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Today May 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
451 – The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place. The Armenians are defeated militarily but are guaranteed freedom to openly practice Christianity.
1293 – An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Japan, killing about 30,000.
1328 – William of Ockham, Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.
1538 – Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
1637 – Pequot War: A combined Protestant and Mohegan force under German Captain John Mason attacks a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Native Americans.
1647 – Alse Young becomes the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies, when she is hanged in Hartford, Connecticut.
1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of Great Britain and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover.
1736 – Battle of Ackia: British and Chickasaw soldiers repel a French and Choctaw attack on the Chickasaw village of Ackia, near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi. The French, under Louisiana governor Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, had sought to link Louisiana with Acadia and the other northern colonies of New France.
1770 – The Orlov Revolt, a first attempt to revolt against the Turks before the Greek War of Independence ends in disaster for the Greeks.
1805 – Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Duomo di Milano gothic cathedral in Milan.
1828 – Mysterious feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering the streets of Nuremberg.
1830 – The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
1857 – Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
1864 – Montana is organized as a United States territory.
1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.
1868 – The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends, with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote.
1869 – Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
1879 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
1889 – Opening of the first Eiffel Tower elevator to the public.
1894 – Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
1896 – James Dunham murders six people in Campbell, California.
1906 – Vauxhall Bridge is opened in London.
1908 – At Masjed Soleyman (???? ??????) in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
1917 – A powerful F4 tornado rips Mattoon, Illinois apart, killing 101 people and injuring 689. It was the world s longest-lasting tornado, lasting for over 7 hours and traveling 293 miles, spreading death and destruction along its path.
1918 – Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarapat.
1918 – The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
1928 – The first motion picture is projected publicly in Athens, Greece.
1936 – In 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 spoke for 10 hours.
1938 – The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
1940 – World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bir Hakeim takes place.
1948 – The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 557 which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
1966 – British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.
1970 – The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
1972 – Willandra National Park is established in Australia.
1972 – The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
1972 – The British state-owned travel firm Thomas Cook & Son is sold to a consortium of private businesses headed by the Midland Bank.
1977 – George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City s World Trade Center.
1981 – The Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
1983 – A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 104 people, injures thousands. Many people go missing and thousands of buildings are destroyed.
1986 – The European Community adopts the European flag.
1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004 explodes over rural Thailand, killing 223.
1992 – Charles Geschke, co-founder of Adobe Systems, Inc. is kidnapped at gunpoint from the Adobe parking lot in Mountain View, California for $650,000 and is held hostage in a rented house in Hollister, California. The FBI rescues him four days later.
1998 – The United States Supreme Court rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
2002 – Álvaro Uribe becomes President of Colombia.
2003 – Only three days after a previous record, Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours 56 minutes. The tourism ministry of Nepal confirms this record in July that year.
2004 – The New York Times publishes an admission of journalistic failings, claiming that its flawed reporting and lack of skeptism towards sources during the buildup to the 2003 war in Iraq helped promote the belief that Iraq possessed large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
2004 – The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
2006 – The May 2006 Java earthquake kills over 5,700 people, leaves 200,000 homeless.
Births
1264 – Prince Koreyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1326)
1478 – Pope Clement VII (d. 1534)
1566 – Mehmed III, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1603)
1602 – Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (d. 1674)
1650 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
1667 – Abraham de Moivre, French mathematician (d. 1754)
1669 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (d. 1722)
1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
1700 – Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer (d. 1760)
1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and statesman (d. 1836)
1799 – Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian author (d. 1837)
1822 – Edmond de Goncourt, French writer (d. 1896)
1863 – Robert Fitzsimmons, Boxing champion (d. 1917)
1865 – Robert W. Chambers, American artist (d. 1933)
1867 – Mary of Teck, wife of George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
1873 – Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian artist (d. 1958)
1883 – Mamie Smith, American singer (d. 1946)
1886 – Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)
1893 – Norma Talmadge, American actress (d. 1957)
1893 – Eugène Aynsley Goossens, English conductor and composer (d. 1962)
1895 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer (d. 1965)
1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (d. 1971)
1899 – Antonio Barrette, French Canadian politician (d. 1968)
1904 – George Formby, English singer and comedian (d. 1961)
1904 – Vlado Perlemuter, Polish pianist (d. 2002)
1907 – Jean Bernard, French physician (d. 2006)
1907 – John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
1908 – Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
1908 – Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Prime Minister of South Vietnam
1909 – Sir Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1994)
1909 – Nikolay Guryanov, Russian Orthodox Christian mystic and priest (d. 2002)
1909 – Adolfo López Mateos, President of Mexico (d. 1969)
1911 – Ben Alexander, American actor (d. 1969)
1912 – János Kádár, Prime minister of Hungary (d. 1989)
1912 – Jay Silverheels, American actor (d. 1980)
1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
1914 – Frankie Manning, American Lindy Hop dancer
1915 – Sam Edwards, American actor (d. 2004)
1915 – Antonia Forest, British children s author (d. 2003)
1916 – Moondog, American composer, musician and poet (d. 1999)
1916 – Henriette Roosenburg, Dutch journalist (d. 1972)
1917 – Eva Szorenyi, Hungarian actress, freedom activist for Hungary
1918 – Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (d. 1985)
1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer (d. 2002)
1923 – James Arness, American actor
1923 – Roy Dotrice, British actor
1926 – Dirch Passer, Danish actor
1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author
1926 – Miles Davis, American musician (d. 1991)
1932 – Grigor Vachkov, Bulgarian actor (d. 1980)
1935 – Sheila Steafel, South African-born British actress
1938 – William Bolcom, American composer
1938 – Pauline Parker, New-Zealandic murderess
1938 – Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian playwright and novelist
1938 – Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
1939 – Merab Kostava, Georgian anti-Soviet leader
1939 – Brent Musburger, American sports broadcaster
1940 – Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, French Canadian politician
1940 – Levon Helm, American musician (The Band)
1941 – Reg Bundy, British performer (d. 2003)
1941 – Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player
1941 – John Kaufman, sculptor
1943 – Erica Terpstra, President of the Dutch Olympic Committee
1944 – Sam Posey, American race car driver, TV commentator and author
1945 – Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer (The Guess Who)
1946 – Neshka Robeva, Bulgarian Rhythmic gymnas and coach.
1946 – Mick Ronson, English musician (d. 1993)
1948 – Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
1949 – Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer and inventor
1949 – Pam Grier, American actress
1949 – Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
1949 – Hank Williams Jr., American singer
1951 – Sally Ride, American astronaut
1951 – Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician
1952 – David Meece, Christian musician
1953 – Kay Hagan, American politician
1953 – Michael Portillo, British politician
1954 – Alan Hollinghurst, British novelist
1954 – Danny Rolling, American murderer (d. 2006)
1955 – Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef
1955 – Wesley Walker, American football player
1956 – Frédéric Dutoit, French politician
1957 – Margaret Colin, American actress
1957 – François Legault, French Canadian politician
1957 – Kristina Olsen, American musician
1957 – Roberto Ravaglia, Italian racing driver
1957 – Pontso S.M. Sekatle, Lesotho academic and politician
1959 – Steve Hanley, English musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers)
1959 – Ole Bornedal, Danish film director, actor and producer
1960 – Masahiro Matsunaga, Japanese racing driver
1960 – Rob Murphy, American baseball player
1961 – Tarsem Singh, Indian film director
1962 – Genie Francis, American actress
1962 – Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor
1964 – Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American writer
1964 – Lenny Kravitz, American musician
1965 – Hazel Irvine, British television presenter
1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
1966 – Zola Budd, South African athlete
1967 – Phil Doyle, Australian writer
1967 – Kevin Moore, American musician (OSI)
1968 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
1968 – Pat Kenney, American professional wrestler
1968 – Fernando León de Aranoa, Spanish film director
1968 – Steve Sedgley, English footballer
1969 – John Baird, Canadian politician
1969 – Musetta Vander, South African actress
1970 – Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese cartoonist
1971 – Timothy Allen, British Photojournalist
1971 – Matt Stone, American television producer
1972 – Patsy Palmer, British actress
1974 – Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
1975 – Nicki Aycox, American actress
1975 – Travis Lee, American baseball player
1976 – Justin Pierre, American singer (Motion City Soundtrack)
1977 – Mark Hunter, American musician (Chimaira)
1977 – Misaki Ito, Japanese actress
1977 – Raina Telgemeier, American cartoonist
1977 – Luca Toni, Italian footballer
1978 – Phil Elverum, American singer-songwriter
1979 – Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
1979 – Mehmet Okur (Memo), Turkish basketball player
1979 – Ashley Massaro, American model and professional wrestler
1981 – Robert Copeland, Australian Rules Football
1981 – Eda-Ines Etti, Estonian singer
1981 – Irini Merkouri, Greek singer
1981 – Isaac Slade, American musician The Fray
1982 – Yoko Matsugane, Japanese model
1982 – David Reed, British writer and comedian
1984 – Andrea Smith, American artist/painter
1988 – Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
1991 – Julianna Rose Mauriello, American actress
Deaths
604 – Augustine of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
818 – Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (b. 766)
946 – King Edmund I of England (b. 921)
1055 – Margrave Adalbert of Austria
1421 – Mehmed I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1389)
1512 – Bayezid II, Ottoman Sultan
1536 – Francesco Berni, Italian poet
1595 – Philip Neri, Italian churchman (b. 1515)
1647 – Alse Young, American witch
1648 – Vincent Voiture, French poet (b. 1597)
1653 – Robert Filmer, English writer (b. 1588)
1679 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
1685 – Karl II, Elector Palatine (b. 1651)
1703 – Samuel Pepys, English civil servant and diarist (b. 1633)
1742 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian Zaporozhian Cossack starshina, diplomat (b. 1672)
1762 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (b. 1714)
1799 – James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
1814 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, officially named the Guillotine (b. 1789)
1818 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian military commander (b. 1761)
1824 – Capel Lofft, English writer (b. 1751)
1831 – Ciro Menotti, Italian patriot (b. 1798)
1840 – Sidney Smith, British admiral (b. 1764)
1881 – Jakob Bernays, German philologist (b. 1824)
1883 – Abd al-Qadir, Algerian political and military leader (b. 1808)
1883 – Edward Sabine, Irish astronomer (b. 1788)
1902 – Almon Strowger, American inventor (b. 1839)
1904 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (b. 1857)
1907 – Ida McKinley, First Lady of the United States (b. 1847)
1908 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam (b. 1835)
1924 – Victor Herbert, Irish composer (b. 1859)
1926 – Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (b. 1879)
1933 – Horatio Bottomley, British financier and politician (b. 1860)
1933 – Jimmie Rodgers, American singer (b. 1897)
1939 – Charles Horace Mayo, American medical practitioner (Mayo Clinic) (b. 1865)
1943 – Edsel Ford, American automobile executive (b. 1893)
1948 – Theodore Morell, Hitler s personal physician (b. 1886)
1951 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American scientist (b. 1880)
1954 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete (b. 1900)
1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion (b. 1918)
1968 – Little Willie John, American singer (b. 1937)
1969 – Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
1969 – Allan H. Loughead, American aviation pioneer (Lockheed Corporation (b. 1889)
1974 – Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (b. 1941)
1976 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (b. 1889)
1976 – Juan Maino, Chilean leader of MAPU, disappeared
1977 – William Powell, American singer (The O Jays) (b. 1942)
1978 – Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
1979 – George Brent, British actor (b. 1899)
1989 – Don Revie, Former footballer and England and Leeds United Manager (b. 1927)
1999 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (b. 1906)
1999 – Waldo Semon, American inventor (b. 1898)
2001 – Vittorio Brambilla, Italian racing driver (b. 1937)
2001 – Anne Haney, American actress (b. 1934)
2001 – Moven Enock Mahachi, Defence Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952)
2002 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
2003 – Kathleen Winsor, American writer (b. 1919)
2004 – Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
2004 – Dullah Omar, South African lawyer (b. 1934)
2005 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
2005 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1928)
2006 – Édouard Michelin, CEO of Michelin (b. 1963)
2006 – Kevin O Flanagan, Irish athlete and physician (b. 1919)
2007 – J Edward Oliver, cartoonist and composer (b. 1942)
2008 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
Australia – National Sorry Day
Poland – Mother s Day
Georgia – National Day
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