Decimalised currency replaces pounds, shillings and pence, email is invented by Ray Tomlinson.
Conservative Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first woman prime minister
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral
The first computers, electro-mechanical devices built to break cryptographical codes during World War II, quickly became at least 20 times smaller using transistors. The creation of operating systems also vastly improved programming productivity
The Channel Tunnel linking London and Paris is officially opened – the first land link between Britain and Europe since the last Ice Age
Britain hands Hong Kong back to China, ending more than 150 years of British rule.
