144 things happened on 14 October, from 1066 to 2025. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1066 · 960 years ago
At the Battle of Hastings, the army of William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the English army of King Harold Godwinson. Harold, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, died in the battle. William became the first Norman king of England and is remembered a…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
At the Battle of Hastings, the army of William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the English army of King Harold Godwinson. Harold, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, died in the battle. William became the first Norman king of England and is remembered as William the Conqueror. His invasion of England is known as the Norman Conquest.
UK story
Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, defeated King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland. The defeat pushed Edward towards accepting that Scotland was an independent kingdom. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He is still remembered in Scotland as a national hero.
UK story
Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial accused of conspiracy, which means secretly plotting, against Queen Elizabeth I of England. Mary had been Queen of Scotland from 1542 until 1567, when she was forced to give up her throne. Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor monarchs. Her long reign, from 1558 to 1603, gave its name to the Elizabethan era.
UK story
Delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies, meeting in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress, spoke out against the British Parliament's Intolerable Acts. These laws had been passed to punish the colonists after the Boston Tea Party. The Congress demanded that Britain back down. It was an early step in the American Revolution, which led to the creation of the United States.
UK story
French inventor Louis Le Prince filmed Roundhay Garden Scene in a garden in Roundhay, Leeds. This short silent film is believed to be the oldest film that still exists. Le Prince may have been the first person to film a moving scene using a camera with a single lens. He is sometimes called the 'Father of Cinematography', but he disappeared in 1890.
UK story
English pilot Claude Grahame-White landed his aeroplane on Executive Avenue, a street near the White House in Washington, D.C. He was one of the pioneers of flying. In the same year, during an air race from London to Manchester, he became the first person to make a flight at night.
UK story
Winnie-the-Pooh, the first book of stories about A. A. Milne's famous teddy bear, was published. It was illustrated by E. H. Shepard. The stories are set in the Hundred Acre Wood, where Pooh has adventures with Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. A second collection, The House at Pooh Corner, followed in 1928.
UK story
The revolutionary group the United Irishmen is formed in Belfast, Ireland leading to the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
UK story
The Queen Elizabeth Way, North America's first intercity divided highway, opens.
American test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier. He reached Mach 1.06 in the Bell X-1, an experimental aircraft powered by a rocket. Mach 1 is the speed of sound, so he was flying a little faster than sound itself. Flying faster than sound makes a loud bang called a sonic boom.
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He won it for fighting racial inequality by peaceful means, without violence. King was a Baptist minister and a leader of the civil rights movement in the United States. He campaigned against unfair laws that treated African Americans worse than other people.
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner rose about 39 kilometres above New Mexico, USA, in a capsule carried by a helium balloon. Then he jumped. As he fell, he reached about 1,358 km/h, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier without being inside a vehicle. The whole jump, from leaving the capsule to landing by parachute, took about ten minutes.
Forces of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty led by King Tabinshwehti (depicted) departed Martaban to begin an invasion of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends.
Third Silesian War: At the Battle of Hochkirch, an Austrian army under Leopold Joseph von Daun surprised the Prussians commanded by Frederick the Great, overwhelming them and forcing a general retreat.
The first recorded ministry of education, the Commission of National Education, is formed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
War of the Third Coalition: French forces under Marshal Michel Ney defeated Austrian forces in Elchingen, present-day Germany.
War of the Fourth Coalition: Napoleon decisively defeats Prussia at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt.
The Republic of Ragusa is annexed by France.
The Treaty of Schönbrunn is signed, ending the War of the Fifth Coalition, the final successful war in Napoleon Bonaparte's military career.
American Civil War: In the Battle of Bristoe Station, the Union II Corps surprised and repelled the Confederate attack on the Union rearguard, resulting in a Union victory.
George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film.
The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2–0, clinching the 1908 World Series; this would be their last until winning the 2016 World Series.
World War I: Bulgaria joins the Central Powers.
Finland and Soviet Russia sign the Treaty of Tartu, exchanging some territories.
Germany withdraws from the League of Nations and World Disarmament Conference.
The Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet state, was established with Jose P. Laurel as its first president.
The first of the Smith Act trials concluded in New York City, with eleven leaders of the Communist Party of the United States found guilty of violating the Smith Act.
B. R. Ambedkar, a leader of India's "Untouchable" caste, publicly converted to Buddhism and became the leader of the Dalit Buddhist movement.
The 23rd Canadian Parliament becomes the only one to be personally opened by the Queen of Canada.
The Cuban Missile Crisis begins when an American reconnaissance aircraft takes photographs of Soviet ballistic missiles being installed in Cuba.
Members of the Politburo voted to remove Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and replace him with Leonid Brezhnev.
The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid transit system.
The Dutch Cals cabinet fell after Norbert Schmelzer, the leader of the government party, filed a successful motion against the budget, in what later became known as the Night of Schmelzer.
Apollo program: The first live television broadcast by American astronauts in orbit is performed by the Apollo 7 crew.
Jim Hines becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 9.95 seconds.
At least 75,000 people attended the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington, D.C., to demand equal civil rights for LGBT people.
The 6th Congress of the Workers' Party concluded, having anointed North Korean president Kim Il Sung's son Kim Jong Il as his successor.
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the establishment of the Oslo Accords and the framing of future Palestinian self government.
The Steve Bartman Incident takes place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.
The Serbia vs. Albania UEFA qualifying match is canceled after 42 minutes due to several incidents on and off the pitch. Albania is eventually awarded a win.
Approximately 10,000 John Deere employees went on strike in one of the largest private-sector strikes in the United States.
Australians vote to reject a constitutional amendment that would have established an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
A coup d'état successfully overthrows Malagasy president Andry Rajoelina.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “William of Normandy wins the Battle of Hastings”?
B: 1066. 1066 — that’s 960 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “The oldest surviving film is made in a garden in Leeds”?
C: 1888. 1888 — that’s 138 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: William of Normandy wins the Battle of Hastings. 1888: The oldest surviving film is made in a garden in Leeds · 1926: A. A. Milne's book Winnie-the-Pooh is published · 1066: William of Normandy wins the Battle of Hastings Find it on the page
“A. A. Milne's book Winnie-the-Pooh is published” happened in 1926. How many years ago was that?
B: 100 years. 2026 − 1926 = 100. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 14 October.
UK story
James II became King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1685; in Scotland he was known as James VII. He was the last Catholic monarch of the three kingdoms. His reign was full of arguments about religion and royal power. He lost his throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which confirmed that Parliament had more power than the Crown.
UK story
William Penn was an English writer and religious thinker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania in North America. He was a Quaker and believed in democracy and freedom of religion. He was known for his friendly relations and treaties with the Lenape people, who lived in the area before European settlers arrived.
Well-known people who died on 14 October.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 14 October somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “October 14” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.