February 26
Events
Pre-1600
- 747 BC - According to Ptolemy, the epoch of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events.
- 320 - Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor.
- 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
- 1074 - Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza.
- 1266 - Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
- 1365 - The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava founded by King Thado Minbya.
1601–1900
- 1606 - The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.
- 1616 - Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
- 1775 - The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates.
- 1794 - The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
- 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
- 1870 - The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens.
- 1876 - Japan and Korea sign the Treaty of Kangwha, which grants Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights in Korea, opens three Korean ports to Japanese trade, and ends Korea's status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
1901–present
- 1909 - Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
- 1914 -, sister to the, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
- 1919 - President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
- 1929 - President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
- 1935 - Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
- 1935 - 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 nationalist Japanese military officers assassinate multiple cabinet statesmen and start a rebellion in downtown Tokyo, which is ended 3 days later.
- 1945 - World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.
- 1952 - Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
- 1960 - A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
- 1960 - A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board.
- 1966 - Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
- 1971 - U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
- 1979 - The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
- 1980 - Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1987 - Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
- 1992 - First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
- 1993 - World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
- 1995 - The UK's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
- 2008 - The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.
- 2012 - A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
- 2012 - Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.
- 2013 - A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.
- 2019 - Indian Air Force fighter-jets targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan.
- 2021 - A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1361 - Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
- 1416 - Christopher of Bavaria
- 1564 - Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator
- 1584 - Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria
- 1587 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer and educator
1601–1900
- 1629 - Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer
- 1651 - Quirinus Kuhlmann, German Baroque poet and mystic
- 1671 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician
- 1672 - Antoine Augustin Calmet, French monk and theologian
- 1677 - Nicola Fago, Italian composer and teacher
- 1714 - Biagio Bellotti, Italian painter and architect
- 1718 - Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist
- 1720 - Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal
- 1729 - Anders Chydenius, Finnish economist, philosopher and Lutheran priest
- 1746 - Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma
- 1770 - Anton Reicha, Bohemian composer and flautist
- 1777 - Matija Nenadović, Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia
- 1786 - François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France
- 1802 - Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright
- 1808 - Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor
- 1808 - Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse
- 1829 - Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co.
- 1842 - Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author
- 1846 - Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter
- 1852 - John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes
- 1857 - Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist
- 1861 - Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
- 1861 - Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician
- 1866 - Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company
- 1866 - Gustave Mathieu, French anarchist illegalist, suspected of being one of Ravachol's main accomplices
- 1871 - Matti Turkia, Finnish politician
- 1877 - Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia
- 1877 - Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator
- 1879 - Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer
- 1880 - Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer
- 1881 - Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet
- 1882 - Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral
- 1885 - Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania
- 1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach
- 1887 - William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian
- 1887 - Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator
- 1893 - Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam
- 1893 - Dorothy Whipple, English novelist
- 1896 - Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician
- 1899 - Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1900 - Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet
- 1900 - Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer
1901–present
- 1902 - Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit
- 1903 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1903 - Orde Wingate, English general
- 1906 - Madeleine Carroll, English actress
- 1908 - Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor
- 1908 - Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist
- 1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French racing driver
- 1909 - Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic
- 1909 - Talal of Jordan
- 1910 - Vic Woodley, English footballer
- 1911 - Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor
- 1914 - Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director
- 1916 - Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer
- 1918 - Otis Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana
- 1918 - Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus
- 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic
- 1919 - Mason Adams, American actor
- 1920 - Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer
- 1920 - Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer
- 1920 - Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author
- 1921 - Betty Hutton, American actress and singer
- 1922 - Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman
- 1922 - Margaret Leighton, English actress
- 1924 - Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist
- 1924 - Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan
- 1925 - Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee
- 1926 - Doris Belack, American actress
- 1926 - Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer
- 1926 - Henry Molaison, American medical patient
- 1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor
- 1928 - Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1928 - Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel
- 1931 - Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1931 - Robert Novak, American journalist and author
- 1931 - Josephine Tewson, English actress
- 1932 - Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1933 - James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician
- 1934 - Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1936 - José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal
- 1937 - Paul Dickson, American football player and coach
- 1939 - Chuck Wepner, American boxer
- 1940 - Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer
- 1942 - Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager
- 1943 - Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 - Bill Duke, American actor and director
- 1943 - Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
- 1943 - Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1944 - Christopher Hope, South African author and poet
- 1944 - Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
- 1945 - Peter Brock, Australian racing driver
- 1945 - Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress
- 1945 - Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter
- 1946 - Colin Bell, English footballer
- 1946 - Bingo Smith, American basketball player
- 1946 - Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1947 - Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist
- 1948 - Sharyn McCrumb, American author
- 1949 - Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts
- 1949 - Elizabeth George, American author and educator
- 1949 - Emma Kirkby, English soprano
- 1950 - Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1950 - Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1951 - Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland
- 1953 - Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1953 - Barbara Niven, American actress and writer
- 1954 - Prince Ernst August of Hanover
- 1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey
- 1955 - Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
- 1956 - Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director
- 1957 - David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
- 1957 - Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1957 - John Jude Palencar, American artist and illustrator
- 1957 - Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer
- 1958 - Greg Germann, American actor and director
- 1958 - Liza 'N' Eliaz, Belgian, transgender, hardcore DJ
- 1958 - Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut
- 1958 - Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
- 1959 - Rolando Blackman, Panamanian-American basketball player
- 1959 - Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1960 - Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1962 - Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician
- 1963 - Chase Masterson, American actress, singer, and activist
- 1964 - Mark Dacascos, American actor, martial artist, and television personality
- 1965 - James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager
- 1966 - Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti
- 1966 - Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 - Jennifer Grant, American actress
- 1966 - Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
- 1967 - Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer
- 1967 - Gene Principe, Canadian sports reporter and broadcaster
- 1968 - Tim Commerford, American bass player
- 1968 - Leif Rohlin, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1969 - Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer
- 1970 - Predrag Danilović, Serbian basketball player and executive
- 1970 - Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Minister of State for Immigration
- 1971 - Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1971 - Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter
- 1971 - Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress
- 1972 - Maz Jobrani, American comedian and actor
- 1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football player
- 1973 - Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager
- 1973 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
- 1974 - Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne
- 1974 - Sébastien Loeb, French racing driver
- 1974 - Bonnie Somerville, American actress
- 1975 - P. J. Axelsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1976 - Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician
- 1976 - Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 - Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1977 - Greg Rikaart, American actor
- 1977 - Tim Thomas, American basketball player
- 1977 - James Wan, Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer
- 1977 - Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player
- 1978 - Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer
- 1979 - Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 - Steve Evans, Welsh footballer
- 1979 - Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer
- 1980 - Steve Blake, American basketball player
- 1981 - Kevin Dallman, Canadian-Kazakhstani ice hockey player
- 1981 - Kertus Davis, American race car driver
- 1981 - Simon Maljevac, Slovenian politician
- 1981 - Robert Mathis, American football player
- 1981 - Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer
- 1981 - Sharon Van Etten, American singer-songwriter, musician and actress
- 1982 - Li Na, Chinese tennis player
- 1982 - Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer
- 1982 - Nate Ruess, American singer-songwriter
- 1983 - Jerome Harrison, American football player
- 1983 - Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
- 1984 - Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer
- 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer-songwriter
- 1984 - Beren Saat, Turkish actress
- 1985 - Fernando Llorente, Spanish footballer
- 1986 - Mārtiņš Karsums, Latvian ice hockey player
- 1986 - Hannah Kearney, American skier
- 1986 - Teresa Palmer, Australian actress
- 1989 - Gabriel Obertan, French footballer
- 1990 - Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
- 1991 - Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer
- 1991 - Kevin Plawecki, American baseball player
- 1992 - Mikael Granlund, Finnish hockey player
- 1993 - Morgan Gautrat, American soccer player
- 1994 - Jacob Trouba, American ice hockey player
- 1994 - Mahra Al Maktoum, Emirati princess.
- 1997 - Jessie Bates, American football player
- 2000 - Yeat, American rapper
- 2002 - Gerard Martín, Spanish footballer
- 2002 - César Tárrega, Spanish footballer
- 2003 - Jamal Musiala, German footballer