You can either jump to the chronology for a specific century using the following table of links or scroll through the centuries sequentially by following the links at the bottom of the page.
753 BCE | Tuesday April 21 | Traditionally the date on which the city of Rome was founded. |
721 BCE | Tuesday March 19 | The first-ever recorded solar eclipse was seen from Babylon. |
648 BCE | Friday April 6 | The earliest total solar eclipse chronicled by the Greeks was observed. |
356 BCE | Wednesday September 20 | Birth of Alexander the Great |
239 BCE | Tuesday March 30 | The first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. |
63 BCE | Friday September 23 | Birth of the 1st Roman Emperor Augustus |
55-54 BCE | - | Expeditions of Caesar to Britannia. |
44 BC | Friday March 15 | Julius Caesar was assassinated. |
43 BCE | Thursday March 20 | Birth of the Roman poet Ovid. |
34-26 BCE | - | Projected expeditions of Augustus. |
31 BCE | Wednesday September 2 | Emperor Augustus (Octavian) defeated Antony at the Battle of Actium |
26 BCE-40 CE | - | Britannia in the period between the invasions was going through political and economic change. |
19 BCE | Tuesday September 21 | Death of the Roman poet Virgil |
37 | Saturday March 16 | Death of the Roman emperor Tiberius. He was succeeded by his adopted son Caligula. |
40 | - | The expedition of Gaius (Caligula) to Britannia was cancelled. |
40-41 | - | Death of Cunobelinus (Cymbeline), King of the Catuvellauni who were centered around Hertford. |
40-41 | - | Accession of Caratacus as king of the Catuvellani. |
41 | Tuesday January 24 | Assassination of Caligula and acclamation of Claudius by the Praetorian Guard. |
43 | - | Claudian invasion of Britannia. |
47 | - | The conquest of the south-east of England was completed. |
49 | - | Foundation of Colchester (Camulodunum). |
50 | - | Foundation of Londinium . The first London bridge (timber) was built. The basic network of roads and the port facilities were established. |
50-100 | - | Extensive and continued terracing of the hill at Old Bailey overlooking the Fleet river. |
51 | - | Defeat and capture of Caratacus. |
53 | Saturday September 15 | Birth of the Roman emperor Trajan, |
54 | Sunday October 13 | Death of the Roman emperor and conqueror of Britain, Claudius I |
60 | - | Boudiccan revolt and destruction of Londinium. |
61 | - | The Boudiccan revolt was suppressed and rebuilding began. London became the capital of the province of Britannia. |
60-70 | - | First metalling on Ludgate Hill. The road has a very steep gradient of 1 in 20. |
60-70 | - | Possible timber bridge across the Fleet river. |
60-70 | - | Warehouse and jetty were constructed on a small island downstream of the Fleet bridge. Grain and other goods, including surgical instruments and luxury toiletries, were landed here. . |
70 | - | A massive watermill was on a small island upstream of the Fleet bridge. Grain was processed here. It may have been under military control. |
70 | Monday October 15 | Birth of the Roman poet Virgil |
70-84 | - | Conquest of Wales and the North. Conquest of Pictland. |
70-75 | - | Construction of the first Forum and civic buildings in Londinium. |
80-125 | - | Construction began on the Governor's Palace, Public baths, the Fort and the first Fleet Bridge. |
90-100 | - | Construction of the second forum and Basilica and the Thames waterfront. |
105 | Tuesday March 11 | Ts'ai Lun, in China, invented paper, made from bamboo, mulberry, and other fibres, along with fish nets and rags. |
110 | - | Construction of Cripplegate fort was completed. |
110-120 | - | A complex of kilns was established on the Old Bailey hill overlooking the Fleet. Used for glass working. |
120-125 | - | Londinium destroyed by fire (the Hadrianic Fire). A new Waterfront and civic centre were built. |
121 | Saturday April 20 | Birth of the Roman Emperor, philosopher and author Marcus Aurelius. |
122 | - | Hadrianus visited Londinium. The construction of Hadrian's Wall by Aulus Platorius Nepos began. |
125 | - | Construction of the Amphitheatre. |
142 | - | The construction of the Antonine Wall, by Quintus Lollius Urbicus, began. |
150 | - | A new Thames waterfront was extended a further 25 metres into the river. |
158 | - | There was a Serious revolt in the north and the Antonine wall was over-run |
160 | - | The Antonine wall was temporarily re-occupied. |
163 | - | Hadrian's Wall was restored and newly fortified. |
166-70 | - | Plague of Galen? Decline of Londinium? . |
190-220 | - | The city wall (with an external ditch and six double gates) and a new waterfront wall were constructed. |
180 | Friday March 17 | Death of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. |
193 | - | Clodius Albinus, then Governor, withdrew the Roman forces from Britannia to support his bid to become emperor. The Barbarians overran the north of England. |
194 | - | A small jetty or quay was constructed on the north side of Fleet bridge. |
195-200 | - | The Fleet glass works went out of use and an octagonal Romano-Celtic temple, the largest yet found in Britain, was constructed on the site. |
195-200 | - | Ludgate Hill was resurfaced and the gradient reduced to 1 in 10. |
195-200 | - | A new Fleet bridge was constructed. It had masonry foundations and might have been a stone bridge. |
200 | - | Britannia was divided into two Provinces. Londinium became the Capital of Britannia Superior, York (Colonia Eboracensium) was the capital of Britannia Inferior. |
208 | - | Septimus Severus arrived in Londinium. He moved north to punish the Caledonians but died at York. |
209-211 | - | Campaign of Caracalla in the north. |
212 | - | Caracalla issued an edict conferring Roman citizenship on all free inhabitants of the Empire. |
217 | Tuesday April 8 | The Roman emperor Caracalla was assassinated. |
225 | - | Sea levels began to fall in south-eastern England and the tidal levels in the Thames dropped significantly. The Fleet islands became increasingly unusable and were abandoned. |
225-250 | - | The final extension of the Roman waterfront, about 10 metres into the river. |
240 | - | A Temple of Mithras built on the bank of the Walbrook |
270 | - | The Fleet octagonal temple was destroyed, probably deliberately. A new multi-roomed, building, perhaps a mansio, with a hypocaust system replaced it. |
286-7 | - | Carausius rebelled in Londinium and set himself up as Emperor. Britannia was once again separated from the Empire. |
290 | - | The first mint in Londinium was established. |
296 | - | Constantius Chlorus invaded Britannia. |
297 | - | The "Empire" of Carausius was suppressed. Britannia became a civil diocese within the Empire and consisted of four provinces. |
303 | Friday April 23 | The martyrdom of St George, patron saint of England. |
306 | - | Campaign of Constantius I (Constantine the Great)in Pictland; he was proclaimed Emperor of Rome whilst at York ( Colonia Eboracensium ) |
313 | - | Constantine issued the Edict of Milan recognising Christianity as a religion in the Empire. |
314 | April to October | Constantine visited Britannia. |
341-6 | - | After a series of attacks, the Walbrook Mithraeum went into disuse. |
367 | - | The Picts, Irish (Scotti) and Saxons all made successful incursions to Britannia and challenged the authority of Rome. |
369 | - | Roman authority in Britannia was restored under Theodosius. |
383 | - | Magnus Maximus was proclaimed Emperor in Britannia. He won a victory over the Picts and then withdrew Roman troops from Britannia to support his attempt to conquer the North-western part of the empire. |
374 | Sunday February 16 | Ninth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. |
398-400 | - | There were a series of Roman victories over the Picts, Irish (Scotti) and Saxons. |
400-402. | - | Stilicho withdrew more troops from Britannia. |
406 | - | Britannia revolted against Honorius and two emperors are proclaimed. |
407 | - | Constantine III was proclaimed in Britannia. He ruled the Empire from Arles. |
409 | - | Britannia revolted against Constantine III and Roman rule in Britain effectively ended. |
410 | - | Rome was sacked by the Goths and Honorius tells the Britons to arrange for their own defence. |
429 | - | St Germanus visits Britain to suppress the Pelagian heresy. |
446 | - | Britain made a last plea to Rome for military protection. |
450 | - | The Adventus Saxonum, Hengest and Horsa settled in Kent. |
455 | - | Hengest rebelled against Vortigern. |
457 | - | The Britons, defeated by the invading Angles, retreated to Londinium. Londinium disappears from historical record. |
477 | - | Saxon settlement of Sussex. |
485 | Wednesday April 17 | Death of the Greek mathematician and philosopher Proclus. |
495 | - | Saxon settlement of Wessex. |
500 | - | Revolt of the Mercenaries and the Battle of Mons Badonicus. ??Arthur established an overkingdom??. |
2. It is important to recognise that very few dates from this period can be considered to be precisely accurate. Most are based on archaeological dating techniques which normally give a date range rather than a precise date. All of the dates in the table should therefore be taken as approximate.