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

Prehistory: Mesolithic/Neolithic periods • Bronze/Iron Ages
Centuries: 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th • 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st
References • Sources

1st century BC

YearDateEvent
55 BCRoman General Julius Caesar invades Great Britain for the first time, gaining a beachhead on the coast of Kent.[1]
54 BCCaesar invades for the second time, gaining a third of the country. These two invasions are known as Caesar's invasions of Britain.[1]

Centuries in 1st millennium: 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th

1st century

YearDateEvent
c.10–c.40Reign of Cunobelinus, an influential king of southern England before the Roman occupation; son of Tasciovanus[2]
43Aulus Plautius leads an army of forty thousand to invade Great Britain;[3] Emperor Claudius makes Britain a part of the Roman Empire[4]
C. 47 – 50 London settled by the Romans, known as Londinium[5]

2nd century

YearDateEvent
122 – 128Emperor Hadrian orders a 73-mile (117km) wall to mark the Northern Roman Empire's province on the British Isle. Hadrian's Wall,[6] as it comes to be known, is intended to keep the Caledonians, Picts, and other tribes at bay.

3rd century

4th century

Christianity is introduced by Saint Augustine in 597.

5th century

YearDateEvent
401 Romans begin their withdrawal from Britain[7]: 129–131 
449 The Angles begin their invasion of England and establish tribal kingdoms on the east coast.[8]

6th century

7th century

8th century

YearDateEvent
740-756 Reign of Cuthred, King of Wessex[9]
757 Offa becomes King of Mercia[10]
793 8 June Viking raid on a monastery in Lindisfarne, often taken as the beginning of the Viking age[11]

9th century

YearDateEvent
849 Alfred the Great, the future king of Wessex (r. 871-899), is born to parents Aethelwulf of Wessex and Osburh.
865 Arrival of the Great Heathen Army.
871 April Alfred the Great succeeds his brother Æthelred as King of the West Saxons
874 Edward the Elder, the future king of England (r. 899-924), is born to parents Alfred the Great and Ealhswith.
894 Æthelstan the Glorious, the future king of England (r. 927-939), is born to parents Edward the Elder and Ecgwynn.

10th century

YearDateEvent
921 Edmund the Magnificent, the future king of England (r. 939-946), is born to parents Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent.
923 Eadred, the future king of England (r. 946-955), is born to parents Edward the Elder and Eadgifu of Kent.
924 AD Æthelstan becomes king of England
940 Eadwig All-Fair, the future king of England (r. 955-959), is born to parents Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury.
943 Edgar the Peaceful, the future king of England (r. 959-975), is born to parents Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury.
962 Edward the Martyr, the future king of England (r. 975-978) is born to parents Edgar the Peaceful and Æthelflæd.
963 17 April Sweyn Forkbeard, the future king of England (r. 1013-1014), is born in Denmark to parents Harald Bluetooth and either Tove or Gunhild.
966 Æthelred the Unready, the future king of England (r. 978~1013), is born to parents Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth.
990 Edmund Ironside, the future king of England (r. 1016-1016), is born to parents Æthelred and Ælfgifu of York.
995 Cnut the Great, the future king of England (r.1016-1035), is born to parents Sweyn Forkbeard and Gunhilda of Poland.
992 ADEarl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion in the Battle of Maldon in Essex.

11th century

YearDateEvent
1003 Edward the Confessor, the future king of England (r. 1042-1066), is born to parents Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy.
1016 Harold Harefoot, the future king of England (r.1037-1040), is born to parents Cnut the Great and Ælfgifu of Northhampton.
1016Cnut the Great of Denmark becomes king of all England[12]
1018 Harthacnut, the future king of England, (r. 1040-1042), is born to parents Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy.
1022 Harold II, the future king of England (r. 1066-1066), is born to parents Godwin of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir.
1028 William the Conqueror, the future king of England (r.1066-1087), is born to parents Robert the Magnificent and Herleva.
1043Edward the Confessor becomes king of all England[13]
1055The Great Schism; culmination of theological and political differences between Eastern and Western Christianity[14]
1056 William II, the future king of England (r. 1087-1100), is born to parents William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders.
1066 Battle of Fulford: English forces were defeated by Norse invaders in northeastern England.
Battle of Stamford Bridge: the remaining Norse under Harald Hardrada defeated by the bulk of England's army under the command of its king
Battle of Hastings: England's remaining forces defeated by invaders from Normandy, known as the Norman Conquest; William the Conqueror crowned king of England
1068 Henry I, the future king of England (r.1100-1135), is born to parents William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders.
1086Work commenced on the Domesday Book
1096 Stephen of Blois, the future king of England (r. 1135-1154), is born to parents Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of Normandy.

12th century

YearDateEvent
1133 5 March Henry II, the future king of England (r. 1154-1189), is born in Le Mans, France, to parents Geoffrey V of Anjou and Matilda.
1135The Anarchy began, a civil war resulting from a dispute over succession to the throne that lasted until 1153.
1138The Battle of the Standard, an engagement in which the English defeated an invading Scottish army led by King David I.[15]
1157 8 September Richard the Lionheart, the future king of England (r. 1189-1199), is born to parents Henry II and Elanor of Aquitaine.
1164The Constitutions of Clarendon, a set of laws which governed the trial of members of the Catholic Church in England, were issued.
1166 24 December John Lackland, the future king of England (r. 1199-1216), is born to parents Henry II and Elanor of Aquitaine.
1170Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was assassinated.
1192Crusades: King Richard I was captured by Austrian Duke Leopold V, Duke of Austria while returning from the Holy Land.
1194Richard was ransomed and returned to England.

13th century

YearDateEvent
1207 1 October Henry III, the future king of England (r. 1216-1272), is born to John and Isabella of Angoulême.
1209King John was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Innocent III.
1214 The English defeated in Battle of Bouvinnes.
1215The Magna Carta was signed.
1237The Treaty of York was signed, fixing the border between Scotland and England.
1239 17 June Edward I, the future king of England (r. 1272-1307), is born to Henry III and Elanor of Provence.
1264Battle of Lewes: Rebel English barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester defeated King Henry III.
1267Henry recognised the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Gwynedd.
1277England annexed Gwynedd.
1279The Statute of Mortmain was issued.
1284 25 April Edward II, the future king of England (r. 1307-1327), is born to Edward I and Elanor of Castile.
1287Rhys ap Maredudd led a revolt against English rule in Wales.
1294Madog ap Llywelyn led a revolt against English rule in Wales.
1297Battle of Stirling Bridge: The Scots, led by William Wallace, defeated the English.

14th century

YearDateEvent
130523 AugustWilliam Wallace was executed by the English on a charge of treason.
1312 13 November Edward III, the future king of England (r. 1327-1377), is born to Edward II and Isabella of France.
131423 – 24 JuneBattle of Bannockburn: Scotland won a decisive victory over England.
13281 MayThe Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, under which England recognised Scottish independence, was signed.
1348The Black Death arrived in England.
135619 SeptemberBattle of Poitiers: Second of the three major battles of the Hundred Years' War took place near Poitiers, France.
1367 6 January Richard II, the future king of England (r. 1377-1399), is born to parents Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent.
1367 April Henry IV, the future king of England (r. 1399-1413), is born to parents John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster.
137316 JuneThe Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373 is signed, forming an alliance between England and Portugal; it remains an active treaty, most recently invoked in the Falklands War (see 1982)[16]
1381May – JunePeasants' Revolt: Also called Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England led by Wat Tyler.
1386 16 September Henry V, the future king of England (r. 1413-1422), is born to parents Henry IV and Mary de Bohun.
1395The Statute of Praemunire was issued.

15th century

YearDateEvent
140321 JulyBattle of Shrewsbury was a battle waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland.[17]
141525 OctoberBattle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War[a]that occurred on Saint Crispin's Day, near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France.
1421 6 December Henry VI, the future king of England (r. 1422~1471), is born to parents Henry V and Catherine of Valois.
1442 28 April Edward IV, the future king of England (r. 1461~1470), is born to parents Richard of York and Cecily Neville.
1452 2 October Richard III, the future king of England (r. 1483-1485), is born to parents Richard of York and Cecily Neville.
145522 MayThe start of the Wars of the Roses a civil war for control of the throne of England between the House of York in Yorkshire and House of Lancaster in Lancashire.
1457 28 January Henry VII, the future king of England (r. 1385-1509), is born to parents Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort.
148522 AugustBattle of Bosworth Field (Battle of Bosworth): the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York. Richard III, the last Plantagenet king was killed, succeeded by Henry VII.
148716 JuneBattle of Stoke was the decisive engagement in an attempt by leading Yorkists to unseat Henry VII of England in favour of the pretender Lambert Simnel.
1470 2 November Edward V, the future king of England (r. 1483-1483), is born to parents Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.
1491 28 June Henry VIII, the future king of England (r. 1509-1547), is born to parents Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

16th century

YearDateEvent
1513Battle of Flodden Field: Invading England, King James IV of Scotland and thousands of other Scots were killed in a defeat at the hands of the English.
1516 18 February Mary I, the future queen of England (r. 1553-1558), is born to parents Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
1521Lutheran writings begin to circulate in England.
1527 21 May Phillip II, the future king of England (r. 1554-1558), is born to parents Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and Isabella of Portugal.
1526Lord Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey ordered the burning of Lutheran books.
1533King Henry VIII severs ties with the Catholic Church and declared himself head of the church in England.
7 SeptemberElizabeth I, the future queen of England (r. 1558-1603), is born to parents Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
1534Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy.
Henry VIII issued the Treasons Act 1534.
1535Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher were executed.
1536William Tyndale was executed in Antwerp.
Henry VIII issued the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
1537 12 October Edward VI, the future king of England (r. 1547-1553), is born to parents Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.
1549Prayer Book Rebellion: A rebellion occurred in the southwest.
1550England and France sign the Peace of Boulogne.
1553The Act Against Sectaries 1553 was issued.
1558Elizabeth I claims the throne of England and rules until 1603.
1559The Act of Supremacy 1559 was issued.
1566 19 June James I, the future king of England (r. 1603-1625), is born to parents Henry Stuart and Mary I.
1571The Treasons Act 1571 was issued.
The Act Prohibiting Papal Bulls from Rome 1571 was issued.
1585The Roanoke Colony was founded in America.
15888 AugustThe Spanish Armada was destroyed.
1589The English Armada (or Counter Armada) was defeated by Spain.
1593The Act Against Papists 1593 was issued.

17th century

YearDateEvent
1600 19 November Charles I, the future king of England (r. 1625-1649), is born to parents James I and Anne of Denmark.
1601 Catholic plot against the Earl of Essex includes some of the plotters from the gunpowder plot.
1603 King James VI of Scotland ascends to the English throne, becoming James I of England and uniting the crowns – but not the parliaments – of the two kingdoms.
16055 NovemberGunpowder Plot: A plot in which Guy Fawkes and other Catholic associates conspired to blow up King James VI and I and the Parliament of England was uncovered.
1607 14 May Jamestown was founded in the Virginia Colony and was the first permanent English colony in America.
1611Henry Hudson died.
161829 OctoberWalter Raleigh was executed.
1630 29 May Charles II, the future king of England (r. 1660-1685) is born to parents Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France.
1633 14 October James II, the future king of England (r. 1685-1688) is born to parents Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France.
1639Bishops' Wars: A war with Scotland began which would last until 1640.
1640Long Parliament: The Parliament was convened.
1642The English Civil War began (see timeline of the English Civil War).
1649JanuaryTrial and execution of Charles I
1649Interregnum began with the First Commonwealth.
1650 4 November William III, the future king of England (r. 1689-1702), is born to parents William II of Orange and Mary of England.
1653–1659the Protectorate under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and later (1658) his son Richard Cromwell
1659The Second Commonwealth brings with it a period of great political instability.
1660Restoration of the monarchy: After a chaotic short revival of the Commonwealth of England, the monarchy was restored in May 1660, after agreeing to the Declaration of Breda, largely through the initiative of General George Monck.
1662 30 April Mary II, the future queen of England (r. 1689-1694), is born to parents James II and Anne Hyde.
1665 6 February Anne, the future queen of England (r. 1702-1707), is born to parents James II and Anne Hyde.
16662 – 5 SeptemberGreat Fire of London : A major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London.
1688Glorious Revolution:[18] Also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of James II by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange).
1692–1693Salem Witch Trials, More than 200 people accused; 20 of which were executed (19 by hanging, 1 being pressed to death). Many accused died in jail awaiting trial.
1694 27 July The Bank of England is founded.

18th century

YearDateEvent
1701The Act of Settlement 1701, which required the English monarch to be Protestant, was passed.
17028 MarchWilliam III died and was succeeded by Anne.
17044 AugustGibraltar was captured by a combined Dutch and English fleet under the command of Admiral of the Fleet George Rooke.
13 AugustBattle of Blenheim: A combined English and Dutch army under the command of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeated the French army in Bavaria.
170622 JulyThe Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland.
1707The Acts of Union 1707 were passed in the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland, ratifying the Treaty of Union.
1716The Old Dock, originally known as Thomas Steers' dock, was the world's first commercial wet dock.[19]
1744An attempted French invasion of southern England was stopped by storms.
1760Victory over the French in New France, forming the British East Coast of North America.
1765William Blackstone published his first volume of Commentaries on the Laws of England.
177519 AprilWar of American Independence officially starts with the battles of Lexington and Concord. Lasts until 1789.
1790sCanal Mania, an intense period of canal building in England and Wales.
179722-25 JulyAdmiral Horatio Nelson suffer his worst defeat in Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797) and lost his hand by a cannon ball from a tiger cannon fighting against canarian militias

19th century

YearDateEvent
1805 Battle of Trafalgar: Horatio Nelson defeats the French at Trafalgar, establishing British naval supremacy over the world's oceans for approximately 140 years.
181916 August Peterloo Massacre: about 18 people killed and several hundred injured in Manchester when cavalry charge a large demonstration demanding parliamentary representation reform[20]
183015 September The Liverpool and Manchester Railway[21][22][23] (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world.[24][lower-roman 1] It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England.
1837June 20Queen Victoria becomes queen of England, she will reign until January 22, 1901. The Victorian era starts.
185924 November On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin is published[25]
186310 January The first underground train goes into operation in London[26]
1878 Women first admitted to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge[27]
  1. ↑ The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825, but sections of this line employed cable haulage, and only the coal trains were hauled by locomotives. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, opened in May 1830, was also mostly cable hauled. Horse-drawn traffic, including passenger services, used the railway upon payment of a toll.

20th century

YearDateEvent
1912 AugustHarry Brearley invents Stainless Steel in Sheffield, Yorkshire[28]
1914 28 July World War 1 begins
1918 11 November World War 1 ends
1939 3 September Britain declares war on Nazi Germany and enters World War 2
1945 8 May Germany surrenders and World War 2 ends in Europe
1948 5 July The National Health Service is founded
1973 1 JanuaryUK joins the European Communities (predecessor of the European Union).
1982 11 OctoberThe Mary Rose is raised from the seabed of the Solent, where she had sunk in 1545[29]

21st century

YearDateEvent
2004 The population of England reaches fifty million.
2019 14 July ICC Cricket World Cup: England win a thriller at Lords and clinch their maiden ODI World Cup led by Eoin Morgan.
2020 Brexit.
2020 March Coronavirus pandemic causes over 177,000 deaths despite social distancing and lockdown being put into operation to limit spread of infection.
2022 8 September Queen Elizabeth II dies after a reign of 70 years and 214 days

See also

City and town timelines
County timelines

References

    1. 1 2 Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 4.20–35, 5.1, 8–23; Dio Cassius, Roman History 39.50–53, 40.1–3; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 1.45
    2. ↑ Todd, Malcolm (2004). "Cunobelinus [Cymbeline] (D. C. Ad 40), king in southern Britain". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6939. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
    3. ↑ Birley, Anthony R. (1981). The Fasti of Roman Britain. p. 39.
    4. ↑ Sheppard Frere, Britannia: A history of Roman Britain, revised edition (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978), p. 82
    5. ↑ Hingley, Richard. Londinium : a biography : Roman London from its origins to the fifth century. London. pp. 27–32. ISBN 978-1-350-04730-3. OCLC 1042078915.
    6. ↑ "Hadrian's Wall: The Facts". Visit Hadrian's Wall. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
    7. ↑ Simon Hornblower; Antony Spawforth, eds. (1998). The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860165-4.
    8. ↑ "Angle". Encyclopedia Britannica.
    9. ↑ Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 204
    10. ↑ Kirby, D.P. (1992). The Earliest English Kings. London: Routledge. p. 163. ISBN 0-415-09086-5.
    11. ↑ Swanton, Michael (6 April 2000). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (New ed.). Phoenix Press. p. 57. ISBN 1-84212-003-4.
    12. ↑ Stenton, Frank (1971). Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-19-821716-9.
    13. ↑ Barlow, Frank (25 May 2006). "Edward (St Edward; known as Edward the Confessor)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8516. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
    14. ↑ Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2005). "Great Schism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford: University Press. p. 706. ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
    15. ↑ "The Anarchy: Battle of the Standard". About.
    16. ↑ Fergusson, George; Trowbridge, Benjamin (9 May 2016). "History's Unparalleled Alliance: the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Windsor, 9th May 1386". History of Britiah Government.
    17. ↑ English Heritage (1995). "English Heritage Battlefield Report: Shrewsbury 1403" (PDF). Retrieved 22 August 2011.
    18. ↑ Name of the Glorious Revolution in the languages of Britain and Ireland:
    19. ↑ "Trading Places: Old Dock History". Liverpool Museums. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
    20. ↑ Bush, M. L. (2005). The casualties of Peterloo. Lancaster: Carnegie Pub. ISBN 1-85936-125-0. OCLC 71224394.
    21. ↑ A History and Description of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. T. Taylor, 1832.
    22. ↑ Arthur Freeling. Freeling's Grand Junction Railway Companion. Whittaker, 1838
    23. ↑ James Cornish. The Grand Junction, and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Companion: Containing an Account of Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester. 1837.
    24. ↑ BBC (23 July 2009). "Manchester to Liverpool: the first inter-city railway". Archived from the original on 20 November 2019.
    25. ↑ Desmond, Adrian; Moore, James (1991), Darwin, London: Michael Joseph, Penguin Group, p. 477, ISBN 0-7181-3430-3
    26. ↑ Wolmar, Christian (2004). The Subterranean Railway: how the London Underground was built and how it changed the city forever. Atlantic. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-84354-023-6.
    27. ↑ Frances Lannon (30 October 2008). "Her Oxford". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
    28. ↑ "A non-rusting steel". The New York Times. 31 January 1915.
    29. ↑ Wendell Lewis, "Raising the Mary Rose" in Marsden (2003), pp. 53–59; Rule (1983), pp. 206–27.

    Bibliography

    • Marsden, Peter, Sealed by Time: The Loss and Recovery of the Mary Rose. The Archaeology of the Mary Rose, Volume 1. The Mary Rose Trust, Portsmouth. 2003. ISBN 0-9544029-0-1

    Further reading

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