Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/September 26
This is a list of selected September 26 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article, featured list or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
September 26: Dominion Day in New Zealand (1907); European Day of Languages
- 1580 – The Golden Hind (replica pictured) sailed into Plymouth, England, as explorer Francis Drake completed his circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1687 – The Parthenon in Athens was partially destroyed during an armed conflict between the Venetians under Francesco Morosini and Ottoman forces.
- 1789 – For his presidential administration, George Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson as the first U.S. Secretary of State, John Jay as the first Chief Justice, Samuel Osgood as the first Postmaster General, and Edmund Randolph as the first Attorney General.
- 1907 – Newfoundland and New Zealand became dominions within the British Empire.
- 1969 – Abbey Road, the final album recorded by The Beatles before publicly announcing their breakup, was released.
- 1983 – Soviet Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov averted a possible worldwide nuclear war by deliberately certifying what otherwise appeared to be an impending attack by the United States as a false alarm.