On This Day — 26 May

2025

65 people are injured when a car rams into a crowd on Water Street, near Liverpool F.C.'s Premier League trophy parade.

2025 Liverpool parade attack

2021

Ten people are killed in a shooting at a VTA rail yard in San Jose, California, United States.

2021 San Jose shooting

2020

Protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd erupt in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, later becoming widespread across the United States and around the world.

George Floyd protests

2014

Narendra Modi takes oath as the 15th Prime Minister of India.

Narendra Modi

2008

Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.

2008 South China floods

2003

Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230 crashes in the Turkish town of Maçka, killing 75.

Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230

2002

The tugboat Robert Y. Love collides with a support pier of Interstate 40 on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, resulting in 14 deaths and 11 others injured.

I-40 bridge disaster

1998

The Supreme Court of the United States rules in New Jersey v. New York that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.

Supreme Court of the United States

1998

The first "National Sorry Day" is held in Australia. Reconciliation events are held nationally, and attended by over a million people.

National Sorry Day

1998

A MIAT Mongolian Airlines Harbin Y-12 crashes near Erdenet, Orkhon Province, Mongolia, resulting in 28 deaths.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines

1991

Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia

1991

Lauda Air Flight 004 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes in the Phu Toei National Park in the Suphan Buri province of Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.

Lauda Air Flight 004

1986

The European Community adopts the European flag.

European Economic Community

1983

The 7.8 Mw  Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.

1983 Sea of Japan earthquake

1981

Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).

Prime Minister of Italy

1981

An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others.

Grumman EA-6B Prowler

1972

Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

Cold War

1971

Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army slaughters at least 71 Hindus in Burunga, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Liberation War

1970

The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.

Soviet Union

1969

Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first crewed Moon landing.

Apollo program

1968

H-dagurinn in Iceland: Traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight.

H-dagurinn

1967

The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released.

The Beatles

1966

British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.

British Guiana

1948

The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 80-557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.

Civil Air Patrol

1942

World War II: The Battle of Gazala begins, in present-day Libya.

Battle of Gazala

1940

World War II: Operation Dynamo: In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France. The Battle of Dunkirk begins simultaneously as Allied defenders fight to slow down the German offensive.

World War II

1940

World War II: The Siege of Calais ends with the surrender of the British and French garrison.

Siege of Calais (1940)

1938

In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.

House Un-American Activities Committee

1937

Walter Reuther and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) clash with Ford Motor Company security guards at the River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, during the Battle of the Overpass.

Walter Reuther

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 ten hours.

House of Commons of Northern Ireland

1927

The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.

Ford Model T

1926

Abd el-Krim ends surrenders to the French, bringing an end to the Rif War.

Abd el-Krim

1923

The first 24 Hours of Le Mans is held in France. Run annually in June thereafter, it became the oldest endurance racing event in the world.

24 Hours of Le Mans

1918

The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.

Democratic Republic of Georgia

1908

The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia. The rights to the resource were quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

Masjed Soleyman

1900

Thousand Days' War: The Colombian Conservative Party turns the tide of war in their favor with victory against the Colombian Liberal Party in the Battle of Palonegro.

Thousand Days' War

1896

Nicholas II is crowned as the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.

Nicholas II

1896

Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Charles Dow

1879

Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.

Russian Empire

1869

Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Boston University

1868

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: President Andrew Johnson is acquitted by one vote in the United States Senate.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

1865

Conclusion of the American Civil War: The Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Trans-Mississippi division, is the last full general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.

Conclusion of the American Civil War

1864

Montana is organized as a United States territory.

Montana

1822

At least 113 people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway's history.

Grue Church fire

1821

Establishment of the Peloponnesian Senate by the Greek rebels.

Peloponnesian Senate

1805

Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Milan Cathedral, the gothic cathedral in Milan.

Napoleon

1783

A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut, celebrates the end of fighting in the American Revolutionary War.

A Great Jubilee Day

1736

The Battle of Ackia is fought near the present site of Tupelo, Mississippi. British and Chickasaw soldiers repel a French and Choctaw attack on the then-Chickasaw village of Ackia.

Chickasaw Campaign of 1736

1644

Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory in the Battle of Montijo.

Portuguese Restoration War

1637

Pequot War: A combined English and Mohegan force under John Mason attacks a village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Pequots.

Pequot War

1573

The Battle of Haarlemmermeer, a naval engagement in the Eighty Years' War.

Battle of Haarlemmermeer

1538

Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.

Geneva

1328

William of Ockham, the Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena, and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.

William of Ockham

1293

An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 23,000.

1293 Kamakura earthquake

1135

Alfonso VII of León and Castile is crowned in León Cathedral as Imperator totius Hispaniae (Emperor of all of Spain).

Alfonso VII of León and Castile

961

King Otto I elects his six-year-old son Otto II as heir apparent and co-ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. He is crowned at Aachen, and placed under the tutelage of his grandmother Matilda.

Otto the Great

946

England is left temporarily without a monarch after the death of King Edmund I in a street fight, resulting in Edmund's brother Eadred assuming the throne for the minority of Edmund's two sons.

Kingdom of England

866

Basil I is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Michael III.

Basil I

451

Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire takes place. The Sasanids defeat the Armenians militarily but guarantee them freedom to openly practice Christianity.

Battle of Avarayr

17

Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.

AD 17