What are good techniques for remembering the dates of important historical events?

The timeline is often an undervalued tool to learning dates. Visual learners especially may find it useful to see the order of events set out logically in front of them. Using colour coordination for certain topics can also be useful, for example political events could be made in red with religious events in blue. Flash cards often make revision more relaxing whilst also actively engaging the brain to a greater extent than when simply reading notes. Furthermore, a common mistake is trying to remember too many dates when revising. Prioritise learning the dates that are turning points in your course and build on from that. Link historical dates to events in your own life, for example, I always found it easy to remember that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on the 28th June 1914 because June 28th was my cousin’s birthday. Another technique is using competition. Make quizzes with your friends and family and test each other. Competition with siblings can often be an especially good incentive to learn dates!