November 26

November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 35 days remaining.

Events

• 1778 - In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover Maui.
• 1805 - Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
• 1825 - At Union College in Schenectady, New York a group of college students form Kappa Alpha Society as the first college social fraternity.
• 1862 - Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) sends the handwritten manuscript of Alice's Adventures Underground to 10-year-old Alice Liddell.
• 1863 - American Civil War: Mine Run - Union forces under General George Meade position against troops led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee
• 1917 - The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
• 1922 - Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.
• 1922 - Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so but it was not widely distributed).
• 1939 - The Red Army stages the Shelling of Mainila in order to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.
• 1941 - US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
• 1941 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - A fleet of six aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo leaves Hitokapu Bay for Pearl Harbor under strict radio silence.
• 1941 - World War II: The Hull note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.
• 1942 - The film Casablanca premieres at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.
• 1949 - The Indian Constituent Assembly adopts India's constitution.
• 1950 - Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces (Battle of Chosin Reservoir), ending any thought of a quick end to the conflict.
• 1965 - In the Hammaguira launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter space.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
• 1970 - In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1mm) of rain falls in one mintue, the heaviest rainfall ever on record.
• 1977 - Vrillon, representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command, takes over Britain's Southern Television for five minutes at 5:12 PM.
• 1983 - Brinks Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly UK£26 million are taken from the Brinks Mat vault at Heathrow Airport
• 1985 - US President Ronald Reagan signs over rights to his autobiography to Random House for a record US$3 million.
• 1986 - Iran-Contra scandal: US President Ronald Reagan announces the members what will become known as the Tower Commission.
• 1986 - The New Yorker publishes Susan Sontag's AIDS short story, "The Way We Live Now"
• 1998 - Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Republic of Ireland's parliament.
• 2003 - Last flight of the Concorde.

Births

• 1607 - John Harvard, cleric (d. 1638)
• 1657 - William Derham, English minister and writer d. 1735)
• 1792 - Sarah Grimke, abolitionist and feminist (d. 1873)
• 1832 - Mary Edwards Walker, feminist physician (d. 1919)
• 1869 - Maud, Queen of Norway (d.1938)
• 1876 - Willis Carrier, engineer and inventor (d. 1950)
• 1877 - Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (d. 1962)
• 1885 - Heinrich Brüning, German Reichskanzler (d. 1970)
• 1894 - Norbert Wiener, mathematician, founder of Cybernetics (d. 1964)
• 1899 - Bruno Hauptmann, kidnapper of Charles Lindbergh III (d. 1936)
• 1905 - Bob Johnson, Major League Baseball player (d. 1982)
• 1910 - Cyril Cusack, actor (d. 1993)
• 1912 - Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-born playwright (d. 1994)
• 1912 - Eric Sevareid, journalist (d. 1992)
• 1915 - Earl Wild, pianist
• 1922 - Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
• 1924 - George Segal, sculptor
• 1925 - Eugene Istomin, pianist (d. 2003)
• 1927 - Jean-Pierre Daras, actor (d. 1999)
• 1933 - Robert Goulet, singer, actor
• 1934 - Barry Coe, actor
• 1937 - Boris Yegorov, cosmonaut
• 1938 - Rich Little, comedian, actor
• 1939 - Tina Turner, singer, actress
• 1940 - Anthony Hunter, engineer
• 1943 - Bruce Paltrow, producer, director (d. 2002)
• 1945 - Daniel Davis, actor
• 1945 - John McVie, musician
• 1947 - Susanne Zenor, American actress.
• 1948 - Krešimir Ćosić, basketball player (d. 1995)
• 1949 - Juanin Clay, actress
• 1951 - Cicciolina, film actress and politician
• 1956 - Dale Jarrett, race car driver
• 1959 - Jamie Rose, actress
• 1969 - Shawn Kemp, basketball player
• 1969 - Kara Walker, artist
• 1972 - Arjun Rampal, Indian actor
• 1975 - Phil Brooks, professional wrestler
• 1981 - Aurora Snow, film actress
• 1981 - Natasha Bedingfield, British singer

Deaths

• 399 - Pope Siricius
• 1252 - Blanche of Castile, wife of Louis VIII of France
• 1504 - Isabella, Queen of Castile and Aragon, wife of Ferdinand II
• 1688 - Philippe Quinault, French writer (b. 1635)
• 1689 - Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (b. 1635)
• 1719 - John Hudson, English classical scholar (b. 1662)
• 1836 - John MacAdam, road builder
• 1857 - Joseph von Eichendorff, German poet (b. 1788)
• 1866 - Jean-Jacques Willmar, Luxemburg politician (b. 1792)
• 1896 - Coventry Patmore, English poet
• 1956 - Tommy Dorsey, American bandleader
• 1959 - Albert Ketèlbey, composer
• 1963 - Amelita Galli-Curci, singer
• 1980 - Peter DePaolo, automobile racer
• 1981 - Max Euwe, chess player (b. 1901)
• 1996 - Michael Bentine, comedian
• 2002 - Verne Winchell, American doughnut entrepreneur
• 2002 - Wilhelm Bittorf, journalist
• 2003 - Stefan Wul, French writer
• 2003 - Soulja Slim, rapper

Holidays and observances

• Bahá'í Faith: Day of the Covenant
• Mongolia : Independence Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• World : [Buy Nothing Day]

November 25 - November 27 - October 26 - December 26 -- listing of all days