# What happened on February 26 in history?

**Date:** February 26  
**Events recorded:** 39  
**Years spanned:** 747 BC – 2026  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/february/26/

---

## Featured Event

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

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan)

---

## Events on this date

- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy))
- **320** — Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandragupta_I))
- **364** — Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_I))
- **1074** — Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kemej))
- **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))
- **1365** — The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) were founded by King Thado Minbya. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Ava))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janszoon_voyage_of_1605%E2%80%931606))
- **1616** — Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair))
- **1775** — The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company))
- **1794** — The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiansborg_Palace_(1st)))
- **1815** — Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon))
- **1870** — The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit))
- **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/Empire_of_Japan))
- **1909** — Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinemacolor))
- **1914** — HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Britannic))
- **1919** — President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson))
- **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/Calvin_Coolidge))
- **1935** — Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler))
- **1935** — Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Watson-Watt))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_incident))
- **1945** — World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1952** — Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Massey))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alitalia))
- **1960** — A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyiv))
- **1966** — Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program))
- **1971** — U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary-General_of_the_United_Nations))
- **1979** — The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliner_(railcar)))
- **1980** — Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt%E2%80%93Israel_relations))
- **1987** — Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Nagorno-Karabakh_War))
- **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** — 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barings_Bank))
- **2008** — The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Philharmonic))
- **2012** — A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Burlington_Via_derailment))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trayvon_Martin))
- **2013** — A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon))
- **2019** — Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force))
- **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/Pakistan))

---

## Notable births on February 26

- **2004** — **Bibisara Assaubayeva** — Kazakhstani chess grandmaster ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibisara_Assaubayeva))
- **2003** — **Jamal Musiala** — German footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Musiala))
- **2002** — **Gerard Martín** — Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Mart%C3%ADn_(footballer)))
- **2002** — **César Tárrega** — Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_T%C3%A1rrega))
- **2000** — **Yeat** — American rapper ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeat))
- **1997** — **Jessie Bates** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Bates))
- **1994** — **Jacob Trouba** — American ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Trouba))
- **1994** — **Mahra Al Maktoum** — Emirati princess. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahra_bint_Mohammed_Al_Maktoum))
- **1993** — **Morgan Gautrat** — American soccer player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Gautrat))
- **1992** — **Mikael Granlund** — Finnish hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikael_Granlund))

---

## Notable deaths on February 26

- **2025** — **Michelle Trachtenberg** — American actress (born 1985) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Trachtenberg))
- **2017** — **Joseph Wapner** — American judge and TV personality (born 1919) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wapner))
- **2016** — **Andy Bathgate** — Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Bathgate))
- **2016** — **Don Getty** — Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (born 1933) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Getty))
- **2015** — **Sheppard Frere** — English historian and archaeologist (born 1916) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheppard_Frere))
- **2015** — **Theodore Hesburgh** — American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (born 1917) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Hesburgh))
- **2015** — **Earl Lloyd** — American basketball player and coach (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Lloyd))
- **2015** — **Tom Schweich** — American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (born 1960) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Schweich))
- **2014** — **Sorel Etrog** — Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (born 1933) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorel_Etrog))
- **2014** — **Phyllis Krasilovsky** — American author and academic (born 1927) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Krasilovsky))

---

## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/february/26/](https://thisday.info/events/february/26/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.