Mark Your Calendar: 10 Historical Anniversaries to Commemorate in 2026

Historical Anniversaries 2026

Here’s our rundown of the biggest moments and anniversaries from history to look back on and commemorate in 2026: 

People wait patiently to use the telephone whilst Alexander Graham Bell rudely hosts a long-winded conversation with his mum. Just kidding! Bell demonstrates how his new invention works.

The First Words are Uttered Over a Telephone

Date: 10^th March 1876

Anniversary: 150 years ago

A century and a half ago, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the first words to ever be uttered over the telephone – no, not “can you hear me?” – instead, he said to his assistant “Mr Watson, come here. I want to see you”. A bit boring, I’ll admit, but Bell got his message across. This was the first time speech had been successfully transmitted by telephone.

A screenshot from the Battle of the Somme film showing soldiers going over the top into No Man's Land.

The Battle of the Somme Claims Millions

Date: 1^st July – 18^th November 1916

Anniversary: 110 years ago

The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles in the First World War (1914-1918). The battle was also one of the First World War’s bloodiest; the British Army sustained 57,000 casualties on the first day alone. After 5 months of intense battle, over 1 million people were killed or injured from British, French and German armies.

An illustration by Ernest Howard Shepard from the 1926 publication of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Winnie-the-Pooh is Published in a Story Book

Date: 14^th October 1926

Anniversary: 100 years ago

The first book of stories featuring the now world-famous bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, was published by author, A.A. Milne. The tales were based on the adventures of his son, Christopher Robin Milne, with his beloved stuffed animals. Though this wasn’t Pooh’s first appearance; this honey-loving bear was also featured in both a poem and a newspaper story in the two years before the story book.

A stamp commemorating Gagarin's orbit around the Earth.

Gagarin is the First Person to Travel in Space

Date: 12^th April 1961

Anniversary: 65 years ago

Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, was the first ever human being in space. Aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, he completed one full orbit of the Earth which took around 1 hour and 48 minutes. The flight was a dangerous one; Gagarin lost contact with Earth for a full 23 minutes during orbit and had to eject from his spacecraft to perform a parachute landing back to Earth.

Queen Victoria was the second longest reigning British monarch.

Queen Victoria Dies

Date: 22^nd January 1901

Anniversary: 125 years ago

Queen Victoria died at 81 years old after a 63-year reign. During her time on the throne the British Empire expanded, the Industrial Revolution took huge leaps forward, Florence Nightingale treated soldiers in the Crimean War, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol and Prince Albert popularised the Christmas tree. The year 2026 also marks 100 years since the birth of the only other British monarch to reign longer than Victoria; Queen Elizabeth II.

Emperor Hadrian takes the spot for the oldest entry on this year's list!

Roman Emperor Hadrian was Born

Date: 24^th January 26AD

Anniversary: 2000 years ago

Hadrian was Emperor of Rome from 117AD to 138AD and is famously remembered for building a big ol’ wall across Northern England that he named after himself, Hadrian’s Wall. But he didn’t just build one wall, he actually built many walls, which worked to keep the empire and his people safe. Because of this he is thought to be one of the five best Roman Emperors.

Who needs four wheels? The first ever motorcar, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen certainly didn't.

The First Motorcar was Patented

Date: January 1886

Anniversary: 140 years ago

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen, invented by German engineer, Carl Benz, was the first to use an internal combustion engine and gasoline fuel like modern day cars. Though unlike today’s cars, it had three wheels and no outer chassis. Luckily, it could only go around 10mph so you wouldn’t have to worry about being blown out the back as you raced along the road!

The explosion from the H-Bomb test "Ivy Mike".

The Hydrogen Bomb Was Invented

Date: 1951

Anniversary: 75 years ago

After the Soviet Union successfully tested their atomic bomb, American President Truman gave the all clear to develop a new, even more powerful bomb; the Hydrogen Bomb. The bomb was invented by Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam, The test bomb, codenamed “Ivy Mike”, had an explosive power of 10 megatons (for comparison, the Hiroshima atomic bomb had a power of just 15 kilotons).  

Shrek and Gingy pose as waxworks at Madame Tussauds. Credit: Hubert555

The First Shrek Movie is Released

Date: 22^nd April 2001

Anniversary: 25 years ago

Dreamworks’ Shrek won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and has since had three sequels (with another in the works), numerous spin-off movies and seasonal shorts and a musical adaptation! Dreamworks claimed Shrek’s success saved the company. Without Shrek, we wouldn’t have other awesome movies like Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. Phew! Thanks Shrek!

The Concorde's first visit to Heathrow airport. Credit: Steve Fitzgerald

The First Commercial Supersonic Flights

Date: 21^st January 1976

Anniversary: 50 years ago

Concorde was the only passenger jet to fly faster than the speed of sound, cutting flight times in half. The Concorde was first used for passenger commercial flights on 21^st January 1976 when British Airways and Air France simultaneously launched flights from London to Bahrain and from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, respectively. Sadly, the Concorde was considered a noisy fuel-guzzler and was retired in 2003.