What Happened in 1926 — Events, Births & Deaths

Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ is crowned emperor of Vietnam, the country's last monarch.

Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.

The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.

The El Virilla train accident, Costa Rica, kills 248 people and wounds another 93 when a train falls off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás.

History of rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.

Chiang Kai-shek initiates a purge of communist elements within the National Revolutionary Army in Guangzhou.

Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).

Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi'a Imams, is leveled to the ground by Wahhabis.

The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.

The United Kingdom general strike begins.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd's diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim).

The Italian-built airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.

The 1926 United Kingdom general strike ends.

Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California.

Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.

Abd el-Krim ends surrenders to the French, bringing an end to the Rif War.

The 28 May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.

Brazil leaves the League of Nations.

King Roger, an opera about Roger II of Sicily by Karol Szymanowski, is premiered at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw.

The 28th International Eucharistic Congress begins in Chicago, with over 250,000 spectators attending the opening procession.

The College Board administers the first SAT exam.

Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.

Chiang Kai-shek accepts the post of commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army, marking the beginning of the Northern Expedition to unite China under the rule of the Nationalist government.

Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.

Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

First public screening using the Vitaphone process

The first British Grand Prix was held at Brooklands.

Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is established.

Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.

Yleisradio (YLE), the Finnish national public broadcasting company, begins its broadcasts.

A hurricane devastates Miami, Florida, killing 372 people.

Football stadium San Siro is inaugurated in Milan, Italy

The international Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery is first signed.

Háry János, a Hungarian folk opera by Zoltán Kodály is premiered at the Royal Hungarian Opera House in Budapest.

Harry Houdini's last performance takes place at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit.

The United States Numbered Highway System is established.

The deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history kills 76 people and injures more than 400.

Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.

World premiere of Sibelius's tone poem Tapiola.