A Day in the Past

Today in the past

What happened on 18 October?

Painted portrait of the author Herman Melville with a full brown beard
Photo: Joseph Oriel Eaton, Public domain

1851 175 years ago

Moby-Dick is first published in London as The Whale

Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick was first published in London, under the title The Whale. The story follows Captain Ahab and his quest for revenge on Moby Dick, a giant white sperm whale. At first the book got mixed reviews and sold poorly. Only in the 1900s did people start to see it as one of the great American no…

Explore 18 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 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 Today +117 more on 18 October

  2. Next week 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

  3. In 2 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

  4. In 3 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

  5. In 4 weeks 9 Nov – 15 Nov

    1. Mon 9 Nov +151 more on 9 November
    2. Tue 10 Nov +131 more on 10 November
    3. Wed 11 Nov +143 more on 11 November
    4. Thu 12 Nov +134 more on 12 November
    5. Fri 13 Nov +112 more on 13 November
    6. Sat 14 Nov +124 more on 14 November
    7. Sun 15 Nov +132 more on 15 November

  6. In 5 weeks 16 Nov – 22 Nov

    1. Mon 16 Nov +127 more on 16 November
    2. Tue 17 Nov +132 more on 17 November
    3. Wed 18 Nov +135 more on 18 November
    4. Thu 19 Nov +125 more on 19 November
    5. Fri 20 Nov +128 more on 20 November
    6. Sat 21 Nov +125 more on 21 November
    7. Sun 22 Nov +102 more on 22 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