1937 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1937 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch - George VI of the United Kingdom
*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, national coalition (until 28 May), Neville Chamberlain, national coalition

Events

* 8 March - The Prince Edward, the abdicated King Edward VIII, is created Duke of Windsor
* 12 May - Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth takes place at Westminster Abbey, London. The BBC makes its first outside broadcast covering the event.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
* 27 May - King George VI passes letters patent denying the style of "Royal Highness" to the wife and descendants of the Duke of Windsor.
* 28 May - Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister after Baldwin's retirement.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 382-383|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 3 June - The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson in Paris.
* 1 July - The 999 emergency telephone number introduced.
* 23 July - Matrimonial Causes Act adds insanity and desertion to infidelity as legitimate grounds for divorce.
* 28 July - Assassination attempt on King George VI in Belfast by the IRA
* 3 December - The first issue of "The Dandy" is published.
* 4 December - The character Desperate Dan appears for the first time in "The Dandy".
* 10 December
** Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood wins the Nobel Peace Prize. [cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1937/|title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1937|accessdate=2007-11-25]
** George Paget Thomson wins the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Clinton Davisson "for their experimental discovery of the diffraction of electrons by crystals". [cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1937/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1937|accessdate=2007-11-25]
** Walter Haworth wins half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations on carbohydrates and vitamin C". [cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1937/|title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1937|accessdate=2007-11-25]

Publications

* Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels "Dumb Witness" and "Death on the Nile".
* C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novel "The Happy Return".
* George Orwell's book "The Road to Wigan Pier".
* J. R. R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit".

Births

* 1 January - Anne Aubrey, actor
* 8 January - Shirley Bassey, singer
* 27 January - John Ogdon, pianist (died 1989)
* 30 January - Vanessa Redgrave, actress
* 21 February - Jilly Cooper, author
* 25 February - Tom Courtenay, actor
* 12 May - Susan Hampshire, actress
* 13 May - Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio
* 23 June - Sir Nicholas Shackleton, geologist (died 2006)
* 3 July - Tom Stoppard, playwright
* 6 August - Barbara Windsor, actress
* 18 August - Willie Rushton, comedian, actor and writer (died 1996)
* 21 August - Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (died 2000)
* 9 October - Brian Blessed, actor
* 11 October - Bobby Charlton, English footballer
* 17 November - Peter Cook, comedian and writer (died 1995)
* 30 November - Ridley Scott, film director

Deaths

* 13 March - Elihu Thomson, engineer and inventor (born 1853)
* 17 March - Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (born 1863)
* 19 April - Martin Conway, art critic, politician and mountaineer (born 1856)
* 19 June - J. M. Barrie, novelist and dramatist (born 1860)
* 22 August - Albert Goodman, politician (born 1880)
* 9 November - Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1866)
* 25 November - Lilian Baylis, theatrical producer (born 1874)

References

ee also