Did you know
In 2005, Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
July 26 in History
2005 — Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003
July 26 spans 74 recorded events across recorded history, from 657 to 2016. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
74 events
657 – 2016
Today in history
More major events on July 26
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1948 U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States. Read story Source
- 1945 The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power. Source
- 1947 Cold War: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council. Source
Did you know
On February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
It was the second of two Space Shuttle missions to end in disaster, after the loss of Challenger and crew in 1986. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
In 2005, Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 2005, Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA's first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
657
First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I.
Rashidun-era Muslim civil war (656 to 661)
811
Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
Battle between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire in 811
920
Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at the Battle of Valdejunquera.
Autonomous community and province of Spain
1184
Erfurt latrine disaster: At a Hoftag, a meeting with local notables, organized by Henry VI, the building collapses and many of the nobles in attendance drown in the sewage pits below.
12th-century accident in the Holy Roman Empire
1309
Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans (Holy Roman Emperor) by Pope Clement V.
Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 to 1313
1509
Krishnadevaraya ascends to the throne as Emperor of Vijayanagara, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Emperor of Vijayanagara from 1509 to 1529
1529
Francisco Pizarro González, Spanish conquistador, is appointed governor of Peru.
Spanish conquistador (1478–1541)
1579
Francis Drake, the English explorer, discovers a "fair and good" bay on the coast of the Pacific Northwest (probably Oregon or Washington).
English sailor and privateer (c. 1540–1596)
1581
Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration): The northern Low Countries declare their independence from the Spanish king, Philip II.
1581 declaration of independence from Spain by several Dutch provinces
1703
During the Bavarian Rummel the rural population of Tyrol drove the Bavarian Prince-Elector Maximilian II Emanuel out of North Tyrol with a victory at the Pontlatzer Bridge and thus prevented the Bavarian Army, which was allied with France, from marching as planned on Vienna during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession (1703)
1757
A French army under Marshal d'Estrées defeats a smaller British-German army under the duke of Cumberland in the battle of Hastenbeck.
French military commander and Marshal of France
1758
French and Indian War: The Siege of Louisbourg ends with British forces defeating the French and taking control of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
North American theater of the Seven Years' War
1775
The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress.
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
1778
The Emigration of Christians from the Crimea in 1778 begins.
Russian resettlement of Armenians and Greeks
1788
New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
Supreme law of the United States
1803
The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.
Horse-drawn plateway in Surrey (1802–1846)
1822
José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
Argentine general and leader (1778–1850)
1822
First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis.
Ottoman expedition led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha against Greek Rebellion
1847
Liberia declares its independence from the United States.
France and the United Kingdom are the first to recognize the new nation.
1848
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is established by Nelson Dewey, first Governor of Wisconsin.
Public university in Madison, Wisconsin, US
1861
American Civil War: George B.
McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
1863
American Civil War: Morgan's Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
Military campaign in the American Civil War
1882
Premiere of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.
German composer (1813–1883)
1882
The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
1880s republic in Southern Africa
1887
Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement.
1887 book by L. L. Zamenhof
1890
In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation.
Capital and most populous city of Argentina
1892
Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
Indian politician, scholar and writer (1825–1917)
1897
Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India.
Index of conflicts with the same name
1899
Ulises Heureaux, the 27th President of the Dominican Republic, is assassinated.
President of the Dominican Republic (1845–1899)
1908
United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
Head of the US Department of Justice
1918
Emmy Noether's paper, which became known as Noether's theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy.
German mathematician (1882–1935)
1936
Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction.
1936–1939 civil war in Spain
1936
King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
King of the United Kingdom in 1936
1937
Spanish Civil War: End of the Battle of Brunete with the Nationalist victory.
1937 battle of the Spanish Civil War
1941
World War II: Battle of Grand Harbour, British forces on Malta destroy an attack by the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS.
Fort St Elmo Bridge covering the harbour is demolished in the process.
1941
World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands freeze all Japanese assets and cut off oil shipments.
1887–1954 French territories in Southeast Asia
1944
World War II: The Red Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis.
Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.
1945
The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.
Political party in the United Kingdom
1945
World War II: The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany.
Allied call for the surrender of all of the armed forces of Japan during World War II
1945
World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.
Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy
1945
World War II: The USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy nuclear bomb.
Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy
1946
Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport.
Hawaiian passenger airline (1946–2008)
1947
Cold War: U.S.
president Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
1948
U.S.
president Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
1951
Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.
American animator, producer and entrepreneur (1901–1966)
1952
King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad.
King of Egypt from 1936 to 1952
1953
Cold War: Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution.
The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement
1953
Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
U.S. state
1953
Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment repel a number of Chinese assaults against a key position known as The Hook during the Battle of the Samichon River, just hours before the Armistice Agreement is signed, ending the Korean War.
Australian Army infantry battalion
1956
Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
Group making loans to developing countries
1957
Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated.
President of Guatemala from 1954 to 1957
1958
1963
Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
1960s and 80s NASA program to develop communications satellites
1963
An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
Earthquake in SR Macedonia
1963
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.
Intergovernmental economic organisation
1968
Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1971
Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo "J-Mission", and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1961–1972 American crewed lunar exploration program
1974
Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule.
Head of government
1977
The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government.
Province of Canada
1989
A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T.
Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.
W. Bush.
1993
Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashes into a ridge on Mt.
Ungeo on its third attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea. Sixty-eight of the 116 people on board are killed.
1999
Kargil conflict officially comes to an end.
The Indian Army announces the complete eviction of Pakistani intruders.
2005
Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people.
Capital of Maharashtra, India
2008
Fifty-six people are killed and over 200 people are injured, in the Ahmedabad bombings in India.
Terrorist attacks by Mujahideen in Gujarat, India
2009
The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities.
Country in West Africa
2011
A Royal Moroccan Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashes near Guelmim Airport in Guelmim, Morocco.
All 80 people on board are killed.
2016
The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan.
Nineteen people are killed.
2016
Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for president of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
American politician and diplomat (born 1947)
2016
Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
Long-range solar-powered aircraft