What are the important events that happened on February 26? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
February 26: Facts & Myths About This Day
February 26 is the 57th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 309 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 13, 2024 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,481,760 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘pentacontaheptagon’ day.
Pisces is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Amethyst is the modern birthstone for this month. Bloodstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 338 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,084 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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February 26 Historical Events
- 364 –Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
- 1909 –Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
- 1914 –Ship HMHS, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
- 1919 –President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of the U.S. Congress establishing most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park).
- 1961 –Hassan II becomes King of Morocco.
- 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.
- 1980 –Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
- 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.
- 2004 –Republic of Macedonia President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Who were born on February 26?
- 1808 –Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
- 1912 –Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1939 –Josephine Tewson, English actress
- 1946 –Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1949 –Emma Kirkby, British singer
- 1950 –Jonathan Cain, American musician (Journey, Bad English, The Babys)
- 1955 –Andreas Maislinger, founder of Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
- 1966 –Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
- 1977 –Greg Rikaart, American actor
- 1977 –Tim Thomas, American basketball player
Who died on February 26?
- 1266 –King Manfred of Sicily (b. 1232)
- 1360 –Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)
- 1577 –King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
- 1813 –Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746)
- 1883 –Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
- 1943 –Theodor Eicke, Nazi official (b. 1892)
- 1947 –Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868)
- 1952 –Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general who briefly ruled the country (b. 1878)
- 1981 –Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
- 2004 –Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, President (1999-death) (b. 1956)
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