On this day in History - Feb. 26

• 0747 - BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era.
• 0277 - Mani dies (b. 216). Persian-born prophet, founder of the Manichaean religion
• 0364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
• 1154 - King Roger II of Sicily dies (b. 1093).
• 1266 - Battle of Benevento: French forces, under Charles of Anjou, overcome a combined German-Sicilian force.
• 1266 - King Manfred of Sicily dies.
• 1360 - Roger de Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March dies (b. 1328). English military leader.
• 1361 - Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor was born (d. 1419). King of Bohemia.
• 1525 - Cuauhtémoc dies. Aztec ruler.
• 1531 - Aproximadamente 30 mil pessoas morrem em consequência de um terramoto em Lisboa. ( Earthquake in Lisbon Portugal, kills 30,000 ).
• 1549 - Antonio de Valdivieso, bispo nicaraguense, es asesinado por los hijos de Rodrigo de Contreras.
• 1552 - Heinrich Faber dies. German composer.
• 1561 - Jorge de Montemayor was born. Spanish writer.
• 1564 - Christopher Marlowe was born (d. 1593). English dramatist.
• 1577 - King Eric XIV of Sweden dies (b. 1533).
• 1587 - Stefano Landi was born (d. 1639). Italian composer.
• 1608 - John Still dies. English bishop.
• 1616 - La Inquisición ordena la captura de Galileo.
• 1630 - William Brade dies (d. 1560). English composer.
• 1638 - Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac dies (b. 1681). French mathematician.
• 1671 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury was born (d. 1713). English politician and philosopher.
• 1672 - Antoine Augustine Calmet was born (d. 1757). French theologian.
• 1714 - James Hervey was born (d. 1758). English clergyman and writer.
• 1715 - Claude Adrien Helvétius was born (d. 1771). French philosopher.
• 1720 - Gian Francesco Albani was born (d. 1803). Italian Catholic cardinal.
• 1723 - Thomas d'Urfey dies (b. 1653). English writer.
• 1726 - Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria dies (b. 1662).
• 1749 - Jeremy Bentham was born. English philosopher
• 1770 - Giuseppe Tartini dies (b. 1692). Italian composer.
• 1786 - François Arago was born. French mathematician.
• 1794 - Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down.
• 1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one pound note.
• 1799 - Émile Clapeyron was born (d. 1864). French engineer and physicist.
• 1802 - Victor Hugo was born in Besançon (d. 1885). French writer (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables).
• 1802 - Esek Hopkins dies (b. 1718). American Revolutionary War admiral.
• 1808 - Honoré Daumier was born (d. 1879). French painter, illustrator, lithograph and sculptor.
• 1813 - Robert Livingston dies (b. 1746). American signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• 1814 - Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville was born (d. 1876). French geologist.
• 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba to start, with 1200 of his men, the 100-day re-conquest of France .
• 1815 - Prince Josias of Coburg dies (b. 1737). Austrian general.
• 1817 - Aparece "La Gaceta del Supremo Gobierno de Chile", primera publicación chilena después de la reconquista española.
• 1821 - Las tropas portuguesas de Río de Janeiro exigen que se jure en Brasil la Constitución proclamada el año anterior en Portugal.
• 1821 - Joseph de Maistre dies (b. 1753). Savoyard diplomat and writer.
• 1824 - Carlos Calvo was born. Argentinian diplomat, people rights scholar (Calvo Clause).
• 1829 - Levi Strauss was born (d. 1902). Clothing designer, creator of blue jeans.
• 1832 - Polish constitution abolished/replaced by Czar Nicholas I .
• 1844 - Independencia de la República Dominicana de Haití.
• 1845 - Alexander III was born in St Petersburg, Russian tsar (1881-94) .
• 1846 - Buffalo Bill (William Frederick Cody) was born (d. 1917). American pioneer, officer, and hunter.
• 1848 - German philosopher Karl Marx , aged 29, and his partner Frederick Engels published The Communist Manifesto.
• 1848 - The second French Republic is proclaimed.
• 1852 - John Harvey Kellogg was born (d. 1943). American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform.
• 1857 - Émile Coué was born (d. 1926). French psychologist.
• 1858 - Vladimir Serbsky was born (d. 1917). Russian psychiatrist.
• 1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria was born (d. 1948) .
• 1861 - Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya was born (d. 1939). Russian revolutioner, Lenin's wife.
• 1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Currency Act into law.
• 1864 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine dies (b. 1807). Canadian politician.
• 1869 - Es abolida la esclavitud en las colonias portuguesas.
• 1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway opens.
• 1875 - Hans Böckler was born (d. 1951). Unionist and politician.
• 1876 - Agustin P. Justo y Rolon was born. President of Argentina (1931-38).
• 1878 - María Gutiérrez dies. Argentine writer and politician.
• 1879 - Frank Bridge was born (d. 1941). English composer.
• 1882 - Husband E. Kimmel was born (d. 1968). American admiral.
• 1883 - Miguel Ângelo Lupo dies in Lisbon (b. 8 May 1826). Portuguese painter.
• 1885 - José de la Riva Aguero y Osuna was born. Peruvian writer and politician. President of Peru (1923-1927).
• 1885 - Congress of Berlin, gives Congo to Belgium & Nigeria to England.
• 1885 - Aleksandras Stulginskis was born (d. 1969). President of Lithuania.
• 1887 - William Frawley was born (d. 1966). American actor.
• 1887 - At the SCG, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.
• 1887 - Benegal Narsing Rau was born in India. President of UN Security Council (1950)
• 1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander was born (d. 1950). Baseball Hall of Famer.
• 1892 - Os deputados às Cortes Gerais portuguesas, passaram e exercer a sua actividade sem remuneração
• 1893 - I. A. Richards was born (d. 1979). English literary critic and rhetorician.
• 1899 - Max Petitpierre was born (d. 1994). Member of the Swiss Federal Council.
• 1902 - Jean Bruller, alias Vercors, was born (d. 1991). French writer and illustrator
• 1902 - Albert Anastasia was born (d. 1957). Italian-born gangster.
• 1903 - Agustín de Foxá was born (d. 30 Jun 1959). Spanish writer, journalist and doplomat
• 1903 - Giulio Natta was born (d. 1979). Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling dies (d. 1818). American inventor.
• 1903 - Agustín de Foxá was born in Madrid (d. 1959). Spanish writer and diplomat.
• 1906 - Madeleine Carroll was born (d. 1987). English actress.
• 1907 - Dub Taylor was born (d. 1994). American actor.
• 1908 - King Leopold II is paid £5 million in exchange for the Congo Free State, now renamed the Belgian Congo.
• 1908 - Tex Avery was born (d. 1980). American cartoonist.
• 1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille was born (d. 1949). French race car driver.
• 1909 - King Talal was born (d. 1972). King of Jordan.
• 1912 - Dane Clark was born (d. 1998). American actor.
• 1913 - Felix Draeseke dies (b. 1835). German composer.
• 1914 - Robert Alda was born (d. 1986). American actor.
• 1916 - Jackie Gleason was born (d. 1987). American actor, writer, composer, comedian.
• 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon was born (d. 1985). American science fiction writer.
• 1918 - Otis Ray Bowen was born. American politician and physician.
• 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon was born (d. 1985). American writer.
• 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).
• 1919 - Mason Adams was born. American actor.
• 1919 - Rie Mastenbroek was born (d. 2003). Dutch swimmer.
• 1920 - Tony Randall was born (d. 2004). American actor (The Odd Couple).
• 1920 - Danny Gardella was born (d. 2005). Baseball player
• 1920 - Lucjan Wolanowski was born (d. 2006). Polish journalist, writer and traveller.
• 1921 - Betty Hutton was born. American actress.
• 1921 - Carl Menger dies (b. 1840). Austrian economist.
• 1922 - Margaret Leighton was born (d. 1976). British actress.
• 1926 - Miroslava Stern was born (d. 1955). Mexican actress.
• 1927 - Tom Kennedy was born. American game show host.
• 1928 - Fats Domino was born. American musician .
• 1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko was born. Cosmonaut .
• 1928 - Ariel Sharon was born. Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1929 - The Grand Teton National Park is created.
• 1930 - Lazar Berman was born (d. 2005). Russian pianist.
• 1930 - Yara Lins was born (d. 2004). Brazilian actress.
• 1930 - 1st red & green traffic lights installed (Manhattan NYC).
• 1931 - Ally McLeod was born (d. 2004). Scottish footballer and manager.
• 1931 - Otto Wallach dies (b. 1847). German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate in 1910.
• 1932 - Johnny Cash was born (d. 2003). American country music singer(I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Boy Named Sue) .
• 1933 - Godfrey Cambridge was born (d. 1976). African-American actor and comedian.
• 1933 - Sir James Goldsmith was born in Paris (d. 18 Jul 1997). British financir, billionaire businessman and founder of the Euro-sceptic Referendum Party.
• 1933 - Princess Thyra dies (b. 1853). Daughter of Christian IX of Denmark.
• 1934 - Robert Novak was born. American political columnist
• 1935 - The Luftwaffe is reformed.
• 1935 - Robert Watson-Watt gives the first public demonstration of RADAR.
• 1935 - António da Cunha Teles was born. Portuguese film director.
• 1936 - In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
• 1936 - José Policarpo da Cruz was born. Portuguese, ordained a Catholic priest on 15 Aug 1961, appointed auxiliary of Lisbon on 26 May 1978 and consecrated bishop on 29 June 1978; appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Lisbon on 05 March 1997; succeeded Cardinal António Ribeiro as Patriarch of Lisbon on 24 March 1998; made a cardinal on 21 February 2001.
• 1937 - Hagood Hardy was born (d. 1997). Canadian musician and composer.
• 1939 - Manifestação dos Sindicatos Nacionais, Casas do Povo e Casas dos Pescadores de apoio à política corporativista do governo de Salazar.
• 1940 - Segunda Guerra Mundial: el destructor británico "Cossak" aborda al buque alemán "Altmark" y libera a los 300 prisioneros ingleses que transportaba .
• 1941 - Tony Ray-Jones was born (d. 1972). British photographer.
• 1943 - Bill Duke was born. American actor and director.
• 1944 - Shooting begins of the Nazi propaganda film, "The Fuhrer Gives a Village to the Jews" in Theresienstadt.
• 1945 - Marta Kristen was born. Norwegian actress.
• 1945 - Peter Brock was born (d. 2006). Australian motorsports champion.
• 1945 - Mitch Ryder was born. American musician (The Detroit Wheels)
• 1945 - Bob Hite was born (d. 1981). Singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat).
• 1946 - Ahmed H. Zewail was born. Egyptian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1947 - Sandy Shaw [Sandra Goodrich] was born in Dagenham Essex. English singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner .
• 1947 - Henrich Häberlin dies (b. 1868). Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council.
• 1949 - Un movimiento cívico-militar derroca al presidente de Paraguay, general Raimundo Rolón.
• 1949 - Emma Kirkby was born. British early music singer
• 1950 - Oscar Osorio wins Presidential elections in San Salvador.
• 1950 - Helen Clark was born. Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1951 - Lee Atwater was born (d. 1991). American political operative.
• 1952 - United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.
• 1954 - Michael Bolton was born. American singer.
• 1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was born. Prime Minister of Turkey.
• 1956 - Keisuke Kuwata was born. Japanese singer.
• 1956 - Michel Houellebecq was born. French novelist.
• 1957 - Final radio broadcast of Dragnet.
• 1957 - Joe Mullen was born. American ice hockey player
• 1957 - David Muldrow Beasley was born. American politician
• 1957 - Besim Hasani was born. President of Kosova Olimpic Committee.
• 1958 - Michel Houellebecq was born. French novelist.
• 1959 - Rolando Blackman was born. Panamanian basketball star
• 1959 - Lou Costello dies at 52. Actor (Abbott & Costello).
• 1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco dies (b. 1909)
• 1961 - O príncipe Hassan ascende ao trono do Marrocos como rei Hassan II, após a morte repentina de seu pai Mohammed V.
• 1961 -The Italian held capital of Somaliland, Mogadishu, is captured by British forces.
• 1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco dies (b. 1909)
• 1962 - Greg Germann was born. American actor.
• 1966 - Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
• 1966 - Najwa Karam was born. Lebanese singer
• 1966 - Vinayak Damodar Savarkar dies (b. 1883). Indian freedom fighter and writer.
• 1967 - Paulo Pires was born. Portuguese actor.
• 1968 - Thirty-two African nations agreed to boycott the Olympics because of the presence of South Africa.
• 1968 - J.T. Snow was born. American baseball player, 1st baseman
• 1969 - Levi Eshkol dies (b. 1895). Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1969 - Karl Jaspers dies (b. 1883). German psychiatrist.
• 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.
• 1971 - Erykah Badu was born. American singer.
• 1971 - Max Martin was born. Swedish composer and producer
• 1971 - Hélène Ségara was born. French singer
• 1971 - Fernandel dies (b. 1903). French actor (Death of Champion).
• 1972 - Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.
• 1973 - Marshall Faulk was born. American football star .
• 1973 - Jenny Thompson was born. U.S. Olympic swimmer .
• 1973 - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was born. Norwegian footballer.
• 1974 - Sébastien Loeb was born. French WRC driver .
• 1975 - Em Portugal, foi promulgada a Lei da Imprensa.
• 1976 - Spain departs from Spanish Sahara Spain completes its withdrawal from Spanish Sahara, a former colonial territory in northeastern Africa.
• 1976 - Nikolaos Siranidis was born. Greek diver
• 1977 - Marty Reasoner was born. American ice hockey player
• 1978 - Marc Hynes was born. British racing driver
• 1978 - Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye was born. Senegalese footballer
• 1979 - Pedro Mendes was born in Guimarães. Portuguese football player (Portsmouth)
• 1979 - Corinne Bailey Rae was born. British singer
• 1980 - A República Árabe do Egito e o estado de Israel estabeleceram relações diplomáticas, pondo fim a trinta anos de guerra entre as duas nações.
• 1980 - Alex Fong was born. Hong Kong singer.
• 1980 - Gary Majewski was born. Baseball player.
• 1981 - Kertus Davis was born. NASCAR driver
• 1981 - Robert Aickman dies (b. 1914). English writer and conservationist.
• 1981 - Howard Hanson dies (b. 1896). American composer.
• 1982 - Jay Mullen was born. British actor
• 1982 - Song Hye Kyo was born. South Korean model and actress
• 1982 - Paco Martínez Soria dies (b. 1902). Spanish actor.
• 1983 - Kara Monaco was born. American playmate
• 1983 - Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira (Pepe) was born in Maceió. Brazilian football player (FC Porto)
• 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade was born. Mexican pop singer.
• 1984 - Emmanuel Adebayor was born. Togolese footballer.
• 1985 - 27th Grammy Awards What's Love Got to Do With It, Cyndi Lauper wins.
• 1985 - Tjalling Koopmans was born (d. 1910). Dutch economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner.
• 1985 - Alexandria Hilfiger was born. American actress, daughter of Tommy Hilfiger
• 1986 - People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
• 1986 - Robert Penn Warren is named poet laureate of the United States.
• 1986 - Crystal Kay was born. Japanese singer
• 1987 - Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
• 1987 - Julia Bond was born. American actress
• 1988 - La Asamblea Legislativa de Panamá sustituye al presidente Eric Arturo Delvalle por Manuel Solis de Palma.
• 1988 - The Soviet Union's hockey team clinched the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.
• 1988 - Hugo Ribeiro dies. Portuguese mathematicien
• 1990 - Sinnead O'Connor was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Nothing Compares 2 U.
• 1990 - The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections.
• 1990 - Cornell Gunter dies (b. 1938). American singer (The Coasters).
• 1991 - During the Gulf War, Kuwait City is liberated and Iraq begins its withdrawl
• 1991 - El Partido Nacionalista de Bangladesh gana las primeras elecciones libres en este país tras catorce años de Gobierno militar.
• 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.
• 1991 - É instalado o STJ – Superior Tribunal de Justiça, que havia sido criado pela Constituição de 1988 do Brasil.
• 1992 - Xocali slaughter. More than 600 people of the town of Xocali, 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. 4 Islamic extremists were convicted and each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
• 1993 - In Egypt a bomb in a coffee shop killed 3 people and injured 18 In Cairo.
• 1993 - Taylor Dooley was born. American actress.
• 1993 - Constance Ford dies (b. 1923). American actress.
• 1994 - Portugal : Oficial opening of Lisbon European Capital of Culture
  Abertura oficial de Lisboa 94 — Capital Europeia de Cultura.
• 1994 - Bill Hicks dies (b. 1961). American comedian.
• 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.
• 1995 - At The Houston Astrodome Selena Quintanilla-Perez performed in her last concert before she was killed.
• 1995 - Jack Clayton dies (b. 1921). British film director.
• 1997 - 39th Grammy Awards "Change the World" Babyface won four awards, including record of the year; Celine Dion's "Falling Into You" won album of the year and best pop album.
• 1997 - O governo suíço dá sua aprovação final para a constituição de um fundo para sobreviventes do Holocausto. Esse dinheiro pertencia aos judeus que viviam na Europa durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Após ser roubado por nazistas, o dinheiro foi depositado em bancos suíços.
• 1997 - David Doyle dies (b. 1929). American actor.
• 1998 - Theodore Schultz dies (b. 1902). American economist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1998 - Eclipse total de sol (se percibe especialmente en la costa venezolana del Océano Pacífico .
• 1999 - In Iran elections were planned for cities, towns and village councils. These were the first elections since the 1979 revolution.
• 2000 - Heavy rains continued to ravage South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. 33 people were reported dead in the northern province of South Africa and 29 dead in Zimbabwe.
• 2001 - Iconoclastic Taliban destroys archeological treasures. The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.
• 2001 - Winners at the Brit Awards included Coldplay, Best British group, Robbie Williams, Best British Male artist and Best single for Rock DJ, Sonique, Best British Female artist, Best Dance act, Fat Boy Slim and U2 won Outstanding contribution.
• 2001 - The Treaty of Nice which updates previous treaties of the European Community, is signed by its 15 states: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands; Denmark, Ireland, the UK; Greece; Spain, Portugal; Austria, Finland, and Sweden.It would be ratified by the parliaments of all except Ireland, whose constitution requires a referendum. Ireland would hold its referendum on 07 June 2001, 34% of eligible voters would participate, of which 54% reject the treaty. Ireland would repeat the referendum on 19 October 2002 and this time the Nice Treaty would be approved by 65% of the voters.
• 2002 - Lawrence Tierney dies (b. 1919). American actor.
• 2003 - Gerhard Czerwensky dies. Economist .
• 2004 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
• 2004 - Shankarrao Chavan dies (b. 1920). Indian politician, Chief Minister of Maharashtra
• 2004 - Adolf Ehrnrooth dies (b. 1905). Finnish general, war veteran .
• 2004 - Boris Trajkovski dies when an aging Beechcraft Super King Air 200 twin-engine turboprop airplane crashes at 08:01 (07:01 UT), in rain, heavy cloud cover and thick fog, near village Bitonja, Bosnia (b. 1956). President of the Republic of Macedonia.
• 2004 - Silas Warner dies. Computer game programmer .
• 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.
• 2005 - Jef Raskin dies (b. 1943). American computer scientist.
• 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).