1908 in the United Kingdom
| 1908 in the United Kingdom |
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Events from the year 1908 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
- Monarch – Edward VII
- Prime Minister
- Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal) (until 3 April)
- H. H. Asquith (Liberal) (starting 5 April)
- Parliament – 28th
Events
- 1 January
- Nimrod Expedition: Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the Nimrod for Antarctica.
- Harry Bensley leaves for his would-be trip around the world pushing a pram and wearing an iron mask, beginning from Trafalgar Square in London.
- 22 January – Arthur Henderson becomes the second leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Keir Hardie.[1]
- 24 January – start of publication of Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys in London. The book will over time sell over 100 million copies and effectively begin the worldwide Boy Scout movement.
- 15 February – weekly boys' story paper The Magnet is first published in London, containing "The Making of Harry Wharton", the first serial story of the fictional Greyfriars School written by Charles Hamilton as Frank Richards and introducing the character of Billy Bunter.
- March – first edition of The Children's Encyclopædia in fortnightly parts begins publication in London.
- 1 April – the Territorial Force of the British Army is established[2] by merger of the civilian-organised Volunteer Force with the Yeomanry; and remaining units of the militia are transferred into the regular Special Reserve.[3]
- 7 April – Campbell-Bannerman resigns as Prime Minister on the grounds of health; replaced by Asquith.[2]
- 8 April – David Lloyd George becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Winston Churchill enters the Cabinet for the first time, as President of the Board of Trade.[2]
- 18 April – Manchester United secure the Football League First Division title, the first major trophy of their history.
- 1 May–31 October – Scottish National Exhibition is held in Edinburgh[4]
- 11 May – foundation stone of the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool is laid.[5]
- 24 May (Empire Day) – formation of the 1st Arundel (Earl of Arundel's Own) Scout Group (traditionally accepted date although Scouting was probably active in Arundel prior to this).
- 26 May–October – Franco-British Exhibition held at what becomes known as White City, London.
- 21 June – first large suffragette rally, in London.[2]
- July – Allied Artists' Association holds its first exhibition, at the Royal Albert Hall.
- 13–25 July – 1908 Summer Olympics held at the White City Stadium as part of the Franco-British Exhibition and of a festival of sport beginning on 14 May. The marathon (beginning at Windsor) is run on 24 July and the Winter Olympics are held here on 19–31 October.[5] The Great Britain and Ireland team win 56 gold, 51 silver and 39 bronze medals.
- 31 July – Irish Universities Act receives Royal Assent in Parliament. This provides for establishment of the federal National University of Ireland based in Dublin and the Queen's University of Belfast.[6]
- 10 September – the first Minas Geraes-class Dreadnought battleship for Brazil, Minas Geraes is launched at Armstrong Whitworth's yard on the River Tyne.
- 31 August–2 September – the Great Storm of 1908 pounds the Bristol Channel.[7]
- October
- Edith Morley is made Professor of English at University College, Reading, the first woman appointed to a chair at an English university-level institution.[8]
- First Ideal Home Exhibition held, at Olympia (London) sponsored by the Daily Mail newspaper.
- 16 October – American-born Samuel F. Cody makes the first powered fixed-wing aircraft flight in Britain, taking off at the School of Ballooning, Farnborough, Hampshire, in British Army Aeroplane No 1.[2][9]
- November
- Horace, Eustace and Oswald Short found Short Brothers, the first aircraft manufacturing company in England, in Battersea, London.
- The North and South Wales Bank is absorbed into the London City and Midland Bank, bringing an end to banknote issue in Wales.[10]
- 14 November – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson is the first woman in England to be elected as a mayor (of Aldeburgh).
- 3 December – the first performance of Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 is given by the Hallé in Manchester's Free Trade Hall.
- 10 December – the National Farmers' Union is founded.[5]
- 21 December – royal assent given to the following Acts of Parliament:
- Children Act – comes into force 1909, q.v.[11]
- Prevention of Crime Act – regularises national provision of Borstals.
Undated
- Walter Sickert paints the series of problem pictures The Camden Town Murder.[12]
- John Hassall paints the first version of the Jolly Fisherman poster (slogan: Skegness is SO bracing).[13]
- Punishment of Incest Act makes incest a civil crime for the first time.[11]
- Bisto gravy powder is first marketed.[14]
- Vimto is invented by John Noel Nichols in Manchester. Originally sold under the name Vimtonic, Nichols shortens it to Vimto in 1912.
Publications
- Robert Baden-Powell's book Scouting for Boys.
- G. K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday and his book Orthodoxy.
- W. H. Davies' autobiography The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp.
- E. M. Forster's novel A Room with a View.
- Kenneth Grahame's children's novel The Wind in the Willows.
- E. Nesbit's children's novel The House of Arden.
- H. De Vere Stacpoole's novel The Blue Lagoon.[15]
Births
- 7 January – Frederick Gibberd, architect (died 1984)
- 8 January – William Hartnell, actor (died 1975)
- 24 January – Duncan Sandys, politician (died 1987)
- 30 January – Richard Hearne ("Mr Pastry"), comic performer (died 1979)
- 5 February – Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twin actresses (died 1969)
- 11 February – Vivian Fuchs, geologist and explorer (died 1999)
- 22 February – John Mills, actor (died 2005)
- 29 February – A. L. Lloyd, folk song collector (died 1982)
- 5 March – Rex Harrison, actor (died 1990)
- 12 March – Ida Crowe Pollock, writer (died 2013)
- 19 March – George Rodger, photojournalist (died 1995)
- 20 March – Michael Redgrave, actor (died 1985)
- 25 March
- David Lean, film director (died 1991)
- Bridget D'Oyly Carte, head of D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (died 1985)
- 27 March – Semprini, musician (died 1990)
- 11 April – Dan Maskell, tennis coach and commentator (died 1992)
- 14 May – Amy Jagger, gymnast (died 1993)
- 26 May – Robert Morley, actor (died 1992)
- 28 May – Ian Fleming, writer (died 1964)
- 30 May – Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, peer and Earl Marshal (died 1975)
- 1 June – Percy Edwards, animal impersonator (died 1996)
- 30 June – Winston Graham, writer (died 2003)
- 9 July – Ian Mikardo, politician (died 1993)
- 25 July – Bill Bowes, cricketer (died 1987)
- 27 July – Hugh Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Putney, politician (died 2004)
- 4 August – Osbert Lancaster, cartoonist (died 1986)
- 12 August – David Renton, politician (died 2007)
- 21 August – M. M. Kaye, writer (died 2004)
- 23 August – Hannah Frank, artist and sculptor (died 2008)
- 31 August – Kenneth Gandar-Dower, sportsman, aviator, explorer and author (died 1944)
- 6 September
- Louis Essen, physicist (died 1997)
- Anthony Wagner, herald at the College of Arms (died 1995)
- 12 September – Reginald C. Fuller, Roman Catholic priest and writer (died 2011)
- 19 October – Sydney MacEwan, singer (died 1990)
- 2 November – Fred Bakewell, cricketer (died 1983)
- 20 November – Alistair Cooke, journalist (died 2004)
- 26 November – Charles Forte, businessman (died 2007)
- 18 December – Celia Johnson, actress (died 1982)
- 25 December – Quentin Crisp, writer and raconteur (died 1999)
Deaths
- 25 January – Ouida, novelist (born 1839; died in Italy)
- 28 January – Sidney Paget, illustrator (born 1860)
- 22 March – John William Crombie, Scottish woollen manufacturer and politician (born 1858)
- 20 April – Henry Chadwick, baseball writer and historian (born 1824; died in the United States)
- 22 April – Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister (born 1836)
- 31 May – Sir John Evans, archaeologist (born 1823)
- 2 June
- Sir Redvers Buller, general, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1839)
- William Napier, soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1828)
- 22 July – William Randal Cremer, politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (born 1828)
- 25 August – Eyre Massey Shaw, first Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (London) (born 1828 in Ireland)
- 31 August – Leslie Green, architect (born 1875)
- 21 September – Sir Arnold Burrowes Kemball, general and diplomat (born 1820)
- 16 October – Joseph Leycester Lyne (Father Ignatius of Jesus), Anglican Benedictine abbot (born 1837)
- 8 November – William Edward Ayrton, physicist and electrical engineer (born 1847)
- 17 November – Lydia Thompson, dancer, actress (born 1838)
- 1 December – Howell Jones, Welsh rugby union player (born 1882)
See also
References
- "Leaders of the Labour Party". election.demon. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 340–341. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907.
- "1908 Scottish". Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
- O'Reilly, Aidan (Autumn 2002). "The role of Archbishop Walsh in the resolution of the Irish University Question" (PDF). Irish Educational Studies. 21 (2): 1–11. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- Carradice, Phil (31 August 2010). "The great storm of 1908". BBC Wales. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- Law, Cheryl (2004). "Morley, Edith Julia (1875–1964)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 February 2011. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- "Samuel Cody 100 years on". Royal Aeronautical Society. 2007. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- "HSBC – its history in Wales". HSBC. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- Batty, David (18 May 2005). "Timeline: a history of child protection". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- Januszczak, Waldemar (4 November 2007). "Walter Sickert – murderous monster or sly self-promoter?". The Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- "Official Skegness Jolly Fisherman website". Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- "About Bisto". Aah! Bisto. Premier Foods. 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
- Leavis, Q. D. (1965). Fiction and the Reading Public (rev. ed.). London: Chatto & Windus.
See also
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