What happened on May 26? There are more than 285 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About May 26
May 26 is the 147th day of the year 2024. There are 219 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday. This day falls under the 21st week of the year 2024.
On this day in Emmaus, Pennsylvania 18098 sunrise occured at 05:34 AM and sunset occured at 08:23 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Gemini. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 248 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For May 26
- 17Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
- 451Battle 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.
- 1135Alfonso VII of León and Castile is crowned in the Cathedral of Leon as Imperator totius Hispaniae, “Emperor of all of Spain”.
- 1293An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.
- 1328William of Ockham, Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.
- 1538Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
- 1637Pequot War: A combined Protestant and Mohegan force under English Captain John Mason attacks a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Native Americans.
- 1647Alse Young, hanged in Hartford, Connecticut, becomes the first person executed as a witch in the British American colonies.
- 1736Battle of Ackia: British and Chickasaw soldiers repel a French and Choctaw attack on the Chickasaw village of Ackia, near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi. The French, under Louisiana governor Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, had sought to link Louisiana with Acadia and the other northern colonies of New France.
- 1770The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Ottoman Empire before the Greek War of Independence, ends in disaster for the Greeks.
- 1783A Great Jubilee Day held at Trumbull, Connecticut celebrated end of fighting in American Revolution.
- 1805Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Duomo di Milano, the gothic cathedral in Milan.
- 1822116 people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway’s history.
- 1828Feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering the streets of Nuremberg.
- 1830The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
- 1857Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
- 1864Montana is organized as a United States territory.
- 1865American Civil War: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.
- 1868The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote.
- 1869Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- 1879Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
- 1896Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1896Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1897Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published.
- 1906Vauxhall Bridge is opened in London.
- 1908At Masjed Soleyman (مسجد سليمان) in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
- 1917Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101 people and injuring 689.
- 1918The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
- 1936In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation Bill. By the time he sits down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken for 10 hours.
- 1938In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
- 1940World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
- 1942World War II: The Battle of Bir Hakeim takes place.
- 1948The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- 1966British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
- 1969Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.
- 1970The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
- 1972The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1972Willandra National Park is established in Australia.
- 1977George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City’s World Trade Center.
- 1981Prime Minister of Italy Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
- 1983A 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.
- 1986The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 1991Lauda Air Flight 004 crashes in rural Thailand, killing 223.
- 1991Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
- 1998The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
- 2004The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2008Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
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Who Were Born On May 26?
- 1264Prince Koreyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1326)
- 1478Pope Clement VII (d. 1534)
- 1566Mehmed III, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1603)
- 1602Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (d. 1674)
- 1650John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
- 1667Abraham de Moivre, French mathematician (d. 1754)
- 1669Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (d. 1722)
- 1689Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
- 1700Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer (d. 1760)
- 1764Edward Livingston, American jurist and statesman (d. 1836)
- 1822Edmond de Goncourt, French writer (d. 1896)
- 1863Robert James “Bob” Fitzsimmons, Boxing champion (d. 1917)
- 1865Robert W. Chambers, American artist (d. 1933)
- 1867Mary of Teck, queen consort of George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
- 1873Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian artist (d. 1958)
- 1880W. Otto Miessner, American composer and music educator (d. 1967)
- 1883Mamie Smith, American singer (d. 1946)
- 1886Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)
- 1893Eugène Aynsley Goossens, English conductor and composer (d. 1962)
- 1893Norma Talmadge, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1895Dorothea Lange, American photographer (d. 1965)
- 1895Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (d. 1971)
- 1898Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (d. 1965)
- 1899Antonio Barrette, French Canadian politician (d. 1968)
- 1904George Formby, English singer and comedian (d. 1961)
- 1904Vlado Perlemuter, Polish pianist (d. 2002)
- 1907Jean Bernard, French physician (d. 2006)
- 1907John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1908Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Vietnamese politician
- 1908Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1909Adolfo López Mateos, Mexican politician (d. 1969)
- 1909Nikolay Guryanov, Russian mystic and priest (d. 2002)
- 1909Sir Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1910Imi Lichtenfeld, Israeli martial artist (d. 1998)
- 1911Ben Alexander, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1912János Kádár, Hungarian politician (d. 1989)
- 1912Jay Silverheels, Canadian actor (d. 1980)
- 1913Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1913Pierre Daninos, French writer and humorist (d. 2005)
- 1914Frankie Manning, American Lindy Hop dancer (d. 2009)
- 1915Antonia Forest, British children’s author (d. 2003)
- 1915Sam Edwards, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1916Henriette Roosenburg, Dutch journalist (d. 1972)
- 1916Moondog, American composer, musician and poet (d. 1999)
- 1917Eva Szorenyi, Hungarian actress (d. 2009)
- 1918Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (d. 1985)
- 1920Peggy Lee, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1921Ernst Märzendorfer, Austrian conductor (d. 2009)
- 1923James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1923Roy Dotrice, British actor
- 1925Alec McCowen, English actor
- 1926Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer (d. 1991)
- 1926Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author
- 1928Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist and right-to-die advocate (d. 2011)
- 1929J.F. Ade Ajayi, Nigerian historian
- 1930Karim Emami, Iranian translator (d. 2005)
- 1932Grigor Vachkov, Bulgarian actor (d. 1980)
- 1935Sheila Steafel, South African–born British actress
- 1938Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian playwright and novelist
- 1938Pauline Parker, New Zealander murderer
- 1938Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
- 1938William Bolcom, American composer
- 1939Brent Musburger, American sports broadcaster
- 1939Jaki Liebezeit German musician (Can)
- 1939Merab Kostava, Georgian anti-Soviet leader (d. 1989)
- 1940Levon Helm, American musician (The Band)
- 1940Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, French Canadian politician
- 1941Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player
- 1941Reg Bundy, British performer (d. 2003)
- 1942Ganapathi Sachchidananda, Indian spiritual figure
- 1943Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer and politician
- 1944Sam Posey, American race car driver, TV commentator and author
- 1945Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer (The Guess Who)
- 1945Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian politician
- 1946Mick Ronson, English musician (d. 1993)
- 1946Neshka Robeva, Bulgarian Rhythmic gymnastics coach
- 1948Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
- 1949Hank Williams Jr., American singer
- 1949Joe Alaskey, American voice actor
- 1949Pam Grier, American actress
- 1949Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
- 1949Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer and inventor
- 1951Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician
- 1951Sally Ride, American astronaut
- 1952David Meece, Christian musician
- 1953Kay Hagan, American politician
- 1953Michael Portillo, British politician
- 1954Alan Hollinghurst, British novelist
- 1954Danny Rolling, American murderer (d. 2006)
- 1954Marian Gold, German singer (Alphaville)
- 1955Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef
- 1955Wesley Walker, American football player
- 1956Frédéric Dutoit, French politician
- 1957Diomedes Diaz, Colombian singer
- 1957François Legault, French Canadian politician
- 1957Kristina Olsen, American musician
- 1957Margaret Colin, American actress
- 1957Pontso S.M. Sekatle, Lesotho academic and politician
- 1957Roberto Ravaglia, Italian racing driver
- 1958Howard Goodall, British composer
- 1958Moinul Ahsan Saber, Bangladeshi writer, editor.
- 1959Ole Bornedal, Danish film director, actor and producer
- 1959Steve Hanley, English musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers)
- 1960Doug Hutchison, American actor
- 1960Masahiro Matsunaga, Japanese racing driver
- 1960Rob Murphy, American baseball player
- 1961Tarsem Singh, Indian film director
- 1962Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor
- 1962Genie Francis, American actress
- 1964Argiris Pedoulakis, Greek basketball coach
- 1964Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American writer
- 1964Lenny Kravitz, American musician
- 1965Hazel Irvine, British television presenter
- 1966Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- 1966Zola Budd, South African athlete
- 1967Kevin Moore, American musician (OSI)
- 1967Phil Doyle, Australian writer
- 1968Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
- 1968Fernando León de Aranoa, Spanish film director
- 1968Pat Kenney, American professional wrestler
- 1968Steve Sedgley, English footballer
- 1969John Baird, Canadian politician
- 1969Musetta Vander, South African actress
- 1970Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese cartoonist
- 1971Matt Stone, American animator and filmmaker
- 1971Timothy Allen, British photojournalist
- 1972Kylie Ireland, Adult film actress, radio host and street artist
- 1972Patsy Palmer, British actress
- 1974Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- 1975Nicki Aycox, American actress
- 1975Travis Lee, American baseball player
- 1976Justin Pierre, American singer (Motion City Soundtrack)
- 1976Kenny Florian, American Mixed Martial Artist
- 1977Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1977Mark Hunter, American musician (Chimaira)
- 1977Misaki Ito, Japanese actress and model
- 1977Nikos Hatzivrettas, Greek basketball player
- 1977Raina Telgemeier, American cartoonist
- 1978Fabio Firmani, Italian footballer
- 1978Phil Elverum, American singer-songwriter
- 1979Ashley Massaro, American model and professional wrestler
- 1979Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
- 1979Mehmet Okur, Turkish basketball player
- 1981Eda-Ines Etti, Estonian singer
- 1981Irini Merkouri, Greek singer
- 1981Isaac Slade, American musician (The Fray)
- 1981Jason Manford, British comedian
- 1981Robert Copeland, Australian Australian rules footballer
- 1982David Reed, British writer and comedian
- 1982Yoko Matsugane, Japanese model
- 1983Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer
- 1983Henry Holland, British fashion designer
- 1987Josh Thomas, Australian comedian
- 1987Olcay Şahan, Turkish footballer
- 1987Valerie Garcia, Filipina actress
- 1988Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
- 1989Paula Findlay, Canadian triathlete
- 1991Julianna Rose Mauriello, American actress
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Who Died On May 26?
- 604Augustine of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 735The Venerable Bede, English historian and theologian (b. 672 or 673)
- 818Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (b. 766)
- 946King Edmund I of England (b. 921)
- 1055Margrave Adalbert of Austria
- 1421Mehmed I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1389)
- 1512Bayezid II, Ottoman Sultan
- 1536Francesco Berni, Italian poet
- 1595Philip Neri, Italian churchman (b. 1515)
- 1647Alse Young, American “witch”
- 1648Vincent Voiture, French poet (b. 1597)
- 1651Jeane Gardiner, British woman executed for witchcraft
- 1653Robert Filmer, English writer (b. 1588)
- 1679Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
- 1685Karl II, Elector Palatine (b. 1651)
- 1703Samuel Pepys, English civil servant and diarist (b. 1633)
- 1742Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian Zaporozhian Cossack starshina, diplomat (b. 1672)
- 1762Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (b. 1714)
- 1799James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
- 1818Manuel Rodríguez, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader, considered one of the founders of independent Chile (b. 1785)
- 1818Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian military commander (b. 1761)
- 1824Capel Lofft, English writer (b. 1751)
- 1831Ciro Menotti, Italian patriot (b. 1798)
- 1840Sidney Smith, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1764)
- 1881Jakob Bernays, German philologist (b. 1824)
- 1883Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri, Algerian political and military leader (b. 1808)
- 1883Edward Sabine, Irish astronomer (b. 1788)
- 1902Almon Strowger, American inventor (b. 1839)
- 1904Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (b. 1857)
- 1907Ida McKinley, First Lady of the United States (b. 1847)
- 1908Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam (b. 1835)
- 1914Jacob August Riis, Danish-American journalist, photographer, and social reformer (b. 1849)
- 1924Victor Herbert, Irish composer (b. 1859)
- 1933Horatio Bottomley, British financier and politician (b. 1860)
- 1933Jimmie Rodgers, American singer (b. 1897)
- 1939Charles Horace Mayo, American medical practitioner (Mayo Clinic) (b. 1865)
- 1943Alice Tegnér, Swedish composer and organist (b. 1864)
- 1943Edsel Ford, American automobile executive (b. 1893)
- 1944Christian Wirth, commandant of Belzec extermination camp (b. 1885)
- 1948Theodor Morell, Hitler’s personal physician (b. 1886)
- 1951Lincoln Ellsworth, American scientist (b. 1880)
- 1954Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete (b. 1900)
- 1955Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion (b. 1918)
- 1966Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (b. 1894)
- 1968Little Willie John, American singer (b. 1937)
- 1969Allan Haines Loughead, American aviation pioneer (Lockheed Corporation (b. 1889)
- 1969Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 1974Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (b. 1941)
- 1976Juan Maino, Chilean leader of MAPU, “disappeared”
- 1976Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (b. 1889)
- 1977William Powell, American singer (The O'Jays) (b. 1942)
- 1978Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- 1979George Brent, British actor (b. 1899)
- 1989Don Revie, Former footballer and England and Leeds United Manager (b. 1927)
- 1999Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (b. 1906)
- 1999Waldo Semon, American inventor (b. 1898)
- 2001Anne Haney, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2001Moven Enock Mahachi, Defence Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952)
- 2001Vittorio Brambilla, Italian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 2002Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
- 2003Kathleen Winsor, American writer (b. 1919)
- 2004Dullah Omar, South African lawyer (b. 1934)
- 2004Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
- 2005Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2005Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2005Ruth Laredo, American pianist (b. 1937)
- 2006Édouard Michelin, CEO of Michelin (b. 1963)
- 2006Kevin O'Flanagan, Irish athlete and physician (b. 1919)
- 2007J Edward Oliver, cartoonist and composer (b. 1942)
- 2008Sydney Pollack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2008Zita Urbonaitė, Lithuanian road cyclist (b. 1973)
- 2009Mihalis Papagiannakis, Greek politician (b. 1941)
- 2009Peter Zezel, Canadian professional hockey player (b. 1965)
- 2009Stanley Chapman, British architect, designer, translator and writer (b. 1925)
- 2010Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television personality (b. 1912)
- 2010Christopher Moran, British Air Chief Marshal (b. 1956)
- 2010Jarvis Williams, American football player (b. 1965)
- 2010Jean Constantin, Romanian actor (b. 1928)
- 2010Kieran Phelan, Irish senator (b. 1949)
- 2011Arisen Ahubudu, Sri Lankan scholar, author and playwright (b. 1920)
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