A birthday on the globe
26 November on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 26 November, the English Wikipedia lists 58 events and 259 births. 34 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; four more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 26 November through the years
The Earth on 26 November
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in November 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 26 November the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 20.9° south. In London, the day lasts about 8 hours 25 minutes.
Beyond 69° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 69° north it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
1805
Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
On the map: Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
Britain & Ireland · Bristol
2003
The Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England.
On the map: Bristol.
Europe · Basse-Terre
1970
In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
On the map: Basse-Terre.
Africa · Tomb of Tutankhamun
1922
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.
On the map: Tomb of Tutankhamun.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
North America · Maui
1778
In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.
On the map: Maui.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian and Chinese.
North America · United States Congress
1789
A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress.
On the map: United States Congress.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
North America · University of Notre Dame
1842
The University of Notre Dame was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana.
On the map: University of Notre Dame.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
26 November
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Taichung
2007
The Baseball Asia Championship is held in Taichung, the only Asian qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics.
On the map: Taichung.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
26 November
Born on 26 November#
The English Wikipedia lists 259 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 59 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 26 November
1939
Tina Turner, American-Swiss singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (died 2023)
Place of birth: Brownsville.
Born on 26 November
1857
Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist and author (died 1913)
Place of birth: Geneva.
Born on 26 November
1909
Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright and critic (died 1994)
Place of birth: Slatina.
Born on 26 November
1948
Elizabeth Blackburn, Australian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Place of birth: Hobart.
Born on 26 November
1990
Rita Ora, Kosovan-English singer-songwriter and actress
Place of birth: Pristina.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1990
Danny Welbeck, English footballer
Place of birth: Manchester.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1731
William Cowper, English poet and hymnwriter (died 1800)
Place of birth: Berkhamsted.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1981
Natasha Bedingfield, English singer-songwriter and producer
Place of birth: Haywards Heath.
26 November
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 26 November through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 26 November
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 20 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 783
The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus.
Europe · Kingdom of AsturiasWikipedia: Kingdom of Asturias - 1161
Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze river during the Jin–Song Wars.
Asia · Battle of CaishiWikipedia: Battle of Caishi - 1346
Having been elected German king at Rhens on 11 July 1346, Charles IV is crowned King of Germany by bishop Walram of Cologne in Bonn.
no place on the mapWikipedia: List of monarchs of Germany - 1476
Vlad the Impaler defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Báthory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Vlad the Impaler - 1778
In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.
North America · MauiWikipedia: Hawaiian Islands - 1789
A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress.
North America · United States CongressWikipedia: United States Congress - 1805
Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
Britain & Ireland · Pontcysyllte AqueductWikipedia: Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - 1812
The Battle of Berezina begins during Napoleon's retreat from Russia.
Europe · Battle of BerezinaWikipedia: Battle of Berezina - 1835
Texas Revolution: Texian forces attacked a Mexican pack train, capturing 40 saddlebags of grass.
North America · Grass FightWikipedia: Grass Fight - 1842
The University of Notre Dame was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana.
North America · University of Notre DameWikipedia: University of Notre Dame - 1851
The French navy bombarded Salé, Morocco, damaging the city's infrastructure and its Great Mosque.
Africa · Great Mosque of SaléWikipedia: Bombardment of Salé - 1852
An earthquake as high as magnitude 8.8 rocks the Banda Sea, triggering a tsunami and killing at least 60 in the Dutch East Indies.
Oceans · 1852 Banda Sea earthquakeWikipedia: 1852 Banda Sea earthquake - 1863
United States President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November. Following the Franksgiving controversy from 1939 to 1941, it has been observed on the fourth Thursday in 1942 and subsequent years.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Abraham Lincoln - 1865
Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy schooner is defeated by a Chilean corvette north of Valparaíso, Chile.
Latin America · Battle of PapudoWikipedia: Battle of Papudo - 1914
HMS Bulwark is destroyed by a large internal explosion with the loss of 741 men while at anchor near Sheerness.
Britain & Ireland · SheernessWikipedia: HMS Bulwark - 1917
The Manchester Guardian publishes the 1916 secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sykes–Picot Agreement - 1917
The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Montreal Canadiens - 1918
The Montenegrin Podgorica Assembly votes for a "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia.
Europe · Kingdom of SerbiaWikipedia: Podgorica Assembly - 1920
Ukrainian War of Independence: The Red Army launches a surprise attack against the Makhnovshchina.
Europe · Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflictWikipedia: Ukrainian War of Independence - 1921
The Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict resumes with a surprise attack by the Red Army against the Makhnovshchina.
Europe · Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflictWikipedia: Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict - 1922
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.
Africa · Tomb of TutankhamunWikipedia: Tomb of Tutankhamun - 1922
The Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor. (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so, but it was not widely distributed.)
no place on the mapWikipedia: The Toll of the Sea - 1924
The Mongolian People's Republic is officially established after a new constitution, passed by the first State Great Khural, abolishes the monarchy.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mongolian People's Republic - 1939
Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Army orchestrates an incident which is used to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later.
Europe · Shelling of MainilaWikipedia: Shelling of Mainila - 1940
The Iron Guard killed 64 political detainees at a penitentiary near Bucharest and followed up with several high-profile assassinations, including that of former Romanian prime minister Nicolae Iorga.
Europe · Jilava massacreWikipedia: Jilava massacre - 1941
World War II: The Hull note is given to the Japanese ambassador, demanding that Japan withdraw from China and French Indochina, in return for which the United States would lift economic sanctions. On the same day, Japan's 1st Air Fleet departs Hitokappu Bay for Hawaii.
Asia · Kasatka BayWikipedia: Hull note - 1942
A riot involving infantrymen, military police, and local law enforcement officers occurs in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, leading to three deaths.
Oceans · 1942 Phoenix Thanksgiving Day riotWikipedia: 1942 Phoenix Thanksgiving Day riot - 1942
Casablanca, the movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premieres in New York City.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Casablanca - 1942
World War II: Yugoslav Partisans convene the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.
Europe · BihaćWikipedia: Yugoslav Partisans - 1943
World War II: HMT Rohna is sunk by the Luftwaffe in an air attack in the Mediterranean north of Béjaïa, Algeria.
Africa · BéjaïaWikipedia: HMT Rohna - 1944
World War II: A German V-2 rocket hits a Woolworth's shop in New Cross, London, killing 168 people.
Britain & Ireland · New CrossWikipedia: V-2 rocket - 1944
World War II: Germany begins V-1 and V-2 attacks on Antwerp, Belgium.
Europe · AntwerpWikipedia: Nazi Germany - 1949
The Constituent Assembly of India adopts the constitution presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Constitution of India - 1950
Korean War: Communist Chinese troops launch a massive counterattack (Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and Battle of Chosin Reservoir) against United Nations and South Korean forces.
Asia · Battle of the Ch'ongch'on RiverWikipedia: Korean War - 1965
France launches Astérix, becoming the third nation to put an object in orbit using its own booster.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Astérix - 1968
Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire. He is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Vietnam War - 1970
In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
Europe · Basse-TerreWikipedia: Basse-Terre - 1977
An unidentified hijacker named Vrillon, claiming to be the representative of the "Ashtar Galactic Command", takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes, starting at 5:12 pm.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Southern Television broadcast interruption - 1979
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 crashes near Taif in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, killing all 156 people on board.
Asia · Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740Wikipedia: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 - 1983
Brink's-Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-Mat vault at Heathrow Airport.
Britain & Ireland · LondonWikipedia: Brink's-Mat robbery - 1986
Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Iran–Contra affair - 1986
The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of committing war crimes as a guard at the Nazi Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
Europe · Treblinka extermination campWikipedia: John Demjanjuk - 1991
National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names.
Asia · AzerbaijanWikipedia: National Assembly - 1998
The Khanna rail disaster takes 212 lives in Khanna, Ludhiana, India.
Asia · Khanna, LudhianaWikipedia: 1998 Khanna rail collision - 1998
Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.
Britain & Ireland · Republic of IrelandWikipedia: Tony Blair - 1999
The 7.5 Mw Ambrym earthquake shakes Vanuatu and a destructive tsunami follows. Ten people were killed and forty were injured.
Oceania · 1999 Ambrym earthquakeWikipedia: 1999 Ambrym earthquake - 2000
George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the United States presidential election, despite losing in the national popular vote.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2000 United States presidential election - 2003
The Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England.
Britain & Ireland · BristolWikipedia: Concorde - 2004
Ruzhou School massacre: A man stabs and kills eight people and seriously wounds another four in a school dormitory in Ruzhou, China.
Asia · RuzhouWikipedia: List of mass stabbing incidents - 2004
The last Poʻouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii, before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Poʻouli - 2008
Mumbai attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Mumbai killing 166 citizens by 10 terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based extremist Islamist terrorist organisation.
Asia · 2008 Mumbai attacksWikipedia: 2008 Mumbai attacks - 2008
The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, now out of service, docks in Dubai.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Queen Elizabeth 2 - 2011
NATO attack in Pakistan: NATO forces in Afghanistan attack a Pakistani check post in a friendly fire incident, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Salala incident - 2011
The Mars Science Laboratory launches to Mars with the Curiosity Rover.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mars Science Laboratory - 2018
The robotic probe Insight lands on Elysium Planitia, Mars.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Uncrewed spacecraft - 2019
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes western Albania leaving at least 52 people dead and over 1,000 injured. This was the world's deadliest earthquake of 2019, and the deadliest to strike the country in 99 years.
Europe · 2019 Albania earthquakeWikipedia: 2019 Albania earthquake - 2021
COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization identifies the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
no place on the mapWikipedia: COVID-19 pandemic - 2025
The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured.
Asia · Wang Fuk Court fireWikipedia: Wang Fuk Court fire
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and were translated for this page.
- 2007
The Baseball Asia Championship is held in Taichung, the only Asian qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics.
Who was born on 26 November
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 259 are shown.
- 1939
Tina Turner, American-Swiss singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (died 2023)
BrownsvilleWikipedia: Tina Turner - 1857
Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist and author (died 1913)
- 1909
Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright and critic (died 1994)
SlatinaWikipedia: Eugène Ionesco - 1948
Elizabeth Blackburn, Australian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1990
Rita Ora, Kosovan-English singer-songwriter and actress
PristinaWikipedia: Rita Ora - 1894
Norbert Wiener, American-Swedish mathematician and philosopher (died 1964)
ColumbiaWikipedia: Norbert Wiener - 1990
Danny Welbeck, English footballer
ManchesterWikipedia: Danny Welbeck - 1898
Karl Ziegler, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973)
- 1931
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Argentinian painter, sculptor, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
Buenos AiresWikipedia: Adolfo Pérez Esquivel - 1731
William Cowper, English poet and hymnwriter (died 1800)
BerkhamstedWikipedia: William Cowper - 1939
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysian civil servant and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia (died 2025)
Bayan LepasWikipedia: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - 1827
Ellen G. White, American religious leader and author, co-founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church (died 1915)
- 1869
Maud of Wales (died 1938)
Marlborough HouseWikipedia: Maud of Wales - 1951
Ilona Staller, Hungarian-Italian porn actress, singer, and politician
BudapestWikipedia: Ilona Staller - 1885
Heinrich Brüning, German lieutenant, economist, and politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 1970)
MünsterWikipedia: Heinrich Brüning - 1981
Natasha Bedingfield, English singer-songwriter and producer
Haywards HeathWikipedia: Natasha Bedingfield - 1922
Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (died 2000)
Saint PaulWikipedia: Charles M. Schulz - 1954
Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (died 2009)
ValvettithuraiWikipedia: Velupillai Prabhakaran - 1996
Louane, French singer and actress
Sainte-CatherineWikipedia: Louane - 1919
Frederik Pohl, American journalist and author (died 2013)
New York CityWikipedia: Frederik Pohl - 1943
Marilynne Robinson, American novelist and essayist
SandpointWikipedia: Marilynne Robinson - 1975
DJ Khaled, American rapper and producer
New OrleansWikipedia: DJ Khaled - 1918
Patricio Aylwin, Chilean lawyer and politician, 31st President of Chile (died 2016)
Viña del MarWikipedia: Patricio Aylwin - 1984
Antonio Puerta, Spanish footballer (died 2007)
SevilleWikipedia: Antonio Puerta - 1940
Enrico Bombieri, Italian mathematician and academic
- 1911
Samuel Reshevsky, Polish-American chess player and author (died 1992)
OzorkówWikipedia: Samuel Reshevsky - 1997
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, English-Congolese footballer
CroydonWikipedia: Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 1817
Charles Adolphe Wurtz, Alsatian-French chemist (died 1884)
StrasbourgWikipedia: Charles Adolphe Wurtz - 1876
Willis Carrier, American engineer, invented air conditioning (died 1950)
- 1919
Ryszard Kaczorowski, Polish soldier and politician, 6th President of the Republic of Poland (died 2010)
BiałystokWikipedia: Ryszard Kaczorowski - 1973
Peter Facinelli, American actor, director, and producer
- 1972
Arjun Rampal, Indian actor and producer
JabalpurWikipedia: Arjun Rampal - 1288
Go-Daigo, Japanese emperor (died 1339)
- 1990
Gabriel Paulista, Brazilian footballer
FortalezaWikipedia: Gabriel Paulista - 1964
Vreni Schneider, Swiss skier
- 1607
John Harvard, English minister and philanthropist (died 1638)
SouthwarkWikipedia: John Harvard - 1937
Boris Yegorov, Russian physician and astronaut (died 1994)
MoscowWikipedia: Boris Yegorov - 1965
Scott Adsit, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
NorthbrookWikipedia: Scott Adsit - 1983
Chris Hughes, American publisher and businessman, co-founded Facebook
HickoryWikipedia: Chris Hughes - 1972
James Dashner, American author
AustellWikipedia: James Dashner - 1974
Roman Šebrle, Czech decathlete and high jumper
LanškrounWikipedia: Roman Šebrle - 1977
Ivan Basso, Italian cyclist
GallarateWikipedia: Ivan Basso - 1939
Mark Margolis, American actor (died 2023)
PhiladelphiaWikipedia: Mark Margolis - 1987
Georgios Tzavellas, Greek footballer
- 1991
Manolo Gabbiadini, Italian footballer
CalcinateWikipedia: Manolo Gabbiadini - 1832
Mary Edwards Walker, American surgeon and activist, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1919)
- 1903
Alice Herz-Sommer, Czech-English pianist and educator (died 2014)
- 1987
Kat DeLuna, American singer, songwriter and dancer
The BronxWikipedia: Kat DeLuna - 1949
Mari Alkatiri, East Timorese geographer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of East Timor
- 1953
Shelley Moore Capito, American politician
Glen DaleWikipedia: Shelley Moore Capito - 1981
Stephan Andersen, Danish footballer
CopenhagenWikipedia: Stephan Andersen - 1552
Seonjo of Joseon, King of Joseon (died 1608)
- 1792
Sarah Moore Grimké, American author and activist (died 1873)
CharlestonWikipedia: Sarah Moore Grimké - 1811
Zeng Guofan, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (died 1872)
Xiangxiang CityWikipedia: Zeng Guofan - 1921
Verghese Kurien, Indian engineer and businessman, founded Amul (died 2012)
KozhikodeWikipedia: Verghese Kurien - 1925
Gregorio Conrado Álvarez, Uruguayan dictator (died 2016)
Lavalleja DepartmentWikipedia: Gregorio Conrado Álvarez - 1931
Adrianus Johannes Simonis, Dutch cardinal (died 2020)
- 1948
Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (died 2015)
SevastopolWikipedia: Galina Prozumenshchikova - 1949
Ivan Patzaichin, Romanian canoe world and Olympic champion (died 2021)
Mila 23Wikipedia: Ivan Patzaichin - 1951
Sulejman Tihić, Bosnian lawyer, judge, and politician (died 2014)
What is celebrated on 26 November
- Christian feast days: Alypius the Stylite
- Christian feast days: Basolus (Basle)
- Christian feast days: Bellinus of Padua
- Christian feast days: Conrad of Constance
- Christian feast days: Ethelwine of Athelney
- Christian feast days: Blessed Gaetana Sterni
- Christian feast days: John Berchmans
- Christian feast days: Pope Siricius
- Christian feast days: Sylvester Gozzolini
- Christian feast days: Isaac Watts (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Christian feast days: November 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Abkhazia, Georgia)
- Constitution Day (India)
- Republic Day (Mongolia)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.