1927 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1927 in the United Kingdom.

1927 saw the renaming of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising in name the Irish free state's independence, it having come into existence with the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922.

That, and other events are detailed below.

Incumbents

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

Events

* 1 January - The British Broadcasting "Company" becomes the British Broadcasting "Corporation", when it is granted a Royal Charter. Sir John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* 7 January - First transatlantic telephone call from New York City to London.
* 15 January - First live sports broadcast on the BBC. The rugby union international England v Wales is commented on by Teddy Wakelam. A week later the first football match is broadcast.
* 19 January - Britain sends troops to China.
* 4 February - At Pendine Sands, Sir Malcolm Campbell sets a new world land speed record of 174.88 mph (281.44 km/h).cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 12 February - First British troops land in Shanghai.
* 19 February - General strike in Shanghai in protest of the presence of the British troops.
* 6 March - 1000 people a week die from an influenza epidemic.
* 5 April - Trade Disputes Act forbids strikes of support.
* 12 April - The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 renames the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The change acknowledges that the Irish Free State is no longer part of the Kingdom.
* 9 May - Joe Davis wins the first World Snooker Championship held in Birmingham.
* 12 May - British police raids the office of Soviet trade delegation.
* 13 May - George V proclaims the change of his style from King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to King of Great Britain and Ireland.
* 20 May - Saudi Arabia becomes independent of the United Kingdom (Treaty of Jeddah).
* 24 May - Britain severs diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union because of revelations of espionage and underground agitation.
* 9 June - Soviet Union executes 20 British for alleged espionage.
* 7 July - Christopher Stone presents a record programme, becoming the first British disc-jockey.
* 7 September - The Television Society is founded. It will gain Royal patronage in 1966, becoming the Royal Television Society.
* 5 October - the Labour Party votes in favour of nationalisation of the coal industry.
* 7 October - Gertrude Ederle is the first Englishwoman to swim the English Channel.
* 5 November - Britain's first automatic experimental traffic lights are deployed in Wolverhampton.
* 24 November - Total solar eclipse over Northern England and Wales.
* 12 December - 1600 people hospitalised in London when they had hurt themselves on the icy streets.

Publications

* Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel "The Big Four".
* Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novel "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club".
* Nevil Sidgwick's "The Electronic Theory of Valency", an important work in chemistry.
* Henry Williamson's novel "Tarka the Otter".
* Virginia Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse".

Births

* 13 January - Sydney Brenner, biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* 16 February - June Brown, actor
* March 15 - Brian Shenton, track and field sprinter (died 1987)
* 29 March - John Robert Vane, pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (died 2004)
* 2 April - Kenneth Tynan, theatre critic (died 1980)
* 27 April - Sheila Scott, aviator (died 1988)
* 12 June - Al Fairweather, jazz musician (died 1993)
* 18 June - Paul Eddington, actor (died 1995)
* 3 July - Ken Russell, film director
* 6 September - Frederick Parker, hurdler
* 22 September - Gordon Astall, footballer
* 25 September - Colin Davis, conductor
* 14 October - Roger Moore, actor
* 28 October - Cleo Laine, singer
* 9 November - Ken Dodd, comedian and singer
* 15 November - Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party politician (died 1992)
* 7 December - Helen Watts, contralto
* 12 December - Honor Blackman, actress
* 26 December - Denis Quilley, actor (died 2003)
* 28 December - Simon Raven, novelist (died 2001)

Deaths

* 2 May - Ernest Starling, physiologist (born 1866)
* 11 June - William Attewell, cricketer (born 1861)
* 14 June - Jerome K. Jerome, writer (born 1859)
* 8 October - Mary Webb, novelist (born 1881)

References

ee also