On this day: 26 February

Selected events and births on 26 February, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the reign of the Babylonian king Nabonassar (name in Akkadian pictured) began, marking a new era characterized by the systematic maintenance of chronologically precise historical records. Read more: 740s BC Ptolemy Babylon
• 1815 – Napoleon escaped from the Italian island of Elba, to which he had been exiled after the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Read more: Napoleon Elba Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)
• 1914 – RMS Britannic, the third and largest Olympic-class ocean liner of the White Star Line after RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, was launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Read more: HMHS Britannic Olympic-class ocean liner White Star Line
• 1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery Stable Blues", the first jazz single ever released. Read more: Original Dixieland Jass Band Livery Stable Blues Jazz
• 1935 – With the aid of a radio station in Daventry, England, and two receiving antennae, Scottish engineer and inventor Robert Watson-Watt first demonstrated the use of radar. Read more: Daventry Antenna (radio) Robert Watson-Watt
• 1979 – The Superliner railcar entered revenue service with Amtrak. Read more: Superliner (railcar) Amtrak
• 1995 – Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in London, was declared insolvent after its head derivatives trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million while making unauthorised trades on futures contracts. Read more: Barings Bank Merchant bank Derivative (finance)

Born on this day

• 1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934) Read more: Wallace Fard Muhammad Nation of Islam
• 1944 – Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria Read more: Ronald Lauder List of ambassadors of the United States to Austria
• 1950 – Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand Read more: Helen Clark Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1957 – David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina Read more: David Beasley Governor of South Carolina
• 1958 – Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia Read more: Tim Kaine Governor of Virginia
• 1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey Read more: Ahmet Davutoğlu Prime Minister of Turkey
• 1966 – Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti Read more: Garry Conille Prime Minister of Haiti
• 1970 – Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Minister of State for Immigration Read more: Mark Harper Secretary of State for Transport Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship
• 2002 – Gerard Martín, Spanish footballer Read more: Gerard Martín (footballer)
• 2002 – César Tárrega, Spanish footballer Read more: César Tárrega
• 2003 – Jamal Musiala, German footballer Read more: Jamal Musiala
• 2004 – Bibisara Assaubayeva, Kazakhstani chess grandmaster Read more: Bibisara Assaubayeva Grandmaster (chess)

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / February 26 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.