October 26

Saturday 26, 2002:

Moscow Theater Siege ends: Approximately 50 Chechen rebels and 150 hostages die when Russian commandos storm the House of Culture theater in Moscow, which had been occupied by the rebels three days before.

Friday 26, 2001:

The United States passes the controversial USA Patriot Act into law.

Thursday 26, 2000:

The Playstation 2 was released in the United States of America

Tuesday 26, 1999:

Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament.

Sunday 26, 1997:

Basketball player Charles Barkley is charged with aggravated battery and resisting arrest after throwing Jorge Lugo through a plate glass window in a dance club in Orlando, Florida.

Thursday 26, 1995:

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Mossad agents assassinate Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shikaki in his hotel in Malta.

Wednesday 26, 1994:

Announcement of Andrew Wiles correct proof of Fermat's last theorem.

Saturday 26, 1991:

Lori Keevil-Matthews is killed after a 485-pound umbrella slams her against a boulder in a Christo art installation.

Friday 26, 1984:

1984 - The Terminator is released in theaters nationwide.

Friday 26, 1979:

Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea is assassinated by KCIA head Kim Jae-kyu. Choi Kyu-ha becomes the acting President; Kim is executed the following May.

Thursday 26, 1978:

Independent Counsel Act signed into law

Tuesday 26, 1976:

Transkei declares its "independence" from South Africa

Tuesday 26, 1965:

The Beatles are appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs)

Sunday 26, 1958:

First commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York to Paris

Wednesday 26, 1955:

Ngo Dinh Diem declares himself Premier of South Vietnam

Tuesday 26, 1948:

Killer smog settles into Donora, Pennsylvania.

Sunday 26, 1947:

The Maharaja of Kashmir agrees to allow his kingdom to join India

Thursday 26, 1944:

Vice president Harry Truman publicly denies ever having been a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Monday 26, 1936:

1936 The first electric generator at Hoover Dam went into full operation.

Saturday 26, 1918:

Erich von Ludendorff, quartermaster-general of the Imperial German Army, is dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany for refusing to cooperate in peace negotiations.

Friday 26, 1917:

Battle of Caporetto: Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Germany and Austria during the First World War

Thursday 26, 1905:

Norway becomes independent from Sweden

Wednesday 26, 1881:

The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona.

Monday 26, 1863:

The Football Association is formed

Monday 26, 1795:

The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created

Friday 26, 1640:

The Treaty of Ripon is signed, restoring peace between Scotland and Charles I of England

Saturday 26, 740:

An earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death.

More on October, 26

• People Born on October, 26
• They left us on October, 26