Victor Hugo
b. 1802
French author, poet, and playwright
On This Day · The 57th day of the year
February 26
February 26 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1815 and 2026. Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
Compiled & reviewed by Roman Tailor · Last reviewed July 13, 2026
What happened on February 26?
February 26 is the 57th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1815 and 2026. Famous people born on February 26 include Victor Hugo, Sébastien Loeb and David Beasley.
The shape of the day
February 26's recorded history is unusually compressed, gathered within recent centuries rather than reaching into antiquity. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.
Pisces is the sign for February 26 — read more on the Pisces page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.
Released on February 26
Movies, games, albums & shows2026
- Movie Vengeance
Release data from TMDB & IGDB.
Events
10 notable moments- 1815
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.
- 1914
HMHS Britannic
HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
- 1935
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
- 1945
World War II
World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.
- 1960
Kyiv
A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board.
- 1979
Superliner (railcar)
The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
- 1993
1993 World Trade Center bombing
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.
- 1995
Barings Bank
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.
- 2012
Trayvon Martin
Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.
- 2026
Pakistan
The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.
Famous birthday twins
Born on February 26Sébastien Loeb
b. 1974
French racing driver
David Beasley
b. 1957
American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
Kenneth Edgeworth
b. 1880
Irish astronomer
Sharon Van Etten
b. 1981
American singer-songwriter, musician and actress
Henry Molaison
b. 1926
American medical patient
Ole Gunnar Solskjær
b. 1973
Norwegian footballer and manager
Ahn Cheol-soo
b. 1962
South Korean physician, academic, and politician
Deaths
- 1995Jack Clayton
- 1994Bill Hicks
- 1931Otto Wallach
- 1726Maximilian II Emanuel
- 1577Erik XIV
Holidays & observances
- —Christian feast day: Alexander of Alexandria
- —Christian feast day: Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA))
- —Christian feast day: Isabelle of France
- —Christian feast day: Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada)
- —Christian feast day: Paula Montal Fornés
- —Christian feast day: Porphyry of Gaza
- —Christian feast day: February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- —Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.
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