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This day in history

This day in history: 26 February

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

300 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 26 February.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2026: The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Alexander of Alexandria

Christian feast day: Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA))

Christian feast day: February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Isabelle of France

Christian feast day: Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada)

Christian feast day: Paula Montal Fornés

Christian feast day: Porphyry of Gaza

Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)

Liberation Day (Kuwait)

Saviours' Day (Nation of Islam)

Events

2026The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.

2021A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria.

2019Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan.

2013A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

2012A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.

2012Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.

2008The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea.

1995The 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.

1993World 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.

1992First 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.

1987Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

1980Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.

1979The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.

1971U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.

1966Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.

1960A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board.

1960A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.

1952Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

1945World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.

1936In 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.

1935Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

1935Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.

1929President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

1919President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.

1914HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

1909Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.

1876Japan and Korea sign the Treaty of Kangwha, which grants Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights in Korea, opens three Korean ports to Japanese trade, and ends Korea's status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.

1870The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens.

1815Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.

1794The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.

1775The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates.

1616Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.

1606The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.

1365The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) were founded by King Thado Minbya.

1266Battle 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.

1074Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza.

364Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.

320Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor.

-747According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events.

Born on this day

2004Bibisara Assaubayeva, Kazakhstani chess grandmaster

2003Jamal Musiala, German footballer

2002César Tárrega, Spanish footballer

2002Gerard Martín, Spanish footballer

2000Yeat, American rapper

1997Jessie Bates, American football player

1994Jacob Trouba, American ice hockey player

1994Mahra Al Maktoum, Emirati princess.

1993Morgan Gautrat, American soccer player

1992Mikael Granlund, Finnish hockey player

1991Kevin Plawecki, American baseball player

1991Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer

1990Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler

1989Gabriel Obertan, French footballer

1986Hannah Kearney, American skier

1986Mārtiņš Karsums, Latvian ice hockey player

1985Fernando Llorente, Spanish footballer

1984Beren Saat, Turkish actress

1984Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer

1983Jerome Harrison, American football player

1983Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer

1982Li Na, Chinese tennis player

1982Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer

1981Kertus Davis, American race car driver

1981Kevin Dallman, Canadian-Kazakhstani ice hockey player

1981Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer

1981Robert Mathis, American football player

1981Sharon Van Etten, American singer-songwriter, musician and actress

1981Simon Maljevac, Slovenian politician

1980Steve Blake, American basketball player

1979Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer

1979Steve Evans, Welsh footballer

1978Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer

1977Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach

1977Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player

1977Tim Thomas, American basketball player

1976Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1976Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician

1975P. J. Axelsson, Swedish ice hockey player

1974Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne

Died on this day

2025Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress (born 1985)

2017Joseph Wapner, American judge and TV personality (born 1919)

2016Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1932)

2016Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (born 1933)

2015Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (born 1928)

2015Sheppard Frere, English historian and archaeologist (born 1916)

2015Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (born 1917)

2015Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (born 1960)

2014Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (born 1927)

2014Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (born 1933)

2013Marie-Claire Alain, French organist and educator (born 1926)

2013Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (born 1922)

2013Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (born 1917)

2012Richard Carpenter, English actor and screenwriter (born 1929)

2011Arnošt Lustig, Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1926)

2010Jun Seba, also known as "Nujabes", Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (born 1974)

2009Johnny Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1932)

2009Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1947)

2009Wendy Richard, English actress (born 1943)

2008Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (born 1925)

2006Georgina Battiscombe, British biographer (born 1905)

2005Jef Raskin, American computer scientist, created Macintosh (born 1943)

2004Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (born 1905)

2004Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (born 1956)

2002Lawrence Tierney, American actor (born 1919)

2000George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1913)

2000Raosaheb Gogte, Indian industrialist (born 1916)

1998Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)

1997David Doyle, American actor (born 1929)

1995Jack Clayton, English director and producer (born 1921)

Quote of the day

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

attributed to the Buddha

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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