Wednesday · November 11, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250th
On this day › October 26

What happened on October 26 in American history

October 26 is the 299th day of the year (the 300th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from October 26 spanning 1774 to 2001. Among them: in 1774, the Congress breaks up; the colonies now have a boycott and a date to reconvene; and in 1892, Wells puts her research on lynching into print: Southern Horrors.

1774

The Congress breaks up; the colonies now have a boycott and a date to reconvene

Fifty-six delegates close seven weeks at Carpenters' Hall with a trade embargo, a petition to the king, and the promise to meet again come spring.
1892Member story · 1776 Club

Wells puts her research on lynching into print: Southern Horrors

Exiled from Memphis five months earlier, she answers with a pamphlet instead of a retreat.
1942Member story · 1776 Club

Hornet goes down off the Santa Cruz Islands; Enterprise limps away battered

Two Japanese carriers and a cruiser take heavy damage in return, but the American carrier force is down to one.
1944

Four days of battle end: Japan's navy leaves Leyte Gulf broken

The largest naval battle in history closes with the Imperial Japanese Navy no longer able to fight as a fleet.
1958

Pan Am's jet lands at Le Bourget; New York to Paris in six hours of air time

A refueling stop in Gander was the only thing slowing the Clipper America down.
2001Member story · 1776 Club

Bush signs the Patriot Act; federal surveillance power expands overnight

Forty-five days after the towers fell, Congress hands the FBI tools it had wanted for decades.