1938 in British television

Overview of the events of 1938 in British television

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This is a list of events related to British television in 1938.

Events

21 February – The BBC Television Service broadcasts the first ever piece of television science-fiction, a 35-minute adaptation of a segment of the play R.U.R. by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek.

12 March – First news bulletin carried by the BBC Television Service, in sound only. Previously, the service had aired British Movietone News cinema newsreels.

1 April – The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is first televised on the BBC Television Service.
19 April – The first televised international football (soccer) match, England v Scotland, shown on the BBC Television Service.
30 April – The FA Cup Final is televised for the first time on the BBC Television Service.

31 May – The first quiz show, Spelling Bee, is televised on the BBC Television Service.^[1]

24 June
- Test Match Cricket is broadcast for the first time on the BBC Television Service, with coverage of the second test of The Ashes series between England and Australia, live from Lord's Cricket Ground.
- John Logie Baird gives the world's first public demonstration of a colour television broadcast.^[2] The 120-line image is projected at the Dominion Theatre, London on a 12 by 9 feet (3.7 by 2.7 m) screen in front of an audience of 3,000.

26 October – The first televised ice hockey match, Harringay Racers vs. Streatham Redskins, is shown by the BBC.

Due to freak atmospheric conditions, a BBC TV broadcast from London is received in New York City.^[3]

14 March – Eleanor Bron, actress and author
6 April – Paul Daniels, magician and television performer (d. 2016)
20 April – Peter Snow, radio and television presenter
28 April – Fred Dibnah, steeplejack and television personality (d. 2004)
7 June – Ian St John, Scottish footballer and TV pundit (d. 2021)
20 July – Diana Rigg, actress (d. 2020)
22 July – Terence Stamp, actor
28 July – Ian McCaskill, weatherman (d. 2016)
3 August – Terry Wogan, Irish broadcaster (d. 2016)^[4]
31 August – Martin Bell, war correspondent, independent politician and UNICEF ambassador
12 September
- Michael Leader, actor (d. 2016)
- Patrick Mower, actor
22 October – Derek Jacobi, actor
28 October – David Dimbleby, political broadcaster

^ "Spelling Bee". ukgameshows.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
^ Previous demonstrations of colour television in the UK and US had been via closed circuit.
^ A film camera is used to record the silent images which included the performance of a play, a cartoon, and other matter. A four-minute excerpt from this filmed recording will survive and be considered one of the only surviving examples of a pre-war BBC television transmission. Alexandra Palace Television Society. "BBC Television received in New York – November 1938". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
^ "Sir Terry Wogan obituary". The Guardian. London. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2021.