Date·Lore

On This Day · The 269th day of the year

September 26

September 26 carries 10 recorded events spanning between -46 and 1959. Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus.

♎ZodiacLibra ◈BirthstoneSapphire ❀Birth flowerAster

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on September 26?

September 26 is the 269th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between -46 and 1959. Famous people born on September 26 include Serena Williams, Michael Ballack and Pope Paul VI.

The shape of the day

September 26 carries an unusually long memory — its events reach back as far as 46 BC. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

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

Released on September 26

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian
  • Game NBA Bounce
  • Game Cloverpit
  • Game EA Sports FC 26
  • Game Hotel Barcelona
  • TV Love's Ambition

2024

  • Game Ravenswatch
  • Game The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon
  • Game Mouthwashing
  • Game The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
  • Game Shadows of Doubt
  • Game G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra

2023

  • Game Mineko's Night Market

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. -46

    Julius Caesar

    Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus.

  2. 1087

    William II of England

    William II is crowned King of England, and reigns until 1100.

  3. 1142

    Stephen, King of England

    Stephen of Blois's army approached Oxford, beginning the siege of Oxford.

  4. 1580

    Francis Drake

    Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England.

  5. 1789

    George Washington

    George Washington appoints Thomas Jefferson the first United States Secretary of State.

  6. 1905

    Albert Einstein

    Albert Einstein publishes the third of his Annus Mirabilis papers, introducing the special theory of relativity.

  7. 1917

    World War I

    World War I: The Battle of Polygon Wood begins.

  8. 1933

    Machine Gun Kelly (gangster)

    As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, "Don't shoot, G-Men!", which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.

  9. 1942

    The Holocaust

    Holocaust: Senior SS official August Frank issues a memorandum detailing how Jews should be "evacuated".

  10. 1959

    Typhoon Vera

    Typhoon Vera, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history, makes landfall, killing 4,580 people and leaving nearly 1.6 million others homeless.

Famous birthday twins

Born on September 26

Serena Williams

b. 1981

American tennis player

Michael Ballack

b. 1976

German footballer

Pope Paul VI

b. 1897

Head of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978

T. S. Eliot

b. 1888

English poet, playwright, critic, Nobel Prize laureate

Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford

b. 1865

British aviator and ornithologist

Manmohan Singh

b. 1932

Indian economist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of India

Ivan Pavlov

b. 1849

Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate

Martin Heidegger

b. 1889

German philosopher and academic

Deaths

  • 2019Jacques Chirac
  • 2008Paul Newman
  • 1973Anna Magnani
  • 1868August Ferdinand Möbius
  • 1620Taichang Emperor
  • 1413Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast days: Canadian Martyrs (Catholic Church in Canada)
  • —Christian feast days: Cosmas and Damian
  • —Christian feast days: John of Meda
  • —Christian feast days: Nilus the Younger
  • —Christian feast days: Thérèse Couderc
  • —Christian feast days: Wilson Carlile (Anglican)
  • —Christian feast days: September 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Day of the National Flag (Ecuador)

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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