From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). There are 219 days remaining.
[edit] 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 practise Christianity.
- 1293 - Earthquake strikes Kamakura, Japan, kills 30,000.
- 1328 - William of Ockham, Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena, and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, go a sentence of death 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 Puritan and Mohegan force under English Captain John Mason attacks a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Native Americans.
- 1670 - In Dover, King Charles II of England and King 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 (Napoleon I) 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.
- 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 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.
- 1896 - 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 (مسجد سليمان) 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 persons 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 - The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
- 1928 - The first motion picture is projected publically in Athens, Greece.
- 1936 - In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation Bill. By the time he sat down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken 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.
- 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.
- 1963 - The Organisation of African Unity is formed.
- 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.
- 1969 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their second Bed-In for Peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
- 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.
- 1977 - George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City's World Trade Center.
- 1978 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
- 1983 - Strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggers a tsunami that kills at least 104 people, injures thousands. Many missing people and thousands of buildings 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. was 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.
- 1999 - Manchester United win the UEFA Champions League to complete an unprecedented treble.
- 2002 - The Mars Odyssey finds signs of huge water ice deposits on the planet Mars.
- 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.
- 2006 - The 2006 Java earthquake kills over 5,700 people, leaves 200,000 homeless.
[edit] 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)
- 1878 - Isadora Duncan, American dancer (d. 1927)
- 1886 - Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)
- 1887 - Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (d. 1971)
- 1893 - Norma Talmadge, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1895 - Dorothea Lange, American photographer (d. 1965)
- 1899 - Antonio Barrette, Quebec politician (d. 1968)
- 1904 - Vlado Perlemuter, Polish pianist (d. 2002)
- 1907 - John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1907 - Jean Bernard, French physician (d. 2006)
- 1908 - Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1909 - Sir Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1909 - Adolfo López Mateos, President of Mexico (d. 1969)
- 1911 - Ben Alexander, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1912 - Jay Silverheels, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1912 - János Kádár, Prime minister of Hungary (d. 1989)
- 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 - Henriette Roosenburg, Dutch journalist (d. 1972)
- 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 - Miles Davis, American musician
- 1928 - Jack Kevorkian, American physician
- 1938 - William Bolcom, American composer
- 1938 - Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
- 1938 - Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian playwright and novelist
- 1939 - Merab Kostava, Georgian anti-Soviet leader
- 1939 - Brent Musburger, American sports broadcaster
- 1940 - Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Quebec politician
- 1940 - Levon Helm, American musician (The Band)
- 1941 - Cliff Drysdale, South African-born tennis player
- 1943 - Erica Terpstra, President of the Dutch Olympic Committee
- 1944 - Sam Posey, American racing driver
- 1946 - Mick Ronson, English musician (d. 1993)
- 1948 - Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
- 1949 - Ward Cunningham, American inventor
- 1949 - Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
- 1949 - Hank Williams Jr., American singer
- 1949 - Pam Grier, American actress
- 1951 - Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician
- 1951 - Sally Ride, American astronaut
- 1952 - David Meece, Christian musician
- 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 - Kristina Olsen, American musician
- 1957 - Roberto Ravaglia, Italian racing driver
- 1957 - Pontso S.M. Sekatle, Lesotho academic and politician
- 1959 - Steve Hanley, English musician
- 1960 - Rob Murphy, American baseball player
- 1962 - Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor
- 1962 - Genie Francis, American actress
- 1964 - Lenny Kravitz, American musician
- 1964 - Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American writer
- 1965 - Hazel Irvine, British television presenter
- 1966 - Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- 1966 - Zola Budd, South African athlete
- 1968 - Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
- 1968 - Pat Kenney, American wrestler
- 1970 - Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese cartoonist
- 1971 - Ivan O. Godfroid, Belgian writer
- 1971 - Matt Stone, American television producer
- 1972 - Patsy Palmer, British actress
- 1974 - Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- 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 - Luca Toni, Italian soccer player
- 1979 - Ashley Massaro, American wrestler
- 1980 - David Burt, IT specialist
- 1979 - Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
- 1981 - Irini Merkouri, Greek singer
- 1982 - Yoko Matsugane, Japanese model
- 1991 - Julianna Rose Mauriello, American actress
[edit] 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)
- 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)
- 1762 - Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (b. 1714)
- 1799 - James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
- 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 - Edward Sabine, Irish astronomer (b. 1788)
- 1883 - Abd al-Qadir, Algerian political and military leader (b. 1808)
- 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, Punjabi founder of the Qadianism (b. 1839)
- 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 (b. 1918)
- 1968 - Little Willie John, American singer (b. 1937)
- 1969 - Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 1974 - Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (b. 1941)
- 1976 - Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (b. 1889)
- 1978 - Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- 1979 - George Brent, British actor (b. 1899)
- 1995 - Friz Freleng, American animator (b. 1905)
- 1999 - Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (b. 1906)
- 1999 - Waldo Semon, American inventor (b. 1898)
- 2001 - Moven Enock Mahachi, Defence Minister of Zimbabwe is killed in a car crash.
- 2001 - Vittorio Brambilla, Italian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 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)
[edit] Holidays and observances
in the Roman Catholic Church:
- Saint Berenger (died 1093)
- Saint Lambert (d. 1154)
- Saint Philip Neri (died 1595)
- Saint Simitrius
- Saint William of Aquitaine
- Blessed Pieter of Ter Duinen
- Saint Germain of Paris
[edit] External links
