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 146^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 219 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 13, 2025 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 485,616 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 ‘hectatetracontahexagon’ 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 267 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 4,539 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

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.
• 1135 –
  Alfonso VII of León and Castile is crowned in the Cathedral of Leon as Imperator totius Hispaniae, “Emperor of all of Spain”.
• 1293 –
  An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.
• 1538 –
  Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
• 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.
• 1869 –
  Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• 1896 –
  Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1966 –
  British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
• 1972 –
  The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
• 1983 –
  A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 104 people and injures thousands. Many people go missing and thousands of buildings are destroyed.

Who were born on May 26?

• 1650 –
  John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
• 1928 –
  Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist and right-to-die advocate (d. 2011)
• 1938 –
  William Bolcom, American composer
• 1953 –
  Michael Portillo, British politician
• 1957 –
  Kristina Olsen, American musician
• 1964 –
  Lenny Kravitz, American musician
• 1974 –
  Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
• 1977 –
  Mark Hunter, American musician (Chimaira)
• 1979 –
  Ashley Massaro, American model and professional wrestler
• 1987 –
  Josh Thomas, Australian comedian

Who died on May 26?

• 604 –
  Augustine of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
• 818 –
  Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (b. 766)
• 1651 –
  Jeane Gardiner, British woman executed for witchcraft
• 1881 –
  Jakob Bernays, German philologist (b. 1824)
• 1924 –
  Victor Herbert, Irish composer (b. 1859)
• 1955 –
  Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion (b. 1918)
• 2004 –
  Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
• 2006 –
  Kevin O'Flanagan, Irish athlete and physician (b. 1919)
• 2009 –
  Stanley Chapman, British architect, designer, translator and writer (b. 1925)
• 2010 –
  Jarvis Williams, American football player (b. 1965)