What are the important events that happened on May 26? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 26: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 26 is the 147th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 219 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 13, 2024 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 476,856 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 ‘hectatetracontaheptagon’ day.
Gemini is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 248 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 4,174 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 26 Historical Events
- 451 –Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place. The Empire defeats the Armenians militarily but guarantees them freedom to openly practice Christianity.
- 1637 –Pequot War: A combined Protestant and Mohegan force under English Captain John Mason attacks a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Native Americans.
- 1647 –Alse Young, hanged in Hartford, Connecticut, becomes the first person executed as a witch in the British American colonies.
- 1857 –Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
- 1869 –Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- 1897 –Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published.
- 1917 –Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101 people and injuring 689.
- 1969 –Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.
- 1972 –The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1977 –George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City’s World Trade Center.
Who were born on May 26?
- 1602 –Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (d. 1674)
- 1650 –John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
- 1911 –Ben Alexander, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1943 –Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer and politician
- 1945 –Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer (The Guess Who)
- 1946 –Mick Ronson, English musician (d. 1993)
- 1949 –Pam Grier, American actress
- 1953 –Michael Portillo, British politician
- 1977 –Raina Telgemeier, American cartoonist
- 1981 –Robert Copeland, Australian Australian rules footballer
Who died on May 26?
- 1653 –Robert Filmer, English writer (b. 1588)
- 1762 –Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (b. 1714)
- 1818 –Manuel Rodríguez, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader, considered one of the founders of independent Chile (b. 1785)
- 1904 –Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (b. 1857)
- 1907 –Ida McKinley, First Lady of the United States (b. 1847)
- 1908 –Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam (b. 1835)
- 1933 –Horatio Bottomley, British financier and politician (b. 1860)
- 1966 –Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (b. 1894)
- 1976 –Juan Maino, Chilean leader of MAPU, “disappeared”
- 2004 –Dullah Omar, South African lawyer (b. 1934)
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