February 26
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba and headed back to France in a bid to regain power.
1870 - A 312-foot-long pneumatic subway was opened in New York City; funding for a larger version never materialized.
1901 - Two leaders of the Boxer Uprising in China, Chi-hsui and Hsu Cheng-yu, were beheaded in front of massive crowds; after the foreign powers occupied Beijing, they demanded the executions of high-profile Boxers.
1904 - The United States and Panama proclaimed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to undertake efforts to build a ship canal across the Panama isthmus.
1919 - Grand Canyon National Park was established.
1935 - RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) was first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt.
1945 - Authorities ordered a midnight curfew at nightclubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.
1952 - Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.
1966 - South Korean troops sent to fight in the Vietnam War massacred at least 380 civilians in Go Dai hamlet.
1987 - The Tower Commission, which had probed the Iran-Contra affair, issued its report, which rebuked President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
1993 - A truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six and injuring more than 1,000.
1998 - A jury in Amarillo, Texas, rejected an $11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey’s talk show for a price fall after a segment on food safety that included a discussion about mad cow disease.
2005 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his country’s constitution changed to allow presidential challengers in an upcoming fall election.
2012 - Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he acted in self-defense. (Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder.)
2013 - A hot air balloon burst into flames during a sunrise flight over the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and then plummeted 1,000 feet to earth, killing 19 tourists.
2014 - Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill pushed by social conservatives that would have allowed people with sincerely held religious beliefs to refuse to serve gays.
2020 - The World Health Organization reported that the number of new coronavirus cases outside China had exceeded the number of new infections in China for the first time.
Birthdays
31 - Taylor Dooley (actress)
38 - Teresa Palmer (actress)
38 - Juliet Simms (singer)
40 - Natalia Lafourcade (singer)
42 - Li Na (tennis player)
45 - Corinne Bailey Rae (singer)
47 - Greg Rikaart (actor)
51 - Jenny Thompson (swimmer)
58 - Jennifer Grant (actress)
71 - Michael Bolton (singer)
79 - Marta Kristen (actress)
81 - Bill Duke (actor)
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Today in Sports History - February 26
1935 - The New York Yankees released Babe Ruth. Ruth signed with the Boston Braves for $20,000 and a share in the team's profits.
1985 - Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers moved into third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
1987 - The Washington Bullets tie an NBA record with 20 blocked shots in a game against the Indiana Pacers.
1989 - The Dallas Cowboys fire head coach Tom Landry after a 29-year career.
2017 - Kurt Busch wins the Daytona 500 after Kyle Larson runs out of fuel on the last lap. Jeffrey Earnhardt makes history as the first-ever fourth generation driver to compete in the event.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba and headed back to France in a bid to regain power.
1870 - A 312-foot-long pneumatic subway was opened in New York City; funding for a larger version never materialized.
1901 - Two leaders of the Boxer Uprising in China, Chi-hsui and Hsu Cheng-yu, were beheaded in front of massive crowds; after the foreign powers occupied Beijing, they demanded the executions of high-profile Boxers.
1904 - The United States and Panama proclaimed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to undertake efforts to build a ship canal across the Panama isthmus.
1919 - Grand Canyon National Park was established.
1935 - RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) was first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt.
1945 - Authorities ordered a midnight curfew at nightclubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.
1952 - Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.
1966 - South Korean troops sent to fight in the Vietnam War massacred at least 380 civilians in Go Dai hamlet.
1987 - The Tower Commission, which had probed the Iran-Contra affair, issued its report, which rebuked President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
1993 - A truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six and injuring more than 1,000.
1998 - A jury in Amarillo, Texas, rejected an $11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey’s talk show for a price fall after a segment on food safety that included a discussion about mad cow disease.
2005 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his country’s constitution changed to allow presidential challengers in an upcoming fall election.
2012 - Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he acted in self-defense. (Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder.)
2013 - A hot air balloon burst into flames during a sunrise flight over the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and then plummeted 1,000 feet to earth, killing 19 tourists.
2014 - Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill pushed by social conservatives that would have allowed people with sincerely held religious beliefs to refuse to serve gays.
2020 - The World Health Organization reported that the number of new coronavirus cases outside China had exceeded the number of new infections in China for the first time.
Birthdays
31 - Taylor Dooley (actress)
38 - Teresa Palmer (actress)
38 - Juliet Simms (singer)
40 - Natalia Lafourcade (singer)
42 - Li Na (tennis player)
45 - Corinne Bailey Rae (singer)
47 - Greg Rikaart (actor)
51 - Jenny Thompson (swimmer)
58 - Jennifer Grant (actress)
71 - Michael Bolton (singer)
79 - Marta Kristen (actress)
81 - Bill Duke (actor)
=================================
Today in Sports History - February 26
1935 - The New York Yankees released Babe Ruth. Ruth signed with the Boston Braves for $20,000 and a share in the team's profits.
1985 - Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers moved into third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
1987 - The Washington Bullets tie an NBA record with 20 blocked shots in a game against the Indiana Pacers.
1989 - The Dallas Cowboys fire head coach Tom Landry after a 29-year career.
2017 - Kurt Busch wins the Daytona 500 after Kyle Larson runs out of fuel on the last lap. Jeffrey Earnhardt makes history as the first-ever fourth generation driver to compete in the event.