istoryworld
Events relating to england
German-born British art historian Nikolaus Pevsner completes his monumental 46-volume Buildings of England
Kenneth MacMillan uses Scott Joplin as his score for a ragtime ballet, Elite Syncopations
Richard Burton marries Elizabeth Taylor for the second time, five years after divorcing
The Willis Faber building, by English architect Norman Foster, is completed in Ipswich
The first series of Fawlty Towers, co-written by and starring John Cleese, is broadcast on British TV
David Hockney begins a new career as a set designer, with The Rake's Progress by Stravinksky at Glyndebourne
The British group the Sex Pistols launch punk rock, with their first gig at St Martin's School of Art in London
English author Ruth Prawer Jhabwala wins the Booker Prize with her novel Heat and Dust
Frederick Ashton creates a ballet based on Turgenev's play A Month in the Country, to music by Chopin
Harold Wilson unexpectedly resigns as the British prime minister and is succeeded by James Callaghan
The British public is outraged to discover that the Tate Gallery has spent money purchasing Carl Andre's arrangement of bricks, Equivalent VIII
Britain's new National Theatre, designed by Denys Lasdun, opens on the South Bank in London,
Liverpool football player Kevin Keegan begins six years as captain of England
Kenneth MacMillan turns a double suicide of 1889 into a ferociously dramatic ballet, Mayerling
John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey, with Leo McKern in the title role, begins its first series of six episodes on British TV
Iris Murdoch publishes The Sea, the Sea, and wins the 1978 Booker Prize
English author Andrew Motion publishes his first collection of poems, The Pleasure Steamers
Douglas Adams creates Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a science fiction comedy series for BBC's Radio 4
Czech-born US tennis player Martina Navratilova wins the first of nine singles titles at Wimbledon
English cricketer Ian Botham sets a new Test record, scoring a century and taking eight wickets against Pakistan at Lord's
Louise Brown, born in England, is the first test-tube baby, having been conceived by IVF (In vitro fertilization)
British author Ian McEwan publishes his first novel, The Cement Garden
David Attenborough writes and presents Life on Earth, a television series on evolution – the first of his many surveys of natural history
There are so many strikes in Britain this winter that it becomes known as the 'winter of discontent'
The Conservative party wins the general election and Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female prime minister
