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Today February 26th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy s Nabonassar Era.
364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
1658 – Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655-1661), the King of Denmark-Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.
1794 – Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down.
1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes.
1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
1848 – The second French Republic is proclaimed.
1863 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Banking Act into law.
1870 – In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway opens.
1885 – The Berlin Act, which resulted from the Berlin Conference regulating European colonization and trade in Africa, is signed
1887 – At the SCG, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.
1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
1919 – An act of the U.S. 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 re-formed.
1935 – The Daventry Experiment, 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.
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.
1971 – 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.
1984 – US troops withdraw from Beirut. President Ronald Reagan had sent the troops as a peacekeeping force in August 1982.
1986 – People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
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 – 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 truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.
1995 – The United Kingdom s oldest investment banking firm, Barings Bank collapses after a securities broker, Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
2001 – The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, Afghanistan.
2003 – Generally said to be the starting date of the War in Darfur.
2004 – The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
2004 – Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2005 – Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt orders the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking Egyptian parliament to amend Article 76 of the constitution.
Births
1361 – Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d. 1419)
1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist (d. 1593)
1587 – Stefano Landi, Italian composer (d. 1639)
1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (d. 1713)
1672 – Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d. 1757)
1714 – James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d. 1758)
1715 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
1720 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1803)
1746 – Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, duchess of Piacenza (d. 1806)
1749 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
1786 – François Arago, French mathematician (d. 1853)
1799 – Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (d. 1864)
1802 – Victor Hugo, French writer (d. 1885)
1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
1808 – Nathan Kelley,American architect, active mainly in Ohio, (d. 1871)
1814 – Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (d. 1876)
1829 – Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902)
1846 – William F. Buffalo Bill Cody, American frontiersman (d. 1917)
1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943)
1857 – Émile Coué, French psychologist (d. 1926)
1858 – Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist (d. 1917)
1861 – King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
1861 – Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary, Lenin s wife (d. 1939)
1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist (d. 1930)
1879 – Frank Bridge, English composer (d. 1941)
1882 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (d. 1950)
1887 – William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966)
1887 – Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer (d. 1936)
1893 – I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d. 1979)
1896 – Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov, Soviet politician and art ideologist (d. 1948)
1899 – Max Petitpierre, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1994)
1902 – Jean Bruller, alias Vercors, French writer and illustrator (d. 1991)
1903 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
1906 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
1907 – Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
1908 – Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980)
1908 – Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer (d. 2007)
1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
1909 – King Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
1909 – Fanny Cradock, English food writer and broadcaster (d. 1994)
1911 – Taro Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist (d. 1996)
1912 – Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)
1913 – George Barker, English poet (d. 1991)
1914 – Robert Alda, American actor (d. 1986)
1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d. 1987)
1918 – Otis Ray Bowen, American politician (Indiana Governor) and physician
1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985)
1919 – Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
1919 – Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d. 2003)
1920 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1920 – Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004)
1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (d. 2006)
1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1922 – Margaret Leighton, British actress (d. 1976)
1926 – Miroslava Stern, Mexican actress (d. 1955)
1926 – H.M., Henry Gustav Molaison, the amnesiac patient (d. 2008)
1927 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host
1928 – Fats Domino, American musician
1928 – Anatoli Filipchenko, Soviet cosmonaut
1928 – Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer and actress
1930 – Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d. 2005)
1931 – Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003)
1934 – Robert Novak, American political columnist
1937 – Hagood Hardy, Canadian musician and composer (d. 1997)
1938 – Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter (d. 1957)
1939 – Josephine Tewson, English actress
1941 – Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
1943 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
1943 – Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
1945 – Peter Brock, Australian motorsports champion (d. 2006)
1945 – Bob Hite, American singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat) (d. 1981)
1945 – Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach and politician
1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress
1945 – Mitch Ryder, American musician (The Detroit Wheels)
1946 – Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel laureate
1947 – Sandie Shaw, English singer
1949 – Elizabeth George, American novelist
1949 – Emma Kirkby, British early music singer
1950 – Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
1950 – Jonathan Cain, American musician (Journey, Bad English, The Babys)
1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer
1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey
1955 – Andreas Maislinger, founder of Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
1956 – Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer
1957 – David Muldrow Beasley, American politician
1957 – Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player
1958 – Karen Berger, American comic book editor
1958 – Michel Houellebecq, French novelist
1958 – Greg Germann, American actor
1958 – Tim Kaine, American politician, governor of Virginia
1959 – Rolando Blackman, American basketball player
1960 – Jaz Coleman, British musician
1962 – Kelly Gruber, former Major League Baseball player
1964 – Mark Dacascos, American actor and martial artist
1966 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
1967 – Currie Graham, Canadian actor
1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player (Rage Against the Machine)
1968 – Ed Quinn, American Actor
1968 – J. T. Snow, American baseball player
1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer
1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer
1971 – Max Martin, Swedish composer and producer
1971 – Hélène Ségara, French singer
1973 – Marshall Faulk, American football player
1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian retired footballer
1973 – Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
1974 – Sébastien Loeb, French rally driver
1976 – Nikolaos Siranidis, Greek diver
1976 – Chad Urmston, American musician
1977 – Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player
1977 – Greg Rikaart, American actor
1977 – Josh Towers, Major League Baseball player
1977 – Shane Williams, Welsh International Rugby Player
1978 – Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer
1978 – Marc Hynes, British racing driver
1978 – John Tartaglia, Broadway performer and Muppeteer
1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer
1979 – Mariano Bainotti, Argentine racing driver
1979 – Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer
1979 – Shalim Ortiz, Puerto Rican singer/actor
1980 – Alex Fong, Hong Kong singer
1980 – Gary Majewski, Major League Baseball player
1980 – Steve Blake, American basketball player
1981 – Kertus Davis, American NASCAR driver
1981 – Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer
1982 – Song Hye Kyo, South Korean model and actress
1983 – Kara Monaco, American model
1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer
1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer
1985 – Alexandria Hilfiger, American actress, daughter of Tommy Hilfiger
1986 – Crystal Kay, Japanese singer
1986 – Teresa Palmer, Australian model and actress
1986 – Makelele, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Julia Bond, American porn star
1987 – Juliet Simms, Guitarist and vocals for the band Automatic Loveletter
1993 – Taylor Dooley, American actress
Deaths
1154 – King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
1200 – Symeon, former Serbian ruler and saint
1266 – King Manfred of Sicily
1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)
1552 – Heinrich Faber, German composer
1561 – Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer
1577 – King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
1608 – John Still, English bishop
1630 – William Brade, English composer (b. 1560)
1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (b. 1681)
1723 – Thomas d Urfey, English writer (b. 1653)
1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (b. 1692)
1802 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718)
1813 – Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746)
1815 – Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b. 1737)
1821 – Joseph de Maistre, Savoyard diplomat and writer (b. 1753)
1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician (b. 1807)
1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (b. 1838)
1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)
1913 – Felix Draeseke, German composer (b. 1835)
1921 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist (b. 1840)
1931 – Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1847)
1933 – Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853)
1943 – Theodor Eicke, Nazi official (b. 1892)
1947 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868)
1950 – Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish Music Hall Entertainer, Knighted for WWI War Work (b. 1870)
1961 – King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b. 1883)
1969 – Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
1969 – Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b. 1883)
1971 – Fernandel, French actor (b. 1903)
1981 – Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
1981 – Robert Aickman, English writer and conservationist (b. 1914)
1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
1989 – Roy Eldridge, American musician (b. 1911)
1990 – Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1938)
1993 – Constance Ford, American actress (b. 1923)
1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
1995 – Jack Clayton, British film director (b. 1921)
1997 – David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
1998 – James Algar, American film director, screenwriter and producer (b. 1912)
1998 – Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
2000 – George L. Street III American Navy Submariner and Medal of Honor recipient.(b. 1913)
2001 – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (b. 1906)
2002 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
2003 – Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver (b. 1928)
2004 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920)
2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
2004 – Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
2005 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b. 1943)
2008 – Buddy Miles, American drummer (Band of Gypsies (b. 1947)
2008 – Dick Fletcher, Meteorologist (b. 1942)
2008 – Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician
Holidays and observances
Bahá í Faith – February 26, Day 1 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) – days in the Bahá í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
Nation of Islam – Savior s Day – commemoration of the birthdate of Wallace Fard Muhammad, believed to be Allah in human form, the saviour of the black race.
Liberation Day in Kuwait (1991).
Saint Nestor (died 251)
Saint Alexander of Alexandria
Saint Isabel of France
February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
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