Who are famous people born on February 26?

Famous people born on February 26 include: Bibisara Assaubayeva, Jamal Musiala, Gerard Martín.

What famous people died on February 26?

Notable historical figures who died on February 26 include: Michelle Trachtenberg, Joseph Wapner, Andy Bathgate.

February 26 in History

Q: What happened on February 26 in history?

On February 26, 2026: The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.

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

February 26 spans 39 recorded events across recorded history — from 747 BC – 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · February 26 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 39 events 747 BC – 2026

Did you know

In 2026, The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

A war began in late February 2026 between Afghanistan and Pakistan following Pakistani airstrikes on militant targets in eastern Afghanistan. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

Pakistan said the strikes targeted militant camps belonging to the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K), in retaliation for recent cross-border attacks in Pakistan, while Afghan authorities and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have reported casualties, though with different figures. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

In 2026, The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

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.

Claudius Ptolemy, better known mononymously as Ptolemy, was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and Western European science. The first was his astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest, originally entitled Mathēmatikḗ Syntaxis. The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion on maps and the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika but more commonly known as the Tetrábiblos.

-747

Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor.

Gupta emperor from 319 to 335

Chandragupta I was a monarch of the Gupta Empire, who ruled in northern and central India. His title "Mahārājadhirāja" suggests that he was the first suzerain ruler of the dynasty. It is not certain how he turned his small ancestral kingdom into an empire, although a widely accepted theory among modern historians is that his marriage to the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi helped him extend his political power. Their son Samudragupta further expanded the Gupta Empire.

320

Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.

Roman emperor from 364 to 375

Valentinian I, sometimes known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He is the second-last emperor to govern the empire as a whole, albeit only from February to March of 364, after which he appointed Valens to rule over the Eastern half the empire, while he remained in control of the West. The founder of the Valentinian dynasty, he is noted for his successful campaigns on the Rhine and Danube frontiers.

364

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

The Battle of Kemej was an internal conflict between Solomon, King of Hungary and his cousin Duke Géza, took place on 26 February 1074 near Kemej in present-day Heves County. As a result of a betrayal, Géza was defeated, but he managed to flee from the advancing and overwhelming royal army.

1074

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.

The Battle of Benevento was a major medieval battle fought on 26 February 1266, near Benevento in present-day Southern Italy, between the forces of Charles I of Anjou and those of King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in Charles' conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily, effectively ending the rule of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in the Italian Peninsula and marking the rise of the royal Capetian House of Anjou. The engagement was part of the conflict which pitted Guelphs against Ghibellines.

1266

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

Polity in upper Myanmar (1365–1555)

The Ava Kingdom also known as Inwa Kingdom or Kingdom of Ava was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1365 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagaing that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of the Pagan Kingdom in the late 13th century.

1365

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

Willem Janszoon captained the first recorded European landing on the Australian continent in 1606, sailing Duyfken from Bantam, Java. As an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Janszoon had been instructed to explore the coast of New Guinea in search of economic opportunities. He had originally arrived in the Dutch East Indies from the Netherlands in 1598, and became an officer of the VOC on its establishment in 1602.

1606

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

The Galileo affair was an early 17th century political, religious, and scientific controversy regarding the astronomer Galileo Galilei's defence of heliocentrism, the idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun. It pitted supporters and opponents of Galileo within both the Catholic Church and academia against each other through two phases: an interrogation and condemnation of Galileo's ideas by a panel of the Roman Inquisition in 1616, and a second trial in 1632 which led to Galileo's house arrest and a ban on his books.

1616

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

British joint-stock company (1600–1858)

The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies, and later with East Asia. The company gained control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent and Hong Kong. At its peak, the company was the largest corporation in the world by various measures and had its own armed forces in the form of the company's three presidency armies, totalling about 260,000 soldiers, twice the size of the British Army at certain times.

1775

The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.

Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1745–1794

The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, was built on Slotsholmen in 1745 as a new main residence for King Christian VI of Denmark-Norway. It was built on the same site as its predecessor, Copenhagen Castle, which had assumed a monstrous appearance and started to crumble under its own weight after several extensions.

1794

Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.

French general and emperor (1769–1821)

Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was Emperor of the French from 18 May 1804 until his first abdication in 1814, with a brief restoration during the Hundred Days in 1815. He rose to prominence as a general during the French Revolution and led a series of military campaigns across Europe and the Middle East during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As a statesman, he implemented numerous legal and administrative reforms in France and Europe.

1815

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

The Beach Pneumatic Transit was an early technology demonstrator for underground public transit in New York City. Running on pneumatic power, it was built by Alfred Ely Beach between 1869 and early 1870. The original terminus resided in the basement of the Rogers Peet Building in Lower Manhattan, near the old City Hall station. A one-car shuttle carried riders between the building and a dead end approximately 300 feet (91 m) away. Despite ambitious plans to construct stations along a five-mile route to Central Park, the project never expanded beyond the short demonstration track and closed in 1873.

1870

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

The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the period of Japanese history spanning 79 years, starting with the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868, and ending with ratification of the Constitution of Japan on 3 May 1947. From August 1910 to September 1945, it included the Japanese archipelago, the Kurils, Karafuto, Korea, and Taiwan. The South Seas Mandate and concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were de jure not internal parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II, with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers, the formalized surrender was issued on 2 September 1945, in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies, and the empire's territory subsequently shrunk to cover only the Japanese archipelago, excluding Okinawa until the handover in 1972.

1876

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

Kinemacolor was the first commercially successful colour motion picture process. Used commercially from 1909 to 1915, it was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. It was a two-colour additive colour process, photographing a black-and-white film behind alternating red/orange and blue/green filters and projecting them through red and green filters. It was demonstrated several times in 1908 and first shown to the public in 1909. From 1909 on, the process was known and trademarked as Kinemacolor and was marketed by Charles Urban's Natural Color Kinematograph Company, which sold Kinemacolor licences around the world.

1909

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

Olympic-class ocean liner

HMHS Britannic was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line's Olympic class of ocean liners and the second White Star ship to bear the name Britannic. She was the younger sister of RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She operated as a hospital ship from 1915 until her sinking near the Greek island of Kea, in the Aegean Sea at position, in November 1916. At the time Britannic was the largest hospital ship in the world, and the largest vessel built in Britain.

1914

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

President of the United States from 1913 to 1921

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only Democrat to serve as president during the Progressive Era, when Republicans dominated the presidency and legislative branches. As president, Wilson made significant economic reforms and led the United States through World War I. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.

1919

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

President of the United States from 1923 to 1929

Calvin Coolidge was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he had served as the 29th vice president from 1921 to 1923, under President Warren G. Harding, and as the 48th governor of Massachusetts from 1919 to 1921. Coolidge gained a reputation as a small-government conservative, with a taciturn personality and dry sense of humor that earned him the nickname "Silent Cal".

1929

Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Germany during the Nazi era from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor of Germany in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 under his leadership marked the outbreak of the Second World War. Throughout the ensuing conflict, Hitler was closely involved in the direction of German military operations and was central to the perpetration of the genocide of about six million Jews in the Holocaust as well as the murders of millions of other victims.

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)

Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt was a Scottish radio engineer and pioneer of radio direction finding and radar technology.

1935

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

The February 26 incident , also known as the 2–26 incident, was an attempted coup d'état in the Empire of Japan on 26 February 1936. It was organized by a group of young Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) officers with the goal of purging the government and military leadership of their factional rivals and ideological opponents.

1936

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

1939–1945 global conflict

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1945

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

Governor General of Canada from 1952 to 1959

Charles Vincent Massey was a Canadian diplomat and statesman who served as the 18th governor general of Canada from 1952 to 1959. Massey was the first governor general of Canada to be born in Canada.

1952

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)

Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia, was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The airline was owned by the Government of Italy as a nationalized business from its founding in 1946 until it was privatized in 2009. However, it struggled with profitability whilst operating as a private company, including failed negotiations to sell to other private parties. The airline entered extraordinary administration in 2017 following many years of financial losses. The Italian government eventually took back ownership of the airline in March 2020.

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

Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both banks of the Dnieper River. As of January 2022, the population of Kyiv was 2,952,301, making it the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center. It is home to high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive public transport system, which includes the Kyiv Metro.

1960

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

1961–1972 American crewed lunar exploration program

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in his address to the U.S. Congress on May 25, 1961.

1966

U.N.

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

The secretary-general of the United Nations is the chief administrator of the United Nations who oversees the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, which also represents all 193 nations on the global stage.

1971

The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.

Class of American double-deck, long-distance passenger cars

The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak commissioned the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Western United States. The design was based on the Budd Hi-Level cars used by the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built 284 cars, known as Superliner I, from 1975 to 1981; Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991 to 1996. The Superliner I cars were the last passenger cars built by Pullman.

1979

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.

Bilateral relations

Foreign relations between Egypt and Israel, which dated back to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War culminated in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and was followed by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty a year after the Camp David Accords, mediated by U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Full diplomatic relations were established on January 26, 1980, and the formal exchange of ambassadors took place one month later, on February 26, 1980, with Eliyahu Ben-Elissar serving as the first Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, and Saad Mortada as the first Egyptian Ambassador to Israel. Egypt has an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate in Eilat. Israel has an embassy in Cairo and a consulate in Alexandria. Their shared border has two official crossings, one at Taba and one at Nitzana. The crossing at Nitzana is for commercial and tourist traffic only. The two countries' borders also meet at the shoreline of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea.

1980

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.

The Iran–Contra affair, also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Contragate, Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitated by senior officials of the Reagan administration. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendments, a series of laws passed by Congress and signed by Ronald Reagan, further funding of the Contras by legislative appropriations was prohibited by Congress, but the Reagan administration continued funding them secretly using non-appropriated funds.

1987

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)

The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994 in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan with support from Turkey. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics, entangled themselves in protracted, undeclared mountain warfare in the mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the Karabakh Movement.

1992

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

On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and associates carried out a van bomb terrorist attack below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336-pound (606 kg) urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to make the North Tower collapse onto the South Tower, taking down both skyscrapers and killing tens of thousands of people. While it failed to do so, it was successful in killing six people, and caused over a thousand injuries. About 50,000 people were evacuated from the buildings that day.

1993

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

Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London. It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member of the German–British Baring family of merchants and bankers.

1995

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

American symphony orchestra

The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., and globally known as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, it is one of the leading American orchestras popularly called the "Big Five". The Philharmonic's home is David Geffen Hall, at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

2008

A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.

Fatal rail transport accident in Ontario, Canada

The Burlington VIA train derailment was a derailment that occurred on February 26, 2012, in the Aldershot neighbourhood of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, resulting in deaths of the 3 engineers in the locomotive and 46 injuries. There were 75 passengers and four crew members on board at the time of the accident. The derailment occurred in an industrial area east of Aldershot GO Station. The official report into the accident was released on June 10, 2013, by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) indicating that the crew misinterpreted the signal causing them to believe that they were authorized to proceed at track speed, when in fact they were authorized only for slow speed—a maximum of 15 mph (24 km/h)—in order to switch tracks.

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)

Trayvon Benjamin Martin was an African American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic-American. Martin had accompanied his father to visit his father's fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford. On the evening of February 26, 2012, Martin was walking back to the fiancée's house from a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, saw Martin and reported him to the Sanford Police as suspicious. Several minutes later, an altercation happened and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest.

2012

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

Lighter-than-air aircraft

A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket, which carries passengers and a source of heat, in most cases an open flame caused by burning liquid propane. The heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant, since it has a lower density than the colder air outside the envelope. As with all aircraft, hot air balloons cannot fly beyond the atmosphere. The envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom, since the air inside the envelope is at about the same pressure as the surrounding air. In modern sport balloons the envelope is generally made from nylon fabric, and the inlet of the balloon is made from a fire-resistant material such as Nomex. Modern balloons have been made in many shapes, such as rocket ships and the shapes of various commercial products, though the traditional shape is used for most non-commercial and many commercial applications.

2013

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

Aerial service branch of the Indian Armed Forces

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of British India which honoured India's aviation service during World War II.

2019

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

The Zamfara kidnapping was the abduction of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 during a raid by armed bandits on 26 February 2021. The kidnapping occurred at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. All hostages were released by the bandits on 2 March 2021, though claims vary as to the negotiation methods used by the Nigerian government in order to facilitate their release.

2021

Born on February 26

20 people 1983 – 2004

Bibisara Assaubayeva

Kazakhstani chess grandmaster

Bibisara Assaubayeva is a Kazakhstani chess grandmaster. She is the reigning three-time Women's World Blitz Chess Champion. She was given the award of Outstanding Female Chess Player of 2021 in Asia by FIDE while still…

2004

Jamal Musiala

German footballer

Jamal Musiala is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in the…

2003

Gerard Martín

Spanish footballer

Gerard Martín Langreo is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for La Liga club Barcelona. Primarily a left-back, he is also capable of playing as a centre-back.

2002

César Tárrega

Spanish footballer

César Tárrega Requeni is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Valencia CF.

2002

Yeat

American rapper

Noah Olivier Smith, known professionally as Yeat is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his experimental sound—most notably the rage sound, unique vocabulary, and unconventional…

2000

Jessie Bates

American football player

Jessie Bates III is an American professional football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and was selected by the Cincinnati…

1997

Jacob Trouba

American ice hockey player

Jacob Ryan Trouba is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Trouba was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, ninth overall,…

1994

Mahra Al Maktoum

Emirati princess.

Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is an Emirati princess and member of the Dubai ruling family as the daughter of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. She…

1994

Morgan Gautrat

American soccer player

Morgan Paige Gautrat is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League 2 club Newcastle United W.F.C. She first appeared for the United States national team during a friendly…

1993

Mikael Granlund

Finnish hockey player

Mikael Antero Granlund is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played professionally in Finland with Oulun Kärpät and HIFK of…

1992

Lee Chae-rin

South Korean singer

Lee Chae-rin, better known by her stage name CL, is a South Korean rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. She rose to fame as a member and…

1991

Kevin Plawecki

American baseball player

Kevin Jeffrey Plawecki is an American former professional baseball catcher who currently serves as the catching coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Mets,…

1991

Takanoiwa Yoshimori

Mongolian sumo wrestler

Takanoiwa Yoshimori is a former sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He made his professional debut in January 2009. He has both a sandanme and a jūryō division championship. He reached the jūryō division in July…

1990

Gabriel Obertan

French footballer

Gabriel Antoine Obertan is a French retired professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach for USL League One side Charlotte Independence.

1989

Mārtiņš Karsums

Latvian ice hockey player

Mārtiņš Karsums is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš of the Slovak Extraliga.

1986

Hannah Kearney

American skier

Hannah Angela Kearney is an American mogul skier who won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

1986

Fernando Llorente

Spanish footballer

Fernando Javier Llorente Torres, nicknamed El Rey León, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

1985

Emmanuel Adebayor

Togolese footballer

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as…

1984

Beren Saat

Turkish actress

Beren Saat is a Turkish actress and singer. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at Başkent University, she participated in the…

1984

Jerome Harrison

American football player

Jerome Harrison is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, earning…

1983

See all birthdays on February 26

Died on February 26

20 people 2008 – 2025

Michelle Trachtenberg

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…

2025

Joseph Wapner

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…

2017

Andy Bathgate

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…

2016

Don Getty

Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (born 1933)

Donald Ross Getty was a Canadian athlete, businessman, and politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992.

2016

Sheppard Frere

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.

2015

Theodore Hesburgh

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,…

2015

Earl Lloyd

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).

2015

Tom Schweich

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.

2015

Sorel Etrog

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…

2014

Phyllis Krasilovsky

American author and academic (born 1927)

Phyllis Louise Krasilovsky was an American writer of children's books.

2014

Marie-Claire Alain

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…

2013

Stéphane Hessel

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…

2013

Simon Li

Hong Kong judge and politician (born 1922)

Simon Li Fook-sean was a Hong Kong senior judge and politician.

2013

Richard Carpenter

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.

2012

Arnošt Lustig

Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1926)

Arnošt Lustig was a Czech Jewish writer, playwright and screenwriter. His works have often involved the Holocaust.

2011

Jun Seba

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…

2010

Johnny Kerr

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…

2009

Wendy Richard

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…

2009

Norm Van Lier

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.

2009

Bodil Udsen

Danish actress (born 1925)

Bodil Birgitte Udsen was a Danish actress.

2008

See all deaths on February 26

What happened on February 26 in history?

On February 26, one notable event in history was 2026: The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War..

This date currently highlights 39 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 747 BC – 2026.

DateFebruary 26

Featured year2026

LocationAfghanistan, initiating the

Events listed39

Explore February 26

Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.

Events on February 26 Birthdays on February 26 Deaths on February 26 February 26 quiz

Explore February 26

Test Your Knowledge Famous Birthdays Notable Deaths

February 25 February 27

Explore history for any date on the interactive calendar.

Open the Calendar All Blog Posts

February 26 in History

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

Born on February 26

Died on February 26

More questions about February 26

What happened on February 26?

Why is February 26 remembered in history?

Who was born on February 26?

Who died on February 26?

What happened on February 26 in history?

Explore February 26

Explore February 26

February 26 in History

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

Born on February 26

Died on February 26

More questions about February 26

What happened on February 26?

Why is February 26 remembered in history?

Who was born on February 26?

Who died on February 26?

What happened on February 26 in history?

Explore February 26

Explore February 26

History runs on facts, and this project runs on coffee!