History of Today in India – 26 February

Explore the history of today 26 February in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 26 February 2026, 04:37 AM

📜 Important Events on 26 February in World History

26 Feb 2021: A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria. Read more
26 Feb 2019: Indian Air Force fighter-jets targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan. Read more
26 Feb 2013: A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people. Read more
26 Feb 2012: A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 2008: The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event of its kind to take place in North Korea. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 1987: Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff. Read more
26 Feb 1980: Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations. Read more
26 Feb 1979: The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak. Read more
26 Feb 1971: U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day. Read more
26 Feb 1966: Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 1960: A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board. Read more
26 Feb 1952: Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada. Read more
26 Feb 1945: World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 1935: Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Read more
26 Feb 1935: Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom. Read more
26 Feb 1929: President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Read more
26 Feb 1919: President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. Read more
26 Feb 1914: HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Read more
26 Feb 1909: Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 1870: The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens. Read more
26 Feb 1815: Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 26 February in World History

26 Feb 2003: 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 world, Musiala is known for his dribbling, passing, goal threat, and technical skills, and is nicknamed "Bambi" for his close-control dribbling. Read more
26 Feb 2002: 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. Read more
26 Feb 2002: César Tárrega, Spanish footballer César Tárrega Requeni is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Valencia CF. Read more
26 Feb 2000: 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 word choice, and unconventional fashion sense featuring a mix of designer brands and balaclavas. Read more
26 Feb 1997: 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 Bengals in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft. Read more
26 Feb 1994: 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, of the 2012 NHL entry draft. Trouba played the first six years of his career in Winnipeg before he was traded to the New York Rangers in 2019. Trouba spent five seasons with the Rangers including two and a half seasons as captain before his trade to the Anaheim Ducks in 2024. Read more
26 Feb 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 gained international attention in 2024 after announcing her divorce of her husband on Instagram using the triple talaq, traditionally only done by men. She has been engaged to rapper French Montana since 2025. Read more
26 Feb 1993: 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., on loan from the Orlando Pride. She first appeared for the United States national team during a friendly against Korea Republic on June 15, 2013. She has made 88 total appearances for the team and scored eight goals. Read more
26 Feb 1992: Mikael Granlund, Finnish hockey player Mikael Antero Granlund is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played professionally in Finland with Oulun Kärpät and HIFK of the SM-liiga and with the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars of the NHL. He was selected by the Wild as the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Read more
26 Feb 1991: 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 leader of the girl group 2NE1, who debuted in 2009 under YG Entertainment. They became one of the most popular South Korean girl groups worldwide and one of the best-selling girl groups. As a solo artist, CL made her debut with the single "The Baddest Female" in May 2013 and released the solo track "MTBD" in February 2014 as part of 2NE1's final studio album Crush. Read more
26 Feb 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, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers. Read more
26 Feb 1990: 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 2012 and the top makuuchi division for the first time in January 2014. He was the only wrestler recruited by former yokozuna Takanohana to reach the elite sekitori ranks. He was runner-up in one top division tournament and earned two special prizes, one for Fighting Spirit and one for Outstanding Performance. His highest rank was maegashira 2. Read more
26 Feb 1989: 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. Read more
26 Feb 1986: Mārtiņš Karsums, Latvian ice hockey player Mārtiņš Karsums is a Latvian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš of the Slovak Extraliga. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 1986: Teresa Palmer, Australian actress Teresa Mary Palmer is an Australian actress. Following her film debut in Wolf Creek (2005), Palmer had supporting roles in films such as The Grudge 2 (2006), Bedtime Stories (2008), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010), I Am Number Four, Take Me Home Tonight, Knight of Cups (2015), Triple 9 (2016), The Choice (2016), and The Fall Guy (2024). Read more
26 Feb 1985: Fernando Llorente, Spanish footballer Fernando Javier Llorente Torres, nicknamed El Rey León, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
26 Feb 1984: 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 French side Metz, Monégasque team Monaco, Spanish team Real Madrid, Turkish clubs İstanbul Başakşehir and Kayserispor, Paraguay's Club Olimpia and Togolese club Semassi. Read more
26 Feb 1984: Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer-songwriter María Natalia Lafourcade Silva is a Mexican singer. Her music combines elements of pop rock, jazz, and folk, characterized by poetic lyrics and her distinctive lyric soprano voice. She is regarded as one of the most influential Latin music artists of the 21st century. In 2025, Billboard named her one of the best female Latin pop artists of all time. Read more
26 Feb 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 acting competition Türkiye'nin Yıldızları and was discovered by Turkish director Tomris Giritlioğlu, launching her professional acting career. Read more
26 Feb 1983: 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 recognition as a consensus All-American in 2005. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft, and also played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. A brain tumor ended his career in 2011. Read more
26 Feb 1983: Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira OM, known as Pepe, is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Brazil, he played for the Portugal national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation. Read more
26 Feb 1982: Li Na, Chinese tennis player Li Na is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association. Li won nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open. Those victories made her the first major singles champion born in Asia, male or female. She was also the runner-up at the 2011 Australian Open, 2013 Australian Open, and the 2013 WTA Tour Championships. Read more
26 Feb 1982: Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer Matthew James Prior is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed batting enabled him to open the innings in ODI matches, even though he made very limited appearances in shorter forms of the game. With an international Test debut score of 126, Prior became the first English wicket-keeper to hit a century in his debut match in early 2007. His glovework, however, was criticised. Despite a successful tour of Sri Lanka with the bat, Prior's keeping was less successful, and he was dropped from the team for the 2008 tour of New Zealand. He returned for the 2008 series against South Africa, and was retained into 2009, where he became the second-fastest England keeper to reach 1,000 Test runs, behind Les Ames. He retired in June 2015 from all forms of professional cricket due to a recurring Achilles tendon injury. Read more
26 Feb 1982: Nate Ruess, American singer-songwriter Nathaniel Joseph Ruess is an American singer and songwriter. He formed the indie rock band The Format in 2002, and later went on to form the band fun. in 2008. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Kevin Dallman, Canadian-Kazakhstani ice hockey player Kevin Jonathan Dallman is a Canadian-Kazakhstani former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Read more
26 Feb 1981: Kertus Davis, American race car driver Kertus Davis is an American former NASCAR driver. He was the competition director for JD Motorsports before the team went bankrupt. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Simon Maljevac, Slovenian politician Simon Maljevac is a Slovenian LGBT rights activist, politician and current Minister of Solidarity-Based Future of Slovenia. He was the general-secretary of The Left from 2018 to 2022. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Robert Mathis, American football player Robert Nathan Mathis is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 14-year career as a defensive end and linebacker with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs and was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft. A one-time All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler, Mathis won the Super Bowl XLI with the Colts in 2006 over the Chicago Bears. He is also the NFL's all-time leader in forced fumbles and strip sacks. The year after retiring, Mathis joined the Colts as an assistant defensive coach. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer Oh Seung-bum is a former South Korean footballer, who played as midfielder for Gangwon FC in K League 1. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Sharon Van Etten, American singer-songwriter, musician and actress Sharon Katharine Van Etten is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally from New Jersey, and currently based in Los Angeles, Van Etten's music is noted for its indie rock aesthetic and personal lyrical content. In the studio and during live performances, Van Etten is currently accompanied by her backing band, the Attachment Theory, which consists of Devra Hoff, Teeny Lieberson and Jorge Balbi (drums). Read more
26 Feb 1980: Steve Blake, American basketball player Steven Hanson Blake is an American professional basketball coach and former player. After winning the 2002 NCAA Championship with Maryland, Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Over his 13-year NBA career, Blake had stints with the Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, and three stints with the Portland Trail Blazers. Read more
26 Feb 1979: Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006. She released her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006, and became the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. The album has sold over four million copies. In 2007, Bailey Rae was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. In 2008, she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Read more
26 Feb 1979: Steve Evans, Welsh footballer Steven James Evans is a Welsh football coach and former professional footballer who is assistant manager of Flint Town United. Read more
26 Feb 1979: Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer Pedro Miguel da Silva Mendes is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He works as a football agent. Read more
26 Feb 1978: Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a defender. Read more
26 Feb 1977: Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach Martin Ernest Reasoner is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islanders. He is currently in a player development coaching role within the New York Islanders organization. Read more
26 Feb 1977: Greg Rikaart, American actor Gregory Andrew Rikaart is an American television actor. He is best known for playing Kevin Fisher on the television soap opera The Young and the Restless since 2003, and also playing Leo Stark on Days Of Our Lives. Read more
26 Feb 1977: Tim Thomas, American basketball player Timothy Mark Thomas is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was a highly ranked prospect while playing at Paterson Catholic High School in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Thomas played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats and declared for the 1997 NBA draft after his freshman season. He spent thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. Thomas serves as the head coach of the boys basketball team at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey. Read more
26 Feb 1977: James Wan, Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer James Wan is a Malaysian-born Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring Universe. The lattermost is the highest-grossing horror franchise at over $2 billion. Wan is also the founder of film and television production company Atomic Monster. Read more
26 Feb 1977: Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player Shane Mark Williams, is a Welsh former rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata, Bryan Habana and David Campese. Read more
26 Feb 1976: Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician Nalini Anantharaman is a French mathematician known for her work in mathematical physics and analysis. She is currently a professor at the University of Strasbourg. She has won major prizes for her work, including the Henri Poincaré Prize in 2012. Read more
26 Feb 1976: Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Charles Stokes Urmston, better known as Chadwick Stokes is an American musician and a human rights activist. He is the frontman for the Boston-area bands Dispatch and State Radio, and released solo music under the name Chadwick Stokes. Read more
26 Feb 1975: P. J. Axelsson, Swedish ice hockey player Anders Per-Johan Axelsson, commonly abbreviated to P. J. Axelsson, is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward, who most recently played with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Elitserien. His nickname in Sweden is "Pebben". He was the longest-tenured member of the NHL's Boston Bruins at the time of his departure from North American play in 2009, having been with the Boston team from 1997–2009. Read more
26 Feb 1974: Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne Mikaela María Antonia "Mikee" de los Reyes Cojuangco-Jaworski is a Filipino sports official, equestrian, model, former actress and television host. She is a member of the IOC Executive Board since 2020. She serves as the chairperson of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2032 Summer Olympics. She was a gold medalist at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. Read more
26 Feb 1974: Sébastien Loeb, French racing driver Sébastien Loeb is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He was the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times, a record since equalled by Sébastien Ogier in 2025. He holds several other WRC records, including most event wins, most podium finishes and most stage wins. Loeb retired from full time WRC participation at the end of 2012. He currently drives part time in the WRC for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, and full time in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for Bahrain Raid Xtreme. Read more
26 Feb 1974: Bonnie Somerville, American actress Bonnie Somerville is an American actress and singer. She has had roles in a number of movies and television series, most notably as Mona in seven episodes of Friends. She has also appeared in NYPD Blue, Grosse Pointe, The O.C., Cashmere Mafia, Without a Paddle, and Golden Boy. She starred as Dr. Christa Lorenson in season one of the CBS medical drama Code Black. Read more
26 Feb 1973: Marshall Faulk, American football player Marshall William Faulk is an American football coach and former professional running back who is the head coach for the Southern Jaguars. Faulk previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams. He is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. Read more
26 Feb 1973: Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player, who was most recently manager of Beşiktaş. He spent the majority of his playing career with Manchester United and made 67 appearances for the Norway national team. Read more
26 Feb 1973: Jenny Thompson, American swimmer Jennifer Beth Thompson is an American former competition swimmer. Read more
26 Feb 1972: Maz Jobrani, American comedian and actor Maziyar Jobrani, better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in numerous films, television shows, including Better Off Ted, on radio, and in comedy clubs. His filmography includes roles in The Interpreter, Friday After Next, Dragonfly, and Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero. He appeared as a regular character on the 2017 CBS sitcom Superior Donuts. He had been an advisory board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). Read more
26 Feb 1971: Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip-hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut studio album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics. Read more
26 Feb 1971: Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such as Britney Spears's "…Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys's "I Want It That Way" (1999), Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999), and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000). Read more
26 Feb 1971: Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress Hélène Ségara is a French singer who came to prominence playing the role of Esmeralda in the French musical Notre Dame de Paris. She has sold over 10 million records. Read more
26 Feb 1970: Predrag Danilović, Serbian basketball player and executive Predrag "Saša" Danilović, usually referred to in English as Sasha Danilović, is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player, considered one of the best European shooting guards of the 1990s. Danilović was the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 1992, was voted Mister Europa Player of the Year in 1998, and was Italian League MVP the same year. Read more
26 Feb 1970: Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Minister of State for Immigration Mark James Harper, Baron Harper is a British politician who served in the Cabinet as Chief Whip of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and as Secretary of State for Transport from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire from 2005 until his defeat in 2024. Read more
26 Feb 1969: Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer Hitoshi Sakimoto is a Japanese composer and sound producer. He is best known for scoring the video games Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, though he has composed soundtracks for numerous other games. Sakimoto first played music and video games in elementary school and began composing music professionally in 1988. He worked at the video game company Square from 1998 to 2000, before founding the music and sound production company Basiscape in 2002. Read more
26 Feb 1968: Tim Commerford, American bass player Timothy Commerford is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for the rap rock band Rage Against the Machine and the supergroups Audioslave and Prophets of Rage. Since 2013 and 2015, respectively, he has also been the lead singer and bassist of the bands Future User and Wakrat. Read more
26 Feb 1968: Leif Rohlin, Swedish ice hockey player Leif Johan Rohlin is a former professional ice hockey defenceman who spent 2 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks and enjoyed a long career in Europe. He later worked as the General Manager of VIK Västerås HK of the second level of Swedish ice hockey, HockeyAllsvenskan from 2007 to 2010. Read more
26 Feb 1967: Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura , nicknamed King Kazu, is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for J3 League club Fukushima United, on loan from J2 League club Yokohama FC. He is the world's third oldest active player, oldest among active top-level players, and oldest to score in a professional match. Read more
26 Feb 1967: Gene Principe, Canadian sports reporter and broadcaster Eugenio Principe is a Canadian sports reporter and broadcaster, who is the current host of Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on Sportsnet. He is best known for his frequent use of puns and props during his pre-game segments. Read more
26 Feb 1966: Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti Garry Conille is a Haitian politician who has served twice as prime minister of Haiti, from 2011 to 2012 and from June to November 2024. A physician, academic, development worker, and author, he served as acting prime minister from 3 June to 11 November 2024 under the Transitional Presidential Council. He previously served as the 15th prime minister from 2011 to 2012, submitting his resignation on 24 February 2012, and being officially succeeded by Laurent Lamothe on 16 May 2012. Read more
26 Feb 1966: Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player Marc Fortier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Fortier played in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Nordiques, Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings. Read more
26 Feb 1966: Jennifer Grant, American actress Jennifer Diane Grant is an American actress. The daughter of actors Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon, she is best known for roles in the television series Beverly Hills, 90210 and Movie Stars. Read more
26 Feb 1966: Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer Najwa Karam is a Lebanese singer, songwriter, producer, and television personality. She has sold over 60 million records worldwide and ranks among the highest-selling Lebanese and Middle-Eastern recording artists. Read more
26 Feb 1965: James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager James Lamar Mitchell is an American professional wrestling manager, known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as James Vandenberg, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as The Sinister Minister, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under his own name. Read more
26 Feb 1964: Mark Dacascos, American actor, martial artist, and television personality Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. A 4th-degree black belt in Wun Hop Kuen Do, he is known for his roles in action films, including as Louis Stevens in Only the Strong (1993), the title role in Crying Freeman (1995), Mani in Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, the antagonist Ling in Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Sharish in Nomad (2005), and as the assassin Zero in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019). Read more
26 Feb 1963: Chase Masterson, American actress, singer, and activist Chase Masterson is an American actress, singer and producer best known for her role as Leeta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She has appeared in the TV shows General Hospital, Sliders, and ER and voiced characters in several animated films. As a singer, she has released several albums. In 2008, Masterson won the Best Feature Film Producer award at the LA Femme Film Festival for the film Yesterday Was a Lie, in which she also acted. In 2013, Masterson co-founded the Pop Culture Hero Coalition to speak out against bullying, racism, misogyny, homophobia and other forms of hate. Read more
26 Feb 1962: Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician Ahn Cheol-soo is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He is a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior to his career in politics, Ahn founded AhnLab, Inc., an antivirus software company, in 1995. He was chairman of the board and Chief Learning Officer of AhnLab until September 2012, and remains the company's largest stakeholder. Prior to entering politics, Ahn served as dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University until September 2012. Ahn was considered a left-wing politician when he entered politics in 2012, then considered a centrist politician by his 2017 presidential bid, and is now considered a right-wing politician. Read more
26 Feb 1960: Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke. In addition, Coleman has composed orchestral and soundtrack pieces. Read more
26 Feb 1959: Rolando Blackman, Panamanian-American basketball player Rolando Antonio Blackman is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player who spent 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most of it with the Dallas Mavericks. He was a four-time NBA All-Star, and he holds the Mavericks' franchise single-game record for free throws made (22). Read more
26 Feb 1959: Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2014 and chief advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from 2003 to 2009. He was elected as an AKP Member of Parliament for Konya in the 2011 general election and was reelected as an MP in both the June and November 2015 general elections. He resigned as prime minister on 22 May 2016. Read more
26 Feb 1958: Greg Germann, American actor and director Gregory Andrew Germann is an American actor who is known for playing Richard Fish on the television series Ally McBeal, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild award. He also is known for his roles as Eric "Rico" Morrow on the sitcom Ned & Stacey, Dr. Tom Koracick in Grey's Anatomy and as Hades in Season Five of Once Upon a Time. Read more
26 Feb 1958: Liza 'N' Eliaz, Belgian, transgender, hardcore DJ (died 2001) Liza Néliaz, known by her stage name Liza 'N' Eliaz, was a Belgian hardcore techno producer and disc jockey. Described as a "spiritual leader" in the free party movement in France, she was a DJ noted for her skill and use of four turntables. Read more
26 Feb 1958: Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut Susan Jane Helms is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general and NASA astronaut. She was the commander, 14th Air Force ; and commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Read more
26 Feb 1958: Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia Timothy Michael Kaine is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. Kaine was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2016 election, as presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's running mate. Read more
26 Feb 1957: David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina David Muldrow Beasley is an American politician, law professor, and the former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term as the 113th Governor of South Carolina from 1995 until 1999 before losing reelection to Democrat Jim Hodges. He also served as a state representative from 1981 until 1995. Read more
26 Feb 1957: Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach Joseph Patrick Mullen is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins between 1980 and 1997. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, winning with the Flames in 1989 and the Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Mullen turned to coaching in 2000, serving as an assistant in Pittsburgh and briefly as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2007 to 2017. Read more
26 Feb 1957: John Jude Palencar, American artist and illustrator John Jude Palencar is an American illustrator and fine artist who specializes in works of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In 2010, he was given the Hamilton King Award. Read more
26 Feb 1957: Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer Keena Ruth Rothhammer is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Read more
26 Feb 1956: Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director Michel Houellebecq is a French author of novels, poems, and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker, and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Houellebecq published his first novel, Whatever, in 1994 and his next novel, Atomised in 1998, which brought him international fame as well as controversy. He has published several books of poetry, including The Art of Struggle in 1996. Read more
26 Feb 1955: Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Andreas Maislinger is an Austrian political scientist and founder and former chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad. He also is the founder of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award, the Braunau Contemporary History Days and the inventor of the idea of the House of Responsibility. Read more
26 Feb 1954: Prince Ernst August of Hanover Ernst August von Hannover is the head of the House of Hanover, members of which reigned in Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1901, the Kingdom of Hanover from 1814 to 1866, and the Duchy of Brunswick from 1913 to 1918. As the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, he is the brother-in-law of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. Read more
26 Feb 1954: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a Turkish politician who has been the president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which he co-founded in 2001. He also served as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. Coming from an Islamist background and promoting socially conservative policies, Turkey has experienced increasing authoritarianism, democratic backsliding and suppression of dissent under Erdoğan's rule. Read more
26 Feb 1953: Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor Michael Bolotin, known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. His early career also saw him as a successful songwriter, co-writing hits like "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" for Laura Branigan, which he later recorded as a solo single. Read more
26 Feb 1953: Barbara Niven, American actress and writer Barbara Lee Niven is an American actress, writer, and producer, best known for her performances in Hallmark and Lifetime movies, and for television roles in Pensacola: Wings of Gold, One Life to Live, Cedar Cove, and Chesapeake Shores. Niven had the leading role in the independent film A Perfect Ending (2012). She is also a motivational speaker, media trainer and animal rights activist, and a National Ambassador for American Humane. Read more
26 Feb 1951: Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (died 2014) Wayne Keith Goss was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, and after leaving politics he served as chairman of the Queensland Art Gallery and chairman of Deloitte Australia. Read more
26 Feb 1950: Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer Jonathan Leonard Friga, known professionally as Jonathan Cain, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for Journey. He has also worked with the Babys and Bad English. Cain was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017. He also maintains a solo career as a contemporary Christian artist. Read more
26 Feb 1950: Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Elizabeth Clark is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008 and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was New Zealand's fifth-longest-serving prime minister, and the second woman to hold that office. Read more
26 Feb 1950: Billy Steinberg, American songwriter (died 2026) William Endfield Steinberg was an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly, together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits "Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984), "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986), "Eternal Flame", "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston (1987) and "Alone". Steinberg and Kelly also wrote or co-wrote the hit songs "I Drove All Night", "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls (1990) and "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders (1994). Read more
26 Feb 1949: Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts (died 2023) Simon Findlay Crean was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003. He represented the seat of Hotham in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2013 and was a cabinet minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments. Read more
26 Feb 1949: Elizabeth George, American author and educator Susan Elizabeth George is an American writer of mystery novels. Read more
26 Feb 1949: Emma Kirkby, English soprano Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on more than 100 recordings. Read more
26 Feb 1948: Sharyn McCrumb, American author Sharyn McCrumb is an American writer best known for books that celebrate the history and folklore of Appalachia. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and is the author of the best-selling Ballad novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains; the NASCAR series featuring St. Dale; and the Elizabeth McPherson mystery series. Read more
26 Feb 1947: Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist Sandra Ann Goodrich, better known by her stage name Sandie Shaw, is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" (1964), "Long Live Love" (1965) and "Puppet on a String" (1967). With the latter, she became the first British entry to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She was seen as epitomising the Swinging Sixties and was often described as "the barefoot pop princess of the 1960s". She returned to the UK Top 40, for the first time in 15 years, with her 1984 cover of the Smiths song "Hand in Glove". Shaw retired from the music industry in 2013. Read more
26 Feb 1946: Colin Bell, English footballer (died 2021) Colin Bell was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Bell, known for his thirteen-year spell at Manchester City, is regarded as the club's greatest-ever player, and was part of the Bell–Lee–Summerbee trio in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bell made 48 appearances for the England national football team; he was an unused squad member at UEFA Euro 1968 and played in three matches at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Read more
26 Feb 1946: Bingo Smith, American basketball player (died 2023) Robert "Bingo" Smith was an American professional basketball player. He played for the San Diego Rockets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the San Diego Clippers. Read more
26 Feb 1946: Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016) Ahmed Hassan Zewail was an Egyptian and American chemist, known as the "father of femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel Prize in a scientific field, and also the first African to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was a professor of chemistry and physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he was the first Caltech faculty member to be named the Linus Pauling Chair of Chemical Physics and served as the director of the Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology. Read more
26 Feb 1945: Peter Brock, Australian racing driver (died 2006) Peter Geoffrey Brock, known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Volvo, Porsche and Peugeot. He won the Bathurst 1000 endurance race nine times, the Sandown 500 touring car race nine times, the Australian Touring Car Championship three times, the Bathurst 24 Hour once and was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2001. Brock's business activities included the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) that produced Brock's racing machines as well as a number of modified high-performance road versions of his racing cars. Read more
26 Feb 1945: Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress Marta Kristen is a Norwegian-born American actress. Read more
26 Feb 1945: Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter William Sherille Levise Jr., known professionally as Mitch Ryder, is an American rock singer who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Read more
26 Feb 1944: Christopher Hope, South African author and poet Christopher Hope, FRSL is a South African novelist and poet who is known for his controversial works dealing with racism and politics in South Africa. His son is violinist Daniel Hope. Read more
26 Feb 1944: Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria Ronald Steven Lauder is an American businessman. He is the sole heir to The Estée Lauder Companies, founded by his parents Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder in 1946, following the death of his brother Leonard Lauder in 2025. Read more
26 Feb 1943: Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2021) Norman Paul Cotton was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the band Poco and the writer of their international hit song "Heart of the Night". Before that, he was co-guitarist for the Illinois Speed Press. Read more
26 Feb 1943: Bill Duke, American actor and director William Henry Duke Jr., also known as Bill Duke, is an American actor and director. He is known for his work in action and crime drama, often as a character related to law enforcement. Dubbed the "Godfather of African American Cinema", he is known to direct films dealing with Black American experience and struggle. Read more
26 Feb 1943: Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer Dante Ferretti is an Italian production designer, art director, and costume designer. Read more
26 Feb 1943: Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician (died 1981) Robert Ernest Hite, also known as "The Bear", was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer who was the co-lead vocalist of the blues rock band Canned Heat from 1965 until his death in 1981. Read more
26 Feb 1942: Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager (died 2018) Jozef Adamec was a Slovak football forward and manager. Read more
26 Feb 1940: Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (died 2013) Oldřich Kulhánek was a Czech painter, graphic designer, illustrator, stage designer and pedagogue. Kulhánek created the design for the current Czech banknotes and postage stamps. Read more
26 Feb 1939: Chuck Wepner, American boxer Charles Wepner is an American former professional boxer. He fell just nineteen seconds short of a full fifteen rounds against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 championship fight. Wepner also scored notable wins over Randy Neumann and former world heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell. He was also the last man to fight former undisputed world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Read more
26 Feb 1937: Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (died 2011) Paul Serafin Dickson was an American professional football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and St. Louis Cardinals. He played college football for Baylor University. Read more
26 Feb 1936: José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (died 2014) José da Cruz Policarpo, officially referred to as José IV, Patriarch of Lisbon, though usually referred to as "D. José Policarpo", was Patriarch of Lisbon from 24 March 1998 to 18 May 2013. Pope John Paul II made him a Cardinal in 2001. Policarpo held a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Read more
26 Feb 1934: Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2025) Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina was an Algerian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1975 film Chronicle of the Years of Fire, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival and became the first Arab and African film to win the award. He is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Arabic cinema. Read more
26 Feb 1933: James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician (died 1997) Sir James Michael Goldsmith was a French-British financier and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His controversial business and finance career led to ongoing clashes with British media, frequently involving litigation or the threat of litigation. Read more
26 Feb 1932: Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2003) John R. Cash was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. He was known for his deep, calm, bass-baritone voice, the distinctive sound of his backing band, the Tennessee Three, that was characterized by its train-like chugging guitar rhythms, a rebelliousness coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor, and his free prison concerts. Cash wore a trademark all-black stage wardrobe, which earned him the nickname "Man in Black". Read more
26 Feb 1931: Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (died 2004) Alistair Reid MacLeod was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known for his time as the Scotland national football team manager, including their appearance at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. MacLeod played as a left winger for Third Lanark, St Mirren, Blackburn Rovers, Hibernian and Ayr United. He then managed Ayr United, Aberdeen, Scotland, Motherwell, Airdrieonians and Queen of the South. Read more
26 Feb 1931: Robert Novak, American journalist and author (died 2009) Robert David Sanders Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for The Wall Street Journal. He teamed up with Rowland Evans in 1963 to start Inside Report, which became the longest running syndicated political column in U.S. history and ran in hundreds of papers. They also started the Evans-Novak Political Report, a notable biweekly newsletter, in 1967. Read more
26 Feb 1931: Josephine Tewson, English actress (died 2022) Josephine Ann Tewson was an English actress, known for her roles in British television sitcoms and comedies. She portrayed Edna Hawkins on Shelley (1979–1982), Jane Travers in Clarence (1988), and Miss Lucinda Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine (2003–2010). She portrayed the frequently put-upon neighbour Elizabeth "Liz" Warden in Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995). Tewson's professional career lasted more than 65 years, from 1952 until her retirement in 2019. Read more
26 Feb 1928: Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2017) Antoine Caliste Domino Jr., known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orleans to a French Creole family, Domino signed to Imperial Records in 1949. His first single "The Fat Man" is cited by some historians as the first rock and roll single and the first to sell more than 1 million copies. Domino continued to work with the song's co-writer Dave Bartholomew, contributing his distinctive rolling piano style to Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (1952) and scoring a string of mainstream hits beginning with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955). Between 1955 and 1960, he had eleven Top 10 US pop hits. By 1955, five of his records had sold more than a million copies, being certified gold. Read more
26 Feb 1928: Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (died 2014) Ariel "Arik" Sharon was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Read more
26 Feb 1927: Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor (died 2020) James Edward Narz, known professionally as Tom Kennedy, was an American television host best known for his work in game shows. Game shows Kennedy hosted included Password Plus, Split Second, Name That Tune, and You Don't Say! Read more
26 Feb 1926: Doris Belack, American actress (died 2011) Doris Belack was an American character actress of stage, film and television. Read more
26 Feb 1926: Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (died 2015) Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded. Read more
26 Feb 1926: Henry Molaison, American medical patient (died 2008) Henry Gustav Molaison, known widely as H.M., was an American epileptic man who in 1953 received a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy to surgically resect parts of his brain—the anterior two thirds of his hippocampi, parahippocampal cortices, entorhinal cortices, piriform cortices, and amygdalae—in an attempt to cure his epilepsy. Although the surgery was partially successful in controlling his epilepsy, a severe side effect was that he became unable to form new memories. Read more
26 Feb 1925: Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee (died 2020) Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE was a cricketer from Barbados. A right-handed batsman, he was known as one of the hardest hitters in world cricket. Weekes holds the record for the most consecutive Test hundreds, with five. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of the West Indies cricket team. Weekes played in 48 Test matches for the West Indies cricket team from 1948 to 1958. Weekes occasionally donned the wicketkeeping gloves as well. He continued to play first-class cricket until 1964, surpassing 12,000 first-class runs in his final innings. As a coach he was in charge of the Canadian team at the 1979 Cricket World Cup, and he was also a commentator and international match referee. Read more
26 Feb 1924: Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (died 2002) Mark Bucci was an American composer, lyricist, and dramatist. Influenced by Giacomo Puccini, his work is composed in a contemporary yet lyrical style, which frequently employs marked rhythms and memorable harmonies and melodies. Read more
26 Feb 1924: Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2000) Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989. Read more
26 Feb 1922: Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman (died 2007) William Arras Johnston was an Australian cricketer who played in forty Test matches from 1947 to 1955. A left arm pace bowler, as well as a left arm orthodox spinner, Johnston was best known as a spearhead of Don Bradman's undefeated 1948 touring team, well known as "The Invincibles". Johnston headed the wicket-taking lists in both Test and first-class matches on the tour, and was the last Australian to take over 100 wickets on a tour of England. In recognition of his performances, he was named by Wisden as one of its Cricketers of the Year in 1949. The publication stated that "no Australian made a greater personal contribution to the playing success of the 1948 side". Regarded by Bradman as Australia's greatest-ever left-arm bowler, Johnston was noted for his endurance in bowling pace with the new ball and spin when the ball had worn. He became the fastest bowler to reach 100 Test wickets in 1951–52, at the time averaging less than nineteen with the ball. By the end of the season, he had played 24 Tests and contributed 111 wickets. Australia won nineteen and lost only two of these Tests. In 1953, a knee injury forced him to remodel his bowling action, and he became less effective before retiring after aggravating the injury in 1955. In retirement, he worked in sales and marketing, and later ran his own businesses. He had two sons, one of whom became a cricket administrator. Johnston died at the age of 85 on 25 May 2007. Read more
26 Feb 1922: Margaret Leighton, English actress (died 1976) Margaret Leighton was an English actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, her film appearances included Anthony Asquith's The Winslow Boy, Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn, Powell and Pressburger's The Elusive Pimpernel, George More O'Ferrall's The Holly and the Ivy, Martin Ritt's The Sound and the Fury, John Guillermin's Waltz of the Toreadors, Franklin J. Schaffner's The Best Man, Tony Richardson's The Loved One, John Ford's 7 Women, and Joseph Losey's The Go-Between and Galileo. For The Go-Between, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Read more
26 Feb 1921: Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (died 2007) Betty Hutton
was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appearing primarily in musicals and became one of the studio's most valuable stars. She was noted for her energetic performance style. Read more
26 Feb 1920: Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (died 2005) Daniel Lewis Gardella was an American professional baseball player who played most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a left fielder with the New York Giants from 1944 to 1945. Born in New York City, he batted and threw left-handed. Read more
26 Feb 1920: Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (died 2004) Anthony Leonard Randall was an American actor, comedian, director, producer and singer, active in film, television and stage. Read more
26 Feb 1920: Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (died 2006) Lucjan Wilhelm Wolanowski, pseudonyms: Wilk; Waldemar Mruczkowski; W. Lucjański; (L.W.); lu; Lu; (lw); WOL., was a Polish journalist, writer and traveller. Read more
26 Feb 1919: Mason Adams, American actor (died 2005) Mason Adams was an American actor. From the late 1940s until the early 1970s, he was heard in numerous radio programs and voiceovers for countless television commercials, the latter of which he resumed in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1970s, he moved into acting and from 1977 to 1983 held perhaps his best-known role, that of Managing Editor Charlie Hume on Lou Grant. He also acted in numerous other television and movie roles, most prominently Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and F/X (1986). Read more
26 Feb 1918: Otis Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (died 2013) Otis Ray Bowen was an American politician and physician who served as the 44th Governor of Indiana from 1973 to 1981 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Cabinet of President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989. Read more
26 Feb 1918: Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus (died 1980) Pyotr Mironovich Masherov was a Soviet partisan, statesman, and one of the leaders of the Belarusian resistance during World War II who governed the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia from 1965 until his death in 1980. Under Masherov's rule, Belarus was transformed from an agrarian, undeveloped nation which had not yet recovered from the Second World War into an industrial powerhouse; Minsk, the capital and largest city of Belarus, became one of the fastest-growing cities on the planet. Masherov ruled until his sudden death in 1980, after his vehicle was hit by a potato truck. Read more
26 Feb 1918: Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (died 1985) Theodore Sturgeon was an American author of primarily fantasy, science fiction, and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 short stories, 11 novels, and several scripts for Star Trek: The Original Series. Read more
26 Feb 1916: Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (died 1987) Herbert John Gleason, known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, and was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy, exemplified by his city bus driver character Ralph Kramden in the television series The Honeymooners. He also developed The Jackie Gleason Show, which maintained high ratings from the mid-1950s through 1970. The series originated in New York City, but filming moved to Miami Beach, Florida, in 1964 after Gleason took up permanent residence there. Read more
26 Feb 1914: Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (died 1986) Robert Alda was an American theatrical and film actor. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a number of Broadway productions, then moved to Italy during the early 1960s. He appeared in many European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to the U.S. for film appearances such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). Read more
26 Feb 1911: Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (died 1996) Tarō Okamoto was a Japanese artist, art theorist, and writer. He is particularly well known for his paintings, public sculptures, and murals, his theorization of traditional Japanese culture, and his avant-garde artistic practices. Read more
26 Feb 1910: Vic Woodley, English footballer (died 1978) Victor Robert Woodley was an English football goalkeeper who played for Chelsea was an FA Cup Winner with Derby County and the England national team between the wars. Read more
26 Feb 1909: Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (died 1994) Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey, better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer. She frequently appeared on television, at cookery demonstrations and in print with her fourth husband, Major Johnnie Cradock, who played the part of a slightly bumbling hen-pecked husband. Read more
26 Feb 1909: Talal of Jordan (died 1972) Talal bin Abdullah al-Hashimi was King of Jordan from the assassination of his father King Abdullah I in 1951, until his forced abdication in 1952. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Talal was a 39th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad. Read more
26 Feb 1908: Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (died 1980) Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery was an American animator and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd for Warner Bros. and Droopy, Butch Dog, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Read more
26 Feb 1908: Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (died 1971) Néstor Mesta Cháyres was an acclaimed tenor in Mexico and a noted interpreter of Spanish songs, boleros and Mexican romantic music on the international concert stage. He was widely commended for his artistic renditions of the works of Agustín Lara and María Grever and was nicknamed "El Gitano de México". Read more
26 Feb 1908: Jean-Pierre Wimille, French racing driver (died 1949) Jean-Pierre Wimille was a French racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was a two-time victor of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1937 and 1939. He is generally regarded as one of the best French drivers of his era. In 1949, he was killed when he crashed his car into a tree while practicing for a race. Read more
26 Feb 1906: Madeleine Carroll, English actress (died 1987) Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular both in Britain and in America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Read more
26 Feb 1903: Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1979) Giulio Natta was an Italian chemical engineer and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high density polymers. He also received a Lomonosov Gold Medal in 1969. Read more
26 Feb 1903: Orde Wingate, English general (died 1944) Major-General Orde Charles Wingate, was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second World War. Read more
26 Feb 1902: Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (died 1991) Jean Marcel Adolphe Bruller was a French writer and illustrator who co-founded the publishing company Les Éditions de Minuit with Pierre de Lescure. Read more
26 Feb 1900: Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet (died 1989) Halina Konopacka was a Polish athlete. She won the discus throw event at the 1928 Summer Olympics, defeating American silver medal winner Lillian Copeland, breaking her own world record, and becoming the first Polish Olympic champion. After retiring from athletics she became a writer and poet. She immigrated to the United States after World War II, and died there. Read more
26 Feb 1900: Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer (died 1988) Fritz Wiessner was a German American pioneer of free climbing. Born in Dresden, Germany, he immigrated to New York City in 1929 and became a U.S. citizen in 1935. In 1939, he made one of the earliest attempts to conquer K2, one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb. Read more
26 Feb 1899: Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (died 1994) Max Petitpierre was a Swiss politician, jurist and member of the Swiss Federal Council, heading the Political Department (1945-1961). Read more
26 Feb 1896: Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (died 1948) Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician. He was the Soviet Union's "propagandist-in-chief" after the Second World War, and was responsible for developing the Soviet cultural policy, the Zhdanov Doctrine, which remained in effect until the death of Joseph Stalin. Zhdanov was considered Stalin's most likely successor but died before him. Read more
26 Feb 1893: Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934) Wallace Fard Muhammad or W. D. Fard was a religious leader who was the founder of the Nation of Islam. Read more
26 Feb 1893: Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (died 1966) Dorothy Whipple was an English writer of popular fiction and children's books. Her work gained popularity between the world wars and again in the 2000s. Read more
26 Feb 1887: Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (died 1950) Grover Cleveland Alexander, nicknamed "Old Pete" and "Alexander the Great", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1938, Alexander was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Read more
26 Feb 1887: William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (died 1966) William Clement Frawley was an American vaudevillian and actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom I Love Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey during the first five seasons of the sitcom My Three Sons and the political advisor to the Hon. Henry X. Harper in the film Miracle on 34th Street. Read more
26 Feb 1887: Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator (died 1936) Stefan Grabiński was a Polish writer of fantastic literature and horror stories. He was very interested in parapsychology, magic and demonology and in the works of the German Expressionist filmmakers. He is sometimes likened to Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, although his works are often surreal or explicitly erotic in a way that sets him apart from both. Read more
26 Feb 1885: Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (died 1969) Aleksandras Stulginskis was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926). Stulginskis was also acting President of Lithuania for a few hours later in 1926, following a military coup that was led by his predecessor, President Antanas Smetona, and which had brought down Stulginskis's successor, Kazys Grinius. The coup returned Smetona to office after Stulginskis's brief formal assumption of the Presidency. Read more
26 Feb 1882: Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (died 1968) Husband Edward Kimmel was a United States Navy four-star admiral who was the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was removed from that command after the attack, in December 1941, and was reverted to his permanent two-star rank of rear admiral due to no longer holding a four-star assignment. He retired from the Navy in early 1942. The U.S. Senate voted to change Kimmel's permanent rank to four stars in 1999, but President Clinton did not act on the resolution, and neither have any of his successors. Read more
26 Feb 1881: Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet (died 1948) Jens Hendrik Oliver Djurhuus, called Janus Djurhuus, was the first modern Faroese poet. He and his younger brother Hans Andreas Djurhuus, also a poet, are called the Áarstova brothers after the house where they grew up. Read more
26 Feb 1880: Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer (died 1972) Kenneth Essex Edgeworth was an Irish army officer, engineer, economist and independent theoretical astronomer. He was born in Street, County Westmeath. Edgeworth is best known for proposing the existence of a disc of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune in the 1930s. Observations later confirmed the existence of the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt in 1992. Those distant solar system bodies, including Pluto, Eris and Makemake, are now grouped into the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, or Kuiper belt. Read more
26 Feb 1879: Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (died 1941) Frank Bridge was an English composer, violist and conductor. Read more
26 Feb 1877: Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (died 1959) Sir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG was the 28th premier of South Australia. Read more
26 Feb 1877: Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (died 1968) Rudolph Dirks was one of the earliest and most noted comic strip artists, well known for The Katzenjammer Kids. Read more
26 Feb 1871: Matti Turkia, Finnish politician (died 1946) Matti Turkia was a Finnish newspaper editor, politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he represented Uusimaa Province between October 1930 and April 1945. He had previously represented Viipuri Province West from May 1907 to May 1909 and from February 1914 to April 1917. He was secretary of the SDP from 1906 to 1918. Read more
26 Feb 1866: Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (died 1930) Herbert Henry Dow was an American chemical industrialist who founded the American multinational conglomerate Dow Chemical. A graduate of the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a prolific inventor of chemical processes, compounds, and products, notably bromine extraction from brine water, and was a successful businessman. Read more
26 Feb 1866: Gustave Mathieu, French anarchist illegalist, suspected of being one of Ravachol's main accomplices (died 1947) Gustave Mathieu,, was a French worker and illegalist anarchist. A very militant anarchist and central to the birth of illegalism, he notably associated with Placide Schouppe, one of the first illegalists. Mathieu was also one of the most wanted people in France at the start of the Ère des attentats (1892-1894), being accused of being one of Ravachol's main accomplices for the Saint-Germain and the Clichy bombings. Read more
26 Feb 1861: Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (died 1948) Ferdinand I was the monarch of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, reigning as Prince of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1908 and Tsar of Bulgaria from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule, Bulgaria entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers in 1915. Read more
26 Feb 1861: Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (died 1939) Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. She was a leading figure in the Bolshevik party and was married to Vladimir Lenin. Read more
26 Feb 1857: Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (died 1926) Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie was a French psychologist, pharmacist, and hypnotist who introduced a popular method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion.It was in no small measure [Coué's] wholehearted devotion to a self-imposed task that enabled him, in less than a quarter of a century, to rise from obscurity to the position of the world’s most famous psychological exponent. Indeed, one might truly say that Coué sidetracked inefficient hypnotism [mistakenly based upon supposed operator dominance over a subject], and paved the way for the efficient, and truly scientific. Read more
26 Feb 1852: John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (died 1943) John Harvey Kellogg was an American businessman, inventor, physician, and advocate of the Progressive Movement. He was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, founded by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It combined aspects of a European spa, a hydrotherapy institution, a hospital, and a high-class hotel. Kellogg treated the rich and famous, as well as the poor who could not afford other hospitals. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, his "development of dry breakfast cereals was largely responsible for the creation of the flaked-cereal industry, with the founding and the culmination of the global conglomeration brand of Kellogg's." Read more
26 Feb 1846: Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (died 1917) William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody began performing at the age of 23. He performed in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Europe. Read more
26 Feb 1842: Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (died 1925) Nicolas Camille Flammarion FRAS was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and works on psychical research and related topics. He also published the magazine L'Astronomie, starting in 1882. He maintained a private observatory at Juvisy-sur-Orge, France. Read more
26 Feb 1829: Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (died 1902) Levi Strauss was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco, California. Read more
26 Feb 1808: Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (died 1879) Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. He earned a living producing caricatures and cartoons in newspapers and periodicals such as La Caricature and Le Charivari, for which he became well known in his lifetime and is still remembered today. He was a republican democrat, who satirized and lampooned the monarchy, aristocracy, clergy, politicians, the judiciary, lawyers, police, detectives, the wealthy, the military, the bourgeoisie, as well as his countrymen and human nature in general. Read more
26 Feb 1808: Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (died 1871) Nathan B. Kelley was an American architect and builder. He was a prolific architect whose designs dominated the cityscape of Columbus, Ohio at the middle of the 19th century. Read more
26 Feb 1802: Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (died 1885) Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo was a French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 26 February in World History

26 Feb 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 & Pete (1994–1996) and her feature film debut in the 1996 comedy Harriet the Spy. As a child actress, Trachtenberg starred in several Nickelodeon productions. In 1997, she won a Young Artist Award for her performance in CBS's sitcom Meego. She also played Penny Brown in Disney's 1999 superhero comedy film Inspector Gadget. Read more
26 Feb 2017: 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 presiding as judge, ran from 1981 to 1993, for 12 seasons and 2,340 episodes. Although the show's second run was presided over by multiple judges, Wapner was the sole judge to preside during the show's first incarnation. His tenure on the program made him the first jurist of arbitration-based reality court shows, which evolved into the most popular trend in the judicial genre and continues to be to the present. Read more
26 Feb 2016: 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 between 1952 and 1971. In 2017 Bathgate was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 2015: 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. Read more
26 Feb 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 was president of the University of Notre Dame for 35 years from 1952 to 1987 and served in numerous appointed positions in the U.S. government, including as chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Read more
26 Feb 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). Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 2014: 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 World War, the renewal of sculptural traditions in modern art, such as the use of bronze as a medium, and the opposition between the mechanical and the organic. One of Canada's leading artists in the 1960s, Etrog contributed to the country's growing interest in sculpture. Read more
26 Feb 2014: Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (born 1927) Phyllis Louise Krasilovsky was an American writer of children's books. Read more
26 Feb 2013: 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 many of the world's prominent organists. She was a specialist in Bach, making three recordings of his complete organ works, as well as French organ music. Read more
26 Feb 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 the editing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. In 2011 he was named by Foreign Policy magazine in its list of top global thinkers. In later years his activism focused on economic inequalities, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and protection for the post–World War II social vision. His short book Time for Outrage! sold 4.5 million copies worldwide. Hessel and his book were linked and cited as an inspiration for the Spanish Indignados, the Arab Spring, the American Occupy Wall Street movement and other political movements. Read more
26 Feb 2013: Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (born 1922) Simon Li Fook-sean was a Hong Kong senior judge and politician. Read more
26 Feb 2012: 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. Read more
26 Feb 2011: 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. Read more
26 Feb 2010: 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 elements of trip hop, breakbeat, downtempo, and ambient music. Read more
26 Feb 2009: 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 Basketball Hall of Fame's John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to basketball. Read more
26 Feb 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 2006. Read more
26 Feb 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. Read more
26 Feb 2008: Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (born 1925) Bodil Birgitte Udsen was a Danish actress. Read more
26 Feb 2006: Georgina Battiscombe, British biographer (born 1905) Georgina Battiscombe was a British biographer, specialising mainly in lives from the Victorian era. Read more
26 Feb 2005: Jef Raskin, 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. Read more
26 Feb 2004: Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (born 1905) Adolf Erik Ehrnrooth was a Finnish general who served during the Winter and Continuation wars. He also competed in two equestrian events at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Read more
26 Feb 2004: Boris Trajkovski, 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. Read more
26 Feb 2002: Lawrence Tierney, 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 frequent brushes with the law. In 2005, film critic David Kehr of The New York Times described "the hulking Tierney" as "not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature". Read more
26 Feb 2000: George L. Street III, 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. Read more
26 Feb 2000: Raosaheb Gogte, Indian industrialist (born 1916) Balkrishna Mahadev Gogte, known colloquially as Raosaheb Gogte, was an Indian lawyer, industrialist, philanthropist and educationist. Read more
26 Feb 1998: Theodore Schultz, 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 Economic Sciences. Read more
26 Feb 1997: David Doyle, 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 show. Doyle also became known later as the first voice of Grandpa Lou on the Nickelodeon series Rugrats. Read more
26 Feb 1995: Jack Clayton, 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 (1959), and three of his films were nominated for the Palme d'Or. Read more
26 Feb 1994: Bill Hicks, 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 comedy. Read more
26 Feb 1993: Constance Ford, 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 dozen movies from 1956 to 1974, with her most noteworthy role being the matriarch Helen Jorgenson in A Summer Place (1959). Read more
26 Feb 1989: Roy Eldridge, 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 style of jazz trumpet innovator Louis Armstrong, and his strong impact on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the swing era and a precursor of bebop. Read more
26 Feb 1985: Tjalling Koopmans, 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 allocation of resources. Koopmans showed that on the basis of certain efficiency criteria, it is possible to make important deductions concerning optimum price systems. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Robert Aickman, 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 system. As a writer, he is best known for his supernatural fiction, which he described as "strange stories". Aickman's fiction often relied on unsettling atmosphere and indirect suggestion, along with characters who experience "dislocation in time and space", rather than explicit depiction of supernatural or gory events. Read more
26 Feb 1981: Howard Hanson, 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 performing American classical music. In 1944, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 4, and received numerous other awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award for Outstanding Entertainment in Music in 1946. Read more
26 Feb 1969: Levi Eshkol, 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 Minister of Defense (1963–1967) and Minister of Finance (1952–1963). Read more
26 Feb 1969: Karl Jaspers, 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 criteria, and argued for a distinction between "primary" and "secondary" delusions. Read more
26 Feb 1966: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, 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. The prefix "Veer" was given by himself when he penned his own biography under the pseudonym Chitragupta. He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha. Read more
26 Feb 1961: Karl Albiker, 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, like those of Georg Kolbe, reflected National Socialist heroic realism. Albiker created the relay racers for Berlin's Reich Sports Field and various war monuments, including those in Karlsruhe, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Greiz. Read more
26 Feb 1961: Mohammed V of Morocco (born 1909) 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 'Alawi dynasty, he played an instrumental role in restoring the independence of Morocco from the French and Spanish Protectorates. Read more
26 Feb 1952: Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (born 1878) Theodoros Pangalos was a Greek general, politician and dictator, who ruled Greece from June 1925 to August 1926. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos participated in the Goudi coup in 1909, served with distinction in the Balkan Wars, Macedonian front of World War I, and the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), and played a leading role in the September 1922 revolt that deposed King Constantine I and in the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic. In June 1925 Pangalos staged a bloodless coup d'état, and his assumption of power was recognized by the National Assembly which named him prime minister. As a "constitutional dictator" he ruled the country until his overthrow in August 1926. From April 1926 until his deposition, he also occupied the office of President of the Republic. Read more
26 Feb 1951: Sabiha Kasimati, 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 Soviet embassy, and a few days later was executed without trial along with 21 other intellectuals. Read more
26 Feb 1950: Harry Lauder, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1947: Heinrich Häberlin, 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). Read more
26 Feb 1945: Sándor Szurmay, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1943: Potato Creek Johnny, 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 until the end of his life, Potato Creek Johnny became a local celebrity and promoted tourism to the Black Hills. Read more
26 Feb 1943: Theodor Eicke, 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 served as the second commandant of the Dachau concentration camp from June 1933 to July 1934, and together with his adjutant Michael Lippert, was one of the executioners of SA Chief Ernst Röhm during the Night of the Long Knives purge of 1934. He continued to expand and develop the concentration camp system as the first Concentration Camps Inspector. Read more
26 Feb 1936: February 26 Incident: 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 Bank of Japan. Read more
26 Feb 1936: February 26 Incident: 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 rapidly to the rank of rear admiral by 1900. He was promoted to vice admiral during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. After serving as Minister of the Navy from 1906 to 1914, Saitō held the position of Governor-General of Korea from 1919 to 1927 and again from 1929 to 1931. When Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated in May 1932, he took his place as prime minister and served one term in office. Saitō returned to public service as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal in February 1935 but was assassinated only a year later during the February 26 Incident. Saitō along with Takahashi Korekiyo were the last former prime ministers of Japan to be assassinated until 2022, with the assassination of Shinzo Abe. Read more
26 Feb 1936: February 26 Incident: Jōtarō Watanabe was a general in the early Shōwa period Imperial Japanese Army, noted as one of the victims of the February 26 Incident. Read more
26 Feb 1931: Otto Wallach, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1930: Mary Whiton Calkins, 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 self-psychology. In 1903, Calkins was the twelfth in a listing of fifty psychologists with the most merit, chosen by her peers. In 1895 Calkins was refused a Ph.D. by Harvard University because of her gender even though she completed all the requirements. She was given honorary membership of the British Psychology Association in 1928. Read more
26 Feb 1921: Carl Menger, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1913: Felix Draeseke, 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 vocal and chamber music. Read more
26 Feb 1906: Jean Lanfray, 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 police that he had drunk an excessive amount of wine and hard liquors that morning, along with two ounces of absinthe. However, due to the moral panic against absinthe in Europe at that time, his murders were blamed solely on the influence of absinthe, leading to a petition to ban absinthe in Switzerland shortly after the murders. The petition received 82,000 signatures and absinthe was banned in Vaud shortly thereafter. A 1908 constitutional referendum led to absinthe being banned in all of Switzerland in 1910, and absinthe was banned in most European countries before the outbreak of World War I. Read more
26 Feb 1903: Richard Jordan Gatling, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1895: Kathinka Kraft, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1889: Karl Davydov, 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, Davidoff, Davidov, and more, with his first name sometimes written as Charles or Carl. Read more
26 Feb 1887: Anandi Gopal Joshi, First Indian women physician (born 1865) Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine along with Kadambini Ganguly. Read more
26 Feb 1883: Alexandros Koumoundouros, 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 Messenian side of the Mani Peninsula, he was the son of Spyridon-Galanis Koumoundouros, the bey of the area during the last period of the administration of the region by the Ottoman Empire. Read more
26 Feb 1869: Afzal-ud-Daulah, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1864: Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, 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 who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible government in Canada. He was born in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1807. A jurist and statesman, La Fontaine was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1830. He was a supporter of Papineau and member of the Parti canadien. After the severe consequences of the Rebellions of 1837 against the British authorities, he advocated political reforms within the new Union regime of 1841. Read more
26 Feb 1839: Sybil Ludington, 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 ride 40 miles (64 km) to stir American militiamen to attack British forces near Danbury, Connecticut, though scholars largely reject this story. According to the legend, Ludington rode near the Connecticut–New York border after British forces raided and burned Danbury, rallying combatants for the Battle of Ridgefield the following day. Read more
26 Feb 1821: Joseph de Maistre, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1815: Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (born 1737) 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. Coburg's bravery allowed him to quickly rise through the ranks. Promoted to colonel in 1759, he became a general officer in the following years and, in this capacity, took command of an army corps during the Austro-Turkish War. Coburg campaigned successfully in Moldavia where he won the battles of Focşani, Rymnik and Martinestje against the Ottomans, which earned him the rank of field marshal in 1789. Read more
26 Feb 1813: Robert R. Livingston, 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 held for 25 years. He was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, along with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Roger Sherman, but was recalled by the state of New York before he could sign the document. Livingston administered the oath of office to George Washington when he assumed the presidency April 30, 1789. Livingston was also elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1801. Read more
26 Feb 1806: Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, 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. Read more
26 Feb 1802: Esek Hopkins, 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 the position in December 1775. Hopkins is known for carrying out the successful raid of Nassau in the Bahamas, which captured large amounts of military supplies. His legacy today has become controversial due to Hopkins' involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and for torturing British prisoners of war. Read more

Why is 26 February Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 26 February, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 26 February in World history?

On 26 February, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

Is History of Today important for competitive exams?

Yes, History of Today is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, and State PSC exams as part of static GK and current awareness sections.