Famous birthdays, deaths and events of 1926
Birthdays January 3 - George Martin, British producer January 5 - William De Witt Snodgrass, American poet January 6 - Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (2002) January 6 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003) January 6 - Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006) January 6 - Ralph Branca, American baseball player January 8 - Evelyn Lear, American soprano January 8 - Kelucharan Mohapatra, Indian Odissi dancer (d. 2004) January 8 - Soupy Sales, American comedian January 9 - Giannis Christou, Greek composer (d. 1970) January 12 - Morton Feldman, American composer January 12 - Ray Price, American singer January 13 - Michael Bond, British writer January 13 - Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American feminist author (d. 2003) January 14 - Frank Aletter, American actor January 14 - Warren Mitchell, English actor January 14 - Tom Tryon, American actor (d. 1991) January 15 - Florence Buchsbaum, French theater director (d. 1996) January 15 - Maria Schell, Swiss actress (d. 2005) January 17 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (d. 2006) January 19 - Fritz Weaver, American actor January 20 - Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet January 20 - Qurratulain Hyder, Pakistani novelist (d. 2007) January 20 - Patricia Neal, American actress January 20 - David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996) January 21 - Steve Reeves , American actor (d. 2000) January 21 - Brian Brockless, English organist (d. 1995) January 24 - Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter January 27 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004) January 29 - Franco Cerri, Italian musician January 31 - Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993) February 1 - Stuart Whitman, American actor February 3 - Shelley Berman, American comedian February 6 - Haskell Wexler , American cinematographer February 6 - Walker Edmiston, American actor (d. 2007) February 8 - Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968) February 9 - Garret FitzGerald, 7th Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland February 10 - Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1993) February 11 - Paul Bocuse, French chef February 11 - Leslie Nielsen , Canadian actor February 12 - Joe Garagiola, American baseball player and announcer February 12 - Charles Van Doren, American quiz show contestant February 16 - John Schlesinger, English film director (d. 2003) February 20 - Richard Matheson, American author February 22 - Kenneth Williams, English actor (d. 1988) February 22 - Bud Yorkin, American film director February 24 - Jean Alexander, English actress February 26 - Miroslava Stern, Mexican actress (d. 1955) February 28 - Svetlana Alliluyeva, Soviet defector March 1 - Robert Clary, French-born actor March 1 - Pete Rozelle, American commissioner of the NFL (d. 1996) March 1 - Cesare Danova, Italian-born American actor (d. 1992) March 3 - Lys Assia, Swiss singer March 3 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (d. 2003) March 3 - James Merrill, American poet (d. 1995) March 4 - Richard DeVos, American billionaire March 4 - Pascual Pérez, Argentine boxer (d. 1977) March 4 - Don Rendell, English jazz musician and arranger March 4 - Fran Warren, American singer March 6 - Andrzej Wajda, Polish film director March 8 - Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor (d. 2001) March 11 - İlhan Mimaroğlu, Turkish musician and composer March 13 - Roy Haynes, American jazz drummer March 15 - Norm Van Brocklin, American football player (d. 1983) March 15 - Ben Johnston, American composer March 16 - Jerry Lewis , American comedian March 17 - Siegfried Lenz, German writer March 18 - Peter Graves, American actor March 18 - Dick Littlefield, American baseball player (d. 1997) March 24 - Dario Fo, Italian writer March 25 - László Papp, Hungarian boxer (d. 2003) March 25 - Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet (d. 1999) March 28 - Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba March 31 - John Fowles, English author (d. 2005) April 1 - Anne McCaffrey, American author April 2 - George MacDonald Fraser, English author (d. 2008) April 2 - Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver April 3 - Alex Grammas, American baseball player April 3 - Gus Grissom, American astronaut (d. 1967) April 5 - Roger Corman, American film director April 6 - Sergio Franchi, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1990) April 8 - Shecky Greene, American comedian April 10 - Junior Samples, American musician (d. 1983) April 11 - Victor Bouchard, Quebec pianist and composer April 13 - Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983) April 14 - Frank Daniel, Czech-born writer April 14 - Liz Renay, American actress (d. 2007) April 17 - Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004) April 21 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, April 21 - Arthur Rowley, English Footballer (d. 2002) April 22 - Charlotte Rae, American actress April 23 - J. P. Donleavy, Irish American author April 26 - David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster April 26 - Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003) April 28 - Blossom Dearie, American jazz singer April 28 - Harper Lee, American author April 30 - Cloris Leachman , American actress May 5 - Ann B. Davis, American actress May 8 - David Attenborough, English naturalist May 8 - Don Rickles, American comedian May 10 - Hugo Banzer, Bolivian dictator (d. 2002) May 13 - Wallace Breem, British author May 14 - Eric Morecambe, British comedian (d. 1984) May 15 - Anthony Shaffer, English playwright (d. 2001) May 15 - Peter Shaffer, English playwright May 18 - Dirch Passer, Danish actor (d. 1980) May 19 - Swami Kriyananda, Indian teacher and author May 20 - Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956) May 20 - John Lucarotti, TV writer (d. 1994) May 21 - Robert Creeley, American poet (d. 2005) May 24 - Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor May 26 - Dirch Passer, Danish actor May 26 - Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author May 26 - Miles Davis , American musician (d. 1991) May 29 - Charles Denner, French actor (d. 1995) June 1 - Andy Griffith , American actor June 1 - Marilyn Monroe , American actress (d. 1962) June 2 - Milo O'Shea, Irish actor June 3 - Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d. 1997) June 4 - Robert Earl Hughes, American man who became the heaviest known human (d. 1958) June 10 - Lionel Jeffries, British actor June 11 - Carlisle Floyd, American composer June 12 - Jackie Pallo, English professional wrestler (d. 2006) June 13 - Paul Lynde, American actor (d. 1982) June 14 - Hermann Kant, German author June 14 - Don Newcombe, baseball player June 15 - Mac McGarry, American quiz show host June 21 - Conrad Hall, Tahitian-born cinematographer (d. 2003) June 25 - Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian writer (d. 1973) June 28 - Mel Brooks , American filmmaker June 29 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (d. 2006) June 30 - Paul Berg, Nobel Prize laureate July 1 - Robert Fogel, Nobel laureate July 1 - Hans Werner Henze, German composer July 2 - Octavian Paler, Romanian writer July 4 - Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentine-Spanish footballer July 10 - Fred Gwynne, American actor (d. 1993) July 11 - Frederick Buechner, American author July 14 - Harry Dean Stanton, American actor July 15 - Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan author July 15 - Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine dictator (d. 2003) July 16 - Irwin Rose, American biologist July 17 - Édouard Carpentier, French-born professional wrestler July 17 - Charles Champlin, American film critic and writer July 18 - Robert Sloman, writer (d. 2005) July 18 - Margaret Laurence, Canadian writer (d. 1987) July 19 - Helen Gallagher, American actress July 20 - Lola Albright, American actress July 20 - Patricia Cutts, English actress (d. 1974) July 21 - Paul Burke, American actor July 21 - Norman Jewison, Canadian film director July 21 - Karel Reisz, British film director (d. 2002) July 21 - Queenie Watts, English actress (d. 1980) July 25 - Whitey Lockman, American baseball player July 26 - James Best , American actor July 26 - Ana María Matute, Spanish author July 28 - Charlie Biddle, American-born Quebec jazz bassist (d. 2003) July 30 - Christine McGuire, American singer (The McGuire Sisters) August 1 - Theo Adam, German bass-baritone August 2 - Betsy Bloomingdale, American socialite August 3 - Tony Bennett , American singer August 6 - Clem Labine, American baseball player (d. 2007) August 6 - Frank Finlay, British actor August 6 - Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (d. 1999) August 7 - Stan Freberg, American voice comedian August 8 - Richard Anderson, American actor August 11 - Claus von Bülow, Danish-born British socialite August 12 - John Derek, American actor (d. 1998) August 12 - Joe Jones, American R&B singer (d. 2005) August 12 - Wallace Markfield, American writer (d. 2002) August 14 - Alice Ghostley, American actress (d. 2007) August 14 - René Goscinny, French comic-strip author (d. 1977) August 14 - Lina Wertmüller, Italian film director August 17 - George Melly, British singer (d. 2007) August 17 - Jean Poiret, French actor August 19 - Arthur Rock, American venture capitalist August 27 - Pat Coombs, English actress (d. 2002) August 29 - Betty Lynn, American actress August 29 - María Dolores Pradera, Spanish melodic singer September 3 - Alison Lurie, American novelist September 3 - Irene Papas, Greek actress September 4 - Bert Olmstead, Canadian ice hockey player September 6 - Claus von Amsberg, Prince Consort of the Netherlands (d. 2002) September 7 - Erich Juskowiak, German footballer (d. 1983) September 11 - Eddie Miksis, baseball player (d. 2005) September 14 - Michel Butor, French novelist September 15 - Shohei Imamura, Japanese film director (d. 2006) September 16 - Tommy Bond, American actor (d. 2005) September 17 - Bill Black, American musician (d. 1965) September 17 - Curtis Harrington, American film director (d. 2007) September 18 - Bud Greenspan, American film producer September 18 - Bob Toski, American golfer September 19 - James Lipton, American actor September 21 - Noor Jehan, Pakistani singer and actress (d. 2000) September 23 - John Coltrane, American saxophonist (d. 1967) September 25 - Aldo Ray, American actor (d. 1991) September 25 - Jack Hyles, Baptist pastor (d. 2001) September 26 - Julie London, American singer and actress (d. 2000) September 28 - Jerry Clower, American comedian (d. 1998) September 30 - Robin Roberts, American baseball player October 1 - Roger Williams, American pianist October 2 - Jan Morris, English writer October 5 - Willi Unsoeld, American climber (d. 1979) October 7 - Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971) October 9 - Danièle Delorme, French actress October 10 - Richard Jaeckel, American actor (d. 1997) October 11 - Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk October 13 - Ray Brown, American jazz bassist (d. 2002) October 13 - Walter "Killer" Kowalski, (wrestler) Canadian Wrestler October 14 - Bill Justis, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982) October 15 - Evan Hunter, American author (d. 2005) October 15 - Jean Peters, American actress (d. 2000) October 17 - Julie Adams, American film actress October 17 - Beverly Garland, American actress October 18 - Chuck Berry, American musician October 18 - Klaus Kinski , German actor (d. 1991) October 19 - Arne Bendiksen, Norwegian singer and songwriter October 24 - Y. A. Tittle, American football player October 24 - Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (d. 2008) October 25 - Galina Vishnevskaya, Russian soprano October 27 - H.R. Haldeman, American political personality (d. 1993) October 28 - Bowie Kuhn, American Commissioner of Baseball (d. 2007) October 30 - Jacques Swaters, Belgian racing driver November 1 - Lou Donaldson, American jazz alto saxophonist November 6 - Frank Carson, Northern Irish comedian November 7 - Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian operatic soprano November 11 - Harry Lumley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1998) November 20 - Kaye Ballard, American comic actress November 20 - Terry Hall, English ventriloquist (d. 2007) November 20 - Andrzej W. Schally, Polish endocrinologist November 22 - Lew Burdette, American baseball player (d. 2007) November 24 - Tsung-Dao Lee, Nobel Prize laureate November 25 - Poul Anderson, American writer (d. 2001) November 25 - Jeffrey Hunter, American actor (d. 1969) November 27 - Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author November 30 - Richard Crenna, American actor (d. 2003) December 1 - Robert Symonds, American actor (d. 2007) December 9 - Jan Křesadlo, Czech writer (d. 1995) December 11 - Big Mama Thornton, American singer (d. 1984) December 13 - George Rhoden, Jamaican athlete December 17 - Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (d. 1985) December 19 - Bobby Layne, American football player (d. 1986) December 19 - Herb Stempel, American game show contestant December 23 - Robert Bly, American poet December 24 - Paul Buissonneau, French-born Quebec theatre director December 25 - Enrique Jorrín, Cuban composer and musician (d. 1987) December 27 - Jerome Courtland, American actor
Deaths January 15 - Enrico Toselli, Italian composer (b. 1883) January 30 - Barbara La Marr, American actress (b. 1896) March 16 - Sergeant Stubby, decorated World War I dog March 26 - Konstantin Fehrenbach, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1852) March 27 - Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887) April 11 - Luther Burbank, American botanist (b. 1849) April 19 - Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov, Russian statistician (b. 1874) April 28 - Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857) May 13 - Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian Catholic prelate (b. 1857) May 27 - Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (b. 1904) June 4 - Fred Spofforth, Australian cricketer (b. 1853) June 10 - Antoni Gaudí, Spanish July 2 - Émile Coué, French psychologist (b. 1857) July 12 - Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist August 23 - Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (b. 1895) September 11 - Matsunosuke Onoe, Japanese actor (b. 1875) September 15 - Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer September 25 - Herbert Booth, son of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1862) October 7 - Emil Kraepelin, German psychologist (b. 1856) October 31 - Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (b. 1874) November 3 - Annie Oakley, American sharp-shooter (b. 1860) November 22 - Darvish Khan, Iranian musician (b. 1872) December 10 - Nikola Pašić, Kingdom of Serbia and Kingdom of the Serbs December 12 - Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849) December 29 - Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian writer (b. 1875)
Events January 8 - Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud becomes the King of Hejaz and renames it Saudi Arabia. March 7 - The first transatlantic telephone call was made from New York City to London. March 14 - A train in Costa Rica falls into the Río Virilla, killing 248 and injuring 93. March 15 - The dictator Theodoros Pangalos is elected President of Greece without opposition. March 16 - History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts. April 6 - Walter Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines). April 20 - Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film. April 24 - The Treaty of Berlin under which Germany and the Soviet Union each pledged neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years. May 9 - Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd's diary seems to indicate that this did not happen). May 12 - UK General Strike 1926: in the United Kingdom, a nine-day general strike by trade unions ends. May 18 - Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California beach. May 25 - Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the Paris-based government-in-exile of Ukrainian People's Republic. May 28 - 28th May 1926 coup d'état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic. June 14 - Brazil leaves the League of Nations June 23 - The College Board administers the first SAT exam. June 29 - Arthur Meighen returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada. July 20 - A convention of the Methodist Church votes to allow women to become priests. July 23 - Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film. August 6 - Gertrude Ederle becomes first woman to swim across the English Channel. August 6 - In New York, the Warner Brothers' Vitaphone system premieres with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore. August 6 - Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping. August 20 - Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai(NHK) is established. August 22 - Gold is discovered in Johannesburg, South Africa. September 8 - Germany was admitted to the League of Nations. September 9 - The U.S. National Broadcasting Company formed. September 11 - An assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini fails. September 19 - The San Siro is inaugurated with a match between AC Milan and Inter. October 1 - An oil field accident cost aviator Wiley Post his left eye, but he used the settlement money to buy his first aircraft. October 14 - The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, is first published. October 22 - J. Gordon Whitehead sucker punches magician Harry Houdini in the stomach in Montreal. October 24 - Harry Houdini's last performance, which was at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. October 31 - Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured. November 11 - U.S. Route 66 is established. November 15 - The NBC radio network opens with 24 stations. November 18 - George Bernard Shaw refuses to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying, "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize." November 25 - The deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. November history strikes on Thanksgiving day. 27 twisters of great strength reported in the Midwest, including the strongest November tornado, an estimated F4, that devastates Heber Springs, Arkansas. 51 deaths in Arkansas alone, 76 deaths and over 400 injuries in all. December 5 - Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin premieres. December 17 - Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.
