On This Day — 26 February
2000s
2026
The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.
Pakistan
2021
A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria.
2021 Zamfara school kidnapping
2019
Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan.
Indian Air Force
2013
A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.
Hot air balloon
2012
A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
2012 Burlington Via derailment
2012
Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.
Trayvon Martin
2008
The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea.
New York Philharmonic
1900s
1995
The UK's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
Barings Bank
1993
World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
1993 World Trade Center bombing
1992
First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
1987
Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
Iran–Contra affair
1980
Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
Egypt–Israel relations
1979
The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
Superliner (railcar)
1971
U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
Secretary-General of the United Nations
1966
Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
Apollo program
1960
A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
Alitalia
1960
A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board.
Kyiv
1952
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
Vincent Massey
1945
World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.
World War II
1936
In the February 26 Incident, young nationalist Japanese military officers assassinate multiple cabinet statesmen and start a rebellion in downtown Tokyo, which is ended 3 days later.
February 26 incident
1935
Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
Adolf Hitler
1935
Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
Robert Watson-Watt
1929
President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Calvin Coolidge
1919
President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
Woodrow Wilson
1914
HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
HMHS Britannic
1909
Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
Kinemacolor
1800s
1876
Japan and Korea sign the Treaty of Kangwha, which grants Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights in Korea, opens three Korean ports to Japanese trade, and ends Korea's status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
Empire of Japan
1870
The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens.
Beach Pneumatic Transit
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
Napoleon
Before 1800
1794
The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
Christiansborg Palace (1st)
1775
The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates.
East India Company
1616
Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
Galileo affair
1606
The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.
Janszoon voyage of 1605–1606
1365
The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) were founded by King Thado Minbya.
Kingdom of Ava
1266
Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
Battle of Benevento
1074
Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza.
Battle of Kemej
364
Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
Valentinian I
320
Chandragupta I is officially crowned as the first Gupta Emperor.
Chandragupta I
-747
According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events.
Ptolemy