Former historic anniversaries

The historic events listed here had significant anniversaries in recent years.    For events with anniversaries in future years see here. Back to list of Things To Ring For

DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
17 Jan 2009Sat1209800800th anniversary of Cambridge University800 of Cambridge rung around the world
24 Mar 2011Thu1911100Publication of The Ringing WorldCentenary articles in The Ringing World
07 Apr 2011Thu - Fri1761250Extent of Major rung at Leeds, Kent by 14 ringers
12 Apr 2011Tue196150Yuri Gagarin became first human in space
02 May 2011Mon1611400King James Bible published
10 Jun 2011Fri192190Duke of Edinburgh born
14 Dec 2011Wed1861150Prince Albert diedConsort to Queen Victoria, d 1861
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
08 Jan 2012Sun1912100African National Congress foundedSouth Africa
17 Jan 2012Tue1912100Robert Falcon Scott reached South PoleBut found Amundson had been there first
23 Jan 2012Mon1912100International Opium Convention signedFirst international drug control treaty
06 Feb 2012Mon195260Accession of Queen Elizabeth IIOn the death of George VI
07 Feb 2012Tue1812200Charles Dickens bornAuthor and social commentator
27 Mar 2012Tue1912100James Callaghan bornUK Prime Minister 1976-79
10 Apr 2012Tue1912100RMS Titanic left Southampton on maiden voyageDesigned to be 'unsinkable'
15 Apr 2012Sun1912100RMS Titanic sank2:20am after hitting iceberg a few hours earlier
11 May 2012Fri1812200Spencer Perceval assassinatedUK Prime Minister 1809-1812 (only one to be assassinated)
12 May 2012Sat1812200Edward Lear bornEnglish artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned for literary nonsense, especially limericks
13 May 2012Sun1912100Royal Flying Corps establishedForerunner of the Royal air Force
19 May 2012Sat1662350Act of UniformityPrescribed use of the Book of Common Prayer
24 May 2012Thu1862150Opening of new Westminster BridgeOldest bridge in central London
23 Jun 2012Sat1912100Alan Turing bornBritish mathematician, pioneer of computer science
04 Jul 2012Wed1862150Lewis Carroll conceives outline of  Alice in WonderlandDuring a boat trip with Alice Liddell
20 Jul 2012Fri1912100First peal by all ladies bandChristchurch, Cubitt Town, London
04 Nov 2012Sun194270Battle of El AlameinTurning point in World War 2
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
10 Jan 2013Thu1863150World's first underground railway opened to the public6km of the Metropolitan Line between Paddington & Farringdon
17 Jan 2013Thu1863150David Lloyd George bornUK Prime Minister 1916-22
19 Jan 2013Sat1813200Henry Bessemer bornBritish engineer, invented the modern steel-making process
19 Mar 2013Tue1813200David Livingston bornScottish missionary and explorer
20 Mar 2013Wed1413600Henry IV diedKing of England 1399-1413
27 Mar 2013Wed1863150Henry Royce bornEnglish engineer and co-founder of Rolls-Royce
25 Apr 2013Thu194370Wartime ban on ringing lifted for service ringingThe ban was lifted for all ringing in June
15 May 2013Wed1863150Frank Hornby bornInventor of Meccano and Hornby model railways
22 May 2013Wed1813200Richard Wagner bornGerman composer
02 Jun 2013Sun195360Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
28 Jun 2013Fri1838175Coronation of Queen Victoria
29 Jun 2013Sat1613400Globe Theatre destroyed by fireBuilt in 1599 for Shakespeare’s playing company
27 Jul 2013Sat196350Extent of Major rung by 8 ringersAt Loughborough, in 17h58m
30 Jul 2013Tue1863150Henry Ford bornFounder of Ford Motor Company
04 Aug 2013Sun1213800Barons and Clergy met at St Albans AbbeyStart of the process that led to Magna Carta 2 years later
28 Aug 2013Wed196350Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream' speech
31 Aug 2013Sat1913100Bernard Lovell bornFather of radio astronomy'
20 Sep 2013Fri1863150Jacob Grimm diedGerman folklorist
30 Sep 2013Mon1913100Rudolf Diesel diedGerman engineer, inventor of the diesel engine
10 Oct 2013Thu1813200Giuseppe Verdi bornItalian Romantic composer
16 Nov 2013Sat1713300Tercentenary of Fabian Stedman's burial at St Andrew Undershaft, London(Exact date of death unknown.) Details of ringing and publicity
19 Nov 2013Tue1863150Lincoln gives the Gettysburg AddressDuring the American Civil War
22 Nov 2013Fri1913100Benjamin Britten bornBritish composer
22 Nov 2013Fri196350John F Kennedy assassinated35th US President
24 Dec 2013Tue1863150William Makepeace Thackeray diedBritish novelist
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
25 Apr 2014Fri1874140Guglielmo Marconi bornFather of long distance Radio Transmission
26 Apr 2014Sat1564450William Shakespeare baptisedDate of birth unknown
06 May 2014Tue195460Roger Banister runs the mile in 4 minutesFirst person to do so
20 May 2014Tue1514500Royal Charter granted to Trinity House General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, and British territorial waters (except) Scotland
07 Jun 2014Sat195450Alan Turing diedBritish mathematician, pioneer of computer science
24 Jun 2014Tue1314700Battle of Bannockburn
31 Jul 2014Thu1714300Queen Anne died
01 Aug 2014Fri1714300Accession of George I
04 Aug 2014Mon1914100Britain entered First World WarRinging for First World War centenary
22 Aug 2014Fri1864150First Geneva Convention signed
20 Oct 2014Mon1714300Coronation of King George I
22 Oct 2014Wed1814200First plastic surgery in Britain
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
01 Jan 2015FirstPeal2015A year long initiative to mark a special year for ringing
20 Jan 2015Tue1265750First English Parliament held
24 Jan 2015Sat196550Winston Churchill died
04 Mar 2015Wed1890125Forth Rail Bridge opened
24 Apr 2015Fri196550Pennine Way - Opening ceremony on Malham MoorBritain's first long distance footpath (267 miles)
02 May 2015Sat1715300First recorded pealPlain Bob Triples at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich
08 May 2015Fri194570VE DayWorld War II end of hostilities in Europe
31 May 2015Sun197540First National Twelve-bell Striking CompetitionSt Mary Redcliffe, Bristol
14 Jun 2015Sun800Grand Ringing Day for Magna CartaMagna Carta, the Grand Ringing Day and LiberTeas
15 Jun 2015Mon1215800Magna Carta sealedBy King John, on Runnymede Island
18 Jun 2015Thu1815200Battle of Waterloo
04 Jul 2015Sat1865150Alice in Wonderland published
15 Aug 2015Sat194570VJ DayWorld War II end of hostilities in Japan
09 Sep 2015WedQueen Elizabeth II will become the longest reigning British MonarchSurpassing the record of Queen Victoria (63 years & 216 days)
28 Sep 2015Mon1865150Britain's first Woman doctor qualified
25 Oct 2015Sun1415600Battle of AgincourtHenry V victory on St Crispins Day
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
06 Jan 2016Wed1066950Harold crowned King of England
21 Jan 2016Thu197640Concorde's first commercial flightLondon to Bahrain & Paris to Rio
18 Feb 2016Thu1516500Queen Mary Tudor born
31 Mar 2016Thu1891125First meeting of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
20 Apr 2016Wed1916100Sir A P Heywood diedFounder and first president of the Central Council
21 Apr 2016Thu192690Queen Elizabeth II bornSee also Official Birthday weekend in June
23 Apr 2016Sat1616400William Shakespeare died
23 Apr 2016Sat - SunWeekend organised by Derby DA & CCRinging and other events in Duffield / Derby to mark centenary of death of AP Heywood death and 125th anniversary of the Central Council.
31 May 2016Tue - Wed1916100Battle of Jutland
03 Jun 2016FriBBC Music DayWidespread ringing at 7pm. Let the BBC know you are taking part.
10 Jun 2016Fri - Sun1926-90Celebration for Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthdayOfficial birthday is 11 Jun (real birthday 21 April), see below
12 Jun 2016SunNational birthday ringingPlan your ringing and publicity for 10 - 12 June
25 Jun 2016Thu195660Friends of Cathedral Music foundedwww.fcm.org.uk
01 Jul 2016Fri1916100Battle of the Somme began
02 Sep 2016Fri1666350Great Fire of London began
08 Sep 2016ThuChallenge 500Widespread ringing at 6pm - register with Heritage Open Days.
08 Sep 2016Thu - SunHeritage Open DaysSee Challenge 500 above:
14 Oct 2016Fri1066950Battle of Hastings
17 Oct 2016Mon195660Calder Hall power station openedWorld's first commercial scale nuclear power station
28 Oct 2016Fri1216800Henry III crownedRe-enactment there on the day
18 Nov 2016Fri1916100Battle of the Somme endedOne of the bloodiest in human history
25 Dec 2016Sun1066950William the Conqueror crowned
30 Dec 2016Fri196650First peal of 23-spliced all the work Major rung
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
06 Jan 2017Fri10071000Coronation of King Cnut - in London(Also known as Canute)
11 Jan 2017Wed1717300first 10-bell peal rung5040 Grandsire Caters at St Brides, in Fleet Street by London Scholars
17 Feb 2017Fri1867150First ship passes through Suez Canal
21 Mar 2017Tue1617400Burial of PocahontasNative American who married a plantation owner, moved to England and became a celebrity. Died at Gravesend, Kent
16 Apr 2017Sun1867150Wilbur Wright bornAmerican pioneer of manned flight
08 Jun 2017Thu1867150Frank Lloyd Wright bornAmerican architect ('greatest American architect of all time')
18 Jul 2017Tue1817200Jane Austen diedEnglish novelist (Pride and Prejudice)
03 Aug 2017Thu1867150Stanley Baldwin bornBritish prime minister
27 Sep 2017Wed1817200Hiram R Revels born1st African American US senator
04 Oct 2017Wed195760Sputnik launchedWorld's first artificial satellite
31 Oct 2017Tue1517500Martin Luther's 'Ninety Five Themes' began the Protestant Reformation
04 Nov 2017Sat194275Battle of El AlameinTurning point in World War 2
15 Nov 2017Wed194275Ban on ringing lifted for one SundayWinston Churchill's request victory ringing after El Alamein
17 Nov 2017FriPeal for Pudsey!Fund raising for Children in Need
20 Nov 2017Mon194770Marriage of Queen Elizabeth & Duke of Edinburgh
23 Nov 2017Thu1917100Bell ringing to mark initial British success in the Battle of CambraiThe first tank battle
25 Nov 2017Sat1867150Alfred Nobel patented dynamiteFounder of the Nobel prizes
10 Dec 2017Sun20089We sound the bell in Europe to support Human Rights'Italian initiative supported in Germany & UK - ringing at 8pm
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
01 Jan 2018Mon1818200Publication of FrankensteinBy Mary Shelley - published anonymously
14 Jan 2018Sun1818200James Barham diedBellringer who conducted the extent of Major rung in relays in 1761
06 Feb 2018Tue1918100Women first get the vote in BritainRepresentation of the People Act
01 Apr 2018Sun1918100Formation of the Royal Air ForceAmalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service
25 Apr 2018Wed194375Wartime ban on ringing lifted for service ringingThe ban was lifted for all ringing in June
04 May 2018Fri1818200Treaty against illegal slave handlingSigned by Britain & Netherlands
05 May 2018Sat1818200Karl Marx bornGerman philosopher
10 May 2018Thu1818200Paul Revere diedAmerican patriot and bell founder
19 May 2018Sat2018Prince Harry and Meghan Markle marrySt George's Chapel, Windsor
06 Jun 2018Wed1868150Robert Falcon Scott bornLeader of the ill-fated south pole expedition
07 Jun 2018Thu1868150Charles Rennie Mackintosh bornInfluential Scottish architect and artist
02 Jul 2018Mon192890Equal voting rights for women and men in BritainEqual Franchise Act
20 Jul 2018Mon1818200Emily Brontë bornEnglish novelist (Wuthering Heights)
16 Aug 2018Thu1768250Captain James Cook departs from Plymouth aboard the EndeavourHis first voyage bound for the Pacific Ocean
26 Aug 2018Sun1718300First peal of Grandsire TriplesAt St Peter Mancroft, Norwich
25 Sep 2018Tue1818200First human blood transfusion
21 Oct 2018Sun195860First women peers enter House of Lords
11 Nov 2018Sun1918100End of First World War hostilitiesRinging for Armistice and for Peace
06 Dec 2018Thu1768250First publication of Encyclopaedia BritannicaFirst of 100 weekly parts. It was completed by 1771
10 Dec 2018Mon1868150First traffic signals in Britain
19 Dec 2018Wed1843175Dickens publishes 'A Christmas Carol'
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
19 Feb 2019Tue1819200Henry Haley bornBellringer who conducted the first peal outside the British Isles, at Philadelphia in 1850
02 Mar 2019Sat196950Concorde’s first flight
03 Mar 2019Sun1869150Sir Henry Wood bornFounder of 'The Proms'
24 Mar 2019Sun/Mon194475The Great Escape'From Stalag Luft III PoW camp
28 Mar 2019Thu1819200Sir Joseph Bazalgette bornEnglish civil engineer who created London‘s sewage system
04 Apr 2019Tue194970Nato foundedNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation
01 May 2019Wed1769250Arthur Wellesley bornDuke of Wellington and British Prime Minister
02 May 2019Thu1519500Leonardo da Vinci diedRenaissance architect, engineer, and painter (Mona Lisa)
10 May 2019Fri199425Nelson Mandella becomes President of South Africa
24 May 2019Fri1819200Queen Victoria born
05 Jun 2019Wed194970First appearance of NoddyIn 'Noddy Goes to Toyland' by Enid Blyton
12 Jun 2019Wed1819200Charles Kingsley bornEnglish vicar/historian, author of The Water-Babies
28 Jun 2019Fri1919100Treaty of VersaillesFormal end of First World War
20 Jul 2019Sat196950First manned lunar landingApollo 11 at 20:17 UTC
21 Jul 2019Sun196950First people to walk on moonNeil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin at 02:56 UTC
19 Aug 2019Mon1819200James Watt diedScottish inventor who played a critical role in the development of the steam engine
20 Aug 2019Tue1819200Prince Albert born
20 Sep 2019Tue1519700Magellan set sail to circumnavigate the world
06 Oct 2019Sun1769250Captain Cook reaches New Zealand
17 Nov 2019Sun1869150Suez Canal inaugurated
22 Nov 2019Fri1819200George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) bornEnglish author
28 Nov 2019Thu1919100First female MP enters parliamentNancy, Viscountess Astor took her seat in the Commons
17 Dec 2019Tue1919100Save the Children founded
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
10 Jan 2020Fri1840180Postal service began in BritainPenny Post
12 Jan 2020Sun1820200Royal Astronomical Society founded
17 Jan 2020Fri1820200Anne Brontë bornEnglish novelist/poet (Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
27 Jan 2020Mon194575Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau death campHolocaust Memorial Day
29 Jan 2020Wed1820200King George III died
10 Feb 2020Mon1840180Queen Victoria & Prince Albert married
07 Apr 2020Tue1770250William Wordsworth bornEnglish poet laureate
18 Apr 2020Wed1870150Neville Chamberlain bornBritish Prime Minister
19 Apr 2020Sun1770250Captain James Cook reached Australia
28 Apr 2020Tue1770250Captain James Cook lands in AustraliaAt Botany Bay. (His journal said Sunday 29th but civil time was 28th)
06 May 2020Wed1840180Penny Black issuedWorld's first stamp
11 May 2020Mon1820200Launch of HMS BeagleThe ship that took Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage
12 May 2020Tue1820200Florence Nightingale bornBritish nurse (Crimean War)
02 Aug 2020Sun1820200John Tyndall bornIrish physicist who demonstrated why the sky is blue and proved the greenhouse effect of Earth's atmosphere
14 Aug 2020Fri1870150William Pye bornBellringer who became the second person to ring 1000 peals
02 Oct 2020Fri1870200Mahatma Gandhi bornPacifist and spiritual leader (real name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)
21 Nov 2020Sat1620400Mayflower lands in America
16 Dec 2020Wed1770250Ludwig van Beethoven bornGerman composer
31 Dec 2020Thu1720300Bonnie Prince Charlie bornCharles Edward Stuart, 'The Young Pretender'
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
03 Feb 2021Wed1821200Elizabeth Blackwell bornFirst woman physician, born in Bristol
23 Feb 2021Tue1821200John Keats diedRomantic poet. (died of tuberculosis aged 25)
23 Mar 2021Tue20201Start of first Covid lockdownTolling after noon silence to remember those lost on 'Day of Reflection'. BellBoard event
29 Mar 2021Mon1871150Royal Albert Hall openedBy Queen Victoria
17 Apr 2021Sat195170Peak District National Park createdBritain’s first National Park
21 Apr 2021Wed1821200James Robert Hawarth bornProfessional ringer & tutor
26 June 2021Sat1821200Invention of Ellacombe ChimesRev H T Ellacombe, engineer/vicar of St Mary’s Bitton devised a mechanism for one person to chime the bells from a frame below the tower. See: http://www.bittonhistory.org.uk/ellacombe-chimes/
5 July 2021Mon2021Social Care & Frontline Workers' DayBells rung 73 times at 8pm along with 'Clapping Our Heroes', see: https://www.nhsfrontlineday.org/programme/clapping-our-heroes-and-the-ringing-of-church-bells/
15 Aug 2021Sun1771250Walter Scott bornScottish novelist/poet
19 Aug 2021Thu1871150Orville Wright bornAmerican pioneer aviator
30 Aug 2021Mon1871150Ernest Rutherford bornNew Zealand physicist ‘father of nuclear physics’
5-12 Sep 2021WeekCycle Tour of Britain2021 Tour of Britain
21 Sep 2021TueRinging for Peace & Heritage Sponsored by Europa Nostra
20 Oct 2021Wed1871150Charles Babbage diedEnglish mathematician who invented the Difference Engine, precursor of the computer
30 Oct 2021Sat(eve of) COP 26 Climate Summit hosted in Glasgow (31 Oct - 12 Nov)Ringing at 6pm
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
23 Jan 2022Sat199725First female American Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright
6 Feb 2022Sun195270Accession of Queen Elizabeth II
27 Feb 2022Sun199725Divorce became legal in Irish Republic
16 Mar 2022Wed1872150First FA Cup heldWanderers FC beat Royal Engineers AFC 1-0 at the Oval
26 Mar 2022Sat197250Last trolleybus system in UK closedIn Bradford, after over 60 years operation.
30 Mar 2022Wed199725Channel Five began broadcasting in UK
2-3 Jun 2022Thu-FriPlatinum Jubilee Bank HolidayDCMS announcement
24 Jun 2022Fri1822200Charles Babbage proposed a difference engineIn a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society
18 Jul 2022Mon1872150Secret ballot introduced in BritainNo further Poll Books produced
7-17 Jul 2022World GamesWorld Games
28 Jul - 8 Aug 2022Commonwealth GamesIn Birmingham UK Commonwealth Games
31 Aug 2022Wed199725Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
5 Sep 2022Mon199725Death of Mother TeresaIndian nun, missionary and saint
6 Sep 2022Tue1522500First ship known to circumnavigate the worldThe Victoria, one of the ships that survived Magellan's expedition,
5 Oct 2022Wed197250Formation of United Reformed ChurchOfficial celebration will be a grand party on 1 October in London
26 Oct 20221822200First peal of Cambridge Surprise RoyalAll Saints, Wakefield
28 Oct 2022Fri197250First flight of Airbus A300The first Airbus aircraft
5 Nov 2022Sat20220Ring out for climate! 15-30 minutes at 5pm during COP27
18 Dec 2022Sun1922100Irish Free State came into existence
DateDayEvent YearAnniversaryEventComment
2 Jan 2023Mon199825Frank Muir diedFamous comedian who rang in his youth
11 Jan 2023Wed197350First graduates from the Open University
13 Mar 2023Mon201310Commonwealth CharterSigned by Queen Elizabeth II. Ringing at 8pm requested to include at least 10 whole pulls of Queens.
10 Apr 2023Mon199825Good Friday Agreement signedBetween British & Irish governments, & most N Ireland parties
6 MaySat20220Charles III crownedDetails of coordinated ringing TBA
2 Jun 2023Fri195370Queen Elizabeth II crowned
27 Jun 2023Tue1898125First solo circumnavigation of the globeCompleted at Rhode island by Joshua Slocum in Spray
4 Jul 2023Tue1623400William Byrd diedEnglish composer
28 Sep 2023Thu1923100Radio Times first published
12 Nov 2023Sun193390First known photos of the 'Loch Ness Monster' taken
6 Dec 2023Wed1773250First peal of Plain Bob MinorAt Garboldisham, Norfolk
27 Dec 20231773250George Cayley bornAviation pioneer who built & flew the first successful manned glider
31 Dec 2023Sun1923100Chimes of Big Ben first broadcast on radioAt Midnight to announce the New Year

For events with anniversaries in future years see here.

You may also be interested in annual events: church festivals, or notable annual secular days.

Back to list of Things To Ring For

Send to a friend