February 26
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France.
1848 - The Second French Republic was proclaimed.
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 shipping canal across the Panama isthmus.
1919 - Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona was established.
1932 - Country musician Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.
1935 - RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) was first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt.
1940 - The United States Air Defense Command was created.
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.
1970 - National Public Radio was incorporated.
1984 - The last U.S. Marines deployed to Beirut as part of an international peacekeeping force withdrew from the Lebanese capital.
1987 - The Tower Commission issued its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
1991 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad radio that he had ordered his forces to withdraw from Kuwait.
1993 - A truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the underground garage at the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000. (The bomb failed to topple the North Tower into the South Tower, as intended; both structures were destroyed in the 9/11 attack eight years later.)
1994 - A jury in San Antonio acquitted 11 followers of David Koresh of murder, rejecting claims they had ambushed federal agents; five were convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
1995 - Barings PLC, Britain's oldest investment banking firm, collapsed after a securities dealer lost more than $1.4 billion by gambling on Tokyo stock prices.
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.
2001 - A U.N. tribunal convicted Bosnian Croat political leader Dario Kordic and military commander Mario Cerkez of war crimes for ordering the systemic murder and persecution of Muslim civilians during the Bosnian war.
2011 - Space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station, making its final visit before being parked at a museum.
2012 - Trayvon Martin, age 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he had acted in self-defense.
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.
2019 - After making his way from Pyongyang in an armored train, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam's capital ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump, who arrived later in the day aboard Air Force One.
2020 - President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. was “very, very ready” for whatever threat the coronavirus would bring; he put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of overseeing the country’s response. 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
28 - Taylor Dooley (actress)
33 - Charley Webb (actress)
35 - Teresa Palmer (actress)
35 - Juliet Simms (singer)
37 - Beren Saat (actress)
37 - Natalia Lafourcade (singer)
39 - Li Na (tennis player)
42 - Corinne Bailey Rae (singer)
44 - Greg Rikaart (actor)
48 - Jenny Thompson (swimmer)
50 - Erykah Badu (singer)
55 - Jennifer Grant (actress)
57 - Mark Dacascos (actor)
63 - Greg Germann (actor)
68 - Michael Bolton (singer)
76 - Marta Kristen (actress)
76 - Mitch Ryder (singer)
78 - Bil 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 a year 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 Capitals block 20 shots against the Indiana Pacers, tying an NBA single-game record.
1991 - Bill Veeck and Tony Lazzeri are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2017 - Kurt Busch wins the Daytona 500 after Kyle Larson runs out of fuel on the final lap; Jeffrey Earnhardt makes NASCAR history as the first ever 4th-generation driver to compete in the Daytona 500.
2020 - Maria Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis at age 32, ending her career with five Grand Slam singles championships.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France.
1848 - The Second French Republic was proclaimed.
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 shipping canal across the Panama isthmus.
1919 - Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona was established.
1932 - Country musician Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.
1935 - RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) was first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt.
1940 - The United States Air Defense Command was created.
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.
1970 - National Public Radio was incorporated.
1984 - The last U.S. Marines deployed to Beirut as part of an international peacekeeping force withdrew from the Lebanese capital.
1987 - The Tower Commission issued its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
1991 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad radio that he had ordered his forces to withdraw from Kuwait.
1993 - A truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the underground garage at the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000. (The bomb failed to topple the North Tower into the South Tower, as intended; both structures were destroyed in the 9/11 attack eight years later.)
1994 - A jury in San Antonio acquitted 11 followers of David Koresh of murder, rejecting claims they had ambushed federal agents; five were convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
1995 - Barings PLC, Britain's oldest investment banking firm, collapsed after a securities dealer lost more than $1.4 billion by gambling on Tokyo stock prices.
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.
2001 - A U.N. tribunal convicted Bosnian Croat political leader Dario Kordic and military commander Mario Cerkez of war crimes for ordering the systemic murder and persecution of Muslim civilians during the Bosnian war.
2011 - Space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station, making its final visit before being parked at a museum.
2012 - Trayvon Martin, age 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he had acted in self-defense.
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.
2019 - After making his way from Pyongyang in an armored train, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam's capital ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump, who arrived later in the day aboard Air Force One.
2020 - President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. was “very, very ready” for whatever threat the coronavirus would bring; he put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of overseeing the country’s response. 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
28 - Taylor Dooley (actress)
33 - Charley Webb (actress)
35 - Teresa Palmer (actress)
35 - Juliet Simms (singer)
37 - Beren Saat (actress)
37 - Natalia Lafourcade (singer)
39 - Li Na (tennis player)
42 - Corinne Bailey Rae (singer)
44 - Greg Rikaart (actor)
48 - Jenny Thompson (swimmer)
50 - Erykah Badu (singer)
55 - Jennifer Grant (actress)
57 - Mark Dacascos (actor)
63 - Greg Germann (actor)
68 - Michael Bolton (singer)
76 - Marta Kristen (actress)
76 - Mitch Ryder (singer)
78 - Bil 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 a year 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 Capitals block 20 shots against the Indiana Pacers, tying an NBA single-game record.
1991 - Bill Veeck and Tony Lazzeri are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2017 - Kurt Busch wins the Daytona 500 after Kyle Larson runs out of fuel on the final lap; Jeffrey Earnhardt makes NASCAR history as the first ever 4th-generation driver to compete in the Daytona 500.
2020 - Maria Sharapova announced her retirement from tennis at age 32, ending her career with five Grand Slam singles championships.