1964 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1964 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
*Prime Minister - Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative (until 16 October), Harold Wilson, Labour

Events

* 29 January–9 February - Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and win one gold medal.
* 6 February - The British and French governments agree a deal for the construction of a Channel Tunnel. The twin-tunneled rail link is expected to take five years to build. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/6/newsid_2535000/2535625.stm|title="1964: Green light for Channel Tunnel", BBC On This Day|accessdate=2008-01-10]
* 19 March- Power dispute talks break down and it is feared that supply disruptions will follow industrial action. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=20 March 1964 | page=14, col.A | title=Power Dispute Talks Break Down Overtime Ban On Monday, Union Delegation Walks Out Of Meeting ]
* 28 March - Pirate radio station "Radio Caroline" begins broadcasting.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 30 March - Violent disturbances between Mods and Rockers at Clacton beach.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 422-423|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 31 March - Minister of Labour Joseph Godber appoints Lord Justice Pearson to chair a court of inquiry into the power dispute. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=1 April 1964 | page=10, col.B | title=Lord Justice Pearson Inquiry Chairman ]
* 1 April - Ministry of Defence takes over the duties of the War Office, Admiralty, and Air Ministry, which cease to exist.
* 16 April - 7 of the Great Train Robbers are sentenced to 30 years each for their role in the 1963 robbery.
* 21 April - The UK's third television channel BBC Two begins broadcasting; its first programme is "Play School".
* 11 May - Terence Conran opens the first Habitat store on London's Fulham Road.
* 15 May - Lord Justice Pearson reports on the power dispute. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=16 May 1964 | page=5, col.A | title=Both Sides To Blame In Power Dispute "Bury Past, Build For Future" Report Says ]
* 17 June - A missing persons investigation is launched in Fallowfield, Manchester, as police search for 12-year-old Keith Bennett, who went missing yesterday evening.
* 6 July
** Malawi gains its independence.cite book |title= The Hutchinson Factfinder |publisher= Helicon |year= 1999 |isbn= 1-85986-000-1|pages=502]
** The first The Beatles film, "A Hard Day's Night", released. [imdb title|id=0058182|title=A Hard Day's Night]
* 15 July - The Post Office Tower in London is completed, although it does not open for business until October 1965.
* 4 September - Forth Road Bridge opens over the Firth of Forth, linking Fife and Edinburgh.
* 14 September - the "Daily Herald" ceases publication, replaced by "The Sun".
* 21 September - Malta obtains independence from the UK.
* October - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (the first British woman to win a Nobel) "for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances". [cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1964/|title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964|accessdate=2008-01-10]
* 10 October–24 October - Great Britain competes at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and wins 4 gold, 12 silver and 2 bronze medals.
* 15 October - General election: Labour Party defeats the Conservatives, ending 13 years of Conservative Party rule. Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister, replacing Alec Douglas-Home.
* 18 October - Wilson creates the Welsh Office.
* 24 October - Northern Rhodesia, a former British protectorate, becomes the independent Republic of Zambia, ending 73 years of British rule.
* 2 November - ITV soap opera "Crossroads" aired for the first time.
* 9 November - House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty for murder in Britain. The last execution took place in August and the death penalty is set to be officially abolished before the end of next year.
* 27 November - Power unions announce that they will start balloting for a strike. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=28 November 1964 | page=8, col.C | title=Power Dispute Talks Fail Strike Threat Draws Near, Union Ballot To START On Monday ]
* 30 November - Power dispute settled and strike action called off. [ cite news | work=The Times | date=1 December 1964 | page=10, col.C | title=Power Stations Overtime Ban Called Off - Payments Claim Settled ]
* 23 December - Richard Beeching announces his intention to resign as Chairman of the British Railways Board after three-and-a-half years, during which he ordered the closure of many smaller and financially non-viable railways. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/23/newsid_4019000/4019181.stm|title="1964: Beeching to leave British Railways", BBC On This Day|accessdate=2008-01-10]
* 26 December - Police launch a missing persons investigation after 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey goes missing from a fairground in Ancoats, Manchester.
* 31 December - Donald Campbell sets the world speed record on water at 276.33 mph on Dumbleyung Lake in Australia.

Undated

* The European Car of the Year award, in its second year, is again won by a British Motor Corporation product, this time the Austin 1800 large family saloon.

Publications

* Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel "A Caribbean Mystery".
* Ian Fleming's James Bond novel "You Only Live Twice" and his children's novel "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".
* William Golding's novel "The Spire".
* Philip Larkin's poetry collection "The Whitsun Weddings".

Births

* 16 February - Christopher Eccleston, actor
* 24 February - Bill Bailey, comedian
* 29 February - James Ogilvy, son of Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy and the Sir Angus Ogilvy
* 10 March - Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex- youngest son of The Queen
* 11 March - Shane Richie, actor
* 26 March - Martin Donnelly, Northern Irish racecar driver
* 3 April - Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party leader and MEP for South East England
* 18 April - Niall Ferguson, Scottish historian
* 25 April - Andy Bell, singer and songwriter (band Erasure)
* 28 April - Lady Helen Taylor, daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Kent
* 1 May - Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
* 24 May - Adrian Moorhouse, swimmer
* 13 June - Kathy Burke, actress and comedienne
* 3 July - Joanne Harris, novelist
* 22 July - Bonnie Langford, actress and entertainer
* 7 November - Philip Hollobone, British Conservative politician and MP for Kettering
* "date unknown" - Armando Iannucci, Scottish comedian, satirist and radio producer

Deaths

* 17 January - T.H. White, author (born 1906)
* 9 June - Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Canadian-British business tycoon, politician and writer (born 1879)
* 12 August - Ian Fleming, author and journalist (born 1908)
* 18 September - Clive Bell, art critic (born 1881)
* 1 December - J. B. S. Haldane, geneticist (born 1892)
* 8 December - Simon Marks, 1st Baron Marks of Broughton, businessman (born 1888)
* 9 December - Edith Sitwell, poet (born 1887)
* 24 December - Claudia Jones, black activist (born 1915)

References

ee also