July 26
1775 - A postal system was established by the 2nd Continental Congress of the United States. The first Postmaster General was Benjamin Franklin.
1788 - New York became the 11th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1881 - Thomas Edison and Patrick Kenny execute a patent application for a facsimile telegraph (U.S. Pat. 479,184).
1893 - Commercial production of the Addressograph started in Chicago, IL.
1907 - The Chester was launched. It was the first turbine-propelled ship.
1908 - U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte issued an order that created an investigative agency that was a forerunner of the FBI.
1945 - Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister.
1947 - U.S. President Truman signed The National Security Act. The act created the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1948 - Babe Ruth was seen by the public for the last time, when he attended the New York City premiere of the motion picture, "The Babe Ruth Story."
1948 - U.S. President Truman signed executive orders that prohibited discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment.
1952 - King Farouk I of Egypt abdicated in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
1953 - Fidel Castro began his revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba. Castro eventually ousted Batista six years later.
1956 - Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.
1971 - Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy, FL.
1998 - AT&T and British Telecommunications PLC announced they were forming a joint venture to combine international operations and develop a new Internet system.
1999 - 1,500 pieces of Marilyn Monroe's personal items went on display at Christie's in New York, NY. The items went on sale later in 1999.
2016 - Hillary Clinton became the first woman to top a majority party ticket for President of the United States.
2018 - Facebook lost $119 billion in market value.
