February 26
February 26 this yearin various calendars Akan Kwayaw Armenian 11 Areg 1475 Aztec Tecuilhuitontli 7, 9 Cuāuhtli Babylonian 8 Shabatu, 2336 SE Balinese pawukon Menga, Beteng, Jaya, Wage, Was, Wraspati of Bala, Guru, Tulus, Suka Bengali 13 Falgun , BS 1432 Chinese Yin Metal Goat ・Well Mansion Fire Horse Year, Month 1 , Day 10Yushui , 7 days until Jingzhe )Common Era 26 February 2026 CE Coptic 19 Meshir , AM 1742Egyptian 16 Epiphi , 2774 NE Ethiopian 19 Yakātit, 2018 Amätä Məhrät French Republican Décade I, Octidi de Ventôse de l'Année 234 de la République Gregorian 26 February , AD 2026 Hebrew 9 Adar , AM 5786 Hindu Mṛgaśiras ・Viṣkambha Phālguna , 1947 SE Daśamī , Śukla pakṣa of Phālguna , 2082 VE Rāudra ・5126 KY ・1,872,632 Icelandic Fimmtudagur, 5 Góa 2025 Islamic 9 Ramadan , AH 1447tabular method ) ISO week date 2026-W09-4 Japanese 10 Mutsuki , Reiwa 8Usui , 7 days until Keichitsu ) Julian 13 February , AD 2026 (AM 7534)Julian day 2461098 Korean 10 Horangidal , 4359 DE Maya 13.0.13.6.15 13 Kayab , 9 Men Roman Idibus Februariis , MMDCCLXXIX AUC Solar Hijri 7 Esfand , SH 1404 Tibetan 10 mchu, me pho rta
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Day of the year
February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar ; 308 days remain until the end of the year (309 in leap years ).
Events
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 Olympic and RMS Titanic , is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast .1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park .1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km 2 ) 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 nationalist Japanese military officers assassinate multiple cabinet statesmen and start a rebellion in downtown Tokyo , which is ended 3 days later.1945 – World War II : US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.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.1960 – A Kyiv -bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv , killing 32 of the 33 people on board.
1966 – Apollo program : Launch of AS-201 , the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.1971 – U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day .1979 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak .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 – First Nagorno-Karabakh War : Khojaly Massacre : Armenian armed forces and the 366th CIS Regiment massacre 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 people.1995 – The UK's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank , collapses after a rogue 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 ; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea.2012 – A train derails in Burlington, Ontario , Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.2012 – Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida .
2013 – A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt , killing 19 people.2019 – Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot , Pakistan.2021 – A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State , Nigeria.2026 – The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan , initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War .Births
1629 – Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll , Scottish peer (died 1685)1651 – Quirinus Kuhlmann , German Baroque poet and mystic (died 1689)1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury , English philosopher and politician (died 1713)1672 – Antoine Augustin Calmet , French monk and theologian (died 1757)1677 – Nicola Fago , Italian composer and teacher (died 1745)1714 – Biagio Bellotti , Italian painter and architect (died 1789)1718 – Johan Ernst Gunnerus , Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist (died 1773)1720 – Gian Francesco Albani , Italian cardinal (died 1803)1729 – Anders Chydenius , Finnish economist, philosopher and Lutheran priest (died 1803)1746 – Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (died 1804)1770 – Anton Reicha , Bohemian composer and flautist (died 1836)1777 – Matija Nenadović , Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (died 1854)1786 – François Arago , French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (died 1853)1802 – Victor Hugo , French author, poet, and playwright (died 1885)1808 – Honoré Daumier , French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (died 1879)1808 – Nathan Kelley , American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (died 1871)
1829 – Levi Strauss , German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (died 1902)1842 – Camille Flammarion , French astronomer and author (died 1925)1846 – Buffalo Bill , American soldier and hunter (died 1917)1852 – John Harvey Kellogg , American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (died 1943)1857 – Émile Coué , French psychologist and pharmacist (died 1926)1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (died 1948)1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya , Russian soldier and politician (died 1939)
1866 – Herbert Henry Dow , Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (died 1930)1866 – Gustave Mathieu , French anarchist illegalist, suspected of being one of Ravachol 's main accomplices (died 1947)
1871 – Matti Turkia , Finnish politician (died 1946)1877 – Henry Barwell , Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (died 1959)1877 – Rudolph Dirks , German-American illustrator (died 1968)
1879 – Frank Bridge , English viola player and composer (died 1941)1880 – Kenneth Edgeworth , Irish astronomer (died 1972)1881 – Janus Djurhuus , Faroese poet (died 1948)1882 – Husband E. Kimmel , American admiral (died 1968)1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis , Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (died 1969)1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander , American baseball player and coach (died 1950)1887 – William Frawley , American actor and vaudevillian (died 1966)
1887 – Stefan Grabiński , Polish author and educator (died 1936)
1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad , American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)1893 – Dorothy Whipple , English novelist (died 1966)
1896 – Andrei Zhdanov , Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (died 1948)1899 – Max Petitpierre , Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (died 1994)1900 – Halina Konopacka , Polish discus thrower and poet (died 1989)1900 – Fritz Wiessner , German-American mountaineer (died 1988) 1902 – Jean Bruller , French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (died 1991)1903 – Giulio Natta , Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1979)1903 – Orde Wingate , English general (died 1944)
1906 – Madeleine Carroll , English actress (died 1987)1908 – Tex Avery , American animator, producer, and voice actor (died 1980)1908 – Nestor Mesta Chayres , Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (died 1971)
1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille , French racing driver (died 1949)
1909 – Fanny Cradock , English chef, author, and critic (died 1994)1909 – Talal of Jordan (died 1972)
1910 – Vic Woodley , English footballer (died 1978)1911 – Tarō Okamoto , Japanese painter and sculptor (died 1996)1914 – Robert Alda , American actor, singer, and director (died 1986)1918 – Otis Bowen , American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (died 2013)1918 – Pyotr Masherov , Leader of Soviet Belarus (died 1980)
1918 – Theodore Sturgeon , American author and critic (died 1985)
1919 – Mason Adams , American actor (died 2005)1920 – Danny Gardella , American baseball player and trainer (died 2005)1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski , Polish journalist and author (died 2006)
1921 - Betty Hutton , American actress, singer, dancer and comedian (died 2007)1922 – Bill Johnston , Australian cricketer and businessman (died 2007)1922 – Margaret Leighton , English actress (died 1976)
1924 – Marc Bucci , American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (died 2002)1924 – Noboru Takeshita , Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2000)
1925 – Everton Weekes , Barbadian cricketer and referee (died 2020)1926 – Doris Belack , American actress (died 2011)1926 – Verne Gagne , American football player, wrestler, and trainer (died 2015)
1926 – Henry Molaison , American medical patient (died 2008)
1927 – Tom Kennedy , American game show host and actor (died 2020)1928 – Fats Domino , American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2017)1928 – Ariel Sharon , Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (died 2014)
1931 – Ally MacLeod , Scottish footballer and manager (died 2004)1933 – James Goldsmith , French-British businessman and politician (died 1997)1934 – Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina , Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2025)1936 – José Policarpo , Portuguese cardinal (died 2014)1937 – Paul Dickson , American football player and coach (died 2011)1939 – Chuck Wepner , American boxer1940 – Oldřich Kulhánek , Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (died 2013)1942 – Jozef Adamec , Slovak footballer and manager (died 2018)1943 – Paul Cotton , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2021)1943 – Dante Ferretti , Italian art director and costume designer
1943 – Bob Hite , American singer-songwriter and musician (died 1981)
1944 – Christopher Hope , South African author and poet1944 – Ronald Lauder , American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
1945 – Peter Brock , Australian racing driver (died 2006)1946 – Colin Bell , English footballer (died 2021)1946 – Bingo Smith , American basketball player (died 2023)
1946 – Ahmed Zewail , Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016)
1947 – Sandie Shaw , English singer and psychotherapist1948 – Sharyn McCrumb , American author1949 – Simon Crean , Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts (died 2023)1949 – Elizabeth George , American author and educator
1949 – Emma Kirkby , English soprano
1950 – Helen Clark , New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand 1950 – Billy Steinberg , American songwriter (died 2026)
1951 – Wayne Goss , Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (died 2014)1953 – Barbara Niven , American actress and writer1954 – Prince Ernst August of Hanover , head of the House of Hanover1955 – Andreas Maislinger , Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service 1956 – Michel Houellebecq , French author, poet, screenwriter, and director1957 – David Beasley , American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina 1957 – Joe Mullen , American ice hockey player and coach
1957 – John Jude Palencar , American artist and illustrator
1957 – Keena Rothhammer , American swimmer
1958 – Liza 'N' Eliaz , Belgian, transgender, hardcore DJ (died 2001)1958 – Susan Helms , American general, engineer, and astronaut
1958 – Tim Kaine , American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
1959 – Rolando Blackman , Panamanian-American basketball player1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu , Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
1960 – Jaz Coleman , English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer1962 – Ahn Cheol-soo , South Korean physician, academic, and politician1965 – James Mitchell , American wrestler and manager1966 – Garry Conille , Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti 1966 – Marc Fortier , French-Canadian ice hockey player
1966 – Najwa Karam , Lebanese singer
1967 – Kazuyoshi Miura , Japanese footballer1967 – Gene Principe , Canadian sports reporter and broadcaster
1968 – Leif Rohlin , Swedish ice hockey player1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto , Japanese composer and producer1970 – Predrag Danilović , Serbian basketball player and executive1970 – Mark Harper , English accountant and politician, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Minister of State for Immigration 1971 – Max Martin , Swedish-American record producer and songwriter1971 – Hélène Segara , French singer-songwriter and actress
1973 – Marshall Faulk , American football player1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær , Norwegian footballer and manager
1973 – Jenny Thompson , American swimmer
1974 – Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski , Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne1974 – Sébastien Loeb , French racing driver
1975 – P. J. Axelsson , Swedish ice hockey player1976 – Nalini Anantharaman , French mathematician1976 – Chad Urmston , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Marty Reasoner , American ice hockey player and coach1977 – Tim Thomas , American basketball player
1977 – Shane Williams , Welsh rugby union player
1978 – Abdoulaye Faye , Senegalese footballer1979 – Steve Evans , Welsh footballer1979 – Pedro Mendes , Portuguese footballer
1980 – Steve Blake , American basketball player1981 – Kevin Dallman , Canadian-Kazakhstani ice hockey player1981 – Kertus Davis , American race car driver
1981 – Simon Maljevac , Slovenian politician
1981 – Robert Mathis , American football player
1981 – Oh Seung-bum , South Korean footballer
1981 – Sharon Van Etten , American singer-songwriter, musician and actress
1982 – Li Na , Chinese tennis player1982 – Matt Prior , South African-English cricketer
1983 – Jerome Harrison , American football player1983 – Pepe , Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor , Togolese footballer1984 – Beren Saat , Turkish actress
1985 – Fernando Llorente , Spanish footballer1986 – Mārtiņš Karsums , Latvian ice hockey player1986 – Hannah Kearney , American skier
1989 – Gabriel Obertan , French footballer1990 – Takanoiwa Yoshimori , Mongolian sumo wrestler1991 – Lee Chae-rin , South Korean singer1991 – Kevin Plawecki , American baseball player
1992 – Mikael Granlund , Finnish hockey player1993 – Morgan Gautrat , American soccer player1994 – Jacob Trouba , American ice hockey player1994 – Mahra Al Maktoum , Emirati princess.
1997 – Jessie Bates , American football player2000 – Yeat , American rapper2002 – Gerard Martín , Spanish footballer2002 – César Tárrega , Spanish footballer
2003 – Jamal Musiala , German footballer2004 – Bibisara Assaubayeva , Kazakhstani chess grandmaster Deaths
Pre-1600
420 – Porphyry of Gaza , Greek bishop and saint (born 347)943 – Muirchertach mac Néill , King of Ailech (Ireland )1154 – Roger II of Sicily (born 1095)1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily (born 1232)1275 – Margaret of England , Queen consort of Scots (born 1240)1349 – Fatima bint al-Ahmar , Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (born c.1260)1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March , English commander (born 1328)1462 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford , English politician (born 1408)1474 – Eom Heung-do , local official of Joseon (born 1404)1548 – Lorenzino de' Medici , Italian writer and assassin (born 1514)1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden (born 1533)1603 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress , spouse of Maximilian II (born 1528)1608 – John Still , English bishop (born 1543)1611 – Antonio Possevino , Italian priest and diplomat (born 1533)1625 – Anna Vasa of Sweden , Polish and Swedish princess (born 1568)1630 – William Brade , English violinist and composer (born 1560)1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac , French mathematician and linguist (born 1581)1723 – Thomas d'Urfey , English poet and playwright (born 1653)1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (born 1662)1770 – Giuseppe Tartini , Italian violinist and composer (born 1692)1790 – Joshua Rowley , English admiral (born 1730)1802 – Esek Hopkins , American admiral (born 1718)1806 – Thomas-Alexandre Dumas , Haitian-French general (born 1762)1813 – Robert R. Livingston , American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (born 1746)1815 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (born 1737)1821 – Joseph de Maistre , French lawyer and diplomat (born 1753)1839 – Sybil Ludington , American figure of the American Revolutionary War (born 1761)1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine , Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (born 1807)1869 – Afzal-ud-Daulah, Asaf Jah V , 5th Nizam of Hyderabad State (born 1827)1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros , Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1817)1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi , First Indian women physician (born 1865)1889 – Karl Davydov , Russian cellist and composer (born 1838)1895 – Kathinka Kraft , Norwegian memoirist (born 1826)1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling , American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (born 1818)1906 – Jean Lanfray , Swiss convicted murderer (born 1874)1913 – Felix Draeseke , German composer and academic (born 1835)1921 – Carl Menger , Polish-Austrian economist and academic (born 1840)1930 – Mary Whiton Calkins , American philosopher and psychologist (born 1863)1931 – Otto Wallach , German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1847)1936 – February 26 Incident :
1943 – Potato Creek Johnny , American gold prospector (born c. 1866)1943 – Theodor Eicke , German general (born 1892)
1945 – Sándor Szurmay , Minister of Defence of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary (born 1860)1947 – Heinrich Häberlin , Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (born 1868)1950 – Harry Lauder , Scottish comedian and singer (born 1870)1951 – Sabiha Kasimati , Albanian ichthyologist (born 1912) executed with 21 others 1952 – Theodoros Pangalos , Greek general and politician, President of Greece (born 1878)1961 – Karl Albiker , German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (born 1878)1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco (born 1909)
1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar , Indian poet and politician (born 1883)1969 – Levi Eshkol , Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (born 1895)1969 – Karl Jaspers , German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (born 1883)
1981 – Robert Aickman , English author and activist (born 1914)1981 – Howard Hanson , American composer, conductor, and educator (born 1896)
1985 – Tjalling Koopmans , Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910)1989 – Roy Eldridge , American trumpet player (born 1911)1993 – Constance Ford , American model and actress (born 1923)1994 – Bill Hicks , American comedian (born 1961)1995 – Jack Clayton , English director and producer (born 1921)1997 – David Doyle , American actor (born 1929)1998 – Theodore Schultz , American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)2000 – George L. Street III , American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1913)2000 – Raosaheb Gogte , Indian industrialist (born 1916)
2002 – Lawrence Tierney , American actor (born 1919)2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth , Finnish general (born 1905)
2004 – Boris Trajkovski , Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (born 1956)
2005 – Jef Raskin , American computer scientist, created Macintosh (born 1943)2006 – Georgina Battiscombe , British biographer (born 1905)2008 – Bodil Udsen , Danish actress (born 1925)2009 – Johnny Kerr , American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1932)2009 – Wendy Richard , English actress (born 1943)
2009 – Norm Van Lier , American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1947)
2010 – Jun Seba , also known as "Nujabes", Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (born 1974)2011 – Arnošt Lustig , Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1926)2012 – Richard Carpenter , English actor and screenwriter (born 1929)2013 – Marie-Claire Alain , French organist and educator (born 1926)2013 – Stéphane Hessel , German-French diplomat and author (born 1917)
2013 – Simon Li , Hong Kong judge and politician (born 1922)
2014 – Sorel Etrog , Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (born 1933)2014 – Phyllis Krasilovsky , American author and academic (born 1927)
2015 – Sheppard Frere , English historian and archaeologist (born 1916)2015 – Theodore Hesburgh , American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (born 1917)
2015 – Earl Lloyd , American basketball player and coach (born 1928)
2015 – Tom Schweich , American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (born 1960)
2016 – Andy Bathgate , Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1932)2016 – Don Getty , Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (born 1933)
2017 – Joseph Wapner , American judge and TV personality (born 1919)2025 – Michelle Trachtenberg , American actress (born 1985)