A Day in the Past · history worksheet
On this day: 29 December
Name: Class: Date:
1. What happened on 29 December?
- 1809 Born: William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom four times, more than any other British prime minister. - 1860 HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warship, is launched
HMS Warrior was launched for the Royal Navy during the coldest winter for 50 years. - 1911 Mongolia declares independence from China's Qing dynasty
Mongolia broke away from the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty to rule China. - 1913 Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film
The director Cecil B. DeMille began filming the first feature film made in Hollywood, in Los Angeles, California. - 1915 France gives land for British war graves as a 'free gift'
During the First World War, France passed a law to obtain land for the graves of Allied soldiers who had died. - 1959 Richard Feynman imagines building things atom by atom
The American physicist Richard Feynman gave a talk called 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom' at Caltech in California. - 1989 Václav Havel is elected President of Czechoslovakia
Václav Havel, a Czech playwright and dissident, was elected President of Czechoslovakia. - 2006 Britain makes the last payment on its post-war loan from the USA
The United Kingdom made its final payment on the Anglo-American loan.
2. How long ago?
This year is 2026. Work out how many years ago each thing happened.
| Year | What happened | Sum | Years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1809 | Born: William Ewart Gladstone | 2026 − 1809 = | |
| 1911 | Mongolia declares independence from China's Qing dynasty | 2026 − 1911 = | |
| 1915 | France gives land for British war graves as a 'free gift' | 2026 − 1915 = | |
| 1989 | Václav Havel is elected President of Czechoslovakia | 2026 − 1989 = |
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!
- Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film
- France gives land for British war graves as a 'free gift'
- HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warship, is launched
- Mongolia declares independence from China's Qing dynasty
4. Quick quiz
In which year did this happen: “HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warship, is launched”?
- A. 1860
- B. 1778
- C. 1809
In which year did this happen: “France gives land for British war graves as a 'free gift'”?
- A. 1915
- B. 1937
- C. 1996
Which of these happened first?
- A. HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warship, is launched
- B. France gives land for British war graves as a 'free gift'
- C. Britain makes the last payment on its post-war loan from the USA
5. Draw it!
Draw your favourite event from 29 December. Then write a sentence about why you chose it.
Answers for teachers
How long ago: 1809 → 217 years; 1911 → 115 years; 1915 → 111 years; 1989 → 37 years.
Order: 1 = HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warship, is launched (1860), 2 = Mongolia declares independence from China's Qing dynasty (1911), 3 = Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film (1913), 4 = France gives land for British war graves as a 'free gift' (1915).
Quiz: 1. A (1860); 2. A (1915); 3. A (HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled armoured warship, is launched).