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This day in history

This day in history: 26 May

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

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Born on this day · Died on this day179 · 112

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Key facts

352 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 26 May.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2025: 65 people are injured when a car rams into a crowd on Water Street, near Liverpool F.C.'s Premier League trophy parade.

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Andrew Kaggwa

Christian feast day: Augustine of Canterbury (Anglican Communion and Eastern Orthodox)

Christian feast day: Lambert of Vence

Christian feast day: Mariana de Jesús de Paredes

Christian feast day: Martyrs of the Paris Commune

Christian feast day: May 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Peter Sanz (one of Martyr Saints of China)

Christian feast day: Philip Neri

Christian feast day: Pope Eleutherius

Christian feast day: Zachary, Bishop of Vienne

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guyana from the United Kingdom in 1966.

Independence Day, commemorates the declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918 (Georgia)

Events

202565 people are injured when a car rams into a crowd on Water Street, near Liverpool F.C.'s Premier League trophy parade.

2021Ten people are killed in a shooting at a VTA rail yard in San Jose, California, United States.

2020Protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd erupt in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, later becoming widespread across the United States and around the world.

2014Narendra Modi takes oath as the 15th Prime Minister of India.

2008Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.

2003Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230 crashes in the Turkish town of Maçka, killing 75.

2002The tugboat Robert Y. Love collides with a support pier of Interstate 40 on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, resulting in 14 deaths and 11 others injured.

1998A MIAT Mongolian Airlines Harbin Y-12 crashes near Erdenet, Orkhon Province, Mongolia, resulting in 28 deaths.

1998The first "National Sorry Day" is held in Australia. Reconciliation events are held nationally, and attended by over a million people.

1998The Supreme Court of the United States rules in New Jersey v. New York that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.

1991Lauda Air Flight 004 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes in the Phu Toei National Park in the Suphan Buri province of Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.

1991Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.

1986The European Community adopts the European flag.

1983The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.

1981An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others.

1981Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).

1972Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

1971Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army slaughters at least 71 Hindus in Burunga, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

1970The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.

1969Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first crewed Moon landing.

1968H-dagurinn in Iceland: Traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight.

1967The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released.

1966British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.

1948The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 80-557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.

1942World War II: The Battle of Gazala begins, in present-day Libya.

1940World War II: Operation Dynamo: In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France. The Battle of Dunkirk begins simultaneously as Allied defenders fight to slow down the German offensive.

1940World War II: The Siege of Calais ends with the surrender of the British and French garrison.

1938In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.

1937Walter Reuther and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) clash with Ford Motor Company security guards at the River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, during the Battle of the Overpass.

1936In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation bill. By the time he sits down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken for ten hours.

1927The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.

1926Abd el-Krim ends surrenders to the French, bringing an end to the Rif War.

1923The first 24 Hours of Le Mans is held in France. Run annually in June thereafter, it became the oldest endurance racing event in the world.

1918The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.

1908The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia. The rights to the resource were quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

1903Românul de la Pind, the longest-running newspaper by and about Aromanians until World War II, is founded.

1900Thousand Days' War: The Colombian Conservative Party turns the tide of war in their favor with victory against the Colombian Liberal Party in the Battle of Palonegro.

1896Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

1896Nicholas II is crowned as the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.

1879Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.

Born on this day

2000Yeji, South Korean singer

1999Georgia Wareham, Australian cricketer

1999Micah Parsons, American football player

1997Mathew Barzal, Canadian ice hockey player

1996Lara Goodall, South African cricketer

1994Gong Myung, South Korean actor

1993Jason Adesanya, Belgian footballer

1991Ah Young, South Korean singer and actress

1989Park Ye-eun, South Korean singer

1989Paula Findlay, Canadian triathlete

1988Andrea Catellani, Italian footballer

1988Dani Samuels, Australian discus thrower

1988Juan Cuadrado, Colombian footballer

1987Olcay Şahan, Turkish footballer

1986Michel Tornéus, Swedish long jumper

1985Ashley Vincent, English footballer

1985Monika Christodoulou, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist

1983Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer

1983Nathan Merritt, Australian rugby league player

1982Hasan Kabze, Turkish footballer

1981Anthony Ervin, American swimmer

1981Ben Zobrist, American baseball player

1981Jason Manford, English actor, screenwriter, and television host

1980Louis-Jean Cormier, Canadian singer and songwriter

1979Ashley Massaro, American wrestler and model (died 2019)

1979Mehmet Okur, Turkish basketball player

1979Natalya Nazarova, Russian sprinter

1978Dan Parks, Australian-Scottish rugby player

1978Fabio Firmani, Italian footballer

1977Luca Toni, Italian footballer

1977Misaki Ito, Japanese actress and model

1977Nikos Chatzivrettas, Greek basketball player

1977Raina Telgemeier, American author and cartoonist

1976Kenny Florian, American mixed martial artist and sportscaster

1976Paul Collingwood, English cricketer and coach

1976Stephen Curry, Australian comedian and actor

1975Lauryn Hill, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

1974Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer

1973Naomi Harris, Canadian-American photographer

1971Matt Stone, American actor, animator, screenwriter, producer, and composer

Died on this day

2022Alan White, English drummer (born 1949)

2022Andy Fletcher, English musician (born 1961)

2022Ray Liotta, American actor (born 1954)

2019Prem Tinsulanonda, Former Prime Minister of Thailand (born 1920)

2017Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-born American politician (born 1928)

2016Hedy Epstein, German-born American human rights activist and Holocaust survivor (born 1924)

2015João Lucas, Portuguese footballer (born 1979)

2015Les Johnson, Australian politician and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (born 1924)

2015Robert Kraft, American astronomer and academic (born 1927)

2015Vicente Aranda, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)

2014Baselios Thoma Didymos I, Indian metropolitan (born 1921)

2014Hooshang Seyhoun, Iranian-Canadian architect, sculptor, and painter (born 1920)

2014Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American academic and neuropharmacologist (born 1933)

2014William R. Roy, American physician, journalist, and politician (born 1926)

2013Jack Vance, American author (born 1916)

2013John Bierwirth, American lawyer and businessman (born 1924)

2013Otto Muehl, Austrian painter (born 1925)

2013Ray Barnhart, American businessman and politician (born 1928)

2013Roberto Civita, Italian-Brazilian businessman (born 1936)

2013Tom Lichtenberg, American football player and coach (born 1940)

2012Arthur Decabooter, Belgian cyclist (born 1936)

2012Hans Schmidt, Canadian wrestler (born 1925)

2012Hiroshi Miyazawa, Japanese politician (born 1921)

2012Jim Unger, English-Canadian illustrator (born 1937)

2012Leo Dillon, American illustrator (born 1933)

2012Stephen Healey, Welsh captain and footballer (born 1982)

2011Arisen Ahubudu, Sri Lankan scholar, author, and playwright (born 1920)

2010Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television host (born 1912)

2010Chris Moran, English air marshal and pilot (born 1956)

2010Kieran Phelan, Irish politician (born 1949)

Quote of the day

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

Epictetus

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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