1960 in the United Kingdom
UK-related events during the year of 1960
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 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 [ 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
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 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] 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] 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 Edinburgh .
25 August–11 September – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete 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 2020, this record remains.
8 October
17 October – The News Chronicle [ 34] Daily Mail
21 October (Trafalgar Day ) – The Queen launches Britain's first nuclear submarine , HMS Dreadnought , at Barrow-in-Furness .[ 24] Damage to the Severn Railway Bridge 25 October – Barges collide with one of the columns of the Severn Railway Bridge in heavy fog, causing two spans of the twenty-two span steel and cast iron bridge to collapse. It is never repaired.
27 October – The film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning social-realist wave.
30 October – Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the UK at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary .
1 November – Black plastic bin bags (manufactured by ICI ) are first introduced for waste collection, in Hitchin .[ 20] [ 35]
2 November – Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in R v Penguin Books Ltd Lady Chatterley's Lover [ 1]
10 November – Lady Chatterley's Lover sells 200,000 copies in one day following its publication since being banned since 1928.[ 36]
2 December
9 December – The first episode of the soap opera Coronation Street Granada Television in Manchester, is aired on ITV .[ 1] Ken Barlow (William Roache ), Ena Sharples (Violet Carson ), Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix ) and Annie Walker (Doris Speed ).
10 December – Sir Peter Brian Medawar and Australian Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for discovery of acquired immunological tolerance".[ 37]
31 December
Undated – Little Houses Improvement Scheme launched by the National Trust for Scotland to promote conservation of vernacular architecture .[ 39]
Publications
Births
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
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
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
3 July – Vince Clarke , English songwriter (Depeche Mode , Yazoo and Erasure )
4 July – Mark Steel , comedian
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
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
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
References
^ a b c d e f Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0 ^ "La Fille mal gardée (1960)" . Royal Opera House Collections On Line . Retrieved 4 August 2010 .^ Simpson, Jane (2010). "La Fille mal Gardee" . ballet.contexts . Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010 . ^ Messina, Anthony (1989). Race and Party Competition in Britain . Oxford University Press. ^ Law, Denis; Harris, Bob (2003). The King . Bantam Press. ISBN 0-593-05140-8 ^ "1958: Historic Sheerness docks to close" . BBC News . 20 February 1958. Retrieved 30 September 2011 .^ "Radio telescope makes space history" . On This Day . BBC. 14 March 1960. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ a b c Gross, Nigel; et al. (1999). Collins Gem 1960s . London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472310-4 ^ "Broadcasting of the Grand National" . Aintree.co.uk . Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011 .^ "Chronology of Scottish History" . A Timeline of Scottish History . Rampant Scotland. Retrieved 25 February 2014 .^ Challoner, Jack, ed. (2009). 1001 Inventions That Changed the World . London: Cassell. pp. 676– 7. ISBN 978-1-84403-611-0 ^ "Announcement of the christening of Lady Louise Windsor" . The official website of The British Monarchy . The Royal Household. 8 April 2004. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2012 .^ a b Horne, Alistair (1989). Macmillan 1957–1986 . London: Macmillan. pp. 275– 7. ISBN 0333496213 ^ "Thousands protest against H-bomb" . On This Day . BBC. 18 April 1960. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ The Hutchinson Factfinder . Helicon. 1999. ISBN 1-85986-000-1 ^ "Vic Wilson" . Wisden Cricketers' Almanack . Retrieved 21 December 2009 .^ "Burnley Wins English Soccer" . The Age . Retrieved 27 January 2012 .^ a b "1960" . fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2010 .^ "Margaret weds Armstrong-Jones" . On This Day . BBC. 6 May 1960. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ a b c Gross, Nigel; et al. (1999). 1960s . Collins Gem. Glasgow: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472310-4 ^ "Henderson's department store fire, Liverpool" . Fire Brigades Union. Retrieved 14 January 2021 .^ Somalia . The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency .. Retrieved 11 February 2008.^ "Welsh pit blast kills 37 miners" . On This Day . BBC. 28 June 1960. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ a b c Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2 ^ McKay, George (2005). "New Orleans jazz, protest (Aldermaston) and carnival (Beaulieu)". Circular Breathing: the Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain . Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3560-3 ^ "The day when traditional jazz caused a riot". The Observer ^ Cole, T. C. (1970). Bluebell Railway – Steaming On! . Sheffield Park: Bluebell Railway. ^ Cyprus . The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency . Retrieved 11 February 2008.^ Hill, Tim (2007). The Beatles . p. 13. ^ Brierley, John (1964). "Flooding in the Exe Valley, 1960". Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers . 28 (2): 151– 170. doi :10.1680/iicep.1964.10110 . [permanent dead link ] ^ Devon Flood Story 1960 . Dawlish: David & Charles. 1960.^ Nigeria . The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency .. Retrieved 11 February 2008.^ Ingall, Tom (8 October 2010). "Fiftieth anniversary of the end of trams in Sheffield" . BBC . Retrieved 16 January 2011 . ^ Liberal Democrat News 15 October 2010.^ Science Museum (London) display.^ "Lady Chatterley's Lover sold out" . On This Day . BBC. 10 November 1960. Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1960" . Retrieved 11 February 2008 .^ The intended last day was 17 November. Vinen, Richard (2014). National Service: Conscription in Britain, 1945–1963 . London: Allen Lane. p. 361. ISBN 978-1-846-14387-8
^ "A History of the Little Houses Improvement Scheme" . National Trust for Scotland. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2011 .^ John Hemming ^ "MyParliament - Biography for Margaret Ferrier" . 24 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2024 .^ "OBE for broadcaster Jonathan Ross" . BBC News . 10 June 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2008 .^ Grasso, John (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tennis ISBN 9780810872370 ^ Roberts, Frank C. (1 January 1979). Obituaries from the Times, 1951–1960: Including an Index to All Obituaries and Tributes Appearing in the Times During the Years 1951–1960 ISBN 9780903713962
