Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/December 26
This is a list of selected December 26 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
December 26: Boxing Day; Kwanzaa begins; St. Stephen's Day in Western Christianity
- 1606 – The first recorded performance of the play King Lear, a tragedy by William Shakespeare (pictured) based on the legend of King Lear of Britain, was held.
- 1790 – French Revolution: Louis XVI of France gave his Royal Assent to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, subordinating the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government.
- 1806 – War of the Fourth Coalition: French troops under Napoleon engaged Russian forces in both the Battles of Pultusk and Golymin.
- 1898 – At the French Academy of Sciences, physicists Pierre and Marie Curie announced the discovery of a new element, naming it radium.
- 2006 – The Hengchun earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Taiwan, coincidentally on the second anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that devastated the coastal communities across Southeast and South Asia, and on the third anniversary of the 2003 Bam earthquake that destroyed areas of southeastern Iran.