From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of significant events in the history of England
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 .
Year
Date
Event
122 – 128
Emperor Hadrian orders a 73-mile (117 km) 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.
Year
Date
Event
367
The Great Conspiracy begins, starting a year-long period of disorder and war in Britain.[ 9]
Year
Date
Event
401
Romans begin their withdrawal from Britain.[ 10] : 129–131
449
The Angles begin their invasion of England and establish tribal kingdoms on the east coast.[ 11]
Year
Date
Event
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 AD
Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion in the Battle of Maldon in Essex.
Year
Date
Event
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.1035-1040), is born to parents Cnut the Great and Ælfgifu of Northhampton.
1016
Cnut the Great of Denmark becomes king of all England[ 18]
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.
1043
Edward the Confessor becomes king of all England[ 19]
1055
The Great Schism ; culmination of theological and political differences between Eastern and Western Christianity[ 20]
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.
1086
Work 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.
Year
Date
Event
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.
1135
The Anarchy began, a civil war resulting from a dispute over succession to the throne that lasted until 1153.
1138
The Battle of the Standard , an engagement in which the English defeated an invading Scottish army led by King David I.[ 21]
1157
8 September
Richard the Lionheart , the future king of England (r. 1189-1199), is born to parents Henry II and Elanor of Aquitaine.
1164
The 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.
1170
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was assassinated.
1192
Crusades : King Richard I was captured by Austrian Duke Leopold V, Duke of Austria while returning from the Holy Land .
1194
Richard was ransomed and returned to England.
Year
Date
Event
1207
1 October
Henry III , the future king of England (r. 1216-1272), is born to John and Isabella of Angoulême.
1209
King John was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by Pope Innocent III .
1214
The English defeated in Battle of Bouvinnes .
1215
The Magna Carta was signed.
1237
The 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.
1264
Battle of Lewes : Rebel English barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester defeated King Henry III .
1267
Henry recognised the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Gwynedd .
1277
England annexed Gwynedd .
1279
The 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.
1287
Rhys ap Maredudd led a revolt against English rule in Wales.
1294
Madog ap Llywelyn led a revolt against English rule in Wales.
1297
Battle of Stirling Bridge : The Scots , led by William Wallace , defeated the English.
Year
Date
Event
1305
23 August
William 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.
1314
23 – 24 June
Battle of Bannockburn : Scotland won a decisive victory over England.
1328
1 May
The Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton , under which England recognised Scottish independence, was signed.
1348
The Black Death arrived in England.
1356
19 September
Battle 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.
1373
16 June
The 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)[ 22]
1381
May – June
Peasants' 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.
1395
The Statute of Praemunire was issued.
Year
Date
Event
1403
21 July
Battle 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 .[ 23]
1415
25 October
Battle 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.
1455
22 May
The 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.
1485
22 August
Battle 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 .
1487
16 June
Battle 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.
Year
Date
Event
1513
Battle 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.
1521
Lutheran 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.
1526
Lord Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey ordered the burning of Lutheran books.
1533
King Henry VIII severs ties with the Catholic Church and declared himself head of the church in England.
7 September
Elizabeth I , the future queen of England (r. 1558-1603), is born to parents Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
1534
Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy .
Henry VIII issued the Treasons Act 1534 .
1535
Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher were executed.
1536
William 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.
1549
Prayer Book Rebellion : A rebellion occurred in the southwest.
1550
England and France sign the Peace of Boulogne .
1553
The Act Against Sectaries 1553 was issued.
1558
Elizabeth I claims the throne of England and rules until 1603.
1559
The 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.
1571
The Treasons Act 1571 was issued.
The Act Prohibiting Papal Bulls from Rome 1571 was issued.
1585
The Roanoke Colony was founded in America.
1588
8 August
The Spanish Armada was destroyed.
1589
The English Armada (or Counter Armada ) was defeated by Spain .
1593
The Act Against Papists 1593 was issued.
Year
Date
Event
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.
1605
5 November
Gunpowder 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.
1611
Henry Hudson died.
1618
29 October
Walter 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.
1639
Bishops' Wars : A war with Scotland began which would last until 1640.
1640
Long Parliament : The Parliament was convened.
1642
The English Civil War began (see timeline of the English Civil War ).
1649
January
Trial and execution of Charles I
1649
Interregnum 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.
1653–1659
the Protectorate under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and later (1658) his son Richard Cromwell
1659
The Second Commonwealth brings with it a period of great political instability.
1660
Restoration 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.
1666
2 – 5 September
Great Fire of London : A major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London .
1688
Glorious Revolution :[ 24] 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).
1694
27 July
The Bank of England is founded.
Year
Date
Event
2004
June
The population of England reaches fifty million.[ 39]
2019
14 July
ICC Cricket World Cup : England win a thriller at Lords and clinch their maiden ODI World Cup led by Eoin Morgan.[ 40]
2020
31 January
Brexit takes place. The UK officially withdraws from the European Union three years after it voted to leave during a referendum in 2016.[ 41]
2020
31 January
The first patient with COVID-19 is confirmed in York.[ 42]
2022
8 September
Queen Elizabeth II dies of after a reign of 70 years and 214 days. She is succeeded by King Charles III .[ 43] [ 44]
City and town timelines
County timelines
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