' popular song of the time became the West Ham anthem
  • 28 Sep 1923—28 Sep 1923:
    First publication of Radio Times
66 1924 
  • 4 Jan 1924—4 Jan 1924:
    First Labour government in Britain, headed by Ramsay MacDonald
  • 5 Feb 1924—5 Feb 1924:
    Hourly Greenwich Time Signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast by the BBC
  • 31 Mar 1924—31 Mar 1924:
    British Imperial Airways begins operations (formed by merger of four British airline companies - became BOAC in 1940)
  • 17 Jun 1924—1924:
    SA - General elections in South Africa.


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