1917 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1917 in the United Kingdom. The year was dominated by the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


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 ...
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
*
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 ...
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
( Coalition) *
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 ...
30th


Events

* January –
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
, on medical leave from the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
at Great Haywood, begins writing ''
The Book of Lost Tales ''The Book of Lost Tales'' is a collection of early stories by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, published as the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series '' The History of Middle-earth'', in which he presents and analys ...
'' (the first version of ''
The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...
''), starting with the " Fall of Gondolin"; thus Tolkien's mythopoeic
Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...
legendarium Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of ''The Silmaril ...
is first chronicled in prose. * 19 January –
Silvertown explosion The Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in West Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham, in Greater London) on Friday, 19 January 1917 at 6:52 pm. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturing explos ...
: a blast at a munitions factory 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 ...
kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2M-worth of damage. * 25 January –
armed merchantman An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
is sunk by mines off
Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...
with the loss of 354 of the 475 aboard. * 26 January – the sea defences at the village of
Hallsands Hallsands is a village and beach in south Devon, England, in a precarious position between cliffs and the sea, between Beesands to the north and Start Point to the south. History The early history of Hallsands is unknown, but a chapel has exi ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
are breached, leading to all but one of the houses becoming uninhabitable. * 1 February –
Atlantic U-boat Campaign (World War I) The Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I (sometimes called the "First Battle of the Atlantic", in reference to the World War II campaign of that name) was the prolonged naval conflict between German submarines and the Allied navies in Atlan ...
: Germany announces its
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s will resume
unrestricted submarine warfare Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules") that call for warships to sea ...
, rescinding the ' ''Sussex'' pledge'. * 2 February – bread
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 ...
introduced. * 21 February – Elder Dempster Line
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
is accidentally rammed by SS ''Darro'' off the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, killing 646, mainly members of the
South African Native Labour Corps The South African Native Labour Corps (SANLC) was a force of workers formed in 1916 in response to a British request for workers at French ports. About 25,000 South Africans joined the Corps. The SANLC was utilized in various menial noncombat tas ...
. * February – formation of the
Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the W ...
, superseding the Women's National Land Service Corps. * March – establishment of the
Imperial War Cabinet The Imperial War Cabinet (IWC) was the British Empire's wartime coordinating body. It met over three sessions, the first from 20 March to 2 May 1917, the second from 11 June to late July 1918, and the third from 20 or 25 November 1918 to early Jan ...
, a body composed of the chief British ministers and the prime ministers of the
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s (Australia,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, New Zealand and South Africa) to set policy. * 11 March –
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
: British forces led by Sir Stanley Maude capture Baghdad, the southern capital of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. * 17 March – World War I: Action of 17 March 1917 – German warships attack British naval patrols off the
Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
(sinking ) and shell
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
and
Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
. * 26 March – World War I:
First Battle of Gaza The First Battle of Gaza was fought on 26 March 1917 during the first attempt by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), which was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from th ...
– British cavalry troops retreat after 17,000 Turks block their advance. * 28 March – the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps founded. * 5 April – Food Hoarding Order issued to prevent households from hoarding food in short supply. * 20–21 April – World War I: Second Battle of Dover Strait: German
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s raid the
Dover Barrage Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidston ...
. * 6/7 May – World War I: bomb dropped on London by a fixed-wing aircraft (one death). * 25 May – World War I: first daylight bombing raid on the UK by fixed-wing aircraft: 95 killed in
Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
area. * 4 June – the Most Excellent
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
is established as an
order of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order (distinction), order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic Military order (religious society), military orders of the ...
by
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
under letters patent. * 7 June – World War I: Battle of Messines in Flanders opens with the British Army detonating 19
ammonal Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder, not to be confused with T-ammonal which contains trinitrotoluene as well to increase properties such as brisance. The mixture is often referred to as Tannerite, which is ...
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
s under the German lines, killing 10,000 in the deadliest deliberate non-nuclear man-made explosion in history, which can be heard in London. * 13 June ** World War I: daylight bombing raid on London by fixed-wing aircraft: 162 killed. ** Ashton-under-Lyne munitions explosion: 43 killed. * 1–7 July – first National Baby Week, a campaign for improved infant health. * 9 July – HMS ''Vanguard'' is blown apart by an internal explosion at her moorings in Scapa Flow,
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, killing an estimated 843 crew with no survivors. * 17 July **
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
issues a
Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
stating that the male line descendants of the British Royal Family will bear the surname
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
. **
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 ...
is appointed
Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...
. * 31 July–10 November – World War I:
Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
("Third Battle of Ypres"): Allied offensive in Flanders. * July – first Cottingley Fairies photographs taken, apparently depicting fairies; a hoax not admitted by the child creators until 1981 * 1 August – Women's Forestry Service under Miss Rosamond Crowdy instituted under the Timber Supply Department of the Board of Trade. * 2 August – Squadron Commander E. H. Dunning becomes the first pilot to land his aircraft on a ship when he lands his
Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying character ...
on in Scapa Flow but is killed five days later during another landing on the ship. * 17 August – one of English literature's most important and famous meetings takes place when
Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced b ...
introduces himself to
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
at Craiglockhart War Hospital in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. Owen's war poems "
Anthem for Doomed Youth "Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a poem written in 1917 by Wilfred Owen. It incorporates the theme of the horror of war. Style Like a traditional Petrarchan sonnet, the poem is divided into an octave and sestet. However, its rhyme scheme is neither ...
" and "
Dulce et Decorum est "Dulce et Decorum est" is a poem written by Wilfred Owen during World War I, and published posthumously in 1920. The Latin title is taken from Ode 3.2 (''Valor'') of the Roman poet Horace and means "it is sweet and fitting". It is followed by ...
" are written at this time. * 21 August – most provisions of
Corn Production Act 1917 The Corn Production Act 1917 (7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 46) was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under David Lloyd George's coalition government during the Great War. The Act guaranteed British farmers a good price for their cereal c ...
come into force. This guarantees minimum prices for
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
and specifies a minimum wage for agricultural workers. * 17 September –
Constance Coltman Constance Mary Coltman (née Todd; 23 May 1889 - 26 March 1969) was one of the first women ordained to Christian ministry in Britain. She practised within the Congregational Church. A decade earlier Gertrude von Petzold became minister at Narborou ...
becomes the first English woman ordained as a Christian minister in a mainstream denomination, the
Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, at the
King's Weigh House The King's Weigh House was the name of a Congregational church congregation in London. Its Victorian church building in Mayfair is now the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile. History A building called the "King's Weyho ...
church in London. * 1–4 October – White Lund explosions: blasts at National Filling Factory No. 13, a munitions works near
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
, kill 10. * 5 October – Sir Arthur Lee donates the country house
Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...
(in Buckinghamshire) to the nation; it is to be used as an official country residence for the
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 ...
, the first recognition in law that such an office exists. * 19 October – World War I: Last major German
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
raids: 11 airships spread across the country, killing 36 people, but 5 of the craft are lost on their return. * November – World War I: Some British troops are moved to the Italian Front. * 2 November –
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...
makes the Balfour Declaration proclaiming British support for establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine. * 7 November – World War I:
Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...
ends – British forces capture Gaza from the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. * 16 November – British troops occupy
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
and
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
in Palestine. * 17 November – People's Dispensary for Sick Animals established by
Maria Dickin Maria Elisabeth Dickin CBE (nickname, Mia; 22 September 1870 – 1 March 1951) was a social reformer and an animal welfare pioneer who founded the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in 1917. The Dickin Medal is named for her. Ea ...
. * 20 November – World War I: Battle of Cambrai begins – British forces make early progress in an attack on German positions but are soon beaten back. * 29 November –
Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...
established. * 11 December – World War I:
Battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the surrender until 30 December 1917, to ...
– General
Edmund Allenby Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
leads units of the British
Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning ...
into
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
on foot following the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
's surrender of the city. * 25 December – Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. plays its first match, in
Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...
. * 31 December – World War I: British government imposes
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 sugar (8 oz per person per week).


Undated

*
Gay Crusader Gay Crusader (1914–1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won a wartime version of the English Triple Crown in 1917. In a career which lasted from September 1916 and October 1917 he ran ten times and won eight races, includ ...
wins the
English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...
by finishing first in the
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, 2,000 Guineas and St. Leger. *
Nuclear fission Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radio ...
:
Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...
(at the
Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...
) achieves
nuclear transmutation Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element or an isotope into another chemical element. Nuclear transmutation occurs in any process where the number of protons or neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is changed. A transmutatio ...
, the first observation of a
nuclear reaction In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformatio ...
, in which he also discovers and names the
proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...
. * Announced 12 November 1918; presented 1 June 1920 –
Charles Glover Barkla Charles Glover Barkla FRS FRSE (7 June 1877 – 23 October 1944) was a British physicist, and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917 for his work in X-ray spectroscopy and related areas in the study of X-rays (Roentgen rays). Life ...
wins the 1917
Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
"for his discovery of the characteristic Röntgen radiation of the elements."


Publications

* The
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
of British
war poetry A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
'' The Muse in Arms''. *
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
's novella '' The Shadow Line'' (in book form). *
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
short story collection ''
His Last Bow ''His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1917 collection of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, including the titular short story, " His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Hol ...
''. * T. S. Eliot's poems '' Prufrock, and other observations''. *
Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...
' poems ''Fairies and Fusiliers''. *
Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in ps ...
's poems ''Severn and Somme''. * Daniel Jones's ''An English Pronouncing Dictionary''. *
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
's ''The Old Huntsman, and Other Poems''. * Edward Thomas's posthumous collection ''Poems'' (including " Adlestrop"). *
Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first wife was Bar ...
's controversial semi-autobiographical novel of life in a boys' school ''The Loom of Youth''. *
P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
's short story collection '' The Man with Two Left Feet''. *
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
's poetry collection ''
The Wild Swans at Coole ''The Wild Swans at Coole'' is the name of two collections of poetry by W. B. Yeats, published in 1917 and 1919. Publication history ''The Wild Swans at Coole'', a collection of twenty-nine poems and the play ''At the Hawk's Well'', was first p ...
''.


Births

* 1 January –
Celia Whitelaw, Viscountess Whitelaw Celia, Viscountess Whitelaw (1 January 1917 – 5 December 2011) was the wife of William "Willie" Whitelaw, MP, former Home Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister and aide to Margaret Thatcher. Born as Cecilia Doriel Sprot (she later changed her name ...
, noblewoman, horticulturist and philanthropist (died 2011) * 4 January –
Maurice Wohl Maurice Wohl (4 January 1917 – 28 June 2007) was a British businessman and philanthropist. Biography Maurice Wohl was born in the East End of London to Eastern European parents. At a young age, Wohl became a property developer creating 'Uni ...
, philanthropist (died 2007) * 5 January –
Lucienne Day Désirée Lucienne Lisbeth Dulcie Day OBE RDI FCSD (''née'' Conradi; 5 January 1917 – 30 January 2010) was one of the most influential British textile designers of the 1950s and 1960s. Day drew on inspiration from other arts to develop a ...
, textile designer (died 2010) * 9 January –
Claud William Wright Claud William Wright Order of the Bath, CB (9 January 1917, Ellenborough, Yorkshire, Ellenborough, Yorkshire, England – 15 February 2010, Burford, Oxfordshire, England), aka Willy Wright, was a senior United Kingdom, British civil servant who ...
, civil servant and scientific expert (died 2010) * 12 January ** Stella Cunliffe, statistician (died 2012) ** John Rennie, diplomat (died 2002) * 16 January **
Leila Buckley Leila Charlotte Evelyn Petronella Buckley (16 January 1917 – 25 January 2013), née Porter, known by her pen name Frances Lobb, was an English poet, novelist and translator. She was the daughter of Lt.-Col. Adrian Sydney Morton Porter OStJ, a ...
, poet, novelist and translator (died 2013) ** Bill Lucas, British RAF officer, Olympic long-distance runner (d. 2018) * 19 January **
Graham Higman Graham Higman FRS (19 January 1917 – 8 April 2008) was a prominent English mathematician known for his contributions to group theory. Biography Higman was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, and attended Sutton High School, Plymouth, winning a ...
, mathematician (died 2008) **
Nigel Nicolson Nigel Nicolson (19 January 1917 – 23 September 2004) was an English writer, publisher and politician. Early life and education Nicolson was the second son of writers Sir Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West; he had an elder brother Ben ...
, writer and politician (died 2004) * 22 January –
Guy Millard Sir Guy Elwin Millard (22 January 1917 – 26 April 2013) was a British diplomat who was closely involved in the Suez crisis, and afterwards ambassador to Hungary, Sweden and Italy. Career Guy Elwin Millard was educated at Wixenford, Charterho ...
, diplomat (died 2013) * 27 January –
Tufton Beamish, Baron Chelwood Tufton Victor Hamilton Beamish, Baron Chelwood (27 January 19176 April 1989) was a British Army officer and Conservative Member of Parliament for Lewes for 29 years (1945–1974), and an author. During the Second World War, he served in Fran ...
, army officer and politician (died 1989) * 1 February – Maurice Levitas, academic and communist (died 2001) * 2 February –
Mary Ellis Mary Ellis (born May Belle Elsas, June 15, 1897 – January 30, 2003) was an American actress and singer appearing on stage, radio, television and film, best known for her musical theatre roles, particularly in Ivor Novello works. After appe ...
, pilot (died 2018) * 5 February **
Ruth Mott Ruth Mott (5 February 1917 – 28 July 2012) was an English domestic servant who became a television cook and personality. Mott spent most of her life working in country houses with her television work not beginning until the age of 70, when her kn ...
, television cook (died 2012) ** Cedric Smith, statistician (died 2002) * 12 February – Denis Eadie, Scottish World War II army officer and Military cross recipient (died 2015) * 18 February – Arthur Norman, industrialist (died 2011) * 20 February –
Frederick Page Sir Frederick William Page (20 February 1917 – 29 May 2005) was an English aircraft designer and manager. He had large involvements with two British aircraft projects - the English Electric Lightning and the BAC TSR.2. Arguably, the sum to ...
, aircraft designer (died 2005) * 22 February –
Jocelyn Herbert Jocelyn Herbert RDI (22 February 1917 – 6 May 2003) was a British stage designer. Early life Born in London the second of the four children of playwright, novelist, humorist and parliamentarian A. P. Herbert (1890–1971), through her fat ...
, stage designer (died 2003) * 25 February –
Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...
, author (died 1993) * 2 March **
Laurie Baker Lawrence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker (2 March 1917 – 1 April 2007) was a British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and designs that maximized space, ventilation and light and mainta ...
, architect (died 2007) ** John Gardner, composer (died 2011) * 6 March –
Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...
, comedian and actor (died 1992) * 7 March –
Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling (7 March 1917 – 14 February 1979) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1962 to 1964 and as Home Secretary from 1970 to 1972. From 1955 until the late 1960s, he was spoken of as a prospecti ...
, politician (died 1979) * 10 March – Kenneth Boyd Fraser, virologist (died 2001) * 12 March –
Googie Withers Georgette Lizette Withers, CBE, AO (12 March 191715 July 2011), known professionally as Googie Withers, was an English entertainer who was a dancer and actress with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. ...
, actress (died 2011) * 13 March –
Robert Mark Sir Robert Mark (13 March 1917 – 30 September 2010) was a senior British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Leicester City Police, and later as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1972 to 1977. Mark was the first Metr ...
, police officer (died 2010) * 14 March – Alan Smith, World War II spitfire fighter ace (died 2013) * 20 March **
Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...
, singer (died 2020) ** Mona Moore, painter and illustrator (died 2000) * 22 March ** W. Brian Harland, geologist (died 2003) ** Paul Rogers, actor (died 2013) * 23 March **
Patricia Burke Patricia Burke (23 March 191723 November 2003), was an English singer and actress in cinema, stage and TV. She was the daughter of actress Marie Burke and British operatic tenor Thomas Burke. On stage she enjoyed success in the 1943 West End mu ...
, actress and singer (died 2003) **
Josef Locke Joseph McLaughlin (23 March 1917 – 15 October 1999), known professionally as Josef Locke, was an Irish tenor. He was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s. Background Born in Derry, Ireland, he was the son of a ...
, born Joseph McLaughlin, Irish tenor (died 1999) * 24 March –
John Kendrew Sir John Cowdery Kendrew, (24 March 1917 – 23 August 1997) was an English biochemist, crystallographer, and science administrator. Kendrew shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Max Perutz, for their work at the Cavendish La ...
, molecular biologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
(died 1997) * 25 March – Allan Cameron, Scottish soldier and curler (died 2011) * 29 March – Ieuan Maddock, Welsh nuclear scientist (died 1988) * 30 March –
Alec Stock Alec William Alfred Stock (30 March 1917 – 16 April 2001) was an English footballer and manager. He briefly managed AS Roma, between long spells at Leyton Orient and Queens Park Rangers. At QPR, he won successive promotions, leading the club t ...
, footballer (died 2001) * 1 April –
Michel Donnet Michel G. L. "Mike" Donnet, (1 April 1917 – 31 July 2013) was a Belgian pilot who served in the Belgian Army and British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He shot down four enemy aircraft confirmed, and achieved the RAF rank o ...
, military officer and RAF wing commander (died 2013) * 4 April – Peter Olver, World War II fighter ace (died 2013) * 6 April –
Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement of ...
, surrealist painter and fiction writer working in Mexico (died 2011) * 9 April – Basil Mitchell, philosopher (died 2011) * 13 April ** William Burley Lockwood, linguist (died 2012) **
Olivia Robertson Olivia Melian Durdin-Robertson (13 April 1917 – 14 November 2013) was an author, artist, co-founder and high priestess of the Fellowship of Isis.Richard Chopping Richard Wasey Chopping (14 April 1917 – 17 April 2008) was a British illustrator and author best known for painting the dust jackets of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels starting with '' From Russia, with Love'' (1957). Early life Chopping was ...
, illustrator (died 2008) **
Jean Wilks Jean Wilks (1917-2014)
at telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
was a headmistress at
, educator and headmistress (died 2014) * 22 April –
Leo Abse Leopold Abse (22 April 1917 – 19 August 2008) was a Welsh lawyer and politician. He was a Welsh Labour MP for nearly 30 years, noted for promoting private member's bills to decriminalise male homosexual relations and liberalise the divorce l ...
, lawyer and politician (died 2008) * 23 April Bill Green, fighter pilot (died 2014) * 29 April –
Shirley Becke Shirley Cameron Becke (née Jennings; 29 April 1917 – 25 October 2011) was a British police officer. She was the fourth and last commander of the London Metropolitan Police's A4 Branch (Women Police), from 1966 to 1973, and the first woman o ...
, police officer (died 2011) * 1 May –
Wendy Toye Beryl May Jessie Toye, (1 May 1917 – 27 February 2010), known professionally as Wendy Toye, was a British dancer, stage and film director and actress. Life and career Toye was born in London. She initially worked as a dancer and choreographer ...
, dancer and actress (died 2010) * 4 May – C. K. Barrett, theologian (died 2011) * 6 May – Paul Weatherley, botanist (died 2001) * 7 May –
David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authorit ...
, actor (died 2000) * 11 May – Montague Woodhouse, politician (died 2001) * 12 May –
Rita Barisse Rita Barisse (12 May 1917 – 25 April 2001) was a British journalist, writer and translator. She was the second wife of the writer Jean Bruller, also known as Vercors, and collaborated with him on works released under that pen name. Biograph ...
, writer and translator (died 2001) * 14 May ** Geoffrey E. Coates, organometallic chemist (died 2013) **
W. T. Tutte William Thomas Tutte OC FRS FRSC (; 14 May 1917 – 2 May 2002) was an English and Canadian codebreaker and mathematician. During the Second World War, he made a brilliant and fundamental advance in cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher, a majo ...
, English-born mathematician and cryptanalyst (died 2002) * 18 May – Dorrit Dekk, Czech-born graphic designer (died 2014) * 20 May –
Ann Welch Ann Courtenay Welch OBE, née Edmonds, (20 May 1917 – 5 December 2002) was a pilot who received the Gold Air Medal from Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for her contributions to the development of four air sports - gliding, ha ...
, glider pilot (died 2002) * 21 May –
Frank Bellamy Frank Bellamy (21 May 1917Khoury, George. ''True Brit: Celebrating The Comic Book Artists Of England'' (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004). – 5 July 1976) was a People of the United Kingdom, British comics artist, best known for his work on the ...
, comics artist (died 1976) * 24 May **
Ian Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford (24 May 1917 – 25 October 2002), styled Lord Howland until 1940, and styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1940 until 1953, was a writer and a British peer. As a businessman, the Duke and J. Chipperf ...
, peer (died 2002) **
Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway Alan Robertson Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway ERD QC (24 May 1917 – 30 June 2013) was a British judge, barrister and author who sat in the House of Lords as a life peer. The son of John Kenneth Campbell and Juliet Pinner, he was edu ...
, life peer, politician and judge (died 2013) * 4 June – John Walter Baxter, civil engineer (died 2003) * 9 June –
Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. H ...
, historian (died 2012) * 10 June –
Ruari McLean John David Ruari McLean CBE, DSC (10 June 1917 – 27 March 2006) was a leading British typographic designer. Early life and apprenticeship Ruari McLean was born in Scotland on 10 June 1917, in Newton Stewart, Galloway. He was educated at th ...
, Scottish typographer (died 2006) * 15 June –
Charles Chilton Charles Chilton MBE (15 June 1917 – 2 January 2013) was a British presenter, writer and producer who worked on BBC Radio. He created the 1950s radio serials ''Riders of the Range'' and ''Journey into Space'', and also inspired the stage ...
, writer, producer and presenter (died 2013) * 21 June – Leslie Shepard, author and archivist (died 2004) * 23 June **
Peter Brunt Peter Astbury Brunt FBA (23 June 19175 November 2005) was a British academic and ancient historian. He was Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford from 1970 to 1982. During his career, he lectured at the University of St ...
, ancient historian (died 2005) **
Tony Deane-Drummond Major-General Anthony John Deane-Drummond, CB, DSO, MC & Bar (23 June 1917 – 4 December 2012) was an officer of the Royal Signals in the British Army, whose career was mostly spent with airborne forces. During the Second World War, he was ...
, army general (died 2012) **
Frank Godwin Francis Godwin (October 20, 1889 – August 5, 1959) was an American illustrator and comic strip artist, notable for his strip '' Connie'' and his book illustrations for ''Treasure Island'', ''Kidnapped'', ''Robinson Crusoe'', ''Robin Hood'' ...
, film producer (died 2012) * 24 June **
Joan Clarke Joan Elisabeth Lowther Murray, MBE (''née'' Clarke; 24 June 1917 – 4 September 1996) was an English cryptanalyst and numismatist best known for her work as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Although she did not ...
, cryptanalyst and numismatist (died 1996) **
John Willett John William Mills Willett, MBE (24 June 1917 – 20 August 2002) was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English. Early life Willett was born in Hampstead and was educated ...
, translator (died 2002) * 25 June – Arthur Bonsall, civil servant (died 2014) * 26 June –
Willie Hamilton William Winter Hamilton (26 June 1917 – 23 January 2000) was a British politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament for constituencies in Fife, Scotland for 37 years, between 1950 and 1987. He was known for his strong republican ...
, politician (died 2000) * 29 June –
Mary Berry Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at ...
, canoness, choral conductor and musicologist (died 2008) * 1 July –
Humphry Osmond Humphry Fortescue Osmond (1 July 1917 – 6 February 2004) was an English psychiatrist who expatriated to Canada, then moved to work in the United States. He is known for inventing the word ''psychedelic'' and for his research into interesting a ...
, psychiatrist (died 2004) * 5 July –
Geraldine Mucha Geraldine Thomson Mucha (5 July 1917 – 12 October 2012) was a Scottish composer. She was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. She married the Czech writer Jiří Mucha, son of the painter Alphonse Mucha, and in 1945 move ...
, Scottish composer (died 2012) * 8 July – Pamela Brown, English actress (died 1975) * 10 July –
Reg Smythe Reginald Smyth (10 July 1917 – 13 June 1998) was a British cartoonist who created the popular, long-running ''Andy Capp'' comic strip. Early life and military service He was born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, the son of Richa ...
, cartoonist (died 1998) * 14 July – Frank Vigar, English cricketer (died 2004) * 17 July – John Beech Austin, aviator (died 2012) * 20 July – Harold Faragher, English cricketer (died 2006) * 23 July – John Stokes, politician (died 2003) * 27 July – John Cunningham, World War II pilot and air ace (died 2002) * 29 July –
Jake Saunders Sir John Anthony Holt Saunders, CBE, DSO, MC (widely known as "Jake") (29 July 1917 – 4 July 2002) was chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (now HSBC Holdings plc), at a time of rapid and turbulent development of the Hon ...
, banker (died 2002) * 6 August – Nigel Walker, criminologist (died 2014) * 13 August – Diana Collins, activist (died 2003) * 14 August –
Cardew Robinson Douglas John Cardew Robinson (14 August 1917 – 28 December 1992) was a British comic, whose career was rooted in the music hall and Gang Shows. Early life and career Born in Goodmayes, Essex, Robinson was educated at Harrow County School ...
, comic actor (died 1992) * 22 August –
Kent Walton Kent Walton (22 August 1917 – 24 August 2003), born Kenneth Walton Beckett, was a British television sports commentator, presenter and actor. He is best remembered as the predominant commentator on ITV's coverage of British professional wrest ...
, sports commentator (died 2003) * 24 August –
Charles Causley Charles Stanley Causley CBE FRSL (24 August 1917 – 4 November 2003) was a British poet, school teacher and writer. His work is often noted for its simplicity and directness as well as its associations with folklore, legends and magic, espec ...
, poet (died 2003) * 30 August –
Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...
, politician and author (died 2015) * 31 August –
Hugh McGregor Ross Hugh McGregor Ross (31 August 1917 – 1 September 2014) was an early pioneer in the history of British computing. He was employed by Ferranti from the mid-1960s, where he worked on the Pegasus thermionic valve computer. He was involved in t ...
, computer scientist and theologian (died 2014) * 3 September – Anthony Robert Klitz, artist (died 2000) * 7 September **
Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist. Among the honours Cheshire received as ...
, RAF pilot (died 1992) **
John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel l ...
, Australian-born chemist (died 2013) **
Johnnie Stewart Lorn Alastair "Johnnie" Stewart (7 November 1917 – 29 April 2005) was a British television producer who worked for the BBC, noted mostly for his role in creating the long-running music programme ''Top of the Pops''. Early life and career Born ...
, television presenter (died 2005) * 13 September – Osgood Hanbury, pilot (died 1943) * 15 September –
Richard Arnell Richard Anthony Sayer Arnell (15 September 191710 April 2009) was an English composer of classical music. Arnell composed in all the established genres for the concert stage, and his list of works includes six completed symphonies (a seventh w ...
, composer (died 2009) * 18 September – Phil Taylor, footballer and manager (died 2012) * 30 September –
Peter Malam Brothers Air Commodore Peter Malam "Pete" Brothers, (30 September 1917 – 18 December 2008) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace of World War II. Brothers was credited with 16 aerial victories, 10 of which he achieved during the Battle of ...
, World War II pilot (died 2008) * 2 October **
Christian de Duve Christian René Marie Joseph, Viscount de Duve (2 October 1917 – 4 May 2013) was a Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cytologist and biochemist. He made serendipitous discoveries of two cell organelles, peroxisome and lysosome, for which he shared ...
, biologist, recipient 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 ...
(died 2013) ** Francis Jackson, organist and composer (died 2022) * 8 October **
Edward Eveleigh Sir Edward Walter Eveleigh, Emergency Reserve Decoration, ERD (8 October 1917 - 24 September 2014) was a British barrister, judge and British Army officer. He presided over a number of high-profile cases including that of the serial killer Graham Y ...
, judge and barrister (died 2014) ** Rodney Robert Porter, biochemist, recipient 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 ...
(died 1985) ** George Webb, jazz musician (died 2010) * 10 October **
David Lloyd Owen Major General David Lanyon Lloyd Owen (10 October 1917 – 5 April 2001) was a British soldier and writer. During the Second World War he commanded the Long Range Desert Group. Early life and military career Born in Hampton, in the county of M ...
, army general (died 2001) ** John Stanton Ward, artist (died 2007) * 13 October –
Denis Forman Sir John Denis Forman (13 October 1917 – 24 February 2013) was a Scottish executive in the British television industry long associated with the ITV contractor Granada, and with various charitable and governmental bodies in the arts. Career Fo ...
, Scottish television executive (died 2013) * 18 October –
William Clark, Baron Clark of Kempston William Gibson Haig Clark, Baron Clark of Kempston, (18 October 1917 – 6 October 2004) was a British Conservative politician who sat for a total of 28 years as a member of Parliament for three constituencies. He was also a Member of the House ...
, politician (died 2004) * 20 October – Daphne Hardy Henrion, sculptor (died 2003) * 21 October ** Ralph Barker, writer (died 2011) **
Geoffrey Langlands Geoffrey Douglas Langlands CMG, MBE, HI, SPk (21 October 1917 – 2 January 2019) was a British educationalist who spent most of his life teaching in and leading schools in Pakistan, instructing many of the country's elite. In World War II h ...
, officer and educator (died 2019) * 22 October **
Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard Major General Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard, (22 October 1916 – 2 November 2007) was a senior officer in the British Army. He later served as Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in the British Royal Household for ten years until 1982, and Gold Stic ...
, soldier and courtier (died 2007) **
Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...
, film actress ''in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
'' (died 2013 in the United States) * 25 October – Don Clark, footballer (died 2014) * 28 October –
Honor Frost Honor Frost (28 October 1917 – 12 September 2010) was a pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led many Mediterranean archaeological investigations, especially in Lebanon, and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills ...
, underwater archaeologist (died 2010) * 7 November **
Johnnie Stewart Lorn Alastair "Johnnie" Stewart (7 November 1917 – 29 April 2005) was a British television producer who worked for the BBC, noted mostly for his role in creating the long-running music programme ''Top of the Pops''. Early life and career Born ...
, television producer (died 2005) **
Tom Tuohy Thomas Tuohy CBE (7 November 1917 – 12 March 2008) was deputy to the general manager at the Windscale nuclear facility when a major fire erupted on 10 October 1957. He was the leading participant in efforts to put out the fire which was emit ...
, chemist (died 2008) * 12 November –
Leila Berg Leila Berg (12 November 1917 – 17 April 2012) was an English children's author. She was also known as a journalist and a writer on education and children's rights. Berg was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award. Biography Berg was brought u ...
, children's author (died 2012) * 15 November – E. J. Mishan, economist (died 2014) * 16 November –
John Forfar John Oldroyd Forfar, MC, FRSE (16 November 191614 August 2013) was a Scottish paediatrician and academic. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Second World War and later became a leading civilian paediatrician. He was Professor ...
, Scottish paediatrician and academic (died 2013) * 21 November – Bill Cross, World War II soldier (died 2015) * 22 November **
Andrew 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 ...
, scientist, recipient 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 ...
(died 2012) **
Shabtai Rosenne Shabtai Rosenne (Hebrew: שבתאי רוזן) (24 November 1917 – 21 September 2010) was a Professor of International Law and an Israeli diplomat. Rosenne was awarded the 1960 Israel Prize for Jurisprudence, the 1999 Manley O. Hudson Medal f ...
, English-born Israeli diplomat and recipient of the
Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
(died 2010) * 24 November – John Justin, actor (died 2002) * 25 November – William "Bill" Ralph Merton, military scientist and banker (died 2014) * 28 November – Marni Hodgkin, American-born book editor (died 2015) * 30 November –
Bill Ash William Franklin Ash Order of the British Empire, MBE (30 November 1917 – 26 April 2014) was an American-born British writer, broadcaster and Marxist, who served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He was sho ...
, American-born writer and broadcaster (died 2014) * 6 December –
Tony Hibbert Anthony James Hibbert (born 20 February 1981) is an English footballer, currently playing for French amateur side ES Louzy. Originally a midfielder, Hibbert converted to play at right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Everton, ...
, army officer (died 2014) * 9 December –
Eleanor Mears Eleanor Cowie llen CowieMears ( Loudon; 9 December 1917 – 18 May 1992) was a Scottish medical practitioner and campaigner. She began working in the medical practice when she took over the London practice of a male doctor who was enlisted for t ...
, medical practitioner and campaigner (died 1992) * 12 December –
Fred Stansfield Fred Stansfield (12 December 1917 – 30 March 2014) was a Welsh international footballer. Career Stansfield, a centre-half, had been playing for Grange Athletic when he joined Cardiff City in 1942 as a part-time professional. He was immediat ...
, Welsh footballer (died 2014) * 15 December – Douglas Allen, Baron Croham, politician and civil servant (died 2011) * 16 December ** Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author and inventor (died 2008) **
Jasper Hollom Sir Jasper Quintus Hollom (16 December 1917 – 29 August 2014) was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England 1962-66, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England 1970-80, and chair of the City Takeover Panel 1980-87. Hollom was educated at King's School ...
, banker (died 2014) * 20 December –
Billy Drake Group Captain Billy Drake, (20 December 1917 – 28 August 2011) was a British fighter pilot and air ace. He was credited officially with 18 enemy aircraft destroyed, two shared, two unconfirmed, four probables, two shared probables and five da ...
, World War II fighter pilot (died 2011) * 21 December –
Diana Athill Diana Athill (21 December 1917 – 23 January 2019) was a British literary editor, novelist and memoirist who worked with some of the greatest writers of the 20th century at the London-based publishing company Andre Deutsch Ltd. Early life ...
, author (died 2019) * 22 December –
Freddie Francis Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director. He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer. He started his career with British films such as Jack Cardiff's '' Sons and ...
, cinematographer (died 2007) * 24 December – Edward Crew, World War II air ace (died 2002) * 27 December –
Derek Hodgkinson Air Chief Marshal Sir William Derek Hodgkinson, (27 December 1917 – 29 January 2010) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. As a bomber pilot in the Second World War, he was shot down and spent time in Stalag Luft III as "Big S", responsible f ...
, air chief marshal (died 2010) * 28 December –
John Moreton Sir John Oscar Moreton (28 December 1917 – 14 October 2012) was a British diplomat. Early life Moreton born in Oakham, Rutland, and was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford and Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the Royal Artillery duri ...
, diplomat (died 2012)


Deaths

* 2 January – Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, anthropologist (born 1832) * 8 January –
Sir George Warrender, 7th Baronet Vice-Admiral Sir George John Scott Warrender of Lochend, 7th Baronet, (31 July 1860 – 8 January 1917) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy during the First World War. Early career Warrender was the son of Sir George Warrender, 6th Baronet ...
, admiral (born 1860) * 29 January –
Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...
, diplomat and colonial administrator (born 1841) * 19 March –
Samuel Pasco Samuel Pasco (June 28, 1834March 13, 1917) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Florida. Biography Pasco was born in London, England, to a family of Cornish ancestry. His family moved to Prince Edward Island in 1841 befo ...
, United States Senator from Florida from 1887 to 1899 (born 1834) * 25 March – John George Will, Scottish international rugby player (killed in action) (born 1892) * 2 April –
Bryn Lewis Major Brinley Lewis (4 January 1891 – 2 April 1917), known as Bryn Lewis, was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Newport and Cambridge University. He is one of twelve Welsh internationals to have died in active d ...
, Wales international rugby player (killed in action) (born 1891) * 9 April – Edward Thomas, poet (killed in action) (born 1878) * 13 May –
Sir Lambton Loraine, 11th Baronet Sir Lambton Loraine, 11th Baronet (17 November 1838 - 13 May 1917) was a British naval officer, involved in several incidents of gunboat diplomacy. He is best remembered for his involvement in the "Virginius Affair" of 1873. On 11 July 1852 he ...
, naval officer (born 1838) * 16 May –
Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker (13 May 1850 – 16 May 1917), also known as R. S. F. Walker, was a prominent figure in Malaya during the British colonial era in the late 19th century. During his youth he was an amateur spor ...
, colonial administrator (born 1850) * 18 May –
John Nevil Maskelyne John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 183918 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions a ...
, stage magician (born 1839) * 26 June –
John Dunville John Spencer Dunville, (7 May 1896 – 26 June 1917) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...
, Army officer (killed in action) (born 1896) *31 July **Ellis Humphrey Evans ("
Hedd Wyn Hedd Wyn (born Ellis Humphrey Evans, 13 January 188731 July 1917) was a Welsh-language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National ...
"), Welsh-language poet (killed in action) (born 1887) ** James Llewellyn Davies, Victoria Cross recipient (killed in action) (born 1886) ** James Milne Henderson, Scottish international rugby player (killed in action) (born 1891) ** Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (killed in action) (born 1887) * 15 August – Thomas Crisp, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1876) * 30 August –
Alan Leo Alan Leo, born William Frederick Allan, (Westminster, 7 August 1860 – Bude, 30 August 1917) was an English astrologer, author, publisher, astrological data collector and theosophist. He is often referred to as "the father of modern astrology ...
, astrologer (born 1860) * 8 November –
Colin Blythe Colin Blythe (30 May 1879 – 8 November 1917), also known as Charlie Blythe, was an English professional cricketer who played Test cricket for the England cricket team during the early part of the 20th century. Blythe was a Wisden Cricketer of ...
, cricketer (born 1879) * 8 December –
Arthur Matthew Weld Downing Arthur Matthew Weld Downing (13 April 1850 – 8 December 1917) was an Irish mathematician and astronomer. Downing's major contribution to astronomy is in the calculation of the positions and movements of astronomical bodies, as well as being ...
, astronomer (born 1850) *14 December – Phil Waller, Wales and British Lions rugby player (killed in action) (born 1889) *17 December –
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. She was the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, ...
, doctor and suffragist (born 1836)


See also

*
List of British films before 1920 List of British films from 1888 to 1919: 1888–1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 See also * 1888 in the United Kingdom * 1889 in the United Kingdom * 1890 in the United Kingdom * 1895 in the United Kingdom * 1896 in the United K ...


References

{{Year in Europe, 1917 Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom