On this day: November 26

Events on November 26

• 1778 In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui. Wikipedia
• 1789 A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress. Wikipedia
• 1812 The Battle of Berezina begins during Napoleon's retreat from Russia. Wikipedia
• 1842 The University of Notre Dame (building pictured) was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana. Wikipedia
• 1852 A massive earthquake struck the Dutch East Indies, creating a tsunami that washed away villages, ships and residents. Wikipedia
• 1863 United States President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November. Following the Franksgiving controversy from 1939 to 1941, it has been observed on the fourth Thursday in 1942 and subsequent years. Wikipedia
• 1865 Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy schooner is defeated by a Chilean corvette north of Valparaíso, Chile. Wikipedia
• 1940 The Iron Guard killed 64 political detainees at a penitentiary near Bucharest and followed up with several high-profile assassinations, including that of former Romanian prime minister Nicolae Iorga. Wikipedia
• 1941 World War II: The Hull note is given to the Japanese ambassador, demanding that Japan withdraw from China and French Indochina, in return for which the United States would lift economic sanctions. On the same day, Japan's 1st Air Fleet departs Hitokappu Bay for Hawaii. Wikipedia
• 1942 Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premiered at the Hollywood Theatre in New York City to coincide with the Allied invasion of French North Africa and the capture of Casablanca. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia. Wikipedia
• 1942 A riot involving infantrymen, military police, and local law enforcement officers killed three people in Phoenix, Arizona. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: HMT Rohna is sunk by the Luftwaffe in an air attack in the Mediterranean north of Béjaïa, Algeria. Wikipedia
• 1986 Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission. Wikipedia
• 1986 The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of committing war crimes as a guard at the Nazi Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem. Wikipedia
• 1991 National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names. Wikipedia
• 1998 Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland. Wikipedia
• 1999 The 7.5 Mw Ambrym earthquake shakes Vanuatu and a destructive tsunami follows. Ten people were killed and forty were injured. Wikipedia
• 2000 George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the United States presidential election, despite losing in the national popular vote. Wikipedia
• 2008 Mumbai attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Mumbai killing 166 citizens by 10 terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based extremist Islamist terrorist organisation. Wikipedia
• 2008 A coordinated group of shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai began, ultimately killing 175 people and wounding more than 300 others. Wikipedia
• 2011 In a friendly-fire incident, a skirmish occurred between U.S.-led NATO forces and Pakistani security forces at two military checkposts along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. Wikipedia
• 2011 NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory mission from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Curiosity rover on board. Wikipedia
• 2018 The robotic probe Insight lands on Elysium Planitia, Mars. Wikipedia
• 2021 COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization identifies the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Wikipedia
• 2025 The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured. Wikipedia

Born on November 26

• 1731 William Cowper, English poet and hymnwriter (died 1800) Wikipedia
• 1827 Ellen G. White, American religious leader and author, co-founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church (died 1915) Wikipedia
• 1828 René Goblet, French journalist and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of France (died 1905) Wikipedia
• 1832 Mary Edwards Walker, American surgeon and activist, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1919) Wikipedia
• 1857 Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist and author (died 1913) Wikipedia
• 1869 Maud of Wales (died 1938) Wikipedia
• 1876 Willis Carrier, American engineer, invented air conditioning (died 1950) Wikipedia
• 1894 Norbert Wiener, American-Swedish mathematician and philosopher (died 1964) Wikipedia
• 1895 Bill W., American activist, co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (died 1971) Wikipedia
• 1898 Karl Ziegler, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973) Wikipedia
• 1902 Maurice McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (died 1971) Wikipedia
• 1909 Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright and critic (died 1994) Wikipedia
• 1922 Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (died 2000) Wikipedia
• 1931 Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Argentinian painter, sculptor, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1939 Tina Turner, American-Swiss singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (died 2023) Wikipedia
• 1939 Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysian civil servant and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia (died 2025) Wikipedia
• 1948 Elizabeth Blackburn, Australian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1951 Ilona Staller, Hungarian-Italian porn actress, singer, and politician Wikipedia
• 1954 Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1983 Chris Hughes, American publisher and businessman, co-founded Facebook Wikipedia
• 1990 Rita Ora, Kosovan-English singer-songwriter and actress Wikipedia
• 1990 Danny Welbeck, English footballer Wikipedia

Died on November 26

• 399 Siricius, pope of the Catholic Church (born 334) Wikipedia
• 1236 Al-Aziz Muhammad ibn Ghazi, Ayyubid emir of Aleppo (born 1216) Wikipedia
• 1504 Isabella I, queen of Castile and León (born 1451) Wikipedia
• 1851 Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of France (born 1769) Wikipedia
• 1855 Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet and playwright (born 1798) Wikipedia
• 1857 Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, German poet and author (born 1788) Wikipedia
• 1883 Sojourner Truth, American activist (born 1797) Wikipedia
• 1934 Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Ukrainian historian and politician (born 1866) Wikipedia
• 1952 Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (born 1865) Wikipedia
• 1962 Albert Sarraut, French lawyer and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (born 1872) Wikipedia
• 1981 Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (born 1901) Wikipedia
• 2007 Silvestre S. Herrera, Mexican-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1917) Wikipedia
• 2012 Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1919) Wikipedia
• 2018 Stephen Hillenburg, American animator, voice actor, and marine science educator (born 1961) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast days: Alypius the Stylite Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Basolus (Basle) Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Bellinus of Padua Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Conrad of Constance Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Ethelwine of Athelney Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Blessed Gaetana Sterni Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: John Berchmans Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Pope Siricius Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Sylvester Gozzolini Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Isaac Watts (Episcopal Church (USA)) Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: November 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (Abkhazia, Georgia) Wikipedia
• Constitution Day (India) Wikipedia
• Republic Day (Mongolia) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “November 26” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.