What Happened on September 26
Important Events
- 1580 Frances 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 The 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
September 26 in Film & TV
- 1968 "Oliver!" directed by Carol Reed and starring Mark Lester and Ron Moody premieres in London (Best Picture 1969)
September 26 in Music
- 1969 The Beatles release "Abbey Road" album
September 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
Famous Birthdays
Francis of Assisi
(1181 - 1226)- T. S. Eliot
(1888 - 1965) - Albert Anastasia
(1902 - 1957) - Olivia Newton-John
70 Years Old - Linda Hamilton
62 Years Old - Serena Williams
37 Years Old
Francis of Assisi
T. S. Eliot
Albert Anastasia
Olivia Newton-John
Linda Hamilton
Serena WilliamsWould 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
Daniel Boone
Levi Strauss
Anna Magnani
Byron Nelson
Paul Newman
Gloria StuartSeptember in History
![Airship Bomb Crew Meet their Match in Policeman]()
Airship Bomb Crew Meet their Match in Policeman
They dropped their bombs and planned to escape, but the German airship crew hadn’t reckoned on the tenacity of a lone British policeman on his bike.
September 24, 1916!['I Have Heard The Voice of Adolf Hitler . . .']()
'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, 1938![Fear as First Passenger Train Reaches 15mph]()
Fear as First Passenger Train Reaches 15mph
The steam engine Locomotion No. 1 took passengers for a ride on this day – the first in the world to do so and, for at least one person, at frightening speed.
September 27, 1825![And God Created Brigitte Bardot . . .]()
And God Created Brigitte Bardot . . .
Brigitte Bardot, a leading sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s, was born on this day. Such was her fame that she became widely known simply by her initials – BB.
September 28, 1934
