Gilles de Rais, the Breton nobleman, knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou and a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' is executed after being found guilty ofr crimes including heresy and confessed murder of more than a hundred children. More
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What Happened Today in History on October 26
Explore the historical events that shaped our world on October 26th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The French troops under King Francis I capture the city of Milan from the Holy Roman Empire.They entered the city after the Holy Roman Empire's troops, led by Charles de Lannoy, evacuated it due to the French army's advance and the presence of the plague. This capture was part of the Italian War of 1521–1526, where Francis I sought to reclaim French territory in Italy.
The Second Battle of Myeongnyang takes place on October 26, 1597 during the Japanese second invasion of Korea (Imjin War) against the Japanese navy in the Myeongnyang Strait. Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin achieved a significant victory as he led a severely outnumbered fleet of 13 ships against the Japanese navy with at least 133 warships destroying most of the Japanese ships.
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is established to facilitate colonial trade.
The Erie Canal opens providing overland water transportation between the Hudson River on the east and Lake Erie at the western end. Popularly known as “Clinton’s Folly,” the eight-year construction project was the vision of New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. More
The Pony Express, the horseback mail service that had provided the fastest means of communication between the eastern and western United States officially closes, after only one and one-half years of service, two days after the first Transcontinental Telegraph line is inaugurated.
The nearly 2,000-mile route, using a continuous relay of the best riders and horses, from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, averaged ten days, while winter deliveries required twelve to sixteen days, approximately half the time needed by stagecoach. More
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, USA, involving the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. More
Brazil declares war on the German Empire. Brazil had pursued a policy of neutrality in the initial years of the war . In the course of the war, public opinion was on the side of the Allies. Only a few intellectuals declared their solidarity with the German Empire along with the majority of the descendants of German immigrants. On April of 1917 the Brazilian freighter Paraná was sank by Germany followed by three other Brazilian ships being torpedoed. More
Japanese planes critically damage and sink the U.S.S Hornet in the Battle of Santa Cruz Island. Approximately 140 of her sailors and air crews were killed that day. The Hornet was a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier. She was in service for just over one year.
While in the Pacific theater, Hornet was involved in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, and in the Battle of Midway. In the Solomon Islands campaign, she participated in the defense of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. More
Park Chung Hee, the third president of South Korea, was assassinated by Kim Jae Kyu, head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, during a dinner at the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) safe house near the presidential compound in Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea.
The head of the presidential security service, three bodyguards and a presidential chauffeur were also killed by Kim and his co-conspirators. Kim Jae Kyu, was sentenced to death for his actions. More
An infant known as "Baby Fae" received a baboon's heart in an experimental transplant at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California by Dr. Leonard Bailey and his team. Despite the surgery's initial success, Baby Fae's body began to reject the baboon heart and she died 21 days after the transplant on November 15.
The procedure sparked significant ethical debates and led to stricter regulations for cross-species transplants, though it also highlighted the critical need for more donor organs. More
President George W. Bush signs the Patriot Act. More