1939 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Events from the year 1939 in the United Kingdom
. This year sees the start of World War II
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This year sees the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Incumbents
- Monarch – King George VIGeorge VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
- Prime Minister – Neville ChamberlainNeville ChamberlainArthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, national coalition
Events
- 16 January – Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
bombs explode in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Alnwick, opening its 'S-PlanS-PlanThe S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army . It was conceived by Seamus O'Donovan in 1938 at the...
' campaign. - 25 February – First Anderson shelter built in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 27 February – Borley RectoryBorley RectoryBorley Rectory was a Victorian era mansion located in the village of Borley, Essex, England. It was constructed in 1863, on the site of a previous rectory, and destroyed by fire in 1939....
, a reputed haunted house, destroyed by fire. - 31 March – Britain pledges support to PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in the event of an invasion. - 11 April – Women's Royal Naval ServiceWomen's Royal Naval ServiceThe Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...
re-established. - 27 April – Military Training Act (coming into force 3 June) introduces conscriptionConscriptionConscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
; men aged 20 and 21 must undertake six months military training. - May–September – The Sutton HooSutton HooSutton Hoo, near to Woodbridge, in the English county of Suffolk, is the site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries. One contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, now held in the British...
treasure – an Anglo-Saxon ship burial – is excavated. The principal treasure is presented to the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
by the landowner, Edith PrettyEdith Pretty-Early life:Pretty was born at Elland, Yorkshire on 1 August 1883, the younger of two daughters of Robert and Elizabeth Dempster. The Dempsters were industrialists who amassed considerable wealth from the manufacture of equipment related to the gas industry...
, at this time its largest ever gift from a living donor. - 6 May – Dorothy GarrodDorothy GarrodDorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod CBE was a British archaeologist who was the first woman to hold an Oxbridge chair, partly through her pioneering work on the Palaeolithic period. Her father was Sir Archibald Garrod, the physician.-Life:Born in Oxford, she attended Newnham College, Cambridge...
is elected to the Disney Professorship of ArchaeologyDisney Professorship of ArchaeologyThe Disney Professorship of Archaeology, also known as the Disney Chair, is a professorship in the University of Cambridge. It was endowed with a donation of £1,000 by John Disney in 1851, followed by a further £3,500 in a bequest at his death...
in the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, the first woman to hold an OxbridgeOxbridgeOxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
chair. - 15 May – Film Goodbye, Mr. ChipsGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric...
released. - 17 May – King George VIGeorge VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth arrive in Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
to begin the first-ever visit to CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by British sovereigns. - 1 June – SubmarineSubmarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
HMS ThetisHMS Thetis (N25)HMS Thetis was a Group 1 T-class submarine of the Royal Navy which served under two names. Under her first identity, HMS Thetis, she commenced sea trials on 4 March 1939. She sank during trials on 1 June 1939 with the loss of 99 lives...
sinks during trials in Liverpool BayLiverpool BayLiverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence...
. 99 men are lost. - 7 June – George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on the first visit to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by a reigning monarch. - 28 June – Women's Auxiliary Air ForceWomen's Auxiliary Air ForceThe Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
created, absorbing the forty-eight RAFRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
companies of the Auxiliary Territorial ServiceAuxiliary Territorial ServiceThe Auxiliary Territorial Service was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War...
which had been formed since 1938. - 30 June – The Mersey FerryMersey FerryThe Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century, and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.The current fleet consists of...
stops running to Rock FerryRock FerryRock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire...
. - 1 July – Women's Land ArmyWomen's Land ArmyThe Women's Land Army was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls...
re-formed to work in agricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. - 26 July – The Barber Institute of Fine ArtsBarber Institute of Fine ArtsThe Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham....
at the University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, designed by Robert AtkinsonRobert Atkinson (architect)Robert Atkinson, OBE was an English architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for C.E. Mallows from 1905...
, is officially opened by Queen MaryMary of TeckMary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. - 5 August – Weekly transatlantic flights scheduled by Imperial AirwaysImperial AirwaysImperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
; suspended in September. - 24 August – Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939The Emergency Powers Act 1939 was emergency legislation passed just prior to the outbreak of World War II by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enable the British Government to take up emergency powers to prosecute the war effectively...
gives full authority to 'defence regulations'. ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
recalled, Army reservistsMilitary reserve forceA military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
called up and Civil Defence workers placed on alert. - 25 August – Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
bomb explodes in CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, killing 25. - 30 August
- Evacuation of children from major UK cities begins.
- Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
proceeds to war stations.
- late August – Most paintings evacuated from the National GalleryNational galleryThe National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...
in London to WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. - 1 September
- BlackoutBlackout (wartime)A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...
imposed across Britain. - The ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
is officially mobilised. - The BBC Home ServiceBBC Home ServiceThe BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
begins broadcasting.
- Blackout
- 3 September – World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- The UK declares war on GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
following the German invasion of PolandInvasion of Poland (1939)The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
on September 1. Shortly after 11.00, Chamberlain announces this news on BBC RadioBBC RadioBBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, speaking from 10 Downing Street. Twenty minutes later, air raid sirenCivil defense sirenA civil defense siren is a mechanical or electronic device for generating sound to...
s sound in London (a false alarm). Chamberlain creates a small War CabinetWar CabinetA War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
which includes Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
as First Lord of the Admiralty. - General mobilisation of the armed services begins.
- National Service (Armed Forces) ActNational Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939The National Service Act 1939 was enacted immediately by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on the day the United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, at the start of the Second World War. It superseded the Military Training Act 1939 passed in May that year, and enforced full...
passed by Parliament introduces National ServiceNational serviceNational service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
for all men aged 18 to 41. - British linerOcean linerAn ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
SS AtheniaSS AtheniaThe S.S. Athenia was the first British ship to be sunk by Nazi Germany in World War II.-Description:Athenia was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Ltd., and was launched at Govan, Scotland in 1923. She was built for Anchor-Donaldson Ltd.'s route between Britain and Canada...
becomes the first civilian casualty of the war when she is torpedoTorpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed and sunk by German submarine U-30 between RockallRockallRockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office....
and Tory IslandTory IslandToraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...
. Of the 1,418 aboard, 98 passengers and 19 crew are killed.
- The UK declares war on Germany
- 4 September – First raid by Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
on German shipping takes place. - 5 September – National Registration Act.
- 9 September – British Expeditionary ForceBritish Expeditionary Force (World War II)The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
crosses to France. - 18 September – Fascist politician William JoyceWilliam JoyceWilliam Joyce , nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an Irish-American fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He was hanged for treason by the British as a result of his wartime activities, even though he had renounced his British nationality...
begins broadcasting Nazi propaganda under the name Lord Haw-HawLord Haw-HawLord Haw-Haw was the nickname of several announcers on the English-language propaganda radio programme Germany Calling, broadcast by Nazi German radio to audiences in Great Britain on the medium wave station Reichssender Hamburg and by shortwave to the United States...
. - 19 September – Popular radio comedy show It's That Man AgainIt's That Man AgainIt's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
with Tommy HandleyTommy HandleyThomas Reginald "Tommy" Handley was a British comedian, mainly known for the BBC radio programme ITMA . He was born at Toxteth Park, Liverpool in Lancashire....
first broadcast on the BBC Home service, following trial broadcasts from 12 July. Known as "ITMA", it runs for ten years. - 24 September – Petrol rationingRationingRationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
introduced. - 27 September – First war tax is revealed by the CabinetCabinet of the United KingdomThe Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
, including a significant rise in income taxIncome taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
es. - 29 September – National Register of citizens compiled to support the introduction of identity cards and rationing.
- 30 September – Identity cards introduced.
- 1 October – Call-Up Proclamation: All men aged 20–21 must register with the military authorities.
- 14 October – HMS Royal OakHMS Royal Oak (1914)HMS Royal Oak was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw action at the Battle of Jutland. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, more than once coming under accidental attack...
sunk by a German U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
in Scapa FlowScapa Flowright|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, Orkney IslandsOrkney IslandsOrkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
. - 17 October – First bomb lands in the UK, at HoyHoyHoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland. With an area of it is the second largest in the archipelago after the Mainland. It is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to South Walls...
in the Orkney Islands. - 21 October – Registration of men aged 20 to 23 for National Service begins.
- 8 November – Venlo IncidentVenlo IncidentThe Venlo Incident was a covert German Sicherheitsdienst engineered capture of two British SIS agents on 9 November 1939....
: Two British agents of SISSecret Intelligence ServiceThe Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
are captured by the Germans. - 24 November – British Overseas Airways CorporationBritish Overseas Airways CorporationThe British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
formed by merger of Imperial AirwaysImperial AirwaysImperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
and British Airways Ltd.British Airways Ltd.British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–39. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd , and Hillman's Airways... - December – Pilgrim TrustPilgrim TrustThe Pilgrim Trust is a London-based charitable trust. It was founded in 1930 by a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. The trust's first secretary was former civil servant, Thomas Jones....
establishes Committee for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, predecessor of the Arts CouncilArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
. - 13 December- The Battle of the River PlateBattle of the River PlateThe Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War. The German pocket battleship had been commerce raiding since the start of the war in September 1939...
takes place between the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the German battleship, Admiral Graf Spee.
Publications
- H. E. BatesH. E. BatesHerbert Ernest Bates, CBE , better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer and author. His best-known works include Love for Lydia, The Darling Buds of May, and My Uncle Silas.-Early life:...
' short story collection My Uncle SilasMy Uncle SilasMy Uncle Silas is a book of short stories about a bucolic elderly Bedfordshire man, written by H.E. Bates and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone.-Inspiration:...
. - Joyce CareyJoyce CareyJoyce Carey, OBE was a British actress, best known for her long professional and personal relationship with Noël Coward. Her stage career lasted from 1916 until 1984, and she was performing on television in her nineties. Though never a star, she was a familiar face both on stage and screen...
's novel Mister JohnsonMister JohnsonMister Johnson is a 1990 American drama film based on the 1939 novel by Joyce Cary. The film was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival, where Maynard Eziashi won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.The film was shot in Toro, Nigeria...
. - James Hadley ChaseJames Hadley ChaseJames Hadley Chase is the best-known pseudonym of the British writer Rene Brabazon Raymond who also wrote under the names James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant, and Raymond Marshall. Chase is one of the best known thriller writers of all time...
's thriller No Orchids for Miss Blandish. - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's novels Murder is EasyMurder is EasyMurder is Easy is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on June 5, 1939 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in September of the same year under the title of Easy to Kill...
and Ten Little NiggersAnd Then There Were NoneAnd Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
. - Henry GreenHenry GreenHenry Green was the nom de plume of Henry Vincent Yorke , an English author best remembered for the novel Loving, which was featured by Time in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.- Biography :Green was born near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, into an educated family...
's novel Party GoingParty Going (novel)Party Going is a 1939 novel by British writer Henry Green .It tells the story of a group of wealthy people travelling by train to a house party. Due to fog, however, the train is much delayed and the group takes rooms in the adjacent large railway hotel...
. - Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
's novel After Many a SummerAfter Many a SummerAfter Many a Summer is a novel by Aldous Huxley that tells the story of a Hollywood millionaire who fears his impending death; it was published in the United States as After Many a Summer Dies the Swan...
. - Richard LlewellynRichard LlewellynRichard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd , better known by his pen name Richard Llewellyn, was a Welsh novelist.Llewellyn Richard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd (8 December 1906 – 30 November 1983), better known by his pen name Richard Llewellyn, was a Welsh novelist.Llewellyn Richard Dafydd...
's novel How Green Was My ValleyHow Green Was My ValleyHow Green Was My Valley is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, telling the story through narration of the main character, of his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed to have based the book on his own knowledge of the Gilfach Goch area, but this was proven...
. - Jan StrutherJan StrutherJan Struther was the pen name of Joyce Anstruther, later Joyce Maxtone Graham and finally Joyce Placzek , an English writer remembered for her character Mrs...
's short story collection Mrs. MiniverMrs. MiniverMrs. Miniver is a fictional character created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns for The Times, later adapted into a movie of the same name.-Origin:...
. - Poetry London: a Bi-Monthly of Modern Verse and CriticismPoetry LondonPoetry London is a London-based literary periodical. As Poetry London: A Bi-Monthly of Modern Verse and Criticism it was founded by Tambimuttu and the first issue was dated January/February 1939.In a new form the magazine is still in print....
, founded by Tambimuttu, first published (January/February).
Births
- 20 January – Chandra WickramasingheChandra WickramasingheVidya Jothi Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe , FIMA, FRAS, FRSA is Professor at Cardiff University and Honorary Professor at the University of Buckingham. He is the Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology...
, British astronomer and poet - 10 February – Peter PurvesPeter PurvesPeter Purves is an English television presenter and actor.Purves was born in New Longton, near Preston, Lancashire, and was educated at the independent Arnold School in Blackpool, he had originally planned to go into teaching, training at Alsager College of Education, but began to act with the...
, British actor and television presenter - 8 March – Christopher StoryChristopher StoryChristopher Edward Harle Story FRSA was a British writer, publisher and government adviser specialising in intelligence and economic affairs, who is best known for his collaboration with KGB defector Anatoliy Golitsyn on the 1995 book The Perestroika Deception.Christopher Story, the son of Colonel...
, editor and intelligence analyst (d. 20102010 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2010 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Gordon Brown ; David Cameron -January:...
) - 12 April – Alan AyckbournAlan AyckbournSir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
, playwright - 22 April – Alex MurphyAlex Murphy (rugby league)Alex J. Murphy OBE is an English former professional rugby league footballer and coach of the mid to late 20th century...
, English rugby league footballer and coach - 4 May – Neil FoxNeil Fox (rugby league)Neil Fox MBE is an English former rugby league footballer and player-coach of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. A goal-kicking , he is one of the most prominent figures in the history of the sport because he holds the all-time points record, scoring 6,220 points during his career...
, rugby league footballer - 31 May – Terry WaiteTerry WaiteTerry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...
, humanitarian, author and hostage - 5 June – Margaret Drabble, novelist and biographer
- 11 June – Jackie StewartJackie StewartSir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...
, Scottish racing driver - 4 August – Jack CunninghamJack CunninghamJohn "Jack" Anderson Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC, DL is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Copeland from 1983 to 2005, and previously served in the Cabinet.-Early life:...
, politician - 19 August – Alan Baker, mathematician
- 30 August – John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, disc jockey and radio presenter (died 20042004 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2004 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-January:...
) - 19 October – David George Clark, Baron Clark, politician
- 27 October – John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, British actor - 18 November – Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of PaddingtonMargaret Jay, Baroness Jay of PaddingtonMargaret Ann Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington, PC is a British politician for the Labour Party.-Background:Her father was former Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, and she was educated at Blackheath High School, Blackheath and Somerville College, Oxford.Between 1965 and 1977 she held production...
, politician
Deaths
- 2 March – Howard CarterHoward Carter (archaeologist)Howard Carter was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist, noted as a primary discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun.-Beginning of career:...
, archaeologist (born 18741874 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1874 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:...
) - 26 June – Ford Madox FordFord Madox FordFord Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature...
, novelist, poet, critic and editor (born 18731873 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1873 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:...
) - 6 September – Arthur RackhamArthur RackhamArthur Rackham was an English book illustrator.-Biography:Rackham was born in London as one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art.In 1892 he left his job and started working for The...
, illustrator (born 18671867 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1867 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl of Derby, Conservative-Events:* 5 March — Fenian rising in Ireland....
) - 3 December – Princess Louise, Duchess of ArgyllPrincess Louise, Duchess of ArgyllThe Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
, daughter of Queen Victoria (born 18481848 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1848 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
)