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 2017 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 308 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 13, 2017 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 413,352 hours 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.
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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 358 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 1,528 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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February 26 Historical Events
- 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.
- 1794 –The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
- 1876 –Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing Dynasty China.
- 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).
- 1952 –Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada.
- 1961 –Hassan II becomes King of Morocco.
- 1980 –Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1987 –Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
- 1992 –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.
- 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.
Who were born on February 26?
- 1672 –Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d. 1757)
- 1808 –Nathan Kelley,American architect, active mainly in Ohio, (d. 1871)
- 1852 –John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943)
- 1900 –Fritz Wiessner, American mountaineer of German descent (d. 1988)
- 1912 –Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1922 –Margaret Leighton, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1945 –Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress
- 1945 –Peter Brock, Australian motorsports champion (d. 2006)
- 1958 –Susan J. Helms, astronaut
- 1988 –Matteo Ciofani, Italian footballer
Who died on February 26?
- 1154 –King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
- 1200 –Symeon, former Serbian ruler and saint (b. 1109)
- 1360 –Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)
- 1903 –Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)
- 1930 –Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (b. 1863)
- 1952 –Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general who briefly ruled the country (b. 1878)
- 1994 –Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
- 2001 –Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (b. 1906)
- 2004 –Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, President (1999-death) (b. 1956)
- 2009 –Johnny Kerr, American basketball player and Chicago Bulls broadcaster (b. 1932)
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