Did you know
Grand Teton National Park is located in northwestern Wyoming, covering approximately 310,000 acres of land.
February 26 in History
1929 — President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming
February 26 spans 39 recorded events across recorded history, from 747 BC to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
39 events
747 BC – 2026
Today in history
More major events on February 26
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1966 Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket. Source
- 1919 President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. Source
- 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. Source
Did you know
The park is connected to Yellowstone National Park by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, a 7,000-acre scenic road.
Did you know
The Teton Range, a 40-mile-long mountain range, is a prominent feature within the park.
Did you know
Jackson Hole, a valley within the park, is a popular destination for outdoor recreation and wildlife viewing.
Did you know
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes Grand Teton National Park, spans almost 22 million acres and is one of the world's largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems.
-747
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.
320
Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor.
Gupta emperor from 319 to 335
1074
Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza.
Battle in 1074 in Hungary
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.
1365
The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) were founded by King Thado Minbya.
Polity in upper Myanmar (1365–1555)
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.
European voyage of discovery to Australia
1616
Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
17th-century conflict between Galileo Galilei and the Roman Catholic Church
1775
The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates.
British joint-stock company (1600–1858)
1794
The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1745–1794
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
French general and emperor (1769–1821)
1870
The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens.
Former demonstration subway line in New York City
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.
Japanese nation state from 1868 to 1947
1909
Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
Color motion picture process
1914
HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
Olympic-class ocean liner
1919
President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
President of the United States from 1913 to 1921
1935
Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945
1935
Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
Scottish physicist who pioneered radio direction-finding and radar (1892–1973)
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.
1936 coup d'état attempt in Japan
1945
World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1952
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
Governor General of Canada from 1952 to 1959
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.
National airline of Italy (1946–2021)
1960
A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board.
Capital and largest city of Ukraine
1966
Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
1961–1972 American crewed lunar exploration program
1971
U.N.
Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
1979
The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
Class of American double-deck, long-distance passenger cars
1987
Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
1985–1987 political scandal in the U.S.
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.
Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan (1988–1994)
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.
Terrorist attack in the United States
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.
Defunct English merchant bank
2008
The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea.
American symphony orchestra
2012
A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
Fatal rail transport accident in Ontario, Canada
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.
American teenager killed in a shooting (1995–2012)
2013
A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.
Lighter-than-air aircraft
2019
Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan.
Aerial service branch of the Indian Armed Forces
2021
A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria.
2021 kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria
2026
The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.
Country in South Asia