A Day in the Past

Today in the past

What happened on 6 October?

Colourful magazine cover drawing of an emperor and a king tearing pieces from a map while a sultan in a red fez looks on
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain

1908 118 years ago

Austria-Hungary takes over Bosnia and Herzegovina

Austria-Hungary announced that it was annexing – officially taking over – Bosnia and Herzegovina. The empire had already been running the area since 1878. The move caused a crisis that badly and permanently damaged Austria-Hungary's relations with Russia and Serbia.

Explore 6 October

Your six-week history planner

This week and the next five weeks, Monday to Sunday. Each day shows its top stories — UK history first — and every one links to the full day.

Saffron edge = a UK story

  1. This week 5 Oct – 11 Oct

    1. Mon 5 Oct +121 more on 5 October
    2. Tue 6 Oct Today +126 more on 6 October
    3. Wed 7 Oct +123 more on 7 October
    4. Thu 8 Oct +121 more on 8 October
    5. Fri 9 Oct +146 more on 9 October
    6. Sat 10 Oct +136 more on 10 October
    7. Sun 11 Oct +118 more on 11 October

  2. Next week 12 Oct – 18 Oct

    1. Mon 12 Oct +145 more on 12 October
    2. Tue 13 Oct +110 more on 13 October
    3. Wed 14 Oct +137 more on 14 October
    4. Thu 15 Oct +110 more on 15 October
    5. Fri 16 Oct +146 more on 16 October
    6. Sat 17 Oct +135 more on 17 October
    7. Sun 18 Oct +117 more on 18 October

  3. In 2 weeks 19 Oct – 25 Oct

    1. Mon 19 Oct +125 more on 19 October
    2. Tue 20 Oct +112 more on 20 October
    3. Wed 21 Oct +131 more on 21 October
    4. Thu 22 Oct +116 more on 22 October
    5. Fri 23 Oct +134 more on 23 October
    6. Sat 24 Oct +139 more on 24 October
    7. Sun 25 Oct +125 more on 25 October

  4. In 3 weeks 26 Oct – 1 Nov

    1. Mon 26 Oct +131 more on 26 October
    2. Tue 27 Oct +121 more on 27 October
    3. Wed 28 Oct +131 more on 28 October
    4. Thu 29 Oct +123 more on 29 October
    5. Fri 30 Oct +120 more on 30 October
    6. Sat 31 Oct +122 more on 31 October
    7. Sun 1 Nov +157 more on 1 November

  5. In 4 weeks 2 Nov – 8 Nov

    1. Mon 2 Nov +112 more on 2 November
    2. Tue 3 Nov +143 more on 3 November
    3. Wed 4 Nov +115 more on 4 November
    4. Thu 5 Nov +125 more on 5 November
    5. Fri 6 Nov +83 more on 6 November
    6. Sat 7 Nov +147 more on 7 November
    7. Sun 8 Nov +133 more on 8 November

  6. In 5 weeks 9 Nov – 15 Nov

    1. Mon 9 Nov +151 more on 9 November
    2. Tue 10 Nov +131 more on 10 November
    3. Wed 11 Nov +143 more on 11 November
    4. Thu 12 Nov +134 more on 12 November
    5. Fri 13 Nov +112 more on 13 November
    6. Sat 14 Nov +124 more on 14 November
    7. Sun 15 Nov +132 more on 15 November

Planner key: explorer badges

Each story gets a badge for its topic. Collect them all — tap a badge to explore that topic through the year.

For teachers and parents

Every day has a printable worksheet with a “how long ago?” maths starter, a put-them-in-order timeline and a quick quiz — all built from that day’s real history. Stories about war, disasters and crime are kept out of the calendar and tucked away in a separate “For older readers” section.

Today’s worksheet How to use the site in class