September 26 in history — What Happened Today in History

The United Kingdom and China agree to a transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, to take place in 1997.

Soviet Air Force officer Stanislav Petrov identifies a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike, thus preventing nuclear war.

Soyuz 7K-ST No. 16L, intended to launch a crew to the Salyut 7 space station, explodes on the launch pad. The launch escape system is activated before the Soyuz-U rocket explodes, saving the crew.

A terrorist bombing at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, kills 13 people and injures 213 others.

Air Caribbean Flight 309 crashes in Residencial Las Casas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing six.

In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

Typhoon Vera, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history, makes landfall, killing 4,580 people and leaving nearly 1.6 million others homeless.

The Japanese rail ferry Tōya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan, killing 1,172.

Rationing of sugar in the United Kingdom ends.

Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul from North Korean forces.

Holocaust: Senior SS official August Frank issues a memorandum detailing how Jews should be "evacuated".

Spanish Civil War: Lluis Companys reshuffles the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the marxist POUM and anarcho-syndicalist CNT joining the government.

As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, "Don't shoot, G-Men!", which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.

The German government calls off the passive resistance to the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr.

Ukrainian War of Independence: The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine defeats the White Russian Volunteer Army at the Battle of Peregonovka.

World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began which would last until the total surrender of German forces.

World War I: The Battle of Polygon Wood begins.

The United States Federal Trade Commission is established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Four months after the 1907 Imperial Conference, New Zealand and Newfoundland are promoted from colonies to dominions within the British Empire.

Albert Einstein publishes the third of his Annus Mirabilis papers, introducing the special theory of relativity.

A new Act of Succession is adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates, and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte becomes heir to the Swedish throne.

War of the 2nd Coalition: French troops defeat Austro-Russian forces, leading to the collapse of Suvorov's campaign.

George Washington appoints Thomas Jefferson the first United States Secretary of State.

American Revolutionary War: British troops capture and begin the occupation of Philadelphia, which had been serving as the American capital city, during the Philadelphia campaign.

The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution.

Morean War: The Parthenon in Athens, used as a gunpowder depot by the Ottoman garrison, is partially destroyed after being bombarded during the Siege of the Acropolis by Venetian forces.

Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England.

Alma Jodorowsky, French actress, fashion model and singer

Dan Preston, English footballer

Jonny Bairstow, English cricketer

Chris Archer, American baseball player

James Blake, English singer-songwriter and producer

Kiira Korpi, Finnish figure skater

Buddy Matthews, Australian wrestler

Rosanna Munter, Swedish singer-songwriter

Sean Doolittle, American baseball player

Talulah Riley, English actress

Nev Schulman, American photographer, television host, and producer

Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer

Rob Burrow, English rugby player (died 2024)

Mario Montez, Puerto Rican-American actor (born 1935)

Sos Sargsyan, Armenian actor and director (born 1929)

M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (born 1933)

Sylvia Fedoruk, Canadian physicist and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan (born 1927)

Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (born 1930)

Sam Steiger, American journalist and politician (born 1929)

Bob Cassilly, American sculptor, founded the City Museum (born 1949)

Terry Newton, English rugby player (born 1978)

Gloria Stuart, American actress (born 1910)

Marc Moulin, Belgian keyboard player, producer, and journalist (born 1942)

Paul Newman, American actor, director, producer, and businessman (born 1925)

Bill Wirtz, American businessman (born 1929)

Byron Nelson, American golfer and coach (born 1912)