What Happened on September 26
Historical Events
- 1580 Francis Drake completes circumnavigation of the world, sailing into Plymouth aboard the Golden Hind
- 1687 Acropolis in Athens attacked by Venetian army trying to eject Turks, damaging the Parthenon
- 1687 City council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution
- 1815 Russia, Prussia and Austria sign the Holy Alliance
- 1901 Great Britain annexes the Ashanti Kingdom and places it under the governor of the Gold Coast (Ghana)
- 1918 Beginning of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, more than 1 million American soldiers in the largest and most costly offensive of WWI
- More Historical Events
Sep 26 in Film & TV
- 1968 "Oliver!" directed by Carol Reed and starring Mark Lester and Ron Moody premieres in London (Best Picture 1969)
Sep 26 in Music
- 1969 The Beatles release "Abbey Road" album, their final recordings as a quartet
Sep 26 in Sport
- 1983 Australia II wins America's Cup yacht race - 1st non-US winner
Did You Know?
Cuban leader Fidel Castro delivers a 4 hour and 29 minute long speech at the United Nations
On September 26, 1960
Would You Believe?
Soviet military officer Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov averts a worldwide nuclear war by judging supposed missile attack from the US an error
On September 26, 1983
Famous Weddings
- 1861 Political cartoonist Thomas Nast (21) weds Sarah Edwards (20) in USA
- 1919 German chancellor Konrad Adenauer (43) weds Auguste Zinsser in Cologne, Germany
- 1931 Earl Claus von Stauffenberg marries Freiin Nina von Lerchenfeld
Famous Divorces
- 2016 Actress Naomi Watts and actor Liv Schreiber announce their separation after 11 years together
More Weddings & Divorces
Articles, Photos and Quiz
Parthenon
The Parthenon, former temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece
September 26, 1687'I Have Heard The Voice of Adolf Hitler . . .'
Hitler's speech threatening Czechoslovakia was broadcast on this day. Among those listening to the ‘mad dog of Europe’ was a journalist in an American hotel.
September 26, 1938Weekly Quiz for September 23-29
Did Napoleon Bonaparte graduate from his military academy 42nd out of 51? What year was Nintendo founded in Japan? And more questions from this week in history.