26 February
February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 308 days remaining, 309 in leap years.
Events
- 1266 - Battle of Benevento: French forces, under Charles of Anjou, overcome a combined German-Sicilian force.
- 1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one pound note.
- 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
- 1848 - The second French Republic is proclaimed.
- 1848 - Karl Marx publishes The Communist Manifesto.
- 1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Currency Act into law.
- 1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway is opened.
- 1919 - An act of the United States 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 gives the first public demonstration of RADAR.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1986 - After exiled President Ferdinand Marcos leaves the Philippines, Corazon Aquino is inaugurated president.
- 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 van bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center goes off, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.
- 1995 - United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm, Barings PLC collapses after a securities broker, Nick Leeson, lost $1.4 billion by gambling on the Singapore Monetary Exchange Simex with derivative securities.
- 2001 - The Taliban destroyed two giant buddhas in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.
- 2004 - The United States lifted a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
Births
- 1361 - Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d. 1419)
- 1802 - Victor Hugo, poet (d. 1885)
- 1808 - Honoré Daumier, painter, illustrator, lithograph and sculptor (d. 1879)
- 1829 - Levi Strauss, clothing designer (d. 1902)
- 1846 - Buffalo Bill, pioneer and officer, hunter and carny (d. 1917)
- 1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
- 1875 - Hans Böckler, unionist and politician (d. 1951)
- 1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1950)
- 1893 - I. A. Richards, literary critic and rhetorician (d. 1979)
- 1908 - Tex Avery, cartoonist (d. 1980)
- 1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver (d. 1949)
- 1909 - King Talal, King of Jordan (d. 1972)
- 1916 - Jackie Gleason, actor, writer, composer, comedian (d. 1987)
- 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction writer (d. 1985)
- 1920 - Tony Randall, actor (The Odd Couple) (d. 2004)
- 1928 - Fats Domino, musician
- 1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko, cosmonaut
- 1932 - Johnny Cash, country music singer (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Godfrey Cambridge, actor (d. 1976)
- 1950 - Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1954 - Michael Bolton, singer
- 1959 - Rolando Blackman, basketball star
- 1971 - Erykah Badu, singer
- 1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football star
- 1973 - Jenny Thompson, U.S. Olympic swimmer
- 1974 - Sébastien Loeb, french WRC driver
- 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican pop singer
Deaths
- 1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling, inventor (b. 1818)
- 1913 - Felix Draeseke, German composer (b. 1835)
- 1921 - Carl Menger, economist (b. 1840)
- 1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
- 1969 - Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
- 1971 - Fernandel, actor (b. 1903)
- 1981 - Howard Hanson, composer (b. 1896)
- 1994 - Bill Hicks, comedian (b. 1961)
- 2002 - Lawrence Tierney, actor
- 2003 - Gerhard Czerwensky, economist
- 2004 - Shankarrao Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- 2004 - Adolf Ehrnrooth, general; Finnish war veteran
- 2004 - Boris Trajkovski, president of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
Holidays and observances
February 25 - February 27 - January 26 - March 26 -- listing of all days
