February 26
February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar . There are 308 days remaining, 309 in leap years .
Events
747 BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era.
1266 - Battle of Benevento : French forces, under Charles of Anjou , overcome a combined German -Sicilian force.
1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one pound note.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba .
1848 - The second French Republic is proclaimed.
1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Currency Act into law.
1870 - In New York City , the first pneumatic -subway opens.
1887 - At the SCG , George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.
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 reformed.
1935 - Robert Watson-Watt gives the first public demonstration of RADAR .
1936 - In the February 26 Incident , young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
1944 - Shooting begins of the Nazi propaganda film, "The Fuhrer Gives a Village to the Jews" in Theresienstadt .
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 .
1986 - Robert Penn Warren is named poet laureate of the United States.
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 - Tim Berners-Lee introduces WorldWideWeb , the first web browser .
1991 - Gulf War : On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait .
1992 - Xocali slaughter . More than 600 peaceful citizens of Xocali town of Azerbaijan are killed by Armenian forces during war in Karabakh
1993 - World Trade Center bombing : In New York City , a van bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center goes off, 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 gambling on the Singapore Monetary Exchange Simex with derivative securities .
2001 - The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan , Afghanistan .
2004 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya , ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
2005 - Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt ordered 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 )
1802 - Victor Hugo , French poet (d. 1885 )
1808 - Honoré Daumier , French painter, illustrator, lithograph and sculptor (d. 1879 )
1829 - Levi Strauss , clothing designer (d. 1902 )
1846 - Buffalo Bill , American pioneer and officer, hunter and carny (d. 1917 )
1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948 )
1875 - Hans Böckler , unionist and politician (d. 1951 )
1885 - Aleksandras Stulginskis , President of Lithuania (d. 1969 )
1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander , Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1950 )
1887 - William Frawley , American actor (d. 1966 )
1893 - I. A. Richards , literary critic and rhetorician (d. 1979 )
1902 - Albert Anastasia , Mafia boss (d. 1957 )
1907 - Dub Taylor , American actor (d. 1994 )
1908 - Tex Avery , cartoonist (d. 1980 )
1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille , race car driver (d. 1949 )
1909 - King Talal , King of Jordan (d. 1972 )
1914 - Robert Alda , American actor (d. 1986 )
1916 - Jackie Gleason , actor, writer, composer, comedian (d. 1987 )
1918 - Theodore Sturgeon , science fiction writer (d. 1985 )
1919 - Mason Adams , American actor
1920 - Tony Randall , actor (The Odd Couple 2004 )
1921 - Betty Hutton , American actress
1927 - Tom Kennedy , American game show host
1928 - Fats Domino , musician
1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko , cosmonaut
1932 - Johnny Cash , country music singer (d. 2003 )
1933 - Godfrey Cambridge , actor (d. 1976 )
1934 - Robert Novak , American political columnist
1941 - Tony Ray-Jones , British photographer (d. 1972 )
1943 - Bill Duke , American actor, director
1945 - Marta Kristen , Norwegian actress
1947 - Sandie Shaw , British singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner
1950 - Helen Clark , Prime Minister of New Zealand
1951 - Lee Atwater , American political operative (d. 1991 )
1954 - Michael Bolton , singer
1956 - Keisuke Kuwata , Japanese singer
1957 - Besim Hasani , President of Kosova Olimpic Committee
1958 - Michel Houellebecq , French novelist
1959 - Rolando Blackman , basketball star
1962 - Greg Germann , actor
1971 - Erykah Badu , singer
1973 - Marshall Faulk , American football star
1973 - Jenny Thompson , U.S. Olympic swimmer
1974 - Sébastien Loeb , French WRC driver
1984 - Natalia Lafourcade , Mexican pop singer
Deaths
1266 - King Manfred of Sicily .
1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling , inventor (b. 1818 )
1913 - Felix Draeseke , German composer (b. 1835 )
1921 - Carl Menger , economist (b. 1840 )
1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909 )
1969 - Levi Eshkol , Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895 )
1971 - Fernandel , actor (b. 1903 )
1981 - Howard Hanson , composer (b. 1896 )
1993 - Constance Ford , American actress
1994 - Bill Hicks , comedian (b. 1961 )
1997 - David Doyle , American actor
2002 - Lawrence Tierney , actor
2003 - Gerhard Czerwensky , economist
2004 - Shankarrao Chavan , Chief Minister of Maharashtra
2004 - Adolf Ehrnrooth , general; Finnish war veteran
2004 - Boris Trajkovski , president of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956 )
2005 - Jef Raskin , human-computer interface expert (b. 1943 )
Holidays and observances
External links
February 25 - February 27 - January 26 - March 26 -- listing of all days
