You've probably got your 2015 calendars out and invested in a new diary for the coming year.

Everyone may be looking forward to see what the next 12 months has in store — but there's some good reasons to look back, too!

Because 2015 will have some important historical anniversaries, from battlefield glories to the deaths of important British figures.

There's also some big birthdays in the world of film, music and literature.

Here's 12 important anniversaries in 2015:

1. January 24: 50th anniversary of Winston Churchill's death

Winston Churchill visiting Normandy in a Jeep
Winston Churchill visiting Normandy in a Jeep

Considered one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Winston Churchill was also more than just a Prime Minister. He was a valued historian, artist and writer — and the only British leader to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He died, aged 90, on Sunday January 25, 1965 — this year will be the 50th anniversary of his death.

2. February 2: 25 years since Nelson Mandela freed

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa
Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa

After 27 years in prison for leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government in South Africa, Nelson Mandela was released unconditionally on February 2, 1990. Following his release, he worked with President F W de Klerk to abolish apartheid and organise multiracial elections , held in 1994. In the elections, he led the African National Congress to victory and became the country's first black president.

3. March 15: 30 years since the first .com domain was registered

Symbolics.com was the first .com website
Symbolics.com was the first .com website

What did we do before the internet? Probably went down the pub more often actually spoke to people face to face! But we also didn't have the wonders of eBay, email, Facebook... there's a lot to thank the web for. It's been 30 years since the first .com domain was registered. Symbolics.com was registered on March 15, 1985, by computer development company Symbolics Computer Corporation. These days the website offers facts about business and internet history.

4. March 29: The Sound of Music turns 50

The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music

The much-loved musical starring Julie Andrews will turn 50 in March this year, with fans sure to celebrate 50 years of sing-along fun. It won five Academy Awards and brought songs including My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Sixteen Going On Seventeen and The Lonely Goatherd from the Broadway stage to the big screen. March 29 marks 50 years since its UK premiere.

5. March 31: 25th anniversary of the Poll Tax riots

The 1990 Poll Tax riots
The 1990 Poll Tax riots

It's been 25 years since the riots across Britain in reaction to the new poll tax (known as the Community Charge) introduced by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990. The largest protest took place in London on March 31, 1990, when a morning protest turned into a violent confrontation between the Metropolitan Police, protesters and activisits. Clashes and looting went on until 3am. John Major abolished the controversial Tax in November that year, following the resignation of Margaret Thatcher

6.  June 15: the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta

Runnymede Meadows, Egham. Artist Hew Locke will be producing artwork for the Magna Carta anniversary.
Runnymede Meadows, Egham. Artist Hew Locke will be producing artwork for the Magna Carta anniversary.

Also in June will be the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede. The iconic 'Great Charter', sealed by King John on June 12, 1215, included protection from illegal imprisonment, the right to 'swift justice', the freedom of the church and limitations on taxation. It inspired the US constitution, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights and legal systems around the world.

7. June 18: 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler
Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler
  

Infamous for the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and the inspiration for a catchy ABBA song, the Battle of Waterloo celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. The battle, fought on Sunday June 18, 1815, near Waterloo in Belgium, saw Napoleon's French Army defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, led by the Duke of Wellington, and the Prussian army.

8. July 7: 10th anniversary of 7/7 bombings in London

 

July 7 will mark 10 years since suicide bombers struck in central London, killing 52 people and injuring more than 750. the rush hour terrorist attack consisted of three bombs which went off at around 8.50am — on underground trains outside the Liverpool Street and Edgware Road stationsm and on a double-decked bus in Tavistock Square. Huddersfield student Jermaine Lindsay, 19, former Dewsbury man Mohammad Siddique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, and Hasib Hussain, 18, carried out the atrocities.

9. Summer: 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain

Spitfire P7350 Mark II from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Spitfire P7350 Mark II from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The Battle of Britain raged in the skies from July to October in 1940 — and was the first key defeat of Hitler's forces during World War Two. The German Air Force, Luftwaffe, launched an air campaign against the Unied Kingdom, the largest aerial bombing campaign to that date. Winston Churchill summed up the battle and the contribution of the RAF Fighter Command with the words: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

10.  August 4: Psycho's 55th birthday

Psycho
Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's iconic horror film psycho turns 55 on August 4. The Oscar-nominated psychological thriller, which caused controversy with film censors around the world, was first shown in cinemas in 1960, and was so successful it was re-released in 1965. Famous for it's shocking shower scene, people queued in long lines to see the film, which had a strict 'no late admissions' policy imposed by Hitchcock himself.

11. August 6: 70 years since the first atomic bombs dropped on Japan

An atomic bomb devastated Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945
An atomic bomb devastated Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945

2015 also marks 70 years since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Japan during World War Two. On August 6, the Enola Gay dropped the bomb nicknamed 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima, and days later, on August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Up to 250,000 died in the two bombings, still the only use of atomic weapons in a war scenario to this day.

12. October 20: The Lord of the Rings turns 60

The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings

J R R Tolkien's epic fantasy novel, written as a sequel to the hugely popular, The Hobbit, turns 60 in October. The Return of the King, the third and final volume of the novel, was finally published on October 20, 1955. The books took 12 years to write and became the second-biggest selling novel of all time, with 150 million copies sold around the world.