November 26

Song dynasty naval forces defeat the Jin dynasty fleet at the Battle of Caishi on the Yangtze River.

The Battle of Caishi saw a numerically inferior Southern Song fleet, equipped with innovative paddle-wheel warships and early gunpowder weapons, decisively repel a much larger invading Jin dynasty force attempting to cross the Yangtze River. The unexpected victory halted the Jin invasion and helped secure the continued survival of the Southern Song dynasty for well over another century.

Captain James Cook becomes the first European to sight the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Captain James Cook's sighting of Maui came during his third and final Pacific voyage, part of his broader extensive charting of the Hawaiian Islands, which he had named the Sandwich Islands after his patron. Cook's detailed navigational records opened the islands to increased Western contact, with profound and often devastating consequences for native Hawaiian society in subsequent decades.

President George Washington proclaims a national day of thanksgiving, as requested by Congress.

President Washington's proclamation, issued at the request of Congress, designated a specific day of national thanks and prayer following the successful ratification of the Constitution, establishing an early precedent for presidential thanksgiving observances. However, the practice remained inconsistent and irregularly observed by subsequent presidents for decades afterward.

The Battle of Berezina begins as Napoleon's army attempts to cross the river during its disastrous retreat from Russia.

Napoleon's retreating Grande Armee attempted a desperate crossing of the icy Berezina River while pursued by Russian forces, resulting in catastrophic losses among French and allied troops during the chaotic, multi-day engagement. The crossing became emblematic of the broader disaster of Napoleon's Russian campaign, from which his once-formidable army never fully recovered.

President Abraham Lincoln formally designates the last Thursday of November as an annual national Thanksgiving holiday.

President Lincoln's proclamation, issued amid the ongoing Civil War, formally established the last Thursday of November as a recurring national Thanksgiving holiday, building on Washington's earlier one-time observance. Lincoln's action, encouraged by tireless magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, created the annual tradition that continues, with a slight date adjustment, to the present day.

The National Hockey League is founded in Montreal with five original member teams.

The National Hockey League was founded in Montreal by team owners seeking to reorganize professional hockey after disputes within a previous league, initially fielding five teams including the still-active Montreal Canadiens. The NHL would gradually expand over the following century into the premier professional ice hockey league in North America.

Archaeologist Howard Carter and his patron Lord Carnarvon become the first people in modern times to enter the antechamber of King Tutankhamun's tomb.

Howard Carter and his financial backer Lord Carnarvon became the first people in over 3,000 years to peer into the antechamber of King Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb, with Carter famously describing seeing "wonderful things" by candlelight through a small hole. The discovery ignited a worldwide sensation and renewed fascination with ancient Egyptian civilization.

U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull delivers the Hull note to Japan, demanding withdrawal from China and French Indochina.

U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull delivered a diplomatic note demanding Japan's complete withdrawal from China and French Indochina as a condition for lifting American economic sanctions, terms Japanese leadership considered unacceptable. The failure of last-minute negotiations following the note contributed directly to Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor less than two weeks later.

Coordinated terrorist attacks across Mumbai kill approximately 175 people over several days.

Coordinated attacks by armed militants targeted luxury hotels, a train station, and other locations across Mumbai over several days, killing approximately 175 people in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Indian history. The assault, attributed to a Pakistan-based militant group, significantly strained diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan in the years that followed.

NASA's InSight lander successfully touches down on Mars to study the planet's deep interior.

NASA's InSight lander touched down on the flat Martian plain of Elysium Planitia to study the planet's deep interior structure using sensitive seismometers designed to detect "marsquakes." The mission provided scientists with unprecedented data about Mars's crust, mantle, and core, helping refine theories of how rocky planets, including Earth, form and evolve.