February  

1        1884. The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.

2        1801. Meeting of the first Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

3        1919. The first meeting of The League of Nations following the end, in November 1918, of the First World War.

4        1945. Allied Summit between Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt begins at Yalta in the Crimea.

5        1924. The first ever broadcasting of the BBC's hourly time signals ("pips").

6        1918. Women over 30 were granted the right to vote in Britain.

7        1301. Edward Caernarvon became the first Prince of Wales - later becoming King Edward 2^nd.

8        1587. Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.

9        1942. Soap rationing began in Britain.

10    1763. The Treaty of Paris ceded Canada to Britain following the end of the Seven Year's War with France.

11    1975. Margaret Thatcher became the first ever female leader of a British political party.

12    1554. Lady Jane Grey executed for high treason. She was Queen for nine days.

13    1689. William of Orange and Mary become joint sovereigns of Great Britain.

14    1797. Victory over Spain by the British Navy under Jervis and Nelson at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal.

15    1971. Britain adopted decimal currency.

16    1659. The first British cheque was written.

17    1972. The House of Commons voted in favour of Britain joining the Common Market.

18    1876. A direct telegraph link was set up between Britain and New Zealand.

19    1976. Iceland broke off diplomatic relations with Britain during the Cod War.

20    1947. Lord Mountbatten became the last viceroy of India.

21    1804. British engineer Richard Trevithick demonstrated the first steam engine to run on rails.

22    1797. Over 1000 French troops landed at Fishguard, South Wales in a failed invasion attempt.

23    1863. Lake Victoria was declared to be the source of the Nile by British explorers Speke and Grant.

24    1932. Malcolm Campbell beat his own land speed record in Bluebird at Daytona Beach, Florida. His new record was 253.96 mph.

25    1955. HMS Ark Royal was built - the largest ever aircraft carrier to be built in Britain.

26    1839. The Grand National was run for the first time at Aintree.

27    1881. British troops were defeated by the Boers at Majuba Hill, Transvaal, South Africa.

28    1900. The relief of Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa by General Buller's forces in the Boer War.

29    1948. 27 British soldiers blown up in a train travelling from Cairo to Haifa.

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