1926 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1926 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch - George V of the United Kingdom
*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative

Events

* 16 January - BBC radio play about worker's revolution causes a panic in London.
* 27 January - John Logie Baird demonstrates a mechanical television system in London. [cite book |title= The Hutchinson Factfinder |publisher= Helicon |year= 1999 |isbn= 1-85986-000-1 ]
* 31 January - British and Belgian troops leave Cologne.
* 9 February - Flooding of London suburbs.
* 6 March - The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon is destroyed by fire.
* 1 May - Coal miner's strike begins in Britain over planned pay reductions.
* 3 May - 1926 United Kingdom general strike: General strike begins in support of the coal strike.
* 4 May - The BBC broadcasts five news bulletins a day as no newspapers published due to the general strike.
* 9 May - Martial law in Britain because of the general strike.
* 10 May - Talks between government and strikers begin.
* 12 May - The general strike ends.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 24 July - First greyhound track in Britain opens in Manchester.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 366-368|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 25 July - BBC history: The previously experimental long-wave station 5XX moves from Chelmsford to Daventry and becomes the first station to achieve near national coverage. The Daventry station will later become the main transmitter of the BBC National Programme.
* 6 August - American swimmer Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel from France to England.
* 7 August - the first British Grand Prix held at Brooklands race course near Weybridge.
* 18 August - British miners' union begins negotiations with the government.
* 30 August - Cricketer Jack Hobbs scores 316 runs at match at Lord's, the highest individual total scored at that ground.
* 12 October - British miners agree to end their strike.
* 2 December - The Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin ends the martial law that had been declared due to general strike.
* 3 December - Agatha Christie disappears from her home in Surrey; on 14 December she is found in Harrogate hotel.

Publications

* Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".
* D. H. Lawrence's novel "The Plumed Serpent".
* Hugh MacDiarmid's Scots language poem "A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle".
* A. A. Milne's children's book "Winnie the Pooh".

Births

* 3 January - George Martin, producer of The Beatles
* 13 January - Michael Bond, author and creator of Paddington Bear
* 14 January - Warren Mitchell, actor
* 17 January - Moira Shearer, actress and dancer (died 2006)
* 10 February - Danny Blanchflower, footballer and football manager (died 1993)
* 11 February - Alexander Gibson, conductor and founder of the Scottish Opera (died 1995)
* 16 February - John Schlesinger, film director (died 2003)
* 22 February - Kenneth Williams, actor (died 1988)
* 31 March - John Fowles, writer (died 2005)
* 6 April - Ian Paisley, politician
* 21 April - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
* 22 April - James Stirling, architect (died 1992)
* 26 April - David Coleman, television sports broadcaster
* 30 April - Edmund Cooper, author amd poet (died 1982)
* 8 May - David Attenborough, broadcaster and naturalist
* 14 May - Eric Morecambe, comedian (died 1984)
* 15 May - Peter Shaffer, playwright
* 21 July - Bill Pertwee, actor
* 30 July - Thomas Patrick Russell, High Court Judge (died 2002)
* 3 August - Anthony Sampson, journalist and biographer (died 2004)
* 17 August - George Melly, jazz singer (died 2007)
* 21 October - Leonard Rossiter, actor (died 1984)
* 31 October - Jimmy Savile, television and radio personality
* 5 November - John Berger, art critic, novelist and painter
* 6 November - Frank Carson, comedian
* 20 December - Geoffrey Howe, politician

Deaths

* 7 February - William Evans Hoyle, director of the National Museum of Wales (born 1855)
* 12 July - Gertrude Bell, archaeologist, writer, spy, and administrator known as the "Uncrowned Queen of Iraq" (born 1868)
* 25 September - Herbert Booth, the third son of William and Catherine Booth (born 1862)
* 5 October - Dorothy Tennant (Lady Stanley), artist (born 1855)
* 12 October - Edwin Abbott Abbott, schoolmaster and theologian (born 1838)
* 13 October - Eliseus Williams, poet (born 1867)
* 4 November - John Owen, Bishop of St David's (born 1854)

References

ee also