London

capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom

208 dated entries naming London, drawn from 187 separate years between 1400 BCE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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14th century BC

1400 BCEc. 1400 BC – 1350 BC – Garden of Nebamum (Pond in a Garden) wall painting from the tomb of Nebamum, Thebes. Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. It is now kept in The British Museum, London.source

7th century BC

647 BCEAshurbanipal and his Queen in the Garden, from the palace at Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik, Iraq), is made. It is now at the British Museum, London.source

6th century BC

600 BCEPitcher (container) (olpe), from Corinth, is made. It is now at The British Museum, London. (approximate date)source

4th century BC

400 BCELondon has its origins on a rise above marshy waters at the point where the Walbrook joins the River Thames. The Celtic king, Belin, rebuilds an earth wall surrounding a few dozen huts and orders a small landing place to be cut into the south side of the wall, along the river front, where a wooden quay is built (approximate date).source
350 BCEThe building of the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum in Turkey) is completed (approximate date). It is the grave of the Persian satrap and Carian ruler Mausolos and is built under the direction of his wife Artemisia. The mausoleum, which is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is today partly preserved at the British Museum in London.source
306 BCEA four-drachma coin, picturing Alexander the Great, is issued by Lysimachos from this time until 281 BC. At least one of them is now preserved at the British Museum in London.source

1st century

50In Britain, governor Publius Ostorius Scapula begins his campaign against the recalcitrant Silures of south Wales, who are led by the former Catuvellaunian prince Caratacus. London (Londinium), Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum), Tripontium (near modern Rugby) and the fort of Manduessedum (near modern Atherstone) are founded (approximate date).source

3rd century

208Britain is divided: in the north, Lower Britain (Britannia Inferior) is administered from the fortress at Eburacum (modern York), and in the south, Upper Britain (Britannia Superior) is controlled by the legions at Deva Victrix (Chester) and Isca Augusta (Caerleon) with its capital at Londinium (London).source

4th century

344The making of a detail of Admonitions of the Imperial Instructress to Court Ladies (attributed to Gu Kaizhi and being from the Six Dynasties period) begins (approximate year) and is completed in 406. It is now kept at the British Museum, London.source
361361–363 – A Julian the Apostate coin is issued. It is now kept at the British Museum, London.source
390C. 390–401 – Priestess of Bacchus: Late Antiquity ivory diptych; documents the relationship of the senators Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus. It commemorates the marriage of the two families. The right panel is inscribed "Symmachorum", with an elaborately dressed priestess who makes an offer on an altar. It is now kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.source

7th century

616Mellitus, bishop of London, is exiled by Sexred and his pagan brothers (Sæward and Sigeberht). He is forced to take refuge in Gaul, and returns to England the following year.source
666Earconwald, Anglo-Saxon abbot, establishes the Benedictine abbeys, Chertsey Abbey (Surrey) for men and Barking Abbey (now in east London) for women.source
675April 1 – King Hlothhere of Kent re-establishes Kentish supremacy in London.source
676King Æthelred of Mercia invades Kent, in an attempt to enforce overlordship and diminish Kentish influence in Surrey and London. His armies destroy the Diocese of Rochester (seat of the bishops in West Kent), and ravage the surrounding countryside.source

8th century

716Prince Æthelbald returns from Crowland Fens to Mercia, and seizes the throne after the death of his cousin King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile (see 709). He gains hegemony over London, Essex, and all of the English Midlands. By 731, Æthelbald will have subjugated all provinces south of the Humber River under his overlordship.source
779Battle of Bensington: King Offa of Mercia defeats his rival Cynewulf of Wessex at Bensington (modern-day Oxfordshire). He seizes control of Berkshire, and probably London as well. According to sources of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Offa becomes "King of All England". Charlemagne writes a letter to him as "his dearest brother", but when Offa refuses to let one of Charlemagne's sons marry one of his daughters, Charlemagne threatens to close the ports to English traders.source
780The city of Aldwych rises as an important trading centre in London, under Mercian control. King Offa of Mercia possibly establishes a royal palace at Aldermanbury, on the site of the old Roman Cripplegate fort and amphitheatre (approximate date).source
800Archbishop Hygeberht of Lichfield retires; he is succeeded by Ealdwulf. King Coenwulf of Mercia is on better terms with the archbishopric of Canterbury than his predecessor, and unsuccessfully attempts to have the Mercian archiepiscopal see transferred to London (approximate date).source

9th century

851Danish Viking raiders enter the Thames Estuary, and plunder Canterbury and London. They land at Wembury near Plymouth, but are defeated by Anglo-Saxon forces led by King Ethelwulf of Wessex. His eldest son Æthelstan of Kent, accompanied by Ealdorman Ealhhere, attacks a Viking fleet off the coast at Sandwich, and captures nine of the enemy vessels while the remainder flees.source
871The Danes sail down the River Thames, to raid the Mercian port of Lundenwic (in the London area). Here, over the winter, they divide their spoils.source
879Viking leader Guthrum becomes 'king' of East Anglia. A Viking fleet sails up the River Thames, and builds a camp at Fulham (near London) to prepare for an invasion of France.source
886King Alfred the Great of Wessex recaptures London from the Danish Vikings, and renames it Lundenburh. Slightly upstream from London Bridge, he builds a small harbor called Queenhithe. Alfred hands the town over to his son-in-law Æthelred, lord of Mercia. A street system is planned out in the town, with boundaries of 1,100 yards from east to west, and around 330 yards from north to south.source

10th century

911Lord Æthelred of Mercia dies. He is buried in St. Oswald's Priory at Gloucester and is succeeded by his wife, Princess Æthelflæd, as Lady of the Mercians. Her brother, King Edward the Elder, insists on taking control of London and Oxford.source
944A great storm sweeps across Wessex and many houses are destroyed, 1,500 in London alone (a significant proportion of the town).source
962St. Paul's Cathedral in London is destroyed by fire, but rebuilt in the same year.source
994A Danish Viking fleet, under Olaf Tryggvason, sails up the Thames Estuary, and besieges London. King Æthelred II (the Unready) pays Olaf 16,000 lbs of silver (Danegeld).source

11th century

1013Summer – Danish Viking raiders led by Sweyn Forkbeard (accompanied by his son Cnut) sail from Denmark to attack England. Again London defends itself and the Vikings move elsewhere, plundering Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. King Æthelred the Unready sends his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy. Æthelred retreats to the Isle of Wight and follows them later into exile.source
1016Summer – Battle of Brentford (near London): Edmund Ironside defeats the Danes under King Cnut.source
1023January 24 – A solar eclipse is visible from London.source
1052Summer – Godwin, Earl of Wessex, sails with a large fleet up the Thames to London, forcing King Edward the Confessor to reinstate him into his previous position of power.source
1066January 5 – Edward the Confessor dies after a 24-year reign at London. The Witenagemot (or Witan) proclaims Harold Godwinson king of England.source
1077August 14 – A fire destroys much of London.source
1088William II calls the representatives of the fyrd to a meeting in London. He promises (with the support of Lanfranc, bishop of Canterbury) the people better laws, and the removal of taxes if they support him against the rebels.source
1091October 17 – London tornado: A T8 tornado (roughly equal to an F4 on the Fujita scale) occurs in London. The wooden London Bridge is demolished and the church of St. Mary-le-Bow is badly damaged.source
1097William II orders the construction of Westminster Hall near Westminster Abbey in London. The hall is designed to hold banquets, ceremonies and coronations that take place in the Abbey nearby.source

12th century

1117May 3 – Merton Priory (previously established at Huntingdon) is consecrated at a site near London. The priory becomes an important centre of learning and diplomacy in England.source
1135December 26 – Stephen of Blois is crowned at Westminster Abbey in London by Archbishop William de Corbeil. Matilda (pregnant with child) and her husband Geoffrey V ("the Fair") leave for their own safety to Normandy, where she plans how to overthrow Stephen and claim the English throne for her own.source
1144Autumn – Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex, is mortally wounded by a stray arrow received in a skirmish. Because he is an outlaw, his burial is denied at the monastery he has founded, Walden Abbey. Geoffrey's body is eventually accepted by the Knights Templar community for burial within the Temple Church in London.source
1175Eleanor of Aquitaine is held under house arrest at Old Sarum Castle in Wiltshire. She is kept in comfort there – fine clothes for her are dispatched regularly from London.source
1185Evidence is first uncovered that Henry II of England is using the safes of the Temple Church in London (consecrated February 10), under the guard of the Knights Templar, to store part of his treasure.source
1188Spring – Henry II institutes legal reforms that give the Crown more control over the administration of justice. He orders Newgate Prison be built in London.source
1190London adopts the Cross of St. George, the red cross on a white background. The flag is also used by the fleet of Genoa, and allows the ships from London to use the flag for protection when they enter the Mediterranean on trading missions.source
1196Spring – William Fitz Osbert, a rebel leader, leads an uprising of the poor against the rich in London. He gathers over 52,000 supporters, stocks of weapons are cached throughout the city by breaking into the houses of the rich. Finally, the riots are suppressed and William is hanged, drawn and quartered by orders of Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury.source
1199May 26 – John returns to London and chooses people to help him to rule the kingdom. He appoints Archbishop Hubert Walter as his advisor and chancellor. Geoffrey Fitz Peter is chosen as Chief Justiciar and William (the Marshal) becomes Marshal of John's household. On May 27, John is crowned as king of England at Westminster Abbey.source

13th century

1203First evidence that the Temple in London is extending loans to John, King of England. The sums remain small, but are often used for critical operations, such as the ransoming of the king's soldiers captured by the French.source
1205William of Wrotham, Lord Warden of the Stannaries, oversees a reform of English currency. In keeping with other high-ranking bureaucrats of his time, this is just one of Wrotham's many offices. He is also "keeper of ports", the forerunner of the First Lord of the Admiralty, supervisor of the mints of Canterbury and London, ward of the vacant Diocese of Bath and Wells and archdeacon of Taunton.source
1208Autumn – William Marshal is recalled and humiliated by King John at court in London, while John gives his justiciar in Ireland, Meiler Fitzhenry the order to invade Marshal's lands there, burning the town of New Ross.source
1215May 17 – The gates to London are opened by supporters of the rebellious Barons. The houses of Jews are targeted for ransacking and burning. The rebels, under Robert Fitzwalter, call for the English nobles still on the side of King John to join them, and repair the walls. The Tower of London, held by John's supporters, is too well defended to fall into the hands of the rebels.source
1216May 21 – Prince Louis of France, son of King Philip II ("Augustus"), invades England in support of the barons, landing in Thanet. He enters London without opposition, and is proclaimed, but not crowned, King of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral. In June, Louis captures Rochester Castle and Winchester, and soon controls over half of the English kingdom.source
1217May 20 – Battle of Lincoln: Henry III's forces led by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke defeat the French army of Prince Louis and the rebel barons who are besieging Lincoln Castle. During the battle, Thomas, Comte du Perche is killed and Louis is expelled from his base in the southeast of England. The looting that takes place afterward is known as the "Lincoln Fair". The citizens of Lincoln are loyal to Louis so Henry's forces sack the city. To the south, inhabitants of towns between Lincoln and London ambush and kill many of the French soldiers.source
1232The Domus Conversorum ("House of the Converts"), a building and institution in London for Jewish converts to Christianity, is established by Henry III.source
1247The Bethlem Royal Hospital is founded in London during the reign of King Henry III.source
1258The consequences of the volcanic 1257 Samalas eruption in Indonesia include the following anecdotal accounts: very dry fog in France; lunar eclipses in England; severe winter in Europe; a harsh spring in Iceland; famine in England, Germany, France and Italy; and pestilence in London, parts of France, Austria, Iraq, Syria, and southeast Turkey.source
1263The Savoy Palace is constructed in London by Peter II, Count of Savoy.source
1264April – Gilbert de Clare leads a massacre of the Jews at Canterbury, during the outbreak of the Second Barons' War. In the meantime, another of de Montfort's followers, John FitzJohn, leads a massacre against the Jews in London. The Jewish communities of Northampton, Winchester, Cambridge, and Lincoln are looted. The archæ (official chest of records) is destroyed or deposited at the headquarters of de Montfort's supporters at Ely.source
1266May 15 – Second Barons' War: Battle of Chesterfield: English forces led by Henry of Almain, son of Richard of Cornwall, defeat rebels under Robert de Ferrers in a minor skirmish at Chesterfield. Robert is taken as a prisoner to London, and at the Parliament of England disinherits. In July, he is forced to surrender land and Liverpool Castle to Edmund Crouchback, second son of King Henry III of England.source
1279The Royal Mint is moved into the Tower of London. Mints outside London are reduced, with only a few local and episcopal mints continuing to operate.source
1282John Peckham, archbishop of Canterbury, orders all the synagogues of London to close, and forbids Jewish doctors from practicing on non-Jews.source
1290December – Edward I travels with the body of Queen Eleanor from Lincoln to London. Remembering his wife, Edward erects a series of crosses at each location that the body rests overnight. These are known as the twelve Eleanor crosses.source
1297Winter – Edward I of England accepts a truce proposed by King Philip IV of France ("the Fair") and leaves Flanders. He returns to London and prepares a campaign against William Wallace in Scotland.source
1299King Edward I of England is recorded as borrowing from Italian merchants. He obtains a loan of 2,000 pollard marks, from agents of the Frescobaldi Firm in London.source

14th century

1305August 23 – After a three-week trial at Westminster, William Wallace is convicted of treason and of atrocities against civilians in war. After the trial, he is dragged through the streets of Smithfield in London and hanged, drawn and quartered – strangled by hanging – but cut down while still alive, emasculated, disemboweled (with his bowels burned before him), beheaded, and then cut into four parts. Wallace's head is placed on a spike above the London Bridge, and his limbs are displayed separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth.source
1305August 3 – William Wallace, Scottish rebel leader and knight, is captured near Glasgow at Robroyston, by English troops led by John de Menteith. He is transported to London and led, crowned mockingly with laurel, in procession to Westminster Hall.source
1306March 25 – Robert the Bruce is crowned king of Scotland by Bishop William de Lamberton at Scone, near Perth. Despite lacking the traditional coronation stone, diadem and scepter, all of which have transferred to London. During the ceremony, the Scottish nobles of Atholl, Lennox, Mar and Menteith are present – while the 18-year-old Elizabeth de Burgh is crowned queen of Scots. The coronation takes place in defiance of the English claims of suzerainty after King Edward I of England, strips John de Baliol of his crown as King of Scots.source
1307July 20 – King Edward II travels from London, after he is proclaimed king and continues north into Scotland, where he receives homage from his Scottish supporters at Dumfries.source
1326September 24 – Invasion of England: Isabella of France and her supporters (including Roger Mortimer) land at the River Orwell in Suffolk. Their aim is to remove King Edward II from his throne and place Prince Edward there as the new ruler. Meanwhile, residing at the Tower of London, Edward tries to raise support in the capital, but instead, there is anarchy in London and mobs killing Edward's officials (including his treasurer, Walter de Stapledon).source
1327January 25 – The 14-year-old Crown Prince, Edward, is proclaimed King of England in London, with his mother Isabella serving as his regent.source
1348By June 24 – The Black Death pandemic reaches England, having probably been brought across the English Channel by fleas on rats aboard a ship from Gascony to the south coast port of Melcombe (modern-day Weymouth, Dorset); by November it will have reached London and by 1350 will have killed one third to a half of its population.source
1385May 14 – The two-day Battle of Sluys concludes on the North Sea off of the coast of the Netherlands as England's Royal Navy, led by the Admiral, Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester attempts to blockade the Flemish port of Sluis and more than 100 ships stationed there. Jean de Vienne, Admiral of France, makes a successful counter-attack and the Royal Navy ships sail back to England to defend London.source
1392May 29 – After the Fleet Street riot in London, King Richard II of England summons Lord Mayor of London, John Hende, along with the London sheriff and deputies, and aldermen to appear before him at Nottingham Castle on June 25 for a hearing on unspecified charges.source

15th century

1402April 3 – King Henry IV of England is married by proxy to Joan of Navarre in a ceremony at the Eltham Palace near London.source
1414January 9 – The Oldcastle Revolt, led by John Oldcastle as an uprising by the Lollards in England against King Henry V, begins at St. Giles' Fields. King Henry's troops, stationed at Clerkenwell Priory in London, halt the rebellion the next day and capture 80 rebels who are later convicted of and executed for treason.source
1416May 3 – Unable to reach an agreement with France, King Sigismund of Germany travels to London, where he is welcomed by King Henry V of England.source
1417October 31 – On Hallowtide, by order of the Lord May Henry Barton, street lighting is first used in London, with lanterns to be hung out on winter evenings, lasting until the night of Candlemas on February 2.source
1424February 1 – While negotiating his release from captivity, King James of Scotland is allowed to be married to Joan Beaufort in London, with a ceremony taking place at Southwark Cathedral.source
1450June 18 – Battle of Solefields (Sevenoaks): Jack Cade's rebels are driven from London by loyal troops.source
1458March 25 – The Loveday is staged in London, by which Henry VI of England attempts to unite the warring factions who have triggered the Wars of the Roses.source

16th century

1505The Pomander Watch of 1505, the earliest known pocket watch, is made by Peter Henlein in Germany at Nuremberg. After an absence of 480 years, the watch will be rediscovered at a flea market in London; an inscription on the watch, "MDVPHN", will be interpreted in 2014 as meaning a rendition of the year (MDV, 1505 in Roman numerals); the inventor (PH for Peter Henlein) and the place of manufacture (N for Nuremberg).source
1510January 29 – The Mary Rose ship is laid out. The next year the ship is launched on July 29, 1511, and is afterwards towed to London to be fitted, and is finally completed in 1512. In 1545, during the Battle of the Solent, she sank. The reason for her sinking is disputed with contemporary accounts claiming the ship was heeled over or sank by French ships with gunfire, although modern historians believe it was sunk due to being unstable.source
1538May 9 – Mary of Guise is wed by proxy to King James V of Scotland, while she is at the Château de Châteaudun and he is in London, with neither of the two seeing each other.source
1546October 17 – Irish noble James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, the chief opponent of the policies of Sir Anthony St Leger, England's Lord Deputy of Ireland up until April 1, is fatally poisoned after being invited to the Ely Palace near London. Ormond dies 11 days later, and no investigation is carried out by the Crown as to whether St Leger is involved. St Leger becomes the Lord Deputy again less than three weeks after Ormond's death.source
1553The xiii Bukes of Eneados of the famose Poete Virgill, the first complete translation of any major work of classical antiquity into one of the English languages, is published in London.source
1554February 9 – Thomas Wyatt surrenders to government forces in London.source
1556June 27 – Thirteen English Protestants (11 men and two women), the "Stratford Martyrs", are burned at the stake at Stratford-le-Bow near London after being convicted of heresy.source
1557Welsh-born mathematician Robert Recorde publishes The Whetstone of Witte in London, containing the first recorded use of the equals sign, and the first use in English of plus and minus signs.source
1561William Baldwin's Beware the Cat (written early 1553), an early example of extended fiction (specifically horror fiction) in English, is published anonymously in London. This edition appears to have been suppressed, and no copies survive.source
1562January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Palace of Whitehall in London, before Queen Elizabeth I of England, who recognises his status. He returns to Ireland on May 26, and resumes his rebellious activities by November.source
1563January 11 (January 2, 1563 O.S., January 11, 1563 N.S.) – The convocation of bishops and clerics of the Church of England is opened at St Paul's Cathedral in London by the Dean of the Arches, Robert Weston to agree upon the wording of what will become the Thirty-nine Articles, with the assembly adopting all but three of the Forty-two Articles promulgated during the reign of King Edward VI in 1553. The conference lasts for three months before agreeing upon the Articles to be submitted for further modification.source
1571January 23 – The Royal Exchange opens in London, England.source
1592December 21 – The city of London begins publishing the Bill of Mortality, the first regular data of deaths from an epidemic, as the government reports its weekly survey of the number of burials in the 113 parishes of London of deaths from bubonic plague. The death statistics continue to be published until December 18, 1595.source
1593May 5 – "Dutch church libel" bills posted in London threaten Protestant refugees from France and the Netherlands, alluding to Christopher Marlowe's plays.source
1594December 28 – The earliest known performance of William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors takes place at Gray's Inn in London, and is played by the Lord Chamberlain's Men acting company. The production is held before members of the English court on Innocents' Day as part of the Gray's Inn Christmas festivities.source
1595December 9 – What is probably the first performance of William Shakespeare's play, Richard II, takes place in London.source
1597December 6 – Queen Elizabeth of England appoints George Nicholson as the English Resident in Scotland, the London's chief diplomatic official to Edinburgh, with a letter of accreditation for Nicholson to present to King James VI of Scotland.source
1599February 21 – At Southwark, near London on the south bank of the River Thames, the land upon which the Globe Theatre will be built is leased by Nicholas Brend to a team of investors led by William Shakespeare, Thomas Pope, actors Cuthbert and Richard Burbage, and three others.source
1599September 21 – The first reported performance at the Globe Theatre in London (erected over Spring/Summer), a presentation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (probably new to that year), is recorded by Swiss traveller Thomas Platter the Younger.source

17th century

1602February 2 (Candlemas night) – In London, the first known production of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night takes place.source
1604July 16 – The last of the 18 sessions of the English and Spanish peace conference is held at the Old Somerset House in London, with the parties reaching an agreement on terms of a treaty.source
1604March 15 – More than seven months after their July 25, 1603 coronation, King James I and Anne, Queen consort make the traditional Royal Entry to London. The ceremonies have been postponed from 1603 because of the ongoing plague.source
1606August (approx.) – Possible first performance of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth in London.source
1606July 24 – King Christian IV of Denmark, as the guest of his brother-in-law, King James of England, Scotland and Ireland, is welcomed at London, and the two monarchs are driven by coaches to a banquet at Theobalds House at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. They are entertained by playwright Ben Jonson's play, The Entertainment of the Kings of Great Britain and Denmark.source
1610April 20 – William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedie of Macbeth, is given its first performance, staged at the Globe Theatre in London.source
1611May 11 – The first known performance of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, probably new this year, is given at the Globe Theatre in London.source
1611May 2 – The Authorized King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time, printed by Robert Barker in London.source
1613June 29 – Fire destroys London's famed Globe Theatre, during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII.source
1613September 29 – The New River is opened, to supply London with drinking water from Hertfordshire.source
1617March 4 – On Shrove Tuesday, angry rioters burn down London's Cockpit Theatre because of its increase in the price of admission to its plays. Three rioters are killed when the actors at the theater defend themselves.source
1618January 6 – Ben Jonson's play Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue is given its premiere performance, presented at the Palace of Whitehall in London.source
1623On the coast of New Hampshire, the settlement of Hilton's Point, which will become Dover, New Hampshire, is established by men from London, England, the first European settlers in the state.source
1647August 5 – The New Model Army marches into London, "fulfilling the worst nightmares of Presbyterian MPs," and restores the members of Parliament who were deposed on July 27.source
1649December 20 – The Puritan law enforcers of the Commonwealth of England raid the Red Bull Theatre in London for violations of the laws against performance of plays and arrest the actors, as well as confiscating their property.source
1653July 4 – Barebone's Parliament, named for a prominent Puritan member, Praise-God Barebone, opens its session in London with elected representatives to pass laws for the Commonwealth of England.source
1656February 23 – London's Lord Mayor Christopher Packe suggests to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector and chief executive of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, that the monarchy should be restored with Cromwell as its King. Cromwell declines to become King Oliver, but his right to name his successor becomes effective on May 25, 1657 with the commencement of the Humble Petition and Advice.source
1660January 1 – At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish border at Northumberland, with a mission of advancing toward London to end military rule of England by General John Lambert and to accomplish the English Restoration, the return of the monarchy to England. By the end of the day, he and his soldiers have gone 15 mi through knee-deep snow to Wooler while the advance guard of cavalry had covered 50 mi to reach Morpeth.source
1661December 16 – Abraham Cowley's comedy The Cutter of Coleman Street premieres at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse in London as a production of the Duke's Company.source
1663May 7 – The King's Theatre, now called "Drury Lane", opens in London.source
1664John Evelyn's Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber is published in London, in book form.source
1666October 10 – A "day of humiliation and fasting" is held in London churches a month after the Great Fire of London.source
1667August 15 – John Dryden's comedy Sir Martin Mar-all, or The Feign'd Innocence is given its first performance, presented by the players of the King's Theatre in London.source
1668March 23 – The Bawdy House Riots of 1668 take place in London when a group of English Dissenters begins attacking brothels, initially as a protest against the harsh enforcement of laws against private worshippers and the lack of enforcement of laws against prostitution. Over a period of three days, rioters who join in the violence destroy brothels in the London districts of Poplar, Moorfields, East Smithfield, St Leonard's, Shoreditch, St Andrew's and Holborn.source
1671November 9 – The Duke of York's Theatre is opened in London by the players of the Duke's Company, rivals to the "King's Company" at the Theatre Royal, which burns down two months later. The site is now the Dorset Garden Theatre.source
1672Richard Hoare becomes a partner in the London goldsmith's business which, as private banking house C. Hoare & Co., will survive through to the 21st century.source
1675August 10 – King Charles II of England places the foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory near London; construction begins.source
1675June 21 – Reconstruction of St Paul's Cathedral begins in London under the direction of Christopher Wren, to replace the portion destroyed by the Great Fire of London nine years earlier.source
1678October 17 – English magistrate Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey is found murdered in Primrose Hill, London. His death is seen as proof of the "Popish Plot" to the public.source
1680November 17 – The Green Ribbon Club, a predecessor of the British Whigs, organizes a procession to burn an effigy of the Pope in London for the second year running.source
1685September 29 – The first organised street lighting is introduced by the city of London in England, as Edward Hemming begins carrying out his contract to be paid for lighting an oil lamp "at every tenth house on main streets between 6 PM and midnight between September 29 and March 25" on nights in the autumn and winter without adequate moonlight.source
1688November 15 (November 5 OS) – The Glorious Revolution begins: William of Orange lands at Torbay, England with a multinational force of 20,000 soldiers. He makes no claim to the British Crown, saying only that he has come to save Protestantism and to maintain English liberty, and begins a march on London.source
1690November 17 – Barclays, which will continue to be active into the 21st century as a multinational bank and lending institution, is founded in London by John Freame and Thomas Gould as Freame & Gould. The bank changes its name in 1736 when James Barclay becomes a partner.source
1690November 9 – Near South Mimms, England, several highwaymen stop a convoy carrying taxes from the Midlands to London and take £15,000.source
1690October 21 – The play Amphitryon by John Dryden, based on Molière's 1668 play of the same name, receives its first performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.source
1691April 9 – A fire at the Palace of Whitehall in London destroys its Stone Gallery.source
1696January – Colley Cibber's play Love's Last Shift is first performed in London.source
1698January 4 – The Palace of Whitehall in London, England is destroyed by fire.source
1698March 8 – The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the oldest Anglican mission organization in the world, is founded by English clergyman Thomas Bray and four other people at Lincoln's Inn in London, along with Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Maynard Colchester, Lord Guilford and John Hooke.source

18th century

1709The first modern edition of William Shakespeare's plays is published in London, edited by Nicholas Rowe.source
1709July 9 – Christopher Slaughterford of London is executed in Guildford for the murder of Jane Young, his fiancée. He is the first person in modern England executed for murder based exclusively on circumstantial evidence, and he maintains his innocence to the last.source
1711February 24 – Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, premieres at the Queen's Theatre, Haymarket.source
1715May 28 – Rioting begins in England on the birthday of King George I as supporters of the Old Pretender, James of the House of Stuart, begin mass protesting against the rule of the House of Hanover, near London in the towns of Smithfield and Highgate, and the Cheapside financial district in London.source
1716December 4 – Fifty people are killed, and 150 houses burned, when a fire breaks out in Wapping, London. The blaze comes two days after a fire at the Spring Gardens at St. James's, London, which destroyed the French Chapel there and which was put out by several rescuers, including the future King George II.source
1717January 1 – Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to Great Britain, was arrested in London for a plot to assist the Pretender to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart.source
1717July 17 – Water Music by George Frederick Handel is first performed, on a Thames barge in London.source
1717June 24 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the Modern and first Free-Masonic Grand Lodge (which merges with the Ancient Grand Lodge of England in 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London.source
1717September 21 – The first known Druid revival ceremony is held by John Toland at Primrose Hill, in London, at the Autumnal Equinox, to found the Mother Grove, what will later become the Ancient Order of Druids.source
1718December 4 – Fifty people are killed, and 150 houses burned, when a fire breaks out in Wapping, London. The blaze comes two days after a fire at the Spring Gardens at St. James's, London, which destroyed the French Chapel there and which was put out by several rescuers, including the future King George II.source
1721Regular mail service between London and New England is established.source
1728January 29 – The Beggar's Opera, the most popular theatrical production of the 18th century, is performed for the first time. The premiere takes place at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. Written by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch, the ballad opera is a satire of Italian opera.source
1735January 2 – Alexander Pope's poem Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot is published in London.source
1738April 15 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, premieres in London.source
1742September 16 – Construction starts on the Foundling Hospital in London.source
1747April 9 – The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat is beheaded at Tower Hill, London, for high treason. He was the last person in Britain to be beheaded, although beheading would not be formally abolished until more than 200 years later.source
1750November 18 – Westminster Bridge is officially opened in London.source
1756June 25 – The Marine Society is founded in London, the world's oldest seafarers' charity.source
1761April 4 – A severe epidemic of influenza breaks out in London and "practically the entire population of the city" is afflicted; particularly contagious to pregnant women, the disease causes an unusual number of miscarriages and premature births.source
1761February 8 – An earthquake in London breaks chimneys in Limehouse and Poplar.source
1767February 19 – The Earl of Shelburne, British Secretary of State for the Southern Department (which has jurisdiction over Britain's American colonies) fires the unpopular Governor of West Florida, George Johnstone, and summons him back to London.source
1767October 12 – At the Foundling Hospital in London, Dr. William Watson becomes the first physician to conduct a controlled clinical trial, selecting 32 boys and girls of similar age who have not yet had smallpox. He divides them into three groups in order to test treatments before inoculation for smallpox, with one group receiving a mixture of mercury and jalap, another senna glycoside, and the third getting no pre-treatment at all.source
1780June 2 – An Anti-Catholic mob led by Lord George Gordon marches on the Parliament of Great Britain, leading to the outbreak of the Gordon Riots in London.source
1784January 15 – Henry Cavendish's paper to the Royal Society of London, Experiments on Air, reveals the molecular composition of water.source
1788January 1 – The first edition of The Times, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published in London.source
1800June 29 – William Boxall, 2nd director of the National Gallery in London (d. 1879)source

19th century

1809January 14 – The Apodaca–Canning treaty is signed in London between Britain and Spainsource
1811June 19 – The Carlton House Fête is held at the Prince Regent's London residence Carlton House to celebrate the establishment of the Regency era.source
1820February 23 – The Cato Street Conspiracy, a plot to assassinate Britain's Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, and his Cabinet is thwarted when police in London arrest 13 plotters after being warned by an informant.source
1829March 21 – The bloodless Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place at Battersea near Londonsource
1830February 5 – A fire destroys the Argyll Rooms in London, where the Philharmonic Society of London presents concerts, but firefighters are able to prevent its further spread by use of their new equipment, steam-powered fire engines.source
1842November 10 & 19 – London debtor's prisons the Fleet Prison and Marshalsea are closed and inmates transferred to Queen's Bench Prison. Pentonville Prison for criminals is completed in north London this year.source
1843Serial publication of Charles Dickens's novel Martin Chuzzlewit begins in London; in the July chapters, he lands his hero in the United States.source
1843January 8 – Frederick Abberline, Chief Inspector of the London Metropolitan Police, investigator in the Jack the Ripper murders (d. 1929)source
1851October – The Reuters news service is founded in Londonsource
1855June 29 – The Daily Telegraph newspaper begins publication in London.source
1866January 12 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed as The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain in London, the world's oldest such society.source
1870June 23 –The first message by electric telegraph using the Great Britain to India submarine cable is sent from London.source
1871July 13 – The first cat show is held at the Crystal Palace of London.source
1878May 25 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore debuts in London at the Opera Comique, with a first run of 571 performances.source
1886February 8 – The West End Riots following a popular meeting in Trafalgar Square, London.source
1888September 4 – Mohandas Gandhi embarks on the SS Clyde from Bombay for London.source
1900February 27 – The British Labour Party is officially established, at a meeting in the Congregational Memorial Hall in London, and Ramsay MacDonald is appointed as its first secretary.source

20th century

1905February 3 – The first performance of A Shropshire Lad, the setting to music of the 1896 set of 63 poems of A. E. Housman by Arthur Somervell as a song-cycle, takes place at Aeolian Hall in London.source
1907February 9 – The "Mud March", the first large procession organised by The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), takes place in London.source
1907May 13 – The 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party convenes in secret in London.source
1911July 28 – The Australasian Antarctic Expedition begins as the SY Aurora departs London.source
1916October 28 – 1916 Pioneer Exhibition Game: game of Australian rules football contested at Queen's Club, West Kensington, London, by two teams of elite footballers selected from men serving in the First AIF at the time.source
1920July 31 – Representatives of British revolutionary socialist groups meet at the Cannon Street Hotel in London and agree to form the Communist Party of Great Britain.source
1929December 10 – Frederick Abberline, Chief Inspector of the London Metropolitan Police, investigator in the Jack the Ripper murders (b. 1843)source
1940March 13 – Indian nationalist Udham Singh assassinates Sir Michael O'Dwyer (in revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre) at Caxton Hall in London, for which he is hanged on 31 July at HM Prison Pentonville.source
1944March – Austrian-born economist Friedrich Hayek publishes his book The Road to Serfdom in London.source
1946January 10 – The first meeting of the United Nations is held, at Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London.source
1952October 8 – Three trains collide in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash near London, England, killing 112 people and injuring 340 people, making it the worst rail disaster in the UK since the 1915 Quintinshill rail disaster.source
1959July 9 – Wing Commander Michael Beetham flying a British Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London-Cape Town flight.source
1964April 16 – In the Assize Court at Buckingham, England, sentences totalling 307 years are passed on twelve men who stole £2,600,000 in used bank notes, after holding up the night train from Glasgow to London in August 1963 – a heist that becomes known as the Great Train Robbery.source
1978September 7 – In London, UK, a poison-filled pellet, supposedly injected using an umbrella, fatally poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov; he dies four days later.source
1985July 13 – Live Aid benefit concerts in London and Philadelphia raise over £50 million for famine relief in Ethiopia.source
1985November 29 – Gérard Hoarau, exiled political leader from the Seychelles, is assassinated in London.source
1989March 4 – The Purley station rail crash in London leaves five people dead and 94 injured.source
1991November 24 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies in London from AIDS induced pneumonia. In an unrelated incident, Kiss drummer Eric Carr dies from heart cancer.source
1999June 20 – Australia defeats Pakistan by 8 wickets at Lord's Cricket Ground in London in the 1999 Cricket World Cup Final, securing their second World Cup title.source

21st century

2004April 28 – The Gherkin opens in London.source
2005July 6 – The International Olympic Committee awards London the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.source
2005July 7 – Four coordinated suicide bombings hit central London, killing 52 people and injuring over 700.source
2013May 22 – Off-duty British Army soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is murdered in Woolwich, southeast London, by Islamic terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.source
2018March 25 – Qantas launches direct non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights between Perth Airport and Heathrow Airport, making it the first commercially non-stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom.source
2019October 19 – An estimated one million people march through London in a protest organised by People's Vote, to demand a second referendum on Brexit.source
2022May 6 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak: An outbreak of monkeypox begins when the first monkeypox virus case is reported in London, the United Kingdom.source
2022September 19 – The state funeral of Elizabeth II is held in Westminster Abbey, London. Her coffin is then taken by procession to Windsor Castle for burial with her husband, parents and sister in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. The funeral is speculated to be the most watched television event in world history.source
2023May 6 – The coronation of Charles III and Camilla as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is held in Westminster Abbey, London.source
2025March 21 – A major power outage causes Heathrow Airport in London to completely shut down, with disruption expected to last for days, affecting thousands of flights around the world.source