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Our Historical Anniversaries suggest ideas for stories and projects for which we can provide a range of images. Now looking forward as far as 2025. We also have a separate page for Celebrity Anniversaries.
3rdJanuary
2021 500th anniversary of Pope Leo X excommunicating Martin Luther in the Papal Bull 'Decet Romanum Pontifecum' Images here
5thJanuary
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Amy Johnson, pioneering British aviator. Images here
8thJanuary
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Robert Baden-Powell. Founder of the Scouts and Guides movements. Images here
12thJanuary
2021 45th anniversary of the death of Dame Agatha Christie, British crime novelist and author. Images here
19thJanuary
2021 75th anniversary of the first test flight of the Bell X-1 which was the first manned aircraft to exceed the speed of sound Images here
21stJanuary
2021 100th anniversary of the release of the Charlie Chaplin film ?The Kid', where he plays a tramp and Jackie Coogan plays the kid Images here
21stJanuary
2021 45th anniversary of the supersonic airliner Concorde going into commercial service in Britain and France. Images here
27thJanuary
2021 400th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Willis, English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy Images here
28thJanuary
2021 500th anniversary of the start of the Diet of Worms in Germany. It lasted until the 25th May. Images here
1stFebruary
2021 40th anniversary of the death of Werner Heisenberg, German theoretical physicist and philosopher. Images here
8thFebruary
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of American actress Lana Turner who died in 1995 Images here
14thFebruary
2021 90th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of the Highway Code in Great Britain Images here
14thFebruary
2021 75th anniversary of the nationalisation of the Bank of England through the Bank of England Act which came into force on 1st March Images here
15thFebruary
2021 50th anniversary of Decimal Day when the UK and Ireland decimalised their currencies Images here
21stFebruary
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Dame Margot Fonteyn, British ballet dancer. Images here
22ndFebruary
2021 650th anniversary of Robert II becoming King of Scotland and beginning the Stuart dynasty Images here
25thFebruary
2021 180th anniversary of the birth of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French Impressionist artist. Images here
1stMarch
2021 75th anniversary of the nationalisation of the Bank of England taking effect (see 14th February) Images here
4thMarch
2021 85th anniversary of the German airship Hindenburg making its first flight. It was destroyed by fire in May 1937. Images here
5thMarch
2021 85th anniversary of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane making its first flight in Eastleigh in the UK. Images here
8thMarch
2021 50th anniversary of the death of American actor and film-maker Harold Lloyd known for his silent comedy films Images here
11thMarch
2021 95th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Abernathy, American pastor and civil rights activist. Images here
12thMarch
2021 75th anniversary of the birth of American singer and actress Liza Minnelli Images here
17thMarch
2021 100th anniversary of Dr. Marie Stopes opening the first birth control clinic in London Images here
18thMarch
2021 80th anniversary of the birth of Wilson Pickett, American soul, R&B, rock and roll singer and songwriter. Images here
19thMarch
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of Welsh comedian and magician Tommy Cooper who died in 1984 Images here
19thMarch
2021 150th anniversary of the opening on the Royal Albert Hall in London by Queen Victoria Images here
24thMarch
2021 45th anniversary of the death of Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, also known as Monty. Images here
25thMarch
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of French actress Simone Signoret who died in 1985 Images here
28thMarch
2021 50th anniversary of the last episode of The Ed Sullivan Show being broadcast in the USA Images here
28thMarch
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Virginia Woolf, British novelist who committed suicide. Images here
28thMarch
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of English actor Dirk Bogarde who died in 1999 Images here
30thMarch
2021 35th anniversary of the death of James Cagney, American stage and film actor. Images here
3rdApril
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Graham Greene, British novelist, short story writer and playwright. Images here
4thApril
2021 300th anniversary of Sir Robert Walpole becoming the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Images here
11thApril
2021 70th anniversary of the discovery of the Stone of Scone on the altar of Arbroath Abbey after it was stolen from Westminster Abbey Images here
14thApril
2021 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet during the Wars of the Roses after which Edward the IV resumed the throne Images here
16thApril
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of English actor Peter Ustinov, who died in 2004 Images here
16thApril
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Sir David Lean, award-winning British film director. Images here
21stApril
2021 95th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Images here
1stMay
2021 80th anniversary of the award winning film Citizen Kane starring Orson Welles being released in the US. UK release was on 24th January 1942. Images here
3rdMay
2021 95th anniversary of the General strike in the UK. About 1.7 million workers went on strike in support of miners. It ended on the 13th May. Images here
3rdMay
2021 70th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Festival Hall in London at the Festival of Britain Images here
6thMay
2021 80th anniversary of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber plane making its first flight. Images here
9thMay
2021 35th anniversary of the death of Tenzing Norgay, (Sherpa Tenzing), who conquered Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. Images here
9thMay
2021 350th anniversary of Thomas Blood attempting to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London Images here
17thMay
2021 500th anniversary of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, being executed for treason on the orders of Henry VIII Images here
24thMay
2021 80th anniversary of the British battleship HMS Hood being sunk by the German battleship Bismarck during World War II. Images here
27thMay
2021 80th anniversary of the German battleship Bismarck by the British Navy during World War II. Images here
28thMay
2021 70th anniversary of The Goon Show being broadcast on the BBC for the first time Images here
30thMay
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Rama VII (also known as Prajadhipok), last King of Siam (now Thailand). Images here
1stJune
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Hugh Walpole, British novelist, short story writer and playwright. Images here
1stJune
2021 95th anniversary of the birth of Marilyn Monroe, American film actress, model and singer. Images here
2ndJune
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Lou Gehrig, aka Iron Horse, American baseball player. Images here
4thJune
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Kaiser Wilhelm II, last Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia. Images here
6thJune
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born American car designer and racing driver who founded the Chevrolet motor company. Images here
14thJune
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Academy Award-winning British stage film and television actress. Images here
14thJune
2021 75th anniversary of the death of John Logie Baird, Scottish engineer who invented the first television system. Images here
21stJune
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of American actress Jane Russell who died in 2011 Images here
22ndJune
2021 65th anniversary of the death of Walter de la Mare, award-winning British children?s author. Images here
25thJune
2021 25th anniversary of the premiere of the film Independence Day (released 3rd July USA, 4th July UK) Images here
29thJune
2021 100th anniversary of the death of Lady Randolph Churchill, the mother of Winston Churchill Images here
2ndJuly
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Lee Remick, American film and television actress. Images here
3rdJuly
2021 50th anniversary of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, being found dead in his bath in Paris Images here
5thJuly
2021 75th anniversary of the first modern bikini two-piece swimsuit being unveiled at a fashion show in Paris. Images here
10thJuly
2021 150th anniversary of the birth of French author Marcel Proust who died in 1922 Images here
11thJuly
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Sir Arthur Evans, British archaeologist. Best known for excavating the ruins of the city of Knossos in Crete. Images here
19thJuly
2021 200th anniversary of the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Images here
25thJuly
2021 75th anniversary of the Operation Crossroads, the first underwater test of a nuclear bomb Images here
26thJuly
2021 70th anniversary of the London Premiere of Walt Disney's animated version of Alice in Wonderland Images here
27thJuly
2021 75th anniversary of the death of Gertrude Stein, American modernist/avant-garde author. Images here
29thJuly
2021 40th anniversary of the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London Images here
29thJuly
2021 45th anniversary of American serial killer David Berkowitz, Son of Sam killing his first victim in New York. He killed a total of six people. Images here
1stAugust
2021 75th anniversary of the foundation of SAS, Scandinavian Airlines System, airways Images here
6thAugust
2021 95th anniversary of Gertrude Ederle becoming the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Images here
6thAugust
2021 75th anniversary of the start of free milk in UK state schools to all pupils under 18 Images here
7thAugust
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet, short story writer, songwriter and Nobel Prize winner for literature. Images here
8thAugust
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of American swimmer ad actress Esther Williams who died in 2013 Images here
9thAugust
2021 85th anniversary of sprinter Jesse Owens became the first American win 4 gold medals at a single Olympic Games at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Images here
13thAugust
2021 75th anniversary of the death of H. G. Wells, British science fiction author. Images here
14thAugust
2021 65th anniversary of the death of Bertolt Brecht, German poet, playwright and reformer. Images here
14thAugust
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Paul Sabatier, French chemist. Nobel Prize winner for hydrogenation. Images here
16thAugust
2021 65th anniversary of the death of Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born American stage and film actor. Images here
19thAugust
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of American TV Producer Gene Roddenberry, best known for Star Trek Images here
23rdAugust
2021 75th anniversary of the release of the film The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall Images here
24thAugust
2021 100th anniversary of the crash of the British airship R-38 in the Humber Estuary Images here
27thAugust
2021 65th anniversary of Britain?s first nuclear power station, Calder Hall in Cumbria, beginning operation. Images here
3rdSeptember
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Frank Capra, Academy Award-winning American film director. Images here
7thSeptember
2021 85th anniversary of the last surviving thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) died at Hobart Zoo, Tasmania, and it became extinct. Images here
8thSeptember
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of Welsh singer and actor Harry Secombe who died in 2001 Images here
9thSeptember
2021 50th anniversary of the Attica Prison Riot in New York, USA. It lasts until the 13th September. Images here
9thSeptember
2021 80th anniversary of the birth of Otis Redding, American soul singer and songwriter who died in 1967. Images here
12thSeptember
2021 80th anniversary of the death of Hans Spemann, German embryologist. Nobel Prize winner for discovering the organiser effect in embryonic development. Images here
22ndSeptember
2021 45th anniversary of the first episode of the TV series Charlie?s Angels being broadcast on ABC TV in the USA. Images here
22ndSeptember
2021 65th anniversary of the Frederick Soddy, British chemist. Nobel Prize winner and co-discoverer of plutonium. Images here
24thSeptember
2021 75th anniversary of Cathay Pacific Airways being founded in Hong Kong. Images here
27thSeptember
2021 100th anniversary of the death of the German composer Engelbert Humperdinck Images here
28thSeptember
2021 65th anniversary of the death of William Boeing, American aviation pioneer and founder of the Boeing Company. Images here
5thOctober
2021 85th anniversary of the Jarrow March. 200 men marched from Jarrow to Westminster to draw attention to unemployment. Images here
10thOctober
2021 50th anniversary of London Bridge re-opening in Lake Havasu City in Arizona after it have been bought and sent to the USA Images here
14thOctober
2021 45th anniversary of the death of Dame Edith Evans, British stage and film actress. Images here
20thOctober
2021 75th anniversary of the puppet character Muffin the Mule making his first television appearance on the BBC Images here
21stOctober
2021 100th anniversary of the premiere of the silent film ?The Sheik' which made a star of Rudolph Valentino Images here
23rdOctober
2021 65th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution which ran until the 10th November. Images here
23rdOctober
2021 80th anniversary of the Walt Disney animated film Dumbo premiering in the USA. UK premiere was on the 8th February 1942. Images here
31stOctober
2021 80th anniversary of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA being completed. Images here
31stOctober
2021 95th anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist. Images here
1stNovember
2021 75th anniversary of Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) being ordained as a priest in Krakow, Poland. Images here
3rdNovember
2021 100th anniversary of the birth of American actor Charles Bronson who died in 2003 Images here
5thNovember
2021 30th anniversary of the death of Robert Maxwell, Czech-born British newspaper publisher. Images here
9thNovember
2021 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein being awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work with photoelectric effect Images here
10thNovember
2021 150th anniversary of Stanley meeting Livingstone in Ujiji and saying ?Dr. Livingstone, I presume' Images here
11thNovember
2021 200th anniversary of the birth of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky who died in 1881 Images here
13thNovember
2021 80th anniversary of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal being torpedoed by the submarine U-81 during World War II. It sank the next day. Images here
18thNovember
2021 45th anniversary of the death of Man Ray, American modernist photographer, artist and filmmaker. Images here
18thNovember
2021 30th anniversary of the release of Terry Waite who was held hostage in Lebanon for four and a half years Images here
26thNovember
2021 65th anniversary of the death of Tommy Dorsey, American jazz / swing / big band musician and bandleader. Images here
29thNovember
2021 35th anniversary of the death of Cary Grant, British-born American film actor. Images here
30thNovember
2021 25th anniversary of the Stone of Scone being installed in Edinburgh Castle, 700 years after it was removed from Scotland by the English Images here
4thDecember
2021 45th anniversary of the death of Benjamin Britten, British composer, conductor and pianist. Images here
5thDecember
2021 95th anniversary of the death of Claude Monet, French Impressionist artist. Images here
6thDecember
2021 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces during World War II. Images here
6thDecember
2021 100th anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London, establishing the Irish Free State Images here
11thDecember
2021 85th anniversary of the abdication of King Edward VIII so that he could marry Wallis Simpson. Images here
13thDecember
2021 300th anniversary of the death of sailor Alexander Selkirk, the original Robinson Crusoe Images here
18thDecember
2021 75th anniversary of the birth of Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist who died in 1977. Images here
18thDecember
2021 75th anniversary of the birth of American film director Steven Spielberg Images here
20thDecember
2021 75th anniversary of the premiere of Frank Capra?s film It?s A Wonderful Life in New Yok. It was released on the 7th January 1947. Images here
25thDecember
2021 75th anniversary of the death of W. C. Fields, American actor and comedian. Images here
26thDecember
2021 75th anniversary of the release of the David Lean version of the film Great Expectations Images here
29thDecember
2021 35th anniversary of the death of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, British Prime Minister 1957-1963. Images here
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