A Day in the Past · history worksheet
On this day: 23 January
Name: Class: Date:
1. What happened on 23 January?
- 1264 France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons
King Louis IX of France gave a ruling known as the Mise of Amiens. - 1368 The Hongwu Emperor founds China's Ming dynasty
Zhu Yuanzhang took the throne as the Hongwu Emperor and started the Ming dynasty in China. - 1571 Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London
Queen Elizabeth I officially opened the Royal Exchange in the City of London and gave it its royal title. - 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell is the first woman to earn a US medical degree
English-born Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from Geneva Medical College in New York. - 1919 Born: Bob Paisley
Bob Paisley was an English footballer and manager who spent almost 50 years at Liverpool Football Club. - 1967 Milton Keynes is founded as a new town
The government officially created Milton Keynes as a new town in Buckinghamshire, planned to grow into a city of 250,000 people. - 1993 Mosaic, the first popular web browser, is released
The first version of Mosaic, a web browser created by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina, was released. - 2003 The last signal is received from the space probe Pioneer 10
Scientists picked up the final signal from NASA's space probe Pioneer 10, then about 12 billion kilometres from Earth.
2. How long ago?
This year is 2026. Work out how many years ago each thing happened.
| Year | What happened | Sum | Years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1264 | France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons | 2026 − 1264 = | |
| 1571 | Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London | 2026 − 1571 = | |
| 1919 | Born: Bob Paisley | 2026 − 1919 = | |
| 1993 | Mosaic, the first popular web browser, is released | 2026 − 1993 = |
3. Put them in order
Write 1 next to the oldest event, then 2, 3 and so on up to the newest. Use list 1 to help you!
- France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons
- Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London
- Elizabeth Blackwell is the first woman to earn a US medical degree
- The Hongwu Emperor founds China's Ming dynasty
4. Quick quiz
In which year did this happen: “Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London”?
- A. 2003
- B. 1919
- C. 1571
In which year did this happen: “France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons”?
- A. 1264
- B. 1960
- C. 1900
Which of these happened first?
- A. Elizabeth Blackwell is the first woman to earn a US medical degree
- B. France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons
- C. Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London
5. Draw it!
Draw your favourite event from 23 January. Then write a sentence about why you chose it.
Answers for teachers
How long ago: 1264 → 762 years; 1571 → 455 years; 1919 → 107 years; 1993 → 33 years.
Order: 1 = France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons (1264), 2 = The Hongwu Emperor founds China's Ming dynasty (1368), 3 = Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London (1571), 4 = Elizabeth Blackwell is the first woman to earn a US medical degree (1849).
Quiz: 1. C (1571); 2. A (1264); 3. B (France's King Louis IX sides with Henry III against the barons).