Events from the year 1951 in the United Kingdom. [edit] Incumbents [edit] Events - 11 April - The Stone of Scone is located in Forfar, having been stolen by Scottish Nationalists.[1]
- 17 April - the submarine HMS Affray sinks, killing its 75 crew.[2]
- March - Pineapple Poll, a Gilbert and Sullivan inspired comic ballet, created by choreographer John Cranko with arranger Sir Charles Mackerras is premiered at Sadler's Wells Theatre by the Sadler's Wells Ballet.[3]
- 3 May - George VI opens the Festival of Britain.[4]
- 28 May - first broadcast of The Goon Show radio series.[1]. Princess Elizabeth opens the Exhibition of Industrial Power - the latest part of the Festival of Britain - in Glasgow. [1]
- 7–8 June - Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean defect to the USSR.[5]
- 10 July - Boxer Randy Turpin beats the American Sugar Ray Robinson in a fight in London to become world middleweight champion.
- 15 August - the first Miss World beauty pageant is held as part of the Festival of Britain.[5]
- 14 September - Clement Attlee opens the largest oil refinery in Europe at Fawley on Southampton Water.[6]
- 23 September - George VI has an operation to remove part of his lung.[7]
- 30 September - Festival of Britain ends.[8]
- 26 October - Conservative Party under Winston Churchill wins the general election, regaining the position of Prime Minister that he lost five years previously.[9]
- 31 October - Zebra crossings, a type of pedestrian crossing, introduced.[1]
- 2 November - 6,000 British troops are sent to Egypt to deal with anti-British disturbances at Fayid in the Suez Canal Zone of the country.[10]
- 20 November - More than 1,000 families of British servicemen begin to move out of the Suez Canal Zone of Egypt after a shooting which claimed the lives of five British soldiers as well as nine Egyptian civilians.[11]
- 20 November - The 1951 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are announced, to mark the resignation of Prime Minister Clement Attlee.[12]
- 10 December - John Cockcroft wins the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Ernest Walton "for their pioneer work on the transmutation of atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particles".[13]
- 25 December - King George VI makes the Christmas Speech to the Commonwealth, but it has been pre-recorded due to his ill health as he is still struggling to recover from an operation three months ago in which he had part of a lung removed. [2]
- 31 December - Prime minister Winston Churchill sets off to the United States of America for talks with president Harry S. Truman. [3]
[edit] Undated [edit] Publications [edit] Births - 5 January - Steve Arnold, footballer
- 30 January - Phil Collins, musician and producer
- 14 February - Kevin Keegan, footballer and football manager
- 15 February - Jane Seymour, actress
- 20 February - Gordon Brown, Prime Minister
- 27 February - Steve Harley, musician (Cockney Rebel)
- 1 March - Mike Read, television presenter and radio disc jockey
- 4 March - Kenny Dalglish, footballer and football manager
- 4 March - Chris Rea, singer and musician
- 13 April - Peter Davison, actor
- 14 April - Julian Lloyd Webber, cellist and composer
- 20 April - Louise Jameson, actress
- 25 April - Ian McCartney, politician
- 8 June - Bonnie Tyler, singer
- 14 June - Paul Boateng, politician
- 28 June - Lalla Ward, actress
- 24 July - Chris Smith, politician
- 19 August - John Deacon, bassist (Queen)
- 22 September - David Coverdale, singer
- 26 September - Stuart Tosh, musician
- 27 September - Paul Craig, professor of law
- 2 October - Sting, musician
- 15 November - Alamgir Hashmi, poet
- 19 November - Lord Falconer of Thoroton, politician
- 8 December - Bill Bryson, American-born British author
- 10 December - Doug Allder, footballer
- 20 December - Peter May, novelist and television dramatist
[edit] Deaths - 25 February - Percy Malcolm Stewart, industrialist (born 1872)
- 6 March - Ivor Novello, actor, musician, and composer (born 1893)
- 6 April - Robert Broom, paleontologist (born 1866)
- 14 April - Ernest Bevin, labour leader, politician, and statesman (born 1881)
- 22 April - Horace Donisthorpe, myrmecologist (born 1870)
- 24 April - James Maclay, 1st Baron Maclay, businessman and public servant (born 1857)
- 11 June - W. C. Sellar, humourist (born 1898)
- 3 July - Gwendoline Davies, philanthropist (born 1882)
- 21 August - Constant Lambert, composer (born 1905)
- 27 September - Robert Thomas, politician (born 1873)
- 29 September - Evan Roberts, preacher (born 1878)
- 11 October - Donald Cameron, 25th Lochiel, Scottish chieftain (born 1876)
[edit] References - ^ a b c Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ ""Fears for crew of lost British submarine", BBC On This Day". 1951-04-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/17/newsid_2847000/2847935.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. 1999. ISBN 1-85986-000-1.
- ^ ""King George opens Festival of Britain", BBC On This Day". 1951-05-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/3/newsid_2481000/2481099.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ a b "The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC". http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ ""Refinery opens as oil row continues", BBC On This Day". 1951-09-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/14/newsid_3051000/3051902.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ ""King has lung operation", BBC On This Day". 1951-09-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/23/newsid_3083000/3083301.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ "Festival closes to applause, BBC On This Day". 1951-09-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/30/newsid_3161000/3161521.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ ""Churchill wins general election", BBC On This Day". 1951-10-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/26/newsid_3687000/3687425.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ ""6,000 British troops flown into Egypt", BBC News". 1951-11-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/2/newsid_3167000/3167115.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ ""1951: British families leave Egypt's Canal Zone", BBC On This Day". 1951-11-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/20/newsid_3204000/3204331.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ The Times, Friday, November 30, 1951; pg. 6; Issue 52172; col G: "The Resignation Honours: Earldom For Lord Jowitt".
- ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1951". http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1951/. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
[edit] See also |
