May 26 is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 219 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 17 – Germanicus 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.
- 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.
- 1328 – William of Ockham, Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.
- 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.
- 1647 – Alse Young, hanged in Hartford, Connecticut, becomes the first person executed as a witch in the British American colonies.
- 1736 – Battle 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.
- 1770 – The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Ottoman Empire before the Greek War of Independence, ends in disaster for the Greeks.
- 1783 – A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut celebrated end of fighting in American Revolution.
- 1805 – Napoléon 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.
- 1822 – 116 people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway's history.
- 1828 – Feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering the streets of Nuremberg.
- 1830 – The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
- 1857 – Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
- 1864 – Montana is organized as a United States territory.
- 1865 – American 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.
- 1868 – The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote.
- 1869 – Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- 1879 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
- 1896 – Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1897 – Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published.
- 1906 – Vauxhall Bridge is opened in London.
- 1908 – At 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.
- 1917 – Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101 people and injuring 689.
- 1918 – The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
- 1936 – In 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.
- 1938 – In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
- 1940 – World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bir Hakeim takes place.
- 1948 – The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- 1966 – British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
- 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.
- 1970 – The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
- 1972 – Willandra National Park is established in Australia.
- 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.
- 1981 – Prime Minister of Italy Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
- 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.
- 1986 – The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
- 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004 crashes in rural Thailand, killing 223.
- 1992 – The blockade of Dubrovnik is broken. Following this, the siege of Dubrovnik ends in the next months.
- 1998 – The 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.
- 2004 – The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2008 – Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
[edit] Births
- 1264 – Prince Koreyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1326)
- 1478 – Pope Clement VII (d. 1534)
- 1566 – Mehmed III, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1603)
- 1602 – Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (d. 1674)
- 1650 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
- 1667 – Abraham de Moivre, French mathematician (d. 1754)
- 1669 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (d. 1722)
- 1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
- 1700 – Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer (d. 1760)
- 1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and statesman (d. 1836)
- 1822 – Edmond de Goncourt, French writer (d. 1896)
- 1863 – Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons, Boxing champion (d. 1917)
- 1865 – Robert W. Chambers, American artist (d. 1933)
- 1867 – Mary of Teck, queen consort of George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
- 1873 – Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian artist (d. 1958)
- 1880 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and music educator (d. 1967)
- 1883 – Mamie Smith, American singer (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)
- 1893 – Norma Talmadge, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1893 – Eugène Aynsley Goossens, English conductor and composer (d. 1962)
- 1895 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Ernst Bacon, American composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1990)
- 1898 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (d. 1965)
- 1899 – Antonio Barrette, French Canadian politician (d. 1968)
- 1899 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian senator (d. 1997)
- 1904 – George Formby, English singer and comedian (d. 1961)
- 1904 – Vlado Perlemuter, Polish pianist (d. 2002)
- 1907 – Jean Bernard, French physician (d. 2006)
- 1907 – John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1908 – Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Vietnamese politician
- 1909 – Sir Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Nikolay Guryanov, Russian mystic and priest (d. 2002)
- 1909 – Adolfo López Mateos, Mexican politician (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Imi Lichtenfeld, Israeli martial artist (d. 1998)
- 1911 – Ben Alexander, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1912 – Henry Ephron, American playwright, screenwriter and film producer (d. 1992)
- 1912 – János Kádár, Hungarian politician (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian actor (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Pierre Daninos, French writer and humorist (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Frankie Manning, American Lindy Hop dancer (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Vernon Alley, American jazz bassist (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Sam Edwards, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Antonia Forest, British children's author (d. 2003)
- 1916 – Moondog, American composer, musician and poet (d. 1999)
- 1916 – Henriette Roosenburg, Dutch journalist (d. 1972)
- 1917 – Eva Szorenyi, Hungarian actress (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (d. 1985)
- 1919 – Rubén González, Cuban pianist (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Inge Borkh, German soprano
- 1921 – Ernst Märzendorfer, Austrian conductor (d. 2009)
- 1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Roy Dotrice, British actor
- 1925 – Alec McCowen, English actor
- 1926 – Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer (d. 1991)
- 1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author
- 1928 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist and right-to-die advocate (d. 2011)
- 1929 – J.F. Ade Ajayi, Nigerian historian
- 1930 – Karim Emami, Iranian translator (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Grigor Vachkov, Bulgarian actor (d. 1980)
- 1935 – Sheila Steafel, South African–born British actress
- 1938 – William Bolcom, American composer
- 1938 – Pauline Parker, New Zealander murderer
- 1938 – Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian playwright and novelist
- 1938 – Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
- 1939 – Merab Kostava, Georgian anti-Soviet leader (d. 1989)
- 1939 – Jaki Liebezeit German musician (Can)
- 1939 – Brent Musburger, American sports broadcaster
- 1940 – Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, French Canadian politician
- 1940 – Levon Helm, American musician (The Band) (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Aldrich Ames, CIA counter-intelligence officer, convicted of spying for the Soviet Union
- 1941 – Reg Bundy, British performer (d. 2003)
- 1941 – Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player
- 1942 – Ganapathi Sachchidananda, Indian spiritual figure
- 1943 – Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer and politician
- 1944 – Philip Edmonston, Canadian consumer advocate and politician
- 1944 – Sam Posey, American race car driver, TV commentator and author
- 1945 – Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer (The Guess Who)
- 1945 – Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian politician
- 1946 – Neshka Robeva, Bulgarian Rhythmic gymnastics coach
- 1946 – Mick Ronson, English musician (d. 1993)
- 1948 – Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
- 1949 – Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer and inventor
- 1949 – Pam Grier, American actress
- 1949 – Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
- 1949 – Joe Alaskey, American voice actor
- 1949 – Hank Williams Jr., American singer
- 1951 – Sally Ride, American astronaut
- 1951 – Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician
- 1952 – David Meece, Christian musician
- 1953 – Kay Hagan, American politician
- 1953 – Michael Portillo, British politician
- 1954 – Marian Gold, German singer (Alphaville)
- 1954 – Alan Hollinghurst, British novelist
- 1954 – Denis Lebel, Canadian politician
- 1954 – Danny Rolling, American murderer (d. 2006)
- 1955 – Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef
- 1955 – Wesley Walker, American football player
- 1956 – Frédéric Dutoit, French politician
- 1957 – Margaret Colin, American actress
- 1957 – Diomedes Diaz, Colombian singer
- 1957 – François Legault, French Canadian politician
- 1957 – Kristina Olsen, American musician
- 1957 – Roberto Ravaglia, Italian racing driver
- 1957 – Pontso S.M. Sekatle, Lesotho academic and politician
- 1958 – Margaret Colin, American actress
- 1958 – Howard Goodall, British composer
- 1958 – Moinul Ahsan Saber, Bangladeshi writer, editor.
- 1959 – Steve Hanley, English musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers)
- 1959 – Ole Bornedal, Danish film director, actor and producer
- 1960 – Doug Hutchison, American actor
- 1960 – Masahiro Matsunaga, Japanese racing driver
- 1960 – Rob Murphy, American baseball player
- 1961 – Tarsem Singh, Indian film director
- 1962 – Genie Francis, American actress
- 1962 – Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor
- 1963 – Claude Legault, Canadian actor
- 1964 – Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American writer
- 1964 – Lenny Kravitz, American musician
- 1964 – Argiris Pedoulakis, Greek basketball coach
- 1965 – Hazel Irvine, British television presenter
- 1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- 1966 – Zola Budd, South African athlete
- 1967 – Phil Doyle, Australian writer
- 1967 – Kevin Moore, American musician (OSI)
- 1968 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
- 1968 – Pat Kenney, American professional wrestler
- 1968 – Fernando León de Aranoa, Spanish film director
- 1968 – Steve Sedgley, English footballer
- 1969 – John Baird, Canadian politician
- 1969 – Musetta Vander, South African actress
- 1970 – Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese cartoonist
- 1971 – Timothy Allen, British photojournalist
- 1971 – Zaher Andary, Lebanese Footballer
- 1971 – Matt Stone, American animator and filmmaker
- 1972 – Patsy Palmer, British actress
- 1972 – Kylie Ireland, Adult film actress, radio host and street artist
- 1974 – Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- 1975 – Nicki Aycox, American actress
- 1975 – Travis Lee, American baseball player
- 1976 – Justin Pierre, American singer (Motion City Soundtrack)
- 1976 – Kenny Florian, American Mixed Martial Artist
- 1977 – Nikos Hatzivrettas, Greek basketball player
- 1977 – Mark Hunter, American musician (Chimaira)
- 1977 – Misaki Ito, Japanese actress and model
- 1977 – Raina Telgemeier, American cartoonist
- 1977 – Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Phil Elverum, American singer-songwriter
- 1978 – Fabio Firmani, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
- 1979 – Ashley Massaro, American model and professional wrestler
- 1979 – Mehmet Okur, Turkish basketball player
- 1981 – Robert Copeland, Australian Australian rules footballer
- 1981 – Eda-Ines Etti, Estonian singer
- 1981 – Irini Merkouri, Greek singer
- 1981 – Isaac Slade, American musician (The Fray)
- 1981 – Jason Manford, British comedian
- 1982 – Yoko Matsugane, Japanese model
- 1982 – David Reed, British writer and comedian
- 1983 – Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer
- 1983 – Henry Holland, British fashion designer
- 1987 – Valerie Garcia, Filipina actress
- 1987 – Olcay Şahan, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Josh Thomas, Australian comedian
- 1988 – Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
- 1989 – Paula Findlay, Canadian triathlete
- 1991 – Julianna Rose Mauriello, American actress
[edit] Deaths
- 604 – Augustine of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 735 – The Venerable Bede, English historian and theologian (b. 672 or 673)
- 818 – Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (b. 766)
- 946 – King Edmund I of England (b. 921)
- 1055 – Margrave Adalbert of Austria
- 1421 – Mehmed I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1389)
- 1512 – Bayezid II, Ottoman Sultan
- 1536 – Francesco Berni, Italian poet
- 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian churchman (b. 1515)
- 1647 – Alse Young, American "witch"
- 1648 – Vincent Voiture, French poet (b. 1597)
- 1651 – Jeane Gardiner, British woman executed for witchcraft
- 1653 – Robert Filmer, English writer (b. 1588)
- 1679 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
- 1685 – Karl II, Elector Palatine (b. 1651)
- 1703 – Samuel Pepys, English civil servant and diarist (b. 1633)
- 1742 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian Zaporozhian Cossack starshina, diplomat (b. 1672)
- 1762 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (b. 1714)
- 1799 – James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
- 1818 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian military commander (b. 1761)
- 1818 – Manuel Rodríguez, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader, considered one of the founders of independent Chile (b. 1785)
- 1824 – Capel Lofft, English writer (b. 1751)
- 1831 – Ciro Menotti, Italian patriot (b. 1798)
- 1840 – Sidney Smith, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1764)
- 1881 – Jakob Bernays, German philologist (b. 1824)
- 1883 – Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri, Algerian political and military leader (b. 1808)
- 1883 – Edward Sabine, Irish astronomer (b. 1788)
- 1902 – Almon Strowger, American inventor (b. 1839)
- 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)
- 1914 – Jacob August Riis, Danish-American journalist, photographer, and social reformer (b. 1849)
- 1924 – Victor Herbert, Irish composer (b. 1859)
- 1933 – Horatio Bottomley, British financier and politician (b. 1860)
- 1933 – Jimmie Rodgers, American singer (b. 1897)
- 1939 – Charles Horace Mayo, American medical practitioner (Mayo Clinic) (b. 1865)
- 1943 – Edsel Ford, American automobile executive (b. 1893)
- 1943 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish composer and organist (b. 1864)
- 1944 – Christian Wirth, commandant of Belzec extermination camp (b. 1885)
- 1948 – Theodor Morell, Hitler's personal physician (b. 1886)
- 1951 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American scientist (b. 1880)
- 1954 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete (b. 1900)
- 1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion (b. 1918)
- 1966 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (b. 1894)
- 1968 – Little Willie John, American singer (b. 1937)
- 1969 – Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 1969 – Allan Haines Loughead, American aviation pioneer (Lockheed Corporation (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (b. 1941)
- 1976 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (b. 1889)
- 1976 – Juan Maino, Chilean leader of MAPU, "disappeared"
- 1977 – William Powell, American singer (The O'Jays) (b. 1942)
- 1978 – Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- 1979 – George Brent, British actor (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Don Revie, Former footballer and England and Leeds United Manager (b. 1927)
- 1999 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (b. 1906)
- 1999 – Waldo Semon, American inventor (b. 1898)
- 2001 – Vittorio Brambilla, Italian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 2001 – Anne Haney, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2001 – Moven Enock Mahachi, Defence Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Kathleen Winsor, American writer (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Dullah Omar, South African lawyer (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Leslie Charles Smith, English businessman (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Ruth Laredo, American pianist (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Édouard Michelin, CEO of Michelin (b. 1963)
- 2006 – Kevin O'Flanagan, Irish athlete and physician (b. 1919)
- 2007 – J Edward Oliver, cartoonist and composer (b. 1942)
- 2008 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Zita Urbonaitė, Lithuanian road cyclist (b. 1973)
- 2009 – Stanley Chapman, British architect, designer, translator and writer (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Mihalis Papagiannakis, Greek politician (b. 1941)
- 2009 – Peter Zezel, Canadian professional hockey player (b. 1965)
- 2010 – Jean Constantin, Romanian actor (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television personality (b. 1912)
- 2010 – Christopher Moran, British Air Chief Marshal (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Kieran Phelan, Irish senator (b. 1949)
- 2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player (b. 1965)
- 2011 – Arisen Ahubudu, Sri Lankan scholar, author and playwright (b. 1920)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
