A Day in the Past

Today in the past

What happened on 3 October?

Painting of tall sailing ships with flags and a long oared galley on a rough grey sea
Photo: Andries van Eertvelt, Public domain

1602 424 years ago

English ships attack Spanish galleys in the Battle of the Narrow Seas

During the Anglo-Spanish War, an English fleet led by Sir Robert Mansell attacked six Spanish galleys in the Strait of Dover. Galleys were warships that could be rowed with oars. The battle carried on into the next day, moving from the English coast to the coast of the Spanish Netherlands. A Dutch fleet joined the Eng…

Explore 3 October

Your six-week history planner

This week and the next five weeks, Monday to Sunday. Each day shows its top stories — UK history first — and every one links to the full day.

Saffron edge = a UK story

  1. This week 28 Sep – 4 Oct

    1. Mon 28 Sep +139 more on 28 September
    2. Tue 29 Sep +135 more on 29 September
    3. Wed 30 Sep +121 more on 30 September
    4. Thu 1 Oct +178 more on 1 October
    5. Fri 2 Oct +107 more on 2 October
    6. Sat 3 Oct Today +117 more on 3 October
    7. Sun 4 Oct +114 more on 4 October

  2. Next week 5 Oct – 11 Oct

    1. Mon 5 Oct +121 more on 5 October
    2. Tue 6 Oct +126 more on 6 October
    3. Wed 7 Oct +123 more on 7 October
    4. Thu 8 Oct +121 more on 8 October
    5. Fri 9 Oct +146 more on 9 October
    6. Sat 10 Oct +136 more on 10 October
    7. Sun 11 Oct +118 more on 11 October

  3. In 2 weeks 12 Oct – 18 Oct

    1. Mon 12 Oct +145 more on 12 October
    2. Tue 13 Oct +110 more on 13 October
    3. Wed 14 Oct +137 more on 14 October
    4. Thu 15 Oct +110 more on 15 October
    5. Fri 16 Oct +146 more on 16 October
    6. Sat 17 Oct +135 more on 17 October
    7. Sun 18 Oct +117 more on 18 October

  4. In 3 weeks 19 Oct – 25 Oct

    1. Mon 19 Oct +125 more on 19 October
    2. Tue 20 Oct +112 more on 20 October
    3. Wed 21 Oct +131 more on 21 October
    4. Thu 22 Oct +116 more on 22 October
    5. Fri 23 Oct +134 more on 23 October
    6. Sat 24 Oct +139 more on 24 October
    7. Sun 25 Oct +125 more on 25 October

  5. In 4 weeks 26 Oct – 1 Nov

    1. Mon 26 Oct +131 more on 26 October
    2. Tue 27 Oct +121 more on 27 October
    3. Wed 28 Oct +131 more on 28 October
    4. Thu 29 Oct +123 more on 29 October
    5. Fri 30 Oct +120 more on 30 October
    6. Sat 31 Oct +122 more on 31 October
    7. Sun 1 Nov +157 more on 1 November

  6. In 5 weeks 2 Nov – 8 Nov

    1. Mon 2 Nov +112 more on 2 November
    2. Tue 3 Nov +143 more on 3 November
    3. Wed 4 Nov +115 more on 4 November
    4. Thu 5 Nov +125 more on 5 November
    5. Fri 6 Nov +83 more on 6 November
    6. Sat 7 Nov +147 more on 7 November
    7. Sun 8 Nov +133 more on 8 November

Planner key: explorer badges

Each story gets a badge for its topic. Collect them all — tap a badge to explore that topic through the year.

For teachers and parents

Every day has a printable worksheet with a “how long ago?” maths starter, a put-them-in-order timeline and a quick quiz — all built from that day’s real history. Stories about war, disasters and crime are kept out of the calendar and tucked away in a separate “For older readers” section.

Today’s worksheet How to use the site in class