November 26

November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 35 days remaining.

Events

1799-1899

1778 - In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover Maui.

1805 - Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

1825 - At Union College in Schenectady, New York a group of college students form Kappa Alpha Society as the first college social fraternity.

1862 - Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) sends the handwritten manuscript of Alice's Adventures Underground to 10-year-old Alice Liddell.

1863 - American Civil War: Mine Run - Union forces under General George Meade position against troops led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee

1900-1999

1917 - The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.

1922 - Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.

1922 - Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so but it was not widely distributed).

1939 - The Red Army stages the Shelling of Mainila in order to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.

1941 - US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

1941 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - A fleet of six aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo leaves Hitokapu Bay for Pearl Harbor under strict radio silence.

1941 - World War II: The Hull note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.

1942 - The film Casablanca premieres at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.

1949 - The Indian Constituent Assembly adopts India's constitution.

1950 - Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces (Battle of Chosin Reservoir), ending any thought of a quick end to the conflict.

1965 - In the Hammaguira launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter space.

1968 - Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.

1970 - In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1mm) of rain falls in one mintue, the heaviest rainfall ever on record.

1983 - Brinks Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly UK�26 million are taken from the Brinks Mat vault at Heathrow Airport

1985 - US President Ronald Reagan signs over rights to his autobiography to Random House for a record US$3 million.

1986 - Iran-Contra scandal: US President Ronald Reagan announces the members what will become known as the Tower Commission.

1986 - The New Yorker publishes Susan Sontag's AIDS short story, "The Way We Live Now"

1998 - Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Republic of Ireland's parliament.