List of events
Events from the year 1926 in the United States .
April 12 – By a vote of 45–41, the United States Senate unseats Iowa Senator Smith W. Brookhart and seats Daniel F. Steck , after Brookhart has served for over one year.[ 1] April 30 – African-American pilot Bessie Coleman is killed after falling 2,000 feet (610 m) from an airplane. May 10 – Planes piloted by Major Harold Geiger and Horace Meek Hickam , students at the Air Corps Tactical School , collide in mid-air over Langley Field, Virginia. Hickam parachutes to safety. May 18 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a beach at Venice, California ; on June 23 she is found stumbling in the desert of Agua Prieta , Mexico just south of Douglas, Arizona , claiming she has been kidnapped, drugged, tortured and held for ransom, but has escaped.[ 2] May 20 – The United States Congress passes the Air Commerce Act , licensing pilots and planes. June 19 – DeFord Bailey is the first African-American to perform on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry . June 23 – The College Board administers the first SAT , a major standardized test for university and college admission in the U.S. October 10 – The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Yankees , 4 games to 3, to win their first World Series Title. This World Series ended when Babe Ruth attempted to steal second base and is the only World Series to end this way. October 14 – Poland presents President Calvin Coolidge with a 111 volume gift called a "Polish Declaration of Admiration and Friendship for the United States of America" comprising some 15,000 bound sheets with the signatures of an estimated 5,500,000 Polish citizens on the occasion of America's 150th anniversary of independence. November 10 – In San Francisco, California , a necrophiliac serial killer named Earle Nelson (dubbed "Gorilla Man") kills and then rapes his 9th victim, a boardinghouse landlady named Mrs. William Edmonds. November 11 – The plan for a United States Numbered Highway System is approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials , so establishing U.S. Route 66 . November 15 – The NBC radio network opens with 24 stations (formed by Westinghouse , General Electric and RCA ). November 27 – In Williamsburg, Virginia , the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg begins. December 23 – Conservative Nicaraguan President Adolfo Díaz requests U.S. military assistance in the Nicaraguan civil war (1926–27) . U.S. Marines immediately set up neutral zones in Puerto Cabezas and at the mouth of the Rio Grande to protect American and foreign lives and property.[ 4] Patricia Neal Steve Reeves Nancy Gates Verne Gagne Ralph Abernathy Jerry Lewis March 1 – Pete Rozelle , National Football League commissioner (d. 1996 )[ 14] March 2 – Murray Rothbard , economist (d. 1995 )[ 15] March 3 March 4 March 5 – Joan Shawlee , actress (d. 1987 ) March 6 – Alan Greenspan , economist March 8 – Dick Teed , Major League Baseball player (d. 2014 ) March 9 – Joe Franklin , radio, television personality (d. 2015 ) March 11 March 12 – George Ariyoshi , American politician, lawyer March 15 March 16 March 17 – Jaynne Bittner , baseball player (d. 2017 ) March 18 – Peter Graves , American actor (d. 2010 ) March 20 – Marge Calhoun , surfer (d. 2017 ) March 25 – Gene Shalit , film and book critic and television personality March 27 – Harry Connick Sr. , attorney (d. 2024 ) March 30 – Peter Marshall , entertainer (d. 2024 )[ 18] Gus Grissom Hugh Hefner Harper Lee April 1 April 3 April 4 – Addo Bonetti , politician and soldier (d. 2021 )[ 20] April 5 – Roger Corman , American filmmaker, producer, actor and businessman (d. 2024 ) April 6 – Randy Weston , American jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018 ) April 8 April 9 April 11 – David Manker Abshire , United States Army officer (d. 2014 ) April 12 – Jane Withers , American actress (d. 2021 ) April 15 – Walter Dee Huddleston , U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1973 to 1985 (d. 2018 ) April 21 – Wayne E. Meyer , American rear-admiral (d. 2009 ) April 22 – Charlotte Rae , American actress, singer (d. 2018 ) April 23 – J. P. Donleavy , American novelist (d. 2017 in Ireland ) April 24 – Marilyn Erskine , actress April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30 – Cloris Leachman , American actress (d. 2021 ) Don Rickles Miles Davis May 5 May 8 – Don Rickles , American stand-up comedian, actor (d. 2017 ) May 10 – Tichi Wilkerson Kassel , American film personality, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter (d. 2004 ) May 11 – Caesar Trunzo , U.S. soldier and politician (d. 2013 ) May 12 – Earl Dewitt Hutto , American politician (d. 2020 ) May 18 – Douglas Henry , American politician (d. 2017 ) May 19 – Mark Andrews , U.S. Senator from North Dakota from 1981 to 1987 (d. 2020 ) May 21 – Robert Creeley , American poet (d. 2005 ) May 23 – Aileen Hernandez , African American civil rights activist (d. 2017 ) May 25 May 26 – Miles Davis , African-American jazz musician (d. 1991 ) May 30 Andy Griffith Marilyn Monroe Mel Brooks June 1 June 3 June 5 – Peter G. Peterson , American banker and businessman, American Secretary of Commerce (d. 2018 )[ 26] June 6 – Sholom Rivkin , American rabbi (d. 2011 ) June 9 June 10 – June Haver , American actress and singer (d. 2005 ) June 11 – Carlisle Floyd , American composer (d. 2021 )[ 28] June 13 June 14 June 16 – William F. Roemer, Jr. , United States FBI agent (d. 1996 ) June 18 – Murray A. Straus , American sociologist and professor (University of New Hampshire ), creator of the Conflict tactics scale (d. 2016 )[ 31] June 19 June 21 – Fred Cone , professional American football fullback (d. 2021 ) June 22 June 24 June 27 June 28 June 29 John Dingell Harry Dean Stanton Hilary Putnam Tony Bennett Stan Freberg August 1 – Meg Randall , actress (d. 2018 ) August 2 – W. Carter Merbreier , television host (Captain Noah) (d. 2016 ) August 3 August 6 – Janet Asimov , American writer and psychiatrist (d. 2019 ) August 7 August 9 – Frank M. Robinson , American science fiction and techno-thriller writer (d. 2014 ) August 11 – Ron Bontemps , American basketball player (d. 2017 ) August 12 August 14 – Buddy Greco , American jazz and pop singer and pianist (d. 2017 ) August 16 – Norman Wexler , American screenwriter (d. 1999 ) August 21 – Carolyn Leigh , lyricist (d. 1983 ) August 22 – Lois Hall , American actress (d. 2006 ) August 26 – Robert Vickrey , American artist and author (d. 2011 ) August 27 – Albert H. Owens Jr. , American oncologist (d. 2017 ) August 29 Donald A. Glaser John Coltrane Julie London September 1 – Stanley Cavell , American philosopher (d. 2018 ) September 3 September 4 – Robert J. Lagomarsino , American politician (d. 2021 ) September 6 September 7 September 9 – Charles Duncan Jr. , American businessman and politician (d. 2022 ) September 14 September 16 September 17 – Bill Black , American bass player and bandleader, a pioneer of rock and roll music (d. 1965 ) September 18 September 19 September 21 – Donald A. Glaser , American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013 ) September 22 – Bill Smith , American clarinet player and composer (d. 2020 ) September 23 September 25 – Charles J. Colgan , American politician and businessman (d. 2017 ) September 26 – Julie London , American jazz and pop singer, screen actress and model (d. 2000 ) September 28 September 29 September 30 – Dave Hunt , American apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author (d. 2013 ) Jean Peters Julie Adams Chuck Berry October 1 – Max Morath , American musician (d. 2023 ) October 4 – Senaida Wirth , American female professional baseball player (d. 1967 ) October 10 – Richard Jaeckel , American actor (d. 1997 ) October 11 – Earle Hyman , American film and television actor (d. 2017 ) October 13 – Jesse L. Brown , first African-American aviator in the United States Navy (d. 1950 ) October 15 October 16 – Charles Dolan , American billionaire October 17 October 18 Chuck Berry , African-American guitarist, singer and songwriter, a pioneer of rock and roll music (d. 2017 ) Pauline Pirok , American female professional baseball player (d. 2020 ) October 19 – Marjorie Tallchief , American ballerina (d. 2021 ) October 21 – Bob Rosburg , American golfer (d. 2009 ) October 25 October 27 – H. R. Haldeman , 4th White House Chief of Staff (d. 1993 ) October 28 – Bowie Kuhn , American Commissioner of Baseball (d. 2007 ) Betsy Palmer Jeffrey Hunter November 1 – Betsy Palmer , American actress (d. 2015 ) November 2 November 4 November 8 November 9 – Stu Griffing , American Olympic rower (d. 2021 ) November 13 – Harry Hughes , American politician (d. 2019 ) November 14 – Tom Hatten , American radio and television personality (d. 2019 ) November 16 – Amy Applegren , American professional baseball player (d. 2011 ) November 19 – Jeane Kirkpatrick , American ambassador (d. 2006 ) November 20 – Ann Turner Cook , American educator and writer (d. 2022 ) November 22 – Bobbie Wygant , American broadcaster (d. 2024 ) November 23 – R. L. Burnside , American musician (d. 2005 ) November 25 November 30 – Richard Crenna , American actor (d. 2003 ) Joe Paterno December 7 – William John McNaughton , American bishop (d. 2020 )[ 38] December 8 – Ralph Puckett , U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2024 ) December 9 December 10 – Guitar Slim , American New Orleans blues guitarist (d. 1959 ) December 12 – Dorli Rainey , American political activist (d. 2022 )[ 40] December 13 – Carl Erskine , American baseball player (d. 2024 )[ 41] December 16 – James McCracken , American tenor (d. 1988 ) December 17 – Patrice Wymore , American actress (d. 2014 ) December 19 – Herb Stempel , American game show contestant (d. 2020 ) December 20 – David Levine , American artist and illustrator (d. 2009 ) December 21 December 23 – Robert Bly , poet (d. 2021 ) December 26 – Champ Butler , singer (d. 1992)[ 42] January 26 – John Flannagan , Roman Catholic priest (born 1860 ) January 30 – Barbara La Marr , silent film actress (born 1896 ) February 9 – Edith Julia Griswold , patent attorney (born 1863 ) February 21 – Charles Ellis Johnson , photographer (born 1857 ) March 2 – Victory Bateman , stage and silent screen actress (born 1865 ) March 11 – Maibelle Heikes Justice , novelist and screenwriter (born 1871 ) March 12 – E. W. Scripps , newspaper publisher (born 1854 ) March 16 – Sergeant Stubby , World War I hero war dog (born 1916 ) April 11 – Luther Burbank , botanist (born 1849 ) May 10 – Alton B. Parker , judge and political candidate (born 1852 ) May 26 – Frank Nelson Cole , mathematician (born 1861 ) July 10 – Sarah P. Monks , naturalist and educator (born 1841 ) July 26 – Robert Todd Lincoln , statesman and businessman, son of Abraham Lincoln (born 1843 ) July 30 – October 20 – Eugene V. Debs , labor leader (born 1855 ) October 22 – John G. Shedd , businessman (born 1850 ) October 23 – Olympia Brown , suffragette (born 1835 ) October 24 – Charles Marion Russell , "cowboy artist" (born 1864 ) October 31 – Harry Houdini , illusionist and stunt performer, known for escape acts (born 1874 ) November 3 – Annie Oakley , performance artist (born 1860 ) November 12 – Joseph Gurney Cannon , Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911 (born 1836 ) November 15 – Lafayette Young , U.S. Senator from Iowa from 1910 to 1911 (born 1848 ) December 10 – Peter Remondino , Italian-born physician, author, first president of the San Diego Board of Health, co-founder of San Diego's first private hospital (born 1846 ) December 31 – Henry A. du Pont , U.S. Senator from Delaware from 1906 to 1917 (born 1838 ) ^ "U.S. Senate: The Election Case of Daniel F. Steck v. Smith W. Brookhart of Iowa (1926)" . www.senate.gov . Retrieved 2020-12-06 . ^ ^ Stewart, Mark (2010). The Detroit Red Wings . Chicago: Norwood House Press. p. 6. 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