Events from the year
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
in the United Kingdom. This year sees changes in the leadership of both main political parties, the
Profumo affair
The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler be ...
and the rise of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
as well as the launch of the long-running sci-fi series ''
Doctor Who''.
Incumbents
*
Monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
–
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
*
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 i ...
-
Harold Macmillan (
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
) (until 18 October),
Alec Douglas-Home (
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
) (starting 19 October)
*
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
–
42nd
Events
* January–April –
Winter of 1963: The UK experiences the worst winter since 1946–47. Low temperatures keep snow lying around until early-April in some areas.
* 7 January –
Granada Television first broadcasts ''
World in Action
''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...
'', its influential investigative
current affairs series, which will run for thirty-five years.
* 11 January – Musical film ''
Summer Holiday'' starring
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
premieres in London.
* 16 January – The
Macmillan-led Conservative government announces that a
new town will be developed in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
.
Dawley New Town will incorporate existing communities including:
Dawley
Dawley ( ) is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It was originally, in 1963, going to be the main centre of the 'Dawley New Town' plan before it was decided in 1968 to name the new town as 'Telford ...
,
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a large village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. Located on the bank of the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, it lies in the civil parish of The Gorge. Ironbridge developed beside, a ...
and
Madeley, and is intended to be largely used as an overspill town for
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
and
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...
.
* 18 January – The
Labour Party leader,
Hugh Gaitskell, dies suddenly aged 56 in London.
* 23 January – Double agent
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...
disappears from
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
having defected to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
* 29 January –
Charles de Gaulle,
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
, vetoes the UK's entry into the
European Economic Community.
* February – The
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
deploys
Blue Steel nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
* Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
standoff missile
Standoff weapons are missiles or bombs which may be launched from a distance sufficient to allow attacking personnel to evade the effect of the weapon or defensive fire from the target area. Typically, they are used against land- and sea-based targ ...
s to arm its
V bomber force.
* 11 February –
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
record their debut album ''
Please Please Me
''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two s ...
'' in a single day at the
Abbey Road Studios in London.
* 14 February – The Labour Party elects 46-year-old
Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...
MP,
Harold Wilson as its new leader and
Leader of the Opposition.
[ Missing out in the leadership contest is ]Cardiff South East
Cardiff South East was a parliamentary constituency in Cardiff, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and aboli ...
MP James Callaghan. Opinion polls are currently showing strong support for the Labour Party, with a general election due before the end of next year.
* 16 February – Opinion polls indicate that in a general election Labour would defeat the Conservatives, who have governed since 1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
.
* March – The divorce case of the Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
and Duchess of Argyll
The Duchess of Argyll is typically the wife of the Duke of Argyll, an extant title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created in 1892. The Duke is also Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of Scotland, which was originally created in the 1701.
The ...
takes place.
* 15 March – '' Ridge v. Baldwin'', a landmark case in the law of judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
, is decided on appeal: a public official is held to be wrongfully dismissed because he had no notice of the grounds on which the decision was made, and no opportunity to be heard in his own defence.
* 22 March – The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
release their debut album, ''Please Please Me
''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two s ...
''.
* 27 March – Chairman of British Railways Dr. Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (21 April 1913 – 23 March 1985), commonly known as Dr Beeching, was a physicist and engineer who for a short but very notable time was chairman of British Railways. He became a household name in Britain in the e ...
issues a report calling for huge cuts to the UK's rail network. This is expected to result in the closure of more than 2,000 railway stations as well as the loss of up to 68,000 jobs and the scrapping of some 8,000 coaches.
* c. April – Engineering Building at the University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
is completed, the first major work by James Stirling with James Gowan
James Gowan (18 October 1923 – 12 June 2015) was a Scottish-born architect known for his post-modernist designs of the "engineering style" which influenced a generation of British architects.
Life
Gowan was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow in ...
, and a leading example of Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...
.
* 6 April – Polaris Sales Agreement
The Polaris Sales Agreement was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom which began the UK Polaris programme. The agreement was signed on 6 April 1963. It formally arranged the terms and conditions under which the Polaris mi ...
with the United States, leading to commencement of construction of nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
facilities at Faslane Naval Base
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...
.
* 9 April – Sir 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 during the Second World War, and again from ...
becomes an honorary citizen of the United States
A person of exceptional merit, a non- United States citizen, may be declared an honorary citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress or by a proclamation issued by the president of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Con ...
.
* 15 April – 70,000 protesters arrive in London, having marched 50 miles (80 km) from Aldermaston
Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingsto ...
to demonstrate against nuclear weapons.
* 24 April – Princess Alexandra of Kent
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George V ...
marries the Hon. Angus Ogilvy
Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy (14 September 1928 – 26 December 2004) was a British businessman. He is best known as the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a bu ...
at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
.
* 2 May
** The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
reach #1 in the UK Singles chart for the first time with "From Me to You
"From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official U ...
".
** The Rootes Group
The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and de ...
's new car plant at the town of Linwood, Renfrewshire
Linwood ( sco, Linwuid) is a small town in Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland, west of Glasgow. It is about northeast of Johnstone and west of Paisley close to the Black Cart Water and the A737 road.
History
Linwood owes ...
is opened by The Duke of Edinburgh for the production of its new rear-engined mini-car – the Hillman Imp – to compete against BMC's Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
. It has an economical 875cc engine, and is expected to be developed into luxury Singer and sporty Sunbeam variants in the near future. It is the first new car to be produced in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
for thirty years.
* 7–13 May – The last servicemen are released from conscription as National Service ends.
* 11 May
** The Beatles album ''Please Please Me
''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two s ...
'' goes to the top of the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
.
** Everton F.C. win the Football League First Division title.
* 15 May – Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
become the first British football team to win a European trophy when a 5–1 win over Atlético Madrid in Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
gives them the European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
.
* 25 May – 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, ...
beat 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 ...
3–1 in 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 ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
with two goals from David Herd and another from Denis Law. It is Manchester United's first major trophy since eight of their players died in the Munich air disaster five years earlier.
* 4 June – The high society nightclub Annabel's
Annabel's is a private members club at 46 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London.
It was opened at 44 Berkeley Square in 1963 by Mark Birley and named for his wife Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart. It was founded in the basement of the Clermont ...
opens at 44 Berkeley Square, Mayfair.
* 5 June – Profumo affair
The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler be ...
: John Profumo
John Dennis Profumo, CBE,( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo ...
, Secretary of State for War, admits to misleading Parliament and resigns over his affair with Christine Keeler.
* 8 June – Profumo affair: Stephen Ward
Stephen Thomas Ward (19 October 1912 – 3 August 1963) was an English osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal which brought about the resignation of John Profumo, the Sec ...
is charged with living on immoral earnings.
* 17 June – The Profumo affair has done the Conservative government no favours in the opinion polls, which continue to show that a Labour victory would be inevitable at a general election.
* 1 July – Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...
named as the "Third Man" in the Burgess and Maclean
MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathai ...
spy ring.[
* 12 July – Pauline Reade, 16, is reported missing on her way to a dance in ]Gorton
Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw.
A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...
, Manchester, the first victim of the Moors murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
.
* 31 July – Water Resources Act provides for the regulation of water abstraction, principally through the establishment of regional river authorities.
* August – Race riots in Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
.
* 5 August – The United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty
The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) is the abbreviated name of the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, which prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted ...
.
* 8 August – The Great Train Robbery takes place in Buckinghamshire.
* 20 August – The Royal Shakespeare Company introduces its performance cycle of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's history plays under the title ''The War of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
'', adapted and directed by John Barton and Peter Hall, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...
, Stratford-upon-Avon.
* September
** First Leeds International Piano Competition
The Leeds International Piano Competition, informally known as The Leeds and formerly the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1961 by Marion, Countess ...
: Michael Roll is the winner.
** The Sindy
Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and range of fashions and accessories made her the best-selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Louis Marx and ...
fashion doll
Fashion dolls are dolls primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends. They are manufactured both as toys for children to play with and as collectibles for adults. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, thou ...
is first marketed by Pedigree.
* 5 September – Christine Keeler is arrested for perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
. On 6 December, she is sentenced to nine months in prison.
* 7 September – Geophysicists Fred Vine
Frederick John Vine FRS (born 17 June 1939) is an English marine geologist and geophysicist. He made key contributions to the theory of plate tectonics, helping to show that the seafloor spreads from mid-ocean ridges with a symmetrical patter ...
and Drummond Matthews
Drummond Hoyle Matthews FRS (5 February 1931 – 20 July 1997), known as "Drum", was a British marine geologist and geophysicist and a key contributor to the theory of plate tectonics. His work, along with that of fellow Briton Fred Vine a ...
publish proof of seafloor spreading
Seafloor spreading or Seafloor spread is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge.
History of study
Earlier theories by Alfred Wegener a ...
on the Atlantic Ocean floor.
* 12 September – The Beatles reach #1 for the second time, with the single "She Loves You
"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...
" (released on 23 August).
* 17 September – RAF Fylingdales
Royal Air Force Fylingdales or more simply RAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" (translates to "We are watching"). It is a radar base and is also part of the Ball ...
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
station on the North York Moors begins operation as part of the United States Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, "474L System", Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve ra ...
.
* 18 September – Rioters burn down the British Embassy in Jakarta to protest against the formation of Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
* 23 September – The Robbins Report (the report of the Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Lord Robbins
Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins, (22 November 1898 – 15 May 1984) was a British economist, and prominent member of the economics department at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is known for his leadership at LSE, his proposed def ...
) is published. It recommends immediate expansion of universities, and that university places "should be available to all who were qualified for them by ability and attainment". Its conclusions are accepted by the government on 24 October.
* 25 September – The Denning Report on the Profumo affair
The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler be ...
is published.
* 26 September – Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
launches the new Viva, a small family saloon, similar in size to BMC's 1100
Year 1100 ( MC) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1100th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 100th year of the 2nd millennium, the 100th and ...
and the Ford Anglia
The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...
.
* 29 September
** The University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
opens in Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
.
** Release of the film '' Tom Jones''.
* 2 October – Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
begins production of its Ford Anglia
The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...
car at their new Halewood Body & Assembly plant on Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
.
* 10 October
** Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announces his resignation after nearly seven years in office, at the age of 69, on the grounds of ill health.[
** '' From Russia with Love'', the second ]James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film, premieres at Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
* 17 October – Two British scientists (Alan Lloyd Hodgkin
Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin (5 February 1914 – 20 December 1998) was an English physiologist and biophysicist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles.
Early life and education
Hodgkin was ...
and Andrew Fielding Huxley
Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley (22 November 191730 May 2012) was an English physiologist and biophysicist. He was born into the prominent Huxley family. After leaving Westminster School in central London, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge on ...
) and an Australian (John Carew Eccles
Sir John Carew Eccles (27 January 1903 – 2 May 1997) was an Australian neurophysiologist and philosopher who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloy ...
) are announced in Stockholm as winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
"for their discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane".
* 18 October – Macmillan resigns as Prime Minister.
* 19 October – Alec Douglas-Home replaces Macmillan as Prime Minister following discussion among members of the Cabinet, renouncing his peerage.[
* 22 October – The ]National Theatre Company
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...
, newly formed under artistic director Laurence Olivier, gives its first performance, with Peter O'Toole as 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 ...
.[
* November – Publication of '']Traffic in Towns
''Traffic in Towns'' was an influential report and popular book on urban and transport planning policy published 25 November 1963 for the UK Ministry of Transport by a team headed by the architect, civil engineer and planner Colin Buchanan.
...
'', a report on urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
transport planning
Transportation planning is the process of defining future policies, goals, investments, and spatial planning designs to prepare for future needs to move people and goods to destinations. As practiced today, it is a collaborative process that i ...
policy produced for the Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
by a team headed by Colin Buchanan.
* 18 November – The Dartford Tunnel
The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurro ...
opens.
* 22 November – C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
, the author most famous for the Narnia books (1950–1955), dies aged 65 in Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. However, media coverage of his death (as also that of Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
in the United States on the same day) is overshadowed by the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until assassination of Joh ...
, news of which reaches the UK just after 18:30 UTC.
* 23 November
** First episode
A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or ...
of the BBC Television science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
series '' Doctor Who'' is broadcast with William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in '' Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Bri ...
as the First Doctor
The First Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time ...
. The series runs until 1989 and is revived from 2005.
** Police in Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
, Lancashire, begin a missing persons investigation following the disappearance of 12-year-old John Kilbride; he is the second victim of the Moors murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
.
* 25 November – The Duke of Edinburgh, Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
and Leader of the Opposition Harold Wilson attend the funeral of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
in Washington, D.C.
* 30 November – After an unbroken 30-week spell at the top of the UK Albums Chart, The Beatles album ''Please Please Me'' is knocked off the top of the charts by the group's latest album ''With the Beatles
''With the Beatles'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the band's debut '' Please Please Me''. Produced by George Mar ...
'' (released on 22 November).
* 12 December
** Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
gains independence from the United Kingdom, with Jomo Kenyatta as Prime Minister.
** The Beatles reach #1 for the third time with "I Want to Hold Your Hand
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.
With advance orders ...
" (released on 29 November).
* 19 December – Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
gains independence from the United Kingdom, as a constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
under Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah
Sultan Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said, ( ar, جمشيد بن عبد الله; born 16 September 1929), is a Zanzibari royal who was the last reigning Sultan of Zanzibar before being deposed in the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution.
Biography
Jamshid ...
.
* 21 December – First episode of the seven-part serial ''The Daleks
''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second Serial (radio and television), serial in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadca ...
'' broadcast in the '' Doctor Who'' series, introducing the alien Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...
s (revealed fully in the following week's episode).
Undated
* BMC's new Rover P6
The Rover P6 series (named as the 2000, 2200, or 3500, depending on engine displacement) was a saloon car produced by Rover and subsequently British Leyland from 1963 to 1977 in Solihull, Warwickshire, England, UK.
The P6 was the first winner ...
luxury saloon is the first winner of the prestigious European Car of the Year award.
* S. Hille & Co market the Polypropylene stacking chair
The polypropylene stacking chair or polyprop is a chair manufactured in an injection moulding process using polypropylene. It was designed by Robin Day in 1963 for S. Hille & Co. It is now so iconic, it was selected as one of eight designs in ...
designed by Robin Day
Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster.
Day's obituary in ''The Guardian'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of ...
.
* The launch of the Astro or lava lamp
A lava lamp is a decorative lamp, invented in 1963 by British entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker, the founder of the lighting company Mathmos. It consists of a bolus of a special coloured wax mixture inside a glass vessel, the remainder of which ...
by the founder of Mathmos, Edward Craven-Walker.
* The motorway network continues to grow with the opening of the first section of the M4 in Berkshire, the M6 between Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
and Preston in Lancashire, and the M2 in Kent.
* Economic growth for the year reaches a postwar high of 7.5% (slightly above the previous record of 7.2% in 1959), with GDP reaching 4.3% in the second quarter of the year.
Publications
* Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
novel ''The Clocks
''The Clocks'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 7 November 1963 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. It features the Belgian detect ...
''.
* Margaret Drabble's first novel ''A Summer Bird Cage''.
* Ian Fleming's James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
novel '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service''.
* John Fowles
John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others.
Aft ...
' novel ''The Collector
''The Collector'' is a 1963 thriller novel by English author John Fowles, in his literary debut. Its plot follows a lonely, psychotic young man who kidnaps a female art student in London and holds her captive in the cellar of his rural farmhous ...
''.
* The Group's poetry collection ''A Group Anthology'' edited by Edward Lucie-Smith
John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith (born 27 February 1933), known as Edward Lucie-Smith, is a Jamaican-born English writer, poet, art critic, curator and broadcaster. He has been highly prolific in these fields, writing or editing over a hundred ...
and Philip Hobsbaum
Philip Dennis Hobsbaum (29 June 1932 – 28 June 2005) was a British teacher, poet and critic.
Life
Hobsbaum was born into a Polish Jewish family in London, and brought up in Bradford, Yorkshire, where he attended Belle Vue Boys' Grammar Sc ...
.
* John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...
's novel '' The Spy Who Came in From the Cold''.
* Alistair MacLean
Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The ...
's thriller ''Ice Station Zebra
''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1968 American espionage thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay is by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, ...
''.
* Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...
's only novel ''The Bell Jar
''The Bell Jar'' is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book ...
'' (under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas).
* John Robinson (bishop of Woolwich)
John Arthur Thomas Robinson (16 May 1919 – 5 December 1983) was an English New Testament scholar, author and the Anglican Bishop of Woolwich. He was a lecturer at Trinity College, Cambridge, and later Dean of Trinity College until his death in ...
's controversial religious book '' Honest to God''.
* C. P. Snow
Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclope ...
's novel '' Corridors of Power''.
* E. P. Thompson's social history ''The Making of the English Working Class
''The Making of the English Working Class'' is a work of English social history written by E. P. Thompson, a New Left historian. It was first published in 1963 by Victor Gollancz Ltd, and republished in revised form in 1968 by Pelican, after ...
''.
* The ''Sunday Pictorial'' newspaper is rebranded as the '' Sunday Mirror''.
Births
January – April
* 1 January – Linda Henry
Linda Varilis (''née'' Henry; born 24 August 1959) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV drama '' Bad Girls'' and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she has played since 200 ...
, actress
* 3 January – Matthew Taylor, Liberal Democrat politician and MP for Truro and St Austell
* 6 January – Ian Lavery
Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wansbeck since 2010. He served as the Chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020 and was President ...
, English trade unionist and politician
* 11 January – Jason Connery
Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series ''Robin of Sherwood'' in 1986. H ...
, actor, voice actor and director
* 15 January – Conrad Lant
Conrad Thomas Lant (born 15 January 1963), also known by his stage name Cronos, is an English musician. He is the founder, vocalist, bassist, and occasional guitarist of heavy metal band Venom.
Biography
Early life
After playing in a couple of ...
, English singer-songwriter and bass player
* 16 January – James May
James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
, English motoring journalist and television
* 18 January – Ian Crook
Ian Stuart Crook (born 18 January 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player.
As a player, he was a midfielder who began his career with Tottenham Hotspur. before making 418 appearances for Norwich City where he notabl ...
, English footballer
* 19 January
** Martin Bashir
Martin Henry Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a British journalist. He was a presenter on British and American television and for the BBC's ''Panorama'' programme, for which he interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995. Although the intervie ...
, British television journalist
** Caron Wheeler, British singer-songwriter (Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
)
** John Bercow
John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior t ...
, English Conservative politician, MP for Buckingham and Speaker of the House of Commons
* 22 January – Huw Irranca-Davies
Ifor Huw Irranca-Davies (né Davies; born 22 January 1963) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ogmore since 2016. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ogmore from 20 ...
, Welsh Labour politician and MP for Ogmore
* 26 January
** Jazzie B, DJ and music producer (Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
)
** Andrew Ridgeley
Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!.
Early life
Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey, England, to pare ...
, English musician
* 27 January – George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books.
Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...
, British journalist and weekly columnist for ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
* 2 February – Stephen McGann, actor, author and science communicator
* 10 February – Philip Glenister
Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI William ...
, actor
* 13 February – John King, English long jumper
* 17 February – Alison Hargreaves
Alison Jane Hargreaves (17 February 1962 – 13 August 1995) was a British mountain climber. Her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest alone, without supplementary oxygen or support from a Sherpa team, in 1995. She soloed all the great ...
, British mountain climber (died 1995)
* 19 February – Seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
, singer
* 22 February – Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis
Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, (born Andreas Adonis; 22 February 1963) is a British Labour Party politician and journalist who served in HM Government for five years in the Blair ministry and the Brown ministry. He served as Secretary of State ...
, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
* 7 March – Russell Williams, British-born Canadian military colonel and serial killer
* 11 March – Alex Kingston
Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston (born 11 March 1963) is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Dr. Elizabeth Corday in ...
, English actress
* 14 March – Michael John Foster, English Labour politician and MP for Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
* 16 March – Jerome Flynn
Jerome Patrick Flynn (born 16 March 1963) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the ITV series ''Soldier Soldier'', Bronn in the hit HBO series '' Game of Thrones'', and Benn ...
, British actor
* 20 March – David Thewlis
David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter.
Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...
, English actor
* 22 March – Susan Ann Sulley
Susan Ann Sulley (born 22 March 1963), formerly known as Susanne Sulley and Susan Ann Gayle, is an English singer who is one of the two female vocalists in the synth-pop band The Human League.
Born and raised in Sheffield, England, as a sch ...
, British musician
* 3 April – Karl Beattie, director, husband of Yvette Fielding
Yvette Paula Fielding (born 23 September 1968) is an English television presenter, producer and actress. She became the youngest presenter on ''Blue Peter'' aged 18, and one of her episodes was subsequently voted the "Favourite ''Blue Peter'' mom ...
* 4 April – Martin Firrell
Martin Firrell (born 4 April 1963 in Paris, France)''Creative Review'', "One to Watch". London: Centaur Publishing, 2005, Vol. 25, Issue 1, p. 18. is a British public artist.
Firrell uses language to engage directly with the public, pr ...
, public artist and activist
* 6 April – Andrew Weatherall
Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being one of the key DJs in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of trac ...
, English disc jockey (died 2020)
* 7 April – Nick Herbert, Conservative politician and MP for Arundel and South Downs
Arundel and South Downs () is a constituency in West Sussex created in 1997 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Andrew Griffith of the Conservative Party.
Constituency profile
This is a mostly rural co ...
* 8 April – Julian Lennon
Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian i ...
, musician son of John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
* 11 April - Mark Thomas
Mark Clifford Thomas (born 11 April 1963) is an English comedian, presenter, political satirist, and journalist. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' in the late 1980s. He is ...
, comedian and activist
* 13 April – Mo Johnston
Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored 23 leag ...
, Scottish footballer
* 22 April – Sean Lock
Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Pe ...
, comedian and actor (died 2021)
May – August
* May – Inga Beale
Dame Inga Kristine Beale, DBE (born 15 May 1963) is a British businesswoman and the former CEO of Lloyd's of London. In June 2018, it was announced that she would be stepping down as CEO of Lloyd's after leading the global insurance and reinsuranc ...
, insurance executive
* 9 May – Barry Douglas Lamb
Barry Lamb (born 9 May 1963 in South Shields, England) is an English experimental musician.
Biography
Barry Lamb is an English composer, author and musician. He was born in South Shields, but lived in Holland-on-Sea during his secondary school ...
, musician, author and preacher
* 11 May – Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaug ...
, actress (died 2009)
* 26 May – Simon Armitage
Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds.
He has published over 20 collections of poetr ...
, poet laureate
* 6 June
** Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor.
Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), Ca ...
, actor
** James Palumbo, Baron Palumbo of Southwark, businessman and politician
* 11 June – Andy Street
Andrew John Street (born 11 June 1963) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician who was the managing director of John Lewis from 2007 to 2016, when he resigned to run for Mayor of the West Midlands. Street won the May 2017 ma ...
, businessman and metropolitan mayor
* 23 June – Colin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999. He has won 31 European Tour events ...
, Scottish golfer
* 25 June – George Michael, pop singer (died 2016)
* 27 June – Meera Syal
Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...
, comedian, writer, singer and actress
* 29 June
** Tom Butcher, actor
** Errol Christie
Errol Christie (29 June 1963 – 11 June 2017) was an English professional boxer and boxing trainer. He was the captain of the English amateur boxing team from 1980 to 1983 and European amateur champion in 1983. After turning professional he wa ...
, boxer (died 2017)
* 1 July –
** Mike Joyce, drummer
** Kenneth Erskine
Kenneth Erskine (born 1 July 1963) is a British serial killer who became known as The Stockwell Strangler. He committed the murders of 7–11 senior citizens in London between April and July 1986.
Early life
Erskine was born in Hammersmith''The ...
, serial killer
* 2 July – Mark Kermode, film critic
* 3 July – Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin, CBE, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and ...
, artist
* 6 July – Stuart Garrard
Stuart David Garrard (born 6 July 1963) better known by the stage name Stu G, is an English vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He is one third of US-based Christian contemporary music band One Sonic Society, and is writing and recording as ...
, English guitarist
* 9 July
** Adrian Flook, politician
** John Mark Ainsley
John Mark Ainsley (born 9 July 1963) is an English lyric tenor. Known for his supple voice, Ainsley is particularly admired for his interpretations of baroque music and the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the course of his career, he has g ...
, English lyric tenor
* 20 July – John Simmit, actor and stand-up comedian
* 25 July – Julian Hodgson
Julian Michael "Jules" Hodgson (born 25 July 1963 in London) is a British chess player, grandmaster, and former British chess champion.
Biography
He first came to the notice of the chess world for his achievements as a junior, whilst at Ha ...
, English chess grandmaster
* 29 July – Graham Poll
Graham Poll (born 29 July 1963) is an English former football referee in the Premier League. With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most prominent referees in English football, often taking charge of the highest-profile games. His final ...
, English football referee
* 31 July
** Fatboy Slim (born Quentin Leo Cook), English musician
** Fergus Henderson
Fergus Henderson (born 31 July 1963) is an English chef who founded the restaurant St John on St John Street in London. He is often noted for his use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat as a consequence of his philosophy of nose to tai ...
, English chef
* 1 August – Laura Janner-Klausner
Laura Naomi Janner-Klausner ( he, לוֹרָה ג׳אָנֶר-קלְוֹזנֶר, born 1 August 1963) is a British rabbi and an inclusion and development coach who served as the inaugural Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism from 2011 until 2020. Jan ...
, Reform rabbi
* 3 August – Tasmin Archer
Tasmin Archer (born 3 August 1963) is a British pop singer from Bradford, England. Her first album, ''Great Expectations'', spawned the hit "Sleeping Satellite", which reached number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland. She won the Brit Awar ...
, English singer
* 30 August
** Phil Mills
Phil Mills (born 30 August 1963) is a Welsh rally racing co-driver. He was winner of the 2003 World Rally Championship (WRC), as co-driver to Petter Solberg.
Mills was born in Trefeglwys, Powys. He has a place in the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, ...
, race car driver
** Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...
, disc jockey
** Mark Strong
Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in ''Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...
, actor
September – December
* 19 September
** Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...
, English musician (Pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
...
)
** David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country's ...
, English footballer
* 26 September – Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anne Chodzko (born 26 September 1963), known professionally as Lysette Anthony, is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles in the film ''Husbands and Wives'' (1992), as Princess Lysssa in the 1983 fantasy epic ''Krull ...
, English actress
* 12 October
** Dave Legeno
David Legeno (12 October 1963 – 2 or 3 July 2014) was a British actor and mixed martial artist.
Life and career
Legeno was born David Steven Murray in Marylebone, London, England.
Legeno's first major film role was in Guy Ritchie's '' ...
, English actor and mixed martial artist (died 2014)
** Alan McDonald, Northern Irish footballer
* 31 October
** Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom ''The Kumars at No. 42''. H ...
, comic actor
** Sarah Brown, wife of Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
** Johnny Marr, English musician
* 1 November
** Rick Allen, British musician (Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
)
** Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City.
During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
, Welsh footballer and football manager
* 3 November – Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport.
Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
, English footballer and radio/TV personality
* 4 November – Lena Zavaroni
Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer and a television show host. At ten years of age, with her album ''Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ...
, Scottish entertainer (died 1999)
* 10 November – Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a no ...
, English actor
* 14 November – Keith Curle
Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is the current manager of League Two side Hartlepool United.
He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for ...
, English footballer, football manager and football coach
* 19 November – Jon Potter
Jonathan Nicholas Mark Potter (born 19 November 1963) is the managing director of the House of Suntory and Maison Courvoisier at Beam Suntory. He is a former field hockey player who was a member of the gold-winning Great Britain squad at the 1 ...
, British field hockey player
* 20 November – William Timothy Gowers
Sir William Timothy Gowers, (; born 20 November 1963) is a British mathematician. He is Professeur titulaire of the Combinatorics chair at the Collège de France, and director of research at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity Col ...
, British mathematician
* 21 November – Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan (born 21 November 1963) is an English-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera '' Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as starring in the rom ...
, English actress
* 26 November – Joe Lydon, English rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s, rugby union coach of the 2000s and 2010s
* 5 December – Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards, English ski jumper
* 7 December – Mark Bowen, Welsh footballer
* 8 December – Brian McClair
Brian John McClair (born 8 December 1963) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a forward from 1980 to 1998, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United where he won 14 trophies includ ...
, Scottish footballer and football coach
* 22 December
** Bryan Gunn
Bryan James Gunn (born 22 December 1963) is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which h ...
, Scottish footballer and football coach
** Russell Lewis
Russell Lewis (born 11 September 1963) is an English television writer and former actor. He is the writer of the ''Inspector Morse'' prequel '' Endeavour'' (2012–present), and the first two series of ''Grace'' (2021-2022).
Career
Lewis wa ...
, television writer and former child actor
* 24 December – Caroline Aherne
Caroline Mary Aherne (24 December 1963 – 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian and writer. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host '' Mrs Merton'', in various roles in '' The Fast Show'', and as Denise in '' The ...
, comic television actress/writer (died 2016)
* 29 December – Dave McKean, English artist and filmmaker
Deaths
* 15 January – Morgan Phillips
Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories.
Life
Born in Aberdare, ...
, general secretary of the Labour Party (born 1902)
* 18 January
** Hugh Gaitskell, leader of the Labour Party (born 1906)
** Edward Charles Titchmarsh, mathematician (born 1899)
* 22 January – Lily Montagu, pioneer of reform Judaism (born 1873)
* 30 January – Cecil McGivern, broadcasting executive and writer (born 1907)
* 11 February – Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...
, American poet and writer, suicide (born 1932)
* 5 March – Cyril Smith
Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...
, Scottish actor, heart attack (born 1892)
* 16 March – William Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal politician who was a progressive and social reformer who played a central role in designing the British welfare state. His 19 ...
, economist and social reformer (born 1879)
* 18 March – Sir Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A favourite of the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, he experienced a meteori ...
, general (born 1870)
* 31 March – Sir Harold Franklyn
General Sir Harold Edmund Franklyn, (28 November 1885 − 31 March 1963) was a British Army officer who fought in both the First and the Second World Wars. He is most notable for his command of the 5th Infantry Division during the Battle of F ...
, general (born 1885)
* 25 April – Christopher Hassall
Christopher Vernon Hassall (24 March 1912 – 25 April 1963) was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after worki ...
, actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet (born 1912)
* 26 April – Roland Pertwee
Roland Pertwee (15 May 1885 – 26 April 1963) was an English playwright, film and television screenwriter, director and actor. He was the father of ''Doctor Who'' actor Jon Pertwee and playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee. He was al ...
, playwright, screenwriter, director and actor (born 1885)
* 7 May – Max Miller, music hall comedian (born 1894)
* 29 May – Netta Muskett, novelist (born 1887)
* 12 June – Andrew Cunningham, admiral (born 1883)
* 17 June
** Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, field marshal (born 1883)
** John Cowper Powys
John Cowper Powys (; 8 October 187217 June 1963) was an English philosopher, lecturer, novelist, critic and poet born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar of the parish church in 1871–1879. Powys appeared with a volume of verse ...
, novelist, lecturer and philosopher (born 1872)
* 4 July – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg
Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952.
Freyb ...
, general and Governor-General of New Zealand (born 1889)
* 10 July – Teddy Wakelam
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Blythe Thornhill Wakelam (8 May 1893 – 10 July 1963), known as Teddy Wakelam, was an English sports broadcaster and rugby union player who captained Harlequin F.C.
Early life
Wakelam was born in Hereford. During his ...
, sports broadcaster and rugby union player (born 1893)
* 16 August – Joan Eardley
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (18 May 192116 August 1963) was a British artist noted for her portraiture of street children in Glasgow and for her landscapes of the fishing village of Catterline and surroundings on the North-East coast of Scotlan ...
, painter (born 1921)
* 22 August – William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield
William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963) was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, ...
, founder of Morris Motors
Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same veh ...
and philanthropist (born 1877)
* 30 August – Guy Burgess
Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...
, spy, one of the Cambridge Five
The Cambridge Spy Ring was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom that passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and was active from the 1930s until at least into the early 1950s. None of the known members were ever prosecuted ...
, in Moscow (born 1911)
* 3 September – Louis MacNeice, poet and playwright (born 1907)
* 20 September – Peter Craven, English motorcycle racer, in racing accident (born 1934)
* 22 November
** Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
, novelist (born 1894)
** C.S. Lewis
CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:
Job titles
* Chief Secretary (Hong Kong)
* Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces
* Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
, Irish-born British writer (born 1898)
* 30 November – Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, 1st Baron Newall, (15 February 1886 – 30 November 1963) was a senior officer of the British Army and Royal Air Force. He commanded units of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air F ...
, air marshal and Governor-General of New Zealand (born 1886)
* 21 December – Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...
, cricketer (born 1882)
* December – Andy Kennedy, Northern Irish footballer (born 1897)
See also
* 1963 in British music
* 1963 in British television
This is a list of British television related events from 1963.
Events January
*7 January – Granada Television first broadcasts ''World in Action'', its influential investigative current affairs series which will run for 35 years.
*13 January – ...
* List of British films of 1963
References
{{Year in Europe, 1963
Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom