1417 – Francesco Zabarella, Italian cardinal and jurist, dies at 57
1620 – Taichang Emperor [Zhu Changluo], 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, dies at 38
1780 – Bernard Paul Moll, German diplomat, map collector and cartographer, dies at 83
1959 – S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, 4th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1956-59), assassinated by a Buddhist monk at 60
1961 – Juanita Hansen, actress (Fast Company), dies of heart ailment at 67
1979 – John Cromwell, American actor and director (Spitfire, Of Human Bondage), dies at 91
1990 – Alberto Moravia [Pincherle], Italian writer (Woman in Red), dies at 82
1996 – Mark Frankel, British actor (Leon the Pig Farmer), dies in a motorcycle accident at 34
2011 – Harry Muskee, Dutch blues-rock vocalist (Cuby and Blizzards), dies of cancer at 70
2018 – Roger Robinson, American stage actor (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Some Old Black Man), dies at 78
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 26th September 2026
1371 – A small Ottoman force makes a devastating surprise night raid on the Serbian camp by the Maritsa River, killing thousands of drunken soldiers, including Serbian King Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother, Despot Jovan Uglješa
1824 – Kapiolani defies Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, and lives
1901 – Boer General Botha fails to capture Fort Itala in Natal
1917 – British assault on Menin Street, France
1979 – 1984 Summer Los Angeles Olympic coverage is sold to ABC for $225 million
1993 – French Williams driver Alain Prost finishes second in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril to clinch his fourth F1 World Drivers’ Championship; after the race, Prost announces his retirement at the end of the season
1994 – Switzerland bans racist propaganda
2019 – Abortion is decriminalized in New South Wales, the last remaining Australian state to do so
Today in History for 26th September 2026
Historical Events
1904 – Charles Klein’s “The Music Master” premieres in New York City
1982 – Larry Grossman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s musical “A Doll’s Life” closes at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, NYC, after 5 performances
1989 – Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze calls for the total destruction of Soviet and US chemical weapons
1997 – An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi to collapse
2019 – WHO announces 800,000 children in DR Congo will be vaccinated in nine days in the world’s largest measles epidemic that has taken over 3,500 lives
Famous Birthdays
1688 – Willem ‘s-Gravesande, Dutch mathematician and physicist, born in s-Hertogenbosch, Duchy of Brabant (d. 1742)
1932 – Giacomo Manzoni, Italian composer, born in Milan, Italy
1945 – Louise Beaudoin, French Canadian politician, born in Quebec City, Quebec
1956 – Steve Butler, American auto racer (USAC Silver Crown Champion 1988, 1992; USAC Sprint Car Champion 1986-88, 1990), born in Amarillo, Texas
1979 – Jaycie Phelps, American gymnast (Olympic gold team 1996), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
Famous Deaths
1023 – Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine (1012-23), dies at about 58
1620 – Taichang Emperor [Zhu Changluo], 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, dies at 38
1944 – Ernst Isler, Swiss organist and critic, dies at 64
1982 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 11 wickets, BB 4/22; Queensland), dies at 80
2006 – Tokyo Rose [Iva Toguri D’Aquino], American-born Japanese propagandist (WWII), dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 25th September 2026
1086 – William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1025)
1791 – William Bradford, American printer (b. 1719)
1870 – Robert Cooper Grier, American jurist, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1846-70), dies at 76
1944 – Leo Justinus Kauffmann, Alsatian composer, dies at 43
1979 – Tapio Rautavaara, Finnish athlete, actor, and singer (Me tulemme taas, Rion yö), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 64
1980 – Lewis Milestone [Leib Milstein], Moldovan-American Academy Award-winning film director (All Quiet on the Western Front; Of Mice and Men; Ocean’s 11), dies at 84
1987 – Mary Astor, American Academy Award-winning actress (The Great Lie; Meet Me In St Louis; The Maltese Falcon), dies of emphysema at 81
1998 – Russell Smith, American composer, dies at 71
2022 – Rafael Chimishkyan, Georgian weightlifter (Olympic gold USSR 60kg 1952; World C’ship gold 60kg 1954, 55), dies at 93
2023 – David McCallum, Scottish-American actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. – “Ilyla Kuryakin”; NCIS), dies at 90
Historical Events for 25th September 2026
1919 – US President Woodrow Wilson suffers a breakdown in Pueblo, Colorado; his health never recovers
1922 – Giants beat St. Louis to clinch John McGraw’s eighth pennant
1943 – Soviet troops liberate Smolensk
1955 – The Royal Jordanian Air Force is founded
1961 – KTPS TV channel 62 in Tacoma, WA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in as the first female US Supreme Court Justice
1997 – WNBA announces it will add Detroit and Washington, D.C. franchises
2024 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau survives a no-confidence vote in Parliament aimed at bringing down his minority government
Today in History for 25th September 2026
Historical Events
1944 – Operation Market Garden ends in Allied failure as the last British and Polish paratroopers are evacuated from Oosterbeek near the city of Arnhem
1956 – Transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation from Newfoundland to Oban
1966 – 413 spectators, the smallest Yankee Stadium crowd, watch the White Sox win 4-1
1981 – The Rolling Stones begin their sixth US tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia
2000 – American basketball player Vince Carter steals the ball and jumps over 7 foot 2 inch Frédéric Weis at the 2000 Summer Olympics, known in France as “le dunk de la mort” (the dunk of death)
Famous Birthdays
1881 – Lu Xun, Chinese writer of modern Chinese literature, born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, Qing dynasty China (d. 1936)
1905 – Red Smith, American sportscaster and columnist (Pulitzer 1976, Fight Talk), born in Green Bay, Wisconsin (d. 1982)
1920 – Sergei Bondarchuk, Soviet director (Destiny of a Man, War and Peace), born in Belozerka, Ukraine (d. 1994)
1921 – Remy C. van de Kerckhove, Flemish poet, born in Mechelen, Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1958)
1984 – Matt Carle, American ice hockey player, born in Anchorage, Alaska
Famous Deaths
1630 – Ambrogio Spinola, Spanish marquis of Balbases, dies at about 61
1918 – Mikhail Alekseev, Russian general (Tsar Nicholas II’s Chief of Staff), dies of a heart attack at 60
1918 – John Ireland, Irish-American archbishop of St Paul (1888-1918), dies at 80
1959 – Helen Broderick, American comedienne and actress (Swing Time; Top Hat), dies at 68
2012 – Andy Williams, American pop singer (“Moon River”; “Days of Wine and Roses”; “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”), dies from bladder cancer at 84
Famous Deaths for 24th September 2026
1732 – Reigen [Satohito], 112th Emperor of Japan (1663-87), dies at 78
1855 – Alexandre Stiévenard, French violinist, guitarist and composer, dies at 86
1924 – William Laurel Harris, American mural painter (Church of Saint Paul the Apostle in NY), dies of a stroke at 54
1975 – Clive Morton, British actor (Goodbye Mr Chips, Moonraker), dies at 71
1981 – Brahmarishi Hussain Sha, Indian religious leader and scholar (head of Sri Viswa Viznana Vidya Adhyatmika Peetham in Pithapuram), dies at 76
1983 – Mohammed Roem, Indonesian politician (as Foreign Minister negotiated Roem–Van Roijen Agreement that led to independence), dies at 75
1991 – Peter Bellamy, English folk singer, commits suicide at 47
1997 – Jonathon Silver, entrepreneur/arts patron, dies at 47
2003 – Rosalie Allen, American country singer, yodeler, and disc jockey, dies of congestive heart failure at 79
2021 – Waka Nathan, New Zealand rugby union flanker (14 Tests; Auckland RU), dies at 81
Historical Events for 24th September 2026
366 – Liberius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1786 – African American slave and poet Jupiter Hammon delivers his “Address to the Negroes of the State of New York” speech advocating emancipation at a meeting of the African Society in New York
1941 – Bomb explodes in German headquarters at Hotel Continental in Kiev
1971 – Houston Astros beat San Diego Padres 2-1 in 21 innings
1978 – Ron Guidry beats Cleveland 4-0, raising his record to 23-3 with an ERA of 1.74
1985 – A relay swim team completes the fastest English Channel crossing in 15 hours and 30 minutes
1991 – Robin Yount is the 37th player to hit 2,000 singles
2022 – Post-tropical storm remnant of Hurricane Fiona makes landfall near Whitehead, Nova Scotia, with sustained wind speeds of 165 km/h (103 mph); the strongest low-pressure system in Canadian history affects the four provinces of Atlantic Canada, as well as Quebec, causing major flooding and knocking out power to 80% of Nova Scotia and 95% of Prince Edward Island
Today in History for 24th September 2026
Historical Events
1850 – A Papal bull is issued, establishing the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England
1951 – USSR performs a nuclear test
1975 – OPEC announces a 15% increase in government revenue per barrel
2019 – Nancy Pelosi announces a formal impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump, arguing that he tried to enlist a foreign power for his own political gain
2024 – Former US retail giant Kmart confirms it is closing its last full-scale store in mainland US in Bridgehampton, New York
Famous Birthdays
1801 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist and mathematician, born in Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1862)
1833 – Henry Alanson Barnum, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Jamesville, New York (d. 1892)
1912 – Donald “Don” Porter, American actor (Gidget, The Ann Sothern Show), born in Miami, Oklahoma (d. 1997)
1939 – Sonny Turner, American singer (The Platters, 1959-70 – “With This Ring”, The Metrotones), born in Fairmont, West Virginia (d. 2022)
1959 – Denis “Piggy” D’Amour, Canadian heavy metal guitarist and songwriter (Voivod), born in Quebec (d. 2005)
Famous Deaths
768 – Pepin III, the short, King of France, dies at 53
1621 – Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Polish military commander (b. 1560)
1875 – William Walker, American composer (The Southern Harmony), dies at 66
2001 – Sir Ruthven Wade, British Air Chief marshal (Royal Air Force), dies at 81
2017 – Albert Innaurato, American playwright and stage director (Age in Soho; Gemini), dies at 70
Famous Deaths for 23rd September 2026
1910 – Tup Scott, Australian cricket batsman and captain (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 102; Victoria), dies of typhoid at 51
1972 – Calvin Frazier, American country and Detroit blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (“This Old World’s In A Tangle”), dies of cancer at 57
1992 – James Van Fleet, American US Army General (served during WWI, WWII, and Korean War), dies at 100
1999 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter (Man of a Thousand Faces), dies at 89
2002 – Vernon Corea, Sri Lankan pioneer radio broadcaster, dies at 75
2017 – Charles Bradley, American RandB and funk singer, known as ‘The Screaming Eagle of Soul’, dies of stomach cancer at 68
2020 – Bobby Wilson, English tennis player (Wimbledon doubles 1960 runner-up), dies at 84
2025 – Danny Thompson, British double bassist (Blues Incorporated; Pentangle; Richard Thompson; John Martyn), dies at 86
2025 – Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti (1999-2025), dies in his 80s
2025 – Cecilio Lastra, Spanish boxer (WBA featherweight champion 1977–78), dies at 74