|
|
| 1925 | Birth |  |
| 13th Oct Grantham Birth of Margaret Thatcher, daughter of a grocer |
| 1959 | Election |  |
| 8th Oct Finchley 1st elected MP for Finchley during the election, has a constituency majority of 16,260 |
| 1960 | Parliament |  |
| 9th Oct London Appointed Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Pensions & National Insurance |
| 1960 | Speech |  |
| 5th Feb London Makes maiden speech in Parliament |
| 1964 | Shadow Spokesman |  |
| 28th Oct Appointed shadow spokesman on pensions |
| 1965 | Shadow Spokesman |  |
| 5th Oct Appointed shadow spokesman on housing & land |
| 1966 | Shadow Spokesman |  |
| 19th April Appointed Shadow Treasury Spokesman, deputy to Iain Macleod |
| 1970 | Privy Council |  |
| Appointed Member of the Privy Council |
| 1970 | Secretary of Education |  |
| 20th June Appointed Secretary for Education & Science, attains Cabinet rank for the first time |
| 1971 | Reform |  |
| 30th June London Says LEAs may use the 1944 education act to retain grammar schools |
| 1971 | School Milk |  |
| 15th June London 15-29 June, protests about withdrawal of milk to state schools |
| 1975 | Election |  |
| 28th June Woolwich 1st Conservative leader to help contest a by-election, 7.6% swing in favour |
| 1975 | European Union |  |
| London Launches a European campaign in front of Heath, "the pupil speaking before the master" |
| 1975 | Party Leader |  |
| 11th Feb London Appointed Leader of the Conservative Party |
| 1976 | Iron Lady |  |
| 21st Dec London Tass calls Margaret Thatcher the "Iron Lady" over her condemnation of Rusia |
| 1976 | Speech |  |
| 31st Jan London Refers to herself as the "Iron Lady" after an article in the Soviet Red Star |
| 1977 | Conference of Conservatives |  |
| 14th Oct Brighton Tells Callaghan to, "keep taking the tablets", after Peter Jay compares him to Moses |
| 1977 | Speech |  |
| 14th Oct Brighton Tells Callaghan to, "keep taking the tablets", after Peter Jay compares him to Moses |
| 1979 | Assassination |  |
| 29th Aug Belfast Visits the people of Belfast after the assassination of Lord Mountbatten & 18 soldiers |
| 1979 | Budget |  |
| 21st June Strasbourg Attends the European Council & forwards the case for reducing Britain's contributions |
| 1979 | Conference of Commonwealth |  |
| 1st Aug Lusaka 1-8 August, attends the Commonwealth Prime Minister's Conference at Lusaka |
| 1st Aug Lusaka 1st Commonwealth Conference to be held in Africa, Rhodes ia is the main subject |
| 1979 | Election |  |
| London 1st EC elections take place, using 1st-past-the-post system |
| May Enters no 10 quoting St Francis , "where there is discord, may we bring harmony" |
| 3rd May Conservatives 339, Labour 268, Liberals 11, others 18 |
| 3rd May The Conservatives win a majority of 45 |
| 1979 | Price Commission |  |
| 15th May London The Price Commission is abolished |
| 1979 | Prime Minister |  |
| 4th May Appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1st term |
| 1979 | Reform |  |
| 23rd Oct London Exchange controls are removed |
| 1979 | Security Ulster |  |
| 24th Dec Ulster Visits the security services in Ulster |
| 1980 | Boycott Olympic Games |  |
| 14th Feb Moscow Calls for a boycott of the Moscow Olympics because of the invasion of Afghanistan |
| 1980 | Budget |  |
| 24th Nov London A new tax is introduced on Nth Sea oil |
| 24th Nov London National Insurance Contributions go up |
| 24th Nov London Pensions & social security will increase by 1% less than inflation |
| 1980 | Conference of Conservatives |  |
| 10th Oct Brighton Tells conference, "the lady's not for turning" |
| 1980 | Conference of G7 |  |
| 22nd June London Attends the G7 summit |
| 1980 | Constitution |  |
| Sep Lancaster Gate A Conference is held at Lancaster Gate to resolve Rhodes ian constitutional problems |
| 1980 | Diplomacy |  |
| 10th April Gibraltar Spain agrees to re-open its border with Gibraltar |
| 5th May London The SAS storms the Iranian Embassy |
| 30th July London Nigeria announces that it is nationalizing BP's assets in Nigeria |
| 8th Dec Dublin Attends the Anglo-Irish summit in Dublin |
| 1980 | Economy |  |
| 18th June The British annual inflation rate stands at 21%, the first fall in two years |
| 4th Aug The Clegg Commission completes its report on pay comparability in the Public Sector |
| 27th Aug The registerred unemployment total exceeds 2 million |
| 1980 | Legislation |  |
| Under the Coal Indus try Act subsidies to the Coal Board are reduced |
| 1980 | Privatization |  |
| London Amershan International is sold for œ71 million |
| 1980 | Reform |  |
| London Benefits for strikers are reduced, it is assumed they receive œ12 per week strike pay |
| London Prescription charges are increased to œ1 |
| 1980 | Speech |  |
| 10th Oct Brighton Tells conference, "the lady's not for turning" |
| 1980 | Taxation |  |
| 24th Nov London A new tax is introduced on Nth Sea oil |
| 1981 | Cabinet |  |
| 5th Jan Pym becomes leader of the Commons, Nott Defense Secretary & Britain Chief Sec |
| 14th Sep Lawson, Tebbit & Parkinson join the Cabinet & Prior becomes the Northern Ireland Sec |
| 1981 | Conference of Commonwealth |  |
| 30th Sep Melbourne Arrives in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Conference |
| 1981 | Demonstrations |  |
| Brixton Visits Brixton Police Station |
| 10th April Brixton Lord Scarman is later appointed to review the causes of the riots |
| 10th April Brixton !st day of a weekend of riots in Brixton |
| 8th July Manchester Moss Side in Manchester experiences its first of 2 days disorder |
| 13th July Liverpool Visits Liverpool & drives through the scene of the riots in Toxteth |
| 1981 | Diplomacy |  |
| 5th Nov London Congratulates Reagan on his election victory & invites him to Britain for discussions |
| 6th Nov London Agrees with Garret FiitzGerald to establish an Anglo-Irish inter-Governmental Council |
| 1981 | Humber Bridge |  |
| 17th July Humber Humbar Estuary Bridge, world's longest span, 1.4 km, opens |
| 1981 | Prime Minister |  |
| 5th Jan St John Stevas & Maude leave the Government |
| 1981 | Privatization |  |
| London Cable & Wireless is sold for œ224 million |
| 1981 | Resignation |  |
| 14th Sep London Gilmour, Carlisle & Soames leave the Government |
| 1981 | Strike |  |
| 18th Feb Thatcher's Conservative Government withdraws plans to close 23 pits in its first major u-turn since coming to power 2 years ago |
| 21st Feb Miners vote in favour of a 9.3 per cent pay rise |
| 1982 | Alliance |  |
| 30th April Reagan declares USAfor Britain & promises "materiel aid" |
| 1982 | Battle of Goose Green |  |
| 29th May Goose Green Argentines surrender Goose Green, British take 1,400 prisoners, and the Islanders imprisoned at Goose Green by the Argentines are released |
| 1982 | Battle of Port Stanley |  |
| 11th June Portanley Battle for Stanley begins on Mount Longdon, Mount Harriet and Two Sisters |
| 14th June Portanley By daylight Argentine troops are fleeing in disarray, by mid-morning white flags are flying in Stanley, and by noon the British have marched to the outskirts of Stanley |
| 14th June Portanley General Mario Menendez surrenders to Major General Jeremy Moore at 9pm FI time |
| 14th June Portanley Thatcher informs the Commons at 10.15pm UK time that the Argentines have surrendered |
| 14th June Portanley The battle of Port Stanley ends with the surrender of Argentinian forces |
| 1982 | Bombing of Ballykelly |  |
| 6th Dec Ballykelly INLA bombs in Ballykelly kill 11 soldiers |
| 1982 | Bombing of Falklands |  |
| 1st May Falklands Air attacks begin on the Argentrine garrison on the Falklands |
| 1982 | Bombing of Port Stanley |  |
| 1st May Portanley Operations against the Falklands open with the "Black Buck 1" attack on the airfield at Stanley |
| 4th May Portanley British forces begin bombarding Argentine positions around Stanley |
| 1982 | Capture of Falklands |  |
| 2nd April Falklands Galtieri hails the "recovery" of the Malvinas, saying Argentina had been left no option other than military action, while Carrington tells Parliament "Port Stanley is now occupied by Argentine military forces" |
| 1982 | Capture of Goose Green |  |
| 29th May Goose Green Argentines surrender Goose Green, British take 1,400 prisoners, and the Islanders imprisoned at Goose Green by the Argentines are released |
| 1982 | Capture of South Georgia |  |
| 25th April South South Georgia recaptured by Royal Marines - Thatcher tells Britain to "rejoice" |
| 1982 | Capture of Sth Georgia |  |
| 25th April South South Georgia is recaptured from the Argentinians |
| 1982 | Capture of Thule |  |
| 20th June Thule British forces land on Southern Thule (South Sandwich Islands) - Argentines surrender without a fight |
| 1982 | Conference of Versailles |  |
| 3rd June Versailles President Reagan presents his 5 point plan to Britain |
| 1982 | Corporate |  |
| 21st May Two brigades of troops had been transported 8,000 miles and one of the most successful amphibious landings was conducted in San Carlos Water when 3,000 troops are put ashore without casualties |
| 1982 | Declaration of Defence Area |  |
| 26th April A "defence area" is declared around the fleet |
| 1982 | Declaration of Exclusion Zone |  |
| 12th April Falklands The maritime exclusion zone comes into operation |
| 19th April Falklands The exclusion zone comes into force |
| 7th May The exclusion zone is extended to 12 miles off the Argentine coast |
| 1982 | Diplomacy |  |
| 9th Jan The British Ambassador to Argentina lodges a formal protest against the unauthorised landing on South Georgia on 20 December 1981 by Argentine scrap-metal merchant Constantino Davidoff |
| 3rd Feb South Britain renews its formal protest at Davidoff's unauthorised landing in South Georgia |
| 2nd Mar The Argentine foreign minister says that Argentina reserves the right to 'employ other means' if Britain keeps refusing to cede sovereignty |
| 31st Mar Thatcher telegraphs American President Ronald Reagan asking him to warn the Argentines off |
| 1st April UN Security Council meets at Britain's request and calls for restraint and avoidance of force |
| 14th April London Argentina rejects Haig's 5 point peace plan & London is informed |
| 19th April EEC foreign ministers declare support for Britain |
| 30th April Reagan terminates Haig's peace mission, declares USAsupport for Britain, imposes economic sanctions on Argentina, and offers Britain materiel and other aid |
| 5th May Emergency meeting of full British cabinet approves Peruvian peace plan |
| 5th May London Full cabinet approval of the Peruvian peace plan |
| 6th May Argentine junta rejects Peruvian peace plan |
| 12th May Argentine junta concedes that sovereignty of the Islands isn't a precondition to the UN peace plan |
| 17th May British peace proposals transmitted to Argentina |
| 18th May Argentine junta rejects British peace proposals |
| 18th May London The Junta rejects the British proposals |
| 20th May London Tells Parliament of the collapse of the peace process |
| 20th May Thatcher accuses Argentina of 'obduracy and delay, deception and bad faith', tells Commons of collapse of peace process, and orders task force into battle |
| 26th May UN Security Council Resolution 505 instructs de Cuellar to seek negotiated settlement |
| 29th May Organisation of American States condemns Britain's military action and calls on the USAto stop helping Britain - only the US, Chile, Columbia and Trinidad & Tobago abstain |
| 20th Sep Hong Kong Begins a Far East visit to Hong Kong |
| 22nd Sep London China & Britain agree to oppose Soviet hegemony |
| 22nd Sep London Meets the Chinese Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang |
| 1982 | European Union |  |
| 9th April European Economic Community approve economic sanctions against Argentina (Ireland and Italy veto) |
| 10th April European Economic Community approve economic sanctions against Argentina (Ireland and Italy veto) |
| 1982 | Exclusion Zone |  |
| 5th April Falklands British Government announces it will impose a 200-mile exclusion zone around the Islands on 26 April |
| 12th April Falklands 200 mile maritime exclusion zone around the Islands declared by Britain to prevent Argentine reinforcements and supplies reaching the Islands from the mainland |
| 30th April Falklands Maritime exclusion zone is declared a total exclusion zone, applicable to all ships and aircraft supporting the Argentine occupation of the Islands |
| 7th May Falklands Britain extends total exclusion zone to 12 miles off Argentine coast |
| 20th June Falklands 200 mile exclusion zone established around the Islands during the war is replaced by a Falkland Islands Protection Zone of 150 miles |
| 22nd July Falklands Britain lifts the Exclusion Zone around the Islands |
| 1982 | Falkland Islands Protection Zone |  |
| 20th June Falklands 200 mile exclusion zone established around the Islands during the war is replaced by a Falkland Islands Protection Zone of 150 miles |
| 1982 | Franks Commission |  |
| 26th June Falklands Thatcher appoints an official commission headed by Lord Franks to examine the causes of Britain's failure to prevent Argentine capture of the Islands |
| 1982 | Invasion of Falklands |  |
| 2nd Feb Falklands Thatcher in a private letter to a Conservative Party activist makes clear that she regards the Royal Marine presence in Stanley as sufficient to prevent an Argentine invasion |
| 9th Feb Falklands Thatcher confirms the retirement of HMS Endurance |
| 3rd Mar Falklands MP Julian Amery asks if 'all necessary steps are in hand to ensure the protection of the Islands against unexpected attack' but receives an evasive reply |
| 5th Mar Falklands Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington refuses to send a submarine to patrol off the Islands and South Georgia |
| 6th Mar Falklands Hercules aircraft operated by Argentine military airline LADE,on a mail run to an Antarctic base, lands at Stanley Airport, falsely claiming a fuel leak, and carrying senior Argentine officers who survet Stanley |
| 8th Mar Falklands Thatcher asks the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence for contingency plans in case of an Argentine blockade or invasion of the Islands |
| 19th Mar South Davidoff sends 40 workmen on naval vessel Bahia Buen Suceso to dismantle Leith whaling station, the workmen fail to ask permission to land from the British Antarctic Survey base at Grytviken and hoist the Argentinian flag |
| 28th Mar Falklands Britain begins contingency planning for the sending of a task force to the Islands |
| 29th Mar Falklands The Joint Intelligence Committee reports an invasion seems imminent, Thatcher orders 3 nuclear submarines south to the Islands |
| 31st Mar Falklands Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Sir Henry Leach advises a crisis meeting headed by Thatcher that Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded |
| 2nd April Falklands 1st day of the Falklands War when the Argentinians capture the Falklands |
| 2nd April South Britain's UN ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons puts a draft resolution to the Security Council condemning the hostilities and demanding immediate Argentine withdrawal from the Islands |
| 2nd April Falklands Emergency cabinet meeting approves the sending of the task force to liberate the Islands |
| 2nd April Falklands Galtieri hails the "recovery" of the Malvinas, saying Argentina had been left no option other than military action, while Carrington tells Parliament "Port Stanley is now occupied by Argentine military forces" |
| 2nd April South MPs are recalled for a special Saturday sitting of the House of Commons (first since Suez) |
| 3rd April Falklands The UN directive 502 is passed through the House of Commons |
| 3rd April Falklands UN Security Council passes Resolution 502 by 10 votes to 1 (with 4 abstentions) demanding immediate Argentine withdrawal from the Islands - Argentina refuses to comply |
| 5th April Portsmouth Aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible set sail from Portsmouth |
| 5th April Falklands British Government announces it will impose a 200-mile exclusion zone around the Islands on 26 April |
| 5th April Falklands The task force sails for the Falklands |
| 7th April Falklands A task force is sent by Britain to recapture the Falkland Islands from Argentina |
| 15th April British destroyer group takes up holding position in mid-Atlantic |
| 15th April Reagan terminates Haig's peace mission, declares USAsupport for Britain, imposes economic sanctions on Argentina, and offers Britain materiel and other aid |
| 17th April Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse chairs conference at Ascension Island with Admiral Sandy Woodward and 3 Commando Brigade which sets out detailed plans for the retaking of the Islands by force |
| 20th April Falklands British War Cabinet orders repossession of Islands |
| 22nd April Falklands British task force arrives in Falklands waters |
| 23rd April Falklands Britain warns Argentina that any military or civilian ship or aircraft representing a threat to the task force will be destroyed |
| 25th April South South Georgia is recaptured & the nation is told to "rejoice!" |
| 2nd May Falklands The General Belgrano is sunk by HMS conqueror |
| 12th May Falklands QE2 leaves Southampton with 5 Infantry Brigade comprising Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Gurkhas |
| 20th May Falklands Thatcher accuses Argentina of 'obduracy and delay, deception and bad faith', tells Commons of collapse of peace process, and orders task force into battle |
| 21st May San Carlos |