1936 in the United Kingdom

none September 2022 January 2013 1936 Constituent countries of the United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Popular culture 1936 English cricket season Football: England Scotland 1936 in British radio 1936 in British television 1936 in British music Events from the year 1936 in the United Kingdom. This year is notable for the death of George V early in the year, the accession of his son Edward VIII to the throne and his subsequent abdication, resulting in the accession to the throne of his younger brother George VI (previously Albert, Duke of York). 1936 in the United Kingdom is also known as the Year of the Three Kings. Incumbents thumb|"The Year of the Three Kings", postcard 1936 Monarch – George V (until 20 January), Edward VIII (starting 20 January, until 11 December), George VI (starting 11 December) Prime Minister – Stanley Baldwin (Coalition) Events 4 January – England celebrates its first ever win over the All Blacks in rugby union, in particular the two famous tries by "The Prince" HH Alexander Obolensky. 13 January – GPO Film Unit documentary Night Mail, incorporating poetry by W. H. Auden and music by Benjamin Britten, is premiered at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.Blake Morrison Blake Morrison Stamp of excellence https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/01/featuresreviews.guardianreview10 The Guardian 1 December 2007 2010-07-08 London 20 January – King George V dies at Sandringham House, Norfolk, aged 70.https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_v_king.shtml George V (1865–1936) BBC 2012-09-25 His eldest son, The Prince Edward, Prince of Wales succeeds as King Edward VIII. 21 January – King Edward VIII breaks royal protocol by watching the proclamation of his own accession to the throne from a window of St. James's Palace, in the company of the still-married Wallis Simpson. February – John Maynard Keynes's influential economic text The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money is published. 6–16 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and win 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals. 5 March – First test flight of the Supermarine Spitfire,Palmer Alan Palmer Veronica 1992 The Chronology of British History Century Ltd London 380–381 0-7126-5616-2 from Eastleigh Aerodrome. March – K6 red telephone box introduced, together with GPO 'Jubilee concession' to provide one in every village with a post office.Neil Johannessen Telephone Boxes Princes Risborough Shire Publications 1994 0-7478-0250-5A Mirror While You Telephone Halifax Evening Courier 5 September 1936 3 11 April – Billy Butlin opens his first Butlins holiday camp, Butlins Skegness in Skegness (Ingoldmells), Lincolnshire.http://www.butlinsmemories.com/skegness/index.htm Skegness Butlins Memories 2010-06-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20100701110630/http://www.butlinsmemories.com/skegness/index.htm 1 July 2010 live It is officially opened by Amy Johnson. 18 April – Ordnance Survey begins the retriangulation of Great Britain with its first triangulation station near Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire. 17 May – Barquentine Waterwitch is laid up at Par, Cornwall, the last square rigged ship to trade under sail alone in British ownership.Michael Bouquet Westcountry Sail: Merchant Shipping 1840–1960 Newton Abbot David & Charles 1971 0-7153-5033-1 22 May – J. H. Thomas resigns from politics for leaking Budget proposals. 27 May – The Queen Mary leaves Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. 28 May – Alan Turing submits his paper "On Computable Numbers" to the London Mathematical Society for publication, introducing the concept of the "Turing machine". It is formally published on 12 November. 3 July First flight of the Short Empire flying boat, from Rochester, Kent. Fred Perry wins his third successive men's singles tennis title at The Championships, Wimbledon,Lawn Tennis: F. J. Perry Wins Again The Times 4 July 1936 7 47418 the last British player to win this title until 2013.Mark Burton https://www.independent.co.uk/news/fred-perry-wimbledons-true-champion-dies-at-85-1571215.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/fred-perry-wimbledons-true-champion-dies-at-85-1571215.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Fred Perry, Wimbledon's true champion, dies at 85 The Independent 3 February 1995 2012-06-27 This year he also wins his third U.S. National Championship, the last Grand Slam victory for a British men's player until 2012, and turns professional. 16 July – George McMahon makes a botched attempt to shoot King Edward VIII after the Trooping the Colour ceremony. 24 July – The General Post Office introduces the speaking clock.Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 0-14-102715-0 2006 26 July – Charlotte Bryant is hanged at HM Prison Exeter for the murder of her husband Frederick by arsenic in Dorset.O'Donnell Joanna 2026-03-08 'Don’t let them kill me' - the tragic final plea of Dorset’s last woman to hang https://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/25906946.heartbreaking-story-dorsets-last-woman-hanged-murder/ 2026-07-12 Bridport and Lyme Regis News en 27 July – Opening of a new swimming pool at Morecambe, claimed to be the largest open-air example in Europe.Jonathan Riddell Nicolette Tomkinson This Is Your Way Sir Capital Transport 978-1-85414-343-3 17 28 July – Great Britain wins the 1936 International Lawn Tennis Challenge at Wimbledon, the last British victory until 2015 in what becomes the Davis Cup. 31 July – Public Health Act empowers local authorities to make byelaws regulating building construction. August–September – Bournemouth typhoid outbreak: more than 700 people infected.Cotes-Preedy D. The Bournemouth Typhoid Outbreak British Medical Journal 1937-04-17 1 3980 825–826 10.1136/bmj.1.3980.825 https://www.bmj.com/content/1/3980/825 20780616 2088641 1–16 August – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Olympics in Berlin and win 4 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze medals. 4 August – The Duke of Grafton is killed in a crash while competing in the Limerick Grand Prix in Ireland, aged only 22. His cousin succeeds to the main title, but the courtesy titles fall into abeyance. 6 August – An underground explosion at Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery in South Yorkshire kills 58. 26 August – Signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty which requires the withdrawal of British troops and recognises Egypt as a sovereign state. 31 August – Elizabeth Cowell becomes the first female British television presenter, making a broadcast from Alexandra Palace. 8 September – Arson attack on a bombing school building at Penyberth on the Llŷn Peninsula as part of the Tân yn Llŷn campaign led by Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine and D. J. Williams of the Welsh nationalist group Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru.John Davies A History of Wales Penguin 1994 0-14-014581-8 30 September – Official opening of Pinewood Studios. 4 October – Battle of Cable Street between Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists and anti-fascist demonstrators in the East End of London. 14 October – The Night Ferry, a boat train service linking London with Paris, starts operation.Compagnie Internationale de Wagon-Lits et de Grands Express Europeens sleeping car National Railway Museum. 5–31 October – Jarrow March: 207 miners march from Jarrow to London in a protest against unemployment and poverty. 20 October – Prime minister Stanley Baldwin confronts King Edward VIII about his relationship with Wallis Simpson. 22 October – Dod Orsborne, captain of the fishing vessel Girl Pat, which had caused a media sensation when it went missing, is convicted of its theft and given a prison sentence. Both Orsbornes Sent to Gaol The Manchester Guardian 23 October 1936 11 484065518 27 October – Wallis Simpson obtains a decree nisi in her divorce from Ernest Aldrich Simpson, removing a legal barrier to her marrying Edward VIII. 2 November – The BBC launches the world's first regular television service in London, initially alternating between the 240-line Baird electromechanical and the Marconi-EMI all-electronic 405-line television systems. 3 November – The State Opening of Parliament is held; it is Edward VIII's only state opening. The ceremonial procession is cancelled due to heavy rain.Parliament Opened https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS16985956/TTDA? 17 May 2026 The Times 47523 4 November 1936 14 The Times Digital Archive 6 November – Terence Rattigan's comedy French Without Tears premieres in London.Samantha Ellis French without Tears, London, 1936 https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/jul/30/theatre.samanthaellis The Guardian 30 July 2003 2010-07-16 12 November – Alan Turing's paper "On Computable Numbers" is formally presented to the London Mathematical Society, introducing the concept of the "Turing machine".A. M. Turing On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society Series 2 42 230–265 January 1937 10.1112/plms/s2-42.1.230 https://www.abelard.org/turpap2/tp2-ie.asp 2017-12-24 subscription 16 November – King Edward VIII informs Stanley Baldwin of his intention to marry Wallis Simpson. Baldwin responds by informing the King that any woman he married would have to become Queen, and the British public would not accept Wallis Simpson as Queen. The King tells Mr Baldwin that he is prepared to abdicate if the government opposes his marriage. 25 November – The King tells Stanley Baldwin that he would be prepared to conduct a morganatic marriage with Mrs Simpson, which would allow him to carry on as King but not install Mrs Simpson as Queen. Stanley Baldwin informs him that this would not be accepted either (such a thing has never been known in British law). 27 November – Stanley Baldwin raises the issue of a morganatic marriage in the Cabinet, where it is rejected outright. 30 November – The Crystal Palace in south London is destroyed in a fire. December – Henry Hallett Dale wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Otto Loewi "for their discoveries relating to chemical transmission of nerve impulses".https://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1936/ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1936 2008-01-29 thumb|The Instrument of Abdication 1 December – Alfred Blunt, Bishop of Bradford, makes a speech which inadvertently leads to the abdication crisis becoming public in the British media.Cooke, Alistair Six Men 1995 1-55970-317-2 Alistair Cooke https://archive.org/details/sixmen00cook_1 2 December – Stanley Baldwin confirms in a meeting with the King that a morganatic marriage would not be accepted, and in order to marry Mrs Simpson the King would have to abdicate.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2701463.stm BBC News Edward VIII: Abdication timeline 29 January 2003 22 August 2011 9 December – A KLM (Netherlands airline) Douglas DC-2 airliner crashes in Purley shortly after takeoff from Croydon Airport, killing 14 (including Juan de la Cierva and Admiral Arvid Lindman) with just two survivors. 10 December – Abdication crisis: the King signs an instrument of abdication at Fort Belvedere in the presence of his three brothers, The Duke of York, The Duke of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent. 11 December Parliament passes His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, providing the legislative authority for the King to abdicate. The King performs his last act as sovereign by giving royal assent to the Act. Prince Albert, Duke of York, becomes King, ruling as King George VI. His daughter, Princess Elizabeth, becomes heir presumptive. The abdicated King Edward VIII, now the Prince Edward, makes a broadcast to the nation explaining his decision to abdicate. He leaves the country for Austria. The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State passes the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936, removing most powers from the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State, and the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 assenting to the abdication and restricting the power of the monarch in relation to Ireland to international affairs. 18 December – Public Order Act prevents wearing of political uniforms with effect from 1 January next.Public Order Act To-morrow Nottingham Evening Post 31 December 1936 1 25 December – Princess Alexandra of Kent, daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Kent, is born in London. This will be the last royal birth attended by the Home Secretary, in this case, John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon. Date unknown – Peter Jones (department store) in London, designed by William Crabtree, is completed as a pioneering example in the UK of glass curtain wall architecture. Publications The Left Book Club is founded by Stafford Cripps, Victor Gollancz, John Strachey and Harold Laski.John Lewis (philosopher) Lewis John The Left Book Club: an historical record London Gollancz 1970 0-575-00586-6 W. H. Auden's poems Look, Stranger!.Cox, Michael The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature Oxford University Press 2004 0-19-860634-6 https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordchr00coxm A. J. Ayer's philosophical study Language, Truth, and Logic. Alfred Bestall's text comic The New Adventures of Rupert, the first Rupert Bear annual. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels The A.B.C. Murders, Murder in Mesopotamia and Cards on the Table. T. S. Eliot's Collected Poems 1909–35, including "Burnt Norton", first of the Four Quartets. The Geographers' Map Co.'s first A to Z Atlas and Guide to London and the Suburbs. Aldous Huxley's novel Eyeless in Gaza. Michael Innes' novel Death at the President's Lodging.H. R. F. Keating H. R. F. Keating Whodunit? – a guide to crime, suspense and spy fiction London Windward 1982 0-7112-0249-4 John Maynard Keynes' text The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. F. R. Leavis’ critical work Revaluation: tradition & development in English poetry. A. E. W. Mason's historical adventure novel Fire Over England. H. J. Massingham's English Downland and Hugh Quigley's The Highlands of Scotland, first in Batsford's The Face of Britain series. Lancashire: cradle of our prosperity and Warwickshire: Shakespeare's country, first in The King's England series edited by Arthur Mee. George Orwell's novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying. Michael Roberts edits the anthology The Faber Book of Modern Verse. Dylan Thomas’ Twenty-five Poems, including "And death shall have no dominion". W. B. Yeats edits the anthology The Oxford Book of Modern Verse 1892–1935. Births 7 January – Hunter Davies, Scottish-born author and journalist 8 January – Dennis Gillespie, Scottish footballer (died 2001) 12 January – Sir William McAlpine, 6th Baronet, engineering construction executive (died 2018) 15 January – Richard Franklin, actor (died 2023) 16 January – Michael White, impresario and film producer (died 2016) 20 January – Frances Shand Kydd, mother of Diana, Princess of Wales (died 2004) 28 January – Bill Jordan, economist and politician 29 January – Patrick Caulfield, painter and printmaker (died 2005) 7 February William Bennett, flautist (died 2022) Keith Rowlands, rugby union player (died 2006) 9 February – Clive Swift, actor (died 2019) 10 February – Joss Naylor, fell runner (died 2024) 17 February – John Leyton, actor and singer 18 February – Philip Jones Griffiths, photojournalist (died 2008) 24 February – Lance Reventlow, playboy, entrepreneur and racing driver (died 1972) 13 March Michael Davies, writer on Roman Catholicism (died 2004) Mary Susan McIntosh, sociologist, feminist, political activist and campaigner for lesbian and gay rights (died 2013)Mary McIntosh https://www.bl.uk/people/mary-mcintosh www.bl.uk 12 November 2022 26 March – John Malcolm, actor (died 2008) 28 March – Peter Mayer, publisher (died 2018 in the US) 29 March – Richard Rodney Bennett, composer (died 2012 in the US) 3 April – Tony Garnett, television producer (died 2020) 7 April – Peter Eckersley, television producer (died 1981) 10 April – John Howell, Olympic long jumper 21 April – Edna Savage, singer (died 2000) 24 April – Vera Rich, poet and translator (died 2009) 29 April – Jacob Rothschild, investment banker (died 2024) 30 April – Bernie Clifton, comedian and entertainer 2 May – Engelbert Humperdinck, singer 4 May – Stanley McMurtry ("Mac"), cartoonist 9 May Terry Downes, middleweight boxer (died 2017) Albert Finney, actor (died 2019) Glenda Jackson, actress and politician (died 2023) 10 May Anthea Bell, translator (died 2018) Timothy Birdsall, cartoonist (died 1963) 13 May – Matt Simpson, poet (died 2009) 15 May – Ralph Steadman, caricaturist 16 May – Roy Hudd, comedian (died 2020) 18 May – Sonia Taverner, ballet dancer (died 2018)2005 Taverner, Sonia The International Encyclopedia of Dance Oxford University Press Oxford, England https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195173697.001.0001/acref-9780195173697-e-1712?rskey=LMqyzA&result=1 22 August 2026 Conyers Claude Jeanne Cohen Selma Selma Jeanne Cohen 978-0-19-517369-7 23 May Tom Burlison, footballer and trade unionist (died 2008) Robert Sangster, racehorse owner (died 2004) 26 May David Hirst, journalist (died 2025) David Stevens, Baron Stevens of Ludgate, politician 27 May Eric Anderson, Scottish-born teacher, Provost of Eton College (died 2020) Benjamin Bathurst, admiral of the fleet, First Sea Lord (died 2025) 1 June – Gerald Scarfe, cartoonist and illustrator 2 June – Richard Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth, bishop and theologian 7 June – Chris Bryant, screenwriter (died 2008) 17 June – Ken Loach, film director 20 June – Philip Lowrie, actor (died 2025) 22 June Dick Huddart, English-Australian professional rugby league footballer (died 2021) Derek Porter, English footballer (died 2023) 23 June – Gordon Lewis, Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer 24 June Tony Brown, cricketer and administrator (died 2020) J. H. Prynne, poet and academic (died 2026) 26 June – Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, Scottish politician (died 2020) 27 June – Shirley Anne Field, actress (died 2023) 28 June – Malcolm Harding, English-born Canadian Anglican bishop 30 June – Malcolm Hickman, English cricketer 3 July – Anthony Lester, barrister and politician (died 2020) 5 July – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (died 2018) 7 July – Christopher Mallaby, diplomat (died 2022) 8 July – Tony Warren, television screenwriter (died 2016) 9 July – Richard Wilson, Scottish actor and directorRichard Wilson https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9ff7f76e https://web.archive.org/web/20160629033258/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9ff7f76e dead 29 June 2016 BFI 26 December 2020 en 11 July – John Stride, actor (died 2018) 16 July – Mary Parkinson, journalist and television presenter 20 July – John Sillett, football player and manager (died 2021)John Sillett: The man who sent the Cup to Coventry 26 July – Mary Millar, actress (died 1998) 30 July – Ted Rogers, comedian and game show host (died 2001) 1 August W. D. Hamilton, evolutionary biologist (died 2000) Donald Neilson, serial killer known as the "Black Panther" (died 2011) 2 August Christopher Hogg, business executive (died 2021) Anthony Payne, composer (died 2021)Anthony Payne obituary https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/may/04/anthony-payne-obituary The Guardian 1 August 2021 en 4 May 2021 3 August – Edward Petherbridge, actor, writer and artist 7 August – Brian Barry, philosopher (died 2009) 8 August – Jan Pieńkowski, author and artist (born in Poland; died 2022) 11 August – Jim Thompson, Anglican bishop (died 2003) 17 August – Arthur Rowe, Olympic shot putter (died 2003) 24 August – A. S. Byatt, novelist and poet (died 2023) 3 September – Mike Ellis, hammer thrower 5 September – Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon, barrister, banker and life peer (died 2005) 7 September - George Cassidy, jazz musician, music teacher of Van Morrison (died 2023) 10 September – Michael Hartshorn, British-New Zealand organic chemist (died 2017) 11 September – Brian Plummer, writer and dog breeder (died 2003) 14 September – Nicol Williamson, actor (died 2011) 16 September – David Smeeton, journalist (died 2020) 19 September Frank Barrie, actor, director and writer (died 2025) Anna Karen, actress (died 2022) 20 September – Andrew Davies, Welsh writer 30 September – Meg Johnson, actress (died 2023)Meg Johnson obituary 1 October Duncan Edwards, footballer (died 1958) John Gray, diplomat (died 2003) 4 October – Giles Radice, politician (died 2022) 6 October – Bob White, cricketer (died 2023) 9 October – Brian Blessed, actor 17 October – Dolores Mantez, actress (died 2012) 21 October – Simon Gray, playwright (died 2008) 22 October – John Blashford-Snell, soldier and explorer 24 October – Bill Wyman, rock bassist 25 October – Martin Gilbert, historian (died 2015) 30 October – George Sassoon, scientist and writer (died 2006) 31 October – Gordon Beningfield, wildlife artist and broadcaster (died 1998) 1 November – Eddie Colman, footballer (died 1958) 7 November – Gwyneth Jones, Welsh soprano 8 November – Bob Holman, Christian socialist (died 2016) 11 November – Harry Bramma, organist and composer (died 2026) 16 November – Geoffrey Thompson, businessman (died 2004) 22 November – John Bird, satiric actor (died 2022)John Bird obituary https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/dec/28/john-bird-obituary The Guardian 30 December 2022 en 28 December 2022 23 November – Robert Barnard, writer, critic and lecturer (died 2013)Mike Ripley https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/25/robert-barnard Robert Barnard obituary | Books 25 September 2013 theguardian.com 2013-09-25 16 December – Maurice Setters, footballer (died 2020) 17 December – Tommy Steele, actor and singer 21 December – Peter Tinniswood, scriptwriter (died 2003) 22 December – James Burke, broadcaster, science historian, author and television producer 25 December – Princess Alexandra of Kent, daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Kent Deaths 18 January – Rudyard Kipling, writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865 in British India) 20 January – King George V (born 1865) 2 March – Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria (born 1876 in Malta; died in Germany) 20 March – Cunninghame Graham, politician, adventurer and writer (born 1852) 30 April – A. E. Housman, poet (born 1859) 14 May – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, Field-Marshal (born 1861) 29 May – Percy Dearmer, Christian socialist Anglican priest and liturgist (born 1867) 4 June – Mathilde Verne, pianist and educator (born 1865)Schonberg Harold C. The Great Pianists New York Simon & Schuster 1998 978-0-67164-200-6 524 14 June – G. K. Chesterton, writer (born 1874) 25 July – Sir Henry Wellcome, pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist (born 1853 in the United States) 4 August – John FitzRoy, 9th Duke of Grafton, peer and racing driver (born 1914; killed while racing) 19 August – Hugh Lygon, aristocrat (born 1904) 21 September – Frank Hornby, inventor, businessman and politician (born 1863) 14 October – Edmond Holmes, educationalist, writer and poet (born 1850 in Ireland) 2 November – Martin Lowry, chemist (born 1874) 11 November – Sir Edward German, composer (born 1862) 10 December – Bobby Abel, cricketer (born 1857) 29 December – Lucy, Lady Houston, political activist, suffragette, philanthropist and promoter of aviation (born 1857) See also List of British films of 1936 References External links 1936 Category:Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom Category:1936 by country Category:1930s in the United Kingdom Category:1936 in Europe