October 26

Historic Events

2015

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in South Asia, killing 399 people and leaving 2,536 people injured. ›

2012

Microsoft made a public release of Windows 8 and made it available on new PCs. ›

2004

Rockstar Games releases Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2 in North America, which sold 12 million units for the PS2, becoming the console's best-selling video game. ›

2003

The Cedar Fire, the third-largest wildfire in California history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km2), and destroys 2,200 homes around San Diego. ›

2002

Approximately 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages die when Russian special forces troops storm a theater building in Moscow, which had been occupied by the terrorists during a musical performance three days before. ›

2001

The United States passes the USA PATRIOT Act into law. ›

2000

A wave of protests forces Robert Guéï to step down as president after the Ivorian presidential election. ›

1999

The United Kingdom's House of Lords votes to end the right of most hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament. ›

1995

Mossad agents assassinate Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shaqaqi in his hotel in Malta. ›

1995

An avalanche hits the Icelandic village of Flateyri, destroying 29 homes and burying 45 people, and killing 20. ›

1994

Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty. ›

1991

Three months after the end of the Ten-Day War, the last soldier of the Yugoslav People's Army leaves the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. ›

1989

China Airlines Flight 204 crashes after takeoff from Hualien Airport in Taiwan, killing all 54 people on board. ›

1985

The Australian government returns ownership of Uluru to the local Pitjantjatjara Aboriginals. ›

1979

Park Chung Hee, President of South Korea, is assassinated by Korean CIA head Kim Jae-gyu. ›

1977

Ali Maow Maalin, the last natural case of smallpox, develops a rash in Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date to be the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination. ›

1968

Space Race: The Soyuz 3 mission achieves the first Soviet space rendezvous. ›

1967

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowns himself Emperor of Iran. ›

1958

Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris. ›

1956

Hungarian Revolution: In the towns of Mosonmagyaróvár and Esztergom, Hungarian secret police forces massacre civilians. As rebel strongholds in Budapest hold, fighting spreads throughout the country. ›

1955

After the last Allied troops have left the country, and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares that it will never join a military alliance. ›

1955

Ngô Đình Diệm proclaims himself as President of the newly created Republic of Vietnam. ›

1947

Partition of India: The Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu signs the Instrument of Accession with India, beginning the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and the Kashmir conflict. ›

1944

World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with an overwhelming American victory. ›

1942

World War II: In the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during the Guadalcanal Campaign, one U.S. aircraft carrier is sunk and another carrier is heavily damaged, while two Japanese carriers and one cruiser are heavily damaged. ›

1937

Nazi Germany begins expulsions of 18,000 Polish Jews. ›

1936

The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation. ›

1918

World War I: Erich Ludendorff, quartermaster-general of the Imperial German Army, is dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II for refusing to cooperate in peace negotiations. ›

1917

World War I: Brazil declares war on the Central Powers. ›

1912

First Balkan War: The Ottomans lose the cities of Thessaloniki and Skopje. ›

1909

Japanese occupation of Korea: An Jung-geun assassinates Japan's Resident-General of Korea. ›

1905

King Oscar II recognizes the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. ›

1892

Ida B. Wells publishes Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases. ›

1890

Malleco Viaduct in Chile, at the time "the highest railroad bridge in the world", is inaugurated by President José Manuel Balmaceda. ›

1881

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday participate in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. ›

1871

Liberian President Edward James Roye is deposed in a coup d'état. ›

1863

The Football Association is founded. ›

1860

Unification of Italy: The Expedition of the Thousand ends when Giuseppe Garibaldi presents his conquests to King Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia. ›

1859

The Royal Charter Storm kills at least eight hundred people in the British Isles. ›

1825

The Erie Canal opens, allowing direct passage from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. ›

1774

American Revolution: The First Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia. ›

1689

General Enea Silvio Piccolomini of Austria burns down Skopje to prevent the spread of cholera; he dies of the disease soon afterwards. ›

1640

The Treaty of Ripon is signed, restoring peace between Covenanter Scotland and King Charles I of England. ›

1597

Imjin War: Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin routs the Japanese Navy of 300 ships with only 13 ships at the Battle of Myeongnyang. ›

1520

Charles V is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor. ›

1377

Tvrtko I is crowned the first king of Bosnia. ›

1341

The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 formally begins with the proclamation of John VI Kantakouzenos as Byzantine Emperor. ›

1185

The Uprising of Asen and Peter begins on the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki and ends with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire. ›