A Day in the Past

Today in the past

What happened on 15 November?

Painted portrait of William Herschel with grey powdered hair, a white cravat and a brown coat
Photo: Lemuel Francis Abbott, Public domain

1738 288 years ago

Born: William Herschel

William Herschel, the astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus, was born in Hanover, in what is now Germany. He played in a military band there before moving to Britain at the age of 19, and he also composed music. In 1781 he spotted a new object in the sky that turned out to be Uranus, the first planet discovered …

Explore 15 November

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 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 Today +132 more on 15 November

  2. Next week 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

  3. In 2 weeks 23 Nov – 29 Nov

    1. Mon 23 Nov +115 more on 23 November
    2. Tue 24 Nov +126 more on 24 November
    3. Wed 25 Nov +124 more on 25 November
    4. Thu 26 Nov +126 more on 26 November
    5. Fri 27 Nov +135 more on 27 November
    6. Sat 28 Nov +134 more on 28 November
    7. Sun 29 Nov +115 more on 29 November

  4. In 3 weeks 30 Nov – 6 Dec

    1. Mon 30 Nov +115 more on 30 November
    2. Tue 1 Dec +148 more on 1 December
    3. Wed 2 Dec +118 more on 2 December
    4. Thu 3 Dec +118 more on 3 December
    5. Fri 4 Dec +137 more on 4 December
    6. Sat 5 Dec +127 more on 5 December
    7. Sun 6 Dec +116 more on 6 December

  5. In 4 weeks 7 Dec – 13 Dec

    1. Mon 7 Dec +110 more on 7 December
    2. Tue 8 Dec +126 more on 8 December
    3. Wed 9 Dec +126 more on 9 December
    4. Thu 10 Dec +122 more on 10 December
    5. Fri 11 Dec +126 more on 11 December
    6. Sat 12 Dec +89 more on 12 December
    7. Sun 13 Dec +104 more on 13 December

  6. In 5 weeks 14 Dec – 20 Dec

    1. Mon 14 Dec +122 more on 14 December
    2. Tue 15 Dec +115 more on 15 December
    3. Wed 16 Dec +121 more on 16 December
    4. Thu 17 Dec +130 more on 17 December
    5. Fri 18 Dec +113 more on 18 December
    6. Sat 19 Dec +113 more on 19 December
    7. Sun 20 Dec +106 more on 20 December

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