-
Paris Peace Conference, to draw up treaties to end World War One
Seventy delegates representing the 32 allied and associated powers met to decide on peace treaties at the end of World War 1. The treaties were mainly the work of the British, French, Italian and US leaders. One of the treaties prepared at the conference, the Treaty of Versailles, imposed harsh reparations on Germany, and is considered to have been one of the reason for World War Two. -
Unemployment reaches a postwar high of 2.5 million
Prime Minister David Lloyd George had promised 'a land fit for heroes' after World War 1, but after a short post-war boom, demobilised soldiers found it increasingly difficult to get work. Deprivation was widespread and industrial relations deteriorated. War debts to the United States and non-payment of European allies' war debts meant the government could not pay for many planned reforms. The 1922 Geddes Report recommended heavy cuts in education, public health and workers' benefits. -
Conservative Andrew Bonar Law becomes prime minister
With the fall of David Lloyd George's Liberal-Conservative coalition government with a brilliant speech to his Conservative colleagues, Andrew Bonar Law was invited by George V to form a government. Law called a general election on 15 November 1922. The Conservatives won 344 seats, Labour 142, National Liberals (Lloyd George's party) approximately 53, Liberals (under Herbert Asquith) approximately 62. Ill health forced Bonar Law to retire in 1923. He died six months later. -
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is created
A group of radio manufacturers set up the British Broadcasting Company in 1922. In 1927 the company was granted a Royal Charter, becoming the British Broadcasting Corporation under John Reith. Reith's mission was to improve Britain through broadcasting, and he famously instructed the corporation to 'inform, educate and entertain'. -
All women over the age of 21 get the vote
The fifth Reform Act by the Conservative government changed the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which had only allowed women over 30 who owned property to be vote. The new act gave women the vote on the same terms as men. -
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
While working at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, Alexander Fleming noticed that a mould growing on a dish had stopped bacteria developing. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain developed penicillin further so it could be used as a drug. -
Wall Street Crash sparks the Great Depression
The crash of the American Wall Street financial markets in 1929 crippled the economies of the US and Europe, leading to the Great Depression. In Britain, unemployment had peaked just below three million by 1932. -
Gresford Mine Disaster kills 266 in North Wales
This explosion, which killed 266 men, was one of the worst disasters in British mining history. Two hundred children were left fatherless in an area of North Wales where a 40% unemployment rate had already caused widespread poverty. -
George VI is crowned king
Edward VIII's younger brother, the Duke of York, was crowned George VI. He and his wife Queen Elizabeth became inspirational figures for Britain during World War 2. The monarch visited his armies on several battle fronts and founded the George Cross for 'acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger'. -
Britain declares war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland
On 1 September, German forces invaded Poland. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister at the time, still hoped to avoid declaring war on Germany, but a threatened revolt in the cabinet and strong public feeling that Hitler should be confronted forced him to honour the Anglo-Polish Treaty. Britain was at war with Germany for the second time in 25 years. -
Period: to
Work Cited
"BBC - History : British History Timeline." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
