On This Day: 26 October

26 October in Indian history

• 2015A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in South Asia, killing 399 people and leaving 2,536 people injured.India
• 1947Partition of India: The Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu signs the Instrument of Accession with India, beginning the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and the Kashmir conflict.India

26 October in world history

• 2004Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, considered one of the best video games ever made, in North America.
• 1999The United Kingdom's House of Lords votes to end the right of most hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament.
• 1979Park Chung Hee, President of South Korea, is assassinated by Korean CIA head Kim Jae-gyu.
• 1977Somali hospital cook Ali Maow Maalin began displaying symptoms of smallpox, becoming the last person known to be naturally infected by the disease.
• 1968Space Race: The Soyuz 3 mission achieves the first Soviet space rendezvous.
• 1956Hungarian Revolution: In the towns of Mosonmagyaróvár and Esztergom, Hungarian secret police forces massacre civilians. As rebel strongholds in Budapest hold, fighting spreads throughout the country.
• 1955Ngô Đình Diệm proclaimed himself president of the newly created Republic of Vietnam after defeating former emperor Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu.
• 1936The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation.
• 1918World War I: Erich Ludendorff, quartermaster-general of the Imperial German Army, is dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II for refusing to cooperate in peace negotiations.
• 1906The Illinois Memorial, honoring Union army soldiers from Illinois who fought at the Siege of Vicksburg, was dedicated at Vicksburg National Military Park.
• 1881Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday participate in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
• 1860Unification of Italy: The Expedition of the Thousand ends when Giuseppe Garibaldi presents his conquests to King Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia.
• 1813War of 1812: British forces and Mohawk allies under Charles de Salaberry repulsed an American attempt to invade Canada.
• 1597Imjin War: Thirteen Korean ships commanded by Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated a far larger Japanese invading fleet at the Battle of Myeongnyang in the Myeongnyang Strait.
• 1520Charles V was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1341The Byzantine army proclaimed chief minister John VI Kantakouzenos as emperor, triggering a civil war between his supporters and those of John V Palaiologos, the heir to the throne.

Born on 26 October

• 1981Guy Sebastian, Malaysian-Australian singer-songwriter
• 1972Raveena Tandon, Indian actress, producer, and former modelIndia
• 1919Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (died 2015)
• 1890Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Indian journalist and politician (died 1931)India
• 1759Georges Danton, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (died 1794)
• 1518John Basset, Devonshire gentleman (died 1541)

Died on 26 October

• 2007Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize (born 1918)
• 1999Eknath Easwaran, Indian-American author and educator (born 1910)India
• 1972Igor Sikorsky, Ukrainian-American engineer and academic, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (born 1889)
• 1944Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (born 1920)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 26 October in history?

2015: A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in South Asia, killing 399 people and leaving 2,536 people injured. 2004: Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, considered one of the best video games ever made, in North America. 1999: The United Kingdom's House of Lords votes to end the right of most hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament. 1979: Park Chung Hee, President of South Korea, is assassinated by Korean CIA head Kim Jae-gyu.

What happened on 26 October in Indian history?

2015: A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in South Asia, killing 399 people and leaving 2,536 people injured. 1947: Partition of India: The Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu signs the Instrument of Accession with India, beginning the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and the Kashmir conflict.

Which famous people were born on 26 October?

Guy Sebastian, Malaysian-Australian singer-songwriter (1981); Raveena Tandon, Indian actress, producer, and former model (1972); Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (died 2015) (1919); Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Indian journalist and politician (died 1931) (1890).

Which day is observed on 26 October?

Accession Day (Jammu and Kashmir, India); Angam Day (Nauru); Armed Forces Day (Benin); National Day, celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Neutrality in 1955. (Austria); Intersex Awareness Day.