October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 66 days remaining until the end of the year. [edit] Events - 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki
- 740 – An earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and many deaths.
- 1640 – The Treaty of Ripon is signed, restoring peace between Scotland and Charles I of England.
- 1689 – General Piccolomini of Austria burned down Skopje to prevent the spread of cholera. He died of cholera himself soon after.
- 1774 – The first Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1775 – King George III goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.
- 1776 – Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.
- 1795 – The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created.
- 1825 – The Erie Canal opens – passage from Albany, New York to Lake Erie.
- 1859 – The Royal Charter is wrecked on the coast of Anglesey, north Wales with 459 dead.
- 1860 – Meeting of Teano. Giuseppe Garibaldi, conqueror of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, gives it to King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.
- 1861 – The Pony Express officially ceased operations.
- 1881 – The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona.
- 1905 – Norway becomes independent from Sweden.
- 1909 – Itō Hirobumi, Resident-General of Korea, was shot to death by Korean independence supporter Ahn Jung-geun at the Harbin train station in Manchuria.
- 1912 – First Balkan War: The capital city of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, is unified with Greece on the feast day of its patron Saint Demetrius. On the same day, Serbian troops captured Skopje.
- 1917 – World War I: Battle of Caporetto; Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat at the forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany.
- 1917 – World War I: Brazil declared in state of war with Central Powers.
- 1918 – Erich Ludendorff, quartermaster-general of the Imperial German Army, is dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany for refusing to cooperate in peace negotiations.
- 1936 – The first electric generator at Hoover Dam went into full operation.
- 1940 – The P-51 Mustang makes its maiden flight.
- 1942 – World War II: In the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during the Guadalcanal Campaign, one U.S. aircraft carrier, Hornet, is sunk and another aircraft carrier, Enterprise, is heavily damaged.
- 1943 – World War II: First flight of the Dornier Do 335 "Pfeil".
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with an overwhelming American victory.
- 1947 – The Maharaja of Kashmir agrees to allow his kingdom to join India.
- 1948 – Killer smog settles into Donora, Pennsylvania.
- 1951 – Clement Attlee resigned as the UK's Labour Prime Minister following defeat to Winston Churchill. This was the start of the 40th UK government.
- 1951 – Boxer Joe Louis comes out of retirement to fight Rocky Marciano. However, Marciano would win the fight in eight rounds.
- 1955 – After the last Allied troops have left the country and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares permanent neutrality.
- 1955 – Ngô Đình Diệm declares himself Premier of South Vietnam.
- 1958 – Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France.
- 1959 – The world sees the far side of the Moon for the first time.
- 1964 – Eric Edgar Cooke becomes last person in Western Australia to be executed.
- 1965 – The Beatles are appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs).
- 1967 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowns himself Emperor of Iran and then crowns his wife Farah Empress of Iran.
- 1977 – The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.
- 1979 – Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea is assassinated by KCIA head Kim Jae-kyu. Choi Kyu-ha becomes the acting President; Kim is executed the following May.
- 1984 – "Baby Fae" receives a heart transplant from a baboon.
- 1985 – The Australian government returns ownership of Uluru to the local Pitjantjatjara Aborigines.
- 1992 – The Charlottetown Accord fails to win majority support in a Canada wide referendum.
- 1992 – The London Ambulance Service is thrown into chaos after the implementation of a new CAD, or Computer Aided Despatch, system which failed.
- 1994 – Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty
- 1994 – The National Football League announced that the Carolina Panthers would become the league's 29th franchise.
- 1995 – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Mossad agents assassinate Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shikaki in his hotel in Malta.
- 1999 – Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament.
- 2000 – Laurent Gbagbo takes over as president of Côte d'Ivoire following a popular uprising against President Robert Guéï.
- 2001 – The United States passes the USA PATRIOT Act into law.
- 2002 – Moscow Theatre Siege: Approximately 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages die when Russian Spetsnaz storm a theater building in Moscow, which had been occupied by the terrorists during a musical performance three days before.
- 2003 – The Cedar Fire, the second-largest fire in California history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km²), and destroys 2,200 homes around San Diego.
[edit] Births - 1427 – Archduke Sigismund of Austria (d. 1496)
- 1473 – Friedrich of Saxony (d. 1510)
- 1491 – Zhengde, Emperor of China (d. 1521)
- 1609 – William Sprague, English co-founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts (d. 1675)
- 1673 – Dimitrie Cantemir, Moldavian prince, linguist, and scholar (d. 1723)
- 1684 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (d. 1757)
- 1685 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1757)
- 1694 – Johan Helmich Roman, Swedish composer (d. 1758)
- 1757 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (d. 1823)
- 1759 – Georges Jacques Danton, French Revolutionary leader (d. 1794)
- 1768 – Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (d. 1844)
- 1794 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect (d. 1881)
- 1795 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer (d. 1872)
- 1797 – Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (d. 1865)
- 1800 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (d. 1891)
- 1802 – King Miguel of Portugal (d. 1866)
- 1803 – Joseph Hansom, English architect and inventor (d. 1882)
- 1842 – Vasili Vasilyevich Vereshchagin, Russian painter (d. 1904)
- 1849 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, German mathematician (d. 1917)
- 1854 – C. W. Post, American entrepreneur (d. 1914)
- 1865 – Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (d. 1912)
- 1869 – Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, President of Brazil (d. 1957)
- 1871 – Guillermo Kahlo, father of Frida Kahlo (d. 1941)
- 1873 – Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1942)
- 1873 – A. K. Fazlul Huq, Sher-E-Bangla (Tiger Of Bengal) (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, socialite and philanthropist (d. 1948)
- 1874 – Martin Lowry, British chemist (d. 1936)
- 1880 – Andrei Bely, Russian writer (d. 1934)
- 1883 – Napoleon Hill, American Writer and Philosopher (Think and Grow Rich) (d. 1970)
- 1883 – Paul Pilgrim, American athlete (d. 1958)
- 1888 – Nestor Ivanovich Makhno, Ukrainian anarchist Insurrectionary leader (d. 1934)
- 1899 – Judy Johnson, Hall of Fame baseball player in the Negro Leagues (d. 1989)
- 1902 – Beryl Markham, Kenyan horse trainer, adventurer, aviatrix, and memoirist (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Jack Sharkey, American boxer (d. 1994)
- 1905 – George Flahiff, Canadian Cardinal (d. 1989)
- 1906 – Primo Carnera, Italian boxer (d. 1967)
- 1911 – Sid Gilman, American football player (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (d. 1972)
- 1911 – Sorley MacLean, Scottish poet (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Don Siegel, American director (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Charlie Barnet, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Jackie Coogan, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Joe Fry, British racing driver (d. 1950)
- 1916 – François Mitterrand, President of France (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Boyd Wagner, First USAAF fighter ace of WWII (d. 1942)
- 1919 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, Shah of Iran (d. 1980)
- 1919 – Edward Brooke, American politician
- 1921 – George Forrest, Northern Irish MP (d. 1968)
- 1925 – Jan Wolkers, Dutch author (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Francisco Solano López, Argentine comics artists
- 1929 – Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (The Jordanaires) (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Takis Kanellopoulos, Greek film director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
- 1934 – Hans-Joachim Rödelius, German composer and musician (Cluster, Harmonia)
- 1936 – Shelley Morrison, American actress
- 1941 – Charlie Landsborough, Singer/Songwriter
- 1942 – Bob Hoskins, British actor
- 1945 – Pat Conroy, American writer
- 1945 – Demetris Th. Gotsis, Greek poet and author
- 1946 – Pat Sajak, American game show host
- 1946 – Holly Woodlawn, Puerto Rican actress
- 1946 – Keith Hopwood, British musician (Herman's Hermits)
- 1947 – Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th United States Secretary of State
- 1947 – Jaclyn Smith, American actress
- 1947 – Trevor Joyce, Irish poet
- 1947 – Ian Ashley, British racing driver
- 1947 – Ricardo Asch, Argentine physician and figure in University of California, Irvine fertility scandal
- 1948 – Toby Harrah, American baseball player
- 1949 – Steve Rogers, American baseball player
- 1949 – Antonio Carpio, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 1949 – Kevin Sullivan, American professional wrestler
- 1951 – Bootsy Collins, American musician (P Funk)
- 1951 – Tommy Mars, American keyboard player Frank Zappa
- 1951 – Julian Schnabel, American filmmaker
- 1952 – Andrew Motion, English poet and Poet Laureate
- 1953 – Rosa Monckton, notable charity fundraiser
- 1953 – Keith Strickland, American musician (The B-52's)
- 1954 – Vassilis Hatzipanagis, Greek footballer
- 1956 – Stephen Gumley, Australian businessman
- 1956 – Rita Wilson, American actress
- 1957 – Bob Golic, American football player
- 1959 – Evo Morales, President of Bolivia
- 1959 – François Chau, Cambodian actor
- 1959 – Paul Farmer, American Anthropologist
- 1959 – Brian Bovell, British actor
- 1960 – June Brigman, American comic book artist
- 1960 – Patrick Breen, American actor
- 1961 – Dylan McDermott, American actor
- 1961 – Gerald Malloy, American politician
- 1962 – Cary Elwes, British actor
- 1963 – Natalie Merchant, American singer
- 1963 – Ted Demme, American film and television director (d. 2002)
- 1964 – Thomas Cavanagh, Canadian actor
- 1965 – Aaron Kwok Fu-Shing, Hong Kong singer
- 1965 – Kelly Rowan, Canadian actress and producer.
- 1966 – Jane Hajduk, American actress
- 1966 – Steve Valentine, British actor
- 1966 – Jeanne Zelasko, American sportcaster
- 1966 – Masaharu Iwata, Japanese composer
- 1967 – Keith Urban, New Zealand singer
- 1968 – Lisa Ryder, American actress
- 1970 – Dian Bachar, American actor
- 1971 – Anthony Rapp, American singer and actor
- 1973 – Seth MacFarlane, American animator
- 1973 – Taka Michinoku, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1973 – Austin Healey, English rugby player
- 1974 – Lisa, Japanese musician
- 1974 – Raveena Tandon, Indian actress
- 1976 – Miikka Kiprusoff, Finnish hockey player
- 1977 – Jon Heder, American actor
- 1977 – Bakar Ibor, Comorian footballer
- 1978 – Jimmy Aggrey, English footballer
- 1978 – Eva Kaili, Greek TV presenter and politician
- 1978 – CM Punk, American professional wrestler
- 1979 – Movsar Barayev, Chechen militant (d. 2002)
- 1980 – Cristian Chivu, Romanian footballer
- 1981 – Sam Brown, American comedian
- 1981 – Guy Sebastian, Australian singer
- 1982 – Adam Carroll, Irish racing driver
- 1983 – Francisco Liriano, Dominican baseball player
- 1983 – Dmitri Sychev, Russian footballer
- 1983 – Luke Watson, South African rugby player
- 1984 – Sasha Cohen, American figure skater
- 1984 – Martin Burke, Irish actor
- 1984 – Adriano Correia Claro, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 – Jefferson Farfán, Peruvian footballer
- 1984 – Amanda Overmyer, American singer
- 1985 – Andrea Bargnani, Italian basketball player
- 1985 – Monta Ellis, American basketball player
- 1985 – Asin Thottumkal, Indian actress
- 1988 – Greg Zuerlein, American ice dancer
[edit] Deaths - 899 – Alfred the Great, king of Wessex (b. 849)
- 1235 – King Andrew II of Hungary (b. 1175)
- 1440 – Gilles de Rais, French serial killer (b. 1404)
- 1633 – Horio Tadaharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1596)
- 1671 – Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet, English politician (b. 1593)
- 1675 – William Sprague, English co-founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts (b. 1609)
- 1679 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (b. 1621)
- 1686 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician (b. 1623)
- 1717 – Catherine Sedley, English mistress of James II of England (b. 1657)
- 1751 – Philip Doddridge, English religious leader (b. 1702)
- 1764 – William Hogarth, British painter (b. 1697)
- 1773 – Amédée-François Frézier, French military engineer and explorer (b. 1682)
- 1803 – Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician (b. 1721)
- 1806 – John Graves Simcoe, first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (b. 1752)
- 1817 – Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (b. 1727)
- 1864 – "Bloody Bill" Anderson, American Civil War rebel guerrilla leader (b. 1839)
- 1866 – John Kinder Labatt, Irish-Canadian brewer (Labatt Brewing Company) (b. 1803)
- 1890 – Carlo Collodi, Italian writer (b. 1826)
- 1896 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French statesman (b. 1827)
- 1902 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American feminist and suffragette (b. 1815)
- 1909 – Hirobumi Ito, Japanese Prime Minister (b. 1841)
- 1930 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman (b. 1872)
- 1931 – Charles Comiskey, baseball team owner (b. 1859)
- 1937 – Józef Dowbór-Muśnicki, Polish general (b. 1867)
- 1941 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian children's writer (b. 1904)
- 1943 – Marc Aurel Stein, Hungarian-born archaeologist (b. 1862)
- 1944 – Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria (b. 1857)
- 1944 – William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1881)
- 1945 – Paul Pelliot, French explorer (b. 1878)
- 1945 – Alexei Krylov, Russian engineer and mathematician (b. 1863)
- 1947 – Canon Edwin Sidney Savage, English rector (b. 1862)
- 1949 – Lionel Halsey, British Royal Navy officer and courtier (b. 1872)
- 1952 – Hattie McDaniel, American singer and actress (b. 1895)
- 1956 – Walter Gieseking, German pianist (b. 1895)
- 1957 – Gerty Cori, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1896)
- 1957 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer (b. 1883)
- 1962 – Louise Beavers, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1965 – Sylvia Likens, American torture victim (b. 1949)
- 1966 – Alma Cogan, English singer (b. 1932)
- 1971 – Vincent Coleman, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1972 – Igor Sikorsky, Kiev, Russian Empire (currently Ukraine) born inventor (b. 1889)
- 1978 – Alexander Gerschenkron, Russian-born economic historian (b. 1904)
- 1979 – Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea (b. 1917)
- 1984 – Gus Mancuso, baseball player (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Jackson Scholz, American runner (b. 1897)
- 1989 – Charles J. Pedersen, American Nobel laureate (b. 1904)
- 1993 – Oro, Mexican professional wrestler (b. 1971)
- 1994 – Wilbert Harrison, American singer (b. 1929)
- 1995 – Gorni Kramer, Italian bandleader and songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1995 – Wilhelm Freddie, Danish painter (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Joe Cinque, Australian civil engineer murdered by Anu Singh (b. 1978)
- 1999 – Hoyt Axton, American actor and country music singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2002 – Jacques Massu, French general (b. 1908)
- 2002 – Movsar Barayev, Chechen terrorist (b. 1979)
- 2004 – Bobby Avila, Mexican-American Major League Baseball player (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Keith Parkinson, American fantasy artist (b. 1958)
- 2005 – George Swindin, English football player manager (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Tillman Franks, American songwriter (b. 1920)
- 2006 – Pontus Hultén, Swedish art collector and museum director (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Nicolae Dobrin, Romanian footballer (b. 1947)
- 2007 – Friedman Paul Erhardt (Chef Tell), German-American TV chef (b. 1943)
- 2007 – Dr. Arthur Kornberg, American Nobel Prize laureate in 1959 for the discovery of DNA polymerase (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Khun Sa, Burmese warlord (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Tony Hillerman, American writer (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Delmar Watson, American child actor (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Teel Bivins, American politician (b. 1947)
- 2009 – George Na'ope, American musician (b. 1928)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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