September 26: On This Day

Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for September 26.

Events 49

46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus.
715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne.
1087 – William II is crowned King of England, and reigns until 1100.
1142 – Stephen of Blois's army approaches Oxford, beginning the siege of Oxford.
1143 – Election of pope Celestine II following the death of pope Innocent II.
1212 – The Golden Bull of Sicily is issued to confirm the hereditary royal title in Bohemia for the Přemyslid dynasty.
1345 – Friso-Hollandic Wars: Frisians defeat Holland in the Battle of Warns.
1371 – Serbian–Turkish wars: Ottoman Turks fight against a Serbian army at the Battle of Maritsa.
1423 – Hundred Years' War: A French army defeats the English at the Battle of La Brossinière.
1493 – Pope Alexander VI issues the papal bull Dudum siquidem to the Spanish, extending the grant of new lands he made them in Inter caetera.
1580 – Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England.
1687 – 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.
1688 – The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution.
1777 – 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.
1789 – George Washington appoints Thomas Jefferson the first United States Secretary of State.
1799 – War of the 2nd Coalition: French troops defeat Austro-Russian forces, leading to the collapse of Suvorov's campaign.
1810 – A new Act of Succession is adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates, and Jean Baptiste Bernadotte becomes heir to the Swedish throne.
1905 – Albert Einstein publishes the third of his Annus Mirabilis papers, introducing the special theory of relativity.
1907 – Four months after the 1907 Imperial Conference, New Zealand and Newfoundland are promoted from colonies to dominions within the British Empire.
1914 – The United States Federal Trade Commission is established by the Federal Trade Commission Act.
1917 – World War I: The Battle of Polygon Wood begins.
1918 – World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began which would last until the total surrender of German forces.
1919 – Ukrainian War of Independence: The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine defeats the White Russian Volunteer Army at the Battle of Peregonovka.
1923 – The German government calls off the passive resistance to the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr.
1933 – As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, "Don't shoot, G-Men!", which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: Lluis Companys reshuffles the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the marxist POUM and anarcho-syndicalist CNT joining the government.
1942 – Holocaust: Senior SS official August Frank issues a memorandum detailing how Jews should be "evacuated".
1950 – Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul from North Korean forces.
1953 – Rationing of sugar in the United Kingdom ends.
1954 – The Japanese rail ferry Tōya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan, killing 1,172.
1959 – 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.
1960 – In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
1978 – Air Caribbean Flight 309 crashes in Residencial Las Casas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing six.
1980 – A terrorist bombing at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, kills 13 people and injures 213 others.
1983 – 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.
1983 – 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.
1984 – The United Kingdom and China agree to a transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, to take place in 1997.
1992 – A Nigerian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashes in Ejigbo, Lagos, killing 159.
1994 – A Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes into a river near Vanavara, Russia, killing 24.
1997 – A Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300 crashes near Medan airport, killing 234.
1997 – An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.
2000 – Anti-globalization protests in Prague (some 20,000 protesters) turn violent during the IMF and World Bank summits.
2000 – The MS Express Samina sinks off Paros in the Aegean Sea killing 80 passengers.
2002 – The overcrowded Senegalese ferry, MV Le Joola, capsizes off the coast of the Gambia killing more than 1,000.
2009 – Typhoon Ketsana hits the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, causing 700 fatalities.
2010 – The Philippine Bar exam bombing occurs near the De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila injuring 47 people.
2014 – A mass kidnapping of 43 students from a teaching college occurs in Iguala, Mexico.
2022 – A mass shooting occurs at a school in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, resulting in the deaths of 18 people, including 11 children.
2024 – Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Perry, Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, killing over 250 people, causing US$78.7 billion in damage and becoming the deadliest hurricane in the mainland United States since Katrina.

Births 265

932 – Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, Arab caliph (died 975)
1329 – Anne of Bavaria, German queen consort (died 1353)
1406 – Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (died 1430)
1462 – Engelbert, Count of Nevers, younger son of John I, Duke of Cleves (died 1506)
1526 – Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (died 1569)
1637 – Sébastien Leclerc, French painter (died 1714)
1641 – Nehemiah Grew, English plant anatomist and physiologist (died 1712)
1651 – Francis Daniel Pastorius, founder of Germantown, Philadelphia (died 1720)
1660 – George William, Duke of Liegnitz (died 1675)
1698 – William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (died 1755)
1711 – Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, English politician, First Lord of the Admiralty (died 1779)
1750 – Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, English admiral (died 1810)
1758 – Cosme Argerich, Argentinian physician (died 1820)
1767 – Wenzel Müller, Austrian composer and conductor (died 1835)
1774 – Johnny Appleseed, American gardener and environmentalist (died 1845)
1783 – Richard Griffin, 3rd Baron Braybrooke, English politician and literary figure (died 1858)
1791 – Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (died 1824)
1792 – William Hobson, Irish-New Zealand explorer and politician, 1st Governor of New Zealand (died 1842)
1820 – Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Indian philosopher, painter, and academic (died 1891)
1840 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (died 1923)
1843 – Joseph Furphy, Australian author and poet (died 1912)
1848 – Henry Walters, American art collector and philanthropist (died 1931)
1849 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1936)
1856 – Anna Paaske, Norwegian opera singer and music teacher (died 1935)
1865 – Archibald Butt, United States Army Officer (died 1912)
1865 – Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford (died 1937)
1869 – Komitas, Armenian-French priest and composer (died 1935)
1870 – Christian X of Denmark (died 1947)
1872 – Max Ehrmann, American poet and lawyer (died 1945)
1873 – Wacław Berent, Polish author and translator (died 1940)
1874 – Lewis Hine, American photographer and activist (died 1940)
1874 – Charles Vyner Brooke, 3rd Raj of Sarawak (died 1963)
1875 – Edmund Gwenn, English-American actor (died 1959)
1876 – Edith Abbott, American economist, social worker, and author (died 1957)
1876 – Ghulam Bhik Nairang, Indian poet, lawyer, and politician (died 1952)
1877 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist and academic (died 1963)
1877 – Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist and conductor (died 1962)
1877 – Bertha De Vriese, Belgian physician (died 1958)
1878 – Walter Steinbeck, German actor (died 1942)
1884 – Jack Bickell, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (died 1951)
1886 – Archibald Hill, English physiologist, academic, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1977)
1887 – Edwin Keppel Bennett, English author and poet (died 1958)
1887 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-American actor and director (died 1967)
1887 – Barnes Wallis, English scientist and engineer, invented the Bouncing bomb (died 1979)
1888 – J. Frank Dobie, American journalist and author (died 1964)
1888 – T. S. Eliot, English poet, playwright, critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1965)
1889 – Gordon Brewster, Irish cartoonist (died 1946)
1889 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher and academic (died 1976)
1889 – Abdulkadir Inan, Bashkir/Turkish Turkologist (died 1976)
1890 – Jack Tresadern, English footballer and manager (died 1959)
1891 – William McKell, Australian politician, 12th Governor General of Australia (died 1985)
1891 – Charles Münch, French violinist and conductor (died 1968)
1891 – Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher from the Vienna Circle (died 1953)
1892 – Robert Staughton Lynd, American sociologist and academic (died 1970)
1894 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (died 1929)
1895 – Jürgen Stroop, German general (died 1952)
1897 – Pope Paul VI (died 1978)
1897 – Arthur Rhys-Davids, English lieutenant and pilot (died 1917)
1898 – George Gershwin, American pianist and composer (died 1937)
1900 – Suzanne Belperron, French jewelry designer (died 1983)
1901 – George Raft, American actor, singer, and dancer (died 1980)
1901 – Ted Weems, American bandleader and musician (died 1963)
1902 – Albert Anastasia, Italian-American mobster (died 1957)
1905 – Millito Navarro, Puerto Rican baseball player (died 2011)
1905 – Karl Rappan, Austrian footballer and coach (died 1996)
1907 – Anthony Blunt, English historian and spy (died 1983)
1907 – Shug Fisher, American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and comedian (died 1984)
1907 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (died 1992)
1909 – Bill France Sr., American race car driver, founded NASCAR (died 1992)
1909 – A. P. Hamann, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (died 1977)
1911 – Al Helfer, American sportscaster (died 1975)
1913 – Frank Brimsek, American ice hockey player (died 1998)
1914 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (died 2009)
1914 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness expert (died 2011)
1917 – Réal Caouette, Canadian journalist and politician (died 1976)
1917 – Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese-French philosopher and theorist (died 1993)
1918 – Eric Morley, English businessman and television host, founded the Miss World (died 2000)
1919 – Barbara Britton, American actress (died 1980)
1919 – Matilde Camus, Spanish poet and author (died 2012)
1922 – Takis Miliadis, Greek actor (died 1985)
1922 – Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia (died 2014)
1923 – Dev Anand, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2011)
1923 – Hugh Griffiths, Baron Griffiths, English cricketer, lawyer, and judge (died 2015)
1923 – James Hennessy, English businessman and diplomat (died 2024)
1924 – Jean Hoerni, Swiss physicist, inventor and businessman (died 1997)
1925 – Norm Dussault, American-Canadian ice hockey player (died 2012)
1925 – Marty Robbins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and race car driver (died 1982)
1926 – Julie London, American singer and actress (died 2000)
1926 – Manfred Mayrhofer, Austrian philologist and academic (died 2011)
1927 – Robert Cade, American physician and educator, co-invented Gatorade (died 2007)
1927 – Patrick O'Neal, American actor (died 1994)
1927 – Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (died 2010)
1928 – Bob Van der Veken, Belgian actor (died 2019)
1928 – Wilford White, American football player (died 2013)
1930 – Philip Bosco, American actor (died 2018)
1930 – Joe Brown, English mountaineer and author (died 2020)
1931 – Kenneth Parnell, American sex offender (died 2008)
1932 – Donna Douglas, American actress (died 2015)
1932 – Joyce Jameson, American actress (died 1987)
1932 – Manmohan Singh, Indian economist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of India (died 2024)
1932 – Vladimir Voinovich, Russian author and poet (died 2018)
1934 – Neil Coles, English golfer and architect
1935 – Bob Barber, English cricketer
1935 – Lou Myers, American actor (died 2013)
1935 – Joe Sherlock, Irish politician (died 2007)
1936 – Leroy Drumm, American sailor and songwriter (died 2010)
1936 – Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South African academic and politician, 8th First Lady of South Africa (died 2018)
1937 – Valentin Pavlov, Russian banker and politician, 11th Premier of the Soviet Union (died 2003)
1937 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer and agent (died 2015)
1938 – Lucette Aldous, New Zealand-Australian ballerina and educator (died 2021)
1938 – Jonathan Goldsmith, American actor
1938 – Lars-Jacob Krogh, Norwegian journalist (died 2010)
1939 – Ricky Tomlinson, English actor and screenwriter
1941 – Salvatore Accardo, Italian violinist and conductor
1941 – Martine Beswick, Jamaican-English model and actress
1941 – David Frizzell, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942 – Kent McCord, American actor
1942 – Gloria E. Anzaldúa, American scholar of Chicana cultural theory (died 2004)
1943 – Ian Chappell, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
1943 – Tim Schenken, Australian racing driver
1944 – Jan Brewer, American politician, 22nd Governor of Arizona
1944 – Keith O'Nions, English geologist and academic
1944 – Anne Robinson, English journalist and game show host
1945 – Louise Beaudoin, Canadian academic and politician
1945 – Gal Costa, Brazilian singer (died 2022)
1945 – Bryan Ferry, English singer-songwriter
1946 – Andrea Dworkin, American activist and author (died 2005)
1946 – John MacLachlan Gray, Canadian actor, playwright, and composer
1946 – Mary Beth Hurt, American actress (died 2026)
1946 – Radha Krishna Mainali, Nepalese politician
1946 – Louise Simonson, American author
1946 – Claudette Werleigh, Haitian Prime Minister
1946 – Christine Todd Whitman, American politician (50th Governor of New Jersey)
1947 – Lucius Allen, American basketball player
1947 – Lynn Anderson, American singer and actress (died 2015)
1947 – Philippe Lavil, French singer and actor
1947 – Dick Roth, American swimmer
1948 – Olivia Newton-John, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress (died 2022)
1948 – Vladimír Remek, Czech politician, diplomat, cosmonaut and military pilot
1949 – Clodoaldo, Brazilian footballer and manager
1949 – Wendy Saddington, Australian singer and journalist (died 2013)
1949 – Jane Smiley, American novelist
1949 – Minette Walters, English journalist and author
1950 – Andy Haden, New Zealand rugby player (died 2020)
1951 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer and manager
1951 – Stuart Tosh, Scottish singer-songwriter and drummer
1953 – Dolores Keane, Irish singer and actress
1953 – Douglas A. Melton, American biologist and academic
1953 – Paul Stephenson, English police officer
1954 – Craig Chaquico, American guitarist
1954 – Kevin Kennedy, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
1954 – Cesar Rosas, Mexican-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Carlene Carter, American singer-songwriter
1956 – Steve Butler, American race car driver and engineer
1956 – Linda Hamilton, American actress
1957 – Bob Staake, American author and illustrator
1957 – Klaus Augenthaler, German footballer and manager
1957 – Michael Dweck, American photographer and director
1957 – Oscar Andrade, Brazilian politician (died 2026)
1958 – Rudi Cerne, German figure skater and journalist
1958 – Darby Crash, American singer-songwriter (died 1980)
1958 – Robert Kagan, Greek-American historian and author
1958 – Kenny Sansom, English footballer
1958 – Richard B. Weldon Jr., American sailor and politician
1959 – Andrew Bolt, Australian journalist
1959 – Trevor Dodds, Namibian golfer
1959 – Rich Gedman, American baseball player and coach
1959 – Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian poet and translator (died 2007)
1960 – Uwe Bein, German footballer and manager
1960 – Jouke de Vries, Dutch academic and politician
1960 – Doug Supernaw, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2020)
1961 – Jeanie Buss, American sports executive
1961 – Cindy Herron, American singer-songwriter and actress
1961 – Marianne Mikko, Estonian journalist and politician
1961 – Will Self, English novelist and journalist
1962 – Melissa Sue Anderson, American-Canadian actress
1962 – Jonas Bergqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1962 – Mark Haddon, English author and poet
1962 – Steve Moneghetti, Australian runner
1962 – Al Pitrelli, American guitarist and songwriter
1962 – Tracey Thorn, English singer-songwriter and writer
1962 – Jacky Wu, Taiwanese singer, actor, and television host
1963 – Lysette Anthony, English actress and producer
1963 – Joe Nemechek, American race car driver
1964 – Dave Martinez, American baseball player and coach
1965 – Radisav Ćurčić, Serbian-Israeli basketball player
1965 – Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian businessman and politician, 5th President of Ukraine
1966 – Jillian Barberie, Canadian actress and sportscaster
1966 – Christos Dantis, Greek singer-songwriter and producer
1966 – Shane Dye, New Zealand jockey
1966 – Craig Heyward, American football player (died 2006)
1967 – Bruno Akrapović, Bosnian footballer and manager
1967 – Shannon Hoon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1995)
1967 – Craig Janney, American ice hockey player
1968 – Jim Caviezel, American actor
1968 – Ben Shenkman, American actor
1969 – Andy Petterson, Australian footballer and coach
1969 – David Slade, English director and producer
1969 – Holger Stanislawski, German footballer and manager
1969 – Paul Warhurst, English footballer and manager
1970 – Daryl Beattie, Australian motorcycle racer
1970 – Sheri Moon Zombie, American actress and fashion designer
1970 – David Parland, Swedish guitarist (died 2013)
1972 – Ras Kass, American rapper and producer
1972 – Beto O'Rourke, American politician
1972 – Shawn Stockman, American singer
1973 – Marty Casey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1973 – Julienne Davis, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
1973 – Dr. Luke, American record producer and songwriter
1973 – Chris Small, Scottish snooker player and coach
1973 – Olga Vasdeki, Greek triple jumper
1974 – Boris Cepeda, German-Ecuadorian pianist and diplomat
1974 – Gary Hall Jr., American swimmer
1974 – Martin Müürsepp, Estonian basketball player and coach
1975 – Emma Härdelin, Swedish singer and violinist
1975 – Jake Paltrow, American director and screenwriter
1975 – Chiara Schoras, German actress
1976 – Michael Ballack, German footballer
1976 – Sami Vänskä, Finnish bass player
1977 – Kerem Özyeğen, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Aka Plu, Japanese comedian and actor
1978 – Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenyan runner
1979 – Chris Kunitz, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Naomichi Marufuji, Japanese wrestler
1979 – Fuifui Moimoi, Tongan-New Zealand rugby league player
1979 – Cameron Mooney, Australian footballer
1979 – Jaycie Phelps, American gymnast
1979 – Taavi Rõivas, Estonian politician, 16th Prime Minister of Estonia
1979 – Jacob Tierney, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
1980 – Patrick Friesacher, Austrian racing driver
1980 – Brooks Orpik, American ice hockey player
1980 – Daniel Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
1980 – Henrik Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
1981 – Asuka, Japanese professional wrestler
1981 – Yao Beina, Chinese singer (died 2015)
1981 – Christina Milian, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1981 – Ayumi Tsunematsu, Japanese voice actress
1981 – Serena Williams, American tennis player
1982 – Rob Burrow, English rugby player (died 2024)
1982 – John Scott, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Sun Li, Chinese actress
1983 – Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer
1984 – Nev Schulman, American photographer, television host, and producer
1985 – Talulah Riley, English actress
1986 – Sean Doolittle, American baseball player
1987 – Rosanna Munter, Swedish singer-songwriter
1988 – Chris Archer, American baseball player
1988 – James Blake, English singer-songwriter and producer
1988 – Kiira Korpi, Finnish figure skater
1988 – Buddy Matthews, Australian wrestler
1989 – Jonny Bairstow, English cricketer
1991 – Alma Jodorowsky, French actress, fashion model and singer
1991 – Dan Preston, English footballer
1992 – Yoo Ara, South Korean singer and actress
1993 – Rosicleide Andrade, Brazilian Paralympic judoka
1993 – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, American basketball player
1994 – Jack Conger, American swimmer
1995 – Miloš Veljković, Serbian footballer
1997 – Özge Yağız, Turkish actress
2000 – Frankie Amaya, American soccer player
2000 – Princess Salma bint Abdullah, Jordanian princess
2001 – João Pedro, Brazilian footballer
2001 – Xinyu Wang, Chinese tennis player
2003 – Jane Remover, American musician
2006 – Myles Lewis-Skelly, English footballer

Deaths 109

800 – Berowulf, bishop of Würzburg
862 – Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi, Muslim military leader (born c. 790)
1241 – Fujiwara no Teika, Japanese poet
1290 – Margaret, Maid of Norway Queen of Scotland (born 1283)
1313 – Gottfried von Hagenau, Alsatian theologian, medical doctor, and poet
1327 – Cecco d'Ascoli, Italian encyclopaedist, physician and poet (born 1257)
1328 – Ibn Taymiya, Islamic scholar and philosopher of Harran (born 1263)
1345 – William II, Count of Hainaut
1371 – Jovan Uglješa, Serbian despot
1413 – Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria (born 1337)
1417 – Francesco Zabarella, Italian cardinal (born 1360)
1468 – Juan de Torquemada, Spanish cardinal and theologian (born 1388)
1536 – Didier de Saint-Jaille, 46th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller
1588 – Amias Paulet, Governor of Jersey (born 1532)
1600 – Claude Le Jeune, French composer (born 1530)
1620 – Taichang Emperor of China (born 1582)
1623 – Charles Grey, 7th Earl of Kent, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire (born 1540)
1626 – Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese daimyō (born 1554)
1716 – Antoine Parent, French mathematician and theorist (born 1666)
1764 – Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, Spanish monk and scholar (born 1676)
1800 – William Billings, American composer and educator (born 1746)
1802 – Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician and physicist (born 1754)
1820 – Daniel Boone, American hunter and explorer (born 1734)
1825 – José Bernardo de Tagle y Portocarrero, Marquis of Torre Tagle, Peruvian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Peru (born 1779)
1830 – Teresa Casati, Italian noblewomen and revolutionary (born 1787)
1846 – Thomas Clarkson, English abolitionist (born 1760)
1847 – John Oliver Curran, Irish physician (born 1819)
1868 – August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician and astronomer (born 1790)
1877 – Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician and physicist (born 1809)
1902 – Levi Strauss, German-American businessman, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (born 1829)
1904 – Lafcadio Hearn, Greek-Japanese author and academic (born 1850)
1904 – John Fitzwilliam Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician (born 1848)
1922 – Charles Wade, Australian politician, 17th Premier of New South Wales (born 1863)
1935 – Andy Adams, American author (born 1859)
1935 – Iván Persa, Slovene-Hungarian priest and author (born 1861)
1937 – Bessie Smith, American singer and actress (born 1894)
1943 – Henri Fertet, French Resistance fighter (born 1926)
1945 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer (born 1881)
1946 – William Strunk Jr., American author and educator (born 1869)
1947 – Hugh Lofting, English-American author and poet (born 1886)
1951 – Hans Cloos, German geologist and academic (born 1885)
1952 – George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, novelist, and poet (born 1863)
1953 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter and educator (born 1895)
1954 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (born 1868)
1957 – Arthur Powell Davies, American minister and author (born 1902)
1959 – S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (born 1899)
1959 – Leslie Morshead, Australian general (born 1889)
1959 – Teodor Ussisoo, Estonian furniture designer and educator (born 1878)
1961 – Charles Erwin Wilson, American politician, 5th United States Secretary of Defense (born 1890)
1965 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish soldier and pilot (born 1898)
1968 – Ben Shlomo Lipman-Heilprin, Polish-Israeli neurologist and physician (born 1902)
1968 – Daniel Johnson Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Quebec (born 1915)
1968 – Władysław Kędra, Polish pianist (born 1918)
1972 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (born 1890)
1973 – Samuel Flagg Bemis, American historian and author (born 1891)
1973 – Ralph Earnhardt, American race car driver (born 1928)
1973 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress and singer (born 1908)
1976 – Leopold Ružička, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1887)
1977 – Uday Shankar, Indian dancer and choreographer (born 1900)
1978 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1886)
1979 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (born 1910)
1982 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (born 1902)
1984 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (born 1948)
1984 – John Facenda, American sportscaster (born 1913)
1987 – Ramang, Indonesian footballer and manager (born 1928)
1987 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, journalist, and mountaineer (born 1912)
1988 – Branko Zebec, Croatian and Yugoslav football player and coach (born 1929)
1989 – Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Indian singer-songwriter and producer (born 1920)
1990 – Hiram Abas, Turkish intelligence officer (born 1932)
1990 – Alberto Moravia, Italian author and critic (born 1907)
1991 – Billy Vaughn, American singer and bandleader (born 1919)
1995 – Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (born 1931)
1996 – Nicu Ceaușescu, Romanian politician (born 1951)
1997 – Dorothy Kingsley, American screenwriter and producer (born 1909)
1998 – Betty Carter, American singer (born 1930)
1999 – Oseola McCarty, American philanthropist (born 1908)
2000 – Richard Mulligan, American actor (born 1932)
2000 – Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist and composer (born 1937)
2002 – Nils Bohlin, Swedish engineer, invented three-point safety belt (born 1920)
2003 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (born 1963)
2003 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter (born 1949)
2004 – Marianna Komlos, Canadian bodybuilder, model, and wrestler (born 1969)
2005 – Helen Cresswell, English author and screenwriter (born 1934)
2006 – Byron Nelson, American golfer and coach (born 1912)
2006 – Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American wartime propaganda broadcaster (born 1916)
2007 – Bill Wirtz, American businessman (born 1929)
2008 – Marc Moulin, Belgian keyboard player, producer, and journalist (born 1942)
2008 – Paul Newman, American actor, director, producer, and businessman (born 1925)
2010 – Terry Newton, English rugby player (born 1978)
2010 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (born 1910)
2011 – Bob Cassilly, American sculptor, founded the City Museum (born 1949)
2012 – M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (born 1933)
2012 – Sylvia Fedoruk, Canadian physicist and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan (born 1927)
2012 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (born 1930)
2012 – Sam Steiger, American journalist and politician (born 1929)
2013 – Azizan Abdul Razak, Malaysian politician, 10th Menteri Besar of Kedah (born 1944)
2013 – Seánie Duggan, Irish hurler (born 1922)
2013 – Mario Montez, Puerto Rican-American actor (born 1935)
2013 – Sos Sargsyan, Armenian actor and director (born 1929)
2014 – Jim Boeke, American football player and coach (born 1938)
2014 – Sam Hall, American screenwriter (born 1921)
2014 – Gerald Neugebauer, American astronomer and physicist (born 1932)
2014 – Tamir Sapir, Georgian-American businessman (born 1946)
2015 – Eudóxia Maria Froehlich, Brazilian zoologist (born 1928)
2015 – Sidney Phillips, American soldier, physician, and author (born 1924)
2015 – Ana Seneviratne, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (born 1927)
2016 – Toughie, last known Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog (h. fl. 2005)
2019 – Jacques Chirac, French politician, President of France (born 1932)
2024 – John Ashton, American actor (born 1948)

Holidays and observances 17

Christian feast days: Canadian Martyrs (Catholic Church in Canada) Cosmas and Damian Blessed Crescencia Valls Espí John of Meda Blessed Kaspar Stanggassinger Blessed Luigi Tezza Nilus the Younger Thérèse Couderc Wilson Carlile (Anglican) September 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Canadian Martyrs (Catholic Church in Canada)
Cosmas and Damian
Blessed Crescencia Valls Espí
John of Meda
Blessed Kaspar Stanggassinger
Blessed Luigi Tezza
Nilus the Younger
Thérèse Couderc
Wilson Carlile (Anglican)
September 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of the National Flag (Ecuador)
Dominion Day (New Zealand)
European Day of Languages (European Union)
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Petrov day
Revolution Day (Yemen)