What is an event of significant?

History is not just a list of events and people, not everything that happened is recorded, instead it should be seen as a list of events and people that matter enough to be noticed. We need to think about who decides who or what is important? We need to think about what criteria we use to judge what is important and why? We need to think about how our judgement and that of other people, is affected by our and their own values, beliefs and preconceptions.

Why is 1066 a significant date in English history? It is supposed to be a date imprinted on the minds of every school child in the country but why can something that happened nearly a thousand years ago be considered to be significant by people today?

The work of Rob Phillips and Christine Counsell suggest criteria you can use to test whether an event or a person is significant or not. Think ''RRRRR'.

R	The event or person was REMARKABLE, they were remarked on at the time and by people since. They were considered to be important by their contemporaries and by following generations
R	The person or event has been REMEMBERED by groups who consider it to be an important part of the nations past.
R	The event or person RESULTED IN CHANGE, their were important consequences for the future.
R	RESONANT, people can link their experiences, beliefs or situations to this person or event.
R	REVEALING, it tells us something about the lives of ordinary people normally hidden from our view.

http://www.historyatfreeston.co.uk/FBECHistorySite/Questions/Significance.htm

My thoughts

I believe people have different opinions to what is significant. It’s what matters to them and what they believe is important, even if it’s something small like a football match. For example England winning the world cup in 1966 might have been an event of significant to some but not to others.