# On this day: September 26

September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years), with 96 days left until the end of the year.

## September 26 in one line

Headline entries for September 26, from Wikipedia: in 1959, The Cambodian–Vietnamese War formally ended with the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces from the People's Republic of Kampuchea, a client state it had implemented to overthrow Democratic Kampuchea and the Khmer Rouge; born 1888: T. S. Eliot, English poet, playwright, critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1965); died 2019: Jacques Chirac, French politician, President of France (born 1932). In 2026 it is a Saturday, in 2027 a Sunday.

## Events on September 26

- 46 BC Julius Caesar dedicated the Temple of Venus Genetrix in Rome to Venus, the mythical ancestor of his family. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Venus_Genetrix)
- 1087 William II, son of William the Conqueror, was crowned king of England. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II_of_England)
- 1142 Stephen of Blois's army approached Oxford, beginning the siege of Oxford. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Oxford_(1142))
- 1493 Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull Dudum siquidem, one of the Bulls of Donation, marking the beginning of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudum_siquidem)
- 1580 English explorer Francis Drake's galleon the Golden Hind sailed into Plymouth, completing his circumnavigation of the globe. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind)
- 1687 Morean War: The Parthenon in Athens, used as a gunpowder depot by the Ottoman garrison, is partially destroyed after being bombarded during the Siege of the Acropolis by Venetian forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon)
- 1688 The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Revolution)
- 1789 George Washington appoints Thomas Jefferson the first United States Secretary of State. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_State)
- 1907 The British colony of New Zealand officially became a dominion to reflect its political independence since the 1850s. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_of_New_Zealand)
- 1917 World War I: The Battle of Polygon Wood, part of the Battle of Passchendaele, began near Ypres, Belgium. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Polygon_Wood)
- 1918 World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began which would last until the total surrender of German forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse%E2%80%93Argonne_offensive)
- 1919 The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine defeated the White Russian Volunteer Army at the Battle of Peregonovka. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Peregonovka)
- 1928 The Republic of China adopted Gwoyeu Romatzyh as the official system for romanization of Mandarin Chinese. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwoyeu_Romatzyh)
- 1933 As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrendered to the FBI, he supposedly shouted "Don't shoot, G-Men!", which became a nickname for FBI agents. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Gun_Kelly_(gangster))
- 1944 World War II: The Soviet Red Army completed the Tallinn offensive, driving German forces out of Estonia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn_offensive)
- 1959 The Cambodian–Vietnamese War formally ended with the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces from the People's Republic of Kampuchea, a client state it had implemented to overthrow Democratic Kampuchea and the Khmer Rouge. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian%E2%80%93Vietnamese_War)
- 1959 Japan was struck by Typhoon Vera, the strongest and deadliest typhoon on record to make landfall on the country, causing damage in excess of US$261 million and more than 5,000 deaths. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Vera)
- 1968 The Beatles completed the recording of John Lennon's song "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", regarded by all the band members as their favourite on the album The Beatles. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_Is_a_Warm_Gun)
- 1983 Cold War: Soviet lieutenant colonel Stanislav Petrov averted a potential nuclear war by identifying as a false alarm signals that appeared to indicate an impending U.S. missile attack. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident)
- 1983 The racing yacht Australia II, captained by John Bertrand, won the America's Cup and ended the New York Yacht Club's 132-year defence of the trophy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_II)
- 1997 A Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300 crashes near Medan airport, killing 234. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda_Indonesia_Flight_152)
- 2008 Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy flew a wingpack powered by jet engines across the English Channel. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Rossy)
- 2010 Scottish aid worker Linda Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Linda_Norgrove)
- 2014 Forty-three students of the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College in Iguala, Mexico, were kidnapped and probably later killed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguala_mass_kidnapping)
- 2016 The Ecnomiohyla rabborum became extinct when the last known surviving member died in captivity. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecnomiohyla_rabborum)
- 2024 Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Perry, Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, killing over 250 people, causing US$78.7 billion in damage and becoming the deadliest hurricane in the mainland United States since Katrina. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene)

## Born on September 26

- 1791 Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (died 1824) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9odore_G%C3%A9ricault)
- 1849 Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1936) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov)
- 1869 Komitas, Armenian-French priest and composer (died 1935) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komitas)
- 1870 Christian X of Denmark (died 1947) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_X)
- 1886 Archibald Hill, English physiologist, academic, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1977) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Hill)
- 1888 T. S. Eliot, English poet, playwright, critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1965) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot)
- 1889 Martin Heidegger, German philosopher and academic (died 1976) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Heidegger)
- 1897 Pope Paul VI (died 1978) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_VI)
- 1898 George Gershwin, American pianist and composer (died 1937) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin)
- 1914 Jack LaLanne, American fitness expert (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_LaLanne)
- 1919 Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and author (died 2012) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilde_Camus)
- 1932 Manmohan Singh, Indian economist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of India (died 2024) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manmohan_Singh)
- 1936 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South African academic and politician, 8th First Lady of South Africa (died 2018) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_Mandela)
- 1946 Andrea Dworkin, American activist and author (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Dworkin)
- 1948 Olivia Newton-John, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress (died 2022) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Newton-John)
- 1956 Linda Hamilton, American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Hamilton)
- 1960 Uwe Bein, German footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwe_Bein)
- 1965 Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian businessman and politician, 5th President of Ukraine [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petro_Poroshenko)
- 1968 Jim Caviezel, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Caviezel)
- 1976 Michael Ballack, German footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ballack)
- 1981 Serena Williams, American tennis player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_Williams)
- 1983 Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Quaresma)

## Died on September 26

- 1328 Ibn Taymiya, Islamic scholar and philosopher of Harran (born 1263) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Taymiyya)
- 1868 August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician and astronomer (born 1790) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Ferdinand_M%C3%B6bius)
- 1902 Levi Strauss, German-American businessman, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (born 1829) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss)
- 1904 Lafcadio Hearn, Greek-Japanese author and academic (born 1850) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafcadio_Hearn)
- 1937 Bessie Smith, American singer and actress (born 1894) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_Smith)
- 1945 Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer (born 1881) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_Bart%C3%B3k)
- 1952 George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, novelist, and poet (born 1863) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana)
- 1973 Anna Magnani, Italian actress and singer (born 1908) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Magnani)
- 1976 Leopold Ružička, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1887) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Ru%C5%BEi%C4%8Dka)
- 1978 Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1886) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manne_Siegbahn)
- 1990 Alberto Moravia, Italian author and critic (born 1907) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Moravia)
- 2008 Paul Newman, American actor, director, producer, and businessman (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Newman)
- 2010 Gloria Stuart, American actress (born 1910) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Stuart)
- 2019 Jacques Chirac, French politician, President of France (born 1932) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast days: Canadian Martyrs (Catholic Church in Canada) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Martyrs)
- Christian feast days: Cosmas and Damian [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmas_and_Damian)
- Christian feast days: Blessed Crescencia Valls Espí [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescencia_Valls_Esp%C3%AD)
- Christian feast days: John of Meda [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Meda)
- Christian feast days: Blessed Kaspar Stanggassinger [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Stanggassinger)
- Christian feast days: Blessed Luigi Tezza [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Tezza)
- Christian feast days: Nilus the Younger [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilus_the_Younger)
- Christian feast days: Thérèse Couderc [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_Couderc)
- Christian feast days: Wilson Carlile (Anglican) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Carlile)
- Christian feast days: September 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of the National Flag (Ecuador) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Day)
- Dominion Day (New Zealand) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Day)
- European Day of Languages (European Union) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Day_of_Languages)
- International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_for_the_Total_Elimination_of_Nuclear_Weapons)
- Petrov day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident)
- Revolution Day (Yemen) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen_Arab_Republic)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “September 26”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/September 26”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/September_26) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“September 26”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for September 26 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## September 26 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Saturday | 2026-W39 | 🌕 Full Moon |
| 2027 | Sunday | 2027-W38 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Tuesday | 2028-W39 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Wednesday | 2029-W39 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2030 | Thursday | 2030-W39 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on September 26

- [🇰🇷 South Korea](https://whathappen.today/holidays/south-korea/): The second day of Chuseok (2026)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← September 25](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-25/) · [September 27 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-27/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-26/