1

KINGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLANDHISTORICAL

TIMELINE

King Offa (757 - 796)

757 - Offa seizes the Kingdom Mercia after the murder of his cousin
Aethelbald.
776 - Defeats the men of Kent at Otford
779 - Offa defeats Cynewulf of Wessex at Bensington in Oxfordshire.
784 - Offa defeats the Welsh. Around this time work on Offa's Dyke is
started marking the border with Wales.
785 - Egbert son of Eahmund of Kent flees to Wessex and then to exile in
the Frankish court of Charlemagne
787 - 1st recorded Viking raids on England
789 - Beorhtric of Wessex marries Offa's daughter Eadburgh
792 - Aethelred king of Northumbria marries Offa's daughter Aelfflaed
793 - St Albans Abbey founded. Offa annexes East Anglia and joins it to the kingdom of Mercia
793 - Vikings raid the Christian monastery on Lindisfarne
795 - Vikings raid the monastery on Iona in Scotland
796 - Offa's dyke is completed. The death of Offa marks the end of Mercian supremacy in
England. His son Ecgfrith reigns for less than 6 months

King Egbert (802 - 839)

800 - Around this time the Book of Kells is written in Ireland

802 - Death of King Beorthric of Wessex
802 - Egbert returns from exile in Charlemagne and becomes King of
Wessex
825 - King Egbert of Wessex wins a decisive victory over King
Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellendun. Wessex becomes the dominant
kingdom.
827 - Following his conquest of Mercia, Egbert controls all of
England south of the Humber
829 - Egbert defeats the Northumbrian king at Dore near Sheffield
830 - Wiglif of Mercia revolts against Wessex rule
830 - Egbert subdues North Wales. He is recognized as overlord of other English kings
836 - Egbert is defeated by the Danes at Carhampton in Somerset
838 - Defeats Vikings and Cornish at Hingston Down in Cornwall
839 - Death of Egbert. He is succeeded by his son Aethelwulf

King Aethelwulf ( 839 - 856 )

839 - Aethelwulf succeeds his father Egbert as King of Wessex

841 - Vikings raid Kent and East Anglia, and establish a settlement at Dublin
842 - Many die in London and Rochester during Viking raids
844 - Kenneth MacAlpine, King of the Scots, conquers the Picts; founds a unified Scotland
845 - Vikings are defeated by a Saxon force at the River Parrett
851 - Vikings forces enter Thames estuary and march on Canterbury
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855 - Aethelwulf goes on a pilgrimage to Rome accompanied by his son Alfred

858 - Aethelwulf returns but finds his son Aethelbald has taken control of Wessex
858 - Aethelwulf dies at Steyning in Sussex. His son Aelthelbald becomes king.

King Aethelbald ( 856 - 860 )

858 - Aethelbald marries his father's widow Judith

860 - Vikings land on Iceland
860 - Aehelbald dies and his brother Aethelbert become king.

King Aethelbert ( 860 - 866 )

860 - Aethelbert becomes King of Wessex following the death of his brother Aethelbald
860 - Winchester sacked by the Danes
865 - The Viking 'Great Heathen Army' commanded by Halfdan and Ivar the Boneless lands in
East Anglia and sweeps across England
866 - Vikings take York (Jorvik) and establish a North British Kingdom

King Aethelred I ( 866 - 871 )

866 - Aethelred becomes king on the death of his brother Aethelbert

869 - Edmund King of East Anglia resists the Vikings and is killed
870 - Aethelred defeated by the Danes (Vikings) at Reading
871 - Aethelred and his brother Alfred defeat the Danes at Ashdown
871 - Battle of Meretun, Hampshire. Aethelred is mortally wounded and dies.

King Alfred the Great ( 871 - 899 )

871 - Alfred becomes King of Wessex following the death of his brother Aethelred
872 - London falls to Viking raiders
875 - After persistent attacks by Vikings the monks of Lindesfarne travel through Northumbria
and Galloway with the Lindesfarne Gospels.
878 - Guthrum's Danish army invades Wessex, and Alfred takes refuge on the isle of Athelney.
Alfred defeats Guthrum at the battle of Ethandune (Edington) in Wiltshire.
878 - Treaty of Wedmore divides England into two. Guthrum accepts
baptism as a Christian and agrees to leave Wessex and settle in East
Anglia.
884 - Alfred defeats the Danes at Rochester
885 - Alfred imposes rules on South Wales
886 - Alfred takes London from the Danes. Danelaw - the territory
occupied by the Danes in East Anglia is recognised by Alfred
890 - Guthrum dies. Alfred establishes a permanent army and navy
891 - Anglo Saxon Chronicle, source of much early British History,
begun
893 - Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, completes his book The Life of Alfred
the Great
894 - Northumbrian and East Angles swear allegiance to Alfred, but
promptly break the truce attacking South West England.
896 - Naval victory over the Danes in the Solent
899 - Alfred dies and is buried at Winchester. His son Edward becomes king.
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King Edward The Elder ( 899 - 924 )

900 - Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, crowned at Kingston-upon-

Thames
901 - Edward the Elder takes the title "King of the Angles and Saxons"
902 - Eric, ruler of the Danes in East Anglia, dies in the Battle of Holme
910 - Reconquest of Danelaw lands begins. The last great Viking army
sent to ravage England is defeated by an army of Wessex and Mercia.
913 - Edward the Elder recaptures Essex from the Danes
915 - Edward is accepted as overlord by Ragnald ruler of the Viking
Kingdom of York
916 - Edward's sister Aethlfleda of Mercia attacks and conquers most of
Wales
916 - Vikings establish settlements at Dublin and Waterford in Ireland
918 - Edward becomes ruler of Mercia following the death of his sister Aethlfleda
920 - Edward takes East Anglia from the Danes
923 - The Scottish King Constantine II submits to Edward
924 - Edward dies at Farndon-on-Dee near Chester leading an army against the Welsh. He is
buried in Winchester.

King Athelstan (924 - 940)

924 - Athelstan becomes King of Wessex and Mercia on the death of his
father Edward the Elder.
926 - Athelstan annexes Northumbria, and forces the kings of Wales,
Strathclyde, the Picts, and the Scots to submit to him
926 - Athelstan marries his sister to Sihtric the Viking King of York to
cement his ties with the North
934 - Athelstan invades Scotland
937 - Battle of Brunanburh: Athelstan defeats alliance of Scots, Celts,
Danes, and Vikings, and takes the title of King of all Britain
940 - Athelstan dies at Gloucester and is buried at Malmesbury.

King Edmund (940 - 946)

940 - Edmund becomes King. Scandinavian forces from Northumbria

overrun the East Midlands.
942 - Edmund re-establishes control over Northumbria and rules a united
England.
943 - Edmund extends his rule into southern Scotland,
945 - Dunstan becomes abbot of Glastonbury Abbey
945 - Edmund conquers Strathclyde, but Cumbria is annexed by the
Scots.
946 - Edmund murdered at a party in Pucklechurch
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King Edred ( 946 - 955 )

946 - Edred succeeds his brother Edmund

954 - Expulsion of Eric Bloodaxe, last Danish king of York
955 - Edred dies and is buried at Winchester.

King Edwy (Eadwig) ( 955 - 959 )

955 - Edwy crowned at Kingston-upon-Thames

956 - Dunstan sent into exile by Edwy
957 - Mercians and Northumbrians rebel against Edwy
959 - Edwy dies in Gloucester

King Edgar (959 - 975)

959 - Edgar King of Mercia and Northumbria becomes King of all

England.
965 - Westminster Abbey is founded
973 - Northern Kings submit to Edgar at Chester
975 - Edgar dies at Winchester

King Edward The Martyr ( 975 - 978 )

975 - 13 year old Edward succeeds to the throne

978 - Edward the Martyr murdered at Corfe Castle
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King Aethelred II The Unready ( 978 - 1016 )

978 - Aethelred, son of Edgar, becomes King of England following the

murder of his half brother Edward
980 - Danes renew their raids on England attacking Chester and
Southampton
985 - Sweyn I, Forkbeard, rebels against his father Harold Blue-tooth
and deposes him
991 - Battle of Maldon: Byrhtnoth of Essex is defeated by Danish
invaders; Aethelred buys off the Danes with 10,000 pounds of silver
(Danegeld)
992 - Aethelred makes a truce with Duke Richard I of Normandy
994 - Danes under Sweyn and Norwegians under Olaf Trygvesson sail
up river Thames and besiege London; bought off by Aethelred
1002 - Aethelred orders a massacre of Danish settlers. After the death of his first wife Elfleda he
marries Emma of Normandy
1012 - The Danes raid Kent, burning Canterbury Cathedral and murdering Archbishop Alphege
1013 - King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark lands in England and is proclaimed king; Aethelred II
the Unready flees to Normandy
1014 - The English recall Aethelred II the Unready as King on the death of Sweyn at
Gainsborough
1015 - King Canute II of Denmark & Norway again invades England

King Edmund II lronside (1016)

1016 - Edmund Ironside, son of Aethelred II the Unready of England,

becomes King. At the battle of Abingdon, in Essex, King Canute II of
Denmark defeats Edmund. They meet on the Isle of Alney in the Severn
and agree to divide the kingdom into two. Canute takes the land North of
the Thames and Edmund the South.
1016 - Edmund is assassinated a few months later and Canute takes the
throne as King Canute of England.

King Cnut (Canute) (1016 - 1035)

1017 - Canute marries Emma of Normandy, the widow of Aethelred II.

Canute divides England into four earldoms - Northumbria Wessex,
Mercia and East Anglia.
1027 - Canute makes a pilgrimage to Rome to demonstrate his alliance
with the Church, and attends the coronation of the Pope
1028 - In addition to his existing kingdoms Canute becomes King of
Norway
1035 - Canute dies at the age of 40, and his huge Northern European
empire disintegrates.
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King Harold I Harefoot (1035 - 1040)

1035 - Canute's illegitimate son Harold Harefoot usurps the throne from
his half-brother, Harthacanute, the rightful heir who is away fighting in
Denmark.

King Harthacnut ( 1040 - 1042 )

1040 - Harold Harefoot dies and Harthacanute accedes to the throne

King Edward The Confessor (1042 - 1066)

1042 - Harthacanute dies and is succeeded by Edward the Confessor, son

of Aethelred II.
1043 - Earl Leofric founds Coventry Abbey. His wife Lady Godiva
according to legend rides naked through the streets of Coventry
1045 - Edward marries Edith daughter of Earl Godwin of Wessex
1051 - Edward quarrels with Godwin and banishes the rebellious
Godwin family from England. Edward promises the throne to William,
Duke of Normandy.
1052 - Godwin, Earl of Wessex, returns to England.
1053 - Godwins son, Harold, becomes principal adviser to the King.
1056 - Welsh led by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn attack England and burn
Hereford Cathedral
1057 - Edward, son of Edmund Ironside and potential heir to the throne, returns to England but
dies mysteriously
1063 - Harold Godwinson (later Harold II) and his brother Tostig of Northumberland attack
Wales. Gruffydd ap Llewellyn is killed by his own troops.
1064 - Harold visits William of Normandy and swears on oath to support his claim to the throne
1065 - Northumbria rebels against Tostig who is exiled. Harold fails to support his brother and
they become bitter enemies.
1066 - Edward dies and Harold Godwinson is chosen as successor, but William of Normandy
declares the throne was promised to him.
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King Harold II ( 1066 )

1066 - Harold Godwinson becomes King Harold II

1066 - Harold II fights his brother Tostig and a Viking force under
Harold Hadrada and defeats them at Stamford Bridge. He hastily
marches South at the news that William Duke of Normandy with 100
ships has landed at Pevensey Bay and marched into Sussex.
1066 - Harold II is killed at the Battle of Hastings according to legend
with an arrow through his eye.
1066 - Edgar the Aethling, grandson of Edmund II is elected King, but
rules for only a few weeks before submitting to William of Normandy

King William I The Conqueror (1066 - 1087)

1066 - William and his Norman army defeat Harold II and the Anglo
Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. Harold is killed and, after subduing the
south of the country William is crowned King of England.
1067 - William suppresses a Saxon revolt in the southwest of England.
William's Earls are given lands driving out the Anglo Saxon lords.
Norman French becomes the language of government.
1068 - William puts down a revolt in the northern counties led by Edwin
and Morcar and establishes fortifications. The region is laid waste in an
action known as 'Harrying the North'.
1069 - Swen Estrithson of Denmark lands in the Humber and is
welcomed by northern English earls who join him in expelling the
Norman garrison at York. William marches north and reoccupies York
1070 - Hereward the Wake leads a revolt against the Normans.
1071 - William defeats the revolt led by Hereward the Wake in East Anglia, thus putting an end
to Saxon resistance to his rule.
1072 - William invades Scotland and compels Malcolm III to pay homage to him.
1073 - Suppresses rebellion in Maine in France
1078 - Work begins on the Tower of London
1079 - William begins the construction of a Norman Cathedral at Winchester.
1079 - Robert, Williams eldest son, leads a rebellion in Normandy, but is defeated by his father
at the Battle of Gerberoi and his life is spared.
1085 - William orders a survey of the shires of England; the information is recorded in the
Domesday Book, which is completed the following year.
1086 - William writes to the Pope that England owes no allegiance to the Church of Rome
1086 - Domesday survey of England completed
1087 - William dies of his injuries after falling from his horse while besieging the French city of
Nantes.
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King William II Rufus (1087 - 1100)

1087 - William Il accedes to the throne on the death of his father,

William I.
1088 - William crushes a baronial rebellion in Normandy led by his
uncle, Odo of Bayeux. Williams brother, Robert, supports the claims of
Normandy to the English throne.
1089 - Arnulfo Flam bard, leading adviser to William, is appointed
Justifier (the Kings judicial officer). He begins to levy heavy taxes on
the church.
1090 - William leads an invasion of Normandy in an attempt to subdue
his brother, Robert.
1091 - William defeats an invasion of England led by Malcolm III of
Scotland.
1092 - Carlisle is captured from Scotland and Cumberland is annexed.
1093 - Malcolm III and the Scots invade England again, but they are defeated and Malcolm is
killed at the Battle of Alnwick.
1095 - William suppresses revolt in Northumbria.
1095 - First Crusade begins following a call by Pope Urban II to help free the Holy Land which
has been captured by Muslims.
1098 - William suppresses a Welsh rebellion against the Norman border lords.
1099 - The Crusaders take Jerusalem. The first Crusade ends.
1100 - William is killed by an arrow while out hunting in the New Forest. Supposedly an
accident, it has been suggested that he was shot deliberately on the instructions of his brother
Henry

King Henry I (1100 - 1135)

1100 - Henry I succeeds his brother, William II.

1100 - Henry issues a Charter of Liberties, pledging good governance.
1100 - Henry marries Edith known as Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III
of Scotland.
1101 - Robert of Normandy invades England in an attempt to wrest the
English throne from his brother, Henry. After failing, he signs the Treaty
of Alton, which confirms Henry as King of England and Robert as Duke
of Normandy.
1106 - War breaks out between Henry and Robert. Henry defeats Robert
at the Battle of Tinchebrai, imprisons him in Cardiff Castle, and takes
control of Normandy.
1118 - Death of Henry's wife Matilda.
1120 - Henry's son and heir, William, is drowned at sea when returning from Normandy in The
White Ship which strikes a rock and sinks. Henrys daughter, Matilda, becomes heir.
1121 - Henry marries Adelicia of Louvain
1126 - Henry persuades the barons to accept Matilda as his lawful successor to the throne.
1128 - Matilda, Henry's only surviving legitimate child, marries Geoffrey, Count of Anjou.
1135 - Henry I dies in Rouen, France, as a result of food poisoning
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King Stephen (1135 - 1154)

1135 - Stephen usurps the throne from Matilda, Henrys daughter.

1136 - The Earl of Norfolk leads the first rebellion against Stephen
starting civil war known as 'The Anarchy'.
1136 - Owain Gwynedd of Wales defeats the English at Crug Mawr
1138 - Robert, Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of Henry I, deserts
Stephen and pledges allegiance to Matilda.
1138 - David I of Scotland invades England in support of his niece,
Matilda, but is defeated at Northallerton.
1139 - Matilda leaves France and lands in England.
1141 - Matildas forces take Stephen prisoner at the Battle of Lincoln,
and Matilda is proclaimed queen.
1141 - Earl Robert is captured and exchanged for Stephens freedom.
1145 - Stephen defeats Matildas forces at the Battle of Faringdon.
1148 - Matilda abandons her cause and leaves England.
1147 - Matilda's son Henry Plantagenet (later Henry II) invades England but runs out of money.
Stephen pays for Henry's return to Normandy
1151 - Matilda's husband Geoffrey of Anjou dies and their son, Henry Plantagenet, succeeds his
father as Count of Anjou.
1153 - Henry lands in England again, and gathers support for further war against Stephen.
1153 - Henry and Stephen agree terms for ending the civil war. Under the terms of the Treaty of
Westminster, Stephen is to remain King for life, but thereafter the throne passes to Henry.
1154 - Stephen dies.

King Henry II (1154 - 1189)

1154 - Henry II accedes to the throne at the age of 21 upon the death of
his second cousin, Stephen.
1155 - Henry appoints Thomas a Becket as Chancellor of England, a post
that he holds for seven years.
1155 - Pope Adrian IV issues the papal bull Laudabiliter, which gives
Henry dispensation to invade Ireland and bring the Irish Church under
the control of the Church of Rome.
1162 - On the death of Archbishop Theobald, Henry appoints Thomas a
Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that he will help
introduce Church reforms.
1164 - Henry introduces the Constitutions of Clarendon, which place
limitations on the Churchs jurisdiction over crimes committed by the clergy. The Pope refuses to
approve the Constitutions, so Thomas a Becket refuses to sign them.
1166 - The Assize of Clarendon establishes trial by jury for the first time.
1166 - Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster in Ireland, appeals to Henry to help him oppose a
confederation of other Irish kings. In response to the appeal, Henry sends a force led by Richard
de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, thereby beginning the English settlement of Ireland.
1168 - English scholars expelled from Paris settle in Oxford, where they found a university.
1170 - Pope Alexander III threatens England with an interdict and forces Henry to a formal
reconciliation with Becket. However, the two of them quarrel again when Becket publishes papal
letters voiding Henrys Constitutions of Clarendon.
1170 - Becket is killed in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December by four of Henrys knights.
1171 - Henry invades Ireland and receives homage from the King of Leinster and the other kings.
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Henry is accepted as Lord of Ireland.

1171 - At Cashel Henry makes Irish clergy submit to the authority of Rome
1173 - Canonization of Thomas a Becket.
1173 - Eleanor of Aquitaine and her sons revolt unsuccessfully against her husband Henry II.
1174 - Henrys sons Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey lead an unsuccessful rebellion against their
father
1176 - Henry creates a framework of justice creating judges and dividing England into six
counties
1185 - Lincoln cathedral is destroyed by an earthquake.
1189 - Henry dies at Chinon castle, Anjou, France

King Richard I The Lion Heart ( 1189 - 1199 )

1189 - Richard I becomes King of England upon the death of Henry II

1189 - William Longchamp is appointed Chancellor of England and
governs the country during Richards absence abroad
1189 - Richard sets out with Philip of France on the Third Crusade to the
Holy Land
1191 - William Longchamp falls from power and Richards brother,
John, takes over the government
1191 - Richard captures the city of Acre, Palestine, and defeats Saladin
at Arsuuf, near Jaffa
1192 - Richard reaches an agreement with Saladin to guarantee
Christians safe pilgrimage to Jerusalem
1192 - On his way back to England from Palestine, Richard is captured and handed over to
Henry VI, Emperor of Germany. Henry demands a ransom of 100,000 marks from England for
Richards release from prison
1194 - The ransom is raised in England. Richard is released from captivity.
1195 - Richard returns to England for a brief period, before leaving to fight in France, never to
return to his homeland.
1196 - The Assize of Measures standardizes weights including the lb (pound) and distance
including the yard.
1199 - Richard is mortally wounded by an arrow from a crossbow in battle at Chalus, in France.

King John (1199 - 1216)

1199 - John accedes to the throne on the death of his brother, Richard I.
1204 - England loses most of its possessions in France.
1205 - John refuses to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of
Canterbury
1208 - Pope Innocent III issues an Interdict against England, banning all
church services except baptisms and funerals
1209 - Pope Innocent III excommunicates John for his confiscation of
ecclesiastical property
1209 - Cambridge University founded
1212 - Innocent III declares that John is no longer the rightful King
1213 - John submits to the Popes demands and accepts the authority of
the Pope
1214 - Philip Augustus of France defeats the English at the Battle of Bouvines
1215 - Beginning of the Barons' war. The English Barons march to London to demand rights
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which they lay down in the Magna Carta.

1215 - John meets the English barons at Runnymede, agrees to their demands, and seals the
Magna Carta which set limits on the powers of the monarch, lays out the feudal obligations of the
barons, confirms the liberties of the Church, and grants rights to all freemen of the realm and
their heirs for ever. It is the first written constitution.
1215 - The Pope decrees that John need not adhere to the Magna Carta, and civil war breaks out
1216 - The barons seek French aid in their fight against John. Prince Louis of France lands in
England and captures the Tower of London
1216 - John flees North and loses his war chest of cash and jewels in the Wash estuary
1216 - John dies of a fever at Newark and is buried Worcester Cathedral

King Henry III (1216 - 1272)

1216 - Henry III is crowned King at the age of nine. England is ruled
temporarily by two regents, Hubert de Burgh and William the Marshal
1217 - The French lose the battles of Lincoln and Dover and are driven
back to France
1220 - Building of Salisbury cathedral begun
1222 - De Burgh successfully puts down an insurrection supporting the
French king Louis Vllls claim to the throne
1227 - Henry takes full control of the government of England, but retains
de Burgh as his main adviser
1232 - Hubert de Burgh is dismissed as adviser
1236 - Henry marries Eleanor of Provence
1237 - The Treaty of York with Alexander II of Scotland agrees the border between England and
Scotland
1238 - Simon de Montfort marries Henrys sister, Eleanor
1240 - Henry's Great Council is called 'Parliament' for the first time
1245 - Henry lays the foundation stone for the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey
1258 - The English barons, led by de Montfort, rebel against Henrys misgovernment. They
present a list of grievances to Henry, who signs the Provisions of Oxford, which limit royal
power
1261 - Henry repudiates the Provisions of Oxford
1264 - The Barons War breaks out. De Montfort defeats Henry at Lewes. Henry is captured.
1265 - Simon de Montfort summons the first directly elected English Parliament
1265 - Some of the barons break their alliance with de Montfort and, led by Prince Edward, kill
him at the Battle of Evesham
1266 - The Dictum of Kenilworth restores Henry's authority and annuls the Provisions of Oxford
1267 - In the Treaty of Montgomery, Henry recognizes Llewellyn ap Gruffydd as ruler of Wales
1272 - Henry III dies in the Palace of Westminster
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King Edward I Longshanks (1272 - 1307)

1272 - Edward learns that he has succeeded to the throne on his way
home from the Crusade
1274 - Edward is crowned in Westminster Abbey
1282 - Edward invades North Wales and defeats Llewellyn ap Gruffydd
the last ruler of an independent Wales
1284 - Independence of the Welsh is ended by the Statute of Rhuddlan
1290 - Edward's wife Eleanor dies at Harby in Nottinghamshire. Her
body is brought back to London and a cross erected at each stop along
the journey - Geddington, Hardingston, Waltham, and the most famous
at Charing Cross.
1292 - Edward chooses John Balliol to be the new King of Scotland
1295 - Model Parliament is summoned
1295 - John Balliol reneges on his allegiance to Edward and signs alliance with King Philip IV of
France
1296 - Edward invades Scotland, defeats the Scots at Dunbar and deposes Balliol. He then takes
over the throne of Scotland and removes the Stone of Scone to Westminster.
1297 - Scots rise against English rule and, led by William Wallace, defeat Edward at the Battle of
Stirling Bridge
1298 - Edward invades Scotland again and defeats William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk
1299 - Edward marries Margaret of France
1301 - Edward makes his son Prince of Wales, a title conferred on every first born son of the
monarchy ever since.
1305 - William Wallace is executed in London.
1306 - Robert Bruce is crowned King of Scotland
1307 - Edward attempts to invade Scotland again, but dies on his way north

King Edward II (1307 - 1327)

1307 - Edward II accedes to the throne on the death of his father, Edward
I.
1308 - Edwards favourite, Piers Gaveston, is exiled for misgovernment.
1309 - Gaveston returns from exile in France.
1310 - Parliament sets up a committee of Lords Ordainers to control the
King and improve administration. The Kings cousin, Thomas, Earl of
Lancaster, takes control
1312 - Piers Gaveston is kidnapped by the Kings opponents and is put
to death.
1314 - Edward and the English army are defeated at the Battle of
Bannockburn by Robert Bruce. Scottish independence is assured
1320 - Welsh border barons, father and son, both named Hugh Despenser, gain the Kings
favour,
1320 - The Scots assert their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath
1322 - Barons rebellion, led by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, is crushed at the Battle of
Boroughbridge in Yorkshire.
1326 - Edwards wife, Isabella, abandons him and with her lover, Mortimer, seizes power and
deposes Edward. The Despensers are both put to death.
1327 - Edward is formally deposed by Parliament in favour of Edward III, his son, and is
murdered in Berkeley Castle on the orders of his wife, Isabella.
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King Edward III (1327 - 1377)

1327 - Edward III accedes to the throne after his father, Edward II, is
formally deposed.
1328 - Edward marries Phillipa of Hanault
1329 - Edward recognizes Scotland as an independent nation
1330 - Edward takes power after three years of government by his
mother, Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. He imprisons
his mother for the rest of her life.
1332 - Parliament is divided into two houses, Lords and Commons.
English becomes the court language replacing Norman French.
1333 - Defeat of Scottish army at Halidon Hill.
1337 - French King Philip VI annexes the English King's Duchy of
Aquitaine. Edward III responds by laying claim to the French crown as a grandson of Philip IV
though his mother Isabella. This results in the 100 Years War with France.
1344 - Edward establishes the Order of the Garter
1346 - David II of Scotland invades England but is defeated at Nevilles Cross and captured.
1346 - French defeated at the Battle of Crecy.
1347 - Edward besieges and captures Calais.
1348 - -1350 The Black Death, bubonic plague which caused the skin to turn black, kills one-
third of the English population. It leaves an acute shortage of labour for agriculture and armies.
1356 - Black Prince defeats the French at Poitiers capturing King John II of France who is held
prisoner for four years. Most of South Western France is now held by the English.
1357 - David II of Scotland is released from captivity and returns home to Scotland.
1360 - King John II of France is released on promise of payment of a ransom and leaving his son
Louis of Anjou in English-held Calais as hostage.
1364 - Louis escapes and John unable to pay the ransom returns to England where he dies.
1367 - England and France support rival sides in the civil war in Castille
1369 - War breaks out again as the French take back Aquitaine.
1370 - Edward, The Black Prince, sacks Limoges massacring 3,000 people.
1372 - French troops recapture Poitou and Brittany. Naval Battle at La Rochelle.
1373 - John of Gaunt leads an invasion of France taking his army to the borders of Burgundy.
1373 - John of Gaunt returns to England and takes charge of government. Edward and his son are
ill.
1375 - Treaty of Bruges. English possessions in France are reduced to the areas of Bordeaux and
Calais.
1376 - Parliament gains right to investigate public abuses and impeach offenders; the first
impeachment is of Alice Perrers, Edwards mistress, and two lords.
1376 - Death of Edward, the Black Prince.
1377 - Edward III dies of a stroke at Sheen Palace, Surrey, aged 64 years
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King Richard II (1377 - 1399)

1377 - Ten year old Richard II succeeds his grandfather, Edward III; the
kingdom is ruled at first by the Kings uncles, John of Gaunt and
Thomas of Gloucester.
1380 - John Wycliffe begins to translate the New Testament from Latin
into English .
1380 - A Poll Tax is levied, a shilling a head for the entire male
population
1381 - Poll Tax leads to the Peasants Revolt. Watt Tyler and John Ball
march on London.
1382 - Richard promises that the taxes will be repealed, but as the rebels
return they are hunted and executed.
1382 - William of Wykeham founds Winchester College
1387 - Led by the Duke of Gloucester, the Lords Appellant control the government
1388 - Scots defeat Henry Hotspur at the Battle of Otterburn
1389 - Richard takes control of the government; William of Wykeham is Lord Chancellor
1394 - Richard leads English army to reconquer west of Ireland.
1396 - Richard marries Isabella daughter of the King of France and signs a 28 year truce with
France.
1397 - Richard takes revenge against Lords Appellant and exiles Henry Bolingbroke
1398 - Richard (Dick) Whittington becomes Lord Mayor of London
1399 - Bolingbroke becomes Duke of Lancaster on the death of John of Gaunt, but Richard
seizes his possessions. Bolingbroke returns from exile to claim his inheritance and seizes the
throne.
1399 - Richard, who is away fighting at Leinster in Ireland, returns, but is deposed and
imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, where he dies in 1400

King Henry IV (1399 - 1413)

1399 - Henry returns from exile in France to reclaim his estates seized by
Richard II; he claims the throne and is crowned. His coronation was the
first since the Norman Conquest in which the King's address was in
English instead of Norman French.
1400 - Richard dies of starvation in Pontefract Castle.
1400 - Death of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer leaving The Canterbury Tales
unfinished.
1401 - Owain Glyndwr leads Welsh revolt against English rule
1402 - State visit to England of Manuel II, the Byzantine emperor
1403 - First rebellion by the Percy family from Northumberland defeated
at the Battle of Shrewsbury.
1404 - Glyndwr makes a treaty with the French, who send an army in 1405 to support the
rebellion against the English.
1405 - Second Percy rebellion takes place
1406 - Henry contracts a leprosy-like illness
1408 - Third Percy rebellion takes place.
1413 - Henry dies at Westminster, worn out by constant revolts and shortage of money.
 15

King Henry V (1413 - 1422)

1413 - Henry accedes to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of his
father, Henry IV
1414 - Henry adopts the claims of Edward III to the French crown
1415 - Henry thwarts the Cambridge plot, an attempt by a group of
nobles to replace him on the throne with his cousin, Edmund Mortisner,
Earl of March.
1415 - Henry renews the war against France in order to win back
territories lost by his ancestors. After a five-week siege, he captures
Harfleur the leading port in north-west France.
1415 - Battle of Agincourt, at which 6,000 Frenchmen are killed, while
less than 400 English soldiers lose their lives.
1416 - Death of Owain Glyndwr, leader of the Welsh revolt.
1420 - Henry marries Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. Under the treaty of Troyes, Henry will
become King of France on the death of Charles VI.
1421 - Birth of Prince Henry, later Henry VI.
1422 - Henry V dies in France of dysentery before he can succeed to the French throne. King
Charles VI of France dies the following month, leaving Henry VI, Henrys 10-month-old son, as
King of France and England.

King Henry VI ( 1422 - 1461 )

1422 - Henry aged 8 months becomes King of England on the death of

his father, Henry V, and then, two months later, King of France on the
death of his grandfather, Charles VI.
1422 - John, Duke of Bedford, is appointed Regent of France;
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, becomes Regent of England.
1429 - Henry VI is crowned King of England
1429 - The young peasant girl Joan of Arc begins her campaign to expel
the English from France. She inspires the French army which relieves
Orleans besieged by English troops.
1431 - The English capture Joan of Arc. She is burned at the stake as a
witch and heretic in Rouen on 30 May.
1431 - Henry VI of England is crowned King of France in Paris
1437 - Henry assumes personal rule of England
1440 - Eton college founded giving free education to 70 scholars
1445 - Henry marries Margaret of Anjou
1453 - End of 100 Years War. Gascony and Normandy fall to the French. England retains only
Calais and The Channel Islands.
1453 - Henry becomes mentally ill. Richard, Duke of York, is made Protector during Henrys
illness
1453 - Battle of Heworth between supporters of the Neville and Percy families marks the
beginning of the feud between the Houses of York and Lancaster
1454 - Henry regains his senses but disaffected nobles take matters into their own hands.
Supporters of the Dukes of York and Lancaster take sides.
1455 - Beginning of the 'Wars of the Roses'. Duke of York is dismissed. York raises an army and
defeats the Kings Lancastrian forces at the Battle of St. Albans.The Lancastrian leader, the Duke
of Somerset, is killed. York takes over the government of England.
1457 - Henry unsuccessfully tries to broker peace between the Yorkists and Lancastrians.
 16

1459 - War is renewed and the Lancastrians are defeated at Blore Heath; the Yorkists are then
defeated at Ludford Bridge near Ludlow. Parliament declares York a traitor and he escapes to
Ireland.
1460 - Yorkist army led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeats Lancastrians at the Battle
of Northampton. Henry VI is captured and his wife, Margaret, escapes to Scotland. Richard of
York is again Protector.
1460 - Margaret raises a Lancastrian army in the north and defeats and kills Richard of York at
Wakefield. Henry VI captured by the Yorkists at Northampton. Earl of Warwick takes London
for the Yorkists.
1461 - Yorkists win Battle of Mortimers Cross. Queen Margaret marches her army South, defeats
Earl of Warwick at St Albans, and frees Henry. Edward, son of Richard of York, defeats
Margaret's Lancastrian forces on 29 March at the Battle of Towton - the largest and bloodiest
battle ever on British soil when 28,000 lose their lives. Margaret and Henry flee to Scotland.
Henry is deposed by Edward who declares himself King Edward IV
1462 - Lancastrian revolts are suppressed.
1464 - Warwick defeats Lancastrians at Battle of Hexham; Henry VI is captured and brought to
the Tower of London.
1469 - Warwick falls out with Edward IV, and defeats him at Edgecote. They are later reconciled
but Warwick is banished. He makes peace with Margaret, returns to England with an army, and
Edward flees to Flanders. Henry VI is restored to the throne.
1471 - Edward returns to England and defeats and kills Warwick at the Battle of Barnet.
Margaret is defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury; her son Edward, Prince of Wales, heir to the
Lancastrian throne is killed in battle.
1471 - Henry is murdered by being stabbed to death in the Tower of London.

King Edward IV (1461 - 1483)

1461 - Edward, son of Richard of York, is declared king by the Earl of

Warwick following the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Towton.
1464 - Warwick defeats Lancastrians at Battle of Hexham; Henry VI is
captured and brought to the Tower of London.
1464 - Edward marries Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of a commoner,
offending Warwick.
1469 - Warwick falls out with Edward IV, and defeats him at Edgecote.
They are later reconciled but Warwick is banished. He makes peace with
Margaret, returns to England with an army, and Edward flees to
Flanders. Henry VI is restored to the throne.
1471 - Edward returns to England from Flanders and defeats and kills
Warwick at the Battle of Barnet.
1471 - Margaret is defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury and the Lancastrian heir, Prince Edward,
is killed. Soon after, Henry VI is murdered in the Tower of London.
1474 - Edward grants privileges to the Hanseatic League of North German trading cities to
conduct trade in England.
1476 - William Caxton sets up a printing press in Westminster, London
1478 - Edward falls out with his brother George, Duke of Clarence, who is then murdered in the
Tower, supposedly in a butt of malmsey wine.
1483 - Death of Edward.
 17

King Edward V ( 1483 )

1483 - On the death of Edward, the crown passes to his 12 year old son,
Edward V
1483 - Edward is declared illegitimate and deposed in favour of his uncle
Richard Duke of Gloucester.
1483 - Edward and his younger brother Richard of York are imprisoned
in the Tower of London. After a few months the princes are never seen
again and are believed to have been murdered.

King Richard III (1483 - 1485)

1483 - Richard III declares himself King after confining and possibly
ordering the murder of his two nephews, Edward V and Richard Duke of
York, in the Tower of London
1483 - The Duke of Buckingham is appointed Constable and Great
Chamberlain of England
1483 - In October Richard crushes a rebellion led by his former
supporter, the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham is captured, tried, and
put to death.
1483 - At the cathedral of Rheims, Henry Tudor swears a solemn oath to
marry Elizabeth of York in the presence of the Lancastrian Court in
exile.
1484 - Richard establishes his military headquarters behind the battlements of Nottingham
Castle.
1484 - Death of Richards only son and heir, Edward, aged 9 years.
1484 - A Papal Bull is issued against witchcraft.
1484 - Parliamentary statutes are written down in English for the first time and printed.
1485 - Death of Richards wife, Queen Anne.
1485 - Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, lands at Milford Haven in West Wales in early August
and gathers support as the Lancastrian claimant to the Yorkist-held throne.
1485 - Richard is defeated and killed by Henry Tudors army at Bosworth Field. The Wars of the
Roses come to an end.

King Henry VII (1485 - 1509)

1485 - Henry becomes King after defeating Richard III of York at the
Battle of Bosworth Field. The Wars of the Roses are ended.
1486 - Henry marries Elizabeth of York, thereby uniting the houses of
York and Lancaster.
1487 - Henry crushes a revolt by the Earl of Lincoln on behalf of
Lambert Simnel, a claimant to the throne, at Stoke.
1491 - Henry invades France but at the Treaty of Etaples agrees to
withdraw English forces in return for a large sum of money
1492 - Perkin Warbeck an impersonator who claims he is Richard the
younger of the Princes in the Tower attempts to overthrow Henry, but is
defeated and put to death in 1499.
 18

1492 - Christopher Columbus crosses Atlantic and lands in San Salvador, Cuba and Haiti which
he calls the 'West Indies' in the belief that he has sailed around the World to India.
1497 - John Cabot sails west from Bristol on the Matthew and discovers New-found-land. He
believed it was Asia and claimed it for England.
1499 - Perkin Warbeck is hanged in the Tower of London. The Earl of Warwick is also executed.
1501 - Catherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, marries
Prince Arthur, Henrys eldest son.
1502 - Prince Arthur dies, and Prince Henry (the future Henry VIII) becomes heir to the throne,
later marrying Arthurs widow, Catherine of Aragon.
1503 - Margaret, Henry's daughter marries James IV of Scotland. The marriage gives James'
descendants a claim to the English throne.
1503 - Death of Elizabeth of York, Henrys wife.
1509 - Henry VII dies at Richmond Palace, at the age of 52.

King Henry VIII (1509 - 1547)

1509 - Henry accedes to the throne on the death of his father, Henry VII.
1509 - Henry marries Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Spanish King
and Queen, and widow of his elder brother, Arthur
1511 - Henry joins the Holy League against the French. All men under
the age of 40 are required to practise archery.
1513 - The English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Flodden Field. James
IV of Scotland is killed.
1515 - Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, becomes Chancellor and
Cardinal.
1516 - Catherine gives birth to Princess Mary (later Mary I).
1517 - Martin Luther publishes his 95 theses against the abuses of the
Roman Catholic Church.
1518 - The Pope and the Kings of England, France, and Spain pledge peace in Europe
1520 - Henry holds peace talks with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, but
fails to get support against Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire.
1525 - Hampton Court Palace is completed. William Tyndale publishes The New Testament in
English.
1526 - Cardinal Wolsey re-establishes the Council of the North
1527 - Henry seeks permission from the Pope to divorce Catherine of Aragon but is refused.
1529 - Cardinal Wolsey is accused of high treason for failing to get the Pope's consent for the
divorce, but dies before he can be brought to trial.
1529 - Sir Thomas More becomes Chancellor. Henry starts to cut ties with the Church of Rome.
1531 - The appearance in the sky of Halley's comet causes widespread panic and talk of holy
retribution
1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns from the Chancellorship over the erosion of Papal authority.
1533 - Thomas Cranmer is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and annuls Henrys 24-year
marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
1533 - Henry marries Anne Boleyn.
1533 - Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) is born.
1533 - Pope Clement VII excommunicates Henry
1534 - The Act of Supremacy is passed, establishing Henry as head of the Church of England.
1535 - Sir Thomas More is executed after refusing to recognize Henry as Supreme Head of the
Church of England.
1535 - Thomas Cromwell is made Vicar-General and starts plans to seize the Church's wealth.
 19

1535 - First complete English translation of the Bible by Miles Coverdale

1536 - Anne Boleyn is executed and Henry marries Jane Seymour
1536 - The Act of Union between Wales and England.
1536 - Thomas Cromwell begins the dissolution of the monasteries under the 'Reformation'. .
1536 - Great northern rising, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace against the dissolution of
monasteries.
1537 - Jane Seymour dies giving birth to Edward (later Edward VI).
1539 - Parliament passes the Act for the 'Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries'. The abbots of
Colchester, Glastonbury and Reading are executed for treason.
1540 - The last of the monasteries to be dissolved is Waltham Abbey.
1540 - Henry marries Anne of Cleves in January but the marriage is annulled in July
1540 - Execution of Thomas Cromwell on a charge of treason.
1540 - Henry marries Catherine Howard.
1541 - Beginning of the Reformation in Scotland under John Knox.
1542 - Catherine Howard is executed for treason.
1542 - James V of Scotland dies and is succeeded by his 6 day old daughter Mary Queen of
Scots.
1543 - Henry marries the twice-widowed Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife.
1543 - Treaty of Greenwich proposes marriage between Henry's son Edward and Mary Queen of
Scots. However it is repudiated by the Scots 6 months later who want an alliance with France.
1545 - Henry's flagship The Mary Rose sinks in the Solent
1546 - Henry becomes increasingly ill with what is now believed to be syphilis and cirrhosis.
1547 - Death of Henry at the age of 55, survived by Catherine Parr

King Edward VI (1547 - 1553)

1547 - Edward VI accedes to the throne at the age of nine after the death
of his father, Henry VIII.
1547 - Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, uncle of Edward VI, is
invested as Duke of Somerset and Protector of England.
1547 - The English army defeats the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh as part of an
attempt to force a marriage between Edward VI and Mary Queen of
Scots.
1548 - The French send over 6,000 troops to prevent the English from
gaining control of the Scottish Borders.
1549 - The First Act of Uniformity is passed, making the Roman
Catholic mass illegal. The clergy are ordered to remove icons and statues
of the saints, and whitewash over wall paintings.
1549 - The First Book of Common Prayer is introduced, which changes the Church service from
Latin to English.
1550 - The Duke of Somerset is deposed as Protector of England, and is replaced by John
Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who creates himself Duke of Northumberland.
1552 - The Duke of Somerset is executed
1552 - Archbishop Cranmer publishes the Second book of Common Prayer.
1553 - The Duke of Northumberland persuades Edward to nominate his daughter-in-law Lady
Jane Grey as his heir, in an attempt to secure the Protestant succession.
1553 - Edward VI dies of tuberculosis at Greenwich Palace.
 20

Queen Mary I (1553 - 1558)

1553 - Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen by her father-in-law The

Duke of Northumberland. After nine days, Mary arrives in London, Lady
Jane Grey is arrested, and Mary is crowned Queen.
1554 - After Mary declares her intention to marry Philip of Spain, Sir
Thomas Wyatt leads a revolt to depose her.
1554 - Wyatts rebellion is crushed. Sir Thomas Wyatt, Lady Jane Grey,
and her husband are executed.
1554 - Mary's half-sister Princess Elizabeth is sent to the Tower of
London on suspicion of involvement in Wyatt's rebellion
1554 - Mary marries Philip of Spain heir to the Spanish throne.
1554 - Four months after Mary's accession, Parliament meets to re-
establish Catholicism in England
1554 - The persecution of Protestants begins, the heresy laws are revived, and England is
reconciled to Papal authority.
1555 - Protestant bishops are burned at the stake for heresy.
1555 - Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) is released from the Tower of London
1556 - Cardinal Reginald Pole is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
1556 - Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury, is burned at the stake for heresy.
1556 - Philip becomes King Philip II of Spain; he leaves England, never to return
1557 - Philip II persuades Mary to declare war on France as an ally of Spain.
1558 - Port of Calais, the last English possession in France, is captured by the French.
1558 - Mary dies at St.Jamess Palace, London.

Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603)

1558 - Elizabeth becomes Queen on the death of her half-sister, Mary.

1559 - Elizabeth is crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey in
January.
1559 - Mary Queen of Scots in Paris declares herself Queen of France,
Scotland and England when her husband Francis becomes King of
France. He dies a year later and Mary returns to Scotland.
1559 - Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity restore the Protestant Church
in England and make Elizabeth Head of the Church of England.
1559 - The Revised Prayer Book of Elizabeth I is issued. It is less
extreme than its predecessors
1560 - Elizabeth founds Westminster School
1562 - Hawkins and Drake make first slave-trading voyage to America.
1562 - Elizabeth gives aid to the Protestant Huguenots in the French Wars of Religion. English
troops occupy Dieppe and Le Havre.
1563 - John Foxes The Book of Martyrs, the story of religious persecution, is published in
England.
1563 - -1564 17,000 die of the Plague in London which is believed to have been brought back by
troops returning from Le Havre.
1564 - Peace made between England and France at Troyes.
1565 - Sir Walter Raleigh brings potatoes and tobacco from the New World
1566 - Elizabeth forbids Parliament to discuss her marriage prospects.
1568 - Mary Queen of Scots, flees to England from Scotland and is imprisoned by Elizabeth.
1569 - Elizabeth I approves Sunday sports
 21

1570 - Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth from the Catholic Church.
1577 - - 1580 Francis Drake sails around the world in the Golden Hind.
1579 - Francis, Duke of Alencon, secretly comes to England to try and marry Elizabeth.
1581 - Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth on the deck of The Golden Hind.
1584 - Sir Walter Raleigh founds the first American colony and names it Virginia after Elizabeth
the Virgin Queen
1584 - Oakham School founded by Archdeacon Robert Johnson
1585 - William Shakespeare leaves Stratford for London to become an aspiring playwright
1586 - Babington Catholic plot to assassinate Elizabeth I
1586 - Mary Queen of Scots, who had fled from Scotland to England, is implicated in the
Babington plot and is sent to trial.
1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed at Fotheringhay Castle on charges of treason.
1587 - Drake attacks the Spanish fleet in Cadiz.
1587 - Raleigh's second expedition to New World lands in North Carolina. Drake destroys the
Spanish fleet at Cadiz.
1588 - Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and a favourite of Elizabeth, dies.
1588 - A Spanish Armada of 130 ships sailing against England is defeated by bad weather and
the English fleet under Admiral Drake and John Hawkins using fireships. Many were wrecked
trying to return by sailing round the north of the British Isles. The English dominance of the sea
leaves the way open for English trade and colonisation of America and India.
1588 - Earl of Essex leads an expedition to Ireland.
1589 - John Harrington invents the first flushing water closet at his house at Kelston, Bath. He
calls it 'Ajax' a pun on the Elizabethan slang word 'Jakes' for a privy. Elizabeth I orders a
Harrington WC to be installed at Richmond Palace.
1590 - Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
1593 - 15,000 Londoners die of the Plague. All theatres are closed for one year. Playwright
Christopher Marlow is murdered.
1595 - Sir Walter Raleigh makes his first expedition to the South American continent. He
explores 300 miles of the Orinoco searching for El Dorado.
1599 - Earl of Tyrone leads a rebellion against the English in Ireland.
1599 - The Globe Theatre is opened in London.
1600 - East India Company founded
1601 - Earl of Essex is executed for leading a revolt against Elizabeth.
1601 - Poor Law is passed introducing a poor relief rate on property owners.
1601 - First performance of Shakespeares Hamlet.
1603 - Elizabeth I dies at Richmond Palace, Surrey.

King James I (1603 - 1625)

1603 - James VI of Scotland becomes King James I of England,

Scotland, and Ireland after the death of Elizabeth I uniting the thrones of
Scotland and England.
1603 - The Millenary Petition is presented to James I. It expresses
Puritan desires for reforms to the Church of England.
1603 - Plot against James to set his cousin Arabella Stuart on the throne.
Sir Walter Raleigh is implicated and imprisoned.
1604 - The Somerset House Peace Conference results in peace between
England and Spain.
1604 - The Hampton Court Conference fails to settle the doctrinal
differences between the Anglican Church and its Puritan critics.
 22

1604 - James proclaims that smoking is harmful to the lungs and imposes a tax on tobacco
1605 - Guy Fawkes and other Catholic dissidents attempt to blow up King and Parliament in The
Gunpowder Plot. They are betrayed and arrested.
1606 - The Gunpowder plotters are executed. 120 colonists sail for America.
1607 - The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel end their rebellion against English rule of Ireland and
flee to Europe; Ulster is colonized by Protestant settlers from Scotland and England.
1607 - The English Parliament rejects Union with Scotland.
1607 - Common citizenship of English and Scottish persons is granted to those born after the
accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne.
1607 - Jamestown found in America by the Virginia company
1609 - Scottish and English Protestants are encouraged to settle in Ulster
1609 - Shakespeare completes the Sonnets.
1611 - The King James Authorized Version of the Bible is published.
1611 - Dissolution of the first Parliament of James I.
1611 - Arabella Stuart secretly marries William Seymour. When James finds out Seymour is
imprisoned but escapes with Arabella. They are captured on the way to France and imprisoned in
the Tower of London. Arabella starves herself to death there in 1615.
1612 - Henry, Prince of Wales, dies of typhoid. His younger brother, Charles, becomes heir to
the throne.
1612 - Heretics are burned at the stake for the last time in England.
1613 - James' daughter Elizabeth marries Frederick V, Elector of Palatine. Their descendants in
House of Hanover will eventually inherit the British Throne.
1613 - The Globe Theatre in London burns during a performance of Henry VIII
1614 - Second Parliament of James I meets.
1614 - Scottish mathematician John Napier publishes his theory of logarithms simplifying
calculations for navigators.
1615 - George Villiers becomes Jamess favourite.
1616 - Playwright William Shakespeare dies.
1616 - Raleigh is released from prison to lead an expedition to Guiana in search of El Dorado
1617 - George Villiers becomes the Earl of Buckingham.
1618 - Raleigh fails in his expedition and on his return is executed for alleged treason at
Westminster.
1620 - The Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America in the Mayflower. They land at Cape Cod and
found New Plymouth.
1625 - Death of James I, aged 58.

King Charles I (1625 - 1649)

1625 - Charles I succeeds his father, James I.

1626 - Parliament attempts to impeach the Duke of Buckingham and is
dissolved by Charles.
1627 - England goes to war with France, but at La Rochelle the Duke of
Buckingham fails to relieve the besieged Huguenots.
1628 - The Petition of Right a declaration of the rights and liberties of
the subject" is presented to the King, who agrees to it under protest.
1628 - Physician William Harvey demonstrates the circulation of blood
in the body
1629 - Charles dissolves Parliament and rules by himself until 1640.
1630 - The colony of Massachusetts is founded in America
1633 - Work begins on Buckingham Palace in London
 23

1637 - Charles tries to force new prayer book on Scots, who resist by signing the National
Covenant.
1639 - Act of Toleration in England established religious toleration
1640 - Charles summons the Short Parliament, which he dissolves three weeks later when it
refuses to grant him money.
1640 - Long Parliament summoned, which lasts until 1660. It can only be dissolved by its
members.
1641 - Abolition of the Star Chamber and Court of High Commission.
1642 - Charles fails in his attempt to arrest five MPs.
1642 - Outbreak of Civil War. Charles raises his standard at Nottingham. The Royalists win a
tactical victory the Parliamentary army at the Battle of Edgehill but the outcome is inconclusive.
1643 - Royalists defeat Parliamentary army at Chalgrove Field, and take Bristol. Battle of
Newbury is indecisive.
1644 - York is besieged by Parliamentary army until relieved by Prince Rupert. Royalists
defeated at Marston Moor.
1644 - Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans enforce and Act of Parliament banning Christmas Day
celebrations
1645 - Parliament creates New Model Army, which defeats the Royalist army at Naseby on 16
June.
1646 - Charles surrenders to the Scots, who hand him over to Parliament.
1646 - Negotiations take place between King and Parliament. King conspires with Scots to
invade England on his behalf.
1647 - Charles escapes to the Isle of Wight but is captured. He is tried by Parliament and found
guilty of high treason.
1648 - A Scots army supporting Charles is defeated at Preston.
1649 - Charles I is executed. There follows 11 years of rule by Parliament as the Commonwealth
under Cromwell.

King Charles II (1660 - 1685)

1658 - Death of Oliver Cromwell. He is succeeded by his son Richard

Cromwell
1659 - Richard Cromwell is forced to resign. The Rump Parliament is
restored.
1660 - Charles II returns to England from Holland and is restored to the
throne.
1662 - Act of Uniformity compels Puritans to accept the doctrines of the
Church of England or leave the church.
1662 - Royal Society for the improvement of science founded
1664 - England seizes the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam,
changing its name to New York.
1665 - Outbreak of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
1665 - The Great Plague strikes London and over 60,000 die.
1666 - The Great Fire of London rages for four days and three nights. Two thirds of central
London is destroyed and 65,000 are left homeless.
1667 - The Earl of Clarendon is replaced by a five-man Cabal.
1667 - Paradise Lost by John Milton published
1667 - A Dutch fleet sails up the River Medway captures the English flagship The Royal Charles
and sinks three other great ships
1670 - Secret Treaty of Dover, by which Charles agrees to declare himself a Catholic and restore
 24

Catholicism in England in return for secret subsidies from Louis XIV of France.
1670 - Hudson Bay Company founded in North America
1671 - Thomas Blood caught stealing the Crown Jewels
1672 - Outbreak of the Third Dutch War.
1673 - Test Act keeps Roman Catholics out of political office.
1674 - Death of John Milton
1674 - Peace made with the Dutch
1675 - Royal Observatory founded at Greenwich
1677 - John Bunyan publishes The Pilgrims Progress.
1678 - The Popish Plot is fabricated by Titus Oates. He alleges a Catholic plot to murder the
King and restore Catholicism. The Government over-reacts, and many Catholic subjects are
persecuted.
1679 - Exclusion Bill attempts to exclude James, Charless Catholic brother, from the succession.
1679 - Habeas Corpus act passed which forbids imprisonment without trial
1682 - Pennsylvania founded in America by William Penn
1683 - The Rye House Plot a conspiracy to kill Charles and his brother James and return to
parliamentary rule is uncovered.
1685 - Charles is received into the Roman Catholic Church on his deathbed.

King James II (1685 - 1688)

1685 - James succeeds his brother, Charles II.

1685 - Rebellion of the Earl of Argyll in Scotland designed to place the
Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's illegitimate son, on the throne is
crushed and Argyll is executed.
1685 - The Duke of Monmouth rebels against James, but is defeated at
the Battle of Sedgemoor in Somerset.
1685 - Edict of Nantes allowing freedom of religion to Huguenot
Protestants is revoked in France, resulting in thousands of Huguenot craft
workers and traders settling in England.
1686 - Following their defeat at Sedgemoor, Monmouth and many of the
rebels are hanged or transported by the 'The Bloody Assizes' under Judge
Jeffreys.
1686 - James takes first measures to restore Catholicism in England, and sets up a standing army
of 13,000 troops at Hounslow to overawe nearby London.
1686 - Edmund Halley draws the first meteorological map showing weather systems
1687 - Isaac Newton publishes Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
1688 - James, believing his Divine Right as King, issues the Declaration of Indulgence to
suspend all laws against Catholics and Non-Conformists and repeal the 1673 Test Act. He seeks
to promote his Catholic supporters in Parliament and purge Tories and Anglican clergy .
1688 - James wife, Mary of Modena, gives birth to a son and Catholic heir. His daughters Mary,
married to Dutch Stadtholder William of Orange, and Anne by his first wife Anne Hyde are
Protestant.
1688 - Following discontent over James attempts to control politics and religion, seven leading
statesmen invite William of Orange, son-in-law of James, to England to restore English liberties.
1688 - The 'Glorious Revolution'. William of Orange lands at Torbay with an army of 20,000 and
advances on London. Many Protestant officers in James' army including Churchill, Duke of
Marlborough, and James' own daughter Anne defect to support William and his wife Mary.
1688 - James abdicates and flees to exile in France.
 25

King William III and Queen Mary II (1689 - 1702)

1689 - William and Mary become joint King and Queen.

1689 - Parliament draws up the Declaration of Right detailing the
unconstitutional acts of James II.
1689 - Bill of Rights is passed by Parliament. It stipulates that no
Catholic can succeed to the throne, and also limits the powers of the
Royal prerogative. The King of Queen cannot withhold laws passed by
Parliament or levy taxes without Parliamentary consent.
1689 - Jacobite Highlanders rise in support of James and are victorious at
Killiekrankie but are defeated a few months later at Dunkeld.
1689 - Catholic forces loyal to James II land in Ireland from France and
lay siege to Londonderry.
1690 - William defeats James and French troops at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. Scottish
Jacobites defeated at Haughs of Cromdale
1690 - Anglo-Dutch naval force is defeated by the French at Beachy Head.
1691 - The Treaty of Limerick allows Catholics in Ireland to exercise their religion freely, but
severe penal laws soon follow.
1691 - William offers the Scottish Highlanders a pardon for the Jacobite uprising if they sign
allegiance him
1692 - Glencoe Massacre. MacDonalds are killed by Campbells for not signing the oath of
allegiance
1694 - Bank of England founded by William Paterson
1694 - Death of Mary. William now rules alone.
1697 - Peace of Ryswick ends the war with France.
1697 - First Civil List Act passed
1701 - The Act of Settlement establishes Hanoverian and Protestant succession to the throne.
1701 - James II dies in exile in France. French king recognizes James IIs son James Edward
(The Old Pretender) as James III.
1701 - William forms grand alliance between England, Holland, and Austria to prevent the union
of the French and Spanish crowns.
1702 - William dies after a riding accident. Stuarts in exile toast 'the gentleman in black velvet' in
the belief that his horse stumbled on a mole hill.

Queen Anne (1702 - 1714)

1702 - Anne succeeds her brother-in-law, William III.

1702 - England declares war on France in the War of the Spanish
Succession
1704 - English, Bavarian, and Austrian troops under Marlborough defeat
the French at the Battle of Blenheim and save Austria from invasion.
1704 - British capture Gibraltar from Spain.
1706 - Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Ramillies, and
expels the French from the Netherlands.
1707 - The Act of Union unites the kingdoms of England and Scotland
and transfers the seat of Scottish government to London.
1708 - Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Oudenarde. .
1708 - Anne vetoes a parliamentary bill to reorganize the Scottish militia, the last time a bill is
vetoed by the sovereign.
1708 - James Edward Stuart, 'The Old Pretender', arrives in Scotland in an unsuccessful attempt
 26

to gain the throne.

1709 - Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Malplaquet.
1710 - The Whig government falls and a Tory ministry is formed.
1710 - St Paul's Cathedral, London, completed by Sir Christopher Wren
1711 - First race meeting held at Ascot
1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht is signed by Britain and France, bringing to an end the War of the
Spanish Succession.
1714 - Queen Anne dies at Kensington Palace.

King George I (1714 - 1727)

1714 - George I, the first Hanoverian King, succeeds his distant cousin,
Anne.
1714 - A new Parliament is elected with a strong Whig majority led by
Robert Walpole.
1715 - The Jacobite rising begins in Scotland intending to place the Old
Pretender James Edward Stuart, heir to James II on the throne. The
rebellion is defeated at Sheriffmuir.
1716 - The Septennial Act allows for General Elections to be held
1717 - Townshend is dismissed from the government by George, causing
Walpole to resign
1719 - Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe
1720 - South Sea Bubble bursts, leaving many investors ruined.
1721 - Sir Robert Walpole returns to government as First Lord of the Treasury where he remains
in office until 1742. He is effectively the first Prime Minister.
1722 - Death of the Duke of Marlborough.
1726 - First circulating library in Britain opens in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1726 - Jonathan Swift publishes Gullivers Travels.
1727 - Death of the scientist, Isaac Newton.
1727 - George I dies in Hanover, aged 67.

King George II (1727 - 1760)

1727 - George II succeeds his father, George I.

1729 - Charles Wesley founds the Methodists at Lincoln College Oxford.
1732 - A royal charter is granted for the founding of Georgia in America.
1732 - Lord Frederick North born
1734 - Jethro Tull publishes essays on improving farming including the
use of the seed drill.
1737 - Death of Georges wife, Queen Caroline.
1738 - John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in
Britain.
1739 - Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York
1739 - Britain goes to war with Spain over Captain Jenkins ear, claimed
to have been cut off in a skirmish at sea.
1740 - -1748 The War of Austrian Succession breaks out in Europe.
1742 - Walpole resigns as Prime Minister.
1743 - George leads troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria.
1745 - Charles Edward Stuart, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', lands in Scotland and raises his flag for
the restoration of the Stuarts. 2,000 Jacobites enter Edinburgh. Scottish victory at Prestonpans.
 27

Charles and his Jacobite army march South into England and reach Derby before turning back.
1746 - Scots defeated at the Battle of Culloden. Duke of Cumberland, the King's 2nd son,
ruthlessly represses the rebels and Scottish traditions.
1748 - Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the war of Austrian Succession
1751 - Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. His son, George, becomes heir to the throne.
1752 - Britain adopts the Georgian Calendar. 1st January replaces 25 March as the first day of the
year.
1757 - Britain declares war against France. Start of the Seven Years War.
1757 - Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey and secures the Indian province of Bengal for
Britain.
1757 - William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
1759 - Wolfe captures Quebec from the French and establishes British supremacy in Canada.
1759 - First botanical gardens laid out at Kew
1760 - George II dies.

King George III (1760 - 1820)

1760 - George III becomes king on the death of his grandfather, George
II.
1762 - The Earl of Bute is appointed Prime Minister. Bute proves so
unpopular that he needs to have a bodyguard.
1763 - Peace of Paris ends the Seven Years War.
1765 - Stamp Act raises taxes in American colonies.
1766 - William Pitt the Elder becomes prime minister
1768 - Richard Arkwright invents the spinning frame
1769 - Captain James Cooks first voyage to explore the Pacific.
1770 - Lord North becomes Prime Minister.
1770 - James Cook lands in Botany Bay, South East Australia.
1771 - Encyclopaedia Britannica is first published.
1772 - John Harrisons H4 clock allows navigators to accurately measure longitude enabling long
distance sea travel
1772 - Warren Hastings is appointed Governor General of India.
1773 - The worlds first cast-iron bridge is constructed over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale.
1773 - Boston Tea Party. American colonists protest against British taxes.
1775 - American War of Independence begins when colonists fight British troops at Lexington.
1775 - James Watt develops the steam engine.
1776 - On 4 July, the American Congress passes the Declaration of Independence.
1780 - Anti Catholic Gordon riots in London
1781 - Americans supported by the French fleet defeat British at Battle of Yorktown.
1782 - Ireland obtains a short-lived parliament.
1783 - On 3 Sept, The Treaty of Paris ends the American War of Independence. Britain
recognizes American independence.
1783 - -1801 William Pitt the Younger serves as Prime Minister.
1783 - Robert (Robbie) Burns publishes his first book of poetry
1788 - George suffers his first attack of porphyria.
1788 - Colony of New South Wales established in Australia
1789 - Outbreak of the French Revolution. Storming of the Bastille.
1791 - Publication of James Boswells Life of Johnson and Thomas Paines Rights of Man.
1793 - King Louis XVI of France executed by guillotine
1793 - - 1802 War between Britain and France.
 28

1798 - Nelson destroys French fleet at the Battle of the Nile

1798 - Wordsworth publishes Lyrical Ballads
1798 - Income Tax introduced
1800 - Act of Union with Ireland unites Parliaments of England and Ireland.
1803 - Beginning of Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon assembles a fleet for the invasion of England.
1805 - Nelson defeats French and Spanish fleets off Trafalgar, but is killed during the battle.
Napoleon defeats the Russians at Austerlitz.
1807 - Slave Trade Act. William Wilberforce is successful in his campaign to abolish slave trade
in the British Empire.
1808 - -1814 Peninsular War to drive the French out of Spain.
1809 - British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna
1810 - Final illness of George III leads to his son becoming Regent in 1811.
1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated in the House of Commons by a
disgruntled bankrupt
1812 - War of 1812 between the British and Americans. Several naval engagements. American
forces stopped from invading Canada.
1813 - Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice is published.
1813 - Monopoly of the East India company is abolished
1814 - Napoleon defeated at Laon and Toulouse. He abdicates but returns from Elba.
1815 - The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end the Napoleonic Wars.
1815 - Corn Laws passed by Parliament to protect British agriculture from cheap imports
1818 - The Kings wife, Queen Charlotte, dies.
1818 - Publication of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein
1819 - Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, of political reform campaigners.
1820 - Death of King George Ill, aged 81 years

King George IV (1820 - 1830)

1820 - George IV accedes to the throne, having spent the last nine years
as Prince Regent for his blind and deranged father.
1820 - A radical plot to murder the Cabinet, known as the Cato Street
Conspiracy, fails.
1820 - Trial of Queen Caroline, in which George IV attempts to divorce
her for adultery. She has popular support and the divorce proceedings
fail.
1821 - Queen Caroline is excluded from George's coronation.
1821 - Michael Faraday begins his experiments with electromagnetism
1822 - Charles Babbage proposes his difference engine, a mechanical
calculator and forerunner or future computers.
1823 - The Royal Academy of Music is established in London.
1823 - The British Museum is extended and extensively rebuilt to house expanding collection.
1823 - Rugby schoolboy William Web Ellis, while playing football, picks up the ball and runs
with it inventing Rugby Football.
1824 - The National Gallery is established in London.
1825 - Nash reconstructs Buckingham Palace.
1825 - Locomotion No.1, built by George Stephenson, pulls the world's first passenger train for
Stockton to Darlington.
1828 - Duke of Wellington becomes British Prime Minister.
1829 - The Metropolitan Police Force is set up by Robert Peel.
1829 - The Catholic Relief Act is passed, permitting Catholics to become Members of
 29

Parliament.
1830 - George IV dies at Windsor, aged 67.

King William IV (1830 - 1837)

1830 - William IV succeeds his brother, George IV, at the age of 64

1831 - The new London Bridge is opened over the River Thames.
1832 - The First Reform Act is passed, extending votes and
redistributing Parliamentary seats on a more equitable basis.
1832 - Cholera spreads from Sunderland and runs rampant killing over
20,000 people.
1833 - Abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire following a
campaign by Quakers and William Wilberforce.
1833 - Factory Act passed prohibiting children aged less than nine from
work in factories, and reducing the working hours of women and older
children.
1834 - Poor Law Act is passed, creating workhouses for the poor.
1834 - The Tolpuddle Martyrs are transported to Australia for attempting to form a trade union.
1834 - Fire destroys the Palace of Westminster.
1835 - The Municipal Reform Act is passed, requiring members of town councils to be elected
by ratepayers and councils to publish their financial accounts.
1836 - Births, marriages and deaths must be registered by law
1836 - Dickens publishes Oliver Twist, drawing attention to Britains poor
1836 - Charles Darwin returns from a five year voyage on HMS Beagle researching natural
history
1837 - William IV dies at Windsor Castle.

Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901)

1837 - Victoria succeeds her uncle, William IV

1838 - Publication of Peoples Charter. Start of Chartism.
1839 - First Afghan War. British Forces capture the fortress of Ghazi in
Afghanistan.
1839 - - 42 First Opium War. Britain gains Hong Kong.
1840 - Victoria marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
1840 - The Penny Post is introduced. First postage stamp is the Penny
Black.
1840 - First colonist settlement in New Zealand
1841 - Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister
1842 - End of First Opium War. Britain gains Hong Kong
1843 - Launch of SS Great Britain the worlds first all metal ship.
1844 - Railway building mania starts. 5,000 miles of track are built in Britain by 1846
1845 - - 1849 Irish Potato Famine kills more than a million people. Many emigrate to America.
1846 - Repeal of the Corn Laws
1848 - Major Chartist demonstration in London.
1848 - Pre-Raphaelite movement begins
1849 - Harrods store in London is opened
1851 - Great Exhibition takes place in Hyde Park. Its success is largely due to Prince Albert.
1852 - Death of the Duke of Wellington
1853 - Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory.
 30

1853 - Victoria uses chloroform during the birth of Prince Leopold.

1854 - -1856 Crimean War fought by Britain and France against Russia.
1854 - Charge of the Light Brigade
1854 - 10,000 die of cholera from contaminated water in London.
1856 - The Victoria Cross is instituted for military bravery.
1856 - David Livingstone discovers the Victoria Falls
1857 - -1858 Indian Mutiny against British rule.
1858 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel launches The Great Eastern, the largest ship in the world and
the first with a double iron hull.
1858 - First trans-Atlantic telegraph service
1859 - Publication of Charles Darwins The Origin of the Species.
1861 - Prince Albert dies of typhoid
1861 - - 65 Civil War in America. Southern states unsuccessfully seek to involve Britain which
has sufficient cotton from Egypt and India, but needs the Union North's grain.
1863 - The world's first underground railway is opened in London
1863 - Edward, Prince of Wales, marries Alexandra of Denmark
1863 - The Salvation Army is founded.
1863 - The Football Association is founded.
1865 - Slavery is ended in America with Northern Union victory in the American Civil War
1867 - The Second Reform Bill doubles the franchise vote to two million.
1867 - Canada becomes the first independent dominion in the Empire.
1867 - Karl Marx publishes the first volume of Das Kapital
1868 - Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the first time.
1869 - The Irish Church is disestablished.
1870 - First Education Act. Primary education becomes compulsory.
1870 - Death of Charles Dickens
1871 - Trade Unions are legalized
1872 - Secret voting is introduced for elections.
1872 - Henry Stanley finds David Livingstone who had been missing in Africa.
1874 - Disraeli becomes Prime Minister for the second time.
1875 - Suez Canal shares purchased for Britain.
1875 - Thomas Moy demonstrates his Aerial Steamer the worlds first flying machine at Crystal
Palace, London
1876 - Victoria becomes Empress of India.
1876 - Scots Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the telephone
1878 - Second Afghan War. British defend the Kyber Pass.
1878 - William Booths Christian movement adopts the name The Salvation Army
1879 - Tay Bridge disaster
1879 - Zulu war, British troops massacred at Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift
1880 - Gladstone succeeds Disraeli as Prime Minister
1880 - - 1881 First conflict with Boers in South Africa
1883 - British occupy Egypt
1884 - Third Reform Act all adult males given the vote.
1884 - Greenwich Meridian and Mean Time adopted
1886 - First Irish Home Rule Bill fails to pass House of Commons. Gladstone resigns as Prime
Minister.
1887 - Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee. She has ruled for 50 years.
1887 - Independent Labour Party is founded.
1891 - Free schooling is introduced. 11 years later school attendance becomes compulsory for all
children.
 31

1893 - Second Irish Home Rule Bill fails to pass the House of Lords.
1897 - Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee.
1897 - Marconi demonstrates wireless transmission across the Bristol Channel
1899 - -1902 Boer War in South Africa. Siege of Mafeking
1900 - Labour party founded
1901 - Queen Victoria dies, aged 81.

King Edward VII (1901 - 1910)

1901 - Edward VII becomes King on the death of his mother, Queen
Victoria.
1901 - Australia is granted dominion status.
1902 - Arthur Balfour becomes Prime Minister.
1902 - First trans-Atlantic radio transmission
1902 - Edward VII institutes the Order of Merit.
1902 - Empire Day is celebrated for the first time.
1902 - Rudyard Kiplings Just So Stories published.
1903 - Wilbur and Orville Wright of the US make the first manned and
controlled aircraft flight.
1903 - The Womens Social and Political Union, demanding votes for
women, is founded by Emmeline Pankhurst.
1904 - Britain and France sign the Entente Cordiale, settling outstanding territorial disputes.
1904 - Sigmund Freud publishes Psychopathology of Everyday Life.
1904 - Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie is published.
1905 - Motor buses are first used in London.
1906 - Construction of HMS Dreadnought
1907 - Edward VII visits his cousin Tzar Nicholas II of Russia
1907 - Taxi-cabs are legally recognized in Britain for the first time.
1907 - Baden-Powell takes the first ever group of boy scouts on holiday to Brownsea island,
Dorset.
1907 - Parliament rejects Channel Tunnel scheme.
1907 - New Zealand is granted dominion status.
1908 - Production of Ford motor cars begins.
1908 - Publication of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
1908 - The fourth Olympic Games are held in London.
1908 - Herbert Henry Asquith becomes Prime Minister.
1908 - The Triple Entente is signed between Russia, France, and Britain.
1908 - The Childrens Act establishes separate juvenile courts to try children.
1908 - Old Age Pensions established in Britain for all over 70 years old with an income of less
than ten shillings per week.
1909 - The Peoples Budget is introduced by Lloyd George
1909 - The Womens Suffrage movement becomes more militant in their fight for votes for
women.
1909 - Introduction of Labour Exchanges
1909 - French airman, Louis Blriot, makes the first cross-Channel flight from Calais to Dover.
1909 - First rugby match to be played Twickenham takes place.
1909 - First Boy Scout Rally is held at Crystal Palace, London.
1910 - Constitutional Crisis is caused by the House of Commons attempt to curb the power of
the House of Lords.
1910 - Edward dies of pneumonia at Buckingham Palace.
 32

King George V (1910 - 1936)

1910 - George V becomes King and Emperor of India on the death of his
father, Edward VII.
1911 - Parliament Act ensures the sovereignty of the House of
Commons.
1911 - National Insurance Act provides sickness and unemployment
benefits.
1912 - The luxury passenger ship S.S. Titanic sinks on her maiden
voyage, drowning more than 1,500 people.
1913 - Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison throws herself under the
Kings horse at the Epsom Derby
1914 - Anglican Church in Wales is disestablished.
1914 - The heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire is assassinated. Outbreak of World War I.
1914 - Battles of Mons, the Marne, and Ypres.
1915 - Second Battle of Ypres. Allied Gallipoli expedition fails to remove Turkey from the war.
1916 - Battle of the Somme. Naval Battle of Jutland between British and German fleets.
1916 - Easter Rising in Dublin in support of Irish independence.
1916 - David Lloyd George replaces Asquith as Prime Minister.
1917 - Battle of Passchendale.
1917 - Russian Revolution. Czar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra (both cousins of George V)
and their royal family are shot in Ekaterinburg.
1918 - Kaiser Wilhelm II (cousin of George V) abdicates as Germany faces defeat in World War
I.
1918 - The end of World War I. Armistice signed on 11 November.
1918 - Reform Act gives votes to women over 30.
1918 - General Election produces landslide victory for Sinn Fein MPs in Ireland, who refuse to
take their seats in Westminster and form their own DalI parliament in Dublin.
1919 - Lady Astor becomes the first woman MP to take her seat in the House of Commons
1919 - Third Afghan War. Afghanistan gains independence from Britain
1919 - A flu-pandemic (known as Spanish Flu) rages around the world killing over 50 million
people.
1919 - -1921 Ireland partitioned into the Free State and the province of Northern Ireland.
1920 - Marconi opens first radio broadcasting station in Britain
1920 - A flu epidemic rages around the world killing more than 20 million people.
1922 - The British Broadcasting Company starts radio transmissions
1923 - Prince Albert (later George VI) marries Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes Prime Minister of the first Labour Government
1926 - General Strike fails to reverse wage cuts and imposition of longer hours.
1926 - John Logie Baird demonstrates world's first television in London
1927 - British Broadcasting Corporation founded by Royal Charter
1928 - All women over the age of 21 get the vote.
1928 - George V falls seriously ill with blood poisoning of the lung.
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1929 - Beginning of the Great Depression which lasted almost 10 years
1931 - The Statute of Westminster recognizes independence of the dominions.
1931 - Great Depression leads to the formation of a national government of all three political
parties under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald.
1932 - George V makes the first annual Christmas broadcast on radio.
1935 - George V celebrates his Silver Jubilee.
 33

1935 - Robert Watson-Watt demonstrates Radar

1935 - Stanley Baldwin replaces Ramsay MacDonald as prime minister
1936 - George V dies at Sandringham.

King Edward VIII (1936)

1936 - Edward VIII succeeds his father, George V, as King on 20

January.
1936 - Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
1936 - Germany, under Adolf Hitler, reoccupies the demilitarized left
bank of the Rhine.
1936 - Britain begins to rearm as political tension increases in Europe
and the prospect of military conflict in the region becomes more evident.
1936 - Fire destroys Crystal Palace, once the home of the Great
Exhibition in Hyde Park but now located in Sydenham, south London.
1936 - J.M. Keynes publishes his book General Theory of Employment,
Interest and Money an internationally influential study of modern
economics.
1936 - Maiden voyage of luxury ocean liner the Queen Mary takes place.
1936 - Jarrow crusade of unemployed marches to London
1936 - The BBC inaugurates the worlds first television service at Alexandra Palace in London.
1936 - On 10 December Edward signs the Instrument of Abdication over his wish to marry Mrs
Wallis Simpson. Witnessed by all his brothers, it is a simple declaration of his intent to renounce
the throne for himself and all his descendants. He is subsequently created Duke of Windsor.

King George VI ( 1936 - 1952 )

1936 - George VI accedes to the throne upon the abdication of his

brother, Edward VIII
1937 - Frank Whittle invents the jet engine
1938 - Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signs agreement with Adolf
Hitler at Munich in an attempt to stop outbreak of war in Europe
1938 - Nazi Germany annexes Austria
1939 - Germany invades Poland. Outbreak of World War II.
1940 - Retreating British troops evacuated from beaches of Dunkirk as
Germans advance.
1940 - Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister.
1940 - Battle of Britain fought in the skies over England between the
RAF and German Luftwaffe.
1940 - German bombers blitz London, Coventry and other major cities
1941 - Hitler invades the Soviet Union
1941 - America enters the War after Japanese air raid on US fleet at Pearl Harbour.
1942 - Fall of Singapore to the Japanese
1942 - British victory at El Alamein.
1944 - D-Day landings in Normandy as the Allies begin to push the German forces back across
Europe.
1944 - Battle of Arnhem airborne landings
1945 - The defeat of Germany marks the end of World War II in Europe.
1945 - Japan surrenders, after US drops atomic bombs on two cities.
1946 - Start of the 'Cold War'. Churchill speaks of the 'Iron Curtain' separating Western Europe
 34

from the Communist Eastern block

1947 - India granted independence. Pakistan declared a separate nation.
1947 - Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) marries Philip Mountbatten
1948 - National Health Service establishes free medical treatment.
1948 - Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated.
1949 - Berlin Airlift relieves the Soviet blockade of Berlin
1950 - -1953 Korean War
1951 - Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister again.
1952 - George VI dies.

Queen Elizabeth II (1952 - )

1952 - Elizabeth accedes to the throne on the death of her father, George
VI.
1952 - World's first jet airliner passenger service inaugurated by BOAC
in Comet I aircraft
1953 - Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climb Mount Everest just
before Coronation Day
1953 - Francis Crick and James Watson unravel the mystery of DNA
1953 - - 1954 Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip embark on a 6 month
world tour including Australia and New Zealand
1955 - Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by
Anthony Eden.
1955 - Laws restricting the burning of coal and establishing smokeless zones bring an end to
London's notorious fogs
1956 - Anglo-French forces invade Egypt after the nationalization of the Suez Canal.
1957 - Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
1957 - The Gold Coast becomes independent as Ghana, the first British colony in Africa to
receive its independence.
1957 - Queen Elizabeth addresses the United Nations and opens the 23rd Canadian Parliament
1959 - Oil is discovered in the North Sea.
1959 - Queen Elizabeth tours Canada and the United States
1960 - Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister makes 'winds of change' speech in South
Africa.
1960 - Union of South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth.
1962 - Jamaica gains independence
1963 - Alec Douglas-Hume replaces Harold Macmillan as the Prime Minister.
1963 - The Beatles release their first LP.
1964 - Labour government of Harold Wilson takes office
1966 - Aberfan disaster leaves 116 children dead
1969 - Prince Charles is invested as Prince of Wales.
1969 - Troubles break out in the North of Ireland
1970 - Edward Heath becomes Prime Minister.
1971 - Decimal currency is introduced.
1973 - Britain joins the European Community.
1974 - Miners strike brings down Heath Government. Harold Wilson returns as Prime Minister.
1976 - Concorde begins first supersonic trans-Atlantic flights
1977 - Celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Queens accession
1978 - The world's first test-tube baby is delivered in Oldham, Greater Manchester
1979 - Margaret Thatcher succeeds James Callaghan, becoming Britains first woman Prime
 35

Minister.
1981 - Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer in St. Pauls Cathedral.
1982 - Unemployment in Britain tops three million.
1982 - Britain goes to war with Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands
1984 - Miners strike again but is defeated by Thatcher.
1986 - Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60th birthday.
1988 - PanAm flight 103 bombed and crashes on Lockerbie killing 270
1989 - Poll tax is introduced amid widespread protest.
1989 - Fall of the Berlin Wall. End of the 'Cold War'.
1990 - Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister after 11 years and is succeeded by John
Major.
1991 - The Allied forces liberate Kuwait during the Gulf War.
1992 - Princess Anne and Mark Phillips divorce. Windsor castle suffers severe fire damage.
1993 - European Parliament comes into force
1994 - Opening of the Channel Tunnel between England and France
1996 - Both the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of York divorce.
1997 - Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister and ends 18 years of Conservative government.
1997 - Hong Kong reverts to China after 155 years of British rule.
1997 - Diana Princess of Wales dies in Paris car crash
1998 - Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland
1998 - Scotland and Wales vote for their own Assemblies
1999 - Edward, Earl of Wessex, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones.
2000 - Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday.
2001 - Twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York destroyed by Islamic terrorists.
2001 - - 2014. Fourth Afghan War. British and Allied troops in Afghanistan.
2002 - Queen Elizabeth II marks her Golden Jubilee of 50 years of rule. Deaths of Queen Mother
and Princess Margaret.
2003 - British and US forces invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein
2005 - Prince Charles marries his second wife Camilla Parker-Bowles and she is given the title
Duchess of Cornwall
2006 - Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday.
2007 - Tony Blair resigns as Prime Minister
2007 - Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip celebrate 60 years of marriage
2007 - Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever reigning British monarch
2008 - Worldwide banking crisis. Government has to bail out two major British banks
2009 - Parliamentary integrity damaged by expenses scandal
2010 - David Cameron becomes Prime Minister
2011 - Prince William marries Catherine Middleton. They become Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge.
2012 - Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee of 60 years since her accession to the
throne.
2013 - Birth of Prince George, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
2014 - Scottish voters reject proposal by the Scottish National Party to leave the United Kingdom
2014 - End of 4th Afghan war. British forces leave Afghanistan.

KINGS AND QUEENS OF SCOTLAND

HISTORICAL TIMELINE
 36

Alpn MacEchdach (825 - 834)

831 - Diarmait of Iona goes to Ireland with relics of St Columba

834 - Alpn MacEchdach killed in Galloway. His son Kenneth succeeds him.

Kenneth MacAlpin ( 834 - 859 )

834 - Kenneth succeeds his father Alpin MacEchdach

839 - Eganan mac engusa and his brother Bran killed in battle with
Vikings end of dominance of Fortriu.
844 - Kenneth MacAlpin becomes the dominant king of the lands of
Dl Riata and of the Picts which would become known as Scotia,
849 - Kenneth MacAlpin moves St Columba's relics to Dunkeld
making it an important Christian Centre
858 - Death of Kenneth MacAlpin

Constantine I ( 863 - 877 )

870 - Alt Clut, Dumbarton Rock, captured by the Norse-Gael or

Viking leaders Amlab Conung and mar after six months of siege

Aedh (877 - 878)

878 - Kenneth MacAlpin's son edh killed; Eochaid becomes king.

Eochaid (879 - 889)

889 - Death of Eochaid; Donald II grandson of Kenneth becomes king.

Donald II (889 - 900)

c.890 - Exodus of the Strathclyde Britons to Gwynedd (in Wales).

 37

Constantine II ( 900 - 943 )

900 - Constantine II succeeds Donald II

904 - Constantine's forces defeat Vikings at the Battle of Strathearn
937 - Battle of Brunanburh: Alliance of Scots, Celts, Danes, and
Vikings, defeated by Aethelstan of England who takes the title of
King of all Britain
943 - King Edmund of England extends his rule into southern
Scotland,
943 - Abdication of Constantine II

Malcolm I ( 943 - 954 )

943 - Malcolm I becomes king

954 - Malcolm I killed by men of Moray

Indulf (954 - 962)

954 - Indulf captures Edinburgh from Northumbria.

Malcolm III (954 - 1034)

1018 - Malcolm II defeats a force of English and Vikings at Carham,

and extends Scottish rule into Lothian and Northumbria.
 38

Duncan I (1034 - 1040)

1034 - Duncan I succeeds to the Scottish throne

1040 - Duncan is killed in a civil war. His cousin, Macbeth, succeeds

Macbeth ( 1040 - 1057 )

1040 - Macbeth becomes king

1050 - Macbeth goes on a pilgrimage to Rome
1054 - Macbeths forces defeated at Dunsinane by a combined army
of English, Norse and lowland Scots under Siward Earl of
Northumberland
1057 - Macbeth is slain at the Battle of Lumphanan by Malcolm, son
of Duncan I

Lulach ( 1057 - 1058 )

1057 - Lulach, Macbeth's stepson, ascended the throne and was crowned at Scone
1058 - King Lulach killed by Malcolm III at Essie, Strathbogie

Malcolm III ( 1058 - 1093 )

1058 - Malcolm III (Canmore) crowned

1069 - Malcolms married his 2nd wife Margaret of Wessex daughter
Edgar the Aetheling who had been deposed by William I the
Conqueror
1070 - Malcolm attacks Northumbria and Cumbria intent on
expanding his kingdom into northern England.
1091 - The Norman forces of King William II of England advance
North and capture Carlisle and Cumbria
1092 - At Abernethy Malcolm is forced to submit to the Normans
who take his son Duncan and brother-in-law Edgar Aetheling as
hostages
1093 - Malcolm invades England but is killed at the Battle of
Alnwick. He is succeeded by his brother Donald II (Donald Blane)
 39

Donald III (1093 - 1094)

1093 - Donald III (Donald Bane) become king

1094 - Donald Bane is driven out by Duncan, Malcolm's III's son,
who becomes Duncan II. He is killed a few months later at the Battle
of Monthechin, Kincardine, and Donald Bane returns

Duncan II (1094)

1094 - Duncan II becomes king. He is killed a few months later at the

Battle of Monthechin, Kincardine, and Donald Bane returns

Donald III (1093 - 1094)

1094 - Donald III regains the throne and jointly rules with Edmund.
1097 - Donald is overthrown, blinded and imprisoned by Edgar.
Edmund flees to Montecute Abbey in Somerset.

Edgar ( 1097 - 1107 )

1097 - Edgar deposes his uncle Donald and brother Edmund and
becomes king
1098 - Edgar cedes the Western Isles to Magnus Barefoot
1100 - Edith known as Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland,
marries King Henry I of England.
1107 - Edgar dies and is succeeded by his younger brother,
Alexander I
 40

Alexander I ( 1107 - 1124 )

1107 - Alexander I become king

1114 - Alexander aids Henry I in his Welsh campaigns
1124 - Alexander dies and is succeeded by David I

David I (1124 - 1153)

1124 - David I becomes king and introduces the feudal system of

landholding to much of Scotland.
1138 - David I of Scotland invades England in support of his niece,
Matilda wife of King Stephen of England, but is defeated at the
Battle of the Standard in Yorkshire.
1139 - Treaty of Durham in which David I is recognised as King of
an independent Scotland by King Stephen of England.
1153 - David I dies and is succeeded by his grandson Malcolm IV

Malcolm IV (1153 - 1165)

1153 - Malcolm IV becomes king

1156 - Somerled defeats the Norse King of Mann and the Isles
establishing his own semi-independent rule as Innse Gall - King of the
Hebrides.
1157 - Henry II of England takes back lands in Northern England
granted to David I. The border is fixed at the Solway and Tweed very
close to where it is today.
1164 - Somerled is defeated by the Scottish crown in the Battle of
Renfrew.
1165 - Malcolm IV dies at Jedburgh Castle and is succeeded by his
brother, William the Lion

Wlliam I, The Lion (1165 - 1214)

1165 - William the Lion become king

1173 - William the Lion invades England but is captured by Henry II at
Alnwick and forced to surrender Scottish independence
1174 - William I signs the Treaty of Falaise in which he swears
allegiance to Henry II of England.
1185 - William pays Richard I of England money to finance his
crusades to the Holy Land.
1189 - Scotland is recognized as independent by Richard I of England
1192 - The Pope decress that the Scottish Church is answerable
directly to him and not through the English Archbishop of York.
 41

Alexander II (1214 - 1249)

1214 - Accession of Alexander II, son of William the Lion

1216 - Alexander joins the barons of England against King John. A
Scottish army marches to Dover and joins Prince Louis of France who
captures the Tower of London before being driven back in 1217
1217 - Peace treaty with England guarantees peace for almost 20 years
1221 - Alexander marries Joan daughter of King John of England
1233 - Building of Glasgow cathedral starts
1234 - Galloway's independent existence ends with the death of Alan
Lord of Galloway.
1235 - First Scottish Parliament known as the Three Estates meets at
Kirkliston
1237 - Southern border of Scotland established in the Treaty of York.
1249 - Alexander launches an expedition to gain the Western Isles but dies on Isle of Kerrara,
Oban Bay, before the expedition sets sail. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander III

Alexander III (1249 - 1286)

1249 - Alexander III becomes king and is crowned on the Stone of

Destiny
1263 - Alexander III defeats Viking army at the Battle of Largs
1263 - King Haakon of Norway (which at that time included Orkney,
Shetland and the Western Isles) dies on Orkney
1266 - Norway cedes the Western Isles to Scotland in the Treaty of
Perth.
1282 - Devorgilla, Countess of Galloway, mother of John Balliol,
founds Balliol College, Oxford.
1286 - Alexander dies in riding accident leaving the throne to his four-
year-old granddaughter, Margaret

Margaret, Maid of Norway (1286 - 1290)

1286 - Margaret, Maid of Norway, inherits the throne from her

grandfather Alexander
1290 - Margaret dies in the Orkneys on route from Norway to
Scotland. Edward I of England is asked to select a successor
 42

John Balliol (1292 - 1296)

1291 - Claimants to the Scottish throne met King Edward I of

England at Norham on Tweed to resolve succession
1292 - Edward I of England grants the Scottish throne to John Balliol.
1295 - Treaty between King John Balliol of Scotland and King
Philippe IV of France which promised mutual help against the
English - the start of the "Auld Alliance".
1296 - Edward invades Scotland, defeats the Scots at Dunbar and
deposes Balliol. He then takes over the throne of Scotland and
removes the Stone of Scone to Westminster.

Robert the Bruce (1306 - 1329)

1296 - - 1306 Interregnum period with no Scottish monarch and rule by

Edward I of England.
1297 - Andrew de Moray and William Wallace lead the Scots to
victory over England at Stirling Bridge.
1298 - Edward invades Scotland again and defeats William Wallace at
the Battle of Falkirk
1303 - France and England make peace, releasing forces to attack
Scotland
1304 - Stirling Castle, the last of the Scottish castles to be captured by
Edward I
1305 - Wallace is captured and taken to London, where he is tried for treason, and hanged,
drawn, and quartered
1306 - Robert Bruce is crowned king at Scone but is driven into hiding by the English occupation
army of Edward I
1307 - Edward I sets out to invade Scotland but dies on his way north. Bruce begins campaign to
drive the English out of Scotland
1307 - English forces defeated by Bruce at Loudon Hill
1309 - King Robert the Bruce convenes his first parliament, at St Andrew
1311 - The Scots plunder the North of England
1314 - Bruce besieges Stirling Castle. An English army sent to break the siege is routed at the
Battle of Bannockburn
1318 - Robert the Bruce captures Berwick on Tweed.
1320 - Nobles assert Scottish independence in the Declaration of Arbroath.
1323 - Truce between Bruce and Edward II fails to stop warfare between the two countries
1328 - Treaty of Edinburgh between King Robert I and Edward III which recognised Scotland's
independence, ending the 30 years of Wars of Independence.
1329 - Robert the Bruce dies at Cardross Castle possibly of leprosy.
 43

David II ( 1329 - 1371 )

1329 - David II succeeds to the Scottish throne on the death of his

father, Robert Bruce
1331 - David II (aged 7) crowned at Scone
1332 - Edward Balliol, son of John Balliol, invades Scotland and
deposes David II. Edward Balliol is crowned King of Scotland by the
English
1333 - David is restored to the throne.
1333 - Balliol flees to England but returns when Edward III of England
invades Scotland and defeats the Scots at Halidon Hill. King David II
goes into exile in France.
1341 - Edinburgh Castle captured from the English. David returns from exile.
1346 - David II invades England but is defeated at Nevilles Cross and captured. He is taken to
the Tower of London, where he is imprisoned for the next 11 years
1350 - Scotland suffers from the Black Death. Up to a quarter of the population die.
1356 - Edward III devastates the Lothian region in a campaign known as 'The Burnt Candlemas'
1357 - David II is released from captivity and returns home to Scotland.
1371 - Death of David II. He is succeeded by his nephew, Robert Stewart, the first Stewart King
of Scotland. Robert, the hereditary High Steward of Scotland and grandson of Robert Bruce, is
crowned

Robert II (1371 - 1390)

1371 - Robert Stewart, the first Stewart King of Scotland becomes king
1384 - Truce is arranged between England, Scotland, and France.
Scotland refuses to recognize truce. Anglo Scottish war resumes
1388 - Battle of Otterburn in which Scots defeat Henry Percy (Harry
Hotspur)
1390 - Robert II dies and is succeeded by his son John, who becomes
Robert III.

Robert III (1390 - 1406)

1390 - Robert III becomes king. He delegates power to his younger

brother, the Earl of Fife, later the Duke of Albany
1402 - English defeat Scots in the Battle of Nesbit Moor and the Battle
of Humbleton Hill.
1406 - Robert II is disabled in a riding accident and his eldest son is
killed by the Duke of Albany. Robert sends his second son to James to
France but he is captured by English near Flamborough Head. James is
taken to London, where Henry IV of England confines
1406 - King Robert III dies and James I ascended the throne but was not
crowned until 1424 as he was a prisoner of the English.
 44

James I (1406 - 1437)

1406 - James I succeeds to the throne but remains imprisoned in England

1413 - Foundation of the University of St Andrews.
1423 - Treaty of London, releasing James I from his years captivity in
England
1437 - Assassination of James I. He is succeeded by his son, James II

James II ( 1437 - 1460 )

1437 - James II becomes king aged 6 years

1440 - Regents Douglas and Livingston struggle for power culminating
in the 'Blach Dinner' at Edinburgh Castle during which William 6th Earl
of Douglas was dragged out and executed.
1449 - James marries Mary of Gueldres, niece of the Duke of Burgundy
1451 - Establishment of the University of Glasgow.
1457 - James II decrees that football and golf are banned to encourage
archery practice
1460 - King James II killed by an exploding cannon at the siege of
Roxburgh Castle

James III (1460 - 1488)

1460 - James III becomes king at 8 years old

1472 - Denmark cedes Orkney and Shetland to Scotland.
1482 - Berwick on Tweed finally ceded to King Edward IV of England
after changing hands 12 times
1488 - Battle of Sauchieburn, and the assassination of James III. He is
succeeded by his son, James IV

James IV (1488 - 1513)

1488 - James IV becomes king

1493 - Lordship of the Isles abolished. In 1540 the title was reserved to
the crown.
1495 - Creation of the University of Aberdeen (King's College).
1496 - Education Act of 1496 makes education compulsory for barons
and wealthy landowners.
1497 - Chair of Medicine established at Aberdeen University.
1502 - Marriage contract between James IV and Margaret Tudor signed
by King James
1503 - King James IV marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry
VII of England. The marriage was known as the Union of the Thistle and
the Rose.
1507 - First printing press in Scotland is set up by Andrew Myllar
1513 - James IV invades England to support his French allies after the English king, Henry VIII,
 45

invades France. James and most of the Scottish nobility and clergy are slaughtered by the English
army at the Battle of Flodden Field

James V (1513 - 1542)

1513 - The infant James V becomes king

1528 - Patrick Hamilton Protestant reformer is burned at the stake for
heresy
1532 - Creation of the College of Justice and the Court of Session.
1542 - James invades England but is defeated at the Battle of Solway
Moss and dies a few weeks later. His daughter, the one-week-old Mary,
succeeds

Mary Queen of Scots (1542 - 1567)

1542 - One-week-old Mary, succeeds to the throne on the death of her

father James V
1543 - At the Treaty of Greenwich Mary is betrothed to Prince Edward
son of Henry VIII of England, but the Scottish Lords refuse to ratify the
treaty preferring an alliance with France,
1558 - Mary, Queen of Scots, marries French Dauphin, Francis Valois
(he was aged 14) at Notre Dame in Paris. She adopts the French spelling
of Stuart for her surname
1559 - John Knox returns to Scotland from Geneva to promote
Calvinism.
1559 - Mary becomes Queen of France when her husband becomes King
1560 - Parliament legislates protestant reformation of the Church of Scotland.
1560 - Treaty of Edinburgh between France and England, recognising sovereignty of Mary
Queen of Scots and her first husband Francis II
1560 - Latin Mass prohibited in Scotland by Parliament as Protestant faith gains the ascendancy
1561 - Mary Queen of Scots lands at Leith on her return from France, after the death of her
husband, King Francis II
1565 - Mary marries her cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. The marriage is a disaster
1566 - Darnley jealous of Mary's Italian secretary David Rizzio, bursts into her room at Holyrood
and Rizzio is murdered.
1566 - Mary Queen of Scots gives birth to the future King James VI of Scotland and I of England
1567 - Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, assassinated
1567 - Mary marries Earl of Bothwell. The Scottish Lords imprison Mary in Loch Leven castle.
1567 - Mary Queen of Scots abdicates and the young James VI accedes to Scottish throne. The
Earl of Mar appointed regent.
 46

James VI (James I of England) ( 1567 - 1625 )

1567 - King James VI (aged 13 months) is crowned at the Church of the

Holy Rude, beside Stirling Castle
1568 - Mary Queen of Scots flees to England following the defeat of her
army at the Battle of Langside near Glasgow.
1578 - James VI takes over government from his regent James Douglas.
1582 - Establishment of the University of Edinburgh by Royal Charter.
1587 - Mary is beheaded by the order of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
1592 - Presbyterianism becomes the established form of church
government in Scotland by Act of Parliament.
1600 - The Gregorian Calendar is adopted in Scotland. The year begins
on 1st January instead of 25th March
1603 - The Union of the Crowns James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England.
1614 - John Napier invents logarithms and publishes a book promoting their use in mathematics.
1618 - James VI forces episcopacy on the Church of Scotland through the Five Articles of Perth.
1625 - James VI dies. His son Charles I becomes king of England and Scotland

King Charles I (1625 - 1649)

1633 - Education Act of 1633 ordains a school in every parish (partially

successful).
1637 - William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, order the Scottish Kirk
to use the new Anglican prayer book.
1638 - Scottish Covenanters rebel against Charles I.
1643 - The Solemn League and Covenant promises Scots army to aid
English parliamentarians against the king.
1649 - Charles I is executed. There follows 11 years of rule by
Parliament as the Commonwealth under Cromwell.

King Charles II (1660 - 1685)

1651 - Scotland incorporated into the English Commonwealth and

Protectorate.
1660 - The monarchy is restored and Scotland resumes its status as a
separate kingdom.
1672 - The High Court of Judiciary is established as the high criminal
court of Scotland
1679 - Archbishop Sharp a symbol of royal rule over the Kirk is killed
by Covenanters who attempt an uprising. Duke of Monmouth defeats
Covenanters at the Battle of Bothwell Brig.
 47

King James II (1685 - 1688)

1685 - James succeeds his brother, Charles II.

1688 - William of Orange lands at Torbay and advances on London.
1688 - James abdicates and flees to exile in France. William becomes
King William III with his wife Mary.

King William III and Queen Mary II (1689 - 1702)

1689 - Jacobite Highlanders rise in support of James and are victorious at

Killiekrankie but are defeated a few months later at Dunkeld.
1689 - The Claim of Right and the re-establishment of Presbyterianism.
1691 - King William offers Highlanders a pardon for the Jacobite
uprising if they sign allegiance him
1692 - Glencoe Massacre. MacDonalds are killed by Campbells
allegedly for not signing the oath of allegiance to the crown.
1695 - The Bank of Scotland is created by Act of Parliament.
1696 - Education Act of 1696 ordains a school in every Scottish parish
1700 - Attempt to establish a new Caledonian colony 'The Darien
Scheme' in Panama is a disaster and nearly bankrupts Scotland,
1701 - Act of Settlement bars Catholics from the throne. The aim is to prevent the exiled James
Edward Stuart 'The Old Pretender' from return.

Queen Anne (1702 - 1714)

1702 - Anne succeeds her brother-in-law, William III.

1707 - The Act of Union is passed by the English and Scottish
parliaments and unites the kingdoms transferring the seat of Scottish
government to London
1708 - James Edward Stuart, 'The Old Pretender', sails to Scotland in an
unsuccessful attempt to gain the throne.
1709 - The Scottish Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge is
founded with the aim to eradicate 'Popery' and the Gaelic language in the
Highlands
1714 - Queen Ann the last Stuart monarch dies.
 48

King George I (1714 - 1727)

1714 - George I, the first Hanoverian King, succeeds his distant cousin,
Anne.
1715 - The Jacobite rising begins in Scotland intending to place the Old
Pretender James Edward Stuart, heir to James II on the throne. The
rebellion is defeated after a few weeks.
1719 - A small Spanish pro Jacobite force land but are defeated at
Glenshiel
1722 - Rob Roy MacGregor the outlaw surrenders to the Duke of
Montrose
1723 - Adam Smith, author of 'The Wealth of Nations' born in Kirkcaldy

King George II ( 1727 - 1760 )

1727 - George II succeeds his father, George I.

1727 - Janet Horne is the last person in Scotland to be condemned and
burnt for witchcraft
1736 - Captain of the Edinburgh town guard 'Black Jock' Porteus is
lynched by a mob objecting to his harsh treatment of smugglers.
1739 - David Hulme publishes his 'Treatise of Human Nature' and
founds the 'Scottish Enlightenment' movement
1740 - The Black Watch regiment is founded for policing the Highlands
1744 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers founded - the
world's first golf club.
1745 - Charles Edward Stuart, raises his standard at Glenfinnan, at the
start of the '45 Jacobite uprising
1745 - Charles Edward Stuart victorious at Battle of Prestonpans. His forces march South and
reach Derby before retreating back to Scotland
1746 - Scots defeated at the Battle of Culloden. Duke of Cumberland, the King's 2nd son,
ruthlessly represses the rebels and Scottish traditions.
1746 - Prince Charles Edward Stuart escapes capture helped by Flora MacDonald and returns on
a French ship to exile in France.
1747 - Disarming Act bans Highland dress, weapons, and bagpipe music.
1747 - British Linen Company in Edinburgh founded. Wool, linen and fishery industries quickly
grow as Scotland benefits from the Union...
1754 - Joseph Black discovers "fixed air" (carbon dioxide).
1756 - John McAdam who developed the use of Tar Macadam for roads born in Ayr
1748 - David Hume publishes 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding'.
1755 - Scotland's population is 1,265,380 approximately on fifth of that of England.
1760 - The Carron Ironworks near Falkirk use the new system of coke-fired smelting for
producing guns for the Royal Navy
 49

King George III (1760 - 1820)

1760 - George III becomes king on the death of his grandfather, George
II.
1762 - Land tenure reform leads to the Highland Clearances and massive
emigration for several decades.
1768 - Encyclopaedia Britannica first published in Edinburgh
1769 - James Watt patents condensing chamber in the Steam engine.
1771 - The first knitting machines used in Hawick starting a rapid
expansion of the textile industry in the Borders
1771 - Novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott born.
1773 - James Boswell and Dr Johnson write about their trip to the
Highlands and Islands
1776 - Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations.
1778 - First Cotton Mill opened at Rothesay. By 1780 a mill near Glasgow employs 1,000
people.
1782 - Highland Dress Proscription act is repealed recognising that the Jacobite movement was
no longer a political threat
1782 - -1820 The Highland Clearances. Highland landowners clear their estates of poor tenant
farmers forcing many to move to Glasgow, Edinburgh and abroad
1783 - Glasgow Chamber of Commerce founded
1786 - Robert Burns' poems are first published as 'Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect'. They
are an immediate success.
1788 - Charles Edward Stewart "Bonnie Prince Charlie" dies.
1788 - Penal Colony established at Botany Bay
1789 - Inveraray Castle completed the first major building in Britain in neo-Gothic style
1800 - The first Gaelic Bible is published
1802 - John Playfair publishes summary of James Hutton's theories of Geology.
1803 - Works begins on the Caledonian canal
1805 - The Glasgow Herald newspaper first published.
1813 - David Livingstone, missionary and explorer, born in Blantyre
1816 - Robert Owen sets up his New Lanark cotton mill under his scheme of 'enlightened
capitalism'
1817 - The Scotsman newspaper first published.

King George IV (1820 - 1830)

1820 - George IV accedes to the throne, having spent the last nine years
as Prince Regent for his blind and deranged father.
1820 - 60,000 workers strike and appoint a 'provisional government' in
Glasgow. They are put down by troops at Bonnymuir and their leaders
transported.
1822 - King George IV visits Scotland. Encouraged by Walter Scott he
wears Highland dress leading to a revival in tartan costume and in
particular the kilt.
1823 - Charles Macintosh patents waterproof cloth used to make
raincoats
1824 - The Licencing Act attempts to stamp out the many illegal whisky
stills
1824 - Edinburgh's Great Fire burns for 2 days destroying the High Street and Parliament Square
 50

1829 - Felix Mendelssohn visits Scotland and Staffa which inspires him to write the music
Fingal's Cave

King William IV (1830 - 1837)

1830 - William IV succeeds his brother, George IV.

1831 - Scotland's first passenger railway opened between Glasgow and
Garnkirk.
1831 - The Game Act sets 'The Glorious' 12th August as the start of the
grouse shooting season
1832 - The Reform Act enlarges the franchise of those eligible to vote
1834 - St Andrews golf club is given a royal warrant to call itself the
'Royal and Ancient'

Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901)

1837 - Queen Victoria succeeds her uncle, William IV

1837 - Thomas Carlyle publishes 'History of the French Revolution'. He
becomes one of the most influential Victorian writers.
1841 - Scotland's population reaches 2.6 million. An economic recession
makes many firms bankrupt with families relying on charity.
1843 - Disruption in the Church of Scotland (over the issue of
patronage). Many leave to join the Free Church.
1846 - Beginning of the ten-year Highland Potato Famine.
1847 - The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland is established.
1848 - Queen Victoria and Prince Alber lease the Balmoral estate which
they later buy.
1851 - Glasgow has 330,000 inhabitants including many Catholic immigrants from Ireland. One
third of Scottish families live together in a single room.
1859 - The waters of Loch Katrine provide Glasgow with piped fresh water helping to reduce
outbreaks of cholera and typhus in the city
1864 - James Clerk Maxwell presents equations describing electromagnetic fields.
1866 - David Livingstone sets out to find the source of the Nile
1871 - Scotland wins the first international rugby game against England. The Calcutta cup is
made from melted down Indian rupees.
1874 - Patronage abolished in the Church of Scotland.
1876 - The Scottish Football Association is founded
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the telephone
1878 - Collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank
1879 - William Gladstone conducts the Midlothian campaign as part of a political comeback.
1879 - The Tay Bridge Disaster.
1882 - The Clyde becomes the world's large centre for ship building
1885 - Creation of the Scottish Office and the post of Secretary for Scotland later Secretary of
State for Scotland.
1886 - John Dunlop from Ayr patents the pneumatic rubber tyre
1886 - Scottish Labour party founded
1888 - Birth in Helensburgh of John Logie Baird who develops of television
1890 - Opening of the Forth Railway Bridge.
1896 - Opening of the Glasgow Subway.
 51

1897 - Glasgow School of Art designed by Rennie Macintosh opens

1900 - The Wee Frees split from the Free Church of Scotland

King Edward VII (1901 - 1910)

1901 - Edward VII becomes King on the death of his mother, Queen
Victoria.
1901 - Population of Scotland reaches 4.5 million
1903 - Irn Bru first produced by AG Barr in Cumbernauld
1906 - Publishing company DC Thomson starts in Dundee. The Dandy
and Beano first appear in 1930
1910 - Herring fishing industry reaches its peak
1910 - Edward VII dies and is succeeded by George V

King George V (1910 - 1936)

1914 - Outbreak of World War I. Many Scottish regiments fight in the

Germans France
1914 - Battles of Mons, the Marne, and Ypres.
1915 - Second Battle of Ypres. Allied Gallipoli expedition fails to
remove Turkey from the war.
1916 - Battle of the Somme. Naval battle off Jutland between British and
German fleets.
1918 - The end of World War I. The German battle fleet surrenders to
the allies at Scapa Flow in Orkney.
1919 - The German fleet scuttles itself in Scarpa Flow
1921 - Unemployment reaches 20%
1926 - John Logie Baird demonstrates first television
1927 - Scotsman John Reith appointed Director General of the newly formed BBC
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1929 - The Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland unite.
1930 - Evacuation of the island of St Kilda
1934 - Scottish National Party founded.

King George VI (1936 - 1952)

1936 - George VI accedes to the throne upon the abdication of his

brother, Edward VIII
1938 - The Empire Exhibition Scotland 1938 is held at Bellahouston
Park Glasgow.
1938 - The Queen Elizabeth the largest passenger ship at the time
launched at John Browns shipyard
1939 - Start of Second World War
1940 - Evacuation of Dunkirk
1941 - The Clydebank Blitz by German bombers (13-15 May).
1941 - Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, descends by parachute into Scotland
1943 - Creation of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board to bring
electricity to all parts of the Highlands and Islands.
1945 - End of Second World War
 52

1945 - First Scottish Nationalist MP is elected.

1947 - Nationalisation of the railways - the Scottish Region of British Railways is created.
1947 - The first Edinburgh International Festival is held.
1948 - The Tattoo first performed at Edinburgh Castle
1950 - Students remove the Stone of Scone from Westminster. They leave it at Arbroath Abbey
from whence it is returned to London

Queen Elizabeth II (1952 - )

1952 - Queen Elizabeth II accedes to the throne on the death of her

father, George VI.
1957 - Scottish Television starts broadcasting.
1961 - Muriel Spark's 'The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie' published
1963 - Faslane becomes the base for Britain's nuclear submarines
1964 - Forth Road Bridge opened
1968 - The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland permits the
ordination of women as ministers.
1969 - Oil discovered in the North Sea
1970 - The Scottish National Party win just one seat in the general
election
1970 - 13th Commonwealth Games opened in Edinburgh
1975 - Local government reorganisation (replacing Counties and Burghs for administrative
purposes with Regions and Districts).
1975 - North Sea oil is piped ashore and Aberdeen becomes a boom city
1978 - Launch of BBC Radio Scotland.
1979 - Referendum to create a Scottish Assembly fails to meet the required majority.
1988 - Terrorists blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie with the loss of 270 lives including
11 residents of the town.
1988 - Piper Alpha disaster
1990 - Glasgow promoted as European City of Culture
1994 - Local government reorganisation (replacing the Regions and Districts with single-tier
councils).
1995 - Skye road bridge opened
1996 - The Stone of Scone is permanently returned to Scotland to be housed in Edinburgh Castle.
1997 - Newly elected Labour UK Government under the leadership of Scots-born Prime Minister
Tony Blair legislates for a referendum on a devolved Scottish Parliament which is passed by a
large majority.
1999 - A Scottish Parliament sits for the first time in 272 years. Donald Dewar of the Scottish
Labour Party elected as First Minster and forms Scottish Executive in coalition with the Scottish
Liberal Democrats.
2000 - Donald Dewar, Scotland's first Minister, dies
2004 - New Scottish Parliament building opened by the Queen
2007 - Scottish Nationalist Party becomes largest party in the Scottish Parliament
2008 - Worldwide banking crisis. Government has to bail out the Royal Bank of Scotland
2011 - The Scottish National Party gains an overall majority of the Scottish Parliament.
2014 - Scottish voters reject proposal by the Scottish National Party to leave the United Kingdom

Source: www.britroyals.com