| 26 October 899 | Wessex, England [political events] | Following the death of King Alfred the Great of Wessex, he is succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder. |
| 26 October 899 | Wessex [births and deaths] | Alfred the Great, king of Wessex 871–99, who defended Saxon England against the Danes, dies (c. 50). |
| 26 October 1341 | Greece [administration] | John Cantacuzenus, grand domestic of the Greek Empire, proclaims himself emperor. This begins a civil war in which the nobility supports John Cantacuzenus, while the populace back the young John V. |
| 26 October 1471 | Papal States, Italy [administration] | Following the death in July of Pope Paul II, the Genoese Francesco della Rovere is elected Pope Sixtus IV. |
| 26 October 1759 | France [births and deaths] | Georges-Jacques Danton, leader in the French Revolution instrumental in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing France's First Republic, born in Arcis-sur-Aube, France (–1794). |
| 26 October 1764 | England [births and deaths] | William Hogarth, celebrated English satirical painter and engraver, whose works include the series A Rake's Progress (from 1732), dies in London, England (67). |
| 26 October 1863 | UK [football] | The Football Association is founded in London, England, by the representatives of 11 clubs. Their purpose is to establish ‘a definite code of rules for the regulation of the game’. All clubs are from the London area. |
| 26 October 1877 | UK [surgery] | English surgeon Joseph Lister performs the first operation to repair a fractured kneecap. Conducted under antiseptic conditions, its success convinces other surgeons of the value of antisepsis. |
| 26 October 1894 | Germany [administration] | Prince Chlodwig von Hohenlohe succeeds Leo, Count von Caprivi, as German chancellor, the unpopularity of the February commercial treaty with Russia contributing to Caprivi's fall. |
| 26 October 1896 | Ethiopia, Italy [wars] | By the Treaty of Addis Ababa the Italian protectorate of Ethiopia is withdrawn, following Italian military defeat by the Ethiopians. |
| 26 October 1911 | China [revolution] | A revolutionary Chinese republic is proclaimed by revolutionaries contesting the rule of the Manchu emperors. |
| 26 October 1916 | [births and deaths] | François Mitterrand, Socialist president of France 1981–96, born in Jarnac, France (–1996). |
| 26 October–8 November 1923 | Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom [political events] | The Imperial Conference in London, England, recognizes the right of the Dominions (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa) to make treaties with foreign powers. |
| 26 October 1977 | Somalia [plagues and epidemics] | The last known case of smallpox is reported, in Somalia. |
| 26 October 1999 | the Netherlands [legislation] | The Dutch parliament votes 49–26 to end the ban on brothels imposed in 1912. The law, which will go into effect in 2000, will legalise the Netherlands' sex industry. |
