Anniversaries 26 December

Birth

Thomas Gray81

English poet, historian 1716–1771

Johann Gaudenz von Salis-Seewis2

Swiss poet, author, politician and officer 1762–1834

Jean-Antoine Gleizes2

French writer 1773–1843

Laurent Clerc3

French-American deaf educator 1785–1869

Charles Babbage40

mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical enginee… 1791–1871

Dion Boucicault2

Irish actor and dramatist 1820–1890

William Winwood Reade32

British historian 1838–1875

Kakuzo Okakura16

Japanese scholar, author of The Book of Tea 1862–1913

Julien Benda19

French essayist 1867–1956

Norman Angell44

British politician 1872–1967

Elton Mayo18

Australian academic 1880–1949

Walter P. Stacy1

American judge 1884–1951

Alfonso Uribe Misas1

Colombian lawyer, politician and writer 1886–1984

Henry Miller187

American novelist 1891–1980

Mao Zedong181

Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of… 1893–1976

Jean Toomer4

American poet and novelist 1894–1967

Elizabeth David1

British cookery writer 1913–1992

Baba Amte34

Indian freedom fighter, social worker 1914–2008

Steve Allen16

American comedian, actor, musician and writer 1921–2000

Rolf Arnkil1

1923–1964

Thomas Binkley1

lutenist 1931–1995

John Horton Conway2

British mathematician 1937

Phil Spector4

American record producer, songwriter 1939–2021

Catherine Coulter1

American romance novelist 1942

Julie Garwood38

American writer 1946

José Ramos-Horta1

former president and prime minister of East Timor 1949

Guido Pozzo1

Italian Roman Catholic archbishop 1951

José Horacio Gómez1

Roman Catholic archbishop 1951

Jared Bernstein1

American economist 1955

David Sedaris108

American author 1956

Adrian Newey3

British Formula One engineer 1958

Lars Ulrich2

Danish musician 1963

Elizabeth Kostova31

American writer 1964

Jared Leto12

American actor and musician 1971

Yukiru Sugisaki3

Manga artist 1974

Gideon Defoe2

British writer 1975

Emma Forrest6

British journalist, novelist and screenwriter 1976

Todd Richardson2

American politician 1976

Jason Hickel4

author 1982

Aaron Ramsey4

Welsh association football player 1990

Andrew Biersack24

American singer-songwriter 1990

Death

Babur20

1st Mughal Emperor 1483–1530

Claude Adrien Helvétius8

French philosopher 1715–1771

John Wilkes1

English journalist and politician 1725–1797

Joel Barlow29

American diplomat 1754–1812

Joseph Fouché3

French statesman 1759–1820

John M. Mason5

American Doctor of Divinity 1770–1829

Melvil Dewey3

American librarian and educator 1851–1931

Kin Hubbard23

cartoonist 1868–1930

Hereward Carrington6

Jersey parapsychologist 1880–1958

James Stephens8

Irish writer 1882–1950

Harry Truman119

American politician, 33rd president of the United States (i… 1884–1972

Ivor Gurney2

English composer and poet 1890–1937

Jack Benny70

comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and … 1894–1974

Harold Hotelling1

American economist and statistician 1895–1973

Maryon Pearson1

Wife of Prime Minister of Canada 1901–1989

Wallace Thurman1

American novelist active during the Harlem Renaissance 1902–1934

Jeff Morrow1

American actor and World War II veteran 1907–1993

Karl Schiller1

German scientist and politician 1911–1994

Gerald Ford90

American politician, 38th President of the United States (i… 1913–2006

Shankar Dayal Sharma35

Indian politician 1918–1999

Ram Swarup64

Indian historian 1920–1998

Cornelius Castoriadis6

Greek-French philosopher 1922–1997

Martin David Kruskal1

American mathematician 1925–2006

Roy J. Glauber1

American theoretical physicist 1925–2018

Wendy Beckett6

British Catholic nun and presenter of documentaries for the… 1930–2018

Jerry Herman1

American composer and lyricist 1931–2019

Dian Fossey2

American zoologist, gorilla researcher 1932–1985

Curtis Mayfield15

American singer, songwriter, and record producer 1942–1999

Parveen Shakir4

Pakistani writer and poet 1952–1994