1946 pat sajak american journalist actor and game show host 10 26
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1946 80 years ago Notable Births October 26

Pat Sajak, American journalist, actor, and game show host

On October 26, in the year 1946, Pat Sajak, American journalist, actor, and game show host. This event is recorded as a Notable Births event in the history of October 26, one of 445 recorded events on this date across all of history.

1 notable person is associated with this event, including Pat Sajak. Learn more below.

Patrick Leonard Sajak ; né Sajdak ; is an American retired game show host, television personality, and creative consultant. He is best known as the host of the television game show Wheel of Fortune, a position which he held from 1981 to 2024. Sajak also served as a consultant for the show, and hosted Celebrity Wheel of Fortune until 2025. For his work on Wheel, Sajak has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning thrice, and twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show, winning in 2024. In 2019, he was recognized by Guinness World Records for having the longest-serving career as a game show host for the same show, surpassing previous record holder Bob Barker.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on October 26, 1946 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Notable Births event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • 1 notable person is recorded as involved in or associated with this event.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 20 October 2026.

On This Date in History 445

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Oct 26 Bjorn Andresen, Swedish actor and musician (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2021 Oct 26 Roh Tae-woo, South Korean general and politician, 6th President of South Korea (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 26 Ali Ashraf Darvishian, Iranian novelist, short story writer and academic. (born 1941)
Historical Events 2015 Oct 26 A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in South Asia, killing 399 people and leaving…
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 26 Willis Carto, American activist and theorist (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 26 Leo Kadanoff, American physicist and academic (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 26 Giuseppe Nazzaro, Italian-Syrian bishop and theologian (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Vic Allen, English sociologist, economist, and historian (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Mo Collins, American football player and coach (born 1976)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Germain Gagnon, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Senzo Meyiwa, South African footballer (born 1987)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Brian Moore, Australian rugby league player (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Jeff Robinson, American baseball player (born 1961)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Gordy Soltau, American football player and sportscaster (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 26 Oscar Taveras, Dominican baseball player (born 1992)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 26 Ritva Arvelo, Finnish actress, director, and screenwriter (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 26 Ron Davies, Welsh photographer (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 26 Doug Ireland, American journalist and activist (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 26 Al Johnson, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 26 Andries Maseko, South African footballer (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 26 Gabriel of Komana (born 1946)
Historical Events 2012 Oct 26 Microsoft made a public release of Windows 8 and made it available on new PCs.
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 26 Mac Ahlberg, Swedish-Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 26 Arnold Greenberg, American businessman, co-founded Snapple (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 26 John M. Johansen American architect, designed the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 26 Alan Kirschenbaum, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1961)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 26 Björn Sieber, Austrian skier (born 1989)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 26 Alan Stretton, Australian general (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 26 Jona Senilagakali, Fijian physician and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Fiji (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 26 Glen Little, American clown (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 26 Mbah Maridjan, Indonesian spiritual leader (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 26 Romeu Tuma, Brazilian police officer and politician (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 26 Teel Bivins, American lawyer and politician, 18th United States Ambassador to Sweden (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 26 Yoshirō Muraki, Japanese production designer and art director(born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 26 George Naʻope, American singer and dancer (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 26 Troy Smith, American businessman, founded Sonic Drive-In (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 26 Tony Hillerman, American journalist, author, and educator (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 26 Delmar Watson, American actor and photographer (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 26 Nicolae Dobrin, Romanian footballer and manager (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 26 Friedman Paul Erhardt, German-American chef and television host (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 26 Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 26 Tillman Franks, American bassist and songwriter (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 26 Pontus Hultén, Swedish art collector and curator (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2005 Oct 26 Keith Parkinson, American illustrator (born 1958)
Notable Deaths 2005 Oct 26 George Swindin, English footballer and manager (born 1914)
Historical Events 2004 Oct 26 Rockstar Games releases Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2 in North America, which sold 12 million…
Notable Deaths 2004 Oct 26 Bobby Ávila, Mexican baseball player and politician (born 1924)
Selected Events 2004 Oct 26 Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, considered one of the best video games ever made, in North…
Historical Events 2003 Oct 26 The Cedar Fire, the third-largest wildfire in California history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km2),…
Historical Events 2002 Oct 26 Approximately 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages die when Russian special forces troops storm a theater building…

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

People Involved

Pat Sajak

American television host (born 1946)

birth

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