Events from the year
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Incumbents
*
Monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
–
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
*
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
–
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
(
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
)
*
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
–
38th
Events
* January –
Mass Observation
Mass-Observation is a United Kingdom social research project; originally the name of an organisation which ran from 1937 to the mid-1960s, and was revived in 1981 at the University of Sussex.
Mass-Observation originally aimed to record everyday ...
carries out a national survey into the
sexual behaviour
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
and attitudes of 4,000 British people, "Little
Kinsey". The results remain largely unpublished for over fifty years.
* 1 January
** Peacetime
conscription in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, military conscription has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1920, and the second from 1939 to 1960. The last conscripted soldiers left the service in 1963. It was legally designated as "Mi ...
is regularised under the National Service Act 1947. Men aged 18–26 in England, Scotland and Wales are obliged to serve full-time in the armed forces for 18 months.
** The
British Nationality Act 1948
The British Nationality Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on British nationality law which defined British nationality by creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (CUKC) as the sole national ci ...
comes into effect, creating the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies", superseding the shared status of "
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
citizen".
* 4 January – of the
Cunard Line
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...
departs
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
for New York on her maiden voyage.
* 28 January –
Lynskey tribunal
The Lynskey tribunal was a British government inquiry, set up in October 1948 to investigate rumours of possible corruption in the Board of Trade. Under the chairmanship of a High Court judge, Sir George Lynskey, it sat in November and Decemb ...
on corruption in public life reports, leading to the resignation of
John Belcher as an MP.
* 31 January – ''
Book at Bedtime
''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00.
The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, ...
'' debuts on the
BBC Light Programme
The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...
.
* 1 February –
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...
renamed as the
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994.
On 1 February 1949, the ...
.
* 15 March – post-war
rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
of clothes ends.
* 25 March –
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
's film ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' (1948) becomes the first British film to win a
'Best Picture' Oscar.
* 28 March –
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
Fred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other sci ...
coins the term ''
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
'' during a
BBC Third Programme
The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and intellectual f ...
radio broadcast.
* 1 April –
the Marquess of Bath opens
Longleat House
Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wiltshire, ...
to paying visitors, the first privately owned
stately home
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
to be so opened.
* 4 April – Britain signs the
North Atlantic Treaty
The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 ...
, creating NATO.
[
* 12 April – first women appointed ]King's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
in England: Rose Heilbron
Dame Rose Heilbron DBE, QC (19 August 1914 – 8 December 2005) was a British barrister who served as a High Court judge. Her career included many "firsts" for a woman – she was the first woman to achieve a first class honours degree in l ...
and Helena Normanton
Helena Florence Normanton, Queen's Counsel, QC (14 December 1882 – 14 October 1957) was the first woman to take advantage of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 and join an institution of the legal profession. In November 1922, she was ...
.
* 20 April
** Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
HMS ''Amethyst'' goes up the Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
to evacuate British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
refugees escaping the advance of the Mao's communist forces. Under heavy fire, it runs aground off Rose Island. After an aborted rescue attempt on 26 April, it anchors 10 miles upstream. Negotiations with the communist forces to let the ship leave drag on for weeks, during which time its cat, Simon
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
, raises the crew's morale.
** The first Badminton Horse Trials
The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, five-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International, Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Fédér ...
are held at Badminton House
Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to th ...
in Gloucestershire.
* 24 April – wartime rationing of sweets and chocolate ends, but is re-instituted shortly thereafter as shortages return.
* 26 April – Ealing comedy
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
film ''Passport to Pimlico
''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the unea ...
'' is premièred in London.
* 28 April – the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
The 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the fourth meeting of the Heads of government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom in April 1949 and was hosted by that country's prime minister, Clement Attlee.
...
issues the London Declaration
The London Declaration was a declaration issued by the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference on the issue of India's continued membership of the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of independent states formerly part of the British ...
, enabling India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(and, thereafter, any other nation) to remain in the Commonwealth despite becoming a republic, creating the position of 'Head of the Commonwealth
The head of the Commonwealth is the ceremonial leader who symbolises "the free association of independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation that currently comprises 56 sovereign states. There is ...
' (held by the ruling British monarch), and renaming the organisation from 'British Commonwealth' to 'Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
'.
* 29 April – the ''News Review'' reveals that neither the English public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
Selhurst College nor its headmaster H. Rochester Sneath
H. Rochester Sneath MA L-ès-L (c. 1900 – ?) is a fictional character, headmaster of the fictional Selhurst school, who was created by Humphry Berkeley in a series of hoax letters to public school headmasters and public figures starting in 194 ...
exist, but are a hoax created by Humphry Berkeley
Humphry John Berkeley (21 February 192614 November 1994) was a British politician and author. He was noted for his three changes of parties and his early support for gay rights.
He is also remembered for a series of hoax letters he sent as fic ...
the previous year.
* 30 April – 1949 FA Cup Final
The 1949 FA Cup Final was the 68th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 30 April 1949 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. Wolves had finished sixth in the First Division that season and had s ...
: Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
win the FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
for the first time in 41 years, and the third time in their history, with a 3–1 win over Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
.
* April – Manchester Mark 1
The Manchester Mark 1 was one of the earliest stored-program computers, developed at the Victoria University of Manchester, England from the Manchester Baby (operational in June 1948). Work began in August 1948, and the first version was operat ...
computer operable at the University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
.
* May – Council for Wales and Monmouthshire
The Council for Wales and Monmouthshire ( cy, Cyngor Cymru a Mynwy) was an appointed advisory body announced in 1948 and established in 1949 by the UK government under Labour prime minister Clement Attlee, to advise the government on matters of ...
, set up as a government advisory body, first meets.
* 1 May – the gas industry is nationalised.
* 3 May – Parliament passes the Ireland Act guaranteeing the position of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
as part of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
as long as a majority of its citizens want it to be. The government also recognises the existence of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
.
* 6 May – EDSAC
The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC) was an early British computer. Inspired by John von Neumann's seminal ''First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC'', the machine was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the Universi ...
, the first practicable stored-program computer
A stored-program computer is a computer that stores program instructions in electronically or optically accessible memory. This contrasts with systems that stored the program instructions with plugboards or similar mechanisms.
The definition i ...
, runs its first program at Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
* 10 May – first self-service launderette opens, in Queensway (London)
Queensway (formerly Queen's Road) is a shopping street in Bayswater, an area of west London. It is home to Whiteleys, many restaurants, cafés, pubs, souvenir shops and a few high-street retail chains. Queensway and Westbourne Grove are identi ...
.
* 11 May – Christopher Fry
Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially ''The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.
Biograph ...
's verse drama ''The Lady's Not for Burning
''The Lady's Not for Burning'' is a 1948 play by Christopher Fry.
A romantic comedy in three acts, in verse, it is set in the Middle Ages ("1400, either more or less or exactly"). It reflects the world's "exhaustion and despair" following Worl ...
'' premieres in London.
* 7–25 June – dock strike forces the government to use troops to unload goods.[
* 8 June – ]George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'' is published in London by Secker & Warburg
Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press.
History
Secker & Warburg
Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
.
* 16 June – Ealing comedy
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
film '' Whisky Galore!'' released.
* 21 June – Ealing comedy film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Autob ...
'' released.
* 27 July – maiden flight of the British-built de Havilland Comet
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...
, the world's first passenger jet, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess of ...
.[
* 30 July – Legal Aid and Advice Act establishes a much-extended system of Legal aid in England and Wales (with the Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act applying similarly in Scotland).
* 31 July – Captain Kerans of HMS ''Amethyst'' decides to make a break after nightfall under heavy fire from the ]Chinese People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
both sides of the Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
and successfully rejoins the fleet at Woosung the next day.
* 22 August – T. S. Eliot's comedy ''The Cocktail Party
''The Cocktail Party'' is a play by T. S. Eliot. The play was the most popular of Eliot's seven plays in his lifetime, although his 1935 play, ''Murder in the Cathedral'', is better remembered today. It focuses on a troubled married couple who, ...
'' premieres at the Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
.
* 24 August – Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
football stadium, home of Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...
, is re-opened following a comprehensive rebuild due to bomb damage by the Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
eight years earlier.
* 2 September – film ''The Third Man
''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), ...
'', with screenplay by Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
, released. The film wins the 1949 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.
* 19 September – the pound devalued
In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curren ...
by 30% against the United States dollar.
* 21 September – the first comprehensive school in Wales is opened in Holyhead
Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
, Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
.
* 30 September – the Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
comes to an end, during which 17 American and 7 British planes have crashed delivering supplies to Soviet blockaded Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
* October – Valerie Hunter Gordon is granted a U.K. patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for the disposable nappy
A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or contai ...
.
* 12 October – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr
John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, (23 September 1880 – 25 June 1971), styled Sir John Boyd Orr from 1935 to 1949, was a Scottish teacher, medical doctor, biologist, nutritional physiologist, politician, businessman and farmer who was awarded ...
wins the Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
.
* 26 October – ''How Do You View?
''How Do You View?'' was the first comedy series on British television. The programme was based on an on-screen persona of Terry-Thomas as "a glamorous, mischievous and discreetly cash-strapped man-about-town", introducing a series of sketches in ...
'', the first comedy series on British television, starring Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...
, is first broadcast on BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
.
* 4 November – Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
designated as the first New Town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in Wales under powers of the New Towns Act 1946
The New Towns Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to found new settlements or to expand substantially existing ones, to establish Development Corporations to deliver them, and to create a Commission to wind up the C ...
.
* 28 November – Conservative Party leader Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
makes a landmark speech in support of the idea of a European Union at Kingsway Hall
The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music.
It was built in 1912 and demolished ...
, London, but without commitment to early U.K. membership.
* 16 December – Parliament Act
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2(2) of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that the two Acts are to be construed as one.
T ...
given royal assent; cuts the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
veto to one year.[
* 17 December – ]Sutton Coldfield transmitting station
The Sutton Coldfield transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. In terms of population covered, it is the third most important transmitter in the UK, after Crystal Pa ...
begins transmitting
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
BBC Television to the English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
, the first broadcasts to be seen outside the London area.
Undated
* The number of workforce deaths in the coal industry is reported to have fallen to a record low since nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
two years ago.
* With an average Central England temperature
The Central England Temperature (CET) record is a meteorological dataset originally published by Professor Gordon Manley in 1953 and subsequently extended and updated in 1974, following many decades of painstaking work. The monthly mean surface ai ...
of , the record for the hottest year in that series set in 1834
Events
January–March
* January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
* January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.
* January 3 †...
and equalled in 1921 is broken. 1949's record stands until 1990 by when anthropogenic global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
has come largely to control temperatures.
Publications
* Enid Blyton
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...
's children's books ''Little Noddy Goes to Toyland'', the first to introduce the title character; and ''The Secret Seven'', first in the eponymous series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
.
* Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's novel ''Crooked House
''Crooked House'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 23 May of the same year.
The action takes place in and near Lo ...
''.
* H. F. Ellis Humphry Francis Ellis (17 July 1907 – 8 December 2000) was an English comic writer. He created A. J. Wentworth, the ineffectual schoolmaster whose fictional diaries were first published in the magazine ''Punch''.
Life
Humphry Francis Ellis was b ...
' humorous collection ''The Papers of A.J. Wentworth B.A.''
* Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's novella ''The Third Man
''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), ...
''.
* Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...
's novel ''Love in a Cold Climate
''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1949. The title is a phrase from George Orwell's novel ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' (1936).
''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a companion volume to ''The Pursuit of Lov ...
''.
* George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
''.
Births
* 7 January – Brian Haw
Brian William Haw (7 January 1949 – 18 June 2011) was an English protester and peace campaigner who lived for almost ten years in a peace camp in London's Parliament Square from 2001, in a protest against UK and US foreign policy. He bega ...
, protester and peace campaigner (died 2011)
* 17 January – Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...
, rock guitarist
* 19 January
** Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003)
** Andrew Samuels
Andrew Samuels (born 19 January 1949) is a British psychotherapist and writer on political and social themes from a psychological viewpoint. He has worked with politicians, political organisations, activist groups and members of the public in Eu ...
, psychologist and academic
** Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...
, snooker player
* 23 January – Joan Walley
Joan Lorraine Walley (born 23 January 1949) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent North (UK Parliament constituency), Stoke-on-Tr ...
, politician
* 25 January
** John Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with sev ...
, performance poet
** Paul Nurse
Sir Paul Maxime Nurse (born 25 January 1949) is an English geneticist, former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along ...
, biologist and Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner
* 29 January – Andy Carter, middle-distance runner
* 4 February – Richard Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum
Richard Andrew Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum, (born 4 February 1949) is a British Conservative Party politician. A former Member of Parliament (MP) and government minister, he was made a life peer in 1997 and was a member of the House of Lords ...
, broadcaster and politician, Paymaster General
His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP.
History
The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...
* 16 February – Lyn Paul
Lyn Paul (born Lynda Susan Belcher; 16 February 1949) is an English pop singer and actress. She came to fame as a member of the international chart-topping pop group the New Seekers in the early 1970s. She has more recently found success and criti ...
, pop singer
* 18 February – Charlie Waite
Charlie Waite (born 18 February 1949) is an English landscape photography, landscape photographer noted for his "painterly" approach in using light and shade.
Born in England, he worked in theatre and television for the first ten years of his ...
, landscape photographer
* 2 March – J. P. R. Williams
John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949) is a former Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in international rugby during their Golden Era in the 1970s.
He became known universally as J. P. R. Williams (or sometimes just as JPR) aft ...
, Welsh rugby player
* 6 March – Martin Buchan
Martin McLean Buchan (born 6 March 1949) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in Aberdeen, he played for Aberdeen, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He also played in 34 international matches for Sc ...
, footballer
* 9 March – Neil Hamilton, Conservative MP, later UKIP politician and Welsh Assembly Member 2016–2021.
* 13 March – Trevor Sorbie
Trevor John Sorbie Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 13 March 1949 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Scotland), is a British celebrity hairdresser.
Career
Born in Scotland, his parents moved south when he was age ...
, celebrity hairdresser
* 17 March – Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...
, snooker player (died 2010)
* 28 March – Kevin Lloyd
Kevin Reardon Lloyd (28 March 1949 – 2 May 1998) was a British television actor, who came to prominence in the role of DC Alfred "Tosh" Lines in Thames Television's police drama series ''The Bill''.
Early life
Lloyd was born in Derby in ...
, actor (died 1998)
* 3 April – Richard Thompson, rock guitarist and songwriter
* 8 April – Alex Fergusson, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 (died 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
)
* 24 April – James Paice
Sir James Edward Thornton Paice, DL (born 24 April 1949) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cambridgeshire between 1987 and 2015, when he stood down from parliament. He ...
, farmer and politician
* 25 April – James Fenton
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, poet
* 29 April – Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Sing ...
, actress
* 2 May – Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...
, gardener and television presenter
* 3 May – Phil Scraton
Phil Scraton (born 3 May 1949) is a critical criminologist, academic and author. He is a social researcher, known particularly for his investigative work into the context, circumstances and aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. More rece ...
, criminologist
* 4 May – Lindsey Hughes
Lindsey Hughes (4 May 1949 – 26 April 2007) was a British historian who studied seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Russia, especially the reign of Peter the Great. She wrote biographies of Peter and his predecessor Sophia Alekseyevna, as we ...
, historian (died 2007)
* 13 May – Zoë Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is a British-American actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. A nine-time Olivier Award nominee, she won for '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1979) and '' Electra ...
, actress (born in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
)
* 18 May – Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s.
Born and raised ...
, rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
)
* 21 May – Andrew Neil
Andrew Ferguson Neil (born 21 May 1949) is a Scottish former journalist and broadcaster who is chairman of ''The Spectator'' and presenter of '' The Andrew Neil Show'' on Channel 4. He was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1983 to 1994. He f ...
, Scottish journalist and broadcaster
* 24 May – Jim Broadbent
James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film ''Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for hi ...
, actor
* 26 May – Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
, Leader of the Labour Party (2015-2020)
* 29 May – Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo.
Early life
Rossi was born o ...
, rock musician (lead singer, Status Quo)
* 30 May – Bob Willis
Robert George Dylan Willis (born Robert George Willis; 30 May 1949 – 4 December 2019) was an English cricketer, who represented England between 1971 and 1984. A right-handed fast bowler, Willis is regarded by many as one of the greatest fa ...
, cricketer (fast bowler) (died 2019)
* 2 June – Heather Couper
Heather Anita Couper, (2 June 1949 – 19 February 2020) was a British astronomer, broadcaster and science populariser.
After studying astrophysics at the University of Leicester and researching clusters of galaxies at Oxford University, Co ...
, astronomer (died 2020)
* 13 June – Red Symons
Redmond Symons (born 13 June 1949) is an English-born Australian musician, and television and radio personality. He was the lead guitarist in the band Skyhooks, the snide judge of 'Red Faces' (a segment of the long-running variety show ''Hey H ...
, English-born Australian musician and television personality
* 14 June
** Jim Lea, rock musician (Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
)
** Alan White, drummer (Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
) (died 2022)
* 21 June – John Agard
John Agard FRSL (born 21 June 1949 in British Guiana) is an Afro-Guyanese playwright, poet and children's writer, now living in Britain. In 2012, he was selected for the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. , writer
* 22 June – Brian Leveson
Sir Brian Henry Leveson (; born 22 June 1949) is a retired English judge who served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice.
Leveson chaired the public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the ...
, judge
* 5 July – Sue Robbie, television presenter
* 7 July – Bob Stewart, colonel and politician
* 13 July – Richard Caddel
Richard Caddel (13 July 1949 – 1 April 2003) was a poet, publisher and editor who was a key figure in the British Poetry Revival.
Biography
Caddel was born in Bedford and grew up in Gillingham, Kent. He studied music at the University of Newca ...
, poet (died 2003)
* 15 July – Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
, pop singer and producer
* 22 July – Geoffrey Durham
Geoffrey Durham (born 22 July 1949) is a British comedy magician and actor who was known for many years as "the Great Soprendo".
Early life
Durham was born in East Molesey, Surrey, England. At the age of ten, he developed an interest in mag ...
, entertainer
* 26 July – Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to:
*Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen
*Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran
*Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series
*Roger Taylor (college pr ...
, rock drummer (Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
)
* 28 July
** Simon Kirke
Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company. He has been the only continuous member of Bad Company since their inception.
Life and career
Kirke was born in L ...
, drummer
** Steve Peregrin Took
Steve Peregrin Took (born Stephen Ross Porter; 28 July 1949 – 27 October 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known for his membership of the duo Tyrannosaurus Rex with Marc Bolan. After breaking with Bolan, he concentrated on h ...
, singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1980)
* 6 August – Alan Campbell, clergyman
* 12 August – Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...
, rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...
)
* 15 August
** Richard Deacon, sculptor
**Edward McMillan-Scott
Edward McMillan-Scott (born 15 August 1949) is a British politician. He was a pro-EU Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber constituency from 1984 until 2014. He was the last and longest-serving UK Vice-President ...
, lawyer and politician
* 21 August – Rosemary Lenton, para-bowler and wheelchair curler
* 25 August
** Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis (born 25 August 1949) is a British novelist, essayist, memoirist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and ''London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir '' ...
, novelist (died 2023)
** Ross Davidson
William Russell "Ross" Davidson (25 August 1949 – 16 October 2006) was a Scottish actor best known for his role as Andy O'Brien in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''.
Career
Davidson started his working life as a physical education teacher ...
, actor (died 2006)
* 9 September
** John Curry
John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British Figure skating, figure skater. He was the 1976 1976 European Figure Skating Championships, European, Figure skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics, Olympic and World Figure Sk ...
, figure skater (died 1994)
** Jolyon Brettingham Smith
Jolyon Brettingham Smith (9 September 1949 – 17 May 2008) was a British composer, Conducting, conductor, performer, author, and radio presenter, and a university teacher at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Life and work
Brettingham Smith w ...
, composer and radio presenter (died 2008)
* 10 September – Freddy Marks
Frederick Marks (10 September 1949 – 20 May 2021) was an English actor, singer and entertainer. He was best known for being part of the musical trio Rod, Jane and Freddy which appeared in children's programming in the 1980s and 1990s.
Earl ...
, actor and musician (died 2021)
* 13 September – Linda Colley
Dame Linda Jane Colley, (born 13 September 1949 in Chester, England) is an expert on British, imperial and global history from 1700. She is Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University and a long-term fellow in history a ...
, historian
* 18 September
** Mo Mowlam
Dr Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minis ...
, Labour politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2005)
** Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...
, footballer
* 19 September – Twiggy
Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London.
...
, born Lesley Hornby, model
* 23 September – John Connaughton
Patrick John Connaughton (23 September 1949 – 12 November 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 387 league and cup games in a 16-year career. He also represented England at youth level on three oc ...
, footballer (died 2022)
* 20 October – Jane Tucker
Jane Tucker (born 20 October 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter, musician and keyboardist. She is best known for being part of the musical trio Rod, Jane and Freddy who appeared in many TV series, notably ''Rainbow''. She was born ...
, actress and musician
* 26 October – Maurice Gran
Maurice Bernard Gran (born 26 October 1949, in London, England) is an English writer and one half of scriptwriting duo Marks and Gran. He co-wrote the British sitcom, sitcoms ''The New Statesman (1987 TV series), The New Statesman'', ''Birds of ...
, scriptwriter
* 30 October – Arabella Churchill, charity founder (died 2007)
* 1 November – Gerald Ratner
Gerald Irving Ratner (born 1 November 1949) is a British businessman. He was formerly chief executive officer of the major British jewellery company Ratners Group (now the Signet Group). He achieved notoriety after making a speech in which h ...
, businessman
* 6 November – Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...
, actor
* 7 November – Gerald Ashby, football referee (died 2001)
* 24 November
** Nick Ainger
Nicholas Richard Ainger (born 24 October 1949) is a Welsh politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, previously Pembrokeshire, from 1992 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he served in ...
, Labour politician
** Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer
* 27 November – Brumas, polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
(first born at London Zoo
London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...
)
* 4 December – Paul Dickenson
Derek Paul Dickenson (born 4 December 1949 in North Shields, Northumberland) is an English retired male hammer thrower.
Athletics career
Dickenson represented the United Kingdom at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1976 (Montreal). ...
, hammer thrower
* 6 December
** Janet Anderson
Janet Anderson (born 6 December 1949) is a former Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen from 1992 until 2010, when she lost her seat. Her time as MP is remembered for her role as Minister for ...
, politician (died 2023)
** Peter Willey
Peter Willey (born 6 December 1949) is a former English cricketer, who played as a right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler. In and out of the England team, he interrupted his international career for three years by taking part in the ...
, cricketer
* 12 December
** Chris Baillieu
Christopher Latham Baillieu MBE (born 12 December 1949) is an English former rower who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics representing Great Britain. He was the first chairman of British Swimming, from 2001 to ...
, rower and lawyer
** Bill Nighy
William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...
, actor
* 13 December – Robert Lindsay, actor
* 16 December
** Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett
Heather Carol Hallett, Baroness Hallett, (born 16 December 1949) is a retired English judge of the Court of Appeal and a crossbench life peer. She was the fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal, and led the independent inquest into the 7/7 ...
, judge
** Stephanie Lawrence
Stephanie Lawrence (16 December 1949 – 4 November 2000) was a British musical theatre actress.
Background
Stephanie Lawrence was born in 1949 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. She was the daughter of a Welsh singer, to whom sh ...
, singer and actress (died 2000)
* 17 December – Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...
, rock singer (Free
Free may refer to:
Concept
* Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything
* Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism
* Emancipate, to procur ...
)
* 21 December – Nicholas Penny
Sir Nicholas Beaver Penny (born 21 December 1949) is a British art historian. From 2008 to 2015 he was director of the National Gallery in London.
Early life
Penny was educated at Shrewsbury School before he studied English at St Catharine ...
, art historian and academic
* Michael Houghton, virologist and Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner
Deaths
* 2 January – Jock McNab
John McNab (17 April 1894 – 2 January 1949) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a right half, predominantly for Liverpool, during the period between the First and Second World Wars.
Playing career Club
Born in Cleland, Lanark ...
, footballer (born 1894)
* 9 January – Tommy Handley
Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949.
Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...
, radio comedian (born 1892)
* 21 January
** William Price Drury
Lieutenant-Colonel William Price Drury, CBE (8 November 1861 – 21 January 1949) was a Royal Marine Light Infantry officer, novelist and playwright. He served as Mayor of Saltash from 1929 to 1931.
Life
Drury was educated at Brentwood School, ...
, novelist, playwright and Royal Marines officer (born 1861)
** J. H. Thomas
James Henry Thomas (3 October 1874 – 21 January 1949), sometimes known as Jimmy Thomas or Jim Thomas, was a Welsh trade unionist and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks. ...
, Welsh-born trade unionist and politician (born 1874)
* 22 January – Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett
Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett (10 May 1898 – 22 January 1949) was a British politician, industrialist and financier.
Early life and education
Henry Mond was born in London, the only son of Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett and his wife Vi ...
, industrialist and politician (born 1898)
* 10 February – Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry
Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, (13 May 1878 – 10 February 1949), styled Lord Stewart until 1884 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1884 and 1915, was a British peer and politician. He is best remember ...
, politician (born 1878)
* 19 March – Sir James Somerville, admiral (born 1882)
* 2 April – George Graves, comic actor (born 1876)
* 6 April – Sir Seymour Hicks
Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...
, actor (born 1871)
* 14 April – Reginald Hine
Reginald Leslie Hine (25 September 1883 – 14 April 1949) FSA, FRHS was a solicitor and historian whose writings centred on the market-town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire and its environs. He committed suicide in 1949 by jumping in front of a t ...
, local historian and solicitor, suicide (born 1883)
* 18 April – Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...
, comic actor (born 1888)
* 28 April
** Sir Robert Robertson, chemist (born 1869)
** Sir Fabian Ware
Major-General Sir Fabian Arthur Goulstone Ware (17 June 186928 April 1949) was a British educator, journalist, and the founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). He also served as D ...
, founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
(born 1869)
* 21 June – Edward Wadsworth
Edward Alexander Wadsworth (29 October 1889 – 21 June 1949) was an English artist, closely associated with modernist Vorticism movement. He painted coastal views, abstracts, portraits and still-life in tempera medium and works printed using ...
, Vorticist painter (born 1889)
* 9 July – Fritz Hart
Fritz Bennicke Hart (11 February 1874 – 9 July 1949) was an English composer, conductor, teacher and unpublished novelist, who spent considerable periods in Australia and Hawaii.
Early life
Hart was born at Brockley, Greenwich, England, eldest ...
, composer (born 1874)
* 15 July – Eva Hubback
Eva Marian Hubback (13 April 1886 – 15 July 1949) was an English feminist and an early advocate of birth control and eugenics.
Early life
Eva Marian Spielmann was born on 13 April 1886, daughter of Sir Meyer Spielmann (1856–1936). Sir Meyer wa ...
, feminist (born 1886)
* 25 July – Lilian Bowes Lyon
Lilian Helen Bowes Lyon (1895–1949) was a British poet.
Biography
Born 23 December 1895 at Ridley Hall, Northumberland. She was the youngest daughter of the Honourable Francis Bowes Lyon. and was a first cousin of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, ...
, poet (born 1895)
* 31 July – Alfred Bashford, cricketer (born 1881)
* 9 August – G. E. M. Skues
George Edward MacKenzie Skues, usually known as G. E. M. Skues (1858–1949), was a British lawyer, author and fly fisherman most noted for the invention of modern-day nymph fishing and the controversy it caused with the Chalk stream dry fly d ...
, inventor of nymph fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...
(born 1858)
* 16 August – Tom Wintringham
Thomas Henry Wintringham (15 May 1898 – 16 August 1949) was a British soldier, military historian, journalist, poet, Marxist, politician and author. He was a supporter of the Home Guard during the Second World War and was one of the founders ...
, soldier and politician (born 1898)
* 30 August – Arthur Fielder
Arthur Fielder (19 July 1877 – 30 August 1949) was an English professional cricketer who played as a fast bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team from 1900 to 1914. He played a major role in Kent's four County Champi ...
, cricketer (born 1877)
* 9 September – Fredegond Shove
Fredegond Cecily Shove ( ) (''née'' Maitland; 1889–1949) was an English poet. Two collections of her poetry were published in her lifetime, and a small selection also appeared after her death.
Early life and publications
Fredegond Cecily Mai ...
, poet (born 1889)
* 23 October – J. R. Clynes
John Robert Clynes (27 March 1869 – 23 October 1949) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 35 years, and as Leader of the Labour Party (1921–1922), led the party in its breakthroug ...
, trade unionist and Labour leader (born 1869)
* 24 October – Thomas Rowland Hughes
Thomas Rowland Hughes (often referred to as T. Rowland Hughes) (17 April 1903 – 24 October 1949), was a Welsh broadcaster, novelist, dramatist and poet. He was the son of a quarryman from Llanberis, Caernarvonshire ( Gwynedd today), in north Wa ...
, writer (born 1903)
* 30 October – Denis Eden, painter (born 1878)
* 27 November – Tom Walls
Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...
, actor and director (born 1883)
* 30 November – Dame Irene Vanbrugh
Dame Irene Vanbrugh DBE ( Barnes; 2 December 1872 – 30 November 1949) was an English actress. The daughter of a clergyman, Vanbrugh followed her elder sister Violet into the theatrical profession and sustained a career for more than 50 years ...
, actress (born 1872)
* 5 December – Arthur Bedford
Vice-Admiral Arthur Edward Frederick Bedford, CB, CSI (2 August 1881 – 5 December 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in HMS ''Kent'' at the Battle of the Falkland Islands of 1914 and rose to command the Royal Indian Navy from 1934 ...
, navy officer (born 1881)
* 13 December – John Hope, Liberal politician (born 1860)
* 16 December – George Maitland Lloyd Davies
George Maitland Lloyd Davies (30 April 1880 – 16 December 1949), born George Maitland Temple Davies, was a Welsh pacifist and Member of Parliament for the University of Wales constituency.
Davies was born in Peel Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool, ...
, pacifist politician (born 1880)
* 24 December – Gertrude Bacon
Gertrude Bacon (19 April 1874 – 22 December 1949) was an aeronautical pioneer. She achieved a considerable number of "firsts" for women in aeronautics, as well as making contributions in the areas of astronomy and botany. Bacon populari ...
, aeronautical pioneer (born 1874)
See also
* List of British films of 1949
References
{{Year in Europe, 1949
Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom