February 26 facts for kids

February 26 is a special day in history, filled with many interesting events, birthdays of famous people, and important anniversaries. Let's explore some of the things that happened on this day!

Events in History

Early Times (Before 1600)

• 747 BC – A very old way of counting years, called the Nabonassar Era, started on this day. Historians use it to figure out dates from ancient times.
• 364 – Valentinian I became the new Roman emperor.
• 1266 – The Battle of Benevento took place. An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, won against forces from Germany and Sicily. This battle changed who ruled in Sicily and Naples.
• 1365 – King Thado Minbya founded the Ava Kingdom and its capital city, Ava, in what is now Myanmar.

From 1601 to 1900

• 1606 – The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 was the first time Europeans landed on Australia. They thought it was part of New Guinea at the time.
• 1616 – The famous scientist Galileo Galilei was told by the Roman Catholic Church that he could not teach or defend the idea that the Earth goes around the Sun.
• 1775 – Pirates attacked and destroyed a trading post of the East India Company on Balambangan Island.
• 1794 – The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, burned down.
• 1815 – The famous French leader Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba, where he had been sent away.
• 1870 – The Beach Pneumatic Transit opened in New York City. It was a test for a possible underground subway system.
• 1876 – Japan and Korea signed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876. This agreement gave Japanese citizens special rights in Korea and opened some Korean ports for trade.

From 1901 to Today

• 1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful way to show movies in color, was shown to the public for the first time in London.
• 1914 – The HMHS Britannic, a sister ship to the famous RMS Titanic, was launched in Belfast.
• 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signed a law that created the Grand Canyon National Park. This protected the amazing natural wonder for everyone to enjoy.
• 1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signed a law to create the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, protecting another beautiful natural area.
• 1935 – Adolf Hitler ordered the creation of the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force. This went against the rules of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I.
• 1935 – Robert Watson-Watt showed how radar could work. This led to the development of radar technology in the United Kingdom, which was very important during World War II.
• 1945 – World War II: During the war, US troops took back the Philippine island of Corregidor from Japanese forces.
• 1952 – Vincent Massey became the first person born in Canada to be the Governor General of Canada.
• 1966 – Apollo program: The AS-201 mission launched, which was the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket. This was an important step for the Apollo space program.
• 1971 – U.N. Secretary-General U Thant declared that the first day of spring (the vernal equinox) would be known as Earth Day.
• 1979 – The Superliner train cars started carrying passengers for Amtrak.
• 1980 – Egypt and Israel officially started full diplomatic relations, meaning they had normal government connections.
• 1987 – The Tower Commission criticized President Ronald Reagan for not having enough control over his national security team during the Iran–Contra affair.
• 1992 – First Nagorno-Karabakh War: During a conflict, Armenian forces attacked Azeri civilians near the town of Khojaly, leading to many deaths. This event is known as the Khojaly Massacre.
• 1995 – Barings Bank, a very old bank in the UK, collapsed because one of its traders, Nick Leeson, lost a huge amount of money (1.4 billion dollars) in risky trading.
• 2008 – The New York Philharmonic orchestra performed in Pyongyang, North Korea. This was a very rare and important cultural event.
• 2019 – Indian Air Force fighter jets attacked Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps in Balakot.
• 2021 – In Nigeria, 279 female students were kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State.

Famous Birthdays

Many interesting people were born on February 26th!

Born Before 1900

• 1564 – Christopher Marlowe, a famous English playwright and poet.
• 1587 – Stefano Landi, an Italian composer.
• 1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, an English philosopher.
• 1786 – François Arago, a French mathematician and politician.
• 1802 – Victor Hugo, a very famous French author who wrote "Les Misérables."
• 1808 – Honoré Daumier, a French painter and sculptor.
• 1829 – Levi Strauss, the German-American fashion designer who founded Levi Strauss & Co., known for jeans.
• 1846 – Buffalo Bill, a famous American soldier and hunter.
• 1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, an American surgeon who helped create Corn flakes.
• 1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, a king of Bulgaria.
• 1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, who founded the Dow Chemical Company.
• 1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, a famous American baseball player.
• 1887 – William Frawley, an American actor.
• 1900 – Halina Konopacka, a Polish discus thrower and poet.

Born After 1900

• 1903 – Giulio Natta, an Italian chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1908 – Tex Avery, a famous American animator who created many classic cartoons.
• 1909 – Talal of Jordan, a king of Jordan.
• 1916 – Jackie Gleason, a well-known American actor and singer.
• 1920 – Tony Randall, an American actor.
• 1928 – Fats Domino, a legendary American singer and pianist.
• 1928 – Ariel Sharon, a former Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1932 – Johnny Cash, a very famous American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1943 – Bill Duke, an American actor and director.
• 1945 – Peter Brock, a famous Australian racing driver.
• 1946 – Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian-American chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1947 – Sandie Shaw, an English singer.
• 1950 – Helen Clark, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1953 – Michael Bolton, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the current President of Turkey.
• 1958 – Tim Kaine, an American politician.
• 1964 – Mark Dacascos, an American actor and martial artist.
• 1967 – Kazuyoshi Miura, a Japanese footballer.
• 1968 – Tim Commerford, an American bass player.
• 1971 – Erykah Badu, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1971 – Max Martin, a Swedish-American record producer and songwriter.
• 1973 – Marshall Faulk, an American football player.
• 1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, a Norwegian footballer and manager.
• 1973 – Jenny Thompson, an American swimmer.
• 1974 – Sébastien Loeb, a French racing driver.
• 1977 – James Wan, an Australian film director.
• 1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, an English singer-songwriter.
• 1982 – Li Na, a Chinese tennis player.
• 1983 – Pepe, a Brazilian-Portuguese footballer.
• 1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, a Togolese footballer.
• 1986 – Teresa Palmer, an Australian actress.
• 1991 – Lee Chae-rin, a South Korean singer.
• 2003 – Jamal Musiala, a German footballer.

Notable Deaths

Here are some of the well-known people who passed away on February 26th.

Died Before 1900

• 420 – Porphyry of Gaza, a Greek bishop.
• 1154 – Roger II of Sicily, a king of Sicily.
• 1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily, who was killed in the Battle of Benevento.
• 1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden, a king of Sweden.
• 1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, an Italian violinist and composer.
• 1806 – Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a Haitian-French general.
• 1821 – Joseph de Maistre, a French lawyer and diplomat.
• 1839 – Sybil Ludington, a brave figure from the American Revolutionary War.
• 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, the first Indian woman physician.

Died After 1900

• 1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, the American engineer who invented the Gatling gun.
• 1931 – Otto Wallach, a German chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1936 – Several Japanese politicians and generals were killed during the February 26 Incident, including Takahashi Korekiyo and Saitō Makoto, both former Prime Ministers of Japan.
• 1950 – Harry Lauder, a Scottish comedian and singer.
• 1951 – Sabiha Kasimati, an Albanian scientist, was executed.
• 1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco, a king of Morocco.
• 1969 – Levi Eshkol, a former Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, a Dutch-American economist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1989 – Roy Eldridge, an American trumpet player.
• 1994 – Bill Hicks, an American comedian.
• 1998 – Theodore Schultz, an American economist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2004 – Boris Trajkovski, the former President of the Republic of Macedonia.
• 2005 – Jef Raskin, an American computer scientist who helped create the Macintosh computer.
• 2009 – Wendy Richard, an English actress.
• 2010 – Jun Seba, a Japanese music producer and DJ.
• 2013 – Stéphane Hessel, a German-French diplomat and author.
• 2016 – Don Getty, a Canadian politician and former Premier of Alberta.
• 2017 – Joseph Wapner, an American judge and TV personality.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:

* Alexander of Alexandria * Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA)) * Isabelle of France * Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada) * Porphyry of Gaza * February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
• Liberation Day (Kuwait)
• Saviours' Day (Nation of Islam)

See also

In Spanish: 26 de febrero para niños