Calendar date · December
What happened on December 26
On December 26, 795: Election of Pope Leo III.
Events
52
across history
Notable births
50
Notable deaths
50
Zodiac
Capricorn
Featured moment · 795
Election of Pope Leo III.
Pope Leo III was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816.
People
Born on December 26
Show 9 more — notable births on December 26
People
Died on December 26
Timeline
Every December 26 on record
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795 Election of Pope Leo III. Head of the Catholic Church from 795 to 816
Pope Leo III was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816.
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887 Berengar I is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia. Holy Roman Emperor from 915 to 924
Berengar I was King of Italy from 887 and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost control of the region by 896.
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1481 Battle of Westbroek: An army of 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers raised by David of Burgundy, Bishop of Utrecht, attacks an armed mob of people from nearby Utrecht who were trying to avenge the massacre of the inhabitants of Westbroek. 1481 battle of the Hook and Cod Wars
The Battle of Westbroek occurred on 26 December 1481 between the armies of the prince-bishopric of Utrecht and the county of Holland. It was one of the last battles of the Hook and Cod wars.
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1704 Second Battle of Anandpur: In the Second Battle of Anandpur, Aurangzeb's two generals, Wazir Khan and Zaberdast Khan executed two children of Guru Gobind Singh, Zorawar Singh aged eight and Fateh Singh aged five, by burying them alive into a wall. Battle in northern India
The second siege of Anandpur, also known as the second battle of Anandpur (1704), was a siege at Anandpur, between Sikhs and the Mughal governors, dispatched by Aurangzeb, Wazir Khan, Dilwaar Kahn and Zaberdast Khan, and aided by the vassal Rajas of the Sivalik Hills which lasted from May 1704 to 19 December 1704.
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1709 The opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice. 1709 opera seria by G. F. Handel
Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Grimani's libretto, considered one of the best that Handel set, is an "anti-heroic satirical comedy", full of topical political allusions.
- 1723 Bach led the first performance of Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, his first Christmas Cantata composed for Leipzig.
- 1776 American Revolutionary War: In the Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army under General George Washington executes a successful surprise attack and defeats a garrison of Hessian forces serving Great Britain.
- 1790 Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.
- 1793 Second Battle of Wissembourg: France defeats Austria.
- 1799 Henry Lee III's eulogy to George Washington in congress declares him as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
- 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 72 people, including the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.
- 1825 Advocates of liberalism in Russia rise up against Czar Nicholas I in the Decembrist revolt, but are later suppressed.
- 1843 The discovery of octonions by John T. Graves, who denoted them with a boldface O, was announced to his mathematician friend William Hamilton, discoverer of quaternions, in a letter on this date.
Show 15 earlier entries from December 26
- 1860 First Rules derby is held between Sheffield F.C. and Hallam F.C., the oldest football fixture in the world.
- 1861 American Civil War: The Trent Affair: Confederate diplomatic envoys James Murray Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus easing tensions between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
- 1862 American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins as Union General William T. Sherman starts landing his troops in an attempt to advance on Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- 1862 Dakota War of 1862: The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history takes place in Mankato, Minnesota, where 38 Native American prisoners are hanged.
- 1871 Thespis, the first Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, debuts.
- 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, allegedly establishing the Curse of the Bambino superstition.
- 1926 World premiere of Sibelius's tone poem Tapiola.
- 1941 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
- 1941 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
- 1943 World War II: German warship Scharnhorst is sunk off Norway's North Cape after a battle against major Royal Navy forces.
- 1944 World War II: George S. Patton's Third Army breaks the encirclement of surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne, Belgium.
- 1948 Cardinal József Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.
- 1948 The last Soviet troops withdraw from North Korea.
- 1963 The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.
Around the world
Holidays on December 26
- Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Day of Good Will (South Africa and Namibia)
- Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Family Day (Vanuatu)
- Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Thanksgiving (Solomon Islands)
- Christian feast day: Abadiu of Antinoe (Coptic Church)
- Christian feast day: Pope Dionysius
- Christian feast day: Earliest day on which Feast of the Holy Family can fall, celebrated on Sunday after Christmas or 30 if Christmas falls on a Sunday.[citation needed]
- Christian feast day: James the Just (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Saint Stephen (Western Church)
- Christian feast day: Synaxis of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Vicenta María López i Vicuña
- Christian feast day: December 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence and Unity Day (Slovenia)
- Mauro Hamza Day (Houston, Texas)
- Mummer's Day (Padstow, Cornwall)
- Saint Stephen's Day (public holiday in Alsace, Austria, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland), and its related observances: Father's Day (Bulgaria)
- The first day of Kwanzaa, celebrated until January 1 (United States)
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