In Which We Serve
Co-directs In Which We Serve with Noel Coward, moving from film editing into feature direction.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
David Lean Biography and Timeline
Follow David Lean through 6 dated historical records for Great Britain.
David Lean, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
6Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1942–1984Years on this page
1942
1945
Brief Encounter
Directs Brief Encounter, adapting Noel Coward's Still Life into a landmark British romantic drama.
1946
Great Expectations
Directs Great Expectations, bringing Charles Dickens's novel to the screen in a celebrated British adaptation.
1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Directs The Bridge on the River Kwai, the epic that brings him his first Academy Award for directing.
1962
Lawrence of Arabia
Directs Lawrence of Arabia, expanding his reputation for large-scale historical and visual filmmaking.
1984
A Passage to India
Returns to feature direction with A Passage to India after a fourteen-year gap between theatrical films.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.