1950s
Year | Date | Event |
1950 | 26 January | India becomes a republic, being the first non-Commonwealth Realm member of the Commonwealth. |
4 February | The fourth British Empire Games open in Auckland, New Zealand. These would be the last under that name. | |
1951 | 4 January | The fifth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. |
28 July | The 1st Commonwealth Division is created to amalgamate Australian, British, Canadian, Indian, and New Zealand forces engaged in the Korean War. | |
1952 | 6 February | George VI dies, being succeeded as monarch of the Commonwealth Realms and Head of the Commonwealth by Elizabeth II. |
28 April | The British Commonwealth Occupation Force is officially disbanded, having transferred control of Far Eastern forces to British Commonwealth Forces Korea. | |
20 October | Sir Evelyn Baring, Governor of Kenya, declares a state of emergency, recognising the severity of the Mau Mau Uprising. | |
1953 | 3 June | The sixth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. |
1954 | 30 July | The British Empire Games are renamed the 'British Empire and Commonwealth Games', with the opening of the 1954 Games in Vancouver, Canada. |
1955 | 26 January | The seventh Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. |
1956 | 27 June | The eighth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. |
1957 | 6 March | Ghana, previously the Gold Coast, joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom, becoming the first majority-ruled African member. |
26 June | The ninth Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference convenes in London. | |
31 August | The Federation of Malaya joins the Commonwealth upon being granted independence by the United Kingdom. It is the first monarchy in the Commonwealth except for the Commonwealth Realms. | |
1958 | 3 January | The Federation of the West Indies is formed from the British West Indies as a self-governing colony. |
30 July | The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games open in Cardiff, the United Kingdom. |
Read more about this topic: History Of The Commonwealth Of Nations