February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 308 days remaining until the end of the year (309 in leap years ).
Events
747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era.
364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor .
1233 – Mongol–Jin War : The Mongols capture Kaifeng , the capital of the Jin dynasty , after besieging it for months.
1266 – Battle of Benevento : An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou , defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily . Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples .
1616 – Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun .
1794 – The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba .
1876 – Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea's status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
1909 – Kinemacolor , the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
1914 – HMHS Britannic , sister to the RMS Titanic , is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast .
1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park .
1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming .
1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles .
1935 – 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 .
1946 – Finnish observers report the first of many thousands of sightings of ghost rockets .
1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada .
1960 – A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland , shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
1966 – Apollo program : Launch of AS-201 , the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
1966 – Vietnam War : The ROK Capital Division of the South Korean Army massacres 380 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam .
1971 – U.N. 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 .
1980 – Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations .
1987 – Iran–Contra affair : The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War : Khojaly Massacre : Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
1993 – World Trade Center bombing : In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand.
1995 – The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank , collapses after securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts .
2008 – The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea . The first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.
2011 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 relating to Libyan Civil War is adopted.
2012 – A train derails in Burlington, Ontario , Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
2013 – A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor , Egypt , killing 19 people.
2015 – A gunman kills seven people then himself in a series of shootings in Tyrone, Missouri .
Births
1361 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (d. 1419)
1584 – Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1666)
1587 – Stefano Landi , Italian composer and educator (d. 1639)
1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury , English philosopher and politician (d. 1713)
1672 – Antoine Augustin Calmet , French monk and theologian (d. 1757)
1720 – Gian Francesco Albani , Italian cardinal (d. 1803)
1746 – Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (d. 1806)
1777 – Matija Nenadović , Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 1854)
1786 – François Arago , French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (d. 1853)
1799 – Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron , French physicist and engineer (d. 1864)
1802 – Victor Hugo , French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)
1808 – Honoré Daumier , French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
1808 – Nathan Kelley , American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (d. 1871)
1829 – Levi Strauss , German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)
1846 – Buffalo Bill , American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)
1852 – John Harvey Kellogg , American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d. 1943)
1857 – Émile Coué , French psychologist and pharmacist (d. 1926)
1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya , Russian soldier and politician (d. 1939)
1866 – Herbert Henry Dow , Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (d. 1930)
1877 – Rudolph Dirks , German-American illustrator (d. 1968)
1879 – Frank Bridge , English viola player and composer (d. 1941)
1882 – Husband E. Kimmel , American admiral (d. 1968)
1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis , Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander , American baseball player and coach (d. 1950)
1887 – William Frawley , American actor and singer (d. 1966)
1887 – Stefan Grabiński , Polish author and educator (d. 1936)
1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad , American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (d. 1934)
1893 – I. A. Richards , English scholar and critic (d. 1979)
1896 – Andrei Zhdanov , Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (d. 1948)
1899 – Max Petitpierre , Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1994)
1900 – Halina Konopacka , Polish discus thrower and poet (d. 1989)
1900 – Fritz Wiessner , German-American mountaineer (d. 1988)
1902 – Jean Bruller , French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (d. 1991)
1903 – Giulio Natta , Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
1903 – Orde Wingate , Indian-English general (d. 1944)
1906 – Madeleine Carroll , English-Spanish actress (d. 1987)
1907 – Dub Taylor , American actor and singer (d. 1994)
1908 – Tex Avery , American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)
1908 – Leela Majumdar , Indian author and academic (d. 2007)
1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille , French race car driver (d. 1949)
1909 – Fanny Cradock , English chef, author, and critic (d. 1994)
1909 – Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
1911 – Tarō Okamoto , Japanese painter and sculptor (d. 1996)
1912 – Dane Clark , American actor and director (d. 1998)
1913 – George Barker , English author and poet (d. 1991)
1914 – Robert Alda , American actor, singer, and director (d. 1986)
1916 – Jackie Gleason , American actor and singer (d. 1987)
1918 – Otis R. Bowen , American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (d. 2013)
1918 – Theodore Sturgeon , American author and critic (d. 1985)
1919 – Mason Adams , American actor and singer (d. 2005)
1920 – Danny Gardella , American baseball player and trainer (d. 2005)
1920 – Tony Randall , American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004)
1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski , Polish journalist and author (d. 2006)
1921 – Betty Hutton , American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1922 – Bill Johnston , Australian cricketer and businessman (d. 2007)
1922 – Margaret Leighton , English actress (d. 1976)
1924 – Noboru Takeshita , Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
1925 – Everton Weekes , Barbadian cricketer and referee
1926 – Miroslava , Czech-Mexican actress (d. 1955)
1926 – Doris Belack , American actress (d. 2011)
1926 – Verne Gagne , American football player, wrestler, and trainer (d. 2015)
1927 – Tom Kennedy , American game show host and actor
1928 – Fats Domino , American singer-songwriter and pianist
1928 – Ariel Sharon , Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
1931 – Ally MacLeod , Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
1931 – Robert Novak , American journalist and author (d. 2009)
1932 – Johnny Cash , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Tennessee Three and The Highwaymen ) (d. 2003)
1933 – James Goldsmith , French businessman and politician (d. 1997)
1934 – Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina , Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter
1936 – José Policarpo , Portuguese cardinal (d. 2014)
1937 – Paul Dickson , American football player and coach (d. 2011)
1937 – Cliff Osmond , American actor and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1938 – Evagoras Pallikarides , Cypriot poet and activist (d. 1957)
1939 – Josephine Tewson , English actress
1940 – Oldřich Kulhánek , Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (d. 2013)
1942 – Jozef Adamec , Slovak footballer and manager
1943 – Bill Duke , American actor and director
1943 – Dante Ferretti , Italian art director and costume designer
1943 – Bob Hite , American singer-songwriter (Canned Heat ) (d. 1981)
1944 – Christopher Hope , South African author and poet
1944 – Ronald Lauder , American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
1945 – Peter Brock , Australian race car driver (d. 2006)
1945 – Marta Kristen , Norwegian-American actress
1945 – Mitch Ryder , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Detroit Wheels )
1946 – Ahmed Zewail , Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1947 – Sandie Shaw , English singer and psychotherapist
1948 – David Edgar , English playwright and academic
1948 – Sharyn McCrumb , American author
1949 – Simon Crean , Australian union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts
1949 – Elizabeth George , American author and educator
1949 – Emma Kirkby , English soprano
1950 – Jonathan Cain , American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Journey , The Babys , and Bad English )
1950 – Helen Clark , New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1951 – Steve Bell , English cartoonist
1951 – Wayne Goss , Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (d. 2014)
1953 – Michael Bolton , American singer-songwriter and actor (Blackjack )
1954 – Prince Ernst August of Hanover
1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , Turkish footballer and politician, 12th President of Turkey
1955 – John Inge , English bishop
1955 – Andreas Maislinger , Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
1956 – Charlélie Couture , French singer-songwriter
1956 – Michel Houellebecq , French author, poet, screenwriter, and director
1956 – Keisuke Kuwata , Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (Southern All Stars )
1957 – David Beasley , American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
1957 – Joe Mullen , American ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Greg Germann , American actor and director
1958 – Susan Helms , American general, engineer, and astronaut
1958 – Tim Kaine , American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
1959 – Rolando Blackman , American basketball player and coach
1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu , Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
1960 – Jaz Coleman , English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Killing Joke )
1962 – Ahn Cheol-soo , South Korean physician, academic, and politician
1962 – Kelly Gruber , American baseball player
1963 – Chase Masterson , American actress and singer
1964 – Mark Dacascos , American actor and martial artist
1965 – James Mitchell , American wrestler and manager
1966 – Garry Conille , Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti
1966 – Najwa Karam , Lebanese singer-songwriter and producer
1967 – Mark Carroll , Australian rugby player
1967 – Currie Graham , Canadian-American actor
1968 – Tim Commerford , American bass player and songwriter (Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave )
1968 – J. T. Snow , American baseball player and sportscaster
1968 – Ed Quinn , American actor
1969 – Steve Agee , American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto , Japanese composer and producer
1970 – Mark Harper , English accountant and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
1971 – Erykah Badu , American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (Soulquarians )
1971 – Max Martin , Swedish-American singer-songwriter and producer (It's Alive )
1971 – Hélène Ségara , French singer-songwriter and actress
1972 – Jonny Quinn , Irish drummer (Snow Patrol )
1973 – Erinn Bartlett , American model and actress, Miss Teen USA 1991
1973 – Marshall Faulk , American football player and sportscaster
1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær , Norwegian footballer and manager
1973 – Jenny Thompson , American swimmer and anesthesiologist
1974 – Sébastien Loeb , French race car driver
1976 – Chad Urmston , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dispatch and State Radio )
1977 – Marty Reasoner , American ice hockey player and coach
1977 – Greg Rikaart , American actor
1977 – Tim Thomas , American basketball player
1977 – Josh Towers , American baseball player and sportscaster
1977 – Shane Williams , Welsh rugby player and coach
1978 – Abdoulaye Faye , Senegalese footballer
1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae , English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Steve Evans , Welsh footballer
1979 – Pedro Mendes , Portuguese footballer
1980 – Steve Blake , American basketball player
1980 – Gary Majewski , American baseball player
1981 – Kertus Davis , American race car driver
1981 – Johnathan Wendel , American businessman
1981 – Kaori Yoneyama , Japanese wrestler
1982 – Li Na , Chinese tennis player
1982 – Matt Prior , South African-English cricketer
1982 – Nate Ruess , American singer-songwriter (Fun and The Format )
1983 – Pepe , Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
1983 – Jerome Harrison , American football player
1983 – Kara Monaco , American model and actress
1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor , Togolese footballer
1984 – Alex de Angelis , Sammarinese motorcycle racer
1984 – Natalia Lafourcade , Mexican singer-songwriter
1984 – Beren Saat , Turkish actress
1985 – Gee Atherton , English cyclist
1985 – Miki Fujimoto , Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume , Dream Morning Musume , Gomattō , and GAM )
1985 – Fernando Llorente , Spanish footballer
1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha , Brazilian footballer
1986 – Crystal Kay , Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1986 – Hannah Kearney , American skier
1986 – Leila Lopes , Angolan-American model, Miss Universe 2011
1986 – Teresa Palmer , Australian actress and producer
1986 – Juliet Simms , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Automatic Loveletter )
1988 – Reid Flair , American wrestler (d. 2013)
1988 – Christian Meaas Svendsen , Norwegian bassist (Mopti and Duplex )
1988 – Charley Webb , English actress
1988 – Deniz Yılmaz , Turkish footballer
1989 – Gabriel Obertan , French footballer
1990 – Kateřina Cachová , Czech heptathlete
1991 – CL , South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer (2NE1 )
1991 – Jasmina Kajtazovič , Bosnian tennis player
1992 – Cecilia Estlander , Finnish tennis player
1992 – Mikael Granlund , Finnish ice hockey player
1992 – Ai Shinozaki , Japanese singer and actress
1993 – Jesé , Spanish footballer
2000 – Alexa Ilacad , Filipino actress, singer, and dancer
Deaths
420 – Porphyry of Gaza , Greek bishop and saint (b. 347)
1154 – Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily (b. 1232)
1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March , English commander (b. 1328)
1462 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford , English politician (b. 1408)
1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
1608 – John Still , English bishop (b. 1543)
1611 – Antonio Possevino , Italian priest and diplomat (b. 1533)
1630 – William Brade , English violinist and composer (b. 1560)
1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac , French mathematician and linguist (b. 1581)
1723 – Thomas d'Urfey , English poet and playwright (b. 1653)
1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
1770 – Giuseppe Tartini , Italian violinist and composer (b. 1692)
1790 – Joshua Rowley , English admiral (b. 1730)
1802 – Esek Hopkins , American admiral (b. 1718)
1813 – Robert R. Livingston , American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (b. 1746)
1815 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1737)
1821 – Joseph de Maistre , French lawyer and diplomat (b. 1753)
1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine , Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (b. 1807)
1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros , Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi , Indian physician (b. 1865)
1889 – Karl Davydov , Russian cellist and composer (b. 1838)
1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling , American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (b. 1818)
1913 – Felix Draeseke , German composer and academic (b. 1835)
1921 – Carl Menger , Polish-Austrian economist and academic (b. 1840)
1930 – Mary Whiton Calkins , American philosopher and psychologist (b. 1863)
1931 – Otto Wallach , German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
1933 – Princess Thyra of Denmark (b. 1853)
1936 – February 26 Incident :
1943 – Theodor Eicke , German general (b. 1892)
1947 – Heinrich Häberlin , Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1868)
1950 – Harry Lauder , Scottish comedian and singer (b. 1870)
1952 – Theodoros Pangalos , Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1878)
1961 – Karl Albiker , German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (b. 1878)
1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar , Indian poet and politician (b. 1883)
1969 – Levi Eshkol , Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
1969 – Karl Jaspers , German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (b. 1883)
1971 – Fernandel , French actor and singer (b. 1903)
1981 – Robert Aickman , English author and activist (b. 1914)
1981 – Howard Hanson , American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1896)
1985 – Tjalling Koopmans , Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
1989 – Roy Eldridge , American trumpet player (b. 1911)
1990 – Cornell Gunter , American singer (The Coasters , The Platters , and The Flairs ) (b. 1938)
1993 – Constance Ford , American model and actress (b. 1923)
1994 – Bill Hicks , American comedian and singer (b. 1961)
1995 – Jack Clayton , English director and producer (b. 1921)
1997 – David Doyle , American actor (b. 1929)
1997 – Wende Wagner , American actress (b. 1941)
1998 – Theodore Schultz , American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
1998 – Shirley Ardell Mason , American psychiatric patient (b. 1923)
2000 – George L. Street III , American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
2002 – Lawrence Tierney , American actor (b. 1919)
2004 – Shankarrao Chavan , Indian politician, Indian Minister of Finance (b. 1920)
2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth , Finnish general (b. 1905)
2004 – Boris Trajkovski , Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
2005 – Jef Raskin , American computer scientist, created Macintosh (b. 1943)
2008 – Dick Fletcher , American meteorologist (b. 1942)
2008 – Buddy Miles , American drummer and songwriter (Band of Gypsys and The Electric Flag ) (b. 1947)
2009 – Johnny Kerr , American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1932)
2009 – Wendy Richard , English actress (b. 1943)
2009 – Norm Van Lier , American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1947)
2010 – Nujabes , Japanese DJ and producer (b. 1974)
2011 – Arnošt Lustig , Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
2011 – James A. McClure , American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1924)
2011 – Roch Thériault , Canadian religious leader (b. 1947)
2012 – Richard Carpenter , English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2012 – Don Joyce , American football player and wrestler (b. 1929)
2012 – Trayvon Martin , American homicide victim (b. 1995)
2013 – Marie-Claire Alain , French organist and educator (b. 1926)
2013 – Stéphane Hessel , German-French diplomat and author (b. 1917)
2013 – Simon Li , Hong Kong judge and politician (b. 1922)
2014 – Sorel Etrog , Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (b. 1933)
2014 – Phyllis Krasilovsky , American author and academic (b. 1927)
2014 – Frank Reed , American singer-songwriter (The Chi-Lites ) (b. 1954)
2014 – Tim Wilson , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1961)
2015 – Sheppard Frere , English historian and archaeologist (b. 1916)
2015 – Theodore Hesburgh , American priest, theologian, and academic (b. 1917)
2015 – Earl Lloyd , American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
2015 – Avijit Roy , Bangladeshi-American engineer and blogger (b. 1972)
2015 – Tom Schweich , American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (b. 1960)
2016 – Andy Bathgate , Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
2016 – Karl Dedecius , Polish-German scholar and translator (b. 1921)
2016 – Don Getty , Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December