Who are famous people born on November 26?

Famous people born on November 26 include: Pau Víctor, Lamecha Girma, Jaycee Horn.

What famous people died on November 26?

Notable historical figures who died on November 26 include: Jim Abrahams, Vikram Gokhale, Stephen Sondheim.

November 26 in History

Q: What happened on November 26 in history?

On November 26, 2025: The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured.

2025 — The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured

November 26 spans 53 recorded events across recorded history — from 783 – 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · November 26 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 53 events 783 – 2025

Did you know

In 2025, The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

On 26 November 2025, a large fire broke out at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po District, New Territories, Hong Kong, and burned for 43 hours and 27 minutes. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

Seven out of the eight blocks of the complex were consumed by the fire. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

The incident killed 168 people, including one firefighter, and injured 79. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

Most casualties were found inside their apartments. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus.

Kingdom in the Northern Iberian Peninsula (718–924)

The Kingdom of Asturias was a medieval monarchy in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity to be established in the Iberian Peninsula after the Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711–720s. In the summer of 722, Pelagius defeated an Umayyad army at the Battle of Covadonga, in what is retroactively regarded as the beginning of the Christian Reconquista.

783

Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze river during the Jin–Song Wars.

1161 battle during the Jin-Song wars

The Battle of Caishi was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China that took place on November 26–27, 1161. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons.

1161

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.

This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany, from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empire in 1918:

1346

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.

15th-century ruler of Wallachia

Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death. He is regarded as a Christian hero in Romania due to his opposition to the Ottoman Empire and he is considered an important ruler in Wallachian history.

1476

In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.

Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaiʻi in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly called the Sandwich Islands, the present name for the archipelago is derived from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi.

1778

A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress.

American federal holiday in November

Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. The earliest Thanksgiving can occur is November 22; the latest is November 28. Outside the United States, it is called American Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions. As the name implies, the holiday generally revolves around giving thanks and the centerpiece of most celebrations is a Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends.

1789

Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Scottish civil engineer (1757–1834)

Thomas Telford was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well as harbours and tunnels. Such was his reputation as a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed the 'Colossus of Roads', and, reflecting his command of all types of civil engineering in the early 19th century, he was elected as the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a post he held for 14 years until his death. The town of Telford in Shropshire was named after him.

1805

The Battle of Berezina begins during Napoleon's retreat from Russia.

1812 battle during the French invasion of Russia

The Battle of (the) Berezina took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Wittgenstein and Admiral Chichagov. Napoleon was retreating toward Poland in chaos after the aborted occupation of Moscow and trying to cross the Berezina River at Borisov. The outcome of the battle was inconclusive as, despite heavy losses, Napoleon managed to cross the river and continue his retreat with the surviving remnants of his army.

1812

An earthquake as high as magnitude 8.8 rocks the Banda Sea, triggering a tsunami and killing at least 60 in the Dutch East Indies.

Earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia

The 1852 Banda Sea earthquake struck on 26 November at 07:40 local time, affecting coastal communities on the Banda Islands. It caused violent shaking lasting five minutes, and was assigned XI on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale in the Maluku Islands. A tsunami measuring up to 8 m (26 ft) slammed into the islands of Banda Neira, Saparua, Haruku and Ceram. The tsunami caused major damage, washing away many villages, ships and residents. At least 60 people were killed in the earthquake and tsunami. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 7.5 or 8.4–8.8, according to various academic studies.

1852

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.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederacy and playing a major role in the abolition of slavery.

1863

Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy schooner is defeated by a Chilean corvette north of Valparaíso, Chile.

1865 naval battle of the Chincha Islands War

The Naval Battle of Papudo was a naval engagement fought between Spanish and Chilean forces on November 26, 1865, during the Chincha Islands War. It was fought 55 miles north of Valparaiso, Chile, near the coastal town of Papudo.

1865

HMS Bulwark is destroyed by a large internal explosion with the loss of 741 men while at anchor near Sheerness.

Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy

HMS Bulwark was one of five London-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. The Londons were a sub-class of the Formidable-class pre-dreadnoughts. Completed in 1902 she was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet as its flagship. The ship then served with the Channel and Home Fleets from 1907 to 1910, usually as a flagship. From 1910 to 1914, she was in reserve in the Home Fleet.

1914

The Manchester Guardian publishes the 1916 secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France.

British national daily newspaper

The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, The Guardian Weekly, The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of The Guardian free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK.

1917

The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.

North American professional ice hockey league

The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams, 25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional ice hockey league in the world. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) views the Stanley Cup as one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The league's headquarters have been in New York City since 1989, when it moved from Montreal; the league also has offices in Toronto and Montreal.

1917

The Montenegrin Podgorica Assembly votes for a "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia.

1918 popular assembly in Montenegro

The Great People's Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro, commonly known as the Podgorica Assembly, was an ad hoc popular assembly convened in November 1918, after the end of World War I in the Kingdom of Montenegro. The committee convened the assembly with the aim of facilitating an unconditional union of Montenegro and Serbia and removing Nikola I of Montenegro from the throne. The assembly was organised by a committee supported by and coordinating with the government of the Kingdom of Serbia. The unification was successful and preceded the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a unified state of South Slavs by mere days. The unification was justified by the need to establish a single Serbian state for all Serbs, including Montenegro whose population as well as Nikola I felt that Montenegro belonged to the Serbian nation and largely supported the unification.

1918

Ukrainian War of Independence: The Red Army launches a surprise attack against the Makhnovshchina.

Eastern European military conflict (1917–1921)

The Ukrainian War of Independence, also referred to as the Ukrainian–Soviet War in Ukraine, lasted from March 1917 to November 1921 and was part of the wider Russian Civil War. It saw the establishment and development of an independent Ukrainian republic, most of which was absorbed into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic between 1919 and 1920. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1991.

1920

Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.

British archaeologist and Egyptologist (1874–1939)

Howard Carter was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who became known for discovering the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922, the best-preserved pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings.

1922

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 Toll of the Sea is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Chester M. Franklin, produced by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, released by Metro Pictures, and featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role. The film was written by Frances Marion and directed by Chester M. Franklin, with the lead roles played by Wong and Kenneth Harlan. The plot was a variation of the Madama Butterfly story, set in China instead of Japan.

1922

The Mongolian People's Republic is officially established after a new constitution, passed by the first State Great Khural, abolishes the monarchy.

Mongolian state from 1924 to 1992

The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was the Mongolian communist state that existed from 1924 to 1992 that self-designated first as a people's democratic state and later as a socialist state. The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party was enshrined as the leading force of state and society; it occupied the historical region of Outer Mongolia. Geographically positioned between the Soviet Union and China, the MPR became the world's second communist state. It was the first Soviet satellite state, and remained so for its entire existence, longer than any other Soviet satellite. It is the predecessor of the modern state of Mongolia.

1924

Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Army orchestrates an incident which is used to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.

1939 false flag attack by the Soviet Union against Finland, leading to the Winter War

The Shelling of Mainila, or the Mainila incident, was a military incident on 26 November 1939 in which the Soviet Union's Red Army shelled the Soviet border village of Mainila near Beloostrov. The Soviet Union declared that the fire originated from Finland across the nearby border and claimed to have had losses in personnel. Through that false flag operation, the Soviet Union gained a great propaganda boost and a casus belli for launching the Winter War four days later. Historians have now concluded that the shelling of Mainila was a fabrication carried out by the Soviet NKVD state security agency.

1939

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, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1941

World War II: Yugoslav Partisans convene the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.

Communist-led anti-Axis resistance in World War II

The Yugoslav Partisans, officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia was the communist-led anti-fascist resistance to the Axis powers in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. Led by Josip Broz Tito, the Partisans were Europe's most effective anti-Axis resistance movement during World War II.

1942

Casablanca, the movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premieres in New York City.

1942 film by Michael Curtiz

Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. Filmed and set during World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate (Bogart) who must choose between his love for a woman (Bergman) and helping her husband (Henreid), a Czechoslovak resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis. The screenplay is based on Everybody Comes to Rick's, an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. The supporting cast features Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson.

1942

A riot involving infantrymen, military police, and local law enforcement officers occurs in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, leading to three deaths.

1942 riot in Phoenix, United States

On November 26, 1942, a riot occurred in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, involving United States Army infantrymen, military police, and members of the Phoenix Police Department. The incident left three people dead and approximately a dozen injured.

1942

World War II: HMT Rohna is sunk by the Luftwaffe in an air attack in the Mediterranean north of Béjaïa, Algeria.

British passenger and cargo liner; sunk in 1943 by Nazi air forces

HMT Rohna was a British India Steam Navigation Company passenger and cargo liner that was built on Tyneside in 1926 as SS Rohna and requisitioned as a troop ship in 1940. Rohna was sunk in the Mediterranean in November 1943 by a Henschel Hs 293 guided glide bomb launched by a Luftwaffe aircraft. More than 1,100 people were killed, most of whom were US troops.

1943

World War II: A German V-2 rocket hits a Woolworth's shop in New Cross, London, killing 168 people.

German long-range ballistic missile

The V-2 rocket, with the development name Aggregat-4 (A4), was the world's first practical, modern ballistic missile and suborbital launch vehicle. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. After an altitude of 100 km was selected to define the edge of space, the V2 rocket also became retroactively the first artificial object to travel into space with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944.

1944

World War II: Germany begins V-1 and V-2 attacks on Antwerp, Belgium.

German state from 1933 to 1945

Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.

1944

The Constituent Assembly of India adopts the constitution presented by Dr.

B. R. Ambedkar.

The Constituent Assembly of India was the legislature of the Dominion of India from its independence in August 1947 until 1950, when India became a republic. Best known for its creation of the Indian constitution, its members were mostly elected from the provinces of British India—with a third being nominated by princely states.

1949

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.

1950–1953 conflict in Korean Peninsula

The Korean War was an armed conflict fought on the Korean Peninsula between North Korea and South Korea and their allies. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by the United Nations led by the United States under the auspices of the United Nations Command (UNC). The conflict was one of the first major proxy wars of the Cold War and one of its deadliest conflicts on non-combatants, as it is estimated that 1.5 to 3 million civilians were killed during the war. The war was the first time the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

1950

France launches Astérix, becoming the third nation to put an object in orbit using its own booster.

First French satellite

Astérix or A-1 is the first French satellite. It was launched on 26 November 1965 by a Diamant A rocket from the CIEES launch site at Hammaguir, Algeria. With Astérix, France became the sixth country to have an artificial satellite and the third country to launch a satellite on its own rocket. Its main purpose was to test the Diamant launcher, though it was also designed to study the ionosphere. Astérix continues to orbit Earth as of 2026 and is expected to remain in orbit for centuries.

1965

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.

The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

1968

In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.

Commune and prefecture of Guadeloupe

Basse-Terre is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the prefecture of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located on Basse-Terre Island, the western half of Guadeloupe.

1970

Southern_Television_broadcast_interruption

An unidentified hijacker named Vrillon, claiming to be the representative of the "Ashtar Galactic Command", takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes, starting at 5:12 pm.

TV audio transmission hoax in southern England (1977)

The Southern Television broadcast interruption was a broadcast signal intrusion, or pirate broadcast, that occurred on 26 November 1977 in parts of southern England in the United Kingdom. The audio of a Southern Television broadcast was replaced by a voice claiming to represent the "Ashtar Galactic Command", delivering a message instructing humanity to abandon its weapons and live in peace with one another so it could participate in a "future awakening" and "achieve a higher state of evolution". After five and a half minutes, the broadcast returned to its scheduled programme.

1977

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 crashes near Taif in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, killing all 156 people on board.

1979 aviation accident in Pakistan

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 was a Hajj pilgrimage flight from Kano, Nigeria to Karachi, Pakistan with an intermediate stopover in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Operated by Pakistan International Airlines, on 26 November 1979, the Boeing 707 serving the route crashed shortly after takeoff from Jeddah International Airport. All 156 people on board were killed.

1979

Brink's-Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-Mat vault at Heathrow Airport.

1983 bullion robbery in London

The Brink's-Mat robbery of 26 November 1983 was one of the largest robberies in British history, with £26 million worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash stolen. It occurred at the Heathrow International Trading Estate, London, from a warehouse operated by Brink's-Mat, a former joint venture between US security company Brink's and London-based company MAT Transport. The bullion was the property of Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd. Micky McAvoy and Brian Robinson were convicted of armed robbery. Most of the gold has never been recovered. Lloyd's of London paid out for the losses, and several shooting deaths have been linked to the case.

1983

Iran–Contra affair: U.S.

President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.

The Iran–Contra affair, also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Contragate, Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitated by senior officials of the Reagan administration. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendments, a series of laws passed by Congress and signed by Ronald Reagan, further funding of the Contras by legislative appropriations was prohibited by Congress, but the Reagan administration continued funding them secretly using non-appropriated funds.

1986

The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of committing war crimes as a guard at the Nazi Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.

Ukrainian guard at Nazi death camps (1920–2012)

John Demjanjuk, was a Trawniki and Nazi camp guard at Sobibor extermination camp, Majdanek, and Flossenbürg. Demjanjuk became the center of global media attention in the 1980s, when he was tried and convicted in Israel after being identified as "Ivan the Terrible", a notoriously cruel watchman at Treblinka extermination camp. Demjanjuk was sentenced to death by hanging in 1988. In 1993, the verdict was overturned. Shortly before his death, he was tried and convicted in the Federal Republic of Germany as an accessory to the 28,060 murders that occurred during his service at Sobibor.

1986

National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names.

Unicameral legislature of Azerbaijan

The National Assembly, also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies and 25 members were elected by proportional representation; as of the latest election, however, all 125 deputies are returned from single-member constituencies.

1991

Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007

Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, held shadow cabinet posts from 1987 to 1994, and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007. He is the second-longest-serving prime minister in post-war British history after Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Labour politician to have held the office and the only person to lead Labour to three consecutive general election victories. Blair founded the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in 2016 and serves as its Executive Chairman.

1998

The Khanna rail disaster takes 212 lives in Khanna, Ludhiana, India.

1998 train collision near Khanna, Punjab, India

The Khanna rail disaster occurred on 26 November 1998 near Khanna on the Khanna-Ludhiana section of India's Northern Railway in Punjab, at 03:15 when the Calcutta-bound Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express collided with six derailed coaches of the Amritsar-bound "Frontier Mail" which were lying in its path. At least 212 people were killed; the trains were estimated to be carrying 2,500 passengers. The initial derailment was caused by a broken rail. The crash is among the deadliest rail accidents in India.

1998

The 7.5 Mw  Ambrym earthquake shakes Vanuatu and a destructive tsunami follows.

Ten people were killed and forty were injured.

The 1999 Ambrym earthquake occurred on November 27 at 00:21:17 local time with a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The back arc thrust event occurred within the Vanuatu archipelago, just to the south of the volcanic island of Ambrym. Vanuatu, which was previously known as New Hebrides, is subject to volcanic and earthquake activity because it lies on an active and destructive plate boundary called the New Hebrides Subduction Zone. While the National Geophysical Data Center classified the total damage as moderate, a destructive local tsunami did result in some deaths, with at least five killed and up to 100 injured.

1999

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.

George Walker Bush is an American politician, businessman, and former United States Air Force officer who was the 43rd president of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009. The eldest son of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, he was the governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

2000

The Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England.

British–French supersonic airliner

Concorde is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies began in 1954 and a UK–France treaty followed in 1962, as the programme cost was estimated at £70 million . Construction of six prototypes began in February 1965, with the first flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969. The market forecast was 350 aircraft, with manufacturers receiving up to 100 options from major airlines. On 9 October 1975, it received its French certificate of airworthiness, and was certified by the UK CAA on 5 December.

2003

Ruzhou School massacre: A man stabs and kills eight people and seriously wounds another four in a school dormitory in Ruzhou, China.

This is a list of mass stabbings that took place before 2010. It includes incidents in which there were at least three casualties.

2004

The last Poʻouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii, before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct.

Extinct species of passerine bird

The poʻo-uli or Hawaiian black-faced honeycreeper is an extinct species of passerine bird that was endemic to the island of Maui in Hawaiʻi. It is considered to be a member of the Hawaiian honeycreepers, and is the only member of its genus Melamprosops. It had a black head, brown upper parts and pale gray underparts. This bird inhabited only the wetter, easternmost side of Maui, where it had rapidly decreased in numbers. With extinction threatening, efforts were made to capture birds to enable them to breed in captivity. These efforts were unsuccessful; in 2004, only two known birds remained, and since then, no further birds have been sighted. A 2018 study recommended declaring the species extinct, citing bird population decline patterns and the lack of any confirmed sightings since 2004, and in 2019, the species was declared extinct.

2004

Mumbai attacks, a series of terrorist attacks killing approximately 175 citizens by 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based extremist Islamist terrorist organisation.

Islamist terror attacks in India

The 2008 Mumbai attacks, colloquially known as 26/11, were a coordinated series of twelve Islamic terrorist attacks carried out in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, from 26 to 29 November 2008, by ten members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. A total of 175 people died, including nine of the attackers, and more than 300 were injured.

2008

The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, now out of service, docks in Dubai.

British ocean liner

Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) is a retired British ocean liner. Built by John Brown & Company on the River Clyde in Scotland for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel in Dubai.

2008

NATO attack in Pakistan: NATO forces in Afghanistan attack a Pakistani check post in a friendly fire incident, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others.

Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmish

The 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan, also known as the Salala incident, was a border skirmish that occurred when United States-led NATO forces engaged Pakistani security forces at two Pakistani military checkpoints along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border on 26 November 2011, with both sides later claiming that the other had fired first.

2011

The Mars Science Laboratory launches to Mars with the Curiosity Rover.

Robotic mission that deployed the ''Curiosity'' rover to Mars in 2012

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars's habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a human mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team.

2011

The robotic probe Insight lands on Elysium Planitia, Mars.

Spacecraft without people on board

Uncrewed spacecraft or robotic spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input, such as remote control, or remote guidance. They may also be autonomous, in which they have a pre-programmed list of operations that will be executed unless otherwise instructed. A robotic spacecraft for scientific measurements is often called a space probe or space observatory.

2018

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes western Albania leaving at least 52 people dead and over 1,000 injured.

This was the world's deadliest earthquake of 2019, and the deadliest to strike the country in 99 years.

On 26 November 2019 at 03:54 CET (UTC+1), northwestern Albania was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake with an epicentre 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west-southwest of Mamurras. The earthquake lasted at least 50 seconds and was felt in Albania's capital Tirana, and in places as far away as Bari, Taranto and Belgrade, 370 kilometres (230 mi) northeast of the epicentre. The maximum felt intensity was VIII (Severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. A total of 51 people were killed in the earthquake, with about 3,000 injured. It was the second earthquake to strike the region within three months. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Albania in more than 40 years, its deadliest earthquake in 99 years and the world's deadliest earthquake in 2019.

2019

COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization identifies the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

Pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2

The global COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It spread to other parts of Asia and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and assessed it as having become a pandemic on 11 March. The WHO declared that the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 had ended in May 2023, while noting that COVID-19 continued to be a global health threat.

2021

Born on November 26

20 people 1990 – 2001

Pau Víctor

Spanish footballer

Pau Víctor Delgado is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Primeira Liga club Braga.

2001

Lamecha Girma

Ethiopian athlete

Lamecha Girma is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner who holds the world record in the 3,000 metres steeplechase. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the steeplechase and won silver medals at the…

2000

Jaycee Horn

American football player

Jaycee Carrington Horn is an American professional football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selected eighth…

1999

Olivia O'Brien

American singer-songwriter

Olivia Gail O'Brien is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 2016 after collaborating with Gnash on the single "I Hate U, I Love U", which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in…

1999

Jacob Shaffelburg

Canadian soccer player

Jacob Everett Shaffelburg is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Canada national team.

1999

Shivam Mavi

Indian cricketer

Shivam Pankaj Mavi is an Indian international cricketer, who is a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He made his international debut for the Indian cricket team in January 2023.

1998

Aubrey Joseph

American actor

Aubrey Omari Joseph is an American actor best known for his role as Tyrone Johnson / Cloak in Freeform's Cloak & Dagger.

1997

Jennie Wåhlin

Swedish curler

Jennie Frances Wåhlin is a Swedish curler from Huddinge. She was a longtime member of Team Isabella Wranå. She won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics as alternate for the Anna Hasselborg team.

1997

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

English-Congolese footballer

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for EFL Championship club West Ham United. Born in England, he plays for the DR Congo national team.

1997

Malik Beasley

American basketball player

Malik JonMikal Beasley is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He attended Saint Francis School in Alpharetta, Georgia,…

1996

Brandon Carlo

American ice hockey player

Brandon Mitchell Carlo is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins selected him in the second round, 37th overall,…

1996

Louane

French singer and actress

Anne Edwige Maria Peichert, known by her stage name Louane Emera or simply Louane, is a French singer and actress. In France she became known for being a semi-finalist in the 2013 season of The Voice: la plus belle…

1996

Marc Roca

Spanish footballer

Marc Roca Junqué is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis.

1996

James Guy

English swimmer

James George Guy is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in freestyle and butterfly. Guy has won multiple gold medals at each of the major international meets available to him, including for Great Britain at…

1995

Anuel AA

Puerto Rican rapper and singer

Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago, known professionally as Anuel AA, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. Often dubbed as "The God of Latin trap" by himself and major Latin artists, his music often contains samples and…

1992

Manolo Gabbiadini

Italian footballer

Manolo Gabbiadini is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward.

1991

Corey Knebel

American baseball player

Corey Andrew Knebel is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and…

1991

Avery Bradley

American basketball player

Avery Antonio Bradley Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who is the vice president of player development for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball…

1990

Chip

English rapper

Jahmaal Noel Fyffe, better known by his stage name Chip, is an English rapper and grime MC. In the past 14 years, he has collaborated with the likes of Skepta, T.I., Meek Mill, Young Adz and many others. In 2009, he…

1990

Gabriel Paulista

Brazilian footballer

Gabriel Armando de Abreu, commonly known as Gabriel Paulista or simply Gabriel, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Corinthians.

1990

See all birthdays on November 26

Died on November 26

20 people 2010 – 2024

Jim Abrahams

American film director and writer (born 1944)

James Steven Abrahams was an American film director and writer. With David and Jerry Zucker, he was best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.

2024

Vikram Gokhale

Indian actor and director (born 1945)

Vikram Gokhale was an Indian film, television and stage actor, noted for his roles in Marathi theatre, Hindi films and television. He was the son of the Veteran Marathi theatre and film actor, Chandrakant Gokhale.

2022

Stephen Sondheim

American composer and lyricist (born 1930)

Stephen Joshua Sondheim was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received numerous accolades,…

2021

Stephen Hillenburg

American animator, voice actor, and marine science educator (born 1961)

Stephen McDannell Hillenburg was an American animator, writer, producer, director, voice actor, and marine biology educator. He was best known for creating the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants for…

2018

Fritz Weaver

American actor (born 1926)

Fritz William Weaver was an American stage, film, and television actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the original Broadway production of Child's Play (1970), and was nominated for Tony Award for…

2016

Amir Aczel

Israeli-American mathematician, historian, and academic (born 1950)

Amir Dan Aczel was an Israeli-born American lecturer in mathematics and the history of mathematics and science, and an author of popular science.

2015

Guy Lewis

American basketball player and coach (born 1922)

Guy Vernon Lewis II was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston from 1956 to 1986. Lewis led his Houston Cougars to five appearances in the…

2015

Mary Hinkson

American dancer and choreographer (born 1925)

Mary De Haven Hinkson was an African American dancer and choreographer known for breaking racial boundaries throughout her dance career in both modern and ballet techniques. She is best known for her work as a member of…

2014

Gilles Tremblay

Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (born 1938)

Joseph Jean Gilles Tremblay was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Montreal Canadiens from 1960 to 1969.

2014

Peter Underwood

English parapsychologist and author (born 1932)

Peter Underwood was an English author, broadcaster and parapsychologist. Underwood was born in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. Described as "an indefatigable ghost hunter", he wrote many books which surveyed alleged…

2014

Arik Einstein

Israeli singer-songwriter (born 1939)

Arieh Lieb "Arik" Einstein (Hebrew: אָרִיק אַייְנְשְׁטֵייְן ; was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and screenwriter. He was a pioneer of Israeli rock music and was named "the voice of Israel." Through both…

2013

Jane Kean

American actress and singer (born 1923)

Jane Kean was an American actress and singer whose career in show business spanned seven decades and included appearing in nightclubs, on recordings, and in radio, television, Broadway and films. Among her most famous…

2013

Saul Leiter

American photographer and painter (born 1923)

Saul Leiter was an American photographer and painter whose early work in the 1940s and 1950s was an important contribution to what came to be recognized as the New York school of photography.

2013

Tony Musante

American actor and screenwriter (born 1936)

Anthony Peter Musante Jr. was an American actor, best known for the TV series Toma as Detective David Toma, Nino Schibetta in Oz (1997), and Joe D'Angelo in As the World Turns (2000–2003). In movies, he achieved fame…

2013

Celso Advento Castillo

Filipino actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1943)

Celso Adolfo Castillo was a Filipino film director and screenwriter. He was known as the Messiah of Philippine Cinema for directing films that broke new ground in Philippine cinema, including Asedillo, Patayin Mo sa…

2012

Peter Marsh

Australian table tennis player (born 1948)

Peter James Marsh was an Australian Paralympic athlete and table tennis player who competed at three Paralympic Games and won two bronze medals.

2012

Joseph Murray

American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1919)

Joseph Edward Murray was an American plastic surgeon who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with E. Donnall Thomas for "their discoveries concerning organ and cell transplantation in the…

2012

M. C. Nambudiripad

Indian author and translator (born 1919)

Moothiringode Chithrabhanu Nambudiripad was a pioneer of popular science writing in Malayalam language and an eminent translator. He was one of the founders of popular science movement in Kerala State, India. He was…

2012

Manon Cleary

American painter and academic (born 1942)

Manon Cleary was an American artist based in Washington, D.C. Cleary specialized in photo-realistic paintings and drawings. Many of her works were inspired by events in her life and focused on the human form and lights.

2011

Leroy Drumm

American songwriter (born 1936)

Leroy Maxey Drumm was an American bluegrass and country songwriter whose work became part of the recorded repertoire of several prominent artists in the genre. He is best known as co-writer of "Colleen Malone,"…

2010

See all deaths on November 26

What happened on November 26 in history?

On November 26, one notable event in history was 2025: The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured..

This date currently highlights 53 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 783 – 2025.

DateNovember 26

Featured year2025

LocationTai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least

Events listed53

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2025 — The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured

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November 26 in History

2025 — The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured

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Died on November 26

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