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 57^th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 309 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 13, 2024 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,708,905,600 seconds 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.

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 338 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 4,084 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

February 26 Historical Events

• 364 –
  Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
• 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.
• 1909 –
  Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
• 1917 –
  The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
• 1935 –
  Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom.
• 1972 –
  The Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.
• 1987 –
  Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
• 1991 –
  Gulf War: United States Army forces capture the town of Al Busayyah.
• 1993 –
  World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.
• 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?

• 1714 –
  James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d. 1758)
• 1715 –
  Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
• 1829 –
  Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902)
• 1903 –
  Orde Charles Wingate, British Major-General, prominent Zionist, eccentric (d. 1944)
• 1909 –
  Fanny Cradock, English food writer and broadcaster (d. 1994)
• 1926 –
  Miroslava, Mexican actress (d. 1955)
• 1928 –
  Monique Leyrac, Canadian singer and actress
• 1933 –
  James Goldsmith, Anglo-French businessman (d. 1997)
• 1941 –
  Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
• 1986 –
  Juliet Simms, guitarist and singer (Automatic Loveletter)

Who died on February 26?

• 1266 –
  King Manfred of Sicily (b. 1232)
• 1561 –
  Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer
• 1611 –
  Antonio Possevino (b. 1533) Jesuit humanist, diplomat, bibliographer
• 1903 –
  Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)
• 1947 –
  Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868)
• 1959 –
  Selig Suskin, Russian-born Israeli agronomist and early Zionist (b. 1873)
• 1969 –
  Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b. 1883)
• 1985 –
  Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
• 1997 –
  David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
• 2009 –
  Wendy Richard, English actress (b. 1943)