A Day in the Past · history worksheet
On this day: 15 October
Name: Class: Date:
1. What happened on 15 October?
- 1066 Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings
After King Harold died at the Battle of Hastings, England's leaders, including the Archbishop of York, proclaimed Edgar Ætheling King of England. - 1529 Austrian forces drive back the Ottoman army at Vienna
The Siege of Vienna ended when Austrian forces drove back the invading Turkish army of the Ottoman Empire. - 1815 Napoleon begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena
Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of the French, began his exile on Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. - 1881 Born: P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse was an English writer and one of the most widely read comic authors of the 1900s. - 1944 Born: David Trimble
David Trimble was a Northern Irish politician who became the very first First Minister of Northern Ireland, serving from 1998 to 2002. - 1956 The FORTRAN computer language is shared with programmers
FORTRAN, often called the first modern computer language, was shared with computer programmers for the first time. - 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. - 1997 ThrustSSC becomes the first car to break the sound barrier
The British jet-powered car ThrustSSC set a new land speed record of 1,228 km/h (763 mph) in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA. It was driven by Andy Green, and the team behind it included Richard Noble.
2. How long ago?
This year is 2026. Work out how many years ago each thing happened.
| Year | What happened | Sum | Years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1066 | Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings | 2026 − 1066 = | |
| 1815 | Napoleon begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena | 2026 − 1815 = | |
| 1944 | Born: David Trimble | 2026 − 1944 = | |
| 1990 | Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize | 2026 − 1990 = |
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!
- Austrian forces drive back the Ottoman army at Vienna
- The FORTRAN computer language is shared with programmers
- Napoleon begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena
- Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings
4. Quick quiz
In which year did this happen: “Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings”?
- A. 1781
- B. 1066
- C. 1529
In which year was David Trimble born?
- A. 1815
- B. 1944
- C. 1997
Which of these happened first?
- A. Napoleon begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena
- B. Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings
- C. ThrustSSC becomes the first car to break the sound barrier
5. Draw it!
Draw your favourite event from 15 October. Then write a sentence about why you chose it.
Answers for teachers
How long ago: 1066 → 960 years; 1815 → 211 years; 1944 → 82 years; 1990 → 36 years.
Order: 1 = Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings (1066), 2 = Austrian forces drive back the Ottoman army at Vienna (1529), 3 = Napoleon begins his exile on the island of Saint Helena (1815), 4 = The FORTRAN computer language is shared with programmers (1956).
Quiz: 1. B (1066); 2. B (1944); 3. B (Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed King of England after Hastings).