1960 in the United Kingdom explained
Events from the year 1960 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
Events
- January – The state of emergency is lifted in Kenya, the Mau Mau Uprising is officially over.
- 5 January – Closure of the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which opened to passengers in 1807 and by this date is operated by double-decker electric trams.[1]
- 10 January – Harold Macmillan makes the "Wind of Change" speech for the first time, to little publicity, in Accra, Ghana.
- 28 January – The comic ballet La fille mal gardée, in a version newly choreographed by Frederick Ashton to a score adapted by John Lanchbery, is premiered by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House in London, rapidly becoming a classic of the repertoire.[2] [3]
- 3 February – Harold Macmillan makes the "Wind of Change" speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town where it attracts attention. (It was drafted by David Hunt.) At home, it leads to formation of the Conservative Monday Club.[4]
- 18–28 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California but do not win any medals.
- 19 February – The Queen gives birth to her third child and second son, the first child born to a reigning British monarch since 1857.
- March
- 14 March – Jodrell Bank Observatory makes contact with the American Pioneer 5 over a record-breaking distance of 407,000 miles.[7]
- 20 March – Lonnie Donegan's single "My Old Man's a Dustman" reaches No. 1 in the UK charts.[8]
- 26 March – The Grand National is televised for the first time. The winner is Merryman II.[9]
- 28 March – Cheapside Street Whisky Bond Fire in Glasgow. 19 firemen are killed in the UK's worst peacetime fire services disaster.[10]
- 1 April – Bill Griggs of Northampton first markets the Dr. Martens 'AirWair' style 1460 boots.[11]
- 8 April – The seven-week-old son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh is christened Andrew Albert Christian Edward, he later becomes Prince Andrew, Duke of York.[12]
- 13 April – The cancellation of the Blue Streak missile as a military project.[13]
- 16 April – The Times of London abandons use of the term "Imperial and Foreign News", replacing it with "Overseas News" and changes its house style from "to-day" to "today".
- 17 April – American rock and roll singer Eddie Cochran, 21, is killed in a car crash in Wiltshire. Gene Vincent survives the accident.
- 18 April – 60,000 protestors stage a demonstration in London against nuclear weapons.[14]
- 27 April – The first production of Harold Pinter's play The Caretaker takes place at the Arts Theatre in London.[15]
- 30 April – Yorkshire County Cricket Club opens its first season since 1883 under a professional captain, Vic Wilson, who leads the club to the County Championship.[16]
- 3 May – Burnley F.C. win the Football League First Division title with a 2–1 win over Manchester City at Maine Road.[17] Burnley's title win means that Wolverhampton Wanderers, the FA Cup finalists, have lost out on the chance of becoming the first team this century to win the double of the league title and FA Cup.[18]
- 6 May – Princess Margaret marries photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey in the first televised Royal marriage.[19]
- 7 May – Wolverhampton Wanderers are the FA Cup winners for the fourth time, beating Blackburn Rovers 3–0 at Wembley Stadium.[18]
- 18 June – Jaguar Cars completes its purchase of the Daimler Company from BSA. Daimler Cars would later become rebadged Jaguars.[20]
- 22 June – A fire in a Liverpool department store kills eleven.[21]
- 24 June – Avro 748 makes its first flight from Woodford.
- 26 June – British Somaliland gains independence from the United Kingdom. Five days later, it unites with the former Italian Somaliland to create the modern Somali Republic.[22]
- 28 June – 38 miners are killed in an explosion at Six Bells Colliery in Monmouthshire.[23]
- 30 June
- July – The Shadows' instrumental "Apache" is released.
- 21 July – Francis Chichester, English navigator and yachtsman, arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth III, having made a record solo Atlantic crossing in 40 days, winning the first Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race.
- 27 July – In a Cabinet reshuffle, Selwyn Lloyd is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Home becomes Foreign Secretary.[24]
- 30 July – "Battle of Beaulieu": At a jazz festival at Beaulieu, Hampshire, fans of trad jazz come to blows with progressives.[25] [26]
- 7 August – The Bluebell Railway in Sussex begins regular operations as the first standard gauge steam-operated passenger heritage railway in the world.[27]
- 16 August – Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.[28] The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia remain as British Overseas Territories.
- 17 August – The Beatles, a five-strong male band from Liverpool, perform their first concert under this name in Hamburg, West Germany.[29]
- 22 August – First performance of satirical revue Beyond the Fringe, in Edinburgh.
- 25 August–11 September – Great Britain and Northern Ireland competes at the Olympics in Rome and win 2 gold, 6 silver and 12 bronze medals.
- September
- 10 September – ITV broadcasts the first live Football League match to be shown on television and the last for 23 years.[1]
- 15 September – First traffic wardens deployed in London.[1]
- 30 September–4 December – Severe flooding occurs in the valley of the River Exe, surrounding areas of Devon, and elsewhere in southern England, following heavy rainfall.[30] [31]
- 1 October – Nigeria gains its independence from the United Kingdom.[32]
- 7 October – The second notable flood occurs in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The town enters the UK Weather Records with the highest 180-min total rainfall at 178 mm. As of October 2010, this record remains.
- 8 October
- 17 October – The News Chronicle ceases publication,[34] being absorbed into the Daily Mail.
- 21 October (Trafalgar Day) – The Queen launches Britain's first nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought, at Barrow-in-Furness.[24]
Publications
Births
January – February
- 1 January – Danny Wilson, footballer and manager
- 4 January – Jane Halton, English-Australian public servant
- 6 January – Nigella Lawson, British chef and writer
- 10 January – John Mann, English lawyer and politician
- 13 January – Matthew Bourne, English choreographer
- 18 January – Mark Rylance, English actor and theatre director
- 23 January
- 29 January – Sean Kerly, British field hockey player
- 31 January – George Benjamin, composer and conductor
- 4 February – Siobhan Dowd, British writer and activist (died 2007)
- 6 February
- 10 February – Robert Addie, actor (died 2003)
- 19 February
- 20 February – Siobhain McDonagh, British Labour politician and MP for Mitcham and Morden
- 21 February – Jane Tomlinson, athlete and cancer activist (died 2007)
- 22 February – Paul Abbott, television screenwriter and producer
March – April
- 1 March – Benedict Allen, explorer
- 9 March – Louise Miller, high jumper
- 10 March – Anne MacKenzie, Scottish broadcast journalist
- 16 March
- 17 March – Patrick Vallance, scientist
- 23 March – Nicol Stephen, Scottish politician
- 24 March – Grayson Perry, visual artist
- 29 March – Marina Sirtis, actress
- 2 April – Linford Christie, Jamaican-born athlete
- 4 April
- 7 April – Sandy Powell. costume designer
- 11 April – Jeremy Clarkson, journalist and television show host
- 13 April – Lyn Carol Brown, Labour politician and MP for West Ham
- 22 April – Gary Rhodes, restaurateur and celebrity chef (died 2019)
- 26 April – Roger Taylor, new wave drummer (Duran Duran)
- 28 April – Ian Rankin, Scottish crime novelist
- 29 April – Phil King, rock bassist
- 30 April
May – June
- 6 May – Roma Downey, Northern Irish actress and producer
- 8 May – Terry Christian, broadcaster
- 17 May – Simon Fuller, film and TV producer
- 24 May
- 28 May – Mary Portas, retail expert and broadcaster
- 2 June
- 4 June
- 5 June
- 8 June – Mick Hucknall, English singer and songwriter (Simply Red)
- 10 June – Mark-Anthony Turnage, composer
- 20 June – John Taylor, English bass guitarist (Duran Duran)
- 24 June – Elish Angiolini, senior Scottish law officer and academic administrator
- 27 June
- 28 June – Richard Rycroft, actor and comedian
- 30 June – Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland
July – August
- 3 July – Vince Clarke, English songwriter (Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure)
- 11 July – Caroline Quentin, English television comedy actress
- 13 July – Ian Hislop, British editor and broadcaster
- 16 July – Jacqueline Gold, English businesswoman (died 2023)
- 18 July – Simon Heffer, English journalist
- 22 July – Barbara Cassani, American-born business executive
- 27 July – Emily Thornberry, English politician
- 13 August – Phil Taylor, darts player
- 14 August – Sarah Brightman, English soprano singer and actress
- 30 August – Ben Bradshaw, English Labour politician, Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, and MP for Exeter
September – October
- 3 September – Nick Gibb, British Conservative politician, Shadow Minister of State for Schools, and MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
- 6 September – Shirley Ballas, ballroon dancer and dance judge
- 9 September – Hugh Grant, English actor
- 10 September
- 16 September – Danny John-Jules, English dancer and actor
- 17 September – Damon Hill, English racing driver
- 19 September – Shaun Greenhalgh, English art forger
- 24 September – Tony Juniper, English environmentalist and politician
- 29 September – Andy Slaughter, British Labour politician and MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith
- 6 October – Richard Jobson, Scottish rock singer-songwriter, filmmaker and television presenter (Skids)
- 15 October – Simon Wigg, English speedway rider (died 2000)
- 16 October
- 17 October – Guy Henry, English actor
- 29 October – Finola Hughes, British actress
November – December
- 5 November – Tilda Swinton, British film actress
- 10 November – Neil Gaiman, English author
- 15 November – Dawn Airey, broadcaster
- 17 November – Jonathan Ross, English television presenter[42]
- 18 November – Kim Wilde, English singer and gardener
- 20 November – Robert Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (died 2008)
- 28 November – John Galliano, British fashion designer
- 30 November – Gary Lineker, English footballer and TV presenter
- 2 December – Rick Savage, English bassist (Def Leppard)
- 10 December – Kenneth Branagh, Northern Irish actor and director
- 11 December – John Lukic, English footballer
- 14 December – Chris Waddle, English footballer, commentator and newspaper columnist
- 17 December – Kay Burley, English broadcaster
- 24 December – Carol Vorderman, British television presenter
- 26 December – Andrew Graham-Dixon, British art historian and television presenter
- 27 December – Maryam d'Abo, British actress
- 28 December – Nicola Horlick, investment manager
- 31 December – Steve Bruce, footballer and football manager
Undated
Deaths
- 3 January – Constance Spry, English florist (born 1886)
- 7 January – Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, English tennis player (born 1878)
- 9 January – Elsie J. Oxenham, English children's novelist (born 1880)
- 11 January – Isabel Emslie Hutton, Scottish nurse in Serbia during World War I and psychiatrist (born 1887)
- 12 January – Nevil Shute, English novelist and aeronautical engineer (born 1899) (died in Australia)
- 25 January – Rutland Boughton, English composer (born 1878)
- 8 February
- 20 February – Sir Leonard Woolley, English archaeologist (born 1880)
- 29 February – Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, last Vicereine of India (born 1901)
- 5 April – Peter Llewelyn-Davies, British soldier and inspiration for Peter Pan (born 1897)
- 1 May
- 8 May
- 7 June – Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, English Liberal politician and cricketer (born 1880)
- 27 June
- 6 July – Aneurin Bevan, Welsh Labour politician (born 1897)
- 24 August – Sir Harold Bowden, businessman and inventor (born 1880)
- 24 August – Sir Charles Lambe, admiral of the fleet, First Sea Lord (born 1900)
- 28 August – Charles Forbes, admiral (born 1880)
- 22 September
- 27 September – Sylvia Pankhurst, English suffragette (born 1882)
- 30 September – St John Philby, British Arabist, explorer and spy (born 1885 in Ceylon) (died in Beirut)
- 21 October – Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, "Red Duchess", Scottish politician and humanitarian (born 1874)
- 16 November – Gilbert Harding, radio and television personality (born 1907) (asthma attack outside Broadcasting House)
- 13 December – Dora Marsden, radical feminist and modernist literary editor (born 1882)
- 20 December – Sir Godfrey Ince, civil servant (born 1891)[44]
- 22 December – Sir Ninian Comper, architect (born 1864)
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 0-14-102715-0. 2006.
- Web site: La Fille mal gardée (1960). Royal Opera House Collections On Line. 4 August 2010.
- Web site: Jane . Simpson . 2010 . La Fille mal Gardee . ballet.contexts . 4 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100701132356/http://www.ballet.co.uk/contexts/la_fille_mal_gardee.htm . 1 July 2010 .
- Book: Messina, Anthony. Race and Party Competition in Britain. 1989. Oxford University Press.
- Book: Denis . Law . Bob . Harris . The King . Bantam Press . 2003 . 0-593-05140-8 .
- News: 1958: Historic Sheerness docks to close . BBC News . 20 February 1958. 30 September 2011 .
- News: Radio telescope makes space history. BBC. On This Day. 11 February 2008. 14 March 1960. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307131919/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/14/newsid_2566000/2566961.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Book: Gross, Nigel. etal. Collins Gem 1960s. HarperCollins. London. 1999. 0-00-472310-4.
- Web site: Broadcasting of the Grand National. Aintree.co.uk. 11 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110320044733/http://www.aintree.co.uk/pages/broadcasting-of-the-grand-national/. 20 March 2011. dead.
- Web site: Chronology of Scottish History. A Timeline of Scottish History. Rampant Scotland. 25 February 2014.
- Book: Challoner, Jack. 1001 Inventions That Changed the World. London. Cassell. 2009. 978-1-84403-611-0. 676–7.
- Web site: Announcement of the christening of Lady Louise Windsor . 8 April 2004 . 27 January 2012 . The official website of The British Monarchy . The Royal Household . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001852/http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2004/AnnouncementofthechristeningofLadyLouiseWindsor.aspx . 31 December 2013 .
- Book: Horne, Alistair. Alistair Horne
. Alistair Horne. Macmillan 1957–1986. 1989. London. Macmillan. 0333496213. 275–7.
- News: Thousands protest against H-bomb. BBC. On This Day. 11 February 2008. 18 April 1960. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307131753/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/18/newsid_2909000/2909881.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Book: The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. 1999. 1-85986-000-1.
- Web site: Vic Wilson. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 2009. John Wisden & Co. 21 December 2009.
- News: Burnley Wins English Soccer. The Age. Melbourne. 4 May 1960. 27 January 2012.
- Web site: 1960. fa-cupfinals.co.uk. 4 December 2010. 19 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120419221343/http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1960.htm. live.
- News: Margaret weds Armstrong-Jones. BBC. On This Day. 11 February 2008. 6 May 1960. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307131914/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/6/newsid_3993000/3993317.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Book: Gross, Nigel. 1960s. etal. HarperCollins. Glasgow. Collins Gem. 1999. 0-00-472310-4.
- Web site: Henderson's department store fire, Liverpool. Fire Brigades Union. 2021-01-14.
- https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/ Somalia
- News: Welsh pit blast kills 37 miners. BBC. On This Day. 11 February 2008. 28 June 1960. https://web.archive.org/web/20080307131924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/28/newsid_2520000/2520665.stm. 7 March 2008 . live.
- Book: Palmer. Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 0-7126-5616-2.
- Book: McKay, George. 2005. Circular Breathing: the Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain. New Orleans jazz, protest (Aldermaston) and carnival (Beaulieu). Durham, NC. Duke University Press. 0-8223-3560-3.
- News: The day when traditional jazz caused a riot. The Observer. London. 29 July 2012. 6 (The New Review).
- Book: Cole, T. C.. Bluebell Railway – Steaming On!. 1970. Bluebell Railway. Sheffield Park.
- https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cyprus/ Cyprus
- Book: Hill, Tim. The Beatles. 2007. 13.
- John. Brierley. Flooding in the Exe Valley, 1960. Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 1964. 10.1680/iicep.1964.10110. 28. 2. 151–170.
- Book: Devon Flood Story 1960. 1960. Dawlish. David & Charles.
- https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/ Nigeria
- News: Fiftieth anniversary of the end of trams in Sheffield. Tom. Ingall. BBC. 8 October 2010. 16 January 2011.
- Liberal Democrat News 15 October 2010.
- [Science Museum (London)]
- News: Lady Chatterley's Lover sold out. BBC. On This Day. 11 February 2008. 10 November 1960.
- Web site: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1960. 11 February 2008.
- The intended last day was 17 November. Book: Vinen, Richard. National Service: Conscription in Britain, 1945–1963. London. Allen Lane. 2014. 978-1-846-14387-8. 361.
- Web site: A History of the Little Houses Improvement Scheme . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531222006/https://www.nts.org.uk/what-we-do/buildings . May 31, 2024 . 12 October 2011 . National Trust for Scotland.
- https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/john-hemming John Hemming
- Web site: 2016-05-24 . MyParliament - Biography for Margaret Ferrier . 2024-05-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160524030924/http://myparliament.info/Member/4386 . 24 May 2016 .
- News: OBE for broadcaster Jonathan Ross . 10 June 2005 . BBC News . 30 October 2008 .
- Book: Grasso. John. Historical Dictionary of Tennis. 2011. Scarecrow Press. 9780810872370. 85.
- Book: Roberts, Frank C.. Obituaries from the Times, 1951–1960: Including an Index to All Obituaries and Tributes Appearing in the Times During the Years 1951–1960. 1 January 1979. Newspaper Archive Developments. 9780903713962. Google Books.