Historical Events
- 1492 1st Spanish settlement La Navidad in the New World is founded by Christopher Columbus (modern Môle-Saint-Nicolas in Haiti)
- 1792 Trial of French King Louis XVI, court hears the kings defense brought by Raymond Desèze
- 1825 Decembrist uprising in Russia against Tsar Nicholas I begins [O.S. 14 December]
- 2004 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and edges of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people
- More Historical Events
Dec 26 in Film & TV
- 1940 "The Philadelphia Story" film directed by George Cukor, based on the Broadway play of the same name, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart, is released (Academy Awards Best Actor 1941)
Dec 26 in Music
- 1966 Jimi Hendrix writes the song "Purple Haze" backstage at the Upper Cut Club, London
Dec 26 in Sport
- 1860 First ever inter-club football match between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield, England
Did You Know?
Horror film "The Exorcist" based on book and screenplay by William Peter Blatty, starring Linda Blair, rated X, premieres - 1st horror film to be nominated for Best Picture
On December 26, 1973
Calico Jack
Charles Babbage
George Dewey
Mao Zedong
Steve Allen
Gnassingbé EyadémaFamous Weddings
- 1613 Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, marries Frances Howard, occasioning John Donne's "Eclogue"
- 1793 The wedding of Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz takes place.
- 1843 US Navy flag officer David Farragut (42) weds Virginia Loyall
More Weddings
Babur
John Wilkes
Heinrich Schliemann
Harry Truman
Gerald Ford
Desmond TutuArticles, Photos and Quiz
Westminster Abbey Consecrated
Edward the Confessor depicted during the construction of Westminster Abbey
December 26, 1065
Will There Be a Yacht In Boxing Day Sale?
Black Friday triggers a global online hunt for bargains. But nothing, it seems, compares with the excitement of joining the crush at a physical Boxing Day sale.
December 26, 1836
Boxing Day Tsunami
The tsunami hits Ao Nang, Thailand
December 26, 2004
Weekly Quiz for December 23 - 29
This week in history, French artist Vincent van Gogh cut off what part of his body in 1888? Who was crowned King on Christmas Day, December 25th?
