1373 Anglo-Portuguese Alliance between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal is the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force.
1715 "Edmund Halley's" total solar eclipse (the last one visible in London, United Kingdom for almost 900 years).
1744 The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iriquois ceded lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, is signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
1745 British troops take Cape Breton Island, which is now part of Nova Scotia, Canada.
1747 A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the first battle of Cape Finisterre.
1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham: British defeat French near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War.
1761 The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
1770 Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including a black man named Crispus Attucks, and a boy, are killed by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later.
1771 Spain cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to the United Kingdom.
1776 American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
1777 After his defeat on October 7, 1777, British General John Burgoyne's Army at The Battles of Saratoga become surrounded by superior numbers, setting the stage for its surrender{{mdash}}which feat of arms inspires the Kingdom of France to enter the American Revolutionary War against the British.
1778 American Revolutionary War: 3,500 British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia without firing a shot.
1779 American Revolution: a squadron commanded by John Paul Jones on board the {{USS|Bonhomme Richard|1765|6}} wins the Battle of Flamborough Head, off the coast of England, against two British warships.
1782 Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.
1783 A huge fireball meteor is seen across the United Kingdom as it passes over the east coast.
1793 French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
1795 The first occupation by United Kingdom of Cape Colony, South Africa with the Battle of Hout Bay, after successive victories at the Battle of Muizenberg and Wynberg, after William V requested protection against revolutionary France's occupation of the Netherlands.
1797 Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby.
1801 The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis in Egypt.
1803 Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
1805 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain under Admiral Villeneuve. It signals almost the end of French maritime power and leaves Britain's navy unchallenged until the twentieth century.
1806 Cape Colony becomes a British colony.
1806 Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrender to the British.
1806 The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
1808 Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
1809 The Non-Intercourse Act, lifting the Embargo Act except for the United Kingdom and France, is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1812 U.S. President James Madison enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
1812 War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
1812 War of 1812: The U.S. Congress declares war on the United Kingdom.
1812 War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: {{HMS|Detroit|1812|6}} and HMS ''Caledonia''.
1813 ''Pride and Prejudice'' is first published in the United Kingdom.
1813 British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York during the War of 1812.
1814 The Convention of London, a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United Provinces, is signed in London.
1814 British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings.
1814 Battle of North Point: an American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812.
1814 In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British fail to capture Baltimore, Maryland.
1815 Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.
1819 The U.S. vessel ''SS Savannah'' arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey is made under sail.
1822 Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
1824 Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
1824 The "National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck" is founded in the United Kingdom, later to be renamed The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1858.
1825 The British Parliament abolishes feudalism and the seigneurial system in British North America.
1828 Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by Great Britain between Brazil and Argentina during the Argentina-Brazil War.
1829 Charles Fremantle arrives in the ''HMS Challenger'' off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
1829 In the face of fierce opposition, British governor Lord William Bentinck issues a regulation declaring that all who abet suttee in India are guilty of culpable homicide.
1833 The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire.
1834 The British colonies abolish slavery.
1837 The Patriots of Lower Canada (Quebec) rebel against the British for freedom.
1839 The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing 3-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.
1840 Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony.
1840 The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
1841 Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
1841 The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes.
1841 The Sultan of Brunei cedes Sarawak to the United Kingdom.
1843 Ka Lā Hui: Hawaiian Independence Day – The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France as an independent nation.
1846 The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
1846 Neptune is discovered by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams; the discovery is verified by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.
1849 Corn Laws are abolished in the United Kingdom (following legislation in 1846).
1849 The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
1852 The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.
1854 The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1854 Crimean War: The United Kingdom declares war on Russia.
1854 Battle of Alma: British and French troops defeat Russians in the Crimea.
1857 Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
1859 British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
1859 Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
1860 In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
1860 The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, HMS ''Warrior'' is launched.
1861 The United Kingdom annexes Lagos, Nigeria.
1861 American Civil War: The "Trent Affair" – The USS San Jacinto stops the United Kingdom mail ship Trent and arrests two Confederate envoys, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the UK and US.
1861 American Civil War: The ''Trent Affair'': Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and Britain.
1863 The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
1866 In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1868 At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two die from the British/Indian troops.
1868 The Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala.
1872 The crewless American ship ''Mary Celeste'' is found by the British brig ''Dei Gratia'' (the ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged).
1874 Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.
1877 The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
1878 Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
1879 Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
1882 The British Mediterranean fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.
1884 Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
1885 The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland.
1892 Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
1893 The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45) between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.
1896 Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history.
1899 Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
1899 The Boers begin their 118 day siege of British held Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.
1900 The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
1900 The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces during the Second Boer War resulted in a British defeat.
1900 The United States and the United Kingdom sign a treaty for the Panama Canal
1900 British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
1900 Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje at the Battle of Paardeberg.
1900 Second Boer War: British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.
1900 Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
1900 Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
1900 Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
1900 The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
1901 Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.
1902 Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
1904 The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina, the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.
1904 British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of ''The Book of the Law''.
1910 George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII.
1912 The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) is established in the United Kingdom.
1913 The United Kingdom's House of Lords rejects the Irish Home Rule Bill.
1914 World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declare their neutrality.
1914 World War I: in Belgium, British and German troops clash for the first time in the war.
1914 World War I: the first British Royal Navy defeat of the war with Germany, the Battle of Coronel, is fought off of the western coast of Chile, in the Pacific, with the loss of HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth.
1914 World War I: Known as the Christmas truce, German and British troops on the Western Front temporarily cease fire.
1915 World War I: Massive naval attack in Battle of Gallipoli. Three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles.
1915 World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium
1916 Easter Rebellion: The United Kingdom declare martial law in Ireland.
1916 World War I: The British 6th Indian Division surrenders to Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Kut in one of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
1917 World War I: The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.
1917 The first U.S. troops arrive in France to fight alongside Britain, France, Italy, and Russia against Germany, and Austria-Hungary in World War I.
1917 World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends: British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.
1917 World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins – British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are later pushed back.
1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India. At least 1200 wounded.
1919 Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British.
1919 Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.
1921 The British install the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali (leader of the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire) as King Faisal I of Iraq.
1922 The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
1922 The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.
1922 In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
1922 The BBC begins radio service in the United Kingdom.
1924 British explorer Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.
1924 The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR.
1926 UK General Strike 1926: In the United Kingdom, a nine-day general strike by trade unions ends.
1927 Treaty of Jedda: the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1930 Mahatma Gandhi leads a 200-mile march, known as the ''Dandi March'', to the sea in defiance of British opposition, to protest the British monopoly on salt.
1930 The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
1931 Resignation of the United Kingdom's Second Labour Government. Formation of the UK National Government.
1932 Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1934 The driving test is introduced in the United Kingdom.
1935 The Daventry Experiment, Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom.
1935 The first driving tests are introduced in the United Kingdom.
1937 Aden becomes a British crown colony.
1938 At 2:00 am, Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
1939 World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies.
1939 World War II: A German U-boat ''U 29'' sinks the British aircraft carrier {{HMS|Courageous|50|6}}.
1940 World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1940 World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
1940 World War II: 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
1940 World War II: the United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations.
1940 World War II: The Battle of Britain ends – the United Kingdom prevents a German invasion.
1940 The German cruiser ''Atlantis'' captures top secret British mail, and sends it to Japan.
1941 World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands.
1941 World War II: The Italian convoy ''Duisburg'', directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
1941 World War II: concerned that Reza Pahlavi the Shah of Persia is about to ally his petroleum-rich empire with Nazi Germany during World War II, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union invade Iran in late August and force the Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
1941 World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union during the Continuation War.
1942 World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand to the decision of war declaration against the United States and United Kingdom .
1942 World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
1942 World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Thailand.
1942 World War II: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. The Sook Ching massacre begins.
1942 World War II: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. The Sook Ching massacre begins.
1942 World War II: In occupied France, British naval forces raid the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire.
1942 Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
1942 Holocaust: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews.
1943 World War II: The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China.
1943 World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set Monday, May 1, 1944 as the date for the Normandy landings ("D-Day"). It would later be delayed over a month due to bad weather.
1943 British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation the downing was an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
1943 World War II: The British destroyers {{HMS|Eclipse|H08|6}} and {{HMS|Laforey|G99|6}} sink the Italian submarine ''Ascianghi'' in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser {{HMS|Newfoundland|59|6}}.
1943 World War II: Operation Gomorrah begins: British and Canadian aeroplanes bomb Hamburg by night, those of the Americans by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives will have killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
1943 World War II: The U.S. Seventh Army under General George S. Patton arrives in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.
1944 World War II: the British 11th Armoured Division liberates the Belgian city of Antwerp.
1944 World War II: The British submarine {{HMS|Tradewind}} torpedoes Junyō Maru, 5,600 killed.
1944 World War II: A German V-2 rocket hits a Woolworth's shop on New Cross High Street, United Kingdom, killing 168 shoppers.
1945 World War II: British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge.
1945 World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony.
1945 World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers.
1945 In the United Kingdom, Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth II, joins the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service as a driver.
1945 Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers. 5,000 are killed.
1945 World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
1945 World War II: Canadian and UK troops liberate the Netherlands and Denmark from Nazi occupation when Wehrmacht troops capitulate
1945 World War II: The Channel Islands are liberated by the British after five years of German occupation.
1945 World War II: The Flensburg government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
1946 Mensa International is founded in the United Kingdom.
1947 The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after the World War II, merge to form the Bizone, that later became the Federal Republic of Germany.
1947 New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.
1948 Burma regains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1948 Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
1950 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response.
1950 The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park.
1952 The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free".
1952 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.
1952 The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon.
1953 Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by Kenya's British rulers.
1955 In the United Kingdom, the television channel ITV goes live for the first time.
1955 The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.
1955 Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
1956 The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
1956 Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
1956 Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt.
1957 The "Toddlers' Truce", a controversial television close down between 6.00pm and 7.00pm is abolished in the United Kingdom.
1957 United Kingdom colonies Gold Coast and British Togoland become the independent Republic of Ghana.
1957 At Malden Island in the Pacific, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple. The device fails to detonate properly.
1957 The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1957 The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident.
1957 Operation Grapple X, Round C1: Britain conducts its first successful hydrogen bomb test over Kiritimati in the Pacific.
1958 Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, (LGW) in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom.
1958 Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
1958 The Preston bypass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
1959 The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is then formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
1959 Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the U.S.A., the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.
1959 The first section of the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway in the United Kingdom, is opened between the present junctions 5 and 18, along with the M10 motorway and M45 motorway
1960 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
1960 The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gains its independence as Somaliland .
1960 Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1960 Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1960 Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
1960 The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
1961 Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom, with Milton Margai as the first Prime Minister.
1961 Kuwait declares independence from the United Kingdom.
1963 The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
1963 The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
1963 The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
1963 Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1964 The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
1964 Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony)
1965 In the United Kingdom, a 70mph speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time. Previously, there had been no speed limit.
1966 The British protectorate of Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana. Seretse Khama takes office as the first President.
1966 Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.
1966 Barbados becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1967 Dominica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1967 UK Marine Broadcasting Offences Act declares participation in offshore pirate radio illegal.
1967 The Hither Green rail crash in the United Kingdom kills 49 people. The survivors include Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees.
1967 The United Kingdom government devalued the Pound sterling from $2.80 to £2.40.
1969 The {{convert|385|m|ft}} tall TV-mast at Emley Moor, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up.
1969 British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland.
1969 The United Kingdom introduces the British fifty-pence coin, which replaced, over the following years, the British ten-shilling note, in anticipation of the decimalization of the British currency in 1971, and the abolition of the shilling as a unit of currency anywhere in the world. (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, etc., had already abolished the shilling in favor of a decimal currency with exactly 100 pence per pound sterling or dollar, whichever was applicable.}
1970 A British airliner is hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and flown to Dawson's Field in Jordan.
1970 The first Glastonbury Festival is held at Michael Eavis's farm in Glastonbury, United Kingdom.
1970 Montreal, Quebec: British Trade Commissioner James Cross is kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group, triggering the October Crisis.
1971 Eighty-seven countries, including the US, UK, and USSR, sign the Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in international waters.
1971 Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1971 Britain launches its first satellite, Prospero, into low Earth orbit atop a Black Arrow carrier rocket.
1972 The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest at Bloody Sunday.
1972 The United Kingdom imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland.
1972 The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout Britain.
1973 Denmark, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are admitted into the European Community.
1973 A British Vanguard turboprop crashes during a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland killing 104.
1973 In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey.
1974 Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1974 In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties come into being.
1974 Turkish occupation of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a "coup d' etat", organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios. NATO's Council praises the United States and the United Kingdom for attempts to settle the dispute. Syria and Egypt put their militaries on alert.
1975 The Dibble's Bridge coach crash near Grassington, North Yorkshire, England kills 32 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
1976 The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
1976 Christopher Ewart-Biggs British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
1977 'Vrillon', claiming to be the representative of the 'Ashtar Galactic Command', takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes at 5:12 PM.
1978 The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
1978 Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1978 Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1979 An IRA bomb kills British World War II admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and 3 others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Another bomb near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland kills 18 British soldiers.
1981 British television: on ''Coronation Street'', Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton, which proves to be a national event scoring massive viewer numbers for the show.
1981 Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.
1982 Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.
1982 The United Kingdom sends a naval task force to the south Atlantic to reclaim the disputed Falkland Islands from Argentina.
1982 Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS ''Sheffield'' (D80) is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
1982 Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
1982 The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street. He survives but is permanently paralysed.
1982 The Falklands War ends: Argentine forces in the capital Stanley unconditionally surrender to British forces.
1984 The Sultanate of Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
1984 6,000 miners in the United Kingdom begin their strike at Cortonwood Colliery.
1984 The United Kingdom agrees to the handover of Hong Kong
1984 Under the Brussels Agreement signed between the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain, the former agreed to enter into discussions with Spain over Gibraltar, including sovereignty.
1984 The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People's Republic of China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997 is signed in Beijing by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher.
1985 The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.
1986 Israeli secret nuclear weapons are revealed. The British newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' runs Mordechai Vanunu's story on its front page under the headline: "Revealed — the secrets of Israel's nuclear arsenal".
1986 Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow. After the verdict, the United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, claiming that Hindawi is helped by Syrian officials.
1986 The British government suddenly deregulates financial markets, leading to a total restructuring of the way in which they operate in the country, in an event now referred to as the Big Bang.
1986 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway.
1987 The British ferry {{MS|Herald of Free Enterprise}} capsizes in about 90 seconds killing 193.
1988 Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.
1989 Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a row over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel.
1990 Customs officers in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, say they have seized what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
1990 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her premiership.
1991 American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.
1992 John Major's Conservative Party wins an unprecedented fourth general election victory in the United Kingdom.
1992 Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.
1993 Virgin Radio broadcasts for the first time in the United Kingdom.
1995 Space Shuttle astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and first Briton, respectively, to perform spacewalks.
1995 The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a securities broker, Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
1996 The European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
1997 The United Kingdom transfers sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.
1997 The People's Republic of China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule.
1997 After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament, within the United Kingdom.
1997 The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ''ThrustSSC'' (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere.
1997 The United Kingdom commences its Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, which extends the state's gun ban to include all handguns -- with the exception of antique and show weapons.
1998 First RFID human implantation tested in the United Kingdom.
1998 Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones.
1999 The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries - members of NATO (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
1999 Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament.
1999 The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive.
2000 The Big Number Change takes place in the United Kingdom.
2002 A scandal breaks out in the United Kingdom when news reports accuse MI6 of sheltering Abu Qatada, the supposed European Al Qaeda leader.
2002 Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering ''Wall Street Journal'' reporter Daniel Pearl.
2002 Soham murders: 10 year old school girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells go missing from the town of Soham, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.
2002 British Digital terrestrial television (DTT) Service Freeview begins transmitting in parts of the United Kingdom.
2003 The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.
2003 In the United Kingdom, the Local Government Act 2003, repealing controversial anti-gay amendment Section 28, becomes effective.
2003 After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul Bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate.
2005 The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.
2006 The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the "British FBI", is created in the United Kingdom.
2006 Scotland Yard disrupts a major terrorist plot to destroy aircraft traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States.
2006 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London, United Kingdom, commemorating the loss of soldiers from the New Zealand Army and the British Army.