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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 disasters — 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.
[edit] Incumbents
[edit] 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
- 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]
- 23 March - 31 people are injured when a suspected IRA bomb explodes at a British army barracks in Rheindahlen, West Germany. [1]
- 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]
- 16 May - Coventry City win the FA Cup for the first time in their history with a 3-2 win in the final over Tottenham Hotspur (who had already appeared in seven FA Cup finals before, but won each one).[8]
- 11 June - The 1987 General Election sees Margaret Thatcher secure her third term in office.[9]
- 30 June - Peter Beardsley, the 26-year-old England striker, becomes the most expensive player transferred between British clubs when he completes a £1.9million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool. [2]
- 12 July - £60 million stolen during the Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery.[10]
- 16 July - British Airways and British Caledonian agree a £237million merger. [3]
- 22 July - Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali is shot in London; his condition is described as "critical".[11]
- 24 July - Novelist and former Conservative MP Jeffrey Archer wins a libel case against Daily Star over allegations that he was involved in a vice ring.[12]
- 31 July
- 6 August - Dr David Owen resigns as leader of the Social Democratic Party after its members vote to merge with the Liberal Party.[15]
- 19 August
- 27 August - Robert Maclennan replaces David Owen as leader of the Social Democratic Party.[18]
- 29 August - Naji Salim al-Ali dies in hospital more than five weeks after being shot. [4]
- 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.[19]
- 23 September - An Australian court lifts the ban on the publication of Spycatcher.[20]
- 11 October - £1 million pound Operation Deepscan in Loch Ness fails to locate the legendary Loch Ness Monster.[21]
- 15 October - Following a coup, Fiji becomes a republic with the resignation of the Governor-General.[22]
- 15 October–16 October - Hurricane force winds batter much of south-east England, killing 23 people and causing extensive damage to property.[23]
- 19 October - Black Monday Wall Street crash leads to £50billion being wiped of the value of shares on the London stock exchange.[24]
- 23 October - Retired English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for 3 years after being convicted of tax evasion.[25]
- 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.[26]
- 18 November - A fire at Kings Cross on the London Underground kills 31 people.[27]
- 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.[28]
- 31 December - 31 British and Belgian people are recognised in the New Year's Honours List for heroism shown in the rescue operation at the Zebrugge tragedy earlier this year. [5]
[edit] Publications
[edit] Births
[edit] 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)
[edit] References
[edit] See also
1987 in the United Kingdom: 
England | 
Scotland
