February 26
February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 309 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Pisces.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On February 26 the Sun's declination is approximately -9.4°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a February 26.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1815 — Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba. ↗(211 years ago)more
The Hundred Days marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815. This period saw the War of the Seventh Coalition, which includes the Waterloo campaign and the Neapolitan War as well as several other minor campaigns.
1909 — Kinemacolor, the first commercially successful colour motion-picture process, was first shown in London. ↗(117 years ago)more
Kinemacolor was the first commercially successful colour motion picture process. Used commercially from 1909 to 1915, it was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. It was a two-colour additive colour process, photographing a black-and-white film behind alternating red/orange and blue/green filters and projecting them through red and green filters.
1919 — The U.S. Congress established the Grand Canyon National Park. ↗(107 years ago)more
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World.
1993 — A truck bomb exploded beneath the World Trade Center in New York, killing six. ↗(33 years ago)more
On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and associates carried out a van bomb terrorist attack below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336-pound (606 kg) urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to make the North Tower collapse onto the South Tower, taking down both skyscrapers and killing tens of thousands of peop...
Notable births
1564 — Christopher Marlowe (baptised), English playwright. ↗(462 years ago)more
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the "many imitations" of his play Tamburlaine, modern scholars consider him to have been the foremost dramatist in London in the years just before his mysterious...
1802 — Victor Hugo, French novelist and poet (Les Misérables). ↗(224 years ago)more
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo was a French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
1932 — Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter. ↗(94 years ago)more
John R. Cash was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. He was known for his deep, calm, bass-baritone voice, the distinctive sound of his backing band, the Tennessee Three, that was characterized by its train-like chugging guitar ...
Notable deaths
1969 — Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss philosopher. ↗(57 years ago)more
Karl Theodor Jaspers was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work General Psychopathology influenced many later diagnostic criteria, and argued for a distinction between "primary" and "secondary" delusions.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (57) | 3 × 19 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (309) | 3 × 103 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 26022026 · next palindrome year: 2062 |
| Sun declination | -9.41° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 68 days |