A Day in the Past · history worksheet
On this day: 30 November
Name: Class: Date:
1. What happened on 30 November?
- 1872 Scotland and England play the first international football match
Scotland and England played the first official international football match. - 1874 Born: Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill was a British statesman, army officer and writer. - 1934 Flying Scotsman is the first steam engine officially to reach 100 mph
The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman became the first to be officially recorded going faster than 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). - 1936 Alan Turing describes the Turing machine, a key idea in computing
The English mathematician Alan Turing published the first details of what became known as the Turing machine. - 1936 The Crystal Palace in London is destroyed by fire
The Crystal Palace, a huge building of iron and glass in south London, was destroyed by fire. - 1995 US President Bill Clinton speaks for peace in Belfast
Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, visited Northern Ireland. - 2021 Barbados becomes a republic
Barbados, an island nation in the Caribbean, became a republic. - 2022 The AI chatbot ChatGPT is launched
The company OpenAI released ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence, or AI. It uses computer programs called large language models to create text, speech and images in response to what people type or say.
2. How long ago?
This year is 2026. Work out how many years ago each thing happened.
| Year | What happened | Sum | Years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | Scotland and England play the first international football match | 2026 − 1872 = | |
| 1934 | Flying Scotsman is the first steam engine officially to reach 100 mph | 2026 − 1934 = | |
| 1936 | The Crystal Palace in London is destroyed by fire | 2026 − 1936 = | |
| 2021 | Barbados becomes a republic | 2026 − 2021 = |
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!
- Flying Scotsman is the first steam engine officially to reach 100 mph
- Alan Turing describes the Turing machine, a key idea in computing
- The Crystal Palace in London is destroyed by fire
- Scotland and England play the first international football match
4. Quick quiz
In which year did this happen: “Alan Turing describes the Turing machine, a key idea in computing”?
- A. 1872
- B. 1874
- C. 1936
In which year did this happen: “US President Bill Clinton speaks for peace in Belfast”?
- A. 1874
- B. 1995
- C. 1934
Which of these happened first?
- A. US President Bill Clinton speaks for peace in Belfast
- B. Scotland and England play the first international football match
- C. Alan Turing describes the Turing machine, a key idea in computing
5. Draw it!
Draw your favourite event from 30 November. Then write a sentence about why you chose it.
Answers for teachers
How long ago: 1872 → 154 years; 1934 → 92 years; 1936 → 90 years; 2021 → 5 years.
Order: 1 = Scotland and England play the first international football match (1872), 2 = Flying Scotsman is the first steam engine officially to reach 100 mph (1934), 3 = Alan Turing describes the Turing machine, a key idea in computing (1936), 4 = The Crystal Palace in London is destroyed by fire (1936).
Quiz: 1. C (1936); 2. B (1995); 3. B (Scotland and England play the first international football match).