Events on Oct 26
- 1366Comet 55P / 1366 U1 (Tempel-Tuttle) approaches 0.0229 AUs of Earth
- 1387Amsterdam buccaneer Herman of Kuinre sign peace
- 1407Mobs attack Jewish community of Cracow
- 1492Lead pencils 1st used
- 1524Spanish troops give Milan to France
- 1529Thomas More appointed English Lord Chancellor
- 1534Charles V names Joris of Egmont, Bishop of Utrecht
- 1662Charles II of England sold Dunkirk to France
- 1674Prince Willem III occupies Grave
- 1682William Penn accepts area around Delaware River from Duke of York
- 1749Georgia Colony reverses itself and rules slavery is legal
- 17741st Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia
- 1774Minute Men organized in colonies
- 1787"Federalist Papers" published, calls for ratification of Constitution
- 1810US annexes western Florida
- 1822King Willem I obligates inhabitants of Brussels to use Dutch language
- 1825Erie Canal between Hudson River and Lake Erie opened
- 1830Belgian rebels occupy Antwerp
- 1858Hamilton Smith patents rotary washing machine
- 1861Pony Express ends
- 1863Football Association forms in England, standardizing soccer
- 1863Soccer rules standardized; rugby starts as a separate game
- 1863Worldwide Red Cross organized in Geneva
- 1868White terrorists kill several blacks in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
- 18691st American steeplechase horserace (Westchester, NY)
- 1876President sends federal troops to South Carolina
- 1881Gunfight at OK Corral, in Tombstone, Arizona
- 1887Detroit (NL) beats St. Louis (AA) 10 games to 5 in World Series
- 1896Abyssinia and Italy sign peace treaty
- 1900After 4 years of work, 1st section of New York subway opens
Born on Oct 26
- 1466Desiderius Erasmus: Holland, Netherlands -- Scholar / author (In Praise of Folly)
- 1483Hans Buchner: Composer
- 1645Aert de Gelder: Dutch painter (King David)
- 1673Dimitrie Cantemir: Romanians historian / Monarch of Moldova (1710-11)
- 1685Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti: Composer
- 1694Johan Helmich Roman: Finnish / Swedish composer / conductor / violinist
- 1719Joaquin de Oxinaga: Composer
- 1740Ernest Louis Muller: Composer
- 1758Louis-Charles-Joseph Rey: Composer
- 1759Georges Danton: France -- Revolutionary leader / Minister of Justice
- 1789Joseph Mayseder: Composer
- 1791Charles Sprague: Boston, Massachusetts -- Banker / poet (Curiosity)
- 1795Nicolaos Mantzaros: Composer
- 1800Helmuth K B von Moltke: Prussian General-Field Marshal
- 1804Lorenzo Thomas: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1875
- 1813Henry Thomas Smart: Composer
- 1818Stefano Golinelli: Composer
- 1823Karl Weinhold: German sociologist
- 1824Arthur Middleton Manigault: Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
- 1830Polibo Fumagalli: Composer
- 1830Stephen Elliott, Jr.: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1866
- 1837James Lawlor Kiernan: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1869
- 1843Vasili V Vereshchagin: Russian painter (War & Peace)
- 1845Hendrick Waelput: Flemish composer / conductor (Forest, Stella)
- 1854August T C Kiehl: Dutch actor (Pearl of Zaandam)
- 1855Charles Post: Who had a way with breakfast cereals (Post Cereals)
- 1859Arthur Friedheim: Composer
- 1861Richard D Sears: Boston, Massachusetts -- Tennis champ (US Open 1881)
- 1864Joseph Moorat: Composer
- 1871Hermann Lohr: Composer
Died on Oct 26
- 1132Floris the Black: Brother of Earl Dirk VI of Holland, murdered
- 1440Gilles de Rais: French marshal, killer of 140 children, hanged
- 1576Frederick II the Vrome: Ruler of Palts
- 1607Philipp Nicolai: German Lutherian Theologist / Poet / composer, dies at 52
- 1608Juan Pantoja de la Cruz: Spanish royal painter
- 1640Pietro Tacca: Italian Sculptor / architect, dies at 63
- 1661Johann B Schup [Schuppius]: German Poet / Historian / vicar
- 1678John Jenkins: Composer
- 1693Coenraad van Beuningen: Mayor of Amsterdam / diplomat, dies at 71
- 1706Andreas Werkmeister: Composer, dies at 60
- 1733Antonio Veracini: Composer, dies at 74
- 1749Louis-Nicholas Clerambault: French Composer / organist, dies at 72
- 1756Johann Theodor Romhild: Composer, dies at 72
- 1823Josef Preindl: Composer, dies at 67
- 1848Vissarion G Belinski: Russian literature critic
- 1858Isac Baker Woodbury: Composer, dies at 39
- 1867John Fawcett: Composer, dies at 77
- 1868B F Randolph: SC state senator, assassinated
- 1874Peter Cornelius: German composer, dies at 49
- 1881Billy Clanton: Brother of Ike
- 1890Collodi [Carlo Lorenzini]: Italian writer (Pinocchio)
- 1903Herbert Stanley Oakeley: Composer, dies at 73
- 1903Victorin de Joncieres: Composer, dies at 64
- 1909Horiboemi Ito: Prince of Japan, assassinated by a Korean
- 1929Arno Holz: Writer, dies at 66
- 1935Akos Buttykai: Composer, dies at 64
- 1936Bob Dellemijn: Lourdes-ganger / Franco-volunteer, dies in battle at 18
- 1954Floris HL Prims: Flemish priest / Historian / archivist of Antwerp
- 1955Arne Eggen: Composer, dies at 74
- 1956Walter Gieseking: German pianist / composer, dies at 60
Historical events on October 27
- 0625Honorius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1492Christopher Columbus discovers Cuba and claims it for Spain
- 1523English troops occupy Montalidier France
- 16442nd Battle at Newbury: King Charles I beats parliamentary armies
- 1651English troops occupy Limerick Ireland
- 1662England sells Duinkerken to France for 2.5 million livres
- 1676Poland and Turkey sign Peace of Warsaw
- 1688King James II fires Premier Robert Spencer
- 1702English troops plunder St. Augustine Florida
- 1787Federalist letters start appearing in New York newspapers
- 1795Treaty of San Lorenzo, provides free navigation of Mississippi
- 1810US annexes West Florida from Spain
- 1858RH Macy and Co opens 1st store, (6th Ave-NYC) Gross receipts $1106
- 1863Dutch railway to Harlingen opens
- 1864Battle of Fair Oaks, Va near Richmont
- 1864Battle of Newtonia, MI
- 1864Confederate ship Albemarle torpedoed / sinks
- 1864Siege of Petersburg, Virginia
- 1867Garibaldi marches on Rome
- 1871Boss Tweed (William Macy Tweed), Democratic leader of Tammany Hall, arrested after New York Times exposed his corruption
- 1880Theodore Roosevelt marries Alice Hathaway Lee, on his 22nd birthday
- 1884Architect Henry Hardenberghs Dakota-complex opens in New York City
- 1886Musical fantasy "Night on Bald Mountain, " performed in Russia
- 1893Hurricane hits coast between Savannah Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina
- 18961st Pali Road completed in Hawaii (winds so strong streams flow UP!)
- 1913President Wilson says US will never attack another country
- 1914British battleship Audacious sunk by mine
- 19161st published reference to "jazz" appears (Variety)
- 1919Axeman of New Orleans claims last victim
- 1919US Congress sign Volstead Act
Born on October 27
- 1728James Cook: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Captain / explorer (discovered Sandwich Islands)
- 1739Franz Ignaz Kaa: Composer
- 1746Georg Anton Kreusser: Composer
- 1760August W A Grave von Gneisenau: Prussian Field Marshal
- 1762Gijsbert K van Hogendorp: Dutch count / Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1775Traugott Maximilian Eberwein: Composer
- 1800Benjamin Franklin Wade: MC (Union), died in 1878
- 1809Peter "Peerke" Donders: Dutch RC Missionary to Suriname
- 1811Issac Merrit Singer: Inventor (1st practical home sewing machine)
- 1817Antoni Katski: Composer
- 1828Jacob Dolson Cox: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
- 1829Christopher Columbus Andres: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1842Giovanni Giolitti: 5x Premier of Italy (1892..1921)
- 1844Klas Arnoldson: Sweden -- Politician / pacifist (Nobel 1908)
- 1873Henry Tate: Composer
- 1876Jacqueline Royaards-Sandberg: Actress (Un Soir Un Train)
- 1889Enid Bagnold: Novelist (Chalk Garden, 1956 Award of Merit)
- 1892Graciliano Ramos: Brazilian author / Mayor of Palmeira
- 1892Victor E van Vriesland: Dutch poet / critic (Mirror of Dutch poetry)
- 1893Johan G Dancer: Dutch poet (Meetings)
- 1894Antonius "Toon" Verhey: Violin cellist / conductor (Residence-orch)
- 1894Fritz Sauckel: German Nazi General of Labor
- 1895John Boles: Greenville, Texas -- Singer / actor (Babes in Baghdad)
- 1896Edith Haisman: Titanic survivor
- 1906Anton AM Struyken: Minister of justice / Governor Dutch Antilles
- 1907Helmut Walcha: German Organist (church music)
- 1907Moises F da Costa Gomez: Premier Dutch Antilles
- 1910Fred de Cordova: Film / TV producer (Tonight Show)
- 1910Jack Carson: Manitoba, Canada -- Actor (Star is Born, Mildred Pierce)
- 1911Leif Erickson: California, United States -- Actor (Invaders from Mars, On the Waterfront)
Died on October 27
- 0925Rhazes [Abu Bakr Mohammed ibn Zakarijja al-Razi]: Persian
- 0939Aethelstan III: King of England
- 1331Aboe al-Fida [Aboelfeda]: Arabic writer / Sultan of Hama
- 1439Albrecht II von Habsburg: King of Bohemia / Hungary / Germany, dies at 42
- 1449Ulugh Beg: A USSR astronomer, dies at 56
- 1485Rudolph Agricola [Roelof Huysman]: Humanist / organist
- 1505Ivan III de Great: Russian tsar (1462-1505)
- 1542Abraham ben Avigdor: Rabbi / Author (commentary on Tur)
- 1553Michael Servetus: Spanish physician, burns at stake for heresy
- 1580John Bonga: Beggar
- 1651Jan III van Foreest: Dutch lawyer / Poet / Mayor of Hoorn
- 1652Henry: Count of Nassau-Siegen, Colonel / gov of Hulst
- 1659Marmaduke Stevenson: Quaker in Boston, hanged
- 1725Jacob Hop: Politician / diplomat, dies at 71
- 1771Johann Gottlieb Graun: Composer
- 1781Herman-Francois Delange: Composer, dies at 66
- 1796Anton Thadaus Johann Nepomuk Stamitz: Composer, dies at 45
- 1822Christian Frederich Gottlieb Schwencke: Composer, dies at 55
- 1833Ferdinand Franzl: Composer, dies at 66
- 1848Alexander Egorovich Varlamov: Composer, dies at 46
- 1864Andreas Randel: Composer, dies at 58
- 1925Wilhelm Gericke: Composer, dies at 80
- 1933Julius Klengel: Composer, dies at 74
- 1933Meir Shapira: Rabbi / organizer (Daf Yomi)
- 1938Lascelles Abercrombie: English Poet / critic, dies at 57
- 1940Fini Valdemar Henriques: Composer, dies at 72
- 1943Bela Reinitz: Composer, dies at 64
- 1944Iman J Van de Bosch: Belgian resistance fighter
- 1953Zdzislaw Jachimecki: Composer, dies at 71
- 1955Clark Griffith: Baseball player / manager (New York Yankees), dies at 85
Events on Oct 28
- 0306Mark Aurelius Valerius Maxentius proclaimed Emperor of Rome
- 0312Emperor Constantine the Great beats rival Maxentius
- 0969Byzantines troops occupy Antioch Syria
- 1061Emperor disposes of Bishop Cadalus and Pope Honorius II
- 1467Battle at Brustem: Charles the Stoute beats the Luikenaars
- 1574Prince Willem van Orange installs university
- 1610Thomas West baron De La Mar appointed as 1st gov of Virginia colony
- 1612Robert Dowland appointed court luitist of King James I
- 1628Hugenot bulwark La Rochelle surrenders to Cardinal Richelieu
- 1636Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) founded
- 16461st Protestant church assembly for indians (Massachusetts)
- 1746Peruvian cities of Lima and Callao demolished by earthquake, 18,000 die
- 1776Battle of White Plains; Washington retreats to New Jersey
- 1790New York gives up claims to Vermont for $30,000
- 1793Eli Whitney applies for a patent on cotton gin
- 1846Pioneers suffer blizzard in Sierra Nevada; 42 die
- 1863Battle at Wauhatchie Georgia: 865 killed or injured
- 1864Battle at Fair Oaks, Virginia, ends after 1554 casualties
- 1864Battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee
- 1867Maimonides College in Penns is 1st Jewish college in the US
- 1882Athletics reveal $22,000 profit in their 1st season in the American Association
- 1886Statue of Liberty dedicated by President Grover Cleveland, it is celebrated by 1st confetti (ticker tape) parade in New York City
- 1890Last NL-AA World Series game Brooklyn ties Louisville 3 games and 1 tie
- 1891Quake strikes Mino-Owari, Japan kills 7,300
- 1900After over 5 months 2nd Olympic games in Paris France, close
- 1904St. Louis police try a new investigation method-fingerprints
- 1906Belgian-British "Union Minstry of Haut-Katanga" begins
- 1911Bill Dobbie of Calgary Tigers kicks 10 singles in a game
- 1914German battle cruiser Goeben enters Black Sea
- 1914Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, founded at Howard University, incorporates
Born on Oct 28
- 1017Henry III: Roman Catholic German Emperor (1046-56)
- 1510Francisco Borgia: Great grandson of Pope Alexander VI / theologist / Saint
- 1585Cornelius Otto Jansen: France -- Roman Catholic reform leader
- 1689Michel Mathieu: Composer
- 1733Ignaz Franz von Beecke: Composer
- 1793Eliphalet Remington: US gun maker
- 1795Leonardus A Lightenvelt: Minister of RC Worship (1848 . .53)
- 1798Henri-Jerome Bertini: Composer
- 1801Karl Georg Lickl: Composer
- 1804Pierre F Verhulst: Belgium -- Mathematician (logistic curve)
- 1805John Thomson: Composer
- 1810Adley Hogan Gladden: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1862
- 1834Dudley McIver DuBose: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1883
- 1842Anna Elizabeth Dickinson: Orator (Joan of Arc of the Civil War)
- 1842Charles Boissevain: Editor Dutch Algemeen Handelsblad (1885-1908)
- 1846Auguste Escoffier: King of Chefs and Chef of Kings
- 1855Ivan V Mitshurin: Russian Botanist (new types of fruit)
- 1856Franz Xavier Arens: Composer
- 1876Albert E Michotte van den Berck: Belgian psychologist
- 1879Conrado del Campo y Zabaleta: Composer
- 1884Miloje Milojevic: Composer
- 1885V Chlebnikov: Writer
- 1886Grigory K Ordzhonikidze [Sergo]: Russian revolutionary politician
- 1890Andres Isasi: Composer
- 1892Eduard J Dijksterhuis: Dutch mathematician / historian (Fall & Throw)
- 1892Ludwig Strauss: German / Israeli writer (Night Watch)
- 1893Christopher K Ingold: English chemist
- 1893Otto E Huiswoud [Frank Billings]: Editor-in-chief (Negro Worker)
- 1896Howard Hanson: Wahoo, Nebraska -- Composer / conductor (Nordic)
- 1897Hans Speidel: Nazi Chief of Staff / NATO - Supreme Commander
Died on Oct 28
- 1138Boleslaw III Kryzwousty [scheefmond]: Duke of Poland
- 1520Great Worm: Fries Boer / rebel leader
- 1627Djehangir / Jahangir: Great mogol of India
- 1637Foppe van Aitzema: Diplomat, dies at about 57
- 1703John Wallis: English Mathematician / cryptographer (wig of W)
- 1704John Locke: English philosopher (2 treatises of govt), dies at 72
- 1755Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Composer, dies at 65
- 1768Michel Blavet: French court flautist / composer, dies at 68
- 1779Raphael Weiss: Composer, dies at 66
- 1818Abigail Adams: 2nd first lady (1797-1801), dies at 73
- 1852Gerhard M Roentgen: Founder Fijenoord dockyard, dies at 57
- 1854James P Carrell: Composer, dies at 67
- 1875William Howard Glover: Composer, dies at 56
- 1877Johann Herbeck: Composer, dies at 45
- 1897Hercules Robinson: South African Commissioner (1880-89, 1895-97), dies at 72
- 1899C Grant B Allen: Canada -- British writer (Woman Who Did)
- 1905Alphonse Allais: French humorist / writer (Le chat noir)
- 1914Richard Heuberger: Composer, dies at 64
- 1922Hugo Verriest: Flemish writer / Poet (Flemish Motion)
- 1927Eaton Faning: Composer, dies at 77
- 1929Hermann Ungar: Writer, dies at 36
- 1936E G Winkler: Writer
- 1939Alice Brady: Actress (My Man Godfrey, Gay Divorcee), dies at 46
- 1959Egon Kornauth: Composer, dies at 68
- 1962Pierre Froidebise: Composer, dies at 48
- 1963Mart Saar: Composer, dies at 81
- 1964Reginald Horace Blyth: Zen teacher / scholar, dies in Japan at 66
- 1965Ben Barka: Moroccan opposition leader, kidnapped and murdered in Paris
- 1968Henricus WJM Keuls: Lawyer / poet, dies at 85
- 1969Constance Dowling: Actress (Blind Spot), dies of cardiac arrest at 49