1938 in British television explained
This is a list of events related to British television in 1938.
Events
January
February
March
- 12 March – First news bulletin carried by the BBC Television Service, in sound only. Previously, the service had aired British Movietone News cinema newsreels.
April
- 1 April – The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is first televised on the BBC Television Service.
- 19 April – The first televised international football (soccer) match, England v Scotland, shown on the BBC Television Service.
- 30 April – The FA Cup Final is televised for the first time on the BBC Television Service.
May
- 31 May – The first quiz show, Spelling Bee, is televised on the BBC Television Service.[1]
June
- 24 June
- Test Match Cricket is broadcast for the first time on the BBC Television Service, with coverage of the second test of The Ashes series between England and Australia, live from Lord's Cricket Ground.
- John Logie Baird gives the world's first public demonstration of a colour television broadcast.[2] The 120-line image is projected at the Dominion Theatre, London on a 12 by 9 feet (3.7 by 2.7 m) screen in front of an audience of 3,000.
October
November
- Due to freak atmospheric conditions, a BBC TV broadcast from London is received in New York City.[3]
December
- By the end of the year 9,315 television sets have been sold in England.
Debuts
- 11 February – R.U.R (1938)
- 19 February – Clive of India (1938)
- 1 April – The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019)
- 8 May – Checkmate (1938)
- 11 May – The Emperor Jones (1938)
- 31 May – The Constant Nymph (1938)
- 10 August – Telecrime (1938–1939, 1946)
- 31 May – Spelling Bee (1938)
- July – Ann and Harold (1938)
- 2 July – On the Spot (1938)
- 5 July – White Secrets (1939)
- 12 July – The Case of the Frightened Lady (1938)
- 30 October – Cyrano de Bergerac (1938)
- 31 October – Smoky Cell (1938)
- 1 November – The Last Voyage of Captain Grant (1938)
- 7 November – The Breadwinner (1938)
- 10 November – Villa For Sale (1938)
- 11 November – The White Chateau (1938)
- 23 November – Love from a Stranger (1938)
Continuing television shows
1920s
- BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–2024)
1930s
Ending this year
Births
- 14 March – Eleanor Bron, actress and author
- 6 April – Paul Daniels, magician and television performer (d. 2016)
- 20 April – Peter Snow, radio and television presenter
- 28 April – Fred Dibnah, steeplejack and television personality (d. 2004)
- 7 June – Ian St John, Scottish footballer and TV pundit (d. 2021)
- 6 July – Tony Lewis, Welsh cricketer and sports presenter
- 20 July – Diana Rigg, actress (d. 2020)
- 22 July – Terence Stamp, actor
- 28 July – Ian McCaskill, weatherman (d. 2016)
- 3 August – Terry Wogan, Irish broadcaster (d. 2016)[4]
- 31 August – Martin Bell, war correspondent, independent politician and UNICEF ambassador
- 12 September
- 22 October – Derek Jacobi, actor
- 28 October – David Dimbleby, political broadcaster
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Spelling Bee. ukgameshows.com. 2021-07-30.
- Previous demonstrations of colour television in the UK and US had been via closed circuit.
- A film camera is used to record the silent images which included the performance of a play, a cartoon, and other matter. A four-minute excerpt from this filmed recording will survive and be considered one of the only surviving examples of a pre-war BBC television transmission. Web site: BBC Television received in New York – November 1938. Alexandra Palace Television Society. 2017-02-11.
- Web site: Sir Terry Wogan obituary . The Guardian. London . 18 September 2021 . en . 31 January 2016.
