What Happened On This Day – September 26
1959 Typhoon Vera hits Japan
The category five typhoon is thought to be the strongest typhoon to impact the island country in recorded history. The resulting rain, landslides, and damage caused the deaths of about 5000 people in Japan.
1917 Battle of Polygon Wood begins
Fought during World War I between the British and Australian troops and German army near Ypres in Belgium, the battle ended in an Allied victory.
1914 Establishment of Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an independent government agency in the US, responsible for consumer and market protection was established by the Federal Trade Commission Act on this day.
1810 Swedish Act of Succession is passed
The Swedish Act of Succession, also known as the 1810 Act of Succession was adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates. This act is part of the Swedish Constitution and regulates the succession of the Swedish Royal family.
1786 Protestors shut down the court in Springfield, Massachusetts starting the Shay's Rebellion
Named after the rebellion's leader Daniel Shays, the revolt began as a response to an economic crisis where people who owed debt were imprisoned. After a bloody conflict, the Shaysites were crushed by the government. This was the first armed internal conflict in post-revolutionary America.
Births On This Day – September 26
1981 Serena Williams
American tennis player
1943 Ian Chappell
Australian cricketer
1897 Pope Paul VI
1889 Martin Heidegger
German philosopher
1888 T. S. Eliot
American/English publisher, playwright, critic, Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths On This Day – September 26
2008 Paul Newman
American actor, director, race car driver, businessman, co-founded Newman's Own
2003 Robert Palmer
English singer-songwriter, guitarist
1959 Leslie Morshead
Australian soldier, businessman, educator
1945 Béla Bartók
Hungarian pianist, composer
1820 Daniel Boone
American explorer