February 26

Historic Events

2026

The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War. ›

2021

A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria. ›

2019

Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan. ›

2013

A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people. ›

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. ›

2008

The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea. ›

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. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1987

Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff. ›

1980

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations. ›

1979

The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak. ›

1971

U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day. ›

1966

Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket. ›

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. ›

1952

Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada. ›

1945

World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1929

President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. ›

1919

President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. ›

1914

HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. ›

1909

Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London. ›

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. ›

1870

The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens. ›

1815

Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba. ›

1794

The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down. ›

1775

The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates. ›

1616

Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun. ›

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. ›

1365

The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) were founded by King Thado Minbya. ›

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. ›

1074

Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza. ›

364

Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor. ›

320

Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor. ›

747 BC

According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events. ›