26 September

1087   William II is crowned King of England, and reigns until 1100.

1329    Anne of Bavaria (born) (died 1353)

1580   Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth.

1687    The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange’s invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution.

1687    The Parthenon in Athens is partially destroyed by an explosion caused by the bombing from Venetian forces led by Morosini who are besieging the Ottoman Turks stationed in Athens.

1716    Antoine Parent (died), French mathematician (born 1666)

1758    Cosme Argerich (born), Argentinian physician (died 1820)

1767    Wenzel Müller (born), Austrian composer and conductor (died 1835)

1774    Johnny Appleseed (born), American environmentalist (died 1845)

1777    British troops occupy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Revolution.

1786    Protestors shut down the court in Springfield, Massachusetts in a military standoff that begins Shays’ Rebellion.

1789    Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first United States Secretary of State, John Jay is appointed the first Chief Justice of the United States, Samuel Osgood is appointed the first United States Postmaster General, and Edmund Randolph is appointed the first United States Attorney General.

1791    Théodore Géricault (born), French painter and lithographer (died 1824)

1792    Marc-David Lasource begins accusing Maximilien Robespierre of wanting a dictatorship for France.

1802   Jurij Vega (died), Slovenian mathematician and physicist (born 1754)

1820   Daniel Boone (died), American explorer (born 1734)

1849   Ivan Pavlov (born), Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1936)

1868   August Ferdinand Möbius (died), German mathematician and astronomer (born 1790)

1872    The first Shriners Temple (called Mecca) is established in New York City.

1874    Lewis Hine (born), American photographer and activist (died 1940)

1877    Hermann Grassmann (died), German mathematician and physicist (born 1809)

1881    Hiram Wesley Evans (born), American Ku Klux Klan leader (died 1966)

1886   Archibald Hill (born), English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1977)

1887   Antonio Moreno (born), Spanish-American actor and director (died 1967)

1887   Barnes Wallis (born), English scientist and engineer, invented the Bouncing bomb (died 1979)

1888   T. S. Eliot (born), American-English publisher, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1965)

1889   Gordon Brewster (born), Irish cartoonist (died 1946)

1889   Martin Heidegger (born), German philosopher (died 1976)

1892   Robert Staughton Lynd (born), American sociologist (died 1970)

1895    George Raft (born), American actor, singer, and dancer (died 1980)

1897    Pope Paul VI (born) (died 1978)

1898   George Gershwin (born), American pianist and composer (died 1937)

1902   Levi Strauss (died), German-American businessman, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (born 1829)

1907    New Zealand and Newfoundland each become dominions within the British Empire.

1909   Bill France, Sr. (born), American race car driver, founded NASCAR (died 1992)

1914    Achille Compagnoni (born), Italian skier and mountaineer (died 2009)

1914    Jack LaLanne (born), American fitness expert (died 2011)

1914    The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.

1918    World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the bloodiest single battle in American history, begins.

1919    Barbara Britton (born), American actress (died 1980)

1919    Matilde Camus (born), Spanish poet (died 2012)

1925    Marty Robbins (born), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and race car driver (died 1982)

1926    Julie London (born), American singer and actress (died 2000)

1926    Manfred Mayrhofer (born), Austrian philologist (died 2011)

1927    Patrick O’Neal (born), American actor (died 1994)

1927    Robert Cade (born), American physician and educator, co-invented Gatorade (died 2007)

1933    As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, “Don’t shoot, G-Men!”, which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.

1933    Ten convicts escape from the Indiana State Prison with guns smuggled into the prison by bank robber John Dillinger

1934    Steamship RMS Queen Mary is launched.

1937    Bessie Smith (died), American singer and actress (born 1894)

1937    Jerry Weintraub (born), American actor and producer

1945    Béla Bartók (died), Hungarian pianist and composer (born 1881)

1946    Andrea Dworkin (born), American activist and author (died 2005)

1946    John Gray (born), Canadian actor, playwright, and composer

1946    William Strunk, Jr. (died), American author and educator (born 1869)

1947    Hugh Lofting (died), English-American author and poet (born 1886)

1947    Lynn Anderson (born), American singer

1947    Philippe Lavil (born), French singer

1948   Olivia Newton-John (born), English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress

1950    Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.

1950    United Nations troops recapture Seoul from North Korean forces.

1951    Hans Cloos (died), German geologist (born 1885)

1952    George Santayana (died), Spanish-American philosopher and author (born 1863)

1954    Craig Chaquico (born), American guitarist (Jefferson Starship)

1958    Robert Kagan (born), Greek-American historian and author

1959    Typhoon Vera, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history, makes landfall, killing 4,580 people and leaving nearly 1.6 million others homeless.

1960   Fidel Castro announces Cuba’s support for the U.S.S.R.

1960   In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

1968   Jim Caviezel (born), American actor

1969    Abbey Road, the last recorded album by The Beatles, was released.

1973    Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.

1980   At the Oktoberfest terror attack in Munich 13 people died and 211 were injured.

1981    Baseball: Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter.

1981    Serena Williams (born), American tennis player

1983   Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averts a likely worldwide nuclear war by correctly identifying a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike.

1984   The United Kingdom agrees to the handover of Hong Kong

1997    An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

1999    Bernadette O’Farrell (died), Irish actress (born 1924)

2000  Anti-globalization protests in Prague (some 20,000 protesters) turn violent during the IMF and World Bank summits.

2003   Robert Palmer (died), English singer-songwriter (The Power Station and Vinegar Joe) (born 1949)

2006   Byron Nelson (died), American golfer and coach (born 1912)

2008  Paul Newman (died), American actor, director, producer, and businessman, co-founded Newman’s Own (born 1925)

2009   Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, causing 700 fatalities.

2012   Eugene Genovese (died), American historian and author (born 1930)

2012   Sam Steiger (died), American journalist and politician (born 1929)

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EO Smith

Interests include biological anthropology, evolution, social behavior, and human behavior. Conducted field research in the Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya and on Angaur, Palau, Micronesia, as well as research with captive nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Institute for Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya.
EO Smith
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