October 26

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.

Events

• 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki
• 1341 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 formally begins with the proclamation of John VI Kantakouzenos as Byzantine Emperor at Didymoteicho.
• 1597 – Imjin War: Admiral Yi Sun-sin routs the Japanese Navy of 300 ships with only 13 ships at the Battle of Myeongnyang.
• 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 of Great Britain 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.
• 1811 – The Argentine government declare the freedom of expression for the press by decree.
• 1813 – War of 1812: A combined force of British regulars, Canadian militia, and Mohawks defeat the Americans in the Battle of Chateauguay.
• 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 ceases 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 nationalist assassin Ahn Jung-geun at the Harbin train station in Manchuria.
• 1912 – First Balkan War: The Ottoman occupied city of Thessaloniki, is liberated and 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. The young unknown Oberleutnant Erwin Rommel captures Mount Matajur with only 100 Germans against a force of over 7000 Italians.
• 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.
• 1921 – The Chicago Theatre opens.
• 1936 – The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes 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, while two Japanese carriers and one cruiser are 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 and Jammu agrees to allow his kingdom to join India.
• 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.
• 1964 – Eric Edgar Cooke becomes last person in Western Australia to be executed.
• 1967 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowns himself Emperor of Iran and then crowns his wife Farah Empress of Iran.
• 1968 – Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy pilots Soyuz 3 into space for a four-day mission.
• 1977 – Ali Maow Maalin, the last natural case of smallpox, develops rash in Merca district, Somalia. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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 Korean Central Intelligence Agency 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 Dispatch, system which failed.
• 1994 – Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty
• 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.

Births

• 1427 – Sigismund, Archduke of Austria (d. 1496)
• 1473 – Friedrich of Saxony (d. 1510)
• 1491 – Zhengde Emperor of China (d. 1521)
• 1564 – Hans Leo Hassler German composer and organist (d. 1612)
• 1609 – William Sprague, English co-founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts (d. 1675)
• 1673 – Dimitrie Cantemir, Moldavian philosopher, historian, and geographer (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)
• 1747 – Ivan Mane Jarnović, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1804)
• 1757 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (d. 1823)
• 1759 – Georges Danton, French politician (d. 1794)
• 1768 – Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (d. 1844)
• 1794 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect, designed the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (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 – Miguel I of Portugal (d. 1866)
• 1803 – Joseph Hansom, English architect, designed Birmingham Town Hall and invented the Hansom cab (d. 1882)
• 1842 – Vasili Vasilyevich Vereshchagin, Russian painter (d. 1904)
• 1849 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, German mathematician (d. 1917)
• 1850 – Grigore Tocilescu, Romanian historian and archaeologist (d. 1909)
• 1854 – C. W. Post, American businessman, founded Post Holdings (d. 1914)
• 1865 – Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (d. 1912)
• 1869 – Washington Luís, Brazilian politician, 13th President of Brazil (d. 1957)
• 1871 – Guillermo Kahlo, German-Mexican photographer (d. 1941)
• 1872 – Harold Fraser, American golfer (d. 1945)
• 1873 – A. K. Fazlul Huq, Pakistani politician (d. 1962)
• 1873 – Thorvald Stauning, Danish politician, 24th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1942)
• 1874 – Martin Lowry, English chemist (d. 1936)
• 1874 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American philanthropist (d. 1948)
• 1880 – Andrei Bely, Russian author, poet, and critic (d. 1934)
• 1881 – Louis Bastien, French cyclist (d. 1963)
• 1883 – Napoleon Hill, American author and philosopher (d. 1970)
• 1883 – Paul Pilgrim, American runner (d. 1958)
• 1884 – William Hogenson, American sprinter (d. 1965)
• 1888 – Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian military commander (d. 1934)
• 1890 – Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Indian journalist and activist (d. 1931)
• 1893 – Miloš Crnjanski, Serbian poet and author (d. 1977)
• 1899 – Judy Johnson, American baseball player (d. 1989)
• 1902 – Beryl Markham, Kenyan horse trainer and author (d. 1986)
• 1902 – Jack Sharkey, American boxer (d. 1994)
• 1905 – George Bernard Flahiff, Canadian archbishop (d. 1989)
• 1906 – Primo Carnera, Italian boxer (d. 1967)
• 1909 – Dante Quinterno, Argentine writer and illustrator (d. 2003)
• 1910 – John Krol, American Roman Catholic Cardinal (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Sid Gillman, American football player (d. 2003)
• 1911 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (d. 1972)
• 1911 – Sorley MacLean, Scottish poet (d. 1996)
• 1912 – Don Siegel, American film director (d. 1991)
• 1913 – Charlie Barnet, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
• 1914 – Jackie Coogan, American actor (d. 1984)
• 1915 – Joe Fry, English race car driver (d. 1950)
• 1916 – François Mitterrand, French politician, 21st President of France (d. 1996)
• 1916 – Boyd Wagner, American pilot (d. 1942)
• 1918 – Baby Peggy, American actress
• 1919 – Frank Bourgholtzer, American journalist (d. 2010)
• 1919 – Edward Brooke, American politician
• 1919 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran (d. 1980)
• 1921 – George Forrest, Irish politician (d. 1968)
• 1922 – Madelyn Dunham, American grandmother of Barack Obama (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Jan Wolkers, Dutch author (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Panos Gavalas, Greek singer (d. 1988)
• 1927 – Warne Marsh, American saxophonist (Supersax) (d. 1987)
• 1928 – Francisco Solano López, Argentine illustrator (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (The Jordanaires) (d. 2000)
• 1933 – Takis Kanellopoulos, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
• 1933 – Andrew P. O'Rourke, American judge and politician (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Hans-Joachim Roedelius, German musician and producer (Cluster, Harmonia, and Aquarello)
• 1935 – Mike Gray, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Shelley Morrison, American actress
• 1940 – Eddie Henderson, American trumpet player
• 1940 – John Horgan, Irish academic and politician
• 1941 – Charlie Landsborough, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Bob Hoskins, English actor
• 1942 – Milton Nascimento, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Clube da Esquina)
• 1942 – Zdenko Runjić, Croatian songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
• 1945 – Pat Conroy, American author
• 1945 – Demetris Th. Gotsis, Greek poet and author
• 1946 – Keith Hopwood, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Herman's Hermits)
• 1946 – Pat Sajak, American game show host
• 1946 – Holly Woodlawn, Puerto Rican actress
• 1947 – Ricardo Asch, Argentine physician
• 1947 – Ian Ashley, German-English race car driver
• 1947 – Hillary Rodham Clinton, American politician, 67th United States Secretary of State and 44th First Lady of the United States
• 1947 – Trevor Joyce, Irish poet
• 1947 – Jaclyn Smith, American actress
• 1948 – Toby Harrah, American baseball player
• 1949 – Antonio Carpio, Filipino jurist
• 1949 – Steve Rogers, American baseball player
• 1949 – Kevin Sullivan, American wrestler
• 1951 – Bootsy Collins, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Parliament-Funkadelic)
• 1951 – Tommy Mars, American keyboard player
• 1951 – Julian Schnabel, American director
• 1952 – Andrew Motion, English poet
• 1952 – David Was, American singer-songwriter and musician (Was (Not Was))
• 1953 – Keith Strickland, American guitarist and songwriter (The B-52's)
• 1953 – Maureen Teefy, American actress
• 1953 – Lauren Tewes, American actress
• 1954 – Vassilis Hatzipanagis, Greek footballer
• 1956 – Stephen Gumley, Australian businessman
• 1956 – Rita Wilson, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1957 – Julie Dawn Cole, English actress
• 1957 – Bob Golic, American football player
• 1959 – Brian Bovell, English actor
• 1959 – François Chau, Cambodian actor
• 1959 – Paul Farmer, American anthropologist
• 1959 – Andreas Hinze, German footballer
• 1959 – Evo Morales, Bolivian politician, 80th President of Bolivia
• 1960 – Patrick Breen, American actor
• 1961 – Gerald Malloy, American politician
• 1961 – Dylan McDermott, American actor
• 1962 – Cary Elwes, English actor
• 1963 – Ted Demme, American film director and producer (d. 2002)
• 1963 – Natalie Merchant, American singer-songwriter and pianist (10,000 Maniacs)
• 1964 – Thomas Cavanagh, Canadian actor
• 1965 – Aaron Kwok, Hong Kong singer and actor
• 1965 – Kelly Rowan, Canadian actress
• 1966 – Jane Hajduk, American actress
• 1966 – Masaharu Iwata, Japanese composer
• 1966 – Steve Valentine, Scottish actor and singer
• 1966 – Jeanne Zelasko, American sportscaster
• 1967 – Keith Urban, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Ranch)
• 1970 – Lisa Ryder, Canadian actress
• 1970 – Dian Bachar, American actor
• 1971 – Jim Butcher, American author
• 1971 – Anthony Rapp, American actor and singer
• 1973 – Austin Healey, English rugby union footballer
• 1973 – Seth MacFarlane, American animator, voice actor, and singer
• 1973 – Taka Michinoku, Japanese wrestler
• 1974 – Lisa, Japanese-Colombian singer and producer (M-Flo)
• 1974 – Raveena Tandon, Indian actress
• 1976 – Miikka Kiprusoff, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1977 – Jon Heder, American actor
• 1978 – Jimmy Aggrey, English footballer
• 1978 – Eva Kaili, Greek journalist and politician
• 1978 – CM Punk, American professional wrestler
• 1978 – Dave Zastudil, American football player
• 1979 – Movsar Barayev, Chechen militia leader (d. 2002)
• 1979 – Josh Portman, American guitarist (Near Miss and Yellowcard)
• 1980 – Cristian Chivu, Romanian footballer
• 1981 – Sam Brown, American comedian and actor
• 1981 – Girl Talk, American producer and DJ
• 1981 – Martina Schild, Swiss skier
• 1981 – Guy Sebastian, Australian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1981 – Chou Ssu-Chi, Taiwanese baseball player
• 1982 – Adam Carroll, Irish race car driver
• 1982 – Nicola Adams, English boxer
• 1983 – Francisco Liriano, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 – Dmitri Sychev, Russian footballer
• 1983 – Luke Watson, South African rugby union footballer
• 1984 – Sasha Cohen, American figure skater
• 1984 – Adriano Correia, Brazilian footballer
• 1984 – Jefferson Farfán, Peruvian footballer
• 1984 – Amanda Overmyer, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Asin, Indian actress
• 1985 – Andrea Bargnani, Italian basketball player
• 1985 – Kafoumba Coulibaly, Ivorian footballer
• 1985 – Monta Ellis, American basketball player
• 1985 – Kieran Read, New Zealand rugby union footballer
• 1986 – Ibor Bakar, French footballer
• 1986 – Marco Ruben, Argentine footballer
• 1987 – Shawn Lauvao, American football player
• 1988 – Greg Zuerlein, American ice dancer
• 1989 – Emil Sayfutdinov, Russian Speedway Rider
• 1991 – Amala Paul, Indian actress
• 1994 – Allie DeBerry, American actress
• 2000 – Ellery Sprayberry, American actress

Deaths

• 664 – Cedd, English Anglo-Saxon monk and Bishop of London (c.654 - 664) (b. c.620)
• 899 – Alfred the Great, English king (b. 849)
• 1440 – Gilles de Rais, French knight (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)
• 1686 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician (b. 1623)
• 1717 – Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester (b. 1657)
• 1751 – Philip Doddridge, English religious reformer and educator (b. 1702)
• 1764 – William Hogarth, English painter (b. 1697)
• 1773 – Amédée-François Frézier, French engineer, mathematician, and explorer (b. 1682)
• 1803 – Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician (b. 1721)
• 1806 – John Graves Simcoe, English army officer and politician (b. 1752)
• 1817 – Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (b. 1727)
• 1864 – William T. Anderson, American guerrilla leader (b. 1838)
• 1866 – John Kinder Labatt, Irish-Canadian brewer, founded the Labatt Brewing Company (b. 1803)
• 1890 – Carlo Collodi, Italian author (b. 1826)
• 1896 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French politician (b. 1827)
• 1902 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American activist (b. 1815)
• 1909 – Itō Hirobumi, Japanese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1841)
• 1930 – Waldemar Haffkine, Russian scientist (b. 1860)
• 1930 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman and horse breeder (b. 1872)
• 1931 – Charles Comiskey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1859)
• 1932 – Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist (b. 1867)
• 1937 – Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, Polish general (b. 1867)
• 1941 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian author (b. 1904)
• 1943 – Aurel Stein, Hungarian-English archaeologist (b. 1862)
• 1944 – Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (b. 1857)
• 1944 – William Temple, English archbishop (b. 1881)
• 1945 – Aleksey Krylov, Russian engineer and mathematician (b. 1863)
• 1945 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (b. 1878)
• 1946 – Ioannis Rallis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
• 1947 – Edwin Sidney Savage, English clergyman (b. 1862)
• 1949 – Lionel Halsey, English navy officer (b. 1872)
• 1952 – Hattie McDaniel, American actress and singer (b. 1895)
• 1956 – Walter Gieseking, French-German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
• 1957 – Gerty Cori, Czech-American biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
• 1957 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek author and philosopher (b. 1883)
• 1962 – Louise Beavers, American actress (b. 1902)
• 1963 – Elizabeth Gunn, New Zealand paediatrician (b. 1879)
• 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, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (b. 1889)
• 1974 – Bidia Dandaron, Russian author and educator (b. 1914)
• 1978 – Alexander Gerschenkron, Russian-American historian (b. 1904)
• 1979 – Park Chung-hee, Korean general and politician, 3rd President of South Korea (b. 1917)
• 1984 – Gus Mancuso, American baseball player and coach (b. 1905)
• 1986 – Jackson Scholz, American runner (b. 1897)
• 1989 – Charles J. Pedersen, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
• 1993 – Oro, Mexican wrestler (b. 1971)
• 1994 – Wilbert Harrison, American singer (b. 1929)
• 1995 – Wilhelm Freddie, Danish painter (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Gorni Kramer, Italian musician, songwriter, and bandleader (b. 1913)
• 1999 – Hoyt Axton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1938)
• 1999 – Eknath Easwaran, Indian and American spiritual teacher and writer (b. 1910)
• 2002 – Movsar Barayev, Chechen militia leader (b. 1979)
• 2002 – Jacques Massu, French general (b. 1908)
• 2004 – Bobby Avila, Mexican-American baseball player (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Keith Parkinson, American illustrator (b. 1958)
• 2005 – George Swindin, English footballer and 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, German-American chef (b. 1943)
• 2007 – Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist, Nobel Prize (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Khun Sa, Burmese warlord (b. 1934)
• 2008 – Tony Hillerman, American author (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Delmar Watson, American actor (b. 1926)
• 2009 – Teel Bivins, American politician (b. 1947)
• 2009 – George Naʻope, American singer (b. 1928)
• 2009 – Troy Smith, American businessman, founded Sonic Drive-In (b. 1922)
• 2010 – Glen Little, American clown (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Mbah Maridjan, Indonesian spiritual leader (b. 1927)
• 2010 – Paul the Octopus, English octopus (b. 2008)
• 2010 – Romeu Tuma, Brazilian politician (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Mac Ahlberg, Swedish director and cinematographer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Arnold Greenberg, American businessman, co-founded Snapple (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo, Cuban army officer (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Joža Horvat, Croatian author (b. 1915)
• 2012 – John M. Johansen American architect, designed the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Alan Kirschenbaum, American scriptwriter and producer (b. 1961)
• 2012 – Natina Reed, American rapper and actress (Blaque) (b. 1979)
• 2012 – Alan Stretton, Australian general (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Angam Day (Nauru)
• Armed Forces Day (Benin)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Alfred the Great
  • Cedd
  • Cuthbert of Canterbury
  • Demetrius of Thessaloniki
  • Fulk of Pavia (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Quadragesimus
  • Witta of Büraburg
• Day of Mourning (Libya)
• National Day, celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Neutrality in 1955. (Austria)
• The first day of Ludi Victoriae Sullanae, celebrated until November 1. (Roman Empire)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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