istoryworld
Events relating to england
The first of many thousands of war brides arrive in Canada, mainly from Great Britain
English painter Francis Bacon creates a sensation with his Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion
English author Nancy Mitford has her first success with the novel The Pursuit of Love
Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes has its premiere in London, at the Sadler's Wells theatre
British chemist Dorothy Hodgkin describes the molecular structure of penicillin
Winston Churchill, losing the postwar general election in Britain, has to yield his seat at Potsdam in mid-conference to Clement Attlee
TheAllies celebrate V-J Day – victory over Japan and the end of the war
Evelyn Waugh publishes Brideshead Revisited, a novel about a rich Catholic family in England between the wars
In George Orwell's fable Animal Farm a ruthless pig, Napoleon, controls the farmyard using the techniques of Stalin
Sadler's Wells Ballet moves to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden (and is known from 1956 as the Royal Ballet)
The takeover of the Bank of England launches an extensive programme of nationalization by the Attlee government
Frederick Ashton choreographs Symphonic Variations, to music by César Franck
David Lean directs Trevor Howard and and Celia Johnson in Noel Coward's Brief Encounter
The National Insurance Act secures state benefits in Britain for the sick, old and unemployed
Benjamin Britten bases his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra on a theme by Purcell
Rationing in Britain gets worse rather than better, with bread and potatoes now added to the list
Titus Groan begins British author Mervyn Peake's trilogy of gothic novels
British conductor Thomas Beecham founds the third orchestra of his career, calling it the Royal Philharmonic
William Joyce, widely known as Lord Haw-Haw, is hanged by the British as a traitor
Winston Churchill, in a speech in Fulton, Missouri, expresses the harsh truth that an iron curtain has descended across Europe
Peacetime conscription, known as national service, is introduced in Britain for all 18-year-old males
English author and alcoholic Malcolm Lowry publishes an autobiographical novel, Under the Volcano
Hungarian-born British engineer Dennis Gabor creates the first three-dimensional image from reflected light, subsequently known as a hologram
J.B. Priestley challenges audiences with An Inspector Calls, a play in which moral guilt spreads like an infection
Stafford Cripps becomes Britain's chancellor of the Exchequer in the Attlee government
