133 things happened on 26 November, from AD 399 to 2021. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
2003 · 23 years ago
Concorde, the supersonic airliner built jointly by Britain and France, made its final flight, over Bristol in England. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound, and Concorde could cruise at twice that speed. British Airways had flown its last passenger…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to visit Maui, one of the Hawaiian Islands in the North Pacific Ocean. Cook led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He made the first recorded European visits to the east coast of Australia and to the Hawaiian Islands. These islands were once known as the Sandwich Islands.
UK story
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct officially opened, carrying the Llangollen Canal high across the River Dee in north-east Wales. It was designed by the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford with William Jessop, and took about ten years to plan and build. Its 19 arches are made of stone and cast iron, and narrowboats still cross it. It is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest canal aqueduct in the world.
UK story
In the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the British archaeologist Howard Carter made a tiny hole in the doorway of Tutankhamun's tomb. Peering in by candlelight, he could see gold and ebony treasures still in place. Lord Carnarvon, who paid for the search, asked if he could see anything. Carter is said to have replied, 'Yes, wonderful things!'
UK story
In parts of southern England, the sound of a Southern Television broadcast was suddenly replaced by a strange voice. The speaker claimed to represent a 'galactic' group and told humanity to give up its weapons and live in peace. After five and a half minutes, the normal programme came back: a Looney Tunes cartoon called Goofy Gophers. It was a hoax by someone who had broken into the TV signal.
UK story
Tony Blair became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to speak to the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland. Blair was Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Labour prime minister. He is also the only person to have led the Labour Party to three general election wins in a row.
UK story
Concorde, the supersonic airliner built jointly by Britain and France, made its final flight, over Bristol in England. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound, and Concorde could cruise at twice that speed. British Airways had flown its last passenger flights with Concorde a month earlier. The name comes from a French word meaning agreement or harmony, reflecting the treaty between the two countries.
UK story
The Manchester Guardian publishes the 1916 secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France.
UK story
The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, now out of service, docks in Dubai.
A national day of thanksgiving was held in the United States, as announced by President George Washington at the request of Congress. Washington was the first President of the United States. He had led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War. Since 1941, Thanksgiving has officially been held on the fourth Thursday in November.
France launched its first satellite, called Astérix, on a Diamant A rocket from Hammaguir in Algeria. This made France the sixth country to have a satellite, and the third to launch one on its own rocket. Astérix's main job was to test the new rocket. It is still circling the Earth and is expected to stay in orbit for centuries.
In Basse-Terre, the capital of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, 38 millimetres of rain fell in just one minute. That is nearly 4 centimetres of water in 60 seconds. It is the heaviest rainfall in one minute ever recorded. Guadeloupe is an overseas part of France in the Lesser Antilles, a chain of islands.
NASA launched its Mars Science Laboratory mission from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Curiosity rover. Curiosity landed safely in Gale Crater on Mars in August 2012. At the time, it was the largest and most capable rover ever sent to Mars. Its tasks include studying the climate and rocks of Mars, and finding out whether tiny living things called microbes could ever have lived there.
The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus.
Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze river during the Jin–Song Wars.
Having been elected German king at Rhens on 11 July 1346, Charles IV is crowned King of Germany by bishop Walram of Cologne in Bonn.
Vlad the Impaler defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Báthory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.
The Battle of Berezina begins during Napoleon's retreat from Russia.
Texas Revolution: Texian forces attacked a Mexican pack train, capturing 40 saddlebags of grass.
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.
A massive earthquake struck the Dutch East Indies, creating a tsunami that washed away villages, ships and residents.
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.
Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy schooner is defeated by a Chilean corvette north of Valparaíso, Chile.
Being unable to resolve disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, the other ice hockey clubs of Canada's National Hockey Association officially agreed to break away and form the National Hockey League.
The Montenegrin Podgorica Assembly votes for a "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia.
Ukrainian War of Independence: The Red Army launches a surprise attack against the Makhnovshchina.
The Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict resumes with a surprise attack by the Red Army against the Makhnovshchina.
The 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.)
The Mongolian People's Republic is officially established after a new constitution, passed by the first State Great Khural, abolishes the monarchy.
The Soviet Red Army shelled the village of Mainila and then claimed that the fire originated from Finland, giving them a casus belli to launch the Winter War a few days later.
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.
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.
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.
World War II: Germany begins V-1 and V-2 attacks on Antwerp, Belgium.
The Constituent Assembly of India adopts the constitution presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
Korean War: Communist Chinese troops launch a massive counterattack (Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and Battle of Chosin Reservoir) against United Nations and South Korean forces.
Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire. He is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names.
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.
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.
The robotic probe Insight lands on Elysium Planitia, Mars.
COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization identifies the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Tony Blair is first UK prime minister to address the Irish parliament”?
C: 1998. 1998 — that’s 28 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “A mystery voice takes over a TV broadcast in southern England”?
C: 1977. 1977 — that’s 49 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: A mystery voice takes over a TV broadcast in southern England. 2003: Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol · 1998: Tony Blair is first UK prime minister to address the Irish parliament · 1977: A mystery voice takes over a TV broadcast in southern England Find it on the page
“Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol” happened in 2003. How many years ago was that?
C: 23 years. 2026 − 2003 = 23. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 26 November.
UK story
John Harvard was an English minister, born in Southwark, which is now part of London. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and in 1637 he moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America. When he died the following year, he left money and his library of 400 books to the colony's new college. In thanks, the college was named after him, and it is now Harvard University.
Well-known people who died on 26 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 26 November somewhere in the world.
UK story
The Episcopal Church in the United States remembers Isaac Watts on this day. Watts was an English minister who wrote around 750 hymns. They include 'Joy to the World' and 'O God, Our Help in Ages Past'. He is known as the 'Godfather of English Hymnody', and many of his hymns are still sung and have been translated into many languages.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “November 26” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.