# On this day: February 26

February 26 is the 57th day of the year (57th in leap years), with 308 days left until the end of the year (309 in a leap year).

## February 26 in one line

Headline entries for February 26, from Wikipedia: in 1815, Napoleon escaped from the Italian island of Elba, to which he had been exiled after the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau; born 1802: Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1885); died 1969: Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (born 1883). In 2026 it is a Thursday, in 2027 a Friday.

## Events on February 26

- 747 BC According to Ptolemy, the reign of the Babylonian king Nabonassar began, marking a new era characterized by the systematic maintenance of chronologically precise historical records. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabonassar)
- 364 Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_I)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Benevento)
- 1606 Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landing in Australia, although he believed that he was on New Guinea. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janszoon_voyage_of_1605%E2%80%931606)
- 1815 Napoleon escaped from the Italian island of Elba, to which he had been exiled after the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93Korea_Treaty_of_1876)
- 1903 Storm Ulysses struck Ireland, felling thousands of trees and causing damage to up to a quarter of all houses in Dublin. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Ulysses)
- 1914 RMS Britannic, the third and largest Olympic-class ocean liner of the White Star Line after RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, was launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Britannic)
- 1917 The Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery Stable Blues", the first jazz single ever released. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livery_Stable_Blues)
- 1919 President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park)
- 1929 President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Teton_National_Park)
- 1935 Adolf Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe reinstated, violating the Treaty of Versailles signed at the end of World War I. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe)
- 1935 With the aid of a radio station in Daventry, England, and two receiving antennae, Scottish engineer and inventor Robert Watson-Watt first demonstrated the use of radar. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Watson-Watt)
- 1936 Imperial Japanese Army troops attempted a coup d'etat, occupying parts of Tokyo, and killing several politicians, including finance minister Takahashi Korekiyo. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_incident)
- 1971 U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations)
- 1979 The Superliner railcar entered revenue service with Amtrak. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliner_(railcar))
- 1992 First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces and the 366th CIS Regiment massacre Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khojaly_massacre)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing)
- 1995 Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in London, was declared insolvent after its head derivatives trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million while making unauthorised trades on futures contracts. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barings_Bank)
- 2008 In the first significant cultural visit from the United States to North Korea since the Korean War, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performed in Pyongyang. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_visit_by_New_York_Philharmonic_to_North_Korea)
- 2012 African-American teenager Trayvon Martin was killed by neighborhood-watch coordinator George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, prompting a nationwide controversy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Trayvon_Martin)
- 2013 A hot air balloon crashed near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people in the deadliest ballooning disaster in history. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Luxor_hot_air_balloon_crash)
- 2014 Former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao Kevin Lau was stabbed, prompting concerns and protests about media freedom. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_attack_on_Kevin_Lau)
- 2019 Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Balakot_airstrike)
- 2021 A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Zamfara_school_kidnapping)
- 2026 The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Afghanistan%E2%80%93Pakistan_war)

## Born on February 26

- 1564 Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (died 1593) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Marlowe)
- 1786 François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (died 1853) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Arago)
- 1802 Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1885) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo)
- 1808 Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (died 1879) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_Daumier)
- 1842 Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (died 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Flammarion)
- 1861 Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (died 1939) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadezhda_Krupskaya)
- 1861 Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (died 1948) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Bulgaria)
- 1896 Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (died 1948) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Zhdanov)
- 1903 Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1979) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulio_Natta)
- 1928 Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (died 2014) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Sharon)
- 1928 Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2017) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Domino)
- 1946 Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Zewail)
- 1950 Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Clark)
- 1956 Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Houellebecq)
- 1959 Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Davuto%C4%9Flu)
- 1967 Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuyoshi_Miura)
- 1973 Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Gunnar_Solskj%C3%A6r)
- 1982 Li Na, Chinese tennis player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Na)
- 1983 Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_(footballer%2C_born_February_1983))
- 1984 Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Adebayor)
- 1985 Fernando Llorente, Spanish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Llorente)
- 2003 Jamal Musiala, German footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Musiala)

## Died on February 26

- 1154 Roger II of Sicily (born 1095) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_II_of_Sicily)
- 1577 Eric XIV of Sweden (born 1533) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_XIV)
- 1770 Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (born 1692) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Tartini)
- 1821 Joseph de Maistre, French lawyer and diplomat (born 1753) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_de_Maistre)
- 1921 Carl Menger, Polish-Austrian economist and academic (born 1840) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Menger)
- 1931 Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1847) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Wallach)
- 1961 Mohammed V of Morocco (born 1909) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_V_of_Morocco)
- 1969 Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (born 1883) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Jaspers)
- 1969 Levi Eshkol, Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (born 1895) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Eshkol)
- 1985 Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tjalling_Koopmans)
- 1994 Bill Hicks, American comedian (born 1961) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks)
- 1998 Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Schultz)
- 2013 Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (born 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Hessel)
- 2025 Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress (born 1985) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Trachtenberg)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Alexander of Alexandria [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_I_of_Alexandria)
- Christian feast day: Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA)) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Malbone_Morgan)
- Christian feast day: Isabelle of France [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Isabelle_of_France)
- Christian feast day: Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Li_Tim-Oi)
- Christian feast day: Paula Montal Fornés [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Montal_Forn%C3%A9s)
- Christian feast day: Porphyry of Gaza [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Porphyrius)
- Christian feast day: February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khojaly_massacre)
- Liberation Day (Kuwait) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Kuwait)
- Saviours' Day (Nation of Islam) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saviours'_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “February 26”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/February 26”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/February_26) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“February 26”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for February 26 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## February 26 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Thursday | 2026-W09 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Friday | 2027-W08 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Saturday | 2028-W08 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2029 | Monday | 2029-W09 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Tuesday | 2030-W09 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on February 26

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on February 26 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← February 25](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-25/) · [February 27 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-27/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

---

Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-26/