133 things happened on 26 December, from AD 268 to 2025. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1606 · 420 years ago
The first known performance of William Shakespeare's play King Lear took place in front of King James I. The play is based on the legend of Leir, a king of ancient Britain. In the story, the king divides his land and power between his daughters according to h…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The first known performance of William Shakespeare's play King Lear took place in front of King James I. The play is based on the legend of Leir, a king of ancient Britain. In the story, the king divides his land and power between his daughters according to how much they praise him. Shakespeare is widely seen as the greatest writer in the English language.
UK story
Sheffield FC played Hallam FC for the first time, in a match now known as the Rules derby. It is the oldest football fixture in the world, so no two clubs have been playing each other for longer. The name comes from the Sheffield Rules, which the match was first played under. Sheffield FC, founded in 1857, is considered by FIFA to be the world's oldest club still playing football.
UK story
Thespis, the first show created by the writer W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan, opened at the Gaiety Theatre in London. Most of its music has since been lost. The pair went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership of Victorian England. Their later comic operas, such as The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, are still enjoyed.
UK story
During the Second World War, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a 30-minute speech to the United States Congress in Washington, D.C. He spoke about how Britain and the USA could work together to win the war. Churchill, whose mother was American, joked that if it had been the other way round, he might have got there on his own. The speech was broadcast on the radio and was very well received.
UK story
The Beatles released their song 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in the United States. It marked the beginning of 'Beatlemania' around the world. The Beatles were a rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band in popular music.
UK story
Witnesses reported the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk. At the time, the air base was being used by the United States Air Force. Some American airmen, including the deputy base commander, claimed to have seen a UFO, an unidentified flying object. The events became known as 'Britain's Roswell', after a famous UFO story in the USA.
UK story
Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales, ordered the formation of the Governor's Body Guard of Light Horse, described as the first full-time military unit raised in Australia.
UK story
American Civil War: The Trent Affair: Confederate diplomatic envoys James Murray Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus easing tensions between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
UK story
Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones.
Marie and Pierre Curie told the French Academy of Sciences in Paris that they had discovered a new chemical element. They named it radium and had found it in a mineral called uraninite. Radium is radioactive, which means it gives off energy called radiation. In 1903 the Curies won a Nobel Prize for their work on radioactivity, becoming the first married couple to win one.
The Supreme Soviet, the Soviet Union's highest governing body, formally dissolved the country. This brought the Cold War to an end. The Cold War was a long rivalry between the USA and the Soviet Union and their allies. It was called 'cold' because the two superpowers never fought each other directly.
Election of Pope Leo III.
Berengar I is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia.
The opera Agrippina, described as George Frideric Handel's first masterpiece, premiered in Venice.
Johann Sebastian Bach (pictured) directed the premiere of Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, his first Christmas cantata composed in Leipzig.
American Revolutionary War: George Washington led a Continental Army column across the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack against Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton (painting shown).
Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.
Second Battle of Wissembourg: France defeats Austria.
Henry Lee III's eulogy to George Washington in congress declares him as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
Austria and France sign the Treaty of Pressburg.
Battles of Pultusk and Golymin: Russian forces hold French forces under Napoleon.
Imperial Russian Army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Konstantin removed himself from the line of succession.
The discovery of octonions by John T. Graves, who denoted them with a boldface O, was announced to his mathematician friend William Hamilton, discoverer of quaternions, in a letter on this date.
American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou began with Confederate defenders engaging Union forces who were attempting to capture the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
American baseball player Babe Ruth (pictured) was sold by the Boston Red Sox to their rivals, the New York Yankees, beginning the 84-year-long "Curse of the Bambino".
World premiere of Sibelius's tone poem Tapiola.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
World War II: George S. Patton's Third Army breaks the encirclement of surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne, Belgium.
The last Soviet troops withdraw from North Korea.
The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.
The Communist Party of the Philippines is established by Jose Maria Sison, breaking away from the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930.
Tu-144, the world's first commercial supersonic aircraft, surpassing Mach 2, goes into service.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions called on its 1.2 million members to refuse to work, beginning the largest organized strike in South Korean history.
Orange Revolution: The final run-off election in Ukraine is held under heavy international scrutiny.
Two earthquakes off the southwest coast of Taiwan damaged submarine communications cables, disrupting Internet services in Asia and affecting financial transactions.
China opens the world's longest high-speed rail route, which links Beijing and Guangzhou.
Israel recognises Somaliland as an independent state, becoming the first country to do so.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Shakespeare's King Lear is performed before King James I”?
C: 1606. 1606 — that’s 420 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “The Beatles release I Want to Hold Your Hand in the USA”?
B: 1963. 1963 — that’s 63 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: Shakespeare's King Lear is performed before King James I. 1963: The Beatles release I Want to Hold Your Hand in the USA · 1871: Gilbert and Sullivan's first show together, Thespis, opens · 1606: Shakespeare's King Lear is performed before King James I Find it on the page
“Gilbert and Sullivan's first show together, Thespis, opens” happened in 1871. How many years ago was that?
C: 155 years. 2026 − 1871 = 155. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 26 December.
UK story
Charles Babbage was an English mathematician, inventor and engineer. He came up with the idea of a programmable computer and is sometimes called the 'father of the computer'. He designed the difference engine, a mechanical calculating machine, and the more advanced analytical engine, but he never completed them. In 1991 a working difference engine was built from his plans, proving that his machine would have worked.
UK story
Mary Somerville was a Scottish scientist and writer, born in Jedburgh, who studied mathematics and astronomy. In 1835 she and Caroline Herschel became the first women elected as Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society. The word 'scientist' was first used in English in a review of one of her books. Somerville College in Oxford is named after her, and she appears on a Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note.
Well-known people who died on 26 December.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 26 December somewhere in the world.
UK story
Boxing Day is a holiday on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day. It began in the United Kingdom and is also celebrated in several Commonwealth countries. It was once a day for giving gifts to people in need, but it has become part of the Christmas festivities. It usually shares its date with the Christian feast of Saint Stephen's Day.
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 “December 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.