| No. | From | To | Name | Record |
|---|
| 1 | 1721 | 1742 | Sir Robert Walpole | Generally accepted as the first real British Prime Minister (his term of office was briefly interrupted by Spencer Crompton)
1730 Irish Famine
1732 First Cavalry and Infantry Muster Rolls
1735 Moved into 10 Downing Street (a present from King George II) |
| 2 | 1742 | 1743 | Spencer Crompton,
Earl of Wilmington | died in office |
| 3 | 1743 | 1754 | Henry Pelham | 1745 Jacobite Rebellion
1752 Implemented the 1751 Calender Act adopting the Gregorian calender, moving the beginning of the year from 25 March to 1 January
1754 Hardwicke Act (1753) Banns to be called and printed registers used
1754 First printed Army Lists |
| 4 | 1754 | 1756 | Thomas Pelham-Holles,
Duke of Newcastle | Brother of Henry Pelham
1756 Start of Seven Years War |
| 5 | 1756 | 1757 | William Cavendish,
4th Duke of Devonshire. | The Seven Years War continued (1756-1763) |
| 6 | 1757 | 1762 | Thomas Pelham-Holles,
Duke of Newcastle | Held office for most of the Seven Years War(1756-1763) |
| 7 | 1762 | 1763 | John Stuart,
3rd Earl of Bute | Ended Seven Years War |
| 8 | 1763 | 1765 | George Grenville | 1765 introduced the Stamp Act (which was later to lead to the American war of Independence)
Sacked by George III |
| 9 | 1765 | 1766 | Charles Wentworth,
2nd Marquis of Rockingham | 1766 Repealed the Stamp Act (after protest from the colonies)
Sacked by George III |
| 10 | 1766 | 1768 | William Pitt,
Earl of Chatham | AKA William Pitt "The Elder"
credited with the birth of the British Empire
Died in office |
| 11 | 1767 | 1770 | Henry Augustus Fitzroy,
3rd Duke of Grafton | 1770 Discovery of Australia by Cook
Believed in the removal of duties from the colonies- except for tea |
| 12 | 1770 | 1782 |
Frederick, Lord North | Noted for losing Britain the American colonies
1773 Boston Tea Party
1776 America declared independence
1780 Anti catholic Gordon Riots in London
1781 Surrender at Yorktown |
| 13 | 1782 | 1782 | Charles Wentworth,
2nd Marquis of Rockingham | |
| 14 | 1782 | 1783 | William Fitzmaurice,
2nd Earl of Shelburne | 1782 Gilbert's Act establishes outdoor poor relief
Made peace with America, France and Spain |
| 15 | 1783 | 1783 | William Cavendish-Bentinck,
3rd Duke of Portland | |
| 16 | 1783 | 1801 | William Pitt | AKA William Pitt, "The Younger"
1784 India Act established dual-control of the East India Company 1789 French Revolution
1788 First deportees arrive in New South Wales
1793 Entered war with France
1790's Introduced Income Tax
1799 Combination Act. Amended in 1800 effectively banned Trade Unions and reinforced arbitration as a means of settling disputes
1800 Act of Union with Ireland |
| 17 | 1801 | 1804 | Henry Addington | 1801 Union Flag adopted as the official British flag
1802 Treaty of Amiens: ll-advised peace treaty with France
Later elevated to the peerage as Viscount Sidmouth |
| 18 | 1804 |
1806 | William Pitt | AKA William Pitt, "The Younger"
1805 Battle of Trafalgar |
| 19 | 1806 | 1807 | William Wyndham,
Lord Grenville | 1807 Abolition of the slave trade |
| 20 | 1807 | 1809 | William Cavendish-Bentinck,
3rd Duke of Portland | |
| 21 | 1809 | 1812 | Spencer Perceval | 1812 Luddite Riots (machine breaking)
1812 Shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham |
| 22 | 1812 | 1827 |
Robert Banks Jenkinson,
2nd Earl of Liverpool | 1815 Battle of Waterloo and ending the Napoleonic Wars
1819 Peterloo Massacre In Manchester where soldiers attacked pro-parliamentary reform protesters
1819 Return to the Gold Standard
1819 Repeal of anti-trade union laws
1825 Opening of the first railway |
| 23 | 1827 | 1827 | George Canning | Died in office |
| 24 | 1827 | 1828 | Frederick Robinson,
Viscount Goderich | Only held office for four months |
| 25 | 1828 | 1830 | Arthur Wellesley,
Duke of Wellington |
1829 Catholic Emancipation (over which he fought a duel with Lord Winchilsea - both missed!)
1829 Creation of the London Metropolitan Police |
| 26 | 1830 | 1834 | Charles, 2nd Earl Grey | 1831 Reform Bill
1832 Electoral Registers introduced
1833 Abolition of slavery in the British Empire
1833 Factory Act: Banned children under 9 from working in factories |
| 27 | 1834 | 1834 | William Lamb,
2nd Viscount Melbourne | |
| 28 | 1834 | 1835 | Sir Robert Peel,
2nd Baronet | In office for only five months |
| 29 |
1835 | 1841 | William Lamb,
2nd Viscount Melbourne | 1835 Municipal Corporations Act gave local power to the growing middle classes
1837 (September) Voluntary registration of births, marriages and deaths introduced
1840 Introduction of the "Penny Post"
1841 First census containing personal details |
| 30 | 1841 | 1846 | Sir Robert Peel,
2nd Baronet | 1842 Mines Acts forbade the employment of women and children in the mines
1844 Factory Act limited working hours for women and children in factories
1846 Repeal of Corn Laws |
| 31 | 1846 | 1852 | Lord John Russell |
1847 Ten Hours Act: Cut factory work day to ten hours for women and children
1847 Education Act Improved teachers' pay and provided money for non-conformist schools
He was created Earl Russell in 1861 |
| 32 | 1852 | 1852 | Edward Stanley,
14th Earl of Derby | |
| 33 | 1852 | 1855 | George Gordon,
4th Earl of Aberdeen | 1854 Crimean War |
| 34 | 1855 | 1858 | Henry Temple,
3rd Viscount Palmerston | 1856 End of Crimean War
1857 Start of the Indian Mutiny
1858 Introduced the India Bill to transfer the administration of India from the East India Company to the Crown (Whilst out of office in 1859 helped create the Liberal Party) |
| 35 | 1858 | 1859 | Edward Stanley,
14th Earl of Derby | 1858 Completed the passage of the India Bill to transfer the administration of India from the East India Company to the Crown |
| 36 | 1859 | 1865 | Henry Temple,
3rd Viscount Palmerston | Died in Office |
| 37 | 1865 | 1866 | Earl Russell | 1866 Age at death entered onto Death Certificates |
| 38 |
1866 | 1868 | Edward Stanley,
14th Earl of Derby | 1867 Second Reform Bill |
| 39 | 1868 | 1868 | Benjamin Disraeli | 1868 Last convicts sent to Australia |
| 40 | 1868 | 1874 | William Ewart Gladstone | 1869 Suez Canal Opened
1871 Trades Unions permitted
Disestablished the Church of Ireland and passed the Irish Land Act to remove unfair practices by landlords |
| 41 | 1874 | 1880 | Benjamin Disraeli | 1874 Compulsory registration of births and deaths introduced
1875 Climbing Boys Act prohibited the use of children as chimney sweeps
1875 Artisans Dwelling Act entitled Local Authorities to demolish slums
1875 Public Heath Act provided running water and refuse disposal
1878 Berlin Congress ("Peace with honour" in the Balkans)
1879 First Telephone Exchanges opened in Manchester and London
1879 created Earl of Beaconsfield |
| 42 | 1880 | 1885 | William Ewart Gladstone | 1880 Education Act: Made schooling compulsory for 5-10 year olds
1881 British defeat by the Boers at Majuba
1883 Married Womens Property Act (1898) became effective
Lost British control of Sudan after having failed to rescue Gordon in Khartoum |
| 43 | 1885 | 1885 | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil,
3rd Marquis ofSalisbury | |
| 44 | 1886 | 1886 | William Ewart Gladstone | Introduced and lost an Irish Home Rule Bill |
| 45 | 1886 | 1892 | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil,
3rd Marquis ofSalisbury | 1888 Local Government Act transferring the administration of counties to elected county councils
1891 Free Education Act: Primary education made free and compulsory
Established Rhodesia as a colony |
| 46 | 1892 | 1894 | William Ewart Gladstone | 1894 Opening of the Manchester Ship Canal
1894 Local Government Act creating civil parish councils etc.
Re-introduced his Irish Home Rule Bill which was rejected by the Lords. He resigned |
| 47 | 1894 | 1895 | Archibald Primrose,
5th Earl of Rosebery | |
| 48 | 1895 | 1902 | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil,
3rd Marquis ofSalisbury | 1896 First permanent wireless installation
1897 Workmen's Compensation Act made employers liable for accidents to employees
1899 Boer War started
1900 School leaving age raised to 14 |
| 49 | 1902 | 1905 | Arthur James Balfour | 1902 Education Act provided for secondary education |
| 50 |
1905 | 1908 | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 1906 Labour Party founded
Restored autonomy to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State (both part of South Africa) |
| 51 | 1908 | 1916 | Herbert Henry Asquith | 1911 The Parliament Act removed the power to vote against money bills and public legislation from the Lords
1912 Foundation of Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF)
1912 Titanic sinks
1911 (September) Mother's maiden name shown on birth indexes
1912 (March) Surname of spouse shown against both bride and groom in marriage indexes
1914 First World War (1914 - 1918)
1925 Was created Earl of Oxford |
| 52 | 1916 | 1922 | David Lloyd George |
1918 End of First World War (1914 - 1918)
1918 Signed The Treaty of Versailles founding the League of Nations
1918 Votes for women 30+ and men 21+
1921 Irish Free State and Northern Ireland formed
1944 Was made Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor |
| 53 | 1922 | 1923 | Andrew Bonar Law | |
| 54 | 1923 | 1924 | Stanley Baldwin | |
| 55 | 1924 | 1924 | James Ramsey MacDonald | Britain's first Labour Party Prime Minister |
| 56 | 1924 | 1929 | Stanley Baldwin |
1925 Return to the Gold Standard
1925 Contributory State Pensions introduced
1926 General Strike
1927 Registration of still-births commenced
1929 Extended the franchise to women aged over 21
1929 Minimum age of marriage increased to 16 (from 14 boys and 12 girls) |
| 57 | 1929 | 1935 | James Ramsey MacDonald | Due to being a member of a minority party in The Commons he entered into a National Government with Stanley Baldwin which eventually caused his downfall |
| 58 | 1935 | 1937 | Stanley Baldwin | 1936 Germany Started to rearm
1936 Achieved a European non-intervention pact in the Spanish Civil War
1937 Abdication of Edward V111
1937 Became Earl Baldwin of Bewdley |
| 59 | 1937 | 1940 | Arthur Neville Chamberlain | 1938 Munich "Peace in our time" Meeting with Hitler
1939 Germany invaded Poland and he declared war
1939 Second World War (1939 - 1945) |
| 60 | 1940 | 1945 | Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill | Noted as a great war leader who could stir the resolve of his countrymen
1945 End Second World War (1939 -1945) |
| 61 | 1945 | 1951 | Clement Richard Attlee | Nationalisation of the Bank of England
Nationalisation of heavy industry
Dismantled the British Empire
1948 Foundation the National Health Service
1949 NATO formed |
| 62 | 1951 | 1955 | Sir Winston Churchill | 1952 Bonn Convention ending British, French and USA's occupation of Germany
1953 First ascent of Everest
1953 End of Korean War
1954 End of food rationing |
| 63 | 1955 | 1957 | Sir Anthony Eden | 1956 Suez Crisis leading to loss of Office |
| 64 | 1957 | 1963 | Maurice Harold Macmillan | 1959 Empire day became Commonwealth Day
1962 Consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral
Presided over the easing of the cold war with Russia and a period of prosperity.
Applied for membership of the EEC but rejected mainly because of General De Gaulle |
| 65 | 1963 | 1964 | Sir Alex Douglas Home | The first person to resign a peerage (14th Earl of Home) in order to become a member of parliament and Prime Minister |
| 66 | 1964 | 1970 | James Harold Wilson | 1965 Rhodesia declared unilateral independence under Ian Smith
1966 Pound Sterling devalued
1969 Capital punishment abolished
1969 Minimum voting age reduced to 16
1969 Founded the Open University
1969 Maiden flight of Concorde
1969 Troops sent into Northern Ireland
1969 Date, place of birth and maiden names added to Death Certificates
Laws on homosexuals and obscene publications liberalised |
| 67 | 1970 | 1974 |
Edward Heath | 1971 Decimalisation coinage
1972 Direct rule imposed on Northern Ireland
1973 Miners' strike and the "3 day working week"
1973 Britain joined the EC
|
| 68 | 1974 | 1976 | James Harold Wilson | 1983 Became Baron Wilson of Rievaulx; |
| 69 | 1976 | 1979 | Leonard James Callaghan | Presided over a monetary crisis which needed a rescue by the IMF with a strict incomes policy
1978 The "Winter of Discontent" widespread strikes mainly in public services |
| 70 | 1979 | 1990 | Margaret Thatcher | Britain's first woman Prime Minister
1979 Resolved the Rhodesian crisis leading to the foundation of Zimbabwe
1982 Falklands War
1990 Introduced the unpopular "Poll Tax" in England and Wales (Scotland in 1989)
Reversed the policy of state ownership and presided over a period of denationalisation, deregulation, reform of Trade Unions, tax cuts and the move towards a market economy in the public sector
1994 became Baroness Thatcher |
| 71 | 1990 | 1997 | John Major | 1991 Abolished "The Poll Tax"
1991 Devised the Citizens Charter
1991 Invasion of Iraq following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
1992 Sterling crisis led to leaving the ERM
1993 Established the Northern Ireland Peace Process
1994 Created the National Lottery with the proceeds going to charity
1994 Channel Tunnel opens |
| 72 | 1997 |
2007 | Anthony Charles Lynton Blair | 1997 Bank of England made independent of Government
1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement in Northern Ireland
1999 NATO attacks on Kosovo and Serbia
2001 Terrorists attack the New York Trade Centre
2001 Afghanistan War
2002 Euro introduced (but not in the UK)
2003 Invasion of Iraq
2005 Suicide bombers attack London
2005 Civil Partnerships recognised
2007 Stormont, the Northern Ireland Parliament, restored
2007 Signed the Brussels Reform Treaty extending EU powers |
| 73 | 2007 | | Gordon Brown | 2007 Signed the Lisbon Treaty
Current Prime Minister |
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