What Happened On
First Full-Length 3-D Color Movie
November 26, 1952
Bwana Devil premieres. The audience was required to wear special Polaroid viewers. It started the 3-D movie craze and was also the setting for the iconic LIFE magazine photo of the audience wearing 3-D glasses that was taken during the movie's premiere.
The movie Bwana Devil was based on a true story about two man-eating lions who would drag railroad construction workers from their tents at night and eat them. It was produced at a cost of $400,000 and made more than $2.7 million at the box office, becoming one of the biggest hits of 1953. Its advertising featured the tagline, "The Miracle of the Age!!! A LION in your lap! A LOVER in your arms!"
Casablanca
November 26, 1942
The film classic Casablanca premieres. It starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Bogart's character Rick never says the famous line. "Play it again, Sam." There is the following exchange though:
Rick: You know what I want to hear.
Sam: No, I don't.
Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me!
Sam: Well, I don't think I can remember…
Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!
Lord Carnarvon and his daughter with Howard Carter at Tut's tomb
Lord Carnarvon and his daughter with Howard Carter at Tut's tomb
King Tut and the Mummy's Curse
November 26, 1922
Archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon look into King Tutankhamen's tomb for the first time. Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavation, died five months later due to an infected mosquito bite, leading many to speculate, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes), that his death was caused by protections put in place by Tutankhamen's priests to guard the royal tomb.
Carter had discovered the tomb earlier that month.
Iran-Contra Affair
November 26, 1986
The U.S. Justice Department begins a full-scale investigation of the Ronald Reagan administration's weapons shipments to Iran, in what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair.
Lottery for Selective Service Draftees
November 26, 1969
Bill establishing the draft lottery is signed by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
Western Virginia Votes to Secede from Virginia
November 26, 1861
A convention in western Virginia votes to secede from Virginia and form the state of West Virginia.
First U.S. Streetcar
November 26, 1832
The New York and Harlem Railroad's horse-drawn vehicle begins public service. It rode on rails laid in the center of the road.
First National Thanksgiving Day
November 26, 1789
U.S. President George Washington had declared today as a day of general thanksgiving for the adoption of the constitution. This was also the first national U.S. holiday.
Birthdays
Photo Credit: Helge Øverås
Photo Credit: Helge Øverås
Tina Turner (Annie Mae Bullock)
Born November 26, 1939 d. 2023
American-born Swiss singer, with ex-husband Ike Turner. "The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll." In 2013, she obtained Swiss citizenship and relinquished her American citizenship. Music: Proud Mary (1971). Film: Tommy (1975, Acid Queen) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
Charles M. Schulz (Charles Monroe Schulz)
Born November 26, 1922 d. 2000
American cartoonist. Creator of Peanuts (1950) featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the gang.
Maurice "Mac" J. McDonald
Born November 26, 1902 d. 1971
American restaurateur. He and his brother Dick McDonald started the McDonald's hamburger chain in 1940. They were bought out by Ray Kroc, one of their franchisees, who then took over the business.
The McDonald brothers introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948. The original McDonald's mascot was a chef hat on top of a hamburger called "Speedee".
Inventor of Air Conditioning
Willis Haviland Carrier
Born November 26, 1876 d. 1950
American engineer. He invented modern-style air-conditioning (1902).
Only Woman to Receive the U.S. Medal of Honor
Mary Edwards Walker
Born November 26, 1832 d. 1919
American physician, women's rights leader. She was the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army (1864), and the only woman to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor (1865), which she received for her efforts to treat the wounded during the Civil War. However, it was revoked in 1916 and then reinstated in 1977. In 1897 she established a women's colony called "Adamless Eden."
Ellen Gould White
Born November 26, 1827 d. 1915
American author, Christian pioneer. She and her husband helped found the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She claimed to have religious visions which were the basis for many of her books.
John Graham "Mac" McVie
Born November 26, 1945
British Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bass guitarist, with Fleetwood Mac.
Rich Little
Born November 26, 1938
Canadian impersonator.
Robert Goulet
Born November 26, 1933 d. 2007
American Emmy-Tony-Grammy-winning singer, actor. Broadway: Camelot (1960, Sir Lancelot). Music: If Ever I Would Leave You (1960).
Elvis Presley was said to have shot his TV when he saw Goulet on it.
Eric Sevareid
Born November 26, 1912 d. 1992
American Emmy-winning broadcast journalist for CBS.
Cyril Cusack
Born November 26, 1910 d. 1993
Irish actor. Film: The Day of the Jackal, The Taming of the Shrew, and My Left Foot. He was considered Ireland's finest actor.
Eugène Ionesco
Born November 26, 1909 d. 1994
Romanian-born French playwright. Known for his contributions to the theater of the absurd, he is considered among the most important dramatists of the 20th century. Writings: The Bald Soprano (1950) and The Lesson (1950).
Vernon "Lefty" Gomez
Born November 26, 1908 d. 1989
American Baseball Hall of Famer. He won 189 games with the N.Y. Yankees, and was the winning pitcher for the first All-Star game (1933).
Bruno Richard Hauptmann
Born November 26, 1899 d. 1936
German-born carpenter. He was electrocuted for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old son in 1932. Hauptmann was arrested for the crime in September 1934 after using one of the ransom money bills at a gas station. $14,600 of the $50,000 of ransom money was found in his garage. Hauptmann claimed the money was left with him by his former business partner who returned to Germany, where he died March 29, 1934. A search of Hauptmann's home found further evidence linked to the crime.
Hauptmann was found guilty of first degree murder and executed by electric chair in 1936. He claimed his innocence to the end, and turned down a last-minute offer to commute his sentence to life-without-parole in exchange for a confession.
Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
Bill Wilson (William Griffith Wilson aka Bill W.)
Born November 26, 1895 d. 1971
American co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (1935). He had his first drink in 1917 claiming, "I had found the elixir of life." However, his drinking quickly got out of hand; he failed to graduate from law school because he was too drunk to pick up his diploma. Wilson achieved sobriety when he had a religious experience after asking for God's help to get sober. Wilson then went on to co-found Alcoholics Anonymous, helping thousands of others achieve sobriety. As the proof that the desire to drink never goes away, on his deathbed Wilson asked for a shot of whiskey. His nurse refused his request.
Wilson, a heavy smoker, died of emphysema at the age of 75.
Albert Bacon Fall
Born November 26, 1861 d. 1944
American senator. He was the first member of a U.S. President's cabinet convicted of a crime (1929). While President Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Interior, he was convicted of accepting a $100,000 bribe. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $100,000.
Founder of Harvard
John Harvard
Born November 26, 1607 d. 1638
English scholar. As he was dying he bequeathed his library and half his estate to a new college being formed. It was named Harvard in his honor.
Deaths
Stephen Sondheim (Stephen Joshua Sondheim)
Died November 26, 2021 b. 1930
American musical Pulitzer-Tony-Oscar-Grammy-Emmy-winning composer, lyricist. Stage: West Side Story (1957), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979).
Edward "Butch" O'Hare
Died November 26, 1943 b. 1914
U.S. naval aviator. Chicago's O'Hare airport is named after him. In 1942 he single-handedly attacked nine Japanese bombers, shooting down five, saving the USS Lexington from certain destruction. These actions made him the U.S. Navy's first flying ace, and the Navy's first WWII recipient of the Medal of Honor. He died in action the following year.
His father, "Easy Eddie" O'Hare, was Al Capone's lawyer, but turned against Capone and helped convict Capone for income tax evasion. Afterwards, he was ambushed and shot to death in his car (1939). Many believe Capone ordered the hit.
Stephen Hillenburg
Died November 26, 2018 b. 1961
American Emmy-winning cartoonist, marine biologist. Creator of SpongeBob SquarePants (1999). The SpongeBob characters started out as a comic book Hillenburg created to teach marine biology to his students. He died of complications from ALS.
Fritz Weaver
Died November 26, 2016 b. 1926
American Tony-winning actor. Stage: Baker Street (1965, Sherlock Holmes) and Child's Play (1970, Tony). Film: Marathon Man (1976, Professor Biesenthal). TV: Holocaust (1978, Dr. Josef Weiss).
Benjamin Oliver Davis
Died November 26, 1970 b. 1877
American soldier. First African-American U.S. Army general (1940).
Albert Warner (Abraham Warner)
Died November 26, 1967 b. 1884
American film executive. Co-founder of Warner Bros. Pictures (1923). He and his brothers Harry, Sam, and Jack founded Warner Bros. Pictures (1923).
Tommy Dorsey
Died November 26, 1956 b. 1905
American bandleader of the Big Band Era, brother of Jimmy.
Inventor of the Variable-Pitch Propeller
Wallace Rupert Turnbull
Died November 26, 1954 b. 1870
Canadian aviation pioneer. Inventor of the variable-pitch propeller (1927) used on airplanes.
Sven Hedin
Died November 26, 1952 b. 1865
Swedish explorer, scientist. His explorations (1899-1902) provided the first substantial knowledge of Tibet to the rest of the world.
W. Atlee Burpee
Died November 26, 1915 b. 1858
American seedsman. In 1876 at age 18, he founded what would become the world's largest mail-order seed company.
Sojourner Truth (Isabella Baumfree)
Died November 26, 1883 b. circa 1797
African-American abolitionist, former slave. Born into slavery in New York, she escaped to freedom with her infant daughter in 1826 after her owner broke his promise to set her free. In 1828, she went to court to recover her five-year-old son after he was illegally sold to an Alabama slave owner. She was one of the first black women to win such a case against a white man. Her speech "Ain't I a Woman?" became widely known during the Civil War.
In 2014, Truth was included in Smithsonian magazine's list of the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time."
John Loudon McAdam
Died November 26, 1836 b. 1756
Scottish engineer. Creator of macadam road surface.
Saint Siricius
Died November 26, 399 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 38th Pope (384-399).