Events for the tag:
| 1254 | Channel islands annexed by British Crown |
| 1350 | Great Vowel Shift |
| 1362 | Statute of Pleading |
| 1362 | Parliament opened by speech in English for first time. |
| 1366 | Statutes of Kilkenny |
| 1373 | Writers of Court Letter guild formed |
| 1379 | A Scotsman appointed Earl of Orkney |
| 1382 | 1st Wycliffe bible |
| 1387 | Higden's "Polychronicon" |
| 1388 | 2nd Wycliffe bible |
| 1391 | Petition to Richard II to prohibit reading by the lower classes |
| 1401 | Oxford debate to discuss suitability of English for bible translation |
| 1407 | Arundel's legislation to prohibit English in church matters. |
| 1411 | English replaces French as language of parlimentary proceedings |
| 1417 | Henry V begins to use English in official correspondence. |
| 1422 | Brewers Guild begin to keep records in English |
| 1440 | Bokenham's "Mappula Angliae" published |
| 1440 | "Promptorium Parvulorum" published |
| 1460 | "Medulla Grammatice" |
| 1471 | Caxton's first book printed |
| 1473 | First book printed in English. |
| 1474 | Caxton's 2nd book |
| 1476 | Caxton introduces the printing press to England |
| 1482 | Caxton prints Higden's "Polychronicon" |
| 1483 | "Catholicon Anglicum" published |
| 1485 | Caxton's "Le Morte d'Arthur" |
| 1497 | Cabot claims Newfoundland as British territory |
| 1499 | Life of Sir Thomas Elyot |
| 1500 | Wynken de Worde's 'Ortus Vocabulorum' |
| 1514 | Life of Sir John Cheke |
| 1514 | Life of Sir Thomas Smith |
| 1525 | Life of Thomas Wilson |
| 1525 | Tyndale's "New Testament" published |
| 1525 | Rastell's "Termes de la Ley" |
| 1530 | Life of Bullokar |
| 1530 | Life of Mulcaster |
| 1530 | Rastell's spelling recommendations |
| 1533 | Lupset's 'Treatise' published |
| 1533 | First Amerindian word enters English |
| 1534 | Call to Henry VIII for English translation of Bible |
| 1535 | Coverdale's translation of the bible published |
| 1536 | Act of Union with Wales |
| 1537 | Tyndale's 'Matthew Bible' published. |
| 1538 | Earliest reading of the Scriptures in English in Church |
| 1538 | 1st use of term "accent" |
| 1538 | Elyot's "Dictionary" |
| 1539 | "The Great Bible" published |
| 1540 | Cheke's simplified spelling system |
| 1542 | 2nd edition of Elyot's "Dictionary" |
| 1543 | 2nd Act of Union with Wales |
| 1544 | Earliest known reading of the Litany in English in Church |
| 1545 | Ascham's "Toxophilus" |
| 1545 | 3rd edition of Elyot's "Dictionary" |
| 1547 | Salesbury's "Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe" |
| 1548 | Supplement to the Mass published in English |
| 1548 | 4th edition of Elyot's "Dictionary" |
| 1549 | The first "Book of Common Prayer" |
| 1549 | Cheke uses simplified spelling in personal letter |
| 1550 | Cheke's "Gospel According to St Matthew" |
| 1551 | John Hart's 'The Opening of the Unreasonable Writing of Our English Tongue' written |
| 1552 | Text of the book of common prayer |
| 1552 | Huloet's "Abcdedarium Anglo-Latinum" |
| 1552 | 5th edition of Elyot's "Dictionary" |
| 1553 | Withals' 'A Shorte Dictionarie for Yonge Begynners' |
| 1553 | 1st use of term "King's English" |
| 1553 | Stephanus' "Dictionarium" |
| 1557 | Stationers' Company formed |
| 1558 | 'An A.B.C. for Children' printed sometime before this year |
| 1559 | 6th edition of Elyot's "Dictionary" |
| 1560 | "The Geneva Bible" published |
| 1561 | Team set up to compile alternative to Geneva Bible |
| 1563 | Act of parliament for the translation of the bible and common prayer book into Welsh. |
| 1565 | Cooper's 'Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britanicae' |
| 1565 | Life of Alexander Gil |
| 1567 | Thomas Harman's "Caveat or Warening for Commen Cursetors" |
| 1568 | Sir Thomas Smith's 'De Recta et Emendata Linguae Anglicae Dialogus' published |
| 1568 | The Bishop's Bible |
| 1569 | John Hart's 'Orthographie' published |
| 1570 | Mulcaster's "A Methode" |
| 1573 | Baret's 'Triple Dictionarie' |
| 1573 | Mulcaster's revised alphabet |
| 1576 | Whythorne's autobiography |
| 1579 | 1st use of term "dialect" |
| 1579 | 2nd of Allde's simplified spelling publications |
| 1580 | Bullokar's 'Booke at Large' published |
| 1580 | Bullokar's "Short Introduction" |
| 1580 | 3rd of Allde's publications |
| 1580 | Baret's quadrilingual dictionary |
| 1582 | The Rheims New Testament |
| 1584 | First British settlement in North America at Roanoke |
| 1585 | Mulcaster's "Aesops Fablz" published |
| 1587 | Harrison's 'Of the Languages Spoken in this Island' |
| 1588 | First translation of Bible into Welsh |
| 1589 | Puttenham's "The Arte of Poetrie" |
| 1589 | Rider's "Bibliotheca Scholastica" |
| 1595 | Carew's 'The Excellency of the English Tongue' |
| 1600 | British East India Company established in India |
| 1600 | Queen Elizabeth grants monopoly of trade to India to group of traders |
| 1603 | Scottish and English Union of Crowns |
| 1604 | Robert Cawdrey publishes 'A table Alphabeticall' |
| 1604 | 1st use of term 'creole' |
| 1604 | Church conference at Hampton Court |
| 1606 | Incorporation of 2 companies to settle Virginia |
| 1606 | 1st of Holyoke's revisions of Rider's "Bibliotheca" |
| 1607 | Establishment of first permanent British colony in North America at Jamestown, Virginia. |
| 1607 | Cowell's "The Interpreter" |
| 1609 | The Douay Bible |
| 1609 | Settlement of Bermuda |
| 1609 | 2nd edition of Cawdrey's "Table" |
| 1611 | King James Bible |
| 1612 | British East India Company's first trading station founded, in Surat |
| 1612 | 2nd of Holyoke's revisions of Rider's "Bibliotheca" |
| 1613 | 3rd edition of Cawdrey's "Table" |
| 1616 | Bullokar publishes 'English Expositor' |
| 1617 | Bolton proposes a Royal Academy |
| 1617 | Hume's "Of the Orthographie of the Britain Tongue" |
| 1617 | 4th edition of Cawdrey's "Table" |
| 1617 | 3rd of Holyoke's revisions of Rider's "Bibliotheca" |
| 1617 | Minsheu's "Guide into Tongues" |
| 1619 | African slaves brought to Jamestown |
| 1620 | 'Pilgrim Fathers' arrive at Cape Cod |
| 1621 | Gil's ' Logonomia Anglica' |
| 1623 | Cockeram publishes 'English Dictionarie' |
| 1626 | Smith's seaman's "Accidence" |
| 1627 | Smith's 'Sea Grammar' |
| 1633 | Holyoke's 'Dictionarium Etymologicum' |
| 1634 | Butler's 'The English Grammar' published |
| 1639 | First printing press in America |
| 1640 | Daines' 'Orthoepia anglicana' published |
| 1641 | 3rd edition of Bullokar's "Expositor" |
| 1642 | 7th edition of Cockeram's "Dictionarie" |
| 1644 | 'Vindex Anglicus' |
| 1644 | Manwayring's seafaring dictionary published |
| 1647 | Smith's combined grammar and dictionary. |
| 1649 | Cromwell's campaign in Ireland |
| 1652 | Last book printed in Dublin with Queen Elizabeth's Irish types |
| 1656 | Blount publishes 'Glossographia' |
| 1656 | Further edition of Bullokar's "Expositor" |
| 1658 | Philipps publishes 'New World of English Words' |
| 1658 | 11th edition of Cockeram's "Dictionarie" |
| 1658 | East India Company establishes St. Helena |
| 1659 | Missionaries allowed to travel on East India Company ships |
| 1661 | "The Booke of Common Prayer" |
| 1661 | 2nd edition of Blount's "Glossographia" |
| 1662 | 2nd edition of Phillip's "New World" |
| 1663 | Revised version of Bullokar's "Expositor" |
| 1664 | Royal Society committee to 'improve the English Tongue' |
| 1667 | Blount edits Rastell's "Termes de la Ley" |
| 1669 | "Science Herolque" |
| 1670 | 12th edition of Cockeram's "Dictionarie" |
| 1670 | Blount's "A Law Dictionary" |
| 1670 | 3rd edition of Blount's "Glossographia" |
| 1670 | Ray's "Collection of English Proverbs" |
| 1671 | Phillips' 'A General English Dictionary' |
| 1671 | Skinner's "Etymologicon Linguae Anglicanae" |
| 1671 | 3rd edition of Phillip's "New World" |
| 1672 | Dryden's 'Defence of the Epilogue' |
| 1672 | St. Helena continuously occupied |
| 1673 | Blount's attack on Phillips' plagiarism |
| 1673 | Head's "The Canting Academy" |
| 1674 | 4th edition of Blount's "Glossographia" |
| 1674 | Coles' treatise on shorthand |
| 1674 | Worlidge's "Systema Agriculturae" |
| 1676 | Elisha Coles' 'An English dictionary' |
| 1678 | 4th edition of Phillip's "New World" |
| 1678 | Coles granted exclusive rights to print his dictionary |
| 1680 | Boyle has new set of Irish type cast |
| 1681 | 5th edition of Blount's "Glossographia" |
| 1683 | Moxon's "Mechanik Exercises" |
| 1684 | 1st use of collocation 'correct English' |
| 1687 | Care's "Tutor to True English" |
| 1689 | "Gazophylacium Anglicanum" published |
| 1694 | "Dictionnaire de l'Academie" published |
| 1695 | 'The Writing Scholar's Companion: or, Infallible Rules for Writing True English' published |
| 1696 | 5th edition of Phillip's "New World" |
| 1697 | Defoe's 'Essay upon projects' published |
| 1698 | Hughes' 'Of Style' |
| 1699 | B.E.'s 'Dictionary of the Canting Crew' |
| 1700 | 6th edition of Phillip's "New World" |
| 1701 | Kennett's revision of Cowell's "Interpreter" |
| 1702 | Kersey's 'New Dictionary' |
| 1704 | Cocker's "English Dictionary" |
| 1704 | Harris' "Lexicon Technicum" |
| 1704 | "Dictionarium Rusticum, Urbanicum and Botanicum" |
| 1704 | "Right Spelling" |
| 1704 | "The Expert Orthographist" |
| 1705 | "The Gentleman's Dictionary" |
| 1706 | Kersey's revision of Phillips' "New World" |
| 1707 | Act of Union between England and Scotland |
| 1707 | Final revision of Bullokar's "Expositor" |
| 1707 | "Glossographia Anglicana Nova" |
| 1708 | Kersey's 'Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum' |
| 1709 | Life of Johnson |
| 1709 | Dyche's "A Guide to the English Tongue" |
| 1710 | Swift's article in Taler magazine |
| 1711 | Addison's article in the Spectator |
| 1711 | No more Irish bibles printed or Irish schools opened till C19 |
| 1712 | Swift publishes 'Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue' |
| 1712 | Oldmixon's response to Swift's 'Proposal' |
| 1713 | Gibraltar ceded by Spain to Britain |
| 1713 | Revised version of Kersey's "New English Dictionary" |
| 1713 | 3rd edition of Dyke's "Proverbs" |
| 1713 | Acadie ceded to Britain |
| 1714 | Rowe's edition of Shakespeare's work |
| 1715 | 2nd edition of "Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum" |
| 1715 | Hughes' volumes of Spenser's works |
| 1719 | Life of Thomas Sheridan |
| 1720 | Reprint of Kersey's revision of Phillips' "New World" |
| 1720 | 2nd printing of Kersey's "New World" |
| 1721 | Bailey's 'Universal Etymological English Dictionary' published |
| 1721 | 3rd edition of "Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum" |
| 1721 | Urry's edition of Chaucer's work |
| 1723 | Dyche's "A Dictionary" |
| 1723 | Dyche's "Dictionary" |
| 1724 | 2nd edition of Bailey's "Universal English Dictionary" |
| 1724 | Guillim's "Display of Heraldry" |
| 1725 | Pope's edition of Shakespeare's work |
| 1725 | Coats' "New Dictionary of Heraldry" |
| 1726 | 3rd edition of "Dictionarium Rusticum, Urbanicum and Botanicum" |
| 1726 | 3rd edition of Bailey's "Universal English Dictionary" |
| 1727 | 2nd volume of Bailey's dictionary |
| 1728 | Chambers' "Cyclopaedia" |
| 1729 | Cooke publishes 'Proposals for Perfecting the English Language' |
| 1730 | Bailey's 'Dictionarium Britannicum' |
| 1731 | 11th, and final, edition of expanded "Expositor" |
| 1731 | 2nd edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1731 | 3rd edition of Dyche's "Dictionary" |
| 1732 | Calmet's "Dictionary of the Holy Bible" |
| 1735 | Dyche & Pardon's "General English Dictionary" |
| 1736 | "Dictionarium Domesticum" |
| 1736 | 2nd edition of Bailey's "Dictionarium Britannicum" |
| 1737 | 3rd edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1738 | Swift's "A Complete Collection" |
| 1744 | 1st revision of Dyche & Pardon's "General English Dictionary" |
| 1747 | Johnson's 'Plan for a Dictionary' published |
| 1749 | Martin Benjamin publishes 'An English Dictionary' |
| 1750 | Ann Fisher's 'A New Grammar', |
| 1752 | Johnson's letter to The Rambler |
| 1754 | Martin Benjamin publishes 2nd edition of 'An English Dictionary' |
| 1754 | Lord Chesterfield's letter to The World |
| 1755 | Johnson publishes 'A dictionary of the English Language' |
| 1755 | Bailey's 'A New Universal English Dictionary' |
| 1756 | Sheridan's 'British Education' |
| 1756 | 4th edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1756 | 7th edition of Dyche's "Dictionary" |
| 1757 | Buchanan's "Linguae Britannicae" |
| 1758 | Life of Webster |
| 1759 | British defeat French and capture Quebec |
| 1759 | Alternative 4th edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1760 | 5th edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1763 | Canada becomes a British possession |
| 1763 | Sheridan's "A Course of Lectures on Elocution" |
| 1765 | Ward's 'Grammar of the English Language' |
| 1766 | Buchanan's "Elegant and Uniform Pronunciation" |
| 1768 | Franklin devises his 'A Scheme for a New Alphabet' |
| 1769 | Falconer's "Naval Dictionary" |
| 1770 | Baker's 'Reflections on the English language' published |
| 1770 | Cook lands at Botany Bay, Australia |
| 1771 | Bois's 'The Lady's Polite Secretary, or New Female Letter Writer' |
| 1773 | Fisher's 'An Accurate New Spelling Dictionary' |
| 1773 | Tucker's "Vocal Sounds" |
| 1774 | Walker's plan for "Pronouncing Dictionary" |
| 1774 | Proposal for "American Society of Language" made in Royal American Magazine |
| 1775 | Penultimate edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1776 | Campbell's 'Philosophy of Rhetoric" |
| 1776 | Final edition of 2nd volume of Bailey's "Universal" |
| 1779 | Johnson's Preface to Roscommon's works |
| 1780 | Adams proposes an American Academy. |
| 1780 | Thomas Sheridan's two-volume "General Dictionary of the English Language" |
| 1780 | "Hicky's Bengl Gazette" starts publication |
| 1781 | Witherspoon coins the term 'Americanism' |
| 1781 | Sheridan's "Rhetorical Grammar of the English Language" |
| 1782 | Ross's "American Grammar" |
| 1782 | 24th edition of Bailey's "Universal English Dictionary" |
| 1783 | Webster publishes 1st book of "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language". |
| 1783 | Dillon's idea for an "Academy" |
| 1784 | Webster publishes 2nd book of "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language" |
| 1784 | India Act |
| 1785 | Webster publishes 3rd book of "A Grammatical Institute of the English Language". |
| 1785 | Grose's 'Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue' |
| 1785 | Webster's "Plan of policy" |
| 1785 | Sunday School society formed |
| 1786 | First penal colony in Australia started in Botany Bay, |
| 1787 | Webster's 1st book of 'A Grammatical Institute' renamed 'An American Spelling Book' |
| 1788 | Philological Society founded in New York |
| 1789 | Webster's 'An Essay' published |
| 1789 | Webster's 'Dissertations' published |
| 1790 | Webster's 'A Collection' published |
| 1791 | John Walker publishes 'Critical Pronouncing Dictionary' |
| 1794 | 17th edition of Dyche & Pardon's "General English Dictionary" |
| 1795 | Britain takes control of Cape Town |
| 1795 | Caulfield's "Blackguardiana" |
| 1795 | Potter's "New Dictionary of all the Cant and Flash Languages" |
| 1796 | Edwards's 'A Short Compendium of English Grammars' |
| 1799 | Murray's 'An English Reader' |
| 1799 | Mercy's 'A Short Introduction to English Grammar' |
| 1802 | Malta becomes a British colony |
| 1802 | Phrase 'American language' used in Congress |
| 1802 | 30th edition of Bailey's "Universal Etymological English Dictionary" |
| 1803 | Act of Union with Ireland |
| 1805 | Norrie's "Naval Dictionary" |
| 1806 | Webster's 'A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language' published |
| 1808 | Settlement in Sierra Leone becomes British Crown Colony |
| 1808 | Jamieson's ' An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language' |
| 1810 | Mauritius becomes British colony |
| 1811 | 'The Lexicon Balatronicum' |
| 1813 | Renewal of East India Company's Royal Charter |
| 1816 | Pickering's 'A Vocabulary' published |
| 1816 | English-medium school established in Penang |
| 1816 | Banjul established as base for British anti-slavers |
| 1817 | Webster's Letter to the Honorable John Pickering' published |
| 1818 | William Cobbet publishes 'Grammar of the English Language' in New York |
| 1819 | Stamford Raffles founds British colony of Singapore |
| 1819 | 'The Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux' |
| 1820 | American Academy ofLanguage and Belles Lettres founded in New York |
| 1822 | Liberia founded |
| 1822 | English made official language of Cape area of South Africa |
| 1823 | Egan's edition of Grose's "Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue" |
| 1823 | John Bee's slang dictionary |
| 1823 | English-medium school established in Singapore |
| 1823 | Lovedale Press established |
| 1826 | Straits Settlements' colony established |
| 1826 | English-medium school established in Malacca |
| 1828 | Webster publishes "An American Dictionary of the English Language". |
| 1835 | English Education Act in India |
| 1836 | Richardson's 'A new dictionary of the English language' published |
| 1837 | Pitman's shorthand system published. |
| 1837 | Booth's 'The Principles of English Grammar' |
| 1839 | Quincey's article "The English language" |
| 1840 | New Zealand made a colony of Britain |
| 1842 | Hong Kong ceded to Britain |
| 1842 | Treaty of Nanjing |
| 1843 | Banjul (formerly Bathurst,) in Gambia, becomes British Crown Colony |
| 1844 | Pitman's 'Phonotypy' alphabet published |
| 1845 | "Straits Times" begins publication |
| 1848 | Bartlett's 'Dictionary of Americanisms' |
| 1848 | Weedon's ' a Practical Grammar of the English Language' |
| 1850 | 'Imperial Dictionary: English, Technical and Scientific' by John Ogilvie |
| 1851 | Grimm calls English 'a language of the world' |
| 1851 | 2nd edition of Webster's American Dictionary |
| 1852 | Peter Roget's 'Thesaurus' published |
| 1852 | National Typographic Union founded |
| 1854 | "Poor little H" pamphlet |
| 1854 | London Association Of Correctors of the Press founded |
| 1857 | Philological Society decide to collect words for supplement to current dictionaries |
| 1857 | Universities in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras established |
| 1858 | Philological Society proposes new dictionary |
| 1858 | British East India Company abolished and its powers handed to British government |
| 1859 | George Matsell's "Vocabulum" |
| 1859 | Hotten's "Dictionary of Modern Slang" |
| 1859 | Worcester's "Dictionary" |
| 1861 | Palgrave's 'Golden Treasury' |
| 1861 | British colony founded in Lagos, Nigeria |
| 1861 | "Chambers' Dictionary of the English Language" published (1861), edited by A. J. Cooley, |
| 1861 | Government Printing Office founded |
| 1862 | Belize (British Honduras) becomes a British colony |
| 1862 | Central School established in Hong Kong |
| 1864 | Furnivall founds 'Early English Text Society' |
| 1864 | Alford's 'The Queens English' published |
| 1864 | Merriam-Webster's 'A Dictionary of the English Language' |
| 1865 | Janet Taylor's "The Mariner's Friend" |
| 1865 | Palmerston Series published |
| 1867 | Federated Malay States become British Crown Colony |
| 1867 | British North America Act |
| 1868 | 'Chaucer Society' founded |
| 1870 | White's 'Words and their Uses' published |
| 1872 | Morris's 'Historical Outlines of English Accidence' |
| 1873 | Pitman predicts 1.8 billion English speakers by 2000 |
| 1873 | English Dialect Society formed |
| 1874 | Ghana becomes a British Crown Colony |
| 1876 | Spelling Reform Association formed |
| 1877 | Sweet's suggestion that native varieties of English would become mutually-unitelligble |
| 1878 | Cyprus ceded to the UK |
| 1879 | "Society Small Talk" |
| 1879 | James Murray starts as editor of OED |
| 1880 | White's 'Every-Day English' published |
| 1881 | Education Act promotes English as medium of education throughout UK |
| 1882 | Hodgson's 'Errors in the use of English' published |
| 1883 | American Philological Association recommends list of spelling reforms |
| 1884 | First instalment of "A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles" (the OED) |
| 1885 | French & English begin to be taught in K7-12 in Uruguay |
| 1887 | Government Printing Office style guide |
| 1888 | Brunei is British Protectorate |
| 1890 | Zanzibar becomes British protectorate |
| 1890 | Ellis' "English Dialects: their sounds and homes" |
| 1890 | Dropping of final 'h' in -burgh place names in US |
| 1890 | Board of Geographic Names established |
| 1893 | Oxford University starts its first English degree programme |
| 1893 | OUP style guide issued |
| 1894 | Central School becomes Queens College and switches to English-medium |
| 1895 | 1st issue of "The Speler" |
| 1897 | "The Irish Difficulty, Shall and Will" |
| 1898 | National Education Association adopts 12 simplified spellings |
| 1898 | Morris's 'Austral English, A Dictionary of Australian Words and Phrases' |
| 1898 | The Philippines becomes an American colony |
| 1898 | Lake's 'Australasian Supplement' in ' Webster's International Dictionary' |
| 1898 | 1st volume of Joseph Wright's 'English Dialect Dictionary' |
| 1898 | Bismarck's comment on the importance of English |
| 1901 | First edition of 'Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary' |
| 1901 | English is made the medium of all schools in the Philippines |
| 1901 | Dominion staus granted to Australia |
| 1906 | Simplified Spelling Board set up |
| 1906 | Chicago Manual of Style issued |
| 1907 | Malawi becomes British colony |
| 1907 | Dominion status granted to New Zealand |
| 1908 | Simplified Spelling Society founded |
| 1909 | Gandhi's "Hind Swaraj" |
| 1910 | The Union of South Africa established & English and Dutch made official languages |
| 1911 | First edition of 'Concise Oxford Dictionary' |
| 1912 | English-medium University of Hong Kong established |
| 1912 | Hamel's study of Anglo-Irish syntax |
| 1913 | Founding of Society for Pure English |
| 1913 | Pettman's 'Africanderisms: A Glossary' |
| 1914 | Wyld's "A Short History of English" |
| 1918 | Official launch date of the English-Speaking Union |
| 1919 | Mencken publishes 'The American Language' |
| 1919 | Fowler brothers' 'The King's English' published |
| 1920 | British colony established in Kenya |
| 1920 | Wyld's 'A History of Modern Colloquial English' |
| 1921 | Winston Churchill becomes Chairman of ESU |
| 1922 | The BBC formed |
| 1922 | English used in 1st ship-to-shore radio communication |
| 1923 | Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) becomes British crown colony |
| 1923 | Ogden & Richard's complete Basic English |
| 1924 | Immigration Act passed |
| 1924 | First edition of 'Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English' |
| 1925 | Gaeltacht Commission set up |
| 1926 | Fowler's 'A Dictionary of Modern English Usage' |
| 1926 | BBC Advisory Committee on Spoken English founded |
| 1927 | Wingfield's "Fwnetik Orthqgrafi" |
| 1928 | Final instalment of OED published |
| 1928 | "Broadcast English" published |
| 1929 | Leonard's 'Doctrine of Correctness' |
| 1930 | Zachrisson's "Anglic" proposal for spelling simplification |
| 1930 | Ogden's 'Basic English' published |
| 1930 | Hunter's "Foenetik Sistem" |
| 1930 | Wingfield's "Fwnetik Orthqgrafi" publicised |
| 1931 | Grant & Murison's 'The Scottish National Dictionary' |
| 1931 | Simplified Spelling Board's publication 'Spelling' |
| 1931 | 2nd edition of "Broadcast English" published |
| 1932 | Wyld's 'Universal Dictionary' |
| 1932 | BBC's Empire Service (later World Service) launched |
| 1933 | First of 13 volumes of 'The Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles' |
| 1933 | 'Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles' |
| 1934 | 3rd edition of Concise Oxford Dictionary published |
| 1935 | Cable's 'A History of the English Language' 1st edition |
| 1935 | Richards' "Basic in Teaching" |
| 1935 | Moore, Meech & Whitehall's "Middle English Dialect Characteristics and Dialect Boundaries" |
| 1935 | The British Committee for Relations with other Countries renamed British Council |
| 1937 | Death of Zachrisson |
| 1937 | Partridge's 'Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional Language' |
| 1938 | 'A Dictionary of American English, on Historical Principles' published |
| 1939 | Government considers merging BC and Ministry of Information |
| 1940 | British Simplified Spelling Society's 'New Spelling' published |
| 1940 | Thierfelder's 'Englischer Kulturimperialismus' |
| 1942 | VOA launched |
| 1942 | University of Ceylon established |
| 1944 | Churchill's answer in the House of Commons on the role of (Basic) English in a post-war world |
| 1944 | Craigie's 'Problems of Spelling reform' |
| 1946 | Starnes & Noyes' 'The English Dictionary from Cawdrey to Johnson, 1604-1755' |
| 1947 | American College Dictionary first published |
| 1947 | Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language' |
| 1947 | Indian Constitution recognises English as 'associate' official language |
| 1948 | Gower's 'Plain Words' |
| 1948 | Sri Lanka becomes independent |
| 1948 | Start of Afrikanerisation of South Africa |
| 1948 | Orton & Dieth's survey of English dialects |
| 1949 | Spelling reform bill defeated in British Parliament. |
| 1951 | Mathews' 'A Dictionary of Americanisms, on Historical Principles' published |
| 1951 | ICAO agrees on English as the language for international aircraft control |
| 1951 | Gower's "ABC of Plain Words" |
| 1951 | Abercrombie coins the term 'accent bar' |
| 1952 | Mitchell becomes chairman of ABC |
| 1953 | Bantu Education Act |
| 1954 | The "Drogheda Report" published |
| 1954 | Gower's 'The complete plain words' published |
| 1954 | Partridge's "The Concise Usage and Abusage" |
| 1955 | Visser's "Celtic influence in English" |
| 1957 | Dobson's 'English Pronunciation 1500-1700' |
| 1957 | Burchfield starts work on Supplement to OED |
| 1958 | 1st audiovisual course in British grammar school |
| 1959 | Wijk's 'Regularized English' published |
| 1959 | Pitman's Initial Teaching Alphabet |
| 1959 | Congress of Negro Writers and Artists calls for languages other than English as national languages in Africa |
| 1960 | Nigeria gains independence |
| 1961 | Webster's Third New International Dictionary published |
| 1962 | University of Sydney Australian Language Research Centre founded |
| 1962 | Orton et al's 'Survey of English Dialects' |
| 1963 | Chinese University of Hong Kong established |
| 1963 | Kenya gains independence |
| 1964 | Gougenheim's "Les origines philosophiques du Basic English" |
| 1964 | Etiemble's "Parlez-vous franglais?" |
| 1965 | 1st part of Alston's bibliography |
| 1965 | Gowers' 'Modern English Usage' |
| 1965 | Singapore separates from Federation of Malaysia |
| 1965 | Decision on English-medium education in Zambia |
| 1967 | Tanzania drops English as an official language |
| 1967 | Malaysia drops English as an official language |
| 1967 | Welsh Language Act passed |
| 1967 | 'Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles' |
| 1967 | 'Dictionary of Jamaican English' |
| 1967 | Kucera and Francis' 'Computational Analysis of Present Day American English ' |
| 1967 | Report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism |
| 1967 | ASEAN established |
| 1968 | Bilingual Education Act |
| 1968 | Quirk's 'The Use of English' 2nd edition |
| 1969 | 'American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language' |
| 1969 | Official Languages Act |
| 1971 | Nuffield Foundation/York University Survey |
| 1972 | 'A-G' supplement to OED |
| 1973 | 'A Concise Dictionary of Canadianisms' |
| 1973 | UK and Ireland join the EU |
| 1974 | Kenya drops English as the official language |
| 1974 | Swahali replaces English as the official language of Kenya |
| 1974 | Erman's report on the York Study |
| 1974 | The Philippines introduces bilingual education policy |
| 1974 | Official Language Ordinace in Hong Kong |
| 1975 | 'Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English' published |
| 1975 | "English-Language in Jordan" report published |
| 1976 | 'H-N' supplement to OED |
| 1976 | Barber's "Early Modern English" |
| 1976 | Flexner's "I Hear America Talking" |
| 1977 | Annan Report on the future of broadcasting |
| 1977 | Bill 101 in Canada |
| 1977 | "Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary" published |
| 1978 | 'Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles' |
| 1978 | Wilkes's "A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms" |
| 1978 | Order requiring government orders to be written in plain English |
| 1978 | Baugh & Cable's "A History of the English Language" 1st edition |
| 1979 | 'Heinemann New Zealand Dictionary' |
| 1979 | Steins' 'The best of British and American lexicography.' |
| 1979 | The Plain English Campaign founded |
| 1979 | I A Richards visits China to talk about Basic English |
| 1979 | Collins English Dictionary |
| 1980 | 'Writing Plain English' |
| 1980 | 1st annual Plain English Awards |
| 1980 | IRAAL seminar "The English Language in Ireland" |
| 1980 | Michaels & Ricks' "The State of the Language" |
| 1980 | Brengelman's "Orthoepists, Printers, and the Rationalization of English Spelling" |
| 1981 | 'Seaspeak' project set up |
| 1981 | 'Language Policy for Nambia' report published |
| 1981 | 'The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors' |
| 1981 | Delbridge et al's "The Macquire Dictionary" |
| 1981 | Plain English order revoked |
| 1982 | 'O-Scz' supplement to OED |
| 1982 | 'Dictionary of Bahamian English' |
| 1982 | 'Dictionary of Africanisms' |
| 1982 | Dictionary of Newfoundland English |
| 1982 | 'Administrative Forms in Government' White Paper launched |
| 1982 | Kachru's "The Other Tongue" |
| 1982 | "Handbook of Good English" |
| 1982 | Sabban's study of Celtic-influenced English varieties |
| 1982 | Bailey & Gorlach's "English as a World Lnaguage" |
| 1982 | Trudgill & Hannah's "International English: A Guide to Varieties of Standard English" |
| 1983 | US English formed |
| 1983 | Leith's "A Social History of English" |
| 1984 | Sidney I. Landau's 'Dictionaries. The Art and Craft of Lexicography' |
| 1984 | Platt, Weber and Ho's "The New Englishes" |
| 1985 | Brunei introduces bilingual education policy |
| 1985 | "The Right Word at the Right Time" published |
| 1985 | "The First Symposium on Hiberno-English", which was held at Trinity College, Dublin |
| 1985 | Burchfield's "The English Language" |
| 1985 | "English Today" founded |
| 1985 | Greenbaum's "The English Language Today" |
| 1986 | 'Se-Z' supplement to OED |
| 1986 | Kachru's "The Alchemy of English" |
| 1986 | Viereck & Bald's "English in Contact with Other Languages" |
| 1987 | English officially recognized as "a link Language" in Sri Lanka |
| 1987 | Lass's "The Shape of English: Structure and History" |
| 1988 | Dictionary of Prince Edward Island |
| 1988 | Greenbaum et al's 'Longman Guide to English Usage' |
| 1988 | Longman's "Guide to English Usage" |
| 1988 | McClure's "Why Scots Matters" |
| 1989 | Britain refuses to sign up for EU Lingua programme |
| 1989 | The Australian National Dictionary, A Dictionary of Australianisms on Historical Principles |
| 1989 | 2nd edition of OED |
| 1991 | Bailey's 'Images of English' |
| 1993 | Baugh & Cable's 'A History of the English Language' 4th edition |
| 1993 | English among 11 official languages in new South african constitution. |
| 1993 | Graham's "The Shetland Dictionary" |
| 1993 | Sunday Times' article "Yer Wot?" |
| 1994 | "A Survey of English Spelling" |
| 1995 | Greenbaum's 'The Oxford Grammar of English' |
| 1995 | English made a national language in Sri Lanka |
| 1995 | Toubon Law |
| 1995 | First International Pilot Colloquium on the Celtic Englishes |
| 1995 | Shephard's call for eradication of Estuary English |
| 1996 | Rwanda gives English official status |
| 1996 | Algeria replaces French with English as chief foreign language in schools |
| 1996 | "The New Fowler's Modern English Usage" |
| 1997 | Graddol's 'The Future of English' |
| 1997 | 'Dictionary of New Zealand English' |
| 1997 | Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule |
| 1997 | Crystal's "English as a Global Language" |
| 1998 | McArthur's "The English Languages" |
| 1998 | Carter and Cook's debate in ELT Journal |
| 1998 | Second International Pilot Colloquium on the "Celtic Englishes" |
| 1999 | Lancashire's "Early modern English dictionaries database" |
| 1999 | US Supreme Court ruled against an Arizona law requiring public employees to speak only English on the job. |
| 2000 | Jenkin's "The Phonology of English as an International Language" |
| 2000 | "Speak Good English Movement" started |
| 2002 | McArthur's "Oxford Guide to World Englishes" |
| 2002 | McCrum et al's "The Story of English" |
| 2002 | Lloyds List announces plan to cease referring to ships as 'she' |
| 2003 | Melcher & Shaw's "World Englishes" |
| 2003 | Crystal's"English as a Global Language" 2nd edition |
| 2003 | Bragg's "The Adventure of English" |
| 2004 | Crystal's "The Stories of English" |
| 2004 | Cook's "Accomodating Brocolli" |
| 2005 | Pocket Spelling Book |
| 2006 | Graddol's "English Next" |
| 2008 | Singapore's Minister for Education's Straits Times open letter |
| 2011 | "A History of English Spelling" |
