Neville Chamberlain follows Baldwin as prime minister at the head of the UK's National government

German-born British scientist Hans Krebs discovers the biochemical cycle that becomes known by his name

C.S. Forester's central character, Horatio Hornblower, features for the first time – in The Happy Return

Alan Turing describes the properties of a logically possible computer that becomes known as the Turing Machine

British biochemist Max Perutz begins the analysis of haemoglobin

William Coldstream and Victor Pasmore open a school of art with a distinctive style, known from its location as the Euston Road School

George Orwell reveals the harsh realities of contemporary British life in The Road to Wigan Pier

Leading British artists Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson marry

Gloucestershire batsman Wally Hammond becomes captain of the England Test team

British author Evelyn Waugh publishes a classic Fleet Street novel, Scoop, introducing Lord Copper, proprietor of The Beast

In Homage to Catalonia George Orwell describes his experiences fighting for the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War

Yorkshire batsman Len Hutton scores a record 364 in a Test match against Australia at the Oval

British author Graham Greene publishes Brighton Rock, a novel following 17-year-old Pinkie in the criminal underworld of the seaside town

Maxim de Winter's house, Manderley, holds dark secrets in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

Lord Nuffield donates to Commonwealth hospitals 'iron lungs', built at his Morris Oxford factory,

Neville Chamberlain makes the first of three flights to Germany, this time to negotiate with Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden

Neville Chamberlain returns to Britain from Munich claiming to have achieved 'peace for our time... peace with honour'

On the very first day of the war a U-boat sinks a British liner, the Athenia, with the loss of 112 civilian lives

Two million Anderson air-raid shelters are distributed to British homes, to be constructed in the garden from corrugated steel panels

W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood emigrate together to the USA, later becoming US citizens

Tommy Handley has a huge success in the British comedy radio programme ITMA (It's That Man Again)

Irish author Flann O'Brien publishes his first novel, At Swim-Two-Birds

Archaeological treasures are discovered in an Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk

Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears give a series of recitals in the USA at the start of a lifelong partnership

British racing driver Malcolm Campbell sets a new water speed record of 141 mph