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Notable Deaths on February 26
89 people
420 – 2025
February 26 has seen 89 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 420 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1266 — Manfred
King of Sicily (born 1232)
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Excommunicated by three successive popes, Manfred was the target of a Crusade (1255–1266) called first by Pope Alexander IV and then by Urban IV
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Manfred was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death
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As regent he subdued rebellions in the kingdom, until in 1258 he usurped Conradin's rule
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He defeated the papal army at Foggia on 2 December 1254
Greek bishop and saint (born 347)
Year 420 (CDXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius. The denomination 420 for this year has been used since…
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420
King of Ailech (Ireland)
Muirchertach mac Néill, called Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks, was a King of Ailech.
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943
Roger II or Roger the Great was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1127, then King…
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1154
Queen consort of Scots (born 1240)
Margaret of England was Queen of Alba (Scotland) by marriage to King Alexander III.
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1275
Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (born c.1260)
Fatima bint Muhammad bint al-Ahmar was a Nasrid princess of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula. A daughter of Sultan Muhammad II and an expert in the study of barnamaj, she married…
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1349
2nd Earl of March, English commander (born 1328)
Roger de Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, 4th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
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1360
12th Earl of Oxford, English politician (born 1408)
John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, was the son of Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, and his second wife, Alice Sergeaux (1386–1452). A Lancastrian loyalist during the latter part of his life, he was convicted of…
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1462
Italian writer and assassin (born 1514)
Lorenzino de' Medici, also known as Lorenzaccio, was an Italian politician, writer, and dramatist, and a member of the Medici family. He became famous for assassinating his cousin, Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of…
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1548
Erik XIV or Eric XIV became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He was formally…
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1577
Holy Roman Empress, spouse of Maximilian II (born 1528)
Maria of Austria or Maria of Spain, also known as Isabel, was the empress consort and queen consort of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary. She served as regent of Spain in the absence of her…
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1603
English bishop (born 1543)
John Still was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an early…
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1608
Italian priest and diplomat (born 1533)
Antonio Possevino was a Jesuit protagonist of Counter-Reformation, serving as a papal diplomat, Jesuit controversialist, polemicist, encyclopedist, and bibliographer. He was the first Jesuit to visit Russia, Sweden,…
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1611
Polish and Swedish princess (born 1568)
Anna Vasa of Sweden was a Swedish princess heavily involved in the politics of that country and of Poland. She was starosta of Brodnica and Golub. The youngest child of King John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon,…
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1625
English violinist and composer (born 1560)
William Brade was an English composer, violinist, and viol player of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, mainly active in northern Germany. He was the first Englishman to write a canzona, an Italian form, and…
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1630
French mathematician and linguist (born 1581)
Claude Gaspar Bachet Sieur de Méziriac was a French mathematician and poet born in Bourg-en-Bresse, at that time belonging to Duchy of Savoy. He wrote Problèmes plaisans et délectables qui se font par les nombres, Les…
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1638
English poet and playwright (born 1653)
Thomas d'Urfey was an English writer and playwright. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera.
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1723
Elector of Bavaria (born 1662)
Maximilian II, also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spanish Netherlands and Duke of…
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1726
Italian violinist and composer (born 1692)
Giuseppe Tartini was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in Pirano in the Republic of Venice. Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred pieces for the violin, the majority of them…
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1770
English admiral (born 1730)
Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet was a Royal Navy officer who was the fourth son of Admiral Sir William Rowley. Sir Joshua was from an ancient English family, originating in Staffordshire (England) and was…
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1790
American admiral (born 1718)
Commodore Esek Hopkins was a Continental Navy officer and privateer. He served as the only commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, when the Continental Congress appointed him to…
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1802
Haitian-French general (born 1762)
Army-General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars.
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1806
American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (born 1746)
Robert Robert Livingston was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor" after the high New York state legal office he…
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1813
Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a military commander in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. He began his career at the age of 18 in a cavalry regiment with which he took part in the Seven Years' War.…
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1815
French lawyer and diplomat (born 1753)
Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre was a Savoyard lawyer, diplomat, and political philosopher. He is chiefly remembered as one of the intellectual forefathers of modern conservatism.
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1821
American figure of the American Revolutionary War (born 1761)
Sybil Ludington was an alleged heroine of the American Revolution and daughter of Patriot colonel Henry Ludington. Relatives of Ludington have claimed that on April 26, 1777, at age 16, she made an all-night horseback…
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1839
Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (born 1807)
Sir Louis-Hippolyte Ménard dit La Fontaine, 1st Baronet, KCMG was a Canadian politician, jurist and statesman, who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible…
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1864
Asaf Jah V, 5th Nizam of Hyderabad State (born 1827)
Afzal ad-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V Mir Tahniyat Ali Khan Siddiqi was the fifth Nizam of Hyderabad, India, from 1857 to 1869.
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1869
Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1817)
Alexandros Koumoundouros was a Greek politician and founder of the Nationalist Party, who served as Prime Minister of Greece ten times, from 1865 to 1867, 1870 to 1871, and from 1875 to 1882. Born in Kampos, on the…
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1883
First Indian women physician (born 1865)
Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine along with Kadambini Ganguly.
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1887
Russian cellist and composer (born 1838)
Karl Yulievich Davydov was a Russian cellist, described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists". He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. His name also appears in various different spellings: Davydov,…
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1889
Norwegian memoirist (born 1826)
Kathinka Kraft was a Norwegian memoirist best known for her sole work Et og andet fra min Tid. Erindringer about her experiences growing up in Christiania and living in the countryside.
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1895
American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (born 1818)
Richard Jordan Gatling was an American inventor. He is best known for having invented the Gatling gun, which is considered to be the first successful machine gun.
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1903
Swiss convicted murderer (born 1874)
Jean Lanfray was a French labourer in Switzerland who was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two children in a drunken rage on the afternoon of 28 August 1905 in Commugny, Switzerland. It was later revealed by…
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1906
German composer and academic (born 1835)
Felix August Bernhard Draeseke was a composer of the "New German School" admiring Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. He wrote compositions in most forms including eight operas and stage works, four symphonies, and much…
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1913
Polish-Austrian economist and academic (born 1840)
Carl Menger von Wolfensgrün was an Austrian economist who contributed to the marginal theory of value. Menger is considered the founder of the Austrian school of economics.
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1921
American philosopher and psychologist (born 1863)
Mary Whiton Calkins was an American philosopher and psychologist, whose work informed theory and research of memory, dreams and the self. She developed the paired-associate learning technique and the theory of…
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1930
German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1847)
Otto Wallach was a German chemist and recipient of the 1910 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on alicyclic compounds.
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1931
Viscount Takahashi Korekiyo was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1921 to 1922 and Minister of Finance when he was assassinated. He was also a member of the House of Peers and head of the…
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1936
Viscount Saitō Makoto was a Japanese admiral and politician who was prime minister of Japan from 1932 to 1934. Upon distinguishing himself during his command of two cruisers in the First Sino-Japanese War, Saitō rose…
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1936
Jōtarō Watanabe was a general in the early Shōwa period Imperial Japanese Army, noted as one of the victims of the February 26 Incident.
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1936
American gold prospector (born c. 1866)
John Eli Perrett, better known as Potato Creek Johnny, was an American frontiersman and gold miner, best known for having discovered one of the largest gold nuggets ever discovered in the Black Hills in 1929. From then…
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1943
German general (born 1892)
Theodor Eicke was a German military officer who served as both a senior SS functionary and a Waffen-SS divisional commander in Nazi Germany. He was a key figure in the development of Nazi concentration camps. Eicke…
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1943
Minister of Defence of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary (born 1860)
Vitéz Baron Sándor Szurmay de Uzsok was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence for the Hungarian portion of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary between 1917 and 1918.
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1945
Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (born 1868)
Heinrich Häberlin was a Swiss politician, judge and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1920–1934).
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1947
Scottish comedian and singer (born 1870)
Sir Harry Lauder was a Scottish singer, comedian and actor. Popular in both music hall and vaudeville theatre traditions; he achieved international success.
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1950
Albanian ichthyologist (born 1912) executed with 21 others
Sabiha Kasimati was an Albanian professor of biology and ichthyologist, cited as one of the first women scientists in Albania. She was arrested by the communist regime on 20 February 1951, after the bombing of the…
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1951
Greek general and politician, President of Greece (born 1878)
Theodoros Pangalos was a Greek general, politician and dictator, who ruled Greece from 24 June 1925 to 22 August 1926. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos participated in…
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1952
German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (born 1878)
Karl Albiker was a German sculptor, lithographer and teacher of fine arts. Albiker studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris. From 1919 to 1945 he was a professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. His monumental statues,…
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1961
Mohammed al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi, better known simply as Mohammed V, was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961. A member of the…
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1961
Indian poet and politician (born 1883)
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an Indian politician and ideologue. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while confined at Ratnagiri in 1922. He was a leading figure in the Hindu…
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1966
Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (born 1895)
Levi Eshkol, born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik, was the prime minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. A founder of the Israeli Labor Party, he served in numerous senior roles, including…
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1969
German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (born 1883)
Karl Theodor Jaspers was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work General Psychopathology influenced many later diagnostic…
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1969
English author and activist (born 1914)
Robert Fordyce Aickman was an English writer and conservationist. As a conservationist, he co-founded the Inland Waterways Association, a group which has preserved from destruction and restored England's inland canal…
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1981
American composer, conductor, and educator (born 1896)
Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty years of the Eastman School of Music, he raised its quality and provided opportunities for commissioning and…
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1981
Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910)
Tjalling Charles Koopmans was a Dutch-American mathematician and economist. He was the joint winner with Leonid Kantorovich of the 1975 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on the theory of the optimum…
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1985
American trumpet player (born 1911)
David Roy Eldridge, nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from the dominant…
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1989
American model and actress (born 1923)
Constance Ford was an American actress and model. She portrayed Ada Lucas Hobson on the long-running daytime soap opera Another World, from 1967 until shortly before her death in 1993. She also appeared in nearly two…
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1993
American comedian (born 1961)
William Melvin Hicks was an American stand-up comedian and satirist. His material— encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy— was controversial and often steeped in dark…
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1994
English director and producer (born 1921)
Jack Isaac Clayton was an English film director and producer, known for his skill directing literary adaptations. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for his feature-length debut, Room at the Top…
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1995
American actor (born 1929)
David Fitzgerald Doyle was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of John Bosley on the 1970s TV series Charlie's Angels. Doyle and Jaclyn Smith were the only actors to appear in every episode of the…
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1997
American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)
Theodore William Schultz was an American agricultural economist and chairman of the University of Chicago Department of Economics. Schultz rose to national prominence after winning the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in…
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1998
American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1913)
George Levick Street III was a submariner in the United States Navy. He received the Medal of Honor during World War II.
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2000
Indian industrialist (born 1916)
Balkrishna Mahadev Gogte, known colloquially as Raosaheb Gogte, was an Indian lawyer, industrialist, philanthropist and educationist.
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2000
American actor (born 1919)
Lawrence James Tierney was an American film and television actor who is best known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and "tough guys" in a career that spanned over fifty years. His roles mirrored his own…
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2002
Finnish general (born 1905)
Adolf Erik Ehrnrooth was a Finland-Swedish general who served during the Winter and Continuation wars. He also competed in two equestrian events at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
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2004
Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (born 1956)
Boris Trajkovski was a Macedonian politician who served as the president of Macedonia from 1999 until his death in 2004 in a plane crash.
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2004
American computer scientist, created Macintosh (born 1943)
Jef Raskin was an American human–computer interface expert who conceived and began leading the Macintosh project at Apple in the late 1970s.
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2005
British biographer (born 1905)
Georgina Battiscombe was a British biographer, specialising mainly in lives from the Victorian era.
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2006
2008
American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1932)
John Graham Kerr, also known as Red Kerr, was an American basketball player, coach, executive and broadcaster who devoted six decades to the sport at all levels. In 2009, he was honored with the Naismith Memorial…
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2009
English actress (born 1943)
Wendy Richard was an English actress, best known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to…
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2009
American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1947)
Norman Allen Van Lier III was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls.
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2009
also known as "Nujabes", Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (born 1974)
Jun Seba , born Jun Yamada , better known by his stage name Nujabes, was a Japanese music producer best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from hip-hop, soul, and jazz, as well as incorporating…
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2010
Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1926)
Arnošt Lustig was a Czech Jewish writer, playwright and screenwriter. His works have often involved the Holocaust.
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2011
English actor and screenwriter (born 1929)
Richard Michael "Kip" Carpenter was an English screenwriter, author and actor. He created a number of British television series, including Robin of Sherwood and Catweazle.
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2012
French organist and educator (born 1926)
Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the world. She taught…
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2013
German-French diplomat and author (born 1917)
Stéphane Frédéric Hessel was a French diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, Resistance member and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939. He became an observer of…
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2013
2013
Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (born 1933)
Sorel Etrog, was a Romanian-born Israeli-Canadian artist, writer, and primarily, a sculptor. He specialized in modern art works and contemporary sculpture. Etrog's works explore his first-hand experience of the Second…
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2014
American author and academic (born 1927)
Phyllis Louise Krasilovsky was an American writer of children's books.
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2014
English historian and archaeologist (born 1916)
Sheppard Sunderland Frere, CBE, FSA, FBA was a British historian and archaeologist who studied the Roman Empire. He was a fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.
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2015
American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (born 1917)
Theodore Martin Hesburgh, C.S.C. was an American Catholic priest and academic who was a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He served as president of the University of Notre Dame for 35 years from 1952 to 1987,…
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2015
American basketball player and coach (born 1928)
Earl Francis Lloyd was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was the first African American player to play a game in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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2015
American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (born 1960)
Thomas A. Schweich was an American politician, diplomat, attorney, and author. A member of the Republican Party, Schweich served as State Auditor of Missouri from 2011 until his death in 2015.
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2015
Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1932)
Andrew James Bathgate was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins…
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2016
2016
American judge and TV personality (born 1919)
Joseph Albert Wapner was an American judge and television personality. He is best known as the first presiding judge of the reality court show The People's Court. The show's first run in syndication, with Judge Wapner…
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2017
American actress (born 1985)
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg was an American actress. After beginning her career in commercials at age three, she made her television debut in her first credited role on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete…
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2025
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Notable deaths
Who died on February 26?
Manfred — King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266
FeaturedManfred
Death year1266
Known forThe natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the Kingdom of Sicily on behalf of his nephew Conradin in 1254
Deaths on this date89 (420 – 2025)
Explore February 26
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on February 26 in History
2026
The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War. Wikipedia →
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 →
2019
See all events on February 26
Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan. Wikipedia →
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