Events

• 747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era.

• 364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.

• 1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.

• 1658 – Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655-1661), the King of Denmark-Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.

• 1794 – Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen burns down.

• 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.

• 1848 – The second French Republic is proclaimed.

• 1863 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Currency Act into law.

• 1870 – In New York City, a demonstration of the first pneumatic subway opens to the public.

• 1885 – The Berlin Act, which resulted from the Berlin Conference regulating European colonization and trade in Africa, is signed

• 1887 – At the Sydney Cricket Ground, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.

• 1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the , is launched at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

• 1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.

• 1919 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park).

• 1929 – The Grand Teton National Park is created.

• 1935 – The Luftwaffe is re-formed.

• 1935 – The Daventry Experiment, Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom.

• 1936 – Adolf Hitler opened the 1st Volkswagen plant in East Germany.

• 1936 – In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.

• 1952 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.

• 1966 – Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket

• 1970 – National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation.

• 1971 – U.N. Secretary General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.

• 1972 – The Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.

• 1979 – A Solar Eclipse passes over the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

• 1984 – US troops withdraw from Beirut. President Ronald Reagan had sent the troops as a peacekeeping force in August 1982.

• 1986 – People Power Revolution in the Philippines.

• 1987 – Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

• 1990 – The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections.

• 1991 – Gulf War: On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

• 1993 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.

• 1995 – The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a securities broker, Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.

• 2000, Mount Hekla in Iceland erupts.

• 2001 – The Taliban destroys two giant statues of Buddha in Bamyan, Afghanistan.

• 2003 – Generally said to be the starting date of the War in Darfur.

• 2004 – The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.

• 2004 – Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• 2005 – Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt orders the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking Egyptian parliament to amend Article 76.

Births

• 1361 – Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d. 1419)

• 1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist (d. 1593)

• 1587 – Stefano Landi, Italian composer (d. 1639)

• 1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (d. 1713)

• 1672 – Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d. 1757)

• 1714 – James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d. 1758)

• 1715 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)

• 1720 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1803)

• 1732 – Francis Marion, American Revolutionary War officer (d. 1795)

• 1746 – Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, duchess of Piacenza (d. 1806)

• 1786 – François Arago, French mathematician (d. 1853)

• 1799 – Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (d. 1864)

• 1802 – Victor Hugo, French writer (d. 1885)

• 1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)

• 1808 – Nathan Kelley,American architect, active mainly in Ohio, (d. 1871)

• 1814 – Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (d. 1876)

• 1829 – Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902)

• 1846 – William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American frontiersman (d. 1917)

• 1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943)

• 1857 – Émile Coué, French psychologist (d. 1926)

• 1858 – Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist (d. 1917)

• 1861 – King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)

• 1861 – Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary, Lenin's wife (d. 1939)

• 1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist (d. 1930)

• 1879 – Frank Bridge, English composer (d. 1941)

• 1882 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)

• 1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of Lithuania (d. 1969)

• 1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (d. 1950)

• 1887 – William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966)

• 1887 – Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer (d. 1936)

• 1893 – I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d. 1979)

• 1896 – Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov, Soviet politician and art ideologist (d. 1948)

• 1899 – Max Petitpierre, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1994)

• 1900 – Fritz Wiessner, American mountaineer of German descent (d. 1988)

• 1901 – Dwight Wilson, Canadian Soldier (d. 2007)

• 1902 – Jean Bruller, alias Vercors, French writer and illustrator (d. 1991)

• 1903 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)

• 1903 – Orde Charles Wingate, British Major-General, prominent Zionist, eccentric (d. 1944)

• 1906 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)

• 1907 – Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)

• 1908 – Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980)

• 1908 – Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer (d. 2007)

• 1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)

• 1909 – King Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)

• 1909 – Fanny Cradock, English food writer and broadcaster (d. 1994)

• 1911 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist (d. 1996)

• 1912 – Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)

• 1913 – George Barker, English poet (d. 1991)

• 1914 – Robert Alda, American actor (d. 1986)

• 1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d. 1987)

• 1918 – Otis Ray Bowen, American politician (Indiana Governor) and physician

• 1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985)

• 1919 – Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)

• 1919 – Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d. 2003)

• 1920 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player (d. 2005)

• 1920 – Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004)

• 1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (d. 2006)

• 1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)

• 1922 – Margaret Leighton, British actress (d. 1976)

• 1922 – Karl Aage Præst, Danish football player

• 1926 – Verne Gagne, American wrestler

• 1926 – Miroslava Stern, Mexican actress (d. 1955)

• 1926 – H.M., Henry Gustav Molaison, the amnesiac patient (d. 2008)

• 1927 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host

• 1928 – Fats Domino, American musician

• 1928 – Anatoli Filipchenko, Soviet cosmonaut

• 1928 – Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer and actress

• 1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister

• 1930 – Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d. 2005)

• 1931 – Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)

• 1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003)

• 1934 – Robert Novak, American political columnist (d. 2009)

• 1937 – Hagood Hardy, Canadian musician and composer (d. 1997)

• 1938 – Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter (d. 1957)

• 1939 – Josephine Tewson, English actress

• 1941 – Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)

• 1943 – Bill Duke, American actor and director

• 1943 – Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer

• 1944 – Ronald Lauder, American philanthropist and president of the World Jewish Congress

• 1945 – Peter Brock, Australian motorsports champion (d. 2006)

• 1945 – Bob Hite, American singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat) (d. 1981)

• 1945 – Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach and politician

• 1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress

• 1945 – Mitch Ryder, American musician (The Detroit Wheels)

• 1946 – Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel laureate

• 1947 – Sandie Shaw, English singer

• 1949 – Elizabeth George, American novelist

• 1949 – Emma Kirkby, British singer

• 1950 – Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand

• 1950 – Jonathan Cain, American musician (Journey, Bad English, The Babys)

• 1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer

• 1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey

• 1954 – Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, heir to the deposed Kingdom of Hanover and a husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.

• 1955 – Andreas Maislinger, founder of Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service

• 1956 – Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer

• 1957 – David Muldrow Beasley, American politician

• 1957 – Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player

• 1958 – Karen Berger, American comic book editor

• 1958 – Greg Germann, American actor

• 1958 – Susan J. Helms, Astronaut

• 1958 – Michel Houellebecq, French novelist

• 1958 – Tim Kaine, American politician, governor of Virginia

• 1959 – Rolando Blackman, American basketball player

• 1960 – Jaz Coleman, British musician

• 1962 – Kelly Gruber, Baseball player

• 1964 – Mark Dacascos, American actor and martial artist

• 1966 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer

• 1967 – James Allodi, Canadian actor, writer and director

• 1967 – Currie Graham, Canadian actor

• 1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player (Rage Against the Machine)

• 1968 – Ed Quinn, American actor

• 1968 – J. T. Snow, American baseball player

• 1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer

• 1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer

• 1971 – Max Martin, Swedish composer and producer

• 1971 – Hélène Ségara, French singer

• 1973 – Marshall Faulk, American football player

• 1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer

• 1973 – Jenny Thompson, American swimmer

• 1974 – Sébastien Loeb, French rally driver

• 1976 – Nikolaos Siranidis, Greek diver

• 1976 – Chad Urmston, American musician

• 1977 – Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player

• 1977 – Greg Rikaart, American actor

• 1977 – Josh Towers, Baseball player

• 1977 – Tim Thomas, American basketball player

• 1977 – Shane Williams, Welsh rugby player

• 1978 – Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer

• 1978 – Marc Hynes, British racing driver

• 1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer

• 1979 – Mariano Bainotti, Argentine racing driver

• 1979 – Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer

• 1979 – Shalim Ortiz, Puerto Rican singer/actor

• 1980 – Alex Fong, Hong Kong singer

• 1980 – Gary Majewski, Major League Baseball pitcher

• 1980 – Steve Blake, American basketball player

• 1981 – Kertus Davis, American NASCAR driver

• 1981 – Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer

• 1982 – Song Hye Kyo, South Korean model and actress

• 1983 – Kara Monaco, American model

• 1984 – Alex de Angelis, San Marino motorcycle racer

• 1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer

• 1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer

• 1985 – Alexandria Hilfiger, American actress

• 1985 – Miki Fujimoto, Japanese singer

• 1986 – Crystal Kay, Japanese singer

• 1986 – Teresa Palmer, Australian model and actress

• 1986 – Makelele, Brazilian footballer

• 1986 – Juliet Simms, Guitarist and singer (Automatic Loveletter)

• 1987 – Julia Bond, American porn star

• 1993 – Taylor Dooley, American actress

Deaths

• 1154 – King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)

• 1200 – Symeon, former Serbian ruler and saint

• 1266 – King Manfred of Sicily (b. 1232)

• 1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)

• 1552 – Heinrich Faber, German composer

• 1561 – Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer

• 1577 – King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)

• 1608 – John Still, English bishop

• 1630 – William Brade, English composer (b. 1560)

• 1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (b. 1681)

• 1723 – Thomas d'Urfey, English writer (b. 1653)

• 1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)

• 1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (b. 1692)

• 1802 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718)

• 1813 – Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746)

• 1815 – Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b. 1737)

• 1821 – Joseph de Maistre, Savoyard diplomat and writer (b. 1753)

• 1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician (b. 1807)

• 1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)

• 1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (b. 1838)

• 1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)

• 1913 – Felix Draeseke, German composer (b. 1835)

• 1921 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist (b. 1840)

• 1931 – Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1847)

• 1933 – Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853)

• 1943 – Theodor Eicke, Nazi official (b. 1892)

• 1947 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868)

• 1950 – Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish Music Hall Entertainer, Knighted for WWI War Work (b. 1870)

• 1952 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general who briefly ruled the country (b. 1878)

• 1961 – King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)

• 1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b. 1883)

• 1969 – Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)

• 1969 – Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b. 1883)

• 1971 – Fernandel, French actor (b. 1903)

• 1981 – Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)

• 1981 – Robert Aickman, English writer and conservationist (b. 1914)

• 1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)

• 1989 – Roy Eldridge, American musician (b. 1911)

• 1990 – Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1938)

• 1993 – Constance Ford, American actress (b. 1923)

• 1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)

• 1995 – Jack Clayton, British film director (b. 1921)

• 1997 – David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)

• 1998 – James Algar, American film director, screenwriter and producer (b. 1912)

• 1998 – Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)

• 1998 – Shirley Ardell Mason, American psychiatric patient (AKA Sybil Isabell Dorsett in Sybil (book)

• 2000 – George L. Street III American Navy Submariner and Medal of Honor recipient.(b. 1913)

• 2001 – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (b. 1906)

• 2002 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)

• 2003 – Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver (b. 1928)

• 2004 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920)

• 2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)

• 2004 – Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)

• 2005 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b. 1943)

• 2008 – Buddy Miles, American drummer (Band of Gypsies) (b. 1947)

• 2008 – Dick Fletcher, Meteorologist (b. 1942)

• 2008 – Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician

• 2009 – Wendy Richard, English actress (b. 1943)

• 2009 – Norm Van Lier, Basketball player and broadcaster (b. 1947)

• 2009 – Johnny Kerr, Basketball player and Chicago Bulls broadcaster (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Bahá'í Faith – February 26, Day 1 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) – days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.

• Nation of Islam – Savior's Day – commemoration of the birthdate of Wallace Fard Muhammad, believed to be Allah in human form, the saviour of the black race.

• Liberation Day in Kuwait (1991).

• Saint Nestor (died 251)

• Saint Alexander of Alexandria

• Saint Isabel of France

• February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)