From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

December 26 is the 360th day of the year (361st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are five days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1481 – Battle of Westbrook – Holland defeats troops of Utrecht.
• 1613 – Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, marries Frances Howard.
• 1620 – Pilgrim Fathers land at what becomes New Plymouth in Massachusetts.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The British are defeated in the Battle of Trenton.
• 1790 – Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.
• 1792 – The final trial of Louis XVI of France begins in Paris.
• 1793 – Battle of Geisberg: French defeat Austrians.
• 1793 – The wedding of Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz takes place.
• 1805 – Austria and France sign the Treaty of Pressburg.
• 1806 – Battles of Pultusk and Golymin: Russian forces hold French forces under Napoleon.
• 1811 – A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.
• 1825 – Several Imperial Russia army officers lead circa 3000 soldiers on the Senate Square in the failed Decembrist uprising.
• 1848 – The Phi Delta Theta fraternity is founded at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
• 1860 – The first ever inter-club football match takes place between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at the Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield, England.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The Trent Affair: Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and Britain.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins.
• 1862 – Four nuns serving as volunteer nurses on board USS Red Rover are the first female nurses on a U.S. Navy hospital ship.
• 1862 – The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history took place in Mankato, Minnesota, 38 Native Americans die.
• 1870 – The 12.8-km long Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps is completed.
• 1871 – Gilbert and Sullivan collaborate for the first time, on their lost opera, Thespis. It does modestly well, but the two would not collaborate again for four years.
• 1883 – The Harbour Grace Affray between Irish Catholics and Protestant Orangemen causes five deaths in Newfoundland.
• 1898 – Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium.
• 1919 – Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee.
• 1925 – Turkey adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
• 1925 – The Communist Party of India is founded.
• 1931 – Phi Iota Alpha, the Oldest Latino Fraternity in Existence, was founded in Troy, NY.
• 1933 – FM radio is patented.
• 1933 – The Nissan Motor Company is organized in Tokyo, Japan.
• 1941 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
• 1943 – World War II: German warship Scharnhorst is sunk off of Norway's North Cape after a battle against major Royal Navy forces.
• 1944 – World War II: Patton's Third Army breaks the encirclement of surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne, Belgium.
• 1945 – CFP franc and CFA franc are created.
• 1948 – Cardinal Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.
• 1966 – The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.
• 1975 – The Tupolev Tu-144 goes into service in Soviet Union.
• 1976 – The Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) is founded.
• 1979 – Opening night of the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea at the Hammersmith Odeon; a benefit concert for the citizens of Cambodia who were victims of dictator Pol Pot.
• 1980 – Aeroflot puts the Ilyushin Il-86 into service.
• 1982 – Time Magazine's Man of the Year is for the first time a non-human, the personal computer.
• 1986 – The first long-running American television soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, airs its final episode after thirty-five years on the air.
• 1986 – World Population reaches 5 billion according to www.ibiblio.org world population tracker.
• 1991 – The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the USSR.
• 1996 – Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.
• 1996 – Start of the largest strike in South Korean history.
• 1997 – The Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat explodes, creating a small tsunami offshore.
• 1998 – Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones.
• 2003 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.
• 2004 – A 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and many other areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean, killing over 250,000 people.
• 2005 – Boxing Day shooting on a busy shopping street in Toronto.
• 2006 – The 2006 Hengchun earthquake with 7.1 magnitude hit Taiwan.

Births

• 1194 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1250)
• 1532 – Guilielmus Xylander, German classical scholar (d. 1576)
• 1536 – Yi I, Korean Confucian scholar (d. 1584)
• 1542 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, unifier of Japan and first Tokugawa Shogun (d. 1616)
• 1646 – Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (d. 1709)
• 1666 – Guru Gobind Singh, Tenth Guru of Sikhism (d. 1708)
• 1687 – Johann Georg Pisendel, German musician (d. 1755)
• 1716 – Thomas Gray, English writer (d. 1771)
• 1716 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (d. 1803)
• 1723 – Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm, German writer (d. 1807)
• 1737 – Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (d. 1815)
• 1751 – Clement Hofbauer, Austrian missionary and saint (d. 1820)
• 1771 – Julie Clary, queen consort of Naples (d. 1845)
• 1780 – Mary Fairfax Somerville, British mathematician (d. 1872)
• 1782 – Filaret Drozdov, Metropolitan of Moscow (d. 1867)
• 1791 – Charles Babbage, English mathematician and inventor (d. 1871)
• 1819 – E. D. E. N. Southworth, American novelist (d. 1899)
• 1822 – Dion Boucicault, Irish actor and playwright (d. 1890)
• 1837 – George Dewey, U. S. admiral (d. 1917)
• 1837 – Morgan Bulkeley, American politician and baseball commissioner (d. 1922)
• 1853 – René Bazin, French novelist (d. 1932)
• 1859 – William Stephens, U.S. political figure (d. 1944)
• 1872 – Norman Angell, British politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1967)
• 1873 – Thomas Wass, English cricketer (d. 1953)
• 1883 – Maurice Utrillo, French artist (d. 1955)
• 1887 – Arthur Ernest Percival, British Army officer (d. 1966)
• 1890 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (d. 1992)
• 1891 – Henry Miller, American writer (d. 1980)
• 1893 – Mao Zedong, Chinese military leader and politician (d. 1976)
• 1894 – Jean Toomer, American writer (d. 1967)
• 1902 – Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian painter (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Elisha Cook Jr., American actor (d. 1995)
• 1904 – Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (d. 1980)
• 1905 – William Loeb, American newspaper publisher, (d. 1981)
• 1906 – Imperio Argentina, Argentine actress and singer (d. 2003)
• 1907 – Albert Gore Sr., American Politician (d. 1998)
• 1911 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino politician and sportswriter (d. 1962)
• 1913 – Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (d. 1958)
• 1914 – Annemarie Wendl, German actress (d. 2006)
• 1914 – Richard Widmark, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1918 – George Rallis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Steve Allen, American comedian (d. 2000)
• 1922 – Richard Mayes, English actor (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Frank Broyles, American athlete, long time athletic director of the University of Arkansas.
• 1926 – Gina Pellón, Cuban painter
• 1927 – Alan King, American comedian (d. 2004)
• 1927 – Stu Miller, American baseball player
• 1927 – Denis Quilley, British actor (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Régine, French singer and nightclub owner
• 1930 – Donald Moffat, English-born actor
• 1930 – Jean Ferrat, French singer and songwriter
• 1933 – Ugly Dave Gray, Australian television personality
• 1933 – Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer
• 1935 – Abdul "Duke" Fakir, American singer (The Four Tops)
• 1935 – Norm Ullman, Canadian hockey player
• 1937 – John Horton Conway, British mathematician
• 1937 – Jay Heimowitz, American poker player
• 1938 – Bahram Beizai, Iranian playwright and film director
• 1938 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (d. 1989)
• 1939 – Fred Schepisi, Australian film director
• 1939 – Phil Spector, American music producer
• 1940 – Edward C. Prescott, American economist, Nobel laureate
• 1940 – Ray Sadecki, American Major league baseball pitcher
• 1941 – Daniel Schmid, Swiss film director (d. 2006)
• 1942 – Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, Guatemalan president
• 1942 – Gray Davis, former Governor of California
• 1944 – Jane Lapotaire, British actress
• 1945 – John Walsh, American talk show host
• 1947 – James T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
• 1947 – Carlton Fisk, American baseball player
• 1947 – Richard L. McCormick, President of Rutgers University
• 1948 – Candy Crowley, American journalist
• 1949 – José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, Nobel laureate
• 1951 – Richard Skinner, British radio presenter
• 1951 – John Scofield, American jazz guitarist
• 1953 – Leonel Fernández, Dominican politician and current President of the Dominican Republic
• 1953 – Henning Schmitz, German musician (Kraftwerk)
• 1953 – Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia
• 1954 – Peter Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer
• 1954 – Ozzie Smith, American baseball player
• 1954 – Steve Steen, English actor
• 1954 – Tony Rosato, Italian-Canadian actor
• 1955 – Evan Bayh, American politician
• 1956 – David Sedaris, American essayist
• 1957 – Dermot Murnaghan, British broadcaster
• 1958 – Adrian Newey, British engineer
• 1959 – Koji Morimoto, Japanese animated film director
• 1960 – Temuera Morrison, New Zealand actor
• 1960 – Jim Toomey, American syndicated cartoonist
• 1960 – Tina Wesson, Winner of Survivor: The Australian Outback
• 1961 – Andrew Lock, Australian mountaineer
• 1961 – John Lynch, Irish actor
• 1963 – Lars Ulrich, Danish-born drummer (Metallica)
• 1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player
• 1964 – Elizabeth Kostova, American author
• 1966 – Tim Legler, American basketball player
• 1966 – Sandra Taylor, American model and actress
• 1968 – Dennis Knight, American professional wrestler
• 1970 – James Mercer, American musician (The Shins)
• 1970 – Krissada Terrence, Thai singer and actor
• 1971 – Jared Leto, American actor and singer (30 Seconds to Mars)
• 1971 – Mika Nurmela, Finnish footballer
• 1971 – Jonathan M. Parisen, American film director
• 1972 – Esteban Fuertes, Argentine footballer
• 1972 – Robert Muchamore, English children's author
• 1973 – Reichen Lehmkuhl, American television personality
• 1974 – Josie Ho, Hong Kong singer and actor
• 1974 – Joshua John Miller, American actor
• 1975 – Marcelo Ríos, Chilean tennis player
• 1976 – Simon Goodwin, Australian rules footballer
• 1976 – Lea De Mae, Czech actress (d. 2004)
• 1976 – Nadia Litz, Canadian actress
• 1978 – Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
• 1979 – Fabián Carini, Uruguayan footballer
• 1979 – Chris Daughtry, American singer
• 1979 – Mzbel, Ghanaian singer
• 1979 – Dimitry Vassiliev, Russian ski jumper
• 1979 – Craig Wing, Australian Rugby League Player
• 1980 – Todd Dunivant, American soccer player
• 1982 – Kenneth Darby, American National Football League player
• 1982 – Oguri Shun, Japanese Actor/Model
• 1982 – Aksel Lund Svindal, Norwegian skier
• 1984 – Alex Schwazer, Italian race walker
• 1985 – Yuu Shirota, Japanese Idol
• 1987 – Adam Walker, British flautist
• 1988 – Alistair Taylor, English Entrepreneur
• 1989 – Jennica Garcia, Filipina actress
• 1989 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican racing driver
• 1990 – Aaron Ramsey, Welsh footballer
• 1995 – Zach Mills, American actor

Deaths

• 268 – Pope Dionysius
• 418 – Pope Zosimus
• 1350 – Jean de Marigny, French bishop
• 1458 – Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1393)
• 1476 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1444)
• 1530 – Babur, Emperor of the Mogul empire (b. 1483)
• 1574 – Charles of Guise, French cardinal (b. 1524)
• 1624 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (b. 1573)
• 1731 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (b. 1672)
• 1771 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (b. 1715)
• 1780 – John Fothergill, English physician (b. 1712)
• 1784 – Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (b. 1743)
• 1786 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (b. 1713)
• 1869 – Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille, French physiologist (b. 1797)
• 1890 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (b. 1822)
• 1909 – Frederic Remington, American artist (b. 1861)
• 1923 – Dietrich Eckart, German Nazi politician (b. 1868)
• 1931 – Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey decimal classification (b. 1851)
• 1933 – Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian literary critic and politician (b. 1875)
• 1933 – Henry Watson Fowler, English schoolmaster, lexicographer and commentator on the usage of the English language (b. 1858)
• 1957 – Charles Pathé, French film and recording industries pioneer (b. 1863)
• 1960 – Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (b. 1889)
• 1963 – George Wagner (Gorgeous George), American professional wrestler and television personality (b. 1915)
• 1966 – Herbert Otto Gille, German SS officer (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Lillian Board, British track and field athlete (b. 1948)
• 1972 – Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Harold B. Lee, 11th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
• 1974 – Farid al-Atrash, Arab composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor (b. 1915)
• 1974 – Jack Benny, American comedian (b. 1894)
• 1977 – Howard Hawks, American film director and writer (b. 1896)
• 1980 – Tony Smith, American sculptor (b. 1912)
• 1981 – Savitri, Indian actress (b. 1937)
• 1981 – Amber Reeves, feminist writer (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Violet Carson, British actress (b. 1898)
• 1985 – Dian Fossey, American gorilla specialist (b. 1932)
• 1985 – Harold P. Warren, American movie director (d. 1928)
• 1986 – Elsa Lanchester, British-born actress (b. 1902)
• 1988 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (b. 1907)
• 1989 – Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1924)
• 1990 – Gene Callahan, American film art and production designer (b. 1923)
• 1992 – Nikita Magaloff, Russian pianist (b. 1912)
• 1994 – Parveen Shakir, Pakistani Woman Poet (b. 1952)
• 1997 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist (b. 1922)
• 1999 – Curtis Mayfield, American musician (b. 1942)
• 1999 – Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India (b. 1918)
• 2000 – Jason Robards, American actor (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (b. 1929)
• 2002 – Herb Ritts, American photographer (b. 1952)
• 2002 – Armand Zildjian, American cymbal manufacturer (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Sir Angus Ogilvy, British businessman (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Marianne Heiberg, Norwegian mediator (b. 1945)
• 2004 – Jonathan Drummond-Webb, South African heart surgeon (b. 1959)
• 2004 – Sigurd Køhn, Norwegian jazz musician (b. 1959)
• 2004 – Reggie White, American football player (b. 1961)
• 2004 – Aki Sirkesalo, Finnish musician (b. 1962)
• 2004 – Mieszko Talarczyk, Polish-born Swedish musician (Nasum) (b. 1974)
• 2004 – Troy Broadbridge, Australian rules footballer (b. 1980)
• 2004 – Khun Bhumi Jensen, Thai Royal Family member (b. 1983)
• 2005 – Erich Topp, German submarine commander (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)
• 2006 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913)
• 2006 – Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier (b. 1951)
• 2007 – John A. Garraty, American author (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Stu Nahan, American sportscaster (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Joe Dolan, Irish entertainer (b. 1943)
• 2008 – Gösta Krantz, Swedish actor (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• St. Stephen's Day, a public holiday in Alsace, Austria, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland and in Slovakia.
• Synaxis of Theotokos and feast of St. Joseph, King and Prophet David and St. James the Just (Orthodox Christianity)
• The second of the twelve days of Christmas in Western Christianity.
• Boxing Day in the Commonwealth of Nations except when 26 December is a Sunday Boxing Day is transferred to 27 December by Royal Proclamation.
• Wren day in Ireland and the Isle of Man.
• Australia – Proclamation Day (South Australian public holiday), for the foundation of the Australian state of South Australia on December 28, 1836 but commemorated on this day.
• Solomon Islands – Thanksgiving public holiday.
• South Africa – Day of Goodwill, a public holiday.
• First day of Kwanzaa
• Abadiu of Antinoe is commemorated in the Coptic Church on this date.
• First day of Junkanoo street parade in the Bahamas (the second day is on the New Year's Day)
• Slovenia – Day of independence and unity, national holiday.
• December 26 is Mauro Hamza Day in Houston, Texas

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

There isn't anyone anywhere that isn't Seymour's Fat Lady. Don't you know that? Don't you know that goddam secret yet? And don't you know — listen to me, now — don't you know who that Fat Lady really is? . . . Ah, buddy. Ah, buddy. It's Christ Himself. Christ Himself, buddy. ~ J. D. Salinger

• selected by Kalki

2005

It is not the facts which guide the conduct of men, but their opinions about facts; which may be entirely wrong. We can only make them right by discussion. ~ Norman Angell (born 26 December 1872)

• proposed by Kalki

2006

Let us face squarely the paradox that the world which goes to war is a world, usually, genuinely desiring peace. War is the outcome, not mainly of evil intentions, but on the whole, of good intentions which miscarry or are frustrated. It is made, not usually by evil men knowing themselves to be wrong, but is the outcome of policies pursued by good men usually passionately convinced that they are right. ~ Norman Angell (date of birth)

• proposed by Kalki

2007

The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not to dominate the world. ~ Harry S. Truman (died 26 December 1972)

• proposed by Jeff Q

2008

Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear;
They breathe a soul to animate thy clay.
Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings,
Waves in the eye of Heav'n her many-colour'd wings.
~ Thomas Gray ~

• proposed by Kalki

2009 

Rank or add further suggestions…

Ranking system:

4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.

3 : Very Good - strong desire to see it used.

2 : Good - some desire to see it used.

1 : Acceptable - but with no particular desire to see it used.

0 : Not acceptable - not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.

Suggestions

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. ~ Harry S. Truman (Date of death)

• 3 ~ UDScott 23:09, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
• 3 - Mister Six 11:10, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
  • This was already used, as the second Wikiquote quote of the day, on 12 July 2003 ~ Kalki 23:53, 25 December 2005 (UTC) -->

Every nation sincerely desires peace; and all nations pursue courses which if persisted in, must make peace impossible. ~ Norman Angell (date of birth)

• 2 Kalki 23:32, 25 December 2008 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 23:53, 25 December 2005 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 16:14, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 20:33, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile,
The short and simple annals of the poor.
~ Thomas Gray (born December 26, 1716)

• 4 InvisibleSun 16:14, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 23:32, 25 December 2008 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 18:01, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 20:33, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. ~ Mao Zedong (born December 26)

• 4 and this was brought up on many other dates but it's nice to keep it on his birthday. The other dates were December 16 and September 9. I gave it a 4 in the other occasions as well. Zarbon 06:47, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
  • I would also like to mention that MosheZadka gave this one a 3 on the date of September 9. UDScott, InivisibleSun, and Kalki all gave it a 2 on the date of December 16. Zarbon 16:35, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki (talk · contributions) 18:18, 22 December 2009 (UTC) * 2 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC) I do appreciate the significance of this quote, but have no strong desire to use it anytime soon.

Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed. ~ Mao Zedong (born December 26)

• 3 because this is highly true, both are intertwined and a part of each other. Zarbon 06:47, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
  • SOURCE: The Logic of Violence in Civil War - Page 38 by Stathis N. Kalyvas - History - 2006
• 2 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Without an army for the people, there is nothing for the people. ~ Mao Zedong (born December 26)

• 3 because the army is what maintains and sustains. It is the epitome of power. Zarbon 05:25, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

War has no longer the justification that it makes for the survival of the fittest; it involves the survival of the less fit. The idea that the struggle between nations is a part of the evolutionary law of man's advance involves a profound misreading of the biological analogy.
The warlike nations do not inherit the earth; they represent the decaying human element....
~ Norman Angell ~

• 3 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:47, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

The fight for ideals can no longer take the form of fight between nations, because the lines of division on moral questions are within the nations themselves and intersect the political frontiers. ~ Norman Angell

• 3 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:47, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

The force which makes for war does not derive its strength from the interested motives of evil men; it derives its strength from the disinterested motives of good men ~ Norman Angell

• 3 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
• 3 Zarbon 15:47, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

The obstacles to peace are in the minds and hearts of men. In the study of matter we can be honest, impartial, true. That is why we succeed in dealing with it. But about the things we care for — which are ourselves, our desires and lusts, our patriotisms and hates — we find a harder test of thinking straight and truly. Yet there is the greater need. Only by intellectual rectitude and in that field shall we be saved. There is no refuge but in truth, in human intelligence, in the unconquerable mind of man. ~ Norman Angell

• 4 Kalki (talk · contributions) 18:18, 22 December 2009 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 14:09, 25 December 2008 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 15:47, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Behind the steps that Misery treads
Approaching Comfort view:
The hues of bliss more brightly glow
Chastised by sabler tints of woe,
And blended form, with artful strife,
The strength and harmony of life.
~ Thomas Gray ~

• 3 Kalki 17:21, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 23:17, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

To each his suff'rings: all are men,
Condemn'd alike to groan,
The tender for another's pain;
Th' unfeeling for his own.
Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise.
~ Thomas Gray ~

• 3 Kalki 17:21, 25 December 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
• 3 Zarbon 23:17, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Sweet is the breath of vernal shower,
The bee's collected treasures sweet,
Sweet music's melting fall, but sweeter yet
The still small voice of gratitude.
~ Thomas Gray ~

• 3 Kalki 17:21, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 23:17, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Articles detailing events that are related to December 26. This may include the release of games or systems, the founding of a video game related company or some other important event.

From Familypedia

December 26 is the 360th day of the year (361st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 5 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 838 - A heavy storm surge causes floods in nearly all the coastal areas of the Low Countries.
• 1481 - Battle of Westbroek - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht.
• 1606 - First Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear
• 1620 - Elizabeth Báthory's crimes are uncovered.
• 1620 - Pilgrim Fathers land at what becomes New Plymouth in Massachusetts.
• 1776 - American Revolutionary War: The British are defeated in the Battle of Trenton.
• 1790 - Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.
• 1792 - The final trial of Louis XVI of France begins in Paris.
• 1793 - Battle of Geisberg: French defeat Austrians.
• 1793 - The wedding of Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz takes place.
• 1805 - Austria and France signed the Treaty of Pressburg.
• 1806 - Battles of Pultusk and Golymin: Russian forces hold French forces under Napoleon.
• 1811 - A theater fire in Richmond kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.
• 1825 - Several Imperial Russia army officers lead circa 3000 soldiers on the Senate Square in the failed Decembrist uprising.
• 1825 - The Erie Canal opens.
• 1848 - The Phi Delta Theta fraternity is founded.
• 1860 - The first ever inter-club football match takes place between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at the Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield, England.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and Britain.
• 1862 - American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins.
• 1862 - Four nuns who were volunteer nurses on board USS Red Rover were the first female nurses on a U.S. Navy hospital ship.
• 1862 - The largest mass-hanging in US history took place in Mankato, killing 39.
• 1870 - The 12.8-km long Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps is completed.
• 1871 - Gilbert and Sullivan collaborate for the first time, on their lost opera, Thespis. It does modestly well, but the two will not collaborate again for four years.
• 1898 - Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium.
• 1906 - The Story of the Kelly Gang is released, widely considered to be the world's first feature film.
• 1908 - Jack Johnson becomes the first African American heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.
• 1916 - Joseph Joffre is made Marshal of France.
• 1919 - Babe Ruth sold to the Yankees.
• 1925 - The Communist Party of India is founded.
• 1925 - Turkey adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
• 1931 - Phi Iota Alpha, the oldest existing Latino fraternity is founded.
• 1933 - The Nissan Motor Company is organized in Tokyo, Japan.
• 1933 - FM radio is patented.
• 1943 - World War II: The German warship Scharnhorst sinks off the coast of North Cape in Norway after being attacked by the Royal Navy late the previous evening.
• 1944 - The play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is first publicly performed.
• 1944 - World War II: U.S. troops repulse German forces at Bastogne.
• 1945 - CFP franc and CFA franc are created.
• 1946 - The Flamingo Hotel opens in Las Vegas.
• 1947 - Twenty-six inches of snow falls in 16 hours in New York City.
• 1948 - Cardinal Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.
• 1966 - The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University.
• 1973 - Comet Kohoutek reaches perihelion but is not such a display as expected.
• 1973 - Soyuz 13 lands on earth after a week in orbit.
• 1974 - Salyut 4 is launched.
• 1975 - The Tupolev Tu-144 goes into service in Soviet Union.
• 1976 - The Communist Party of Nepal is founded.
• 1979 - Soviet Special forces troops take over presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
• 1979 - Opening night of the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea at the Hammersmith Odeon; a benefit concert for the citizens of Cambodia who were victims of dictator Pol Pot
• 1980 - Aeroflot puts the Ilyushin Il-86 into service.
• 1982 - Time Magazine's Man of the Year was for the first time given to a non-human, the personal computer.
• 1986 - The first long-running American television soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, airs its final episode after thirty-five years on the air.
• 1988 - The Nanjing Anti-African protests in Nanjing, the People's Republic of China begin.
• 1991 - Supreme Soviet meets and formally dissolves the USSR.
• 1996 - Start of the largest strike in South Korean history.
• 1996 - The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification goes into force.
• 1997 - The Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat explodes, creating a small tsunami offshore.
• 1998 - Iraq announced its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones.
• 1998 - Severe gales over Ireland, northern England, and southern Scotland cause widespread disruption and widespread power outages in Northern Ireland and southern Scotland.
• 1999 - Severe weather in France kills over 100 people and causes extensive damage to property and trees and the French national power grid (see Lothar).
• 2002 - French Raelian scientist Brigitte Boisselier says Clonaid has delivered the first of a supposed five clone babies through cesarean section.
• 2003 - A strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.
• 2004 - An earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter magnitude scale creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, The Maldives and many other areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean, killing more than 200,000.

Births

• 1194 - Frederick II (d. 1250)
• 1532 - Guilielmus Xylander, German classical scholar (d. 1576)
• 1536 - Yi I, Korean Confucian scholar (d. 1584)
• 1646 - Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (d. 1709)
• 1666 - Guru Gobind Singh, Tenth Guru of Sikhism (d. 1708)
• 1687 - Johann Georg Pisendel, German musician (d. 1755)
• 1716 - Thomas Gray, English writer (d. 1771)
• 1716 - Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (d. 1803)
• 1723 - Friedrich Melchior, German writer (d. 1807)
• 1737 - Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (d. 1815)
• 1751 - Clement Hofbauer, Austrian missionary and saint (d. 1820)
• 1771 - Julie Clary, queen consort of Naples (d. 1845)
• 1780 - Mary Fairfax Somerville, British mathematician (d. 1872)
• 1782 - Filaret Drozdov, Metropolitan of Moscow (d. 1867)
• 1791 - Charles Babbage, English mathematician and inventor (d. 1871)
• 1819 - E. D. E. N. Southworth, American novelist (d. 1899)
• 1822 - Dion Boucicault, Irish actor and playwright (d. 1890)
• 1837 - George Dewey, U. S. admiral (d. 1917)
• 1853 - René Bazin, French novelist (d. 1932)
• 1859 - William Stephens, U.S. political figure (d. 1944)
• 1872 - Norman Angell, British politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1967)
• 1873 - Thomas Wass, English cricketer (d. 1953)
• 1883 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (d. 1955)
• 1887 - Arthur Ernest Percival, British Army officer (d. 1966)
• 1890 - Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (d. 1992)
• 1891 - Henry Miller, American writer (d. 1980)
• 1893 - Mao Zedong, Chinese military leader and politician (d. 1976)
• 1894 - Jean Toomer, American writer (d. 1967)
• 1902 - Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian painter (d. 1980)
• 1903 - Elisha Cook Jr., American actor (d. 1995)
• 1904 - Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (d. 1980)
• 1906 - Imperio Argentina, Argentine actress and singer (d. 2003)
• 1913 - Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (d. 1958)
• 1914 - Richard Widmark, American actor
• 1914 - Annemarie Wendl, German actress (d. 2006)
• 1918 - George Rallis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2006)
• 1921 - Steve Allen, American comedian (d. 2000)
• 1922 - Richard Mayes, English actor (d. 2006)
• 1927 - Alan King, American comedian (d. 2004)
• 1927 - Denis Quilley, British actor (d. 2003)
• 1927 - Stu Miller, baseball player
• 1929 - Régine, French singer and nightclub owner
• 1930 - Donald Moffat, English-born actor
• 1930 - Jean Ferrat, French singer and songwriter
• 1933 - Ugly Dave Gray, Australian television personality
• 1933 - Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer
• 1935 - Abdul "Duke" Fakir, American singer (The Four Tops)
• 1935 - Norm Ullman, Canadian hockey player
• 1937 - John Horton Conway, British mathematician
• 1937 - Jay Heimowitz, American poker player
• 1938 - Bahram Beizai, Iranian playwright and film director
• 1938 - Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (d. 1989)
• 1939 - Fred Schepisi, Australian film director
• 1940 - Edward C. Prescott, American economist, Nobel laureate
• 1940 - Phil Spector, American music producer
• 1940 - Ray Sadecki, Major league baseball pitcher
• 1941 - Daniel Schmid, Swiss film director (d. 2006)
• 1942 - Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, Guatemalan president
• 1942 - Gray Davis, former Governor of California
• 1944 - Jane Lapotaire, British actress
• 1945 - John Walsh, American talk show host
• 1947 - Carlton Fisk, American baseball player
• 1947 - James T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the USMC
• 1948 - Candy Crowley, American journalist
• 1949 - José Ramos Horta, Foreign Minister of East Timor, Nobel laureate
• 1951 - Richard Skinner, British radio presenter
• 1953 - Henning Schmitz, German musician (Kraftwerk)
• 1954 - Ozzie Smith, American baseball player
• 1954 - Steve Steen, English actor
• 1955 - Evan Bayh, American politician
• 1956 - David Sedaris, American essayist
• 1957 - Dermot Murnaghan, British broadcaster
• 1958 - Adrian Newey, British engineer
• 1959 - Koji Morimoto, Japanese animated film director
• 1960 - Temuera Morrison, New Zealand actor
• 1961 - John Lynch, Irish actor
• 1963 - Lars Ulrich, Danish-born drummer (Metallica)
• 1964 - Elizabeth Kostova, American author
• 1966 - Sandra Taylor, American model and actress
• 1968 - Dennis Knight, American professional wrestler
• 1970 - James Mercer, musician (The Shins)
• 1970 - Krissada Terrence, Thai singer and actor
• 1971 - Jared Leto, American actor and singer (30 Seconds to Mars)
• 1971 - Jonathan M. Parisen, American film director
• 1971 - Mika Nurmela, Finnish footballer
• 1972 - Robert Muchamore, Children's Author
• 1975 - Marcelo Ríos, Chilean tennis player
• 1976 - Lea De Mae, Czech actress (d. 2004)
• 1978 - Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
• 1979 - Chris Daughtry, American singer
• 1980 - Todd Dunivant, American soccer player
• 1982 - Oguri Shun, Japanese Actor/Model
• 1984 - Alex Schwazer, Italian race walker
• 1985 - Yuu Shirota, Japanese Idol
• 1987 - Adam Walker, British flautist

Deaths

• 268 - Pope Dionysius
• 418 - Pope Zosimus
• 1350 - Jean de Marigny, French bishop
• 1458 - Arthur III (b. 1393)
• 1476 - Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1444)
• 1530 - Babur, Emperor of the Mogul empire (b. 1483)
• 1574 - Charles of Guise, French cardinal (b. 1524)
• 1624 - Simon Marius, German astronomer (b. 1573)
• 1731 - Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (b. 1672)
• 1771 - Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (b. 1715)
• 1780 - John Fothergill, English physician (b. 1712)
• 1784 - Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (b. 1743)
• 1786 - Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (b. 1713)
• 1869 - Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille, French physiologist (b. 1797)
• 1890 - Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (b. 1822)
• 1909 - Frederic Remington, American artist (b. 1861)
• 1931 - Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey decimal classification (b. 1851)
• 1933 - Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian literary critic and politician (b. 1875)
• 1957 - Charles Pathé, French film and recording industries pioneer (b. 1863)
• 1960 - Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (b. 1889)
• 1963 - George Wagner, American professional wrestler and television personality (b. 1915)
• 1970 - Lillian Board, British athlete (b. 1948)
• 1972 - Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884)
• 1973 - Harold B. Lee, 11th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
• 1974 - Jack Benny, American comedian (b. 1894)
• 1977 - Howard Hawks, American film director and writer (b. 1896)
• 1980 - Tony Smith, American sculptor (b. 1912)
• 1981 - Savithri, Indian actress (b. 1937)
• 1981 - Amber Reeves, feminist writer (b. 1887)
• 1983 - Violet Carson, British actress (b. 1898)
• 1985 - Dian Fossey, American gorilla specialist (b. 1932)
• 1985 - Harold P. Warren, American movie director (d. 1928)
• 1986 - Elsa Lanchester, British-born actress (b. 1902)
• 1988 - Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (b. 1907)
• 1989 - Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1924)
• 1992 - Nikita Magaloff, Russian pianist (b. 1912)
• 1996 - JonBenét Ramsey, American murder victim (b. 1990)
• 1997 - Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist (b. 1922)
• 1999 - Curtis Mayfield, American musician (b. 1942)
• 1999 - Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India (b. 1918)
• 2000 - Jason Robards, American actor (b. 1922)
• 2001 - Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (b. 1929)
• 2002 - Herb Ritts, American photographer (b. 1952)
• 2002 - Armand Zildjian, American cymbal manufacturer (b. 1921)
• 2003 - Alan Bates, British actor (b. 1934)
• 2004 - Troy Broadbridge, Australian rules footballer (b. 1980)
• 2004 - Marianne Heiberg, Norwegian mediator (b. 1945)
• 2004 - Sir Angus Ogilvy, British businessman, husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent (b. 1928)
• 2004 - Aki Sirkesalo, Finnish musician (b. 1962)
• 2004 - Reggie White, American football player (b. 1961)
• 2004 - Jonathan Drummond-Webb, South African pediatric heart surgeon (b. 1959)
• 2004 - Mieszko Talarczyk, Lead singer/Guitarist of grindcore band, Nasum (b. 1974)
• 2005 - Jane Creba, Canadian murder victim (b. 1990)
• 2005 - Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)
• 2005 - Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (b. 1937)
• 2005 - Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)
• 2005 - Erich Topp, German submarine commander (b. 1914)
• 2006 - Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913)
• 2006 - Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier (b. 1951)

Holidays and observances

December 26 is a public holiday in most Christian countries of Protestantism tradition but is not in many Roman Catholic countries. It is not a public holiday in the United States unless Christmas Day falls on a Sunday like it did in 2005 and will again in 2011, in which it is the observed federal holiday. In Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Suriname and Scandinavia, Christmas Day and the following day are called First and Second Christmas Day.

• Second day of Christmas in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Suriname and Scandinavia - a holiday without work. The celebration is more or less the same as first day of Christmas, including the option going to Mass.
• St. Stephen's Day, a public holiday in Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Ireland.
• Synaxis of Theotokos and feast of St. Joseph,King and Prophet David and St. James the Just (Orthodox Christianity)
• The first of the twelve days of Christmas in Western Christianity.
• Boxing Day in the Commonwealth of Nations.
• Wren day in Ireland and the Isle of Man.
• Australia - Proclamation Day (South Australian public holiday), for the foundation of the Australian state of South Australia on December 28 1836 but commemorated on this day.
• South Africa - Day of Goodwill, a public holiday
• First day of Kwanzaa
• Abadiu of Antinoe is commemorated in the Coptic Church on this date.
• First day of Junkanoo street parade in the Bahamas (the second day is on the New Year's Day)

In Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden, the 26th is known as the Second day of Christmas: Stefanitag in Austria, der zweite Weihnachtsfeiertag in Germany; Δεύτερη μέρα των Χριστουγέννων in Greece; Annandag Jul in Sweden; Anden Juledag in Denmark; Antroji Kalėdų diena in Lithuania; Andre Juledag in Norway; Tweede Kerstdag in Belgium and in the Netherlands; Annar dagur jóla in Iceland; Tapaninpäivä (St. Stephen's Day) in Finland; Karácsony másnapja in Hungary; drugi dzień Świąt Bożego Narodzenia in Poland. In some of these countries it is also a public holiday. This day is also known in Spain as San Esteban, and in Italy as Santo Stefano.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada