Timeline of English history

This is a timeline of English history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in England and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of England.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Millennia: 1st BC · 1st–2nd · 3rd

1st century BC

YearDateEvent
55 BCRoman General Julius Caesar invaded Great Britain for the first time, gaining a beachhead on the coast of Kent.
54 BCCaesar invaded for the second time, gaining a third of the country. These two invasions are known as Caesar's invasions of Britain.

Centuries: 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th · 11th · 12th · 13th · 14th · 15th · 16th · 17th · 18th · 19th · 20th

1st century Lkk

YearDateEvent
43Aulus Plautius led an army of forty thousand invading Great Britain. Emperor Claudius makes Britain a part of the Roman Empire. This is known as the Roman conquest of Britain. It was the Romans who invaded Britain before the Saxons.

2nd century

3rd century

4th century

YearDateEvent
368Great Conspiracy: A year-long series of raids by the Picts and Saxons began, which forced the Roman abandonment of Hadrian's Wall and caused the death of their military commander Fullofaudes.
383Romans began to withdraw from Great Britain.

5th century

YearDateEvent
410Picts from the north, Gaels from the west and the Saxons, who had been a nuisance to the Romans for 50 years, attacked the unprotected British Celts.
450The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians began to occupy Great Britain. Led by Hengist. (Marks the beginning of Old English)

6th century

YearDateEvent
500Beginning of Heptarchy (Seven kingdoms Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria.)
597Saint Augustine of Canterbury arrived in England to begin the conversion of the English, by baptising King Ethelbert of Kent, thus introducing the influence of Latin.

7th century

YearDateEvent
664The Synod of Whitby aligned the English with Roman rather than Celtic Christianity. (How to celebrate holidays such as Easter and perform practices within the Church.)

8th century

YearDateEvent
716Æthelbald becomes King of Mercia, marking the beginning of that kingdom's ascendancy over the other Saxon realms.
730The venerable Bede produced the ecclesiastical history of the English people.
757Offa becomes King of Mercia, to rule until 796.
787The Scandinavian invasion began with raids along the northeast sea coast.
793Vikings raided Lindisfarne.

9th century

YearDateEvent
825Battle of Ellendun: King Egbert of Wessex defeats the Mercians, ending the Mercian Supremacy.
842Vikings raid London, Rochester, and Southampton.
878Battle of Ethandun: A Viking defeat took place which would result in the Treaty of Wedmore and the establishment of the Danelaw.
895A Danish fleet was captured by Alfred the Great.

10th century

YearDateEvent
9105 AugustBattle of Tettenhall
927Æthelstan unites the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy into the Kingdom of England.
937Battle of Brunanburh
980Vikings begin a new wave of raids on England.
99110 AugustBattle of Maldon: Danes defeat the English army. Payment of Danegold.

11th century

YearDateEvent
1016Cnut the Great of Denmark becomes king of all England.
1043Edward the Confessor becomes king of all England.
1055The Great Schism/Split of the Roman Catholic Church
1066 Battle of Fulford: English forces were defeated by Norse invaders in northeastern England.
Battle of Stamford Bridge: The remaining Norse under Harald Hardrada were defeated by the bulk of England's army under the command of its king.
Battle of Hastings: England's remaining forces were defeated by invaders from Normandy. This was known as the Norman Conquest, which caused William the Conqueror to be crowned king of England and permanently changed the English language and culture.
1086Work commenced on the Domesday Book.

12th century

YearDateEvent
1135The Anarchy began, a civil war resulting from a dispute over succession to the throne that lasted until 1153.
1138The Battle of the Standard, an engagement in which the English defeated an invading Scottish army led by King David I.[5]
1164The Constitutions of Clarendon, a set of laws which governed the trial of members of the Catholic Church in England, were issued.
1170Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was assassinated.
1192Crusades: King Richard I was captured by Austrian Duke Leopold V, Duke of Austria while returning from the Holy Land.
1194Richard was ransomed and returned to England.

13th century

YearDateEvent
1209King John was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Innocent III.
1215The Magna Carta was signed.
1237The Treaty of York was signed, fixing the border between Scotland and England.
1264Battle of Lewes: Rebel English barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester defeated King Henry III.
1267Henry recognised the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Gwynedd.
1277England annexed Gwynedd.
1279The Statute of Mortmain was issued.
1287Rhys ap Maredudd led a revolt against English rule in Wales.
1294Madog ap Llywelyn led a revolt against English rule in Wales.
1297Battle of Stirling Bridge: The Scots, led by William Wallace, defeated the English.

14th century

YearDateEvent
130523 AugustWilliam Wallace was executed by the English on a charge of treason.
131423 – 24 JuneBattle of Bannockburn: Scotland won a decisive victory over England.
13281 MayThe Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, under which England recognised Scottish independence, was signed.
1348The Black Death arrived in England.
135619 SeptemberBattle of Poitiers: Second of the three major battles of the Hundred Years' War took place near Poitiers, France.
137316 JuneThe Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 is signed, forming an alliance between England and Portugal, which is still an active treaty to this day.
1381May – JunePeasants' Revolt: Also called Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England led by Wat Tyler.
1395The Statute of Praemunire 1392 was issued.

15th century

YearDateEvent
140321 JulyBattle of Shrewsbury was a battle waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland.[6]
141525 OctoberBattle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War[a]that occurred on Saint Crispin's Day, near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France.
148522 AugustBattle of Bosworth Field (Battle of Bosworth): the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York. Richard III, the last Plantagenet king was killed, succeeded by Henry VII.
148716 JuneBattle of Stoke was the decisive engagement in an attempt by leading Yorkists to unseat Henry VII of England in favour of the pretender Lambert Simnel.

16th century

YearDateEvent
1513Battle of Flodden Field: Invading England, King James IV of Scotland and thousands of other Scots were killed in a defeat at the hands of the English.
1521Lutheran writings begin to circulate in England.
1526Lord Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey ordered the burning of Lutheran books.
1533King Henry VIII severed ties with the Catholic Church and declared himself head of the church in England.
1534Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy.
Henry VIII issued the Treasons Act 1534.
1535Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher were executed.
1536William Tyndale was executed in Antwerp.
Henry VIII issued the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
1549Prayer Book Rebellion: A rebellion occurred in the southwest.
1553The Act Against Sectaries 1553 was issued.
1559The Act of Supremacy 1559 was issued.
1571The Treasons Act 1571 was issued.
The Act Prohibiting Papal Bulls from Rome 1571 was issued.
1585 The Roanoke Colony was founded in the Americas.
15888 AugustThe Spanish Armada was destroyed.
1589The English Armada (or Counter Armada) was defeated by Spain.
1593The Act Against Papists 1593 was issued.

17th century

YearDateEvent
1601 Catholic plot against the Earl of Essex Includes some of the plotters from the gunpowder plot
1603 King James VI of Scotland ascends to the English throne, becoming James I of England and uniting the crowns - but not the parliaments - of the two kingdoms
16055 NovemberGunpowder Plot: A plot in which Guy Fawkes and other Catholic associates conspired to blow up King James VI and I and the Parliament of England was uncovered.
1607 14 May Jamestown was founded in the Virginia Colony and was the first permanent English colony in the Americas.
1611Henry Hudson died.
1618October 29Walter Raleigh was executed.
1639Bishops' Wars: A war with Scotland began which would last until 1640.
1640Long Parliament: The Parliament was convened.
1642The English Civil War began (see timeline of the English Civil War).
1649JanuaryTrial and execution of Charles I
1649Interregnum began with the First Commonwealth
1653 - 1659the Protectorate under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and later (1658) his son Richard Cromwell
1659Second Commonwealth a period of great political instability
1660Restoration of the monarchy: After a chaotic short revival of the Commonwealth of England, the monarchy was restored in May 1660, after agreeing to the Declaration of Breda, largely through the initiative of General George Monck.
16662–5 SeptemberGreat Fire of London : A major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London.
1688Glorious Revolution:[7] Also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of James II by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange).
1692-1693Salem Witch Trials, More than 200 people accused; 20 of which were executed (19 by hanging, 1 being pressed to death). Many accused died in jail awaiting trial.
1694 27 July The Bank of England was founded.

18th century

YearDateEvent
1701The Act of Settlement 1701, which required the English monarch to be Protestant, was passed.
17028 MarchWilliam III died and was succeeded by Anne.
17044 AugustGibraltar was captured by a combined Dutch and English fleet under the command of Admiral of the Fleet George Rooke.
13 AugustBattle of Blenheim: A combined English and Dutch army under the command of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeated the French army in Bavaria.
170622 JulyThe Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland.
1707The Acts of Union 1707 were passed in the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland, ratifying the Treaty of Union.
1 MayThe Kingdom of Great Britain came into being.[8][9][10][11]
171311 AprilSigning of the Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of the Spanish Succession.
17141 AugustQueen Anne dies. Accession of George I, Elector of Hanover.
1719Battle of Glen Shiel: A Spanish invasion force and their Jacobite allies were defeated.
1744An attempted French invasion of southern England was stopped by storms.
1755April 15Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language.
1764The Castle of Otranto was written, which was the first ever story classed as a gothic horror story.
1765William Blackstone published his first volume of Commentaries on the Laws of England.
177519 AprilAmerican War of Independence begins.
1779The world's first iron bridge was built in Shropshire.
17834 SeptemberAmerican War of Independence ends with Treaty of Paris.

19th century

YearDateEvent
1805Naval Battle of Trafalgar 21 October.
1807The Slave Trade Act 1807 was passed.
1815Napoleonic Wars: The Napoleonic Wars ended. Battle of Waterloo on 18 June.
1819Peterloo Massacre: A massacre took place.
1825The Stockton and Darlington railway, the world's first public passenger railway, opened.
1829The Catholic Relief Act 1829 was passed.
1832The Great Reform Act was passed, doubling the franchise.
1834The New Poor Law was passed.
1838The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 entered into force.
The Chartism movement began.
1842The first peacetime income tax was introduced.
1846The Corn Laws were repealed.
1848The Communist Manifesto was published.
The Chartism movement ended.
1859On the Origin of Species was published
1863The first underground train went into operation in London.
1867The 1867 Reform Act doubled the franchise.
1868The last public execution was carried out.
1870The Education Act 1870 was passed, introducing universal education.
Religious dissenters and women were first allowed to enter the Universities of University of Oxford and Cambridge.
1880The Elementary Education Act 1880 was passed, making primary schooling compulsory and extending it to girls.
1884The Reform Act 1885 was passed.
1896The Daily Mail was first published.

20th century

YearDateEvent
19144 AugustWorld War I: Great Britain declares war on Germany.
191811 NovemberWorld War I ended.
19365–31 OctoberThe Jarrow March protest.
1936 10 December King Edward VIII abdicates the throne to over his proposal to marry a divorced American woman.
19393 SeptemberBritish entry into World War II.
19458 MayWorld War II ended in Europe.
19485 JulyThe National Health Service came into being.
19526 FebruaryDeath of King George VI. Accession of Queen Elizabeth II.
196524 JanuaryDeath of Winston Churchill.
196630 JulyEngland wins the FIFA World Cup.
19731 JanuaryJoined European Union.
19794 MayMargaret Thatcher becomes first female Prime Minister.
198221 JuneBirth of Prince William of Wales.
198211 OctoberThe Mary Rose was raised from the seabed.
19946 MayThe Channel Tunnel opened.
1997 31 August Princess Diana dies due to a traffic collision in Paris.

21st century

YearDateEvent
2003The United Kingdom, alongside the USA, invades Iraq. England won the Rugby World Cup defeating Australia on their home soil in extra time 20:17
2004The population of England reaches fifty one million.
20057 JulyA series of co-ordinated terrorist bombings strikes London's public transport system during the morning rush hour, killing more than fifty people and injuring hundreds.
201225 Jul - 12 AugLondon hosts the Olympic Games for the third time.
20159 SeptemberQueen Elizabeth II becomes longest-reigning UK monarch.
201623 JuneThe United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union.
201613 JulyTheresa May becomes the second female Prime Minister of the UK.

See also

City timelines
County timelines

References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 20–22. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
    2. ↑ "Journey Beyond the Edge of the Known World: Making The Eagle". Focus Features.
    3. 1 2 3 British History Timeline, BBC
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 22–24. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
    5. ↑ "The Anarchy: Battle of the Standard". About.
    6. ↑ English Heritage (1995). "English Heritage Battlefield Report: Shrewsbury 1403" (PDF). Retrieved 22 Aug 2011.
    7. ↑ Name of the Glorious Revolution in the languages of Britain and Ireland:
    8. ↑ Acts of Union 1707 parliament.uk, accessed 13 September 2011
    9. ↑ Making the Act of Union 1707 scottish.parliament.uk, accessed 13 September 2011
    10. ↑ England – Profile BBC, 13 September 2011
    11. ↑ The Creation of the United Kingdom of great britain in 1707 Archived 15 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Historical Association, accessed 13 September 2011

    Further reading

    • George Henry Townsend (1867), "England", A Manual of Dates (2nd ed.), London: Frederick Warne & Co.
    • Charles E. Little (1900), "Great Britain and Ireland", Cyclopedia of Classified Dates, New York: Funk & Wagnalls
    • Benjamin Vincent (1910), "England", Haydn's Dictionary of Dates (25th ed.), London: Ward, Lock & Co.
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