1964 in the United Kingdom explained
Events from the year 1964 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
Events
- 1 January – Top of the Pops first airs on BBC TV.
- 11 January – The teen girls magazine Jackie is first published.[1]
- 20 January – Eleven men go on trial at Buckinghamshire Assizes in Aylesbury charged in connection with the Great Train Robbery five months ago.
- 21 January – Government figures show that the average weekly wage is £16.[2]
- 22 January – The film Zulu is released.
- 28 January – Families from Springtown Camp make a silent march through Derry, Northern Ireland, to demand rehousing.[3]
- 29 January–9 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria and win one gold medal.
- 6 February – The British and French governments agree a deal for the construction of a Channel Tunnel. The twin-tunneled rail link is expected to take five years to build.[4]
- 11 February – Southampton is granted city status, the first such designation of the current reign.[5]
- 19 February – The actor Peter Sellers marries actress Britt Ekland.
- 21 February – £10 banknotes are issued for the first time since the Second World War.
- 9 March – The London Fisheries Convention is signed.
- 10 March – The Queen gives birth to her fourth child and third son whose name is registered on 20 April as Edward.
- 19 March
- Power dispute talks break down and it is feared that supply disruptions will follow industrial action.[6]
- The government announces plans to build three new towns in South East England to act as overspill for overpopulated London.[7] One of these is centred on the village of Milton Keynes in north Buckinghamshire.[8]
- 26 March – Verdicts are passed on ten men for their role in the Great Train Robbery after one of the longest criminal trials and longest jury retirals in English legal history.
- 28 March – "Pirate" radio station Radio Caroline begins regular broadcasting from a ship anchored just outside UK territorial waters off Felixstowe.[9]
- 29 March – The first purpose-built gurdwara in Britain opens, the Guru Gobind Singh Ji Gurdwara in Bradford.[10]
- 30 March – Violent disturbances between Mods and Rockers occur at Clacton beach.[11]
- 31 March – Minister of Labour Joseph Godber appoints Lord Justice Pearson to chair a court of inquiry into the power dispute.[12]
- 1 April – The Ministry of Defence takes over the duties of the War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry which all cease to exist. The title of Lord High Admiral is revested in the Monarch.[11] The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science merge to form the Department of Education and Science.
- 9 April – Labour wins the first elections to the Greater London Council.
- 10 April – Runcorn, a small town in north Cheshire, is designated as a new town by Alec Douglas-Home's government. Extensive house building and industrial and commercial developments are predicted to inflate the town's population to around 70,000 by 1981.[13]
- 11 April – The National Trust reopens the southern section of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, the first major restoration of a canal for leisure use.[14]
- 16 April – A sentence is passed on eleven men for their role in the Great Train Robbery, seven receiving 30 years each.[9]
- 18 April – Liverpool win the Football League First Division for the sixth time in their history.[15]
- 20 April – The opening night of BBC2, the UK's third television channel, is disrupted by power cuts in London and all that can be screened is announcer Gerald Priestland delivering apologies from Alexandra Palace. On the same day, the BBC Television Service is renamed BBC1.[16]
- 21 April – BBC2 begins its scheduled broadcasting, its first programme is the children's series Play School which would run until 1988.[9]
- 29 April – All schools in Aberdeen are closed following 136 cases of typhoid being reported.
- 1 May – Princess Margaret gives birth to a baby girl.
- 2 May
- 5 May – Granada Television airs the first in what will become a series of documentary interviews with a generation of children, Seven Up!
- 6 May – Joe Orton's black comedy Entertaining Mr Sloane premieres at the New Arts Theatre in London.[18]
- 11 May – Terence Conran opens the first Habitat store on London's Fulham Road.[9]
- 12 May – "Pirate" radio station Radio Atlanta begins broadcasting from anchored off Frinton-on-Sea, in July, its operations are merged with Radio Caroline.
- 15 May – Lord Justice Pearson reports on the power dispute.[19]
- 16–18 May – Violent disturbances between Mods and Rockers in Brighton.
- 27 May – "Pirate" radio station Radio Sutch begins broadcasting from Shivering Sands Army Fort in the Thames Estuary.[20]
- 29 May – The official opening of the UK's first undercover shopping centre, at the Bull Ring, Birmingham.[21]
- 17 June – A missing persons investigation is launched in Fallowfield, Manchester, as police search for 12-year-old Keith Bennett who was last seen on his way to his grandmother's house yesterday evening, he is a victim of the Moors murders.
- July
- 6 July
- 10 July – More than 300 people are injured in Liverpool when a crowd of some 150,000 people welcome The Beatles back to their home city.
- 15 July – The Post Office Tower in London is completed, although it does not begin operations until October 1965.[11]
- 27 July – Former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill is present in the House of Commons for the last time at the age of 89, having been an MP for 63 of the last 65 years. On the following day, he receives a Parliamentary resolution recording his service to the House and nation and marking his retirement.[24]
- 4 August
- 13 August – Peter Anthony Allen at Walton Prison in Liverpool and Gwynne Owen Evans at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, are hanged for the murder of John Alan West on 7 April, the last executions to take place in the British Isles.[25]
- 22 August – The first Match of the Day airs on BBC2.
- September – The British Motor Corporation launches the BMC ADO17 family saloon, initially as the Austin 1800, this again wins BMC the European Car of the Year award in its second year.
- 4 September – The Forth Road Bridge opens over the Firth of Forth, linking Fife and Edinburgh.[9]
- 14 September – The final edition of the left-wing Daily Herald newspaper is published.
- 15 September
- The Sun newspaper goes into circulation, replacing the Daily Herald.
- Sir Alec Douglas-Home calls a general election for 15 October.
- 17 September – Goldfinger, the third James Bond film, premieres at Odeon Leicester Square in London.
- 20 September – At the autumnal equinox, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) is founded in England, as the equivalent of Wales's Gorsedd of Bards.
- 21 September – Malta obtains independence from the UK.[23]
- 29 September – An announcement was made that American car manufacturer Chrysler is taking a substantial share in the British Rootes Group combine which includes the Hillman, Singer and Sunbeam marques.[26]
- October – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the first British woman to win a Nobel "for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances".[27]
- 10–24 October – Great Britain competes at the Olympics in Tokyo and wins 4 gold, 12 silver and 2 bronze medals.
- 15 October – 1964 United Kingdom general election. The Labour Party defeats the Conservatives and Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister, having gained a majority of five seats. The election result spells the end of 13 years of Conservative government, although the Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home had entered office only 12 months ago. A surprise casualty as MP is Patrick Gordon Walker who was widely expected to become the Foreign Secretary in a future Labour government, but loses his Smethwick seat to the Conservatives following a controversial racially motivated campaign by the opposing party's supporters.[28]
- 17 October – Harold Wilson's cabinet is announced, it includes James Callaghan (who missed out on the Labour leadership in February 1963), Denis Healey, Barbara Castle and Roy Jenkins. Jim Griffiths becomes the first Secretary of State for Wales.
- 18 October – Harold Wilson creates the Welsh Office.[11]
- 24 October – Northern Rhodesia, a former British protectorate, becomes the independent Republic of Zambia, ending 73 years of British rule.[23]
- 2 November – The ITV soap opera Crossroads airs for the first time. It would run until 1988 and would be revived in 2001 and ended again in 2003.[9]
- 9 November – The House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty for murder in Britain. The last execution took place in August and the death penalty is set to be officially abolished before the end of next year with the number of executions having gradually fallen during the last decade.
- 27 November – Power unions announce that they will start balloting for a strike.[29]
- 30 November – The power dispute is settled and strike action called off.[30]
- 16 December – Government, Trades Union Congress and employers produce a joint Statement of Intent on Productivity, Prices and Incomes.
- 21 December – MPs vote 355 to 170 for the abolition of the death penalty, with the abolition likely to be confirmed before the end of next year. The death penalty has gradually fallen out of use over the last twenty years, with the two most recent executions having taken place in August.
- 23 December
- 24 December – The Beatles gain the Christmas number one for the second year running with "I Feel Fine" which has topped the singles charts for the third week running. They have now had six number one singles in the United Kingdom alone.[32]
- 26 December – Police launch a missing persons investigation after ten-year-old Lesley Ann Downey goes missing from a fairground near her home in Ancoats, Manchester, she is a victim of the Moors murders.
- 31 December – Donald Campbell sets the world speed record on water at 276.33 mph on Dumbleyung Lake in Australia.[9]
Undated
Publications
Births
- 8 January – Marc Quinn, sculptor
- 14 January – Mark Addy, actor
- 17 January – Andy Rourke, musician (d. 2023)
- 18 January
- 26 January – Adam Crozier, businessman
- 29 January – John Anthony Gallagher, English-New Zealand rugby player
- 5 February – Martha Fiennes, film director
- 7 February – Ray Mears, woodman and television presenter
- 9 February – Mark Carleton-Smith, soldier, Chief of the General Staff
- 16 February – Christopher Eccleston, actor
- 18 February – Tommy Scott, British musician and frontman of Space
- 22 February – Diane Charlemagne, singer (52nd Street, Urban Cookie Collective) (died 2015)[36]
- 25 February – Lee Evans, comedian and actor
- 29 February – James Ogilvy, son of Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy and Sir Angus Ogilvy
- 10 March – Prince Edward (later Earl of Wessex and Duke of Edinburgh), youngest son of the Queen
- 11 March
- 17 March – Lee Dixon, English footballer
- 18 March – Courtney Pine, jazz saxophonist
- 19 March – Jake Weber, actor
- 26 March – Martin Donnelly, Northern Irish racing driver
- 27 March – Clive Rowe, actor
- 28 March – Karen Lumley, politician (d. 2023)
- 3 April – Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party leader and MEP for South East England
- 4 April – Paul Parker, footballer
- 9 April – Dan Pearson, landscape designer
- 13 April
- 18 April – Niall Ferguson, Scottish historian
- 20 April – Andy Serkis, English film actor
- 25 April – Andy Bell, singer-songwriter (Erasure)
- 28 April – Lady Helen Taylor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent
- 1 May – Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of Antony Armstrong-Jones and Princess Margaret
- 6 May – Diane Holl, engineer[37]
- 8 May – Dave Rowntree, drummer (Blur)
- 11 May – John Parrott, snooker player and broadcaster[38]
- 15 May – Jill McDonald, businesswoman[39]
- 20 May
- 21 May – Danny Bailey, English footballer
- 24 May – Adrian Moorhouse, swimmer
- 28 May – Clive Oppenheimer, vulcanologist
- 30 May – Mark Sheppard, British-American actor and musician
- 10 June – Ben Daniels, actor
- 13 June – Kathy Burke, actress and comedian
- 14 June – Peter Gilliver, lexicographer and academic
- 19 June – Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022
- 21 June
- 22 June
- 23 June – Jane Garvey, radio presenter
- 24 June
- 25 June – Johnny Herbert, racing driver and commentator
- 3 July – Joanne Harris, novelist
- 7 July – Rob Newman, comedian, actor and author
- 11 July – Craig Charles, actor, comedian and broadcaster
- 12 July – Gaby Roslin, TV presenter
- 14 July – Matt Pritchett, pocket cartoonist
- 17 July – Andy Abraham, singer
- 21 July – Ross Kemp, actor
- 22 July – Bonnie Langford, actress and entertainer
- 23 July
- 25 July – Martin Samuel, sports journalist
- 3 August – Ralph Knibbs, rugby union player[40]
- 16 August – Barry Venison, English footballer and journalist
- 20 August – Flaminia Cinque, actress
- 22 August – Diane Setterfield, novelist and educator
- 25 August – Clive Myrie, journalist and television presenter
- 26 August – Allegra Huston, English-American author
- 1 September
- 8 September – Peter Murrell, Scottish politician
- 10 September – Edmund de Waal, potter and writer
- 13 September – Richard Tice, businessman and politician
- 19 September – Simon Singh, popular science author
- 23 September – Clayton Blackmore, footballer
- 30 September – Ian McCall, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1 October – Harry Hill, comedian, writer and actor
- 3 October – Clive Owen, English actor
- 7 October – Paul Stewart, English footballer
- 8 October – Martin Marquez, English actor
- 10 October – Sarah Lancashire, English actress
- 17 October – Gregg Wallace, English broadcaster
- 21 October – Mark Sedwill, Cabinet Secretary
- 22 October
- 24 October
- Grant Gee, film maker, photographer and cinematographer
- Paul Vigay, computer programmer (died 2009)
- 28 October – Andrew Bridgen, politician
- 29 October – Yasmin Le Bon, model
- 7 November – Philip Hollobone, Conservative politician and MP for Kettering
- 19 November
- 21 November
- 24 November – Alistair McGowan, actor and comedian
- 26 November – Gary Love, actor and film director
- 7 December – Hugo Blick, filmmaker
- 18 December – Robson Green, actor and television presenter
- 21 December – Rob Kelly, footballer and manager
- 25 December
- 30 December – Sophie Ward, actress
- Undated
Deaths
- 7 January – Cyril Davies, blues musician (born 1932)[42]
- 9 January – Hubert Phillips, economist, journalist, bridge player and composer of puzzles (born 1891)
- 17 January – T. H. White, novelist (born 1906)[43]
- 20 February – Verena Holmes, mechanical engineer and inventor (born 1889)
- 22 February – Verrier Elwin, anthropologist and missionary (born 1902)[44]
- 26 February – F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, World War II hero (born 1901)
- 21 March – Nancy Spain (born 1917) and Joan Werner Laurie (born 1920), journalists, in the crash of a light plane near Aintree
- 9 June – Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Canadian-British business tycoon, politician and writer (born 1879)
- 27 June – Mona Barrie, English actress (born 1909)
- 21 July – John White, footballer (born 1937)
- 12 August – Ian Fleming, author and journalist (born 1908)[45]
- 31 August – Peter Lanyon, painter (born 1918)
- 9 September – Sir George Abercromby, 8th Baronet (born 1886)
- 18 September – Clive Bell, art critic (born 1881)
- 2 November – Charles Walter Allfrey, general (born 1895)
- 5 November – Mabel Lucie Attwell, illustrator (born 1879)
- 1 December – J. B. S. Haldane, geneticist (born 1892)
- 8 December – Simon Marks, 1st Baron Marks of Broughton, businessman (born 1888)
- 9 December – Edith Sitwell, poet (born 1887)
- 21 December – Algernon Kingscote, tennis champion (born 1888)
- 24 December – Claudia Jones, black activist (born 1915)
See also
Notes and References
- Book: McRobbie, Angela. Feminism and youth culture: from "Jackie" to "Just Seventeen". Basingstoke. Macmillan. 1991. 978-0-333-45263-9.
- Equivalent to £229 in 2021, when the average will actually be around £550.
- Web site: Springtown Camp from the inside. Springtown Camp 1946–1967. 2006. 12 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120321082045/http://www.springtowncamp.com/files/news/2008/jan/07.html . 21 March 2012. dead.
- News: 1964: Green light for Channel Tunnel. BBC News. 10 January 2008. 6 February 1964. https://web.archive.org/web/20071204121956/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/6/newsid_2535000/2535625.stm. 4 December 2007 . live.
- News: City Status For Southampton. The Times. 5. 12 February 1964.
- News: The Times. 20 March 1964. 14, col.A. Power Dispute Talks Break Down Overtime Ban On Monday, Union Delegation Walks Out Of Meeting.
- News: 1964: 'Ambitious' plans for south east. 19 March 1964. BBC. 5 October 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20131109203819/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/19/newsid_2570000/2570681.stm . 9 November 2013. live.
- https://www.expressandstar.com/days/1950-75/1964.html Those were the days
- Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 978-0-14-102715-9. 2006.
- Web site: First places of devotion. Vaguely Interesting. 6 March 2013. 5 January 2015.
- Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 422–423. 978-0-7126-5616-0.
- News: The Times. 1 April 1964. 10, col.B. Lord Justice Pearson Inquiry Chairman.
- http://www2.halton.gov.uk/yourcouncil/townsandvillages/runcornnewtown/?a=5441
- Book: Hadfield, Charles. Charles Hadfield (historian). Norris, John. Waterways to Stratford. 2nd. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. 1968. 978-0-7153-4231-2.
- http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/on-this-day-18-april-1964 On this day – 18 April 1964 – Liverpool FC
- Web site: BBC2 Opening Night . British TV History . 5 October 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121010144949/http://www.tvhistory.btinternet.co.uk/html/bbc2_opening.html . 10 October 2012 . dead .
- Web site: Announcement of the christening of Lady Louise Windsor . The British Monarchy . 8 April 2004 . 5 October 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001852/http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2004/AnnouncementofthechristeningofLadyLouiseWindsor.aspx . 31 December 2013 . dead .
- Book: Banham, Martin. 1995. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-43437-9. 827. registration.
- News: The Times. 16 May 1964. 5, col.A. Both Sides To Blame in Power Dispute "Bury Past, Build For Future" Report Says.
- Web site: Radio Sutch & City in Pictures & Audio Part 1. 31 March 2010. Bob Le-Roi. 23 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20130520081926/http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/SutchCityPics1/SutchCityPics1.html. 20 May 2013. live.
- Book: Remaking Birmingham: The Visual Culture of Urban Regeneration. 17–18. 2004. Kennedy, Liam. Routledge Ltd.. 978-0-415-28839-2.
- Web site: Special events in the development of women's equality. Catherine of Siena Virtual College. 1 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120319163130/http://www.catherineofsiena.net/about/firsts.asp. 19 March 2012. dead.
- Book: The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. 1999. 978-1-85986-000-7. 502.
- Book: Soames, Mary. Mary Soames. Speaking for Themselves: The Personal Letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill. 1998. Doubleday. London. 978-03-85406-91-8. 647.
- Web site: Last executions in the UK. Stephen-stratford.com. 3 September 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100909070951/http://www.stephen-stratford.com/last_ones.htm. 9 September 2010. dead.
- Book: Bullock, John. 228. The Rootes Brothers: story of a motoring empire. Sparkford. Patrick Stephens Ltd. 1993. 978-1-85260-454-7.
- Web site: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964 . 10 January 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121010215854/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1964/ . 10 October 2012 . live .
- Web site: 1964 General election results summary. UK Political Info. 22 March 2016.
- News: The Times. 28 November 1964. 8, col.C. Power Dispute Talks Fail Strike Threat Draws Near, Union Ballot To Start On Monday.
- News: The Times. 1 December 1964. 10, col.C. Power Stations Overtime Ban Called Off – Payments Claim Settled.
- News: 1964: Beeching to leave British Railways. BBC News. 10 January 2008. 23 December 1964. https://web.archive.org/web/20071218203052/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/23/newsid_4019000/4019181.stm. 18 December 2007. live.
- Web site: The Beatles U.K. Singles Chart Number Ones. JPGR. 2009. 5 October 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20130725053714/http://www.jpgr.co.uk/stats_no1_s.html . 25 July 2013. live.
- Web site: Our history . Hanson . 5 October 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100928110827/http://www.heidelbergcement.com/global/en/hanson/about_us/history.htm . 28 September 2010 . dead .
- Web site: Tim. Lambert. Britain Since 1948. 13 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221221922/http://www.localhistories.org/britain1948.html . 21 February 2014. live.
- Book: ((Editors of Chase's)). Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. 24 September 2019. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-1-64143-316-7. 91.
- Web site: Salewicz. Chris. Diane Charlemagne: Vocalist who rose to fame with Urban Cookie Collective before helping Goldie to change the face of drum’n’bass. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/diane-charlemagne-vocalist-who-rose-to-fame-with-urban-cookie-collective-before-helping-goldie-to-a6715816.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . live. The Independent. 16 December 2015.
- Web site: Diane Holl. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200710173757/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/4415073/diane-holl-the-henry-ford. 10 July 2020. 23 February 2022. The Henry Ford. 1–2.
- Book: G. L. Hough. Chambers Dates. 1989. Chambers. 978-0-550-11831-8. 123.
- Web site: Costa Coffee appoints Jill McDonald as new CEO. Upshall. Emma. 2019-11-22. FoodBev Media. 2019-12-03.
- Web site: Ralph Andrew Knibbs.
- Web site: Paul McStay. Scottish FA. 11 January 2021.
- Book: Patricia Romanowski Bashe. Patricia Romanowski. Holly George-Warren. Jon Pareles. The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. 1995. Fireside. 978-0-684-81044-7. 1981.
- Book: Clark Layman Bruccoli. Gale Cengage. British Children's Writers, 1914-1960. 1996. Gale Research. 978-0-8103-9355-4. 314.
- Book: Asian Folklore Studies. 1964. Nanzan University Institute of Anthropology. 212.
- Web site: Ian Fleming Biography, Novels, & Facts Britannica . www.britannica.com . 9 January 2022 . en.