1932 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1932 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
- Monarch â George V
- Prime Minister â Ramsay MacDonald (Coalition)
Events
- 1 January
- The English Folk Dance and Song Society holds its first festival under this name following merger of the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society.
- The King gives the title of Princess Royal to his only daughter, Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, a year after the death of the previous holder.
- 8 January â the Archbishop of Canterbury forbids church remarriage of divorcees.
- 24 January â inmates at Dartmoor Prison mutiny.[1]
- 26 January â British submarine HMS M2 sinks off the Dorset coast with all sixty hands.
- 1-29 February â with an average precipitation of 9.5 millimetres or 0.37 inches, this period constitutes the driest calendar month over the United Kingdom as a whole since records began in 1836.[2]
- 4â15 February â Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, but do not win any medals.
- 1 March â Import Duties Act re-establishes protective trade tariffs.[3]
- 15 March â first BBC radio broadcast from the new Broadcasting House in London;[3] all programmes transfer from 15 May.
- 6 April â Ministry of Health encourages local councils to engage in widespread slum clearance.[3]
- 13 April â mass trespass of Kinder Scout, a wilful trespass by ramblers at Kinder Scout, in the Peak District of England, to protest against lack of free public access to open country.[4]
- 14 April â John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton, at the Cavendish Laboratory in the University of Cambridge, focus a proton beam on lithium and split its nucleus ("splitting the atom").[5]
- 23 April â new Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens in Stratford-upon-Avon;[6] designed by Elisabeth Scott, it is the country's first important work by a woman architect.[7]
- 1 May â protestors clash with police in Hyde Park, London, during a May day protest against Japan's attitude towards China when they try to march on the Japanese Embassy.
- 10 May â James Chadwick, working at the Cavendish Laboratory in the University of Cambridge, reports the existence of the neutron.[8]
- 26 May â the Scots law case of Donoghue v Stevenson is decided in the House of Lords, establishing the modern concept of a duty of care in cases of negligence.[9]
- 25 June â India plays its first Test cricket match with England at Lord's.
- 2 July â the exiled former king of Portugal, Manuel II, dies at Fulwell in Middlesex; his body is later returned to Portugal for burial.
- 4 July â George Carwardine patents the Anglepoise lamp.
- 12 July â Hedley Verity of Yorkshire establishes a new first-class cricket record by taking all ten wickets for only ten runs against Nottinghamshire on a pitch affected by a storm.
- 19 July â King George V opens the replacement Lambeth Bridge across the Thames in London.
- 30 Julyâ14 August â Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Olympics in Los Angeles, California and win 4 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze.
- 1 August â Forrest Mars produces the first Mars bar in his Slough factory.[10]
- 22 August â first experimental television broadcast by the BBC.[6]
- 20 September â Methodist Union: the Methodist Church is formed in Britain by merger of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodists and the United Methodist Church.
- 26 September â first contingent of the National Hunger March leaves Glasgow.[11]
- October
- Oswald Mosley founds the British Union of Fascists.[3]
- Anglo-Irish Trade War begins.
- 3 October â The Times newspaper first appears set in the Times New Roman typeface devised by Stanley Morison.[12]
- 7 October â Thomas Beecham establishes the London Philharmonic Orchestra.[3]
- 10 October â a mine cage accident at Bickershaw Colliery in the Lancashire Coalfield drowns 19.[13]
- 13 October â Britain grants independence to the kingdom of Iraq, ending the British mandate there in exchange for a restrictive long-term military alliance.
- 25 October â George Lansbury becomes the leader of the opposition Labour Party.[14]
- 27 October â arrival of the Hunger March in London leads to several violent clashes with police.[15]
- 14 November â book tokens go on sale in the UK.[6]
- 30 November â the BBC begins a series of radio broadcasts to mark the 75th birthday of Sir Edward Elgar.
- 2 December â English cricket team in Australia in 1932â33: opening of the âbodylineâ series.
- 5 December â the comic strip character Jane first appears in the Daily Mirror.
- 10 December
- John Galsworthy wins the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga".[16]
- Charles Scott Sherrington and Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries regarding the functions of neurons".[17]
- 19 December â the BBC Empire Service, later known as the BBC World Service, begins broadcasting[6] using a shortwave radio facility at its Daventry transmitting station.[18]
- 25 December â King George V delivers the first Royal Christmas Message[3] on the BBC Empire Service from Sandringham House; the text has been written by Rudyard Kipling.
Undated
- Opening of the Hoover Building on the Western Avenue in Perivale, Middlesex, a noted example of Art Deco architecture, designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners for The Hoover Company.[19]
- Production of Fordson tractors in the U.K. begins at Dagenham in Essex.
- Production of Weetabix breakfast cereal in the U.K. begins at Burton Latimer in Northamptonshire.
Publications
- Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel Peril at End House.
- Lewis Grassic Gibbon's novel Sunset Song, first in A Scots Quair trilogy.
- Stella Gibbons' parodic novel Cold Comfort Farm.
- J. B. S. Haldane's study The Causes of Evolution, unifying Mendelian genetics and evolutionary science.
- Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World.
- Captain W. E. Johns' first Biggles aviation stories, collected as The Camels are Coming.
- F. R. Leavis' study New Bearings in English Poetry.
- Q. D. Leavis' study Fiction and the Reading Public.
- John Cowper Powys' Wessex novel A Glastonbury Romance.
- Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novel Have His Carcase.
- Evelyn Waugh's satirical novel Black Mischief.
- First issue of the journal of literary criticism Scrutiny: a quarterly review edited by F. R. Leavis (published in May).
- First issue of the magazine Woman's Own.
Births
- 2 January â Peter Redgrove, poet (died 2003)
- 4 January â Thelma Holt, actress and producer
- 12 January â Des O'Connor, comedian, singer and television presenter (died 2020)
- 14 January â Timothy Sprigge, philosopher (died 2007)
- 15 January â Louis George Alexander, teacher and author (died 2002)
- 19 January â Russ Hamilton, singer (died 2008)
- 23 January â George Allen, footballer (died 2016)
- 29 January â Tommy Taylor, footballer (died 1958)
- 30 January â Lady Mary Colman, socialite and philanthropist (died 2021)
- 1 February â John Nott, Conservative politician (died 2024)
- 3 February â Molly Parkin, journalist, novelist and painter (died 2026)
- 8 February
- Cliff Allison, racing driver (died 2005)
- Elspeth Howe, public servant (died 2022)[20]
- Jean Saunders, romantic novelist (died 2011)[21]
- 11 February â Dennis Skinner, politician
- 12 February â Richard Rougier, judge (died 2007)
- 13 February
- David Neal, actor (died 2000)
- Barbara Shelley, actress (died 2021)
- 14 February
- Peter Ball, bishop and sex offender (died 2019)
- Jocelyn Stevens, publisher, journalist and charity executive (died 2014)
- 15 February â Adrian Swire, English businessman (died 2018)
- 22 February â Roger Squires, crossword compiler (died 2023)
- 25 February â Tony Brooks, racing driver (died 2022)
- 27 February â Elizabeth Taylor, film actress (died 2011 in the United States)
- 28 February â Brian Moore, football commentator (died 2001)
- 11 March â Nigel Lawson, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 2023)
- 21 March â Tom Watson, actor (died 2001)
- 25 March â Martin Brandon-Bravo, politician (died 2018)
- 27 March â Patrick Newell, actor (died 1988)
- 1 April â Avril Elgar, actress (died 2021)[22]
- 9 April â Jack Smethurst, actor (died 2022)
- 10 April â Adrian Henri, Liverpool poet (died 2000)
- 14 April â Bob Grant, actor, comedian and writer (died 2003)
- 15 April â John T. Lewis, Welsh physicist (died 2004)
- 21 April â Angela Mortimer, tennis player (died 2025)
- 25 April
- David Frederick Case, audiobook narrator (died 2005)
- William Roache, actor (Coronation Street)
- 26 April â Michael Smith, chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000 in Canada)
- 4 May â Ivor Wood, television animator (died 2004)
- 6 May â Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, peer and landowner (died 2020)
- 7 May â Jenny Joseph, poet (died 2018)
- 9 May
- Gavin Lyall, novelist (died 2003)
- Geraldine McEwan, actress (died 2015)
- 12 May â Derek Malcolm, historian and film critic (died 2023)
- 19 May â Alma Cogan, singer (died 1966)
- 24 May â Arnold Wesker, dramatist (died 2016)
- 25 May â Norman Drew, Northern Irish golfer (died 2023)
- 27 May â Jeffrey Bernard, journalist (died 1997)
- 29 May â Walker H. Land, academic bioengineering researcher[23]
- 30 May
- Ray Cooney, farceur
- Ivor Richard, Welsh Labour politician (died 2018)
- 8 June â Ray Illingworth, cricketer (died 2021)
- 9 June â Denise Robertson, broadcaster and writer (died 2016)
- 18 June â Geoffrey Hill, poet (died 2016)
- 21 June â Bernard Ingham, journalist and government press secretary (died 2023)
- 22 June
- Prunella Scales, actress (died 2025)
- John Wakeham, businessman and Conservative Party politician
- 25 June
- Peter Blake, pop artist
- Charles Morrison, politician (died 2005)
- Tim Parnell, racing driver (died 2017)[24]
- 26 June â John Wall, inventor (died 2018)
- 27 June
- Alan Warren, Anglican priest and author (died 2020)
- Hugh Wood, composer (died 2021)
- 30 June â Ingrid Allen, neuroscientist (died 2020)
- 4 July â Matt Crowe, Scottish football (soccer) player (died 2017)
- 6 July â Phyllida Law, actress
- 8 July
- Roy Proverbs, football (soccer) player (died 2017)
- Brian Walden, politician and political interviewer (died 2019)
- 10 July â George Black, Royal Air Force officer
- 16 July â John Chilton, jazz trumpeter (died 2016)
- 17 July â Colin Webster, Welsh footballer (died 2001)
- 21 July â Vilma Hollingbery, actress (died 2021)
- 23 July
- Hugh Davies, Welsh cricketer (died 2017)
- Tony Dean, racing driver (died 2008)
- 26 July â Neil McCarthy, actor (died 1985)[25]
- 28 July â Russell Johnston, politician (died 2008)
- 6 August
- Michael Deeley, film producer
- Howard Hodgkin, painter and print-maker (died 2017)
- 9 August â Reginald Bosanquet, television news presenter (died 1984)
- 11 August â Eric Varley, politician (died 2008)
- 17 August â V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian-born writer (died 2018)
- 20 August â Anthony Ainley, actor (died 2004)
- 23 August â Christopher Parsons, film-maker (died 2002)
- 24 August
- Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, cardinal and Archbishop of Westminster (died 2017)
- W. Morgan Sheppard, actor (died 2019)
- 27 August â Lady Antonia Fraser, writer
- 31 August â Roy Castle, entertainer (died 1994)
- 1 September â Raymond Durgnat, film critic (died 2002)
- 4 September
- Edward de Souza, actor
- Dinsdale Landen, actor (died 2003)
- 7 September â Malcolm Bradbury, author and academic (died 2000)
- 9 September â Alice Thomas Ellis, writer (died 2005)
- 11 September
- Peter Anderson, footballer (died 2009)
- Ian Hamer, jazz trumpeter (died 2006)
- 16 September â Micky Stewart, cricketer
- 21 September â Shirley Conran, author and journalist (died 2024)
- 22 September
- Michael Barnes, politician (died 2018)
- Ian Kennedy, comics artist (died 2022)
- 25 September
- Terry Medwin, footballer (died 2024)
- Brian Murphy, comedy actor (died 2025)
- 27 September â Michael Colvin, Conservative politician (died 2000)
- 28 September â Jeremy Isaacs, television executive and opera manager
- 4 October â Edward Judd, actor (died 2009)
- 5 October â Michael John Rogers, ornithologist (died 2006)
- 8 October â Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player (died 2024)
- 9 October â Colin Clark, film-maker (died 2002)
- 10 October â Harry Smith, footballer (died 2016)
- 15 October â Vince Karalius, English rugby league footballer and coach (died 2008)
- 24 October â Adrian Mitchell, poet and novelist (died 2008)
- 25 October â Maurice Dodd, cartoonist (died 2005)
- 6 November â Ron Saunders, footballer and manager (died 2019)
- 4 November â Joyce Blair, actress (died 2006)
- 11 November â John Zamet, periodontist (died 2007)
- 15 November â Petula Clark, singer, actress and songwriter
- 18 November â Trevor Baxter, actor and playwright (died 2017)
- 20 November â Richard Dawson, comedian and game show host (died 2012)
- 21 November â Beryl Bainbridge, novelist (died 2010)
- 30 November â Arthur Hopcraft, scriptwriter (died 2004)
- 5 December â Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs, politician
- 15 December â John Meurig Thomas, scientist (died 2020)
- 16 December â Quentin Blake, cartoonist and illustrator
- 18 December â Marian Wenzel, art historian (died 2002)
- 19 December
- Angela Flowers, gallerist (died 2023)
- Crispin Nash-Williams, mathematician (died 2001)
- 24 December â Colin Cowdrey, cricketer (died 2000)
- 28 December â Roy Hattersley, Labour politician
Deaths
- 8 January â William Graham, Scottish politician (born 1887)
- 13 January â Ernest Mangnall, football manager (born 1866)
- 21 January â Lytton Strachey, writer and biographer (born 1880)
- 24 January â Sir Alfred Yarrow, shipbuilder and philanthropist (born 1842)
- 10 February â Edgar Wallace, novelist and screenwriter (born 1875)
- 4 March â Fawcet Wray, admiral (born 1873)
- 11 March â Dora Carrington, painter (born 1893)
- 16 March â Harold Monro, poet and bookshop proprietor (born 1879)
- 22 April â Edward Taylor Scott, newspaper editor/proprietor (drowned in yachting accident) (born 1883)
- 26 April â William Lockwood, cricketer (born 1868)
- 13 June â Alexander Bethell, admiral (born 1855)
- 2 July â Manuel II of Portugal, exiled monarch (born 1889)
- 6 July â Kenneth Grahame, author (born 1859)
- 16 July â Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, general (born 1857)
- 22 July â J. Meade Falkner, novelist and poet (born 1858)
- 23 July â Tenby Davies, Welsh sprinter (born 1884)
- 19 August â E. S. Prior, Arts and Crafts architect and theorist (born 1852)
- 16 September â Ronald Ross, physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1857)
- 1 October â W. G. Collingwood, painter and author (born 1854)
- 30 October â Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen, field marshal (born 1845)
- 12 November â Sir Dugald Clerk, mechanical engineer (born 1854)
- 13 November â Catherine Isabella Dodd, education writer and novelist (born 1860)
- 8 December â Gertrude Jekyll, garden designer, writer and artist (born 1843)