1961 Founded on 450 by Richard Ingrams, Paul Foot, Willie Rushton and Christopher Booker with the intention of waging war on “cant and humbug”.
1964 Saved from bankruptcy by Lord Farringdon (believed to be the only homosexual Communist peer in the Lords).
1975 An article linking Sir James Goldsmith to the Lucan Affair kicked off an epic feud. Goldsmith issued 90 libel writs against the magazine throughout the Seventies. The Goldenballs fund was set up to cover the magazine’s costs.
1977 Victory in a final 100000 legal battle with Goldsmith.
1983 Private Eye breaks the story that Sarah Keays, Cecil Parkinson’s secretary, was expecting his child.
1986 Sales reach 240000 copies a fortnight. Ian Hislop takes over as editor from Richard Ingrams. Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, is awarded 600000 in libel damages. The award is dropped to 60000 on appeal. Robert Maxwell wins costs and damages totalling 255000 after Private Eye accused him of funding Neil Kinnock’s overseas trips in order to be recommended for a peerage. A “souvenir” edition dedicated to mocking Maxwell recovers some of the costs.
1992 Punch, Private Eye’s nearest competitor, closes.
1995 Peter Cook dies, leaving his 66% share of Private Eye to his wife, Lin. Hislop pledges to prevent her from selling them to any of the Eye’s enemies: “Practically she can’t because I’ll burn down the building.”
1996 Punch is relaunched by Mohamed al-Fayed but fails to regain its former status.
1997 WH Smith and other leading newsagents ban the Princess Diana memorial edition, published three days after her death. Subscriptions subsequently double.
April 2000 Publishes 1000th issue.
October 2001 40th birthday. Circulation stable at 188000 copies. Kim Bunce