 1987 in the United Kingdom: |
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Events from the year 1987 in the United Kingdom. At the beginning of the year, the Archbishop of Canterbury's envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Lebanon and remained a hostage until 1991. The major political event of thi ais year was the re-election of Margaret Thatcher in June, making her the longest continuously serving Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in the early 19th century. The year was also marked by a number of aids — the sinking of the ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise, the Hungerford massacre, the "Great Storm", the Remembrance Day Bombing in Northern Ireland and the King's Cross fire.
Contents |
Incumbents
- Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative
Events
- 13 January - Prince Edward quits the Royal Marines just three months after joining.
- 20 January - Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, disappears in Beirut while negotiating for the release of hostages.1
- 11 February
- British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange.2
- Cynthia Payne is acquitted of controlling prostitutes in her London home.3
- 26 February - Church of England's General Synod voted to allow ordination of women.4
- 6 March - British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsized while leaving the harbour of Zeebrugge, Belgium, killing 193 on board.5
- 30 March - Christie's auction house in London sells one of Vincent Van Gogh's iconic Sunflowers paintings for £24,750,000.1
- 3 April - The jewellery of the late Wallis, Duchess of Windsor sold at auction for £31 million, six times the expected value.1
- 16 April - Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appeared in Court charged with gross indecency.6
- 8 May - Soldiers of the SAS kill eight members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army at Loughgal, County Antrim.7
- 11 June - The 1987 General Election sees Margaret Thatcher secure her third term in office.8
- 12 July - £60 million stolen during the Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery.9
- 22 July - Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali is murdered in London.10
- 24 July - Novelist and former Conservative MP Jeffrey Archer wins a libel case against The Daily Star over allegations that he was involved in a vice ring.11
- 31 July
- Attorney General instituted legal proceedings against The Daily Telegraph to prevent it publishing details from the book Spycatcher.12
- The Queen opens the Docklands Light Railway, the first driverless railway in Great Britain, in London.13
- 6 August - Dr David Owen resigns as leader of the Social Democratic Party after its members vote to merge with the Liberal Party.14
- 19 August
- Order of the Garter is opened to women.15
- Michael Ryan shoots dead 15 people in the Berkshire town of Hungerford before taking his own life with a rifle.16
- 21 August - The Hungerford Massacre claims its 16th victim when pensioner Mrs Myrtle Gibbs, whose husband Jack died in the shootings, dies in hospital from her injuries.
- 27 August - Robert Maclennan replaces David Owen as leader of the Social Democratic Party.17
- 9 September - 25 Liverpool football fans are extradited to Belgium to face charges of manslaughter in connection with the Heysel Stadium disaster more than two years ago.18
- 23 September - An Australian court lifts the ban on the publication of Spycatcher.19
- 11 October - £1 million pound Operation Deepscan in Loch Ness fails to locate the legendary Loch Ness Monster.20
- 15 October - Following a coup, Fiji becomes a republic with the resignation of the Governor-General.21
- 15 October–16 October - Hurricane force winds batter much of south-east England, killing 23 people and causing extensive damage to property.22
- 19 October - Black Monday Wall Street crash leads to £50billion being wiped of the value of shares on the London stock exchange.23
- 23 October - Retired English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for 3 years after being convicted of tax evasion.24
- 25 October - Peugeot begins production of its second car - the 405 four-door saloon - at the Ryton plant near Coventry. The first customers are set to take delivery of their cars after Christmas. A French-built estate version will be launched next year.
- 5 November - London City Airport opens.7
- 8 November - Enniskillen bombing: Eleven people killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb at a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen.25
- 18 November - A fire at Kings Cross on the London Underground kills 31 people.26
- December - The British-built Peugeot 405 is European Car of the Year, and Peugeot's first winner of the award for nearly 20 years.
- 9 December - The England cricket team's tour of Pakistan is nearly brought to a premature end when captain Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana row during a Test Match.1
- 15 December - Channel Tunnel construction is initiated, with completion targeted within seven years.27
Publications
- London Daily News, short-lived newspaper (24 February–23 July)
- Iain M. Banks' novel Consider Phlebas.
- Iain Banks' novel Espedair Street.
- William Golding's novel Close Quarters, second of the To the Ends of the Earth trilogy.
- Paul Kennedy's historical study The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.
- Penelope Lively's novel Moon Tiger.
- Ian McEwan's novel The Child in Time.
- Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels Equal Rites and Mort.
Births
- January 23 — Michael Christie, Scottish field hockey defender
- 19 February — Chris Burns, All round legend
- 11 April — Joss Stone, musician
- 15 May — Andrew Murray, Scottish tennis player
- August 14 — Nikki Kidd, Scottish field hockey forward
- 4 September — Mike O'Shea, cricketer
- 22 September — Tom Felton, actor
Deaths
- 2 February - Alistair MacLean, writer (heart attack) (born 1922)
- 4 February - Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, writer and broadcaster (born 1908)
- 28 March - Patrick Troughton, actor (born 1920)
- 4 April - Richard Ithamar Aaron, philosopher (born 1901)
- 26 April - John Ernest Silkin, politician (born 1923)
- 22 May - Keidrych Rhys, poet and editor (born 1915)
- 6 June - Fulton Mackay, actor (born 1922)
- 22 June - John Hewitt, poet (born 1907)
- 4 September - Bill Bowes, cricketer (born 1908)
- 11 September - Hugh David, television director (born 1925)
- 17 September - Harry Locke, actor (born 1913)
- 25 September - Emlyn Williams, dramatist and actor (born 1905)
- 19 October - Jacqueline du Pré, cellist (born 1945)
- 22 December - Henry Cotton, golfer (born 1907)
- 27 December - Anna Eliza Williams, oldest documented person in the world (born 1873)
References
- ^ a b c d Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ "The History Of The British Airways Museum - 1987". Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ "Mrs Payne is no brothel Madam", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Synod says 'yes' to women priests", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Hundreds trapped as car ferry capsizes", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "MP on gay sex charges", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ a b Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 453–454. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ^ "Thatcher wins record third term", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Flying Squad foils £80m robbery", BBC. Retrieved on 4 August 2007.
- ^ "Cartoonist shot in London street", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Archer wins record damages", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Newspaper caught in Spycatcher row", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "DLR history timeline". Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 614–616. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
- ^ "Information about the Order of the Garter, the most senior British order of chivalry". The Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ "Gunman kills 14 in Hungerford rampage", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Maclennan replaces Owen in SDP", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Liverpool fans to stand trial in Belgium". BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ "Ban lifted on MI5 man's memoirs". BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ "Search ends for Loch Ness monster", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Fiji one step closer to a republic", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Hurricane winds batter southern England", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Shares plunge after Wall Street crash", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Lester Piggott jailed for three years", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Bomb kills 11 at Enniskillen", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "King's Cross station fire 'kills 27'", BBC. Retrieved on 2 July 2007.
- ^ "Our history". Eurotunnel. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
See also
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