May 26
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 26 is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 219 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [change]
- 17 – Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero following several battle victories over Germanic tribes.
- 946 – King Edmund I of England is murderered by a thief he personally attacks during mass.
- 1538 – Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city.
- 1644 – Portuguese Restoration War: Battle of Montijo - Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory.
- 1647 – Alse Young is hanged in Hartford, Connecticut. This is the first "witchcraft" execution in the British American colonies.
- 1659 – The "Great Fire" destroys more than half of the city of Stade.
- 1805 – Napoleon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy.
- 1822 – The Grue Church fire in Norway kills 116 people.
- 1828 – Feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered walking around Nuremberg. To this day, his early days remain a mystery.
- 1830 – The Indian Removal Act is passed by the United States Congress, and is signed by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
- 1864 – Montana is organised as a US territory.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Edmund Kirby Smith becomes the last Confederate general to surrender.
- 1868 – End of the impeachment trial of US President Andrew Johnson.
- 1869 – Boston University is chartered by Massachusetts.
- 1879 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak, establishing an Afghan state.
- 1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1897 – The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is published.
- 1906 – The Vauxhall Bridge in London is opened.
- 1918 – Georgia (country) declares independence.
- 1940 – World War II: Battle of Dunkirk - Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
- 1966 – Guyana gains independence (separates) from the United Kingdom.
- 1969 – Apollo 10 returns to Earth.
- 1971 – The Pakistan Army massacres over 70 Hindus in Sylhet, present-day Bangladesh.
- 1972 – Willandra National Park in Australia is created.
- 1977 – George Willig climbs the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 1981 – Prime Minister of Italy Arnaldo Forlani and his cabinet resign.
- 1983 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes Japan.
- 1986 – The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes President of Georgia.
- 1991 – A plane crash in Bangkok kills 223 people.
- 1992 – The blockade of Dubrovnik is broken.
- 1998 – The United States Supreme Court rules that Ellis Island is mainly in New Jersey, not New York.
- 2004 – US Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2011 – Wanted on war crimes charges, Ratko Mladic is captured in Serbia.
- 2012 – Loreen wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Births [change]
- 1264 – Prince Koreyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1326)
- 1478 – Pope Clement VII (d. 1554)
- 1566 – Mehmed III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1603)
- 1602 – Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (d. 1674)
- 1650 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
- 1700 – Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer (d. 1760)
- 1867 – Mary of Teck, Queen Consort to King George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
- 1873 – Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian artist (d. 1958)
- 1878 – Thomas H. Moodie, Governor of North Dakota (d. 1948)
- 1882 – Frank C. Emerson, Governor of Wyoming (d. 1931)
- 1883 – Mamie Smith, American singer (d. 1946)
- 1883 – Peter Kuerten, German serial killer (d. 1931)
- 1886 – Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)
- 1893 – Norma Talmadge, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1895 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (d. 1965)
- 1904 – George Formby, British musician (d. 1961)
- 1907 – John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1908 – Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Matt Busby, Scottish football player and manager (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Mexican politician (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Janos Kadar, Hungarian politician (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Moondog, American musician, composer and poet (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Eva Szorenyi, Hungarian actress and activist (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Ruben Gonzalez, Cuban musician (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
- 1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Horst Tappert, German actor (d. 2008)
- 1928 – Jack Kevorkian, American assisted suicide advocate (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Paul Patton, former Governor of Kentucky
- 1938 – Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian author, writer and playwright
- 1939 – Merab Kostava, Georgian activist (d. 1989)
- 1940 – Levon Helm, American musician and actor (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Aldrich Ames, CIA counter-intelligence officer
- 1944 – Sam Posey, American racing driver, TV commentator and author
- 1946 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist (d. 1993)
- 1948 – Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
- 1949 – Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer
- 1951 – Sally Ride, American astronaut
- 1953 – Michael Portillo, British politician
- 1956 – Lisa Niemi, American actress
- 1962 – Bobcat Goldthwait, actor, comedian
- 1964 – Lenny Kravitz, American singer
- 1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, British actress
- 1966 – Zola Budd, South African athlete
- 1968 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
- 1971 – Matt Stone, American animator and movie maker
- 1971 – Ivan O. Godfroid, writer
- 1972 – Patsy Palmer, English actress
- 1975 – Travis Lee, American baseball player
- 1977 – Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Nikos Hatzivrettas, Greek basketball player
- 1979 – Mehmet Ogur, Turkish basketball player
- 1981 – Eda-Ines Etti, Estonian singer
- 1981 – Jason Manford, English comedian
- 1981 – Irini Merkouri, Greek singer
- 1991 – Julianna Rose Mauriello, American actress and dancer
Deaths [change]
- 451 – Saint Vartan Mamikonian, Armenian warrior
- 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)
- 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 and polar explorer (b. 1880)
- 1954 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete (b. 1900)
- 1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1968 – Little Willie John, American R&B 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)
- 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 – 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 and politician (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Édouard Michelin, CEO of Michelin (b. 1963)
- 2006 – C. H. Patterson, American Psychologist (b. 1912)
- 2008 – Sydney Pollack, American actor (b. 1934)
