History By Decade: Key Events, Politics And Culture Since The 1920s
A guide to what actually happened in each decade, and what it felt like to live through.
Pick an era below for its key events, its politics, its culture and its everyday life.
Each guide links to that decade's calendar, films, music, art and year pages.
Shop the cards that go with these
Shop prints and posters 1920s history: events and politics 1930s history: events and politics 1940s history: events and politics
Cards, prints and badges, made by us
Funny and warm greeting cards, art prints and pin badges, printed in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
You Old Bastard (Funny Birthday Card)
£3.87
Cheeky Wordsearch Valentines Day Card For Him
£3.87
Fifty & Even More Fabulous Than Ever (50th Birthday Card)
£3.87
Cheeky Wordsearch Valentines Day Card For Her
£3.87
I Wish You Looked At Me Like Any Can of Strongbow Dark Fruits Ever (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
Pick a decade
- 1920s - Recovery after the First World War, the first Labour government, and the wireless arriving in the front room. Guide: /blogs/news/1920s-history
- 1930s - Depression, hunger marches, the abdication, and a country slowly rearming. Guide: /blogs/news/1930s-history
- 1940s - Total war, then the welfare state built out of rationing and rubble. Guide: /blogs/news/1940s-history
- 1950s - Coronation, rationing ending, rock and roll starting, and the first television in the street. Guide: /blogs/news/1950s-history
- 1960s - Beatles, Wilson's white heat, England winning the World Cup and the law catching up with how people lived. Guide: /blogs/news/1960s-history
- 1970s - Three-day week, decimalisation, punk, and the winter of discontent. Guide: /blogs/news/1970s-history
- 1980s - Thatcher, the Falklands, the miners' strike, and the deregulated City. Guide: /blogs/news/1980s-history
- 1990s - Recession, Britpop, the Good Friday Agreement, and the web arriving in the spare room. Guide: /blogs/news/1990s-history
- 2000s - Millennium, 9/11, Iraq, the smoking ban and the financial crisis. Guide: /blogs/news/2000s-history
- 2010s - Austerity, the London Olympics, the referendums, and life moving onto the phone. Guide: /blogs/news/2010s-history
- 2020s - Covid, a cost-of-living squeeze, a change of monarch and AI arriving all at once. Guide: /blogs/news/2020s-history
The short version
- 1920s-1930s: recovery, depression, the wireless and the slide into another war.
- 1940s-1950s: total war, then the welfare state, the Coronation and the end of rationing.
- 1960s-1970s: social reform and pop culture, then strikes, inflation and punk.
- 1980s-1990s: Thatcherism and privatisation, then Britpop, devolution and the web.
- 2000s-2020s: Iraq, the crash, Brexit, Covid and AI.
Found your words? Now find the card
Shop prints and posters 1920s history: events and politics 1930s history: events and politics 1940s history: events and politics
How to write it so it lands
- Use the history guide for the story and the decade calendar for the year-by-year timeline.
- For a milestone birthday, read the history of the decade someone was born in alongside their year page.
- The everyday life sections are usually the ones that start conversations, not the politics.
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Where to shop next
- 1920s history: events and politics
- 1930s history: events and politics
- 1940s history: events and politics
- 1950s history: events and politics
- 1960s history: events and politics
- 1970s history: events and politics
- 1980s history: events and politics
- 1990s history: events and politics
- 2000s history: events and politics
- 2010s history: events and politics
- 2020s history: events and politics
- The 2020s so far
- The 2010s: the whole decade
- The 2000s: the whole decade
- The 1990s: the whole decade
- The 1980s: the whole decade
- The 1970s: the whole decade
- The 1960s: the whole decade
- The 1950s: the whole decade
- The 1940s: the whole decade
- The 1930s: the whole decade
- The 1920s: the whole decade
- Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
- Decade art: artists, styles and trends by era
- Decade films: best movies and directors by era
- Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
- Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
- Decade calendar: every year from 1920
- Decade trivia: fun facts by era
- Decade trivia game: play for points
- Decade quiz: test your memory
- Nostalgia gift shop
- Milestone birthday cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What decades are covered?
Every decade from the 1920s to the present, each with its key events, politics, culture and everyday life.
Is this UK history or world history?
Mainly UK, with the world events that shaped it - wars, crashes, moon landings and pandemics all get their place.
Are the dates checked?
Yes. Every event, date and name is real, with years given throughout. Nothing invented.
Can I use these for a quiz or a reminiscence session?
Yes, freely. Print them, read them out, copy them - no permission needed.