July 26 in history

Establishment of U.S. postal system, 1775

This day in 1775, the U.S. postal system was established by the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general.

Liberian independence proclaimed, 1847

On this day in 1847, The Republic of Liberia, formerly a colony of the American Colonization Society, announces its independence. Pressured from Britain, the United States reluctantly accepted Liberian sovereignty, making the nation the first democratic republic in African history. A constitution modelled after the U.S. Constitution was approved, and in 1848 Joseph Jenkins Roberts was elected Liberia's first president.

FBI founded, 1908

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was born when U.S. On July 26, 1908, Attorney General Charles Bonaparte ordered a group of newly hired federal investigators to report to Chief Examiner Stanley W. Finch of the Department of Justice. A few years later, in 1935 it became the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 

John Quincy Adams marries Louisa Johnson, 1797

Forthcoming President John Quincy Adams, the son of second President John Adams, marries Louisa Johnson in London, England on this day in 1797. Louisa was remains the only foreign-born first lady of the United States.

Winston Churchill resigns, 1945

On this day in 1945, in the 11th hour of World War II, Winston Churchill is forced to resign as British prime minister subsequent to his party's electoral defeat by the Labour Party. It was the first general election held in Britain in more than a decade. That same day, Clement Attlee, the Labour leader, was sworn in as the new British leader.

Grasshoppers bring ruin to Midwest, 1931

On this day in 1931, a swarm of grasshoppers descends on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, already in the midst of a bad drought, suffered tremendously from this disaster.

Also in...

2012       16,000 people homeless in South Korea Tropical Storm Khanun

2012       Francois Holland President of France finalizes a deal with Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to forgive $4.7 billion dollars in debt incurred by the Ivory Coast when it was a French Colonial Power

2011       Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam re-elected

2011       The Hendra virus is detected in a dog in Queensland, Australia near the Beaudesert; the virus has never before been detected in anything other than flying foxes, horses or humans

1993       66 killed as Boeing 737-500 crashes in South Korea

1993       Mars Observer takes 1st photo of Mars, from 5 billion km

1990       “Americans With Disabilities Act” signed by President Bush

1987       Stephen Roche wins Tour de France

1982       Karen Dianne Baldwin, 18, of Canada, crowned 31st Miss Universe

1956       Egypt seizes Suez Canal

1953       Fidel Castro begins rebellion, the "26th of July Movement," against Fulgenico Batista's regime

1952       King Farouk I of Egypt abdicates [Black Saturday]

1947      Truman signs the National Security Act