February 26
is the 57th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar. There are 308 days remaining, 309 in
leap years.
*
747 BC -
Epoch (origin) of
Ptolemy's
Nabonassar Era.
*
364 -
Valentinian I is proclaimed
Roman Emperor.
*
1266 -
Battle of Benevento: An army led by
Charles,
Count of
Anjou, defeats a combined
German and
Sicilian force led by
King Manfred of Sicily.
Manfred is killed in the battle and
Pope Clement IV invests
Charles as king of
Sicily and
Naples.
*
1794 -
Christiansborg Castle,
Copenhagen burns down.
*
1797 - The
Bank of England issues the first one-pound note.
*
1815 -
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from
Elba.
*
1848 - The second
French Republic is proclaimed.
*
1857 - The
Bengal Native Infantry refused to use new cartridges
*
1863 -
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the
National Currency Act into law.
*
1870 - In
New York City, the first
pneumatic-
subway opens.
*
1887 - At the
SCG,
George Lohmann becomes the first
bowler to take eight wickets in a
Test innings.
*
1919 - An act of the
U.S. Congress establishes most of the
Grand Canyon as a
United States National Park (see
Grand Canyon National Park).
*
1929 - The
Grand Teton National Park is created.
*
1935 - The
Luftwaffe is reformed.
* 1935 -
Robert Watson-Watt carried out a demonstration which led directly to the development of
RADAR in the
United Kingdom.
*
1936 - In the
February 26 Incident, young
Japanese military officers attempt to stage a
coup against the
government.
*
1944 - Shooting begins of the
Nazi propaganda film, "
The Fuhrer Gives a Village to the Jews" in
Theresienstadt.
*
1952 -
United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an
atomic bomb.
*
1957 - Final radio broadcast of
Dragnet.
*
1966 -
Apollo Program: Launch of
AS-201, the first flight of the
Saturn IB rocket
*
1970 -
National Public Radio incorporates as a
non-profit corporation.
*
1971 -
Secretary-General U Thant signs
United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as
Earth Day.
*
1972 -
Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in
West Virginia.
*
1986 -
Robert Penn Warren is named
poet laureate of the
United States.
*
1987 -
Iran-Contra affair: The
Tower Commission rebukes
American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
*
1990 - The
Sandinistas are defeated in
Nicaraguan elections.
*
1991 -
Tim Berners-Lee introduces
WorldWideWeb, the first
web browser.
* 1991 -
Gulf War: On
Baghdad Radio
Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of
Iraqi troops from
Kuwait.
*
1993 -
World Trade Center bombing: In
New York City, a truck bomb parked below the
North Tower of the
World Trade Center goes off, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand. The buildings would be destroyed in a
subsequent attack on September 11, 2001.
*
1995 - The
United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm,
Barings Bank collapses after a securities broker,
Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the
Singapore International Monetary Exchange using
futures contracts.
* 1995 - at The Houston Astrodome
Selena Quintanilla-Perez performed in her last concert before she was killed. More than 64,000 fans were in attendance making it the astrodome's largest crowd at the time.
*
2001 - The
Taliban destroy two giant
Buddha statues in
Bamiyan,
Afghanistan.
*
2004 - The
United States lifts a ban on travel to
Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
* 2004 -
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near
Mostar,
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
*
2005 -
Hosni Mubarak the president of
Egypt orders the
constitution changed to allow multi-candidate
presidential elections before
September 2005 by asking
Egyptian parliament to amend
Article 76 of the
constitution.
*
2006 - Sweden beats Finland in the hockey final of the Turin Olympic games.
*
1361 -
Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d.
1419)
*
1564 -
Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist (d.
1593)
*
1587 -
Stefano Landi, Italian composer (d.
1639)
*
1671 -
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (d.
1713)
*
1672 -
Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d.
1757)
*
1714 -
James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d.
1758)
*
1715 -
Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d.
1771)
*
1720 -
Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (d.
1803)
*
1786 -
François Arago, French mathematician (d.
1853)
*
1799 -
Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (d.
1864)
*
1802 -
Victor Hugo, French writer (d.
1885)
*
1808 -
Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d.
1879)
*
1814 -
Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (d.
1876)
*
1829 -
Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d.
1902)
*
1846 -
Buffalo Bill, American pioneer, officer, and hunter (d.
1917)
*
1857 -
Émile Coué, French psychologist (d.
1926)
*
1861 - King
Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d.
1948)
* 1861 -
Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Russian revolutioner,
Lenin's wife (d.
1939)
*
1879 -
Frank Bridge, English composer (d.
1941)
*
1882 -
Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d.
1968)
*
1885 -
Aleksandras Stulginskis,
President of Lithuania (d.
1969)
*
1887 -
Grover Cleveland Alexander, baseball player (d.
1950)
* 1887 -
William Frawley, American actor (d.
1966)
*
1893 -
I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d.
1979)
*
1899 -
Max Petitpierre, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d.
1994)
*
1902 -
Albert Anastasia, Italian-born gangster (d.
1957)
*
1903 -
Giulio Natta, Italian chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1979)
*
1907 -
Dub Taylor, American actor (d.
1994)
*
1908 -
Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d.
1980)
* 1908 -
Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d.
1949)
*
1909 - King
Talal of Jordan (d.
1972)
*
1914 -
Robert Alda, American actor (d.
1986)
*
1916 -
Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d.
1987)
*
1918 -
Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d.
1985)
*
1919 -
Mason Adams, American actor (d.
2005)
* 1919 -
Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d.
2003)
*
1920 -
Tony Randall, American actor (d.
2004)
* 1920 -
Danny Gardella, baseball player (d.
2005)
*
1921 -
Betty Hutton, American actress
*
1927 -
Tom Kennedy, American game show host
*
1928 -
Fats Domino, American musician
* 1928 -
Anatoli Filipchenko, cosmonaut
* 1928 -
Ariel Sharon,
Prime Minister of Israel*
1930 -
Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d.
2005)
*
1931 -
Ally McLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d.
2004)
*
1932 -
Johnny Cash, American singer (d.
2003)
*
1934 -
Robert Novak, American political columnist
*
1941 -
Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d.
1972)
*
1943 -
Bill Duke, American actor and director
*
1945 -
Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress
*
1946 -
Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate
*
1947 -
Sandie Shaw, British singer
*
1950 -
Helen Clark,
Prime Minister of New Zealand*
1951 -
Lee Atwater, American political operative (d.
1991)
*
1953 -
Michael Bolton, American singer
*
1954 -
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
Prime Minister of Turkey*
1956 -
Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer
*
1957 -
Joe Mullen, American
ice hockey player
*
1958 -
Michel Houellebecq, French novelist
*
1959 -
Rolando Blackman, Panamanian basketball player
*
1962 -
Greg Germann, American actor
*
1968 -
J.T. Snow, American baseball player, 1st baseman
*
1971 -
Erykah Badu, American singer
* 1971 -
Max Martin, Swedish composer and producer
*
1973 -
Marshall Faulk, American football star
* 1973 -
Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
* 1973 -
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Norwegian footballer
*
1974 -
Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
*
1979 -
Corinne Bailey Rae, British singer
*
1980 -
Alex Fong, Hong Kong singer
* 1980 -
Gary Majewski, Baseball player
*
1982 -
Jay Mullen, British actor
*
1984 -
Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer
*1984 -
Emmanuel Adebayor, Togon footballer
*
1993 -
Taylor Dooley, American actress
*
1154 - King
Roger II of Sicily (b.
1093)
*
1266 - King
Manfred of Sicily*
1360 -
Roger de Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b.
1328)
*
1525 -
Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler
*
1552 -
Heinrich Faber, German composer
*
1561 -
Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer
*
1577 - King
Eric XIV of Sweden (b.
1533)
*
1608 -
John Still, English bishop
*
1630 -
William Brade, English composer (b.
1560)
*
1638 -
Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (b.
1681)
*
1723 -
Thomas d'Urfey, English writer (b.
1653)
*
1726 -
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b.
1662)
*
1770 -
Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (b.
1692)
*
1802 -
Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b.
1718)
*
1813 -
Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b.
1746)
*
1815 -
Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b.
1737)
*
1903 -
Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b.
1818)
*
1913 -
Felix Draeseke, German composer (b.
1835)
*
1921 -
Carl Menger, Austrian economist (b.
1840)
*
1931 -
Otto Wallach, German chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1847)
*
1947 -
Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b.
1868)
*
1961 - King
Mohammed V of Morocco (b.
1909)
*
1966 -
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b.
1883)
*
1969 -
Levi Eshkol,
Prime Minister of Israel (b.
1895)
* 1969 -
Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b.
1883)
*
1971 -
Fernandel, French actor (b.
1903)
*
1981 -
Howard Hanson, American composer (b.
1896)
*
1985 -
Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist,
Bank of Sweden Prize winner (b.
1910)
*
1989 -
Roy Eldridge, American musician (b.
1911)
*
1993 -
Constance Ford, American actress (b.
1923)
*
1994 -
Bill Hicks, American comedian (b.
1961)
*
1995 -
Jack Clayton, British film director (b.
1921)
*
1997 -
David Doyle, American actor (b.
1929)
*
1998 -
Theodore Schultz, American economist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1902)
*
2002 -
Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b.
1919)
*
2004 -
Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b.
1920)
* 2004 -
Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b.
1905)
* 2004 -
Boris Trajkovski,
President of the Republic of Macedonia (b.
1956)
*
2005 -
Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b.
1943)
*
Bahá'í Faith - February 26,
Day 1 of
Ayyám-i-Há (
Intercalary Days) - days in the
Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
*
Nation of Islam -
Savior's Day - commemoration of the birthdate of
Wallace Fard Muhammad, believed to be
Allah in human form, the saviour of the
black race.
*
Liberation Day in
Kuwait (
1991).
Liturgical feasts
*
Saint Nestor (died 251)
*
Saint Alexander of Alexandria*
Saint Victor*
Blessed Leo of Furnes (d. 1163)
*
Saint Mechtild (d. 1154)
*
Blessed Edigna*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaJanuary 26 -
February 25 -
February 27 -
March 26 --
listing of all days
