Major Events of 2026

This year has been marked by major political upheavals, armed conflicts, cultural milestones, and memorable moments in sports. The following timeline highlights some of the notable developments of 2026.

January

• January 1: Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, is sworn in as mayor of New York City.
• January 3: The U.S. military captures Venezuelan Pres. Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a large-scale attack on the South American country. The couple is swiftly flown to the United States, where Maduro is charged with various crimes, including narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking.
• January 8: Iranian forces launch a crackdown on nationwide protests amid an economic crisis. It marks the deadliest incident of repression since the Islamic Republic took power in 1979, with death tolls ranging from 12,000 to 30,000.
• January 19: The Indiana Hoosiers defeat the Miami Hurricanes, 27–21, in the College Football Playoff championship game to win the first national title in the program’s history.
• January 24: American nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti is fatally shot by federal officials in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His death comes amid growing unrest over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deployments in the state—and only weeks after fellow citizen Renee Nicole Macklin Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent.
• January 30: The U.S. Department of Justice releases more than three million pages that are part of the Epstein files. (Read our timeline of the Epstein files.)

February

• February 1: Kendrick Lamar becomes the hip-hop artist with the most Grammys after winning 5 awards, bringing his total to 27.
• February 6–22: The Winter Olympics take place in Milan (Milano) and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Norway claims a record-setting 41 medals, led by cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who wins the most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics: six. (What athletes have won the most Olympic medals?)
• February 8: The Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots, 29–13, to win the team’s second Super Bowl title. Bad Bunny makes history at the game’s halftime show, marking the first time the event’s headlining performance is presented primarily in Spanish. (What team won the first Super Bowl?)
• February 28: The United States and Israel launch an attack on Iran, which retaliates with its own strikes. The first weeks of the conflict leave thousands dead—including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—and millions displaced, while also upending the world economy.

March

• March 8: India defeats New Zealand to win its third Men’s T20 World Cup. (Test your knowledge of cricket.)
• March 15: At the Academy Awards ceremony, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another wins six Oscars, including best picture. Sinners, which had a record-setting 16 nominations, garners four awards; notably, writer and director Ryan Coogler wins for best original screenplay, and Michael B. Jordan is named best actor.
• March 25: Sarah Mullally is formally installed as the archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to hold the post. (What happens when the archbishop of Canterbury is enthroned?)

April

• April 1: Artemis II—the first flight of astronauts to the Moon since 1972—is launched. The crew sets a new record for humans journeying the farthest from Earth, reaching a distance of 252,756 miles (406,771 km), before returning to Earth on April 10. (How far is the Moon from Earth?)
• April 6: Michigan defeats UConn, 69–63, to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship, one day after UCLA defeated South Carolina, 79–51, in the women’s tournament. (What school has won the most NCAA men’s basketball titles?)
• April 8: American architect Rex Heuermann pleads guilty to murdering seven women and admits to killing an eighth woman; in June he is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Gilgo Beach serial killings, as they are known, began in the early 1990s and continued through about 2010.
• April 9–29: India holds elections in four states and a union territory. Votes are counted on May 4 with dramatic results as governments change in three states: The Bharatiya Janata Party unseats Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, actor Vijay makes a blockbuster political debut in Tamil Nadu, and Kerala votes out a communist-led coalition.
• April 12: Hungarian Pres. Viktor Orbán is defeated in the country’s general elections amid allegations of corruption and growing frustration with his right-wing populist government. Péter Magyar succeeds him on May 9.
• April 24: Michael, a film about pop star Michael Jackson’s early career, is released in the United States, and it becomes the second highest-grossing music biopic in the world, grossing more than $600 million globally. (What were the Jackson 5’s hit songs?)

May

• May 1: The United Arab Emirates withdraws from OPEC, a multinational organization that was established to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members, among other aims.
• May 2: Golden Tempo wins the Kentucky Derby, marking the first time that a horse trained by a woman (Cherie DeVaux) places first in the race. (What’s the fastest time ever at the Kentucky Derby?)
• May 6: Ted Turner, an American broadcasting entrepreneur who founded a number of TV channels, notably CNN, dies at age 87. (Discover other notable deaths in 2026.)
• May 17: The WHO declares a public health emergency amid a growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
• May 24: In the closest finish in the race’s history, Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist wins the Indianapolis 500, edging out David Malukas (U.S.) by 0.0233 seconds.
• May 25: Pope Leo XIV releases his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (Latin: “Magnificent Humanity”). The 42,300-word document warns about the risks of AI and its potential to negatively impact humanity, especially workers.

June

• June 1: The 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth is celebrated.
• June 10: Pope Leo XIV blesses the Sagrada Família’s tower of Jesus during festivities that also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, the architect who designed the Barcelona basilica.
• June 12: SpaceX makes history with its IPO, raising a record $75 billion. The company is valued at $1.77 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk becomes the world’s first trillionaire.
• June 13: The New York Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs in five games to win the franchise’s third NBA championship; Jalen Brunson is named MVP of the finals.
• June 14: The Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games.
• June 14: UFC Freedom 250 is held on the South Lawn of the White House. In attendance at the invitation-only event is Pres. Donald Trump, whose 80th birthday is also that day.
• June 19: The Obama Presidential Center opens to the public in Chicago. The sprawling complex centers on a museum dedicated to the 44th U.S. Pres. Barack Obama.
• June 24: A pair of earthquakes with moment magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 strike northwestern Venezuela, causing widespread damage and numerous fatalities. While some 1,430 are confirmed dead, thousands more are missing.

July

• July 3: Pop sensation Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce are married at Madison Square Garden in New York City; some 1,000 people attend the event, and thousands of fans gather outside.
• July 4: The United States celebrates its 250th anniversary on the semiquincentennial of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. As part of the festivities, a time capsule is buried at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic Park; it contains materials from all three branches of the federal government, the U.S. states and territories, and national partner organizations.
• July 5: Australia defeats England to win the Women’s T20 World Cup. It is the seventh time the country has won the event.
• July 12: Italy’s Jannik Sinner defends his singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Alexander Zverev (Germany) in four sets. The previous day Linda Mosková of the Czech Republic had bested fellow countrywoman Karolína Muchová to win her first Grand Slam title.
• July 17: Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated The Odyssey is released in theaters in the United States. The film, which is based on Homer’s epic poem of the same name, stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Anne Hathaway. (Is the Odyssey a true story?)
• July 19: Spain defeats Argentina in extra time, 1–0, to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The previous day England finished third after besting France, 6–4.
• July 20: Several days after being elected leader of the Labour Party, Andy Burnham becomes prime minister of the United Kingdom, replacing Keir Starmer.
• July 26: Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia wins the Tour de France for a record-tying fifth time.

August

• August 12: A total solar eclipse passes over Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, and northern Spain.
• August 26: The collapse of a glacier triggers flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet, causing widespread devastation and killing hundreds.
• August 28: Haakon VIII becomes king of Norway following the death of his father, Harald V; Mette-Marit becomes queen.
• August 31: Duane “Keffe D” Davis is found guilty of first-degree murder for orchestrating the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur; Davis is the uncle of Orlando Anderson, the longtime suspected shooter, who died in 1998.

September

• September 11: The 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is marked with ceremonies in the United States.
• September 12: Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeats Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) to win the women’s singles event at the U.S. Open. The next day Alexander Zverev of Germany wins the men’s singles title after besting Ben Shelton (U.S.).
• September 14: Widow’s Bay is the big winner at the Emmy Awards ceremony, winning 14 statuettes, including best comedy and best lead actor (Matthew Rhys); The Pitt wins best drama, and Jean Smart and Allison Janney tie the record for most acting Emmys.

October

• October 5–12: The Nobel Prizes are announced. Notable winners include Anne Carson (literature) and Navi Pillay (peace).
• October 25: The runoff in Brazil’s presidential election takes place, and incumbent Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeats Flávio Bolsonaro.
• October 26: British footballer Harry Kane wins his first Ballon d’Or, and Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas claims her third Ballon d’Or Féminin.
• October 27: Israel holds legislative elections to determine the makeup of the Knesset and the next prime minister; early results indicate that neither the bloc led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor that led by Gadi Eisenkot has secured a majority, meaning that both will need additional support to form a government.
• October 28: The Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win the franchise’s first World Series title.
• October 31: The Golden State Valkyries win their first WNBA championship, defeating the Atlanta Dream in a thrilling seven-game series.

November

• November 3: The U.S. midterms are held, and the Democrats rout the Republicans, seizing control of the Senate and House of Representatives. The results include a number of historic firsts: Keisha Lance Bottoms (Georgia) is elected the country’s first African American governor; Deb Haaland (New Mexico), its first Native American governor; and Abdul El-Sayed (Michigan), its first Muslim senator. In addition, Scott Colom is elected Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction.
• November 11: The iconic U.S. highway Route 66 celebrates the 100th anniversary of its opening.
• November 12: NVIDIA’s cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang resigns amid allegations that he had an extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese spy; under Huang’s guidance, NVIDIA had become one of the leading providers of GPUs, and the company was a major player in the AI boom.