1909 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1909 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
- Monarch â Edward VII
- Prime Minister â H. H. Asquith (Liberal)
Events
- 1 January â the first pensions are paid out under terms of the Old Age Pensions Act 1908, which provides for a non-contributory weekly sum of 5 shillings to be paid through post offices to people aged over seventy with a weekly income under 12 shillings but of 'good character'.[1] Around 490,000 people are granted the pension during its first year.[2]
- 9 January â Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole forced to turn back 112 miles from the pole.[3]
- 23 January â the Tottenham Outrage, an armed robbery and the murder of a ten-year-old boy and a police constable in Tottenham, North London, carried out by two Latvian anarchists.
- 16 February â West Stanley Pit Disaster, a coal mining disaster in Stanley, County Durham, in which more than 160 miners are killed in an explosion.[4]
- 22 February â Thomas Beecham conducts the first concert with his newly established Beecham Symphony Orchestra.[5]
- 26 February â first film shown in colour using Kinemacolor at the Palace Theatre, London.[3]
- March â construction of the Rosyth Dockyard for the Royal Navy on the east coast of Scotland begins.
- 6 March â Birkenhead dock disaster: a temporary cofferdam collapses during construction of Vittoria Dock, killing 14 navvies.
- 10 March â Anglo-Siamese Treaty signed in Bangkok.
- 15 March â Selfridges department store opens in London.[3]
- 16 March â Port of London Authority established.[3]
- 11 April â coming into effect of Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 67), establishing separate juvenile courts for 10â16-year-olds; abolishing the use of custody for under-fourteens and hanging for under-sixteens; introducing the registration of foster parents; and restricting access for under-16s to cigarettes and alcohol.
- 24 April â the FA Cup final is won by Manchester United for the first time, as they beat Bristol City 1â0 at Crystal Palace.[6]
- 29 April â People's Budget introduced in the British Parliament by David Lloyd George.[7]
- 2 May â John Moore-Brabazon becomes the first resident British citizen to make a recognised powered heavier-than-air flight in the UK, flying from The Aero Club's ground at Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey in his Voisin biplane Bird of Passage.[8]
- 13 May â Lonmin is incorporated in the UK as the London and Rhodesian Mining and Land Company Limited.[9]
- 26 May â the King's horse, Minoru, wins the Epsom Derby.[10]
- 15 June â representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
- 25 June â Herbert Samuel, is appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, making him the first practising Jew to serve as a member of the Cabinet.[11]
- 26 June â Edward VII and Queen Alexandra open the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, designed by Aston Webb.[1] The Science Museum, London, comes into existence as an independent entity.
- 27 June â Eric Gordon England flies a Weiss glider at Amberley, West Sussex, in the first recorded soaring flight, origin of sport gliding.[12]
- July â Ivy Evelyn Woodward is admitted as the first woman Member of the Royal College of Physicians.[13]
- 1 July â The British Indian army officer and politician Curzon Wyllie is shot dead at the Imperial Institute in South Kensington, London, and a bystander fatally wounded; the assassin, Madan Lal Dhingra, an Indian nationalist student, is subsequently sentenced to death and hanged at Pentonville Prison on 17 August.[14]
- 25 July â Louis Blériot flies a Blériot XI monoplane across the English Channel from Calais to Dover, winning a prize of £1000 from the Daily Mail.[15]
- 23 August â the Secret Service Bureau counter-espionage unit (later known as MI5) is secretly established.[1]
- 3 September â the first Boy Scout rally held at The Crystal Palace in London.[3]
- 17 September â militant suffragette Mabel Capper is among the first to suffer force-feeding while on hunger strike, at Winson Green Prison in Birmingham.[16]
- 20 September â Labour Exchanges Act leads to setting up of labour exchanges as a source of information on employment.
- 2 October â the first match is played at the Rugby Football Union's Twickenham Stadium in Middlesex, Harlequins v. Richmond.
- 15â23 October â "Aviation week" of demonstration flying held at Doncaster;[17] this is followed by a similar event at Blackpool.
- 20 October â the Trade Boards Act, a form of minimum wage legislation, is passed.
- 5 November â the first Woolworth's branch in the UK opens in Liverpool.[3]
- 8 November â first contest for a Lonsdale Belt in boxing, won by Welsh lightweight Freddie Welsh in London.
- 30 November â the House of Lords rejects the People's Budget proposed by David Lloyd George, forcing a general election.[1]
- 3 December â the SS Ellan Vannin sinks in Liverpool Bay resulting in the loss of all 15 passengers and 21 crew.
- 4 December â the University of Bristol is founded and receives its Royal Charter.
- 7 December â South Africa granted dominion status.[1]
- Undated â First British bird ringing programme initiated by Arthur Landsborough Thomson at Aberdeen.[18]
Publications
- Florence Barclay's novel The Rosary.[19]
- Angela Brazil's schoolgirl story The Nicest Girl in the School.
- Daniel Jones' introductory The Pronunciation of English.
- H. G. Wells' novels Ann Veronica and Tono-Bungay.
Births
- 24 January â Martin Lings, Islamic scholar (died 2005)
- 26 January â Alexander King, chemist (died 2007)
- 28 January â Geoff Charles, photojournalist (died 2002)
- 29 January
- Phoebe Hesketh, poet (died 2005)
- George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, politician, speaker of the House of Commons (died 1997)
- 9 February
- Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson, historian (died 2002)[20]
- Heather Angel, actress (died 1986)
- 10 February â Irene Calvert, politician and economist (died 2000)
- 24 February â Ethel MacDonald, activist (died 1960)
- 28 February â Stephen Spender, poet (died 1995)
- 14 March â W. Montgomery Watt, Anglican priest and professor (died 2006)
- 26 March â Martin Hodgson, rugby league footballer (died 1991)
- 6 April - Katherine Russell, social worker and university teacher (died 1998)
- 7 April â Robert Raglan, actor (died 1985)
- 26 April â Rodney Collin, writer (died 1956)
- 30 April â F. E. McWilliam, sculptor (died 1992)
- 5 May â Sonia Dresdel, actress (died 1976)
- 11 May â Herbert Murrill, organist and composer (died 1952)
- 15 May â James Mason, actor (died 1984)
- 16 May â Charles Wilson, political scientist (died 2002)
- 18 May â Fred Perry, tennis player (died 1995)[21]
- 19 May â Nicholas Winton, humanitarian (died 2015)
- 26 May â Matt Busby, football manager (Manchester United) (died 1994)
- 31 May â John Spencer Churchill, painter, sculptor and stockbroker (died 1992)
- 5 June â Marion Crawford, educator, governess to Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) (died 1988)
- 7 June â Jessica Tandy, actress (died 1994)
- 12 June â Tom Steele, Scottish-born American actor and stuntman (died 1990)
- 18 June â Christabel Bielenberg, writer (died 2003)
- 28 June â Eric Ambler, novelist and playwright (died 1998)
- 3 July â Sylvia Gray, businessperson (died 1991)[22]
- 4 July â Robert Manuel Cook, classical scholar (died 2000)
- 5 July â Douglas Dodds-Parker, soldier and politician (died 2006)
- 7 July â Richard Turnbull, colonial governor (died 1998)
- 10 July â Donald Sinclair, naval officer and hotel owner, inspiration for Fawlty Towers (died 1981)
- 16 July â Bernard Gadney, English rugby union player (died 2000)
- 19 July â Percy Stallard, cyclist (died 2001)
- 28 July
- Malcolm Lowry, novelist (died 1957)
- Brenda de Banzie, actress (died 1981)
- 30 July â C. Northcote Parkinson, historian and author (died 1993)
- 13 August â Brian Lawrance, Australian-born bandleader (died 1983)[23]
- 21 August â Ethel Caterham, supercentenarian, oldest ever British person
- 25 August â Michael Rennie, actor (died 1971)
- 28 August â Ralph Kilner Brown, athlete, politician and judge (died 2003)
- 9 September â Setsuko, Princess Chichibu, née Matsudaira, Japanese princess consort (died 1995)
- 12 September â Chili Bouchier, actress (died 1999)
- 14 September â Peter Scott, ornithologist and painter (died 1989)
- 23 September
- Molly Harrison, museum curator (died 2002)
- Susan Travers, World War II nurse (died 2003)
- 6 October â Robert Potter, architect (died 2010)
- 24 October â Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones, barrister and politician, Lord Chancellor (died 1989)
- 28 October â Francis Bacon, painter (died 1992)
- 6 November â Elizabeth Douglas-Home, spouse of the prime minister (died 1990)
- 8 November â Eric Bedford, architect (died 2001)
- 17 November â E. S. Turner, author and journalist (died 2006)
- 19 November â Griffith Jones, actor (died 2007)
- 23 November â Nigel Tranter, historian and writer (died 2000)
- 30 November â Nancy Carline, artist (died 2004)
- 1 December â Frank Gillard, radio broadcaster (died 1998)
- 4 December
- Edward Britton, trade unionist (died 2005)
- Jimmy Jewel, comedian and actor (died 1995)[24]
- 8 December â Lesslie Newbigin, bishop and theologian (died 1998)
- 10 December â F. W. Walbank, scholar of Greek history (died 2008)
- 15 December â Jack Gwillim, actor (died 2001)
- 22 December â Patricia Hayes, character actress (died 1998)
- 23 December
- Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 2000)
- Maurice Denham, actor (died 2002)
- 27 December â Neal Arden, actor (died 2014)
Deaths
- 8 January â Harry Seeley, palaeontologist (born 1839)
- 14 January â Arthur William à Beckett, journalist (born 1844)
- 24 February â Fanny Cornforth, artists' model (born 1835)
- 1 April â Sir Marshal Clarke, Anglo-Irish colonial administrator (born 1841)
- 10 April â Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet (born 1837)
- 13 April â Sir Donald Currie, Scottish shipping magnate (born 1825)
- 12 May â Sir Hugh Gough, general, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1833 in British India)
- 18 May â George Meredith, novelist and poet (born 1828)
- 31 May â Thomas Price, Welsh-born Prime Minister of South Australia (born 1852)
- 10 June â Aylmer Cameron, Scottish army officer, VC recipient (born 1833)
- 22 June â Edward John Gregory, painter (born 1850)
- 1 July â Curzon Wyllie, soldier and politician (murdered) (born 1848)
- 9 July
- George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, politician (born 1827)
- Rosa Nouchette Carey, children's writer (born 1840)[25]
- 1 August â Sir Hugh Rowlands, Welsh general, first Welsh Victoria Cross recipient (born 1828)
- 14 August â William Stanley, inventor, precision engineer (born 1829)
- 22 August â Henry Radcliffe Crocker, dermatologist (born 1846)
- 25 October â Arthur Bromley, British Royal Navy officer, Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard (born 1847)
- 9 November â William Powell Frith, painter (born 1819)
- 10 November â George Essex Evans, Welsh-Australian poet (born 1863)
- 11 December â Ludwig Mond, industrialist (born 1839)
- 13 December â Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, shipping magnate (born 1845)
