May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (147th in
leap years). There are 219 days remaining.
- 1328 - William of Ockham secretly leaves Avignon under threat from Pope John XXII
- 1538 - Geneva throws out John Calvin
- 1637 - Pequot War[?]: an allied Puritan and Mohegan force under English Captain John Mason attacks a Pequot village in Connecticut, killing approximately 500 inhabitants
- 1670 - In Dover, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France secretly sign a treaty ending hostilities between their kingdoms.
- 1736 - Battle of Ackia[?]: British and Chickasaw[?] Native Americans defeat French troops.
- 1805 - In Milan's cathedral, Napoleon I of France is crowned King of Italy[?].
- 1828 - Mysterious foundling Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering the streets of Nurenberg[?], Germany.
- 1830 - The Indian Removal Act was passed by the United States Congress.
- 1864 - Montana is organized as a United States territory[?].
- 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith[?], commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas
- 1868 - The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ends, with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote
- 1879 - Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak[?] establishing an Afghan state[?].
- 1896 - Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia
- 1897 - The novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, goes on sale in London
- 1908 - At Masjid-al-Salaman[?] in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike[?] in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
- 1918 - The first Republic of Georgia is established
- 1938 - The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session
- 1940 - World War II: Battle of Dunkirk - In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk.
- 1948 - The United States Congress passes Public Law 557[?] which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- 1963 - The Organization of African Unity forms
- 1966 - British Guiana gains independence, as Guyana
- 1969 - Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the upcoming first manned moon landing.
- 1970 - The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
- 1972 - Willandra National Park is established in Australia.
- 1972 - The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1978 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International[?], the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
- 1986 - The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 2002 - The Mars Odyssey finds signs of huge water ice deposits on the planet Mars.
- 1650 - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (+ 1722)
- 1667 - Abraham de Moivre, mathematician (+ 1754)
- 1700 - Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf (+ 1760)
- 1764 - Edward Livingston, jurist and statesman (+ 1836)
- 1799 - Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian author (+ 1837)
- 1822 - Edmond de Goncourt, writer (+ 1896)
- 1865 - Robert W. Chambers, artist (+ 1933)
- 1867 - Mary of Teck, queen consort of King George V of the United Kingdom (+ 1953)
- 1873 - Olaf Gulbransson[?], painter (+ 1958)
- 1878 - Isadora Duncan, dancer (+ 1927)
- 1886 - Al Jolson (+ 1950)
- 1887 - Paul Lukas, actor (+ 1971)
- 1893 - Norma Talmadge[?], actress (+ 1957)
- 1907 - John Wayne ("The Duke"), actor (+ 1979)
- 1908 - Robert Morley[?], actor (+ 1992)
- 1911 - Ben Alexander[?], actor (+ 1969)
- 1912 - Jay Silverheels, actor (+ 1980)
- 1913 - Peter Cushing, actor (+ 1994)
- 1916 - Henriette Roosenburg, journalist (+ 1972)
- 1920 - Peggy Lee, singer (+ 2002)
- 1923 - James Arness[?], actor
- 1923 - Roy Dotrice[?], actor
- 1926 - Miles Davis, musician (+ 1991)
- 1928 - Jack Kevorkian, physician
- 1939 - Brent Musburger[?], sports broadcaster
- 1941 - Cliff Drysdale[?], tennis star
- 1942 - Levon Helm[?], musician ("The Band)"
- 1946 - Mick Ronson, guitarist (+ 1993)
- 1948 - Stevie Nicks, songwriter, actress
- 1949 - Philip Michael Thomas[?], actor
- 1949 - Hank Williams Jr., singer
- 1951 - Sally Ride, astronaut
- 1953 - Michael Portillo, politician
- 1955 - Doris Dörrie[?], actor and screenplay writer
- 1962 - Bobcat Goldthwait[?], actor, comedian
- 1964 - Lenny Kravitz, guitaris, singer
- 1966 - Helena Bonham Carter, actress
- 1968 - Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark[?]
- 1975 - Lauryn Hill, hip-hop singer
- 604 or 605 - Augustine of Canterbury
- 946 - King Edmund I of England
- 1648 - Vincent Voiture, poet
- 1703 - Samuel Pepys, English civil servant, famous for his diary
- 1824 - Capel Lofft, writer
- 1881 - Jakob Bernays, philologist
- 1883 - Edward Sabine, astronomer
- 1902 - Almon Strowger, developed the Strowger switch
- 1907 - Ida McKinley[?], First Lady of the United States
- 1926 - Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter
- 1933 - Jimmie Rodgers, singer
- 1943 - Edsel Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company
- 1976 - Martin Heidegger, German philosopher
- 1995 - Friz Freleng, animator
- 1999 - Waldo Semon, inventor
- 2002 - Mamo Wolde, marathon runner
- 2003 - Kathleen Winsor, novelist
See Also:
May 25 - May 27 - April 26 - June 26 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December