1720
Arts
Elected to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris
Carriera became one of very few women admitted to the prestigious French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris.
View detailsThis Day
26October
26 indexed achievements across recorded history.
1844
Activism
Birth of Tennessee Celeste Claflin in Ohio
Birth of Tennessee Celeste Claflin, later known as Tennie C., in Homer, Ohio.
View details1865
Aviation
Born at Woburn Abbey as Lady Mary du Caurroy Tribe
Mary du Caurroy Tribe, later Duchess of Bedford and pioneering aviator, was born on 26 October 1865.
View details1879
1902
Science
Birth of Henrietta Hill Swope
Henrietta Hill Swope was born on October 26, 1902, in St. Louis, Missouri.
View details1902
Science
Death of Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in New York City at age 86, eighteen years before women won the vote nationwide.
View details1909
Aviation
First woman to pilot balloon from Continent to England
Marvingt pilots the balloon "Étoile Filante" from the Continent to England, becoming the first woman to make this balloon crossing.
View details1911
Arts
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Birth of Mahalia Jackson in New Orleans, Louisiana, later celebrated as the “Queen of Gospel.”
View details1911
Medicine
Birth of Anna Terruwe
Anna Terruwe was born on 26 October 1911 in Vught, Netherlands, the pioneering Dutch psychiatrist who would later challenge Catholic moral theology's approach to psychological repression.
View details1917
Medicine
Born in London
Rosalinde Paul Hurley was born on 26 October 1917 in London, England.
View details1918
Activism
Death of Ella Flagg Young
Ella Flagg Young died in Washington, D.C., closing her career as a pioneering advocate.
View details1942
Medicine
First woman in WWII to receive the Purple Heart
Awarded the Purple Heart for Pearl Harbor service, becoming the first woman decorated with the Purple Heart for WWII combat-related service.
View details1947
Politics
Birth of Hillary Diane Rodham
Hillary Diane Rodham was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Hugh and Dorothy Rodham.
View details1947
Politics
Birth of Hillary Diane Rodham
Hillary Diane Rodham (later Hillary Rodham Clinton) was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
View details1952
Science
Death of Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel died of breast cancer on October 26, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, at the Motion Picture House.
View details1956
Law
Death of Annette Abbott Adams in Sacramento, California
Annette Abbott Adams died on 26 October 1956 in Sacramento, California, after a pioneering career in law and judging.
View details1957
Science
Death in St. Louis, Missouri
Gerty Cori died on October 26, 1957, in St. Louis, Missouri, after a decade-long battle with myelosclerosis.
View details1957
Science
Death of Gerty Cori
Gerty Cori died in St. Louis, Missouri, after a decade-long battle with myelosclerosis, a rare bone marrow disease.
View details1967
Arts
U.S. Release of "Wait Until Dark"
Hepburn starred in "Wait Until Dark," receiving an Oscar nomination.
View details1978
1982
Arts
Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Ronald Reagan awarded Kate Smith the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, for her contributions to American culture.
View details1984
Science
Death of Alberta Hunter in New York City
Alberta Hunter died on October 26, 1984, in New York City at age 89, closing out a remarkable dual career in music and nursing.
View details1995
Science
Death in Topeka, Kansas
Georgia Neese Clark Gray died in Topeka, Kansas, at age 97, remembered as the first woman U.S. Treasurer.
View details2006
Medicine
Induction into APH Hall of Fame
Anne Sullivan was inducted into the APH Hall of Fame for Blindness Field.
View details2015
Literature
Publication of major Time interview on memoir and historic swim
Time published an interview with Nyad about her memoir Find a Way and her historic Cuba-to-Florida swim.
View details2023
Science
Induction into National Inventors Hall of Fame
Lynn Conway was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her pioneering VLSI design rules and methodology.
View details