Date·Lore

On This Day · The 360th day of the year

December 26

December 26 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1709 and 2015. The opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice.

♑ZodiacCapricorn ◈BirthstoneTurquoise ❀Birth flowerHolly

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on December 26?

December 26 is the 360th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1709 and 2015. Famous people born on December 26 include Yohan Blake, Hugo Lloris and Mao Zedong.

The shape of the day

250 years on from American Revolutionary War, December 26 is a date with an anniversary worth pausing on. Most of the weight falls in the 21st century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

Capricorn is the sign for December 26 — read more on the Capricorn page, or see December's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on December 26

Movies, games, albums & shows

2024

  • Movie Your Fault

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1709

    Agrippina (opera)

    The opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice.

  2. 1723

    Johann Sebastian Bach

    Bach led the first performance of Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, his first Christmas Cantata composed for Leipzig.

  3. 1776

    American Revolutionary War

    American Revolutionary War: In the Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army under General George Washington executes a successful surprise attack and defeats a garrison of Hessian forces serving Great Britain.

  4. 1861

    American Civil War

    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.

  5. 1871

    Thespis (opera)

    Thespis, the first Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, debuts.

  6. 1919

    Babe Ruth

    Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee, allegedly establishing the Curse of the Bambino superstition.

  7. 1943

    World War II

    World War II: German warship Scharnhorst is sunk off Norway's North Cape after a battle against major Royal Navy forces.

  8. 2004

    2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

    The 9.1–9.3 Mw Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis, it affected coastal and partially mainland areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia; death toll is estimated at 227,898.

  9. 2006

    2006 Hengchun earthquakes

    Two earthquakes in Hengchun, Taiwan measuring 7.0 and 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale kill two and disrupt telecommunications across Asia.

  10. 2015

    2015 Garland tornado

    A violent EF-4 tornado hits Garland, Texas, killing nine and injuring almost 500 others.

Famous birthday twins

Born on December 26

Yohan Blake

b. 1989

Jamaican sprinter

Hugo Lloris

b. 1986

French footballer

Mao Zedong

b. 1893

Chinese politician, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party

José Ramos-Horta

b. 1949

East Timorese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of East Timor, Nobel Prize laureate

Alex Schwazer

b. 1984

Italian race walker

Arthur Percival

b. 1887

English general

Eden Sher

b. 1991

American actress

Kraftwerk

b. 1953

German drummer

Deaths

  • 2024Manmohan Singh
  • 2014Leo Tindemans
  • 2006Gerald Ford
  • 1972Harry S. Truman
  • 1933Anatoly Lunacharsky
  • 1931Melvil Dewey

Holidays & observances

  • —Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Day of Good Will (South Africa and Namibia)
  • —Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Family Day (Vanuatu)
  • —Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Thanksgiving (Solomon Islands)
  • —Christian feast day: Abadiu of Antinoe (Coptic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Pope Dionysius
  • —Christian feast day: Earliest day on which Feast of the Holy Family can fall, celebrated on Sunday after Christmas or 30 if Christmas falls on a Sunday.[citation needed]
  • —Christian feast day: James the Just (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Saint Stephen (Western Church)

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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