February 26

Events

*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.
*1658 - Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655-1661), the King of Denmark-Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.
*1794 - Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down.
*1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes.
*1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
*1848 - The second French Republic is proclaimed.
*1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Banking Act into law.
*1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway opens.
*1885 - The Berlin Act, which resulted from the Berlin Conference regulating European colonization and trade in Africa, is signed
*1887 - At the SCG, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.
*1914 - HMHS Britannic, sister to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
*1917 - The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
*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 re-formed.
* 1935 - The Daventry Experiment, Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads 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.
*1952 - United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.
*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 - The Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.
*1984 - US troops withdraw from Beirut. President Ronald Reagan had sent the troops as a peacekeeping force in August 1982.
*1986 - People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
*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 - 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 explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.
*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.
*2001 - The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, 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.

Births

*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)
*1746 - Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, duchess of Piacenza (d. 1806)
*1749 - Jeremy Bentham, English jurist (d. 1832)
*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)
*1808 - Nathan Kelley,American architect, active mainly in Ohio, (d.1871)
*1814 - Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (d. 1876)
*1829 - Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902)
*1846 - William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American frontiersman (d. 1917)
*1852 - John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943 )
*1857 - Émile Coué, French psychologist (d. 1926)
*1858 - Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist (d. 1917)
*1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
* 1861 - Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary, Lenin's wife (d. 1939)
*1866 - Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist (d. 1930)
*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, American baseball player (d. 1950)
* 1887 - William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966)
* 1887 - Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer (d. 1936)
*1893 - I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d. 1979)
*1899 - Max Petitpierre, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1994)
*1902 - Jean Bruller, alias Vercors, French writer and illustrator (d. 1991)
*1903 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
*1906 - Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
*1907 - Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
*1908 - Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980)
* 1908 - Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer (d. 2007)
* 1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
*1909 - King Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
* 1909 - Fanny Cradock, English food writer and broadcaster (d. 1994)
*1911 - Tarō Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist (d. 1996)
*1912 - Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)
*1913 - George Barker, English poet (d. 1991)
*1914 - Robert Alda, American actor (d. 1986)
*1916 - Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d. 1987)
*1918 - Otis Ray Bowen, American politician (Indiana Governor) and physician
* 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985)
*1919 - Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
* 1919 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d. 2003)
*1920 - Danny Gardella, American baseball player (d. 2005)
* 1920 - Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004)
* 1920 - Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (d. 2006)
*1921 - Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
*1922 - Margaret Leighton, British actress (d. 1976)
*1926 - Miroslava Stern, Mexican actress (d. 1955)
*1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host
*1928 - Fats Domino, American musician
* 1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko, Soviet cosmonaut
* 1928 - Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer and actress
*1930 - Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d. 2005)
*1931 - Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
*1932 - Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003)
*1934 - Robert Novak, American political columnist
*1937 - Hagood Hardy, Canadian musician and composer (d. 1997)
*1938 - Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter (d. 1957)
*1939 - Josephine Tewson, English actress
*1941 - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
*1943 - Bill Duke, American actor and director
* 1943 - Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
*1945 - Peter Brock, Australian motorsports champion (d. 2006)
* 1945 - Bob Hite, American singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat) (d. 1981)
* 1945 - Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach and politician
* 1945 - Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress
* 1945 - Mitch Ryder, American musician (The Detroit Wheels)
*1946 - Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel laureate
*1947 - Sandie Shaw, English singer
*1949 - Elizabeth George, American novelist
* 1949 - Emma Kirkby, British early music singer
*1950 - Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
* 1950 - Jonathan Cain, American musician (Journey, Bad English, The Babys)
*1953 - Michael Bolton, American singer
*1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey
*1956 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer
*1957 - David Muldrow Beasley, American politician
* 1957 - Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player
*1958 - Karen Berger, American comic book editor
* 1958 - Michel Houellebecq, French novelist
* 1958 - Greg Germann, American actor
*1959 - Rolando Blackman, American basketball player
*1960 - Jaz Coleman, British musician
*1962 - Kelly Gruber, former Major League Baseball player
*1964 - Mark Dacascos, American actor and martial artist
*1966 - Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
*1967 - Currie Graham, Canadian actor
*1968 - Tim Commerford, American bass player (Rage Against the Machine)
* 1968 - Ed Quinn, American Actor
* 1968 - J.T. Snow, American baseball player
*1969 - Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer
*1971 - Erykah Badu, American singer
* 1971 - Max Martin, Swedish composer and producer
* 1971 - Hélène Ségara, French singer
*1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football player
* 1973 - Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian retired footballer
* 1973 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
*1974 - Sébastien Loeb, French rally driver
*1976 - Nikolaos Siranidis, Greek diver
*1976 - Chad Urmston, American musician
*1977 - Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player
* 1977 - Greg Rikaart, American actor
* 1977 - Josh Towers, Major League Baseball player
* 1977 - Shane Williams, Welsh International Rugby Player
*1978 - Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer
* 1978 - Marc Hynes, British racing driver
* 1978 - John Tartaglia, Broadway performer and "Muppeteer"
*1979 - Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer
* 1979 - Mariano Bainotti, Argentine racing driver
* 1979 - Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer
* 1979 - Shalim Ortiz, Puerto Rican singer/actor
*1980 - Alex Fong, Hong Kong singer
* 1980 - Gary Majewski, Major League Baseball player
*1981 - Kertus Davis, American NASCAR driver
* 1981 - Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer
*1982 - Song Hye Kyo, South Korean model and actress
*1983 - Kara Monaco, American model
*1984 - Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer
* 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer
*1985 - Alexandria Hilfiger, American actress, daughter of Tommy Hilfiger
*1986 - Crystal Kay, Japanese singer
* 1986 - Teresa Palmer, Australian model and actress
* 1986 - Makelele, Brazilian footballer
*1987 - Julia Bond, American porn star
*1987 - Juliet Simms, Guitarist and vocals for the band Automatic Loveletter
*1993 - Taylor Dooley, American actress

Deaths

*1154 - King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
*1200 - Symeon, former Serbian ruler and saint
*1266 - King Manfred of Sicily
*1360 - Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)
*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)
*1821 - Joseph de Maistre, Savoyard diplomat and writer (b. 1753)
*1864 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician (b. 1807)
*1883 - Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
*1889 - Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (b. 1838)
*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 laureate (b. 1847)
*1933 - Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853)
*1943 - Theodor Eicke, Nazi official (b. 1892)
*1947 - Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868)
*1950 - Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish Music Hall Entertainer, Knighted for WWI War Work (b. 1870)
*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)
* 1981 - Robert Aickman, English writer and conservationist (b. 1914)
*1985 - Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
*1989 - Roy Eldridge, American musician (b. 1911)
*1990 - Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1938)
*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 - James Algar, American film director, screenwriter and producer (b. 1912)
* 1998 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
*2000 - George L. Street III American Navy Submariner and Medal of Honor recipient.(b. 1913)
*2001 - Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (b. 1906)
*2002 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
*2003 - Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver (b. 1928)
*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)
* 2008 - Buddy Miles, American drummer (Band of Gypsies; b. 1947)
*2008 - Dick Fletcher, Meteorologist (b.1942)
* 2008 - Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician

Holidays and observances

*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).
* Saint Nestor (died 251)
* Saint Alexander of Alexandria
* Saint Isabel of France
*February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/26 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Feb&day=26 On This Day in Canada] ----