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1999 in the United Kingdom:

Other years

1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001

Sport and Music

British and Irish current events

1999 English cricket season

Football England | Scotland

1999 in British music

Events from the year 1999 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

• Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party

Events

• 12 February -
  • - Scientists at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen reinforce warnings that Genetically modified food may be damaging to the human body. [1]
    • - A 15-mile extension to the M1 motorway north of Leeds is opened by John Prescott. [2]
• 24 February - The report of the murder of black London teenager Stephen Lawrence, who was stabbed to death in 1993, condemns London's police force as "institutionally racist", as well as condemning its officers for "fundamental errors".^[1]
• 20 March - Brian Jones and Swiss balloonist Bertrand Piccard complete the first non-stop hot air balloon circumnavigation of the world.^[2]
• 26 March - A total £2billion in compensation is paid to 100,000 former miners who are suffering from lung disease after years of working in British coalfields.^[3]
• 29 March - The family of James Hanratty, one of the last men to be executed in Britain for the A6 murder 37 years ago, are given the right to appeal against his murder conviction by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.^[4]
• April - Vauxhall launches its Zafira, a compact MPV which makes use of the Astra hatchback's chassis.
• 1 April - A minimum wage is introduced throughout the UK - set at £3.60 an hour for workers over 21, and £3 for workers under 21.^[5]
• 14 April - Edgar Pearce, the so-called "Mardi Gra bomber", convicted for a series of bombings and sentenced to 21 years in jail.^[6]
• 17 April - A bomb explodes in Brixton, South London, and injures 45 people.^[7]
• 24 April - A second bomb explosion in Brick Lane, East London injures 13 people.
• 26 April - TV presenter Jill Dando, 37, dies after being shot on the doorstep of her Fulham home.^[8]
• 30 April - A third bomb in London explodes in the Admiral Duncan pub, in Old Compton Street, Soho, London — the centre of the London gay scene — killing two people (including a pregnant woman) and injuring over thirty. David Copeland, a 23-year-old Farnborough man, is arrested hours later in connection with the three explosions.^[9]
• 3 May - David Copeland appears in court charged with the recent bombings in London. [3]
• 6 May
  • Scottish Parliament election, 1999- The first elections to the Scottish Parliament.
  • Welsh Assembly election, 1999- The first elections to the Welsh Assembly.
• 7 May - The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats form a coalition government in Scotland, with Donald Dewar as the First Minister of Scotland.^[8]
• 12 May - The Scottish Parliament meets in Edinburgh for its first session.^[8]
• 21 May - Jill Dando is buried in her hometown of Weston-super-Mare.
• 24 May - England national rugby team captain Lawrence Dallaglio resigns after a tabloid newspaper accused him of having taken drugs.^[10]
• 26 May -
  • - The Welsh Assembly meets in Cardiff for its first session.
    • - Manchester United (who have already won the Premier League and FA Cup this season) complete a unique treble of major trophies when they defeat Bayern Munich of Germany 2-1 in the European Cup final at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain.
• 8 June - former cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken is sentenced to 18 months prison for perjury.^[11]
• 18 June - police clash with protesters at a demonstration against capitalism in London.^[12]
• 19 June - The marriage of The Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones takes place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.^[2] The Queen creates Prince Edward, her third and youngest son, Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn.
• 22 June -
  • - Patrick Magee is released from prison under the Good Friday Agreement, 14 years into his life sentence for the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombing at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, which killed five people during the Conservative Party conference on 12 October 1984. [4]
    • - Construction of the Millennium Dome is finished.
• 4 August - George Robertson appointed as Secretary General of NATO.^[2]
• 9 August - Charles Kennedy elected leader of the Liberal Democrats.^[13]
• 11 August - The solar eclipse attracts the attention of 350million people across Europe, with Cornwall being the only region of Britain to experience totality.^[8]
• 22 August - Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, 54, is charged with the murder of a 16-year-old burglar who was shot dead at his home two days ago. He is also charged with wounding a 29-year-old man who was also present at the time of the burglary.^[14]
• 9 September - Chris Patten's report recommends reform of Royal Ulster Constabulary.^[15]
• 24 September - The Bank of Scotland launches a hostile takeover bid for the NatWest Bank.
• 1 October - The 1999 Rugby World Cup begins in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
• 5 October - The Ladbroke Grove rail crash claims the lives of 31 people when two trains collide at Ladbroke Grove Junction, 2 miles west of Paddington station, London. Many more people are being treated in hospital for injuries.^[16]
• 10 October - the London Eye begins to be lifted into position on the South Bank in London.^[17]
• 10 December - Launch of the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite. Information from the satellite is processed at the University of Leicester.^[18]
• 30 December - Former Beatle George Harrison, 56, suffers minor stab wounds after being attacked by an intruder at Friar Park, his mansion near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.^[2]
• 31 December - millennium celebrations are held across the country including the official opening of the Millennium Dome and the unveiling of the London Eye in London.^[19]

Publications

• Iain Banks' novel The Business.
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel The Fifth Elephant.
• J. K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Births

• November 30 - William Melling, Actor

Deaths

• 8 February - Iris Murdoch, novelist and philosopher (born 1919)
• 6 March - Dennis Viollet, footballer (born 1933)
• 17 March - Rod Hull, entertainer (born 1935)
• 21 March - Ernie Wise, comedian (born 1925)
• 14 April - Anthony Newley, actor, singer and songwriter (born 1931)
• 26 April - Jill Dando, journalist and television presenter (murdered) (born 1961)
• 28 May - Sir Alf Ramsey, footballer and football manager (born 1920)
• 2 May - Oliver Reed, actor (born 1938)
• 8 May - Dirk Bogarde, actor and author (born 1921)
• 1 June - Christopher Cockerell, inventor (born 1910)
• 8 June - Christina Foyle, bookshop owner (born 1911)
• 12 July - Bill Owen, actor (born 1914)
• 11 November - Vivian Fuchs, explorer (born 1908)
• 19 December - Desmond Llewelyn, actor (born 1914)

References

See also