26 November: Remembering historic events that happened on this day

On 26 November, a number of terrifying events took place around the globe in different years including the notorious 2008 Mumbai attacks which marks a black day in Indian history. In 1983, London’s Brink’s-Mat warehouse witnessed a shocking heist which is regarded as “the crime of the century” for its alarming consequences. In 1941, the holiday of Thanksgiving day was also established officially on this day in the United States. A year later, the Oscar-winning film, Casablanca had its debut premiere in New York City.

26 November Historic Events:

Foundation of Thanksgiving Day

On 26 November 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted a bill into law, about two weeks before the United States enlisted in World War II, designating the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies began a custom of celebrating a post-harvest holiday on an autumn Thursday in the 17th century.

Following a Patriot victory at Saratoga in 1777, the Continental Congress proclaimed the first official Thanksgiving. President George Washington established 26 November as a day of national thanksgiving commemorating the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, making him the first president to announce a Thanksgiving holiday. But the present holiday was not established until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln decided that Thanksgiving would fall on the final Thursday of November.

Casablanca Premier

Casablanca had its first premiere in New York on 26 November 1942 and went on to rank among the most admired movies in the history of Hollywood. The movie, which is set during World War II, starred Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, a former freedom fighter who now owns a posh nightclub in North Africa, and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund, Blaine’s beautiful and mysterious ex-lover. It received as many as eight Academy Award nominations and won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay awards.

Brink’s-Mat robbery

On 26 November 1983, six robbers stormed into the Brink’s-Mat warehouse at the Heathrow International Trading Estate in London executing the infamous Brink’s-Mat robbery. Security guard Anthony Black, who was involved in the crime, allowed the gang access to the warehouse.

As soon as the group were inside, they drenched the employees with petrol and warned them to light a match if they did not disclose the vault’s combination digits. During the heist, cash, diamonds, and gold bullion valued up to £26 million were all looted. The bullion belonged to Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd, which collapsed the next year as a result of making huge loans to con artists and bankrupt businesses. The majority of the gold was never found, and two individuals were found guilty.

2008 Mumbai Attacks

The 2008 Mumbai attacks, also remembered as 26/11, consisted of eight separate terrorist attacks conducted by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba members. Twelve coordinated shooting and bombing strikes were carried out over the course of the four days in various locations throughout the city, including the famous Taj Palace and Tower. The attacks started on 26 November and continued till 29 November claiming the lives of 175 people, including nine attackers. An additional 300 people suffered injuries.

By the early hours of 28 November, the Taj Hotel was the only location that had not yet been secured by the Mumbai Police. On 29 November, Operation Black Tornado was carried out by the National Security Guards (NSG) of India to eliminate the remaining attackers. The attacks came to an end when the last attackers were killed at the Taj Hotel. The solitary attacker who survived, Ajmal Kasab, revealed that the assailants had come from Pakistan.

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