September 26

Events
Up to 1900
1087 William II of England is crowned king in Westminster Abbey.
1345 Friso-Hollandic Wars: Frisians defeat Holland in the Battle of Warns.
1371 Battle of Maritsa in the Serbian-Turkish War.
1580 Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation (voyage around the world).
1687 The Parthenon in Athens is partially destroyed by an explosion caused by the bombing from Venetian forces led by Francesco Morosini who are besieging the Ottoman Turks stationed in Athens.
1687 The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, later known as the Glorious Revolution.
1777 British forces occupy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War.
1786 Protestors shut down the court in Springfield, Massachusetts in a military stand-off that begins the Shays' Rebellion.
1789 Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first United States Secretary of State.
1792 Marc-David Lasource accuses Maximilien Robespierre of wanting a dictatorship in France.
1810 The Riksdag (Swedish parliament) passes the Act of Succession, allowing Jean Baptiste Bernadotte to become heir to the throne of Sweden.
1832 The Gota Canal in central Sweden opens.
1860 The current Flag of Ecuador is introduced.
1872 The first Shriners Temple (called Mecca) is established in New York City.
1901 2000
1907 New Zealand and Newfoundland are given Dominion status.
1908 The Norwegian football club SK Brann is founded.
1914 The US Federal Trade Commission is established.
1917 World War I: The Battle of Polygon Wood begins.
1918 World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive begins.
1923 Gustav Stresemann resumes (restarts) the Weimar Republic's payment of reparation money.
1933 A hurricane in Tampico, Mexico kills 1,000 people.
1934 The steamship RMS Queen Mary is launched.
1941 Off the Azores, British passenger steamer Avoceta is torpedoed by a German U-boat. It sinks within two minutes, killing 123 people.
1944 World War II: The Allies abandon Operation Market Garden.
1950 Indonesia is admitted to the UN.
1950 Korean War: UN forces re-capture Seoul from North Korean forces.
1954 Japanese railway ferry Toya Maru sinks during a typhoon, killing 1,172 people.
1955 The Flag and Coat of Arms of East Germany are introduced.
1959 Typhoon Vera hits Japan, killing 4,580 people.
1960 The first televised United States Presidential debate takes place, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
1960 Fidel Castro announces Cuba's support for the Soviet Union.
1962 The Yemen Arab Republic is proclaimed.
1969 Abbey Road, the last recorded album by The Beatles, is released.
1970 The Laguna Fire starts in San Diego County, California, burning 175,425 acres (709.92 square kilometers) of land.
1973 Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in record-breaking time.
1980 The Oktoberfest terror attack in Munich kills 13 people and injures 211.
1981 The first flight of a Boeing 767 takes place.
1983 Sailing: The Yacht Australia II wins the America's Cup, ending a 132-year US winning streak.
1984 The United Kingdom agrees to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
1992 A Nigerian troop transporter plane crashes shortly after take-off in Lagos, killing all 163 soldiers on board.
1997 A plane crash in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia, kills 234 people.
1997 A major earthquake strikes central Italy.
2000 The ship MS Samina sinks off Paros in the Aegean Sea, killing 80 people.
From 2001
2001 The Polish Wikipedia is launched.
2002 A Senegalese ferry capsizes near the Gambia, killing more than 1,000 people.
2006 Shinzo Abe becomes Prime Minister of Japan for the first time.
2007 Yasuo Fukuda becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
2008 Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes the first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel.
2009 Typhoon Ketsana strikes the Philippines, and several neighboring countries, killing over 700 people.
2014 Several students are kidnapped from Iguala, Mexico.
2016 The first 2016 US presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump takes place.
2017 It is announced that the Republic of Ireland is to hold a referendum on the issue of abortion in 2018.
2017 An end to the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia is announced.
2019 New South Wales becomes the last Australian state to allow abortion.
Births
Up to 1900
1329 Anna of Bavaria, Queen of the Romans (d. 1353)
1406 Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (d. 1430)
1698 William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (d. 1755)
1711 Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl of Temple, English politician (d. 1779)
1774 Johnny Appleseed, American folk hero (d. 1847)
1791 Theodore Gericault, French painter and lithographer (d. 1824)
1793 William Hobson, 1st Governor of New Zealand (d. 1842)
1820 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bengali scholar (d. 1891)
1840 Louis-Olivier Taillon, French-Canadian politician (d. 1923)
1843 Joseph Furphy, Australian writer (d. 1912)
1849 Ivan Pavlov, Russian scientist (d. 1936)
1856 Leo Graetz, German physicist (d. 1941)
1865 Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, English pilot and ornithologist (d. 1937)
1867 Winsor McCay, American animator (d. 1934)
1869 Komitas Vardapet, Armenian composer (d. 1935)
1870 King Christian X of Denmark (d. 1947)
1872 Max Ehrmann, American poet (d. 1945)
1873 Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect (d. 1949)
1874 Lewis Hine, American photographer and scientist (d. 1940)
1876 Ghulam Bhik Nairang, Indian poet and Muslim nationalist (d. 1952)
1877 Alfred Cortot, French pianist (d. 1962)
1877 Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist (d. 1963)
1881 Hiram Wesley Evans, American Ku Klux Klan leader (d. 1966)
1886 Archibald Hill, English mathematician, won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1977)
1887 Antonio Moreno, Spanish actor (d. 1967)
1887 Barnes Wallis, English scientist and inventor (d. 1979)
1888 T. S. Eliot, American poet (d. 1965)
1889 Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (d. 1976)
1891 Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher (d. 1953)
1893 Gladys Brockwell, American actress (d. 1929)
1895 Jurgen Stroop, German SS officer (d. 1952)
1897 Pope Paul VI (d. 1978)
1898 George Gershwin, American composer (d. 1937)
1901 1925
1901 George Raft, American actor (d. 1980)
1905 Millito Navarro, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2011)
1907 Anthony Blunt, British double-agent (d. 1983)
1909 Bill France, Sr., American racing driver (d. 1992)
1910 Delfin Benitez Caceres, Paraguayan footballer (d. 2004)
1913 Berthold Beitz, German businessman (d. 2013)
1914 Achille Compagnoni, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
1914 Jack LaLanne, American fitness expert (d. 2011)
1917 Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese philosopher (d. 1993)
1918 Olafur Johann Stefansson, Icelandic writer (d. 1988)
1918 John Zacherle, American television host, voice actor and singer
1919 Matilde Camus, Spanish poet (d. 2012)
1919 Ezio Loik, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
1921 Cyprian Ekwensi, Nigerian writer (d. 2007)
1922 Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia, claimant to Russian throne (d. 2014)
1923 Dev Anand, Indian actor and movie producer (d. 2011)
1923 James Hennessy, British diplomat and public servant
1925 Marty Robbins, American singer (d. 1982)
1926 1950
1926 Julie London, American singer and actress (d. 2000)
1927 Patrick O'Neal, American actor
1927 Robert Cade, American physician (d. 2007)
1927 Romano Mussolini, Italian jazz musician (d. 2006)
1927 Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer (d. 2010)
1930 Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (d. 1966)
1932 Donna Douglas, American actress (d. 2015)
1932 Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India
1932 Vladimir Voinovich, Russian author and dissident (d. 2018)
1932 Richard Herd, American actor
1934 Dick Heckstall-Smith, English musician (d. 2004)
1935 Lou Myers, American actor (d. 2013)
1936 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South African activist (d. 2018)
1937 Valentin Pavlov, Russian politician (d. 2003)
1937 Jerry Weintraub, American movie producer (d. 2015)
1938 Raoul Cauvin, Belgian comic writer
1939 Ricky Tomlinson, English actor
1939 George McWhirter, Northern Irish-Canadian writer
1941 Salvatore Accardo, Italian violinist and composer
1941 Martine Beswick, English model and actress
1941 Vadim Glowna, German actor (d. 2012)
1942 Kent McCord, American actor
1942 Ingrid Becker, German athlete
1943 Ian Chappell, Australian cricketer
1944 Jan Brewer, American politician, 22nd Governor of Arizona
1944 Anne Robinson, English television presenter
1944 Jean-Pierre Ricard, French cardinal, Archbishop of Bordeaux
1945 Bobby Clark, Scottish footballer
1945 Gal Costa, Brazilian singer
1945 Bryan Ferry, English singer
1946 Radhna Krishna Mainali, Nepalese politician
1946 Andrea Dworkin, American activist and author (d. 2005)
1946 Christine Todd Whitman, 50th Governor of New Jersey
1946 Homa Rousta, Iranian actress (d. 2015)
1947 Lynn Anderson, American singer (d. 2015)
1948 Olivia Newton-John, Australian-British singer and actress (d. 2022)
1948 Stuart Tosh, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer
1949 Clodoaldo, Brazilian footballer
1949 Minette Walters, English novelist
1951 1975
1952 George Wood, Scottish footballer
1954 Alice, Italian singer-songwriter
1954 Kevin Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
1956 Linda Hamilton, American actress
1957 Roger MacBride Allen, American science fiction writer
1957 Luigi De Canio, Italian footballer
1957 Klaus Augenthaler, German footballer
1958 Rudi Cerne, German ice skater and TV presenter
1958 Robert Kagan, American historian and author
1959 Andrew Bolt, Australian journalist and political commentator
1960 Uwe Bein, German footballer
1960 Jouke de Vries, Frisian politician and professor
1961 Will Self, British writer
1962 Mark Haddon, British writer
1962 Melissa Sue Anderson, American actress
1962 Al Pitrelli, American guitarist (Megadeth)
1962 Jacky Wu, Taiwanese singer, actor and television host
1963 Lysette Anthony, English actress and model
1964 Nicki French, English singer and actress
1965 Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian businessman and politician, former President of Ukraine
1968 James Caviezel, American actor
1969 Holger Stanislawski, German football manager
1969 Anthony Cavanagh, French-Canadian comedian, actor and singer
1969 David Slade, English director
1972 Beto O'Rourke, American politician
1973 Chris Small, Scottish snooker player
1973 Julienne Davis, American actress, producer and screenwriter
1975 Jake Paltrow, American director
From 1976
1976 Michael Ballack, German footballer
1976 Dean Butterworth, English-American drummer (Good Charlotte)
1976 Tyler Denk, American model
1978 Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenyan runner
1979 Naomichi Marufuji, Japanese professional wrestler
1979 Jaycie Phelps, American gymnast
1979 Taavi Roivas, former Prime Minister of Estonia
1980 Daniel Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
1980 Henrik Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
1980 Kazuki Ganaha, Japanese footballer
1981 Christina Milian, American singer
1981 Serena Williams, American tennis player
1981 Yao Beina, Chinese singer (d. 2015)
1983 Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer
1985 Lenna Kuurmaa, Estonian singer
1985 M. Pokora, French singer and songwriter
1986 Ashley Leggat, Canadian actress, singer and dancer
1987 Rosanna Munter, Swedish singer
1988 James Blake, English singer-songwriter
1988 Marina Kuroki, Japanese actress and singer
1988 Kiira Korpi, Finnish figure skater
1989 Ciaran Clark, Irish footballer
1989 Emma Rigby, English actress
1990 Pavel Avdeyev, Russian footballer
1991 Alma Jodorowsky, French actress, fashion model and singer
1993 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, American basketball player
2000 Princess Salma bint Al Abdullah II of Jordan
Deaths
Up to 1960
1290 Margaret, Maid of Norway, Queen of Scotland (b. 1283)
1417 Francesco Zabarella, Italian jurist (b. 1360)
1425 Sophia of Bavaria, Queen of Bohemia (b. 1376)
1468 Juan de Torquemada, Spanish cardinal (b. 1388)
1620 Taicheng, Chinese Emperor (b. 1582)
1626 Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese daimyo (b. 1554)
1716 Antoine Parent, French mathematician (b. 1666)
1763 John Byron, English poet (b. 1692)
1802 Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician and military officer (b. 1754)
1820 Daniel Boone, American frontiersman (b. 1734)
1867 James Ferguson, Scottish-American astronomer (b. 1797)
1877 Hermann Grossmann, German polymath (b. 1809)
1902 Levi Strauss, German-born clothing manufacturer (b. 1829)
1904 Lafcadio Hearn, Irish-Greek writer (b. 1850)
1904 John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman and statesman (b. 1848)
1937 Bessie Smith, American blues singer (b. 1894)
1945 Bela Bartok, Hungarian composer (b. 1881)
1945 Kiyoshi Miki, Japanese philosopher (b. 1897)
1947 Hugh Lofting, English writer (b. 1886)
1952 George Santayana, Spanish philosopher (b. 1863)
1953 Xu Beihong, Chinese painter (b. 1895)
1954 Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (b. 1868)
1959 Solomon Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of present-day Sri Lanka (b. 1899)
1961 2015
1968 Daniel Johnson, Sr., 20th Premier of Quebec (b. 1915)
1973 Anna Magnani, Italian actress (b. 1908)
1976 Lavoslav Ruzicka, Croatian chemist (b. 1887)
1978 Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist (b. 1886)
1983 Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (b. 1907)
1984 Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1948)
1987 Ramang, Indonesian footballer and manager (b. 1928)
1987 Herbert Tichy, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1912)
1990 Alberto Moravia, Italian writer (b. 1907)
1996 Geoffrey Wilkinson, British chemist (b. 1921)
1998 Betty Carter, American singer (b. 1929)
2000 Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist (b. 1937)
2000 Richard Mulligan, American actor (b. 1932)
2003 Shawn Lane, American guitarist (b. 1963)
2003 Robert Palmer, British singer (b. 1949)
2006 Iva Toguri D'Aquino, alleged Tokyo Rose (b. 1916)
2006 Byron Nelson, American golfer (b. 1912)
2008 Paul Newman, American actor and director (b. 1925)
2010 Gloria Stuart, American actress (b. 1910)
2012 Johnny Lewis, American actor (b. 1983)
2013 Sos Sargsyan, Armenian actor (b. 1929)
2014 Michael McCarty, American stage actor (b. 1946)
2014 Sam Hall, American television writer (b. 1921)
2015 Homa Rousta, Iranian actress (b. 1946)
From 2016
2016 Herschell Gordon Lewis, American movie director (b. 1929)
2016 Ioan Gyuri Pascu, Romanian singer, actor and comedian (b. 1961)
2017 Robert Delpire, French photographer and filmmaker (b. 1926)
2017 Barry Dennen, American actor (b. 1938)
2017 Gunter Halm, German World War II lieutenant (b. 1922)
2017 Rinse Zijlstra, Dutch politician (b. 1927)
2018 Joe Carolan, Irish footballer (b. 1937)
2018 Ignaz Kirchner, Austrian actor (b. 1946)
2019 Giovanni Bramucci, Italian cyclist (b. 1946)
2019 Jacques Chirac, President of France (b. 1932)
2019 William Levada, American cardinal (b. 1936)
2019 Gennadi Manakov, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1950)
2019 Ronald L. Schlicher, American politician (b. 1956)
Observances
European Day of Languages (Council of Europe and EU)
Day of the National Flag (Ecuador)
Dominion Day (New Zealand)
Republic Day (Yemen)
Days of the year