1361 Wenceslas of Bohemia, Holy Roman Catholic German emperor (1378-1400) 1675 Guillaume Delisle, Paris France, geographer (Atlas g‚ographique) 1686 Godefroi L Count d'Estrades, French diplomat 1707 Carlo Goldoni, Ital's lawyer/playwright (Belisario) 1802 Victor Hugo, France, author (Hunchback of Notre Dame) 1808 Honor‚ Daumier, France, painter/lithographer/caricaturist 1824 Carlos Calvo, Arg diplomat/people rights scholar (Calvo Clause) 1832 John George Nicolay, US, author (Abe Lincoln's biographer) 1837 Charles Woeste, Belgian count/min of Justice 1842 Camille Flammarion, Mars researcher & popularizer of astronomy 1845 Alexander III, St Petersburg, Russian tsar (1881-94) (3/10 NS) 1846 William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Davenport Iowa, killed 4000 buffaloes 1852 John Harvey Kellogg, surgeon, inspired flaked cereal industry 1857 Emile Cou‚, French pharmacist (recovery by auto suggestion) 1861 Ferdinand I, Vienna, 1st tsar of modern Bulgaria (1908-18) 1866 Herbert Henry Dow, pioneer in US chemical industry (Dow Chemical) 1867 Siegfried Passarge, German geographer (Cameroon/So Afr/America) 1869 Nadezjda K Krupskaja, Russian revolutionary/wife of Lenin 1873 Ewoud van Everdingen, meteorologist 1876 Agustin P Justo y Rolon, pres Argentina (1931-38) 1876 Pauline Musters, smallest man (1'11.2" (58.9 cm)) 1877 Carel S Adama van Scheltema, poet/writer (socialism) 1883 Erich R Jaensch, German psychologist (eidetiek) 1884 Hildo Krop, modernistic sculptor 1885 Lili Green, [Alice Sally Mary], Neth/Eng dancer 1887 Benegal Narsing Rau, India, pres of UN Security Council (1950) 1887 Grover Cleveland Alexander, HOF baseball pitcher (Phillies, Cubs) 1893 Ivor Richards, English critic 1893 William Frawley, Iowa, actor (Fred Mertz-I Love Lucy, Bub-My 3 Sons) 1898 Julien de Valckenaere, Flemish writer 19-- Barbara Meek, Detroit Mich, actress (Archie Bunker's Place, Melba) 19-- Christopher Templeton, Lake Forest Ill, actor (Carol-Young & Restless) 19-- Damita Jo Freeman, Palestine Tx, actress (Jackie Simms-Pvt Benjamin) 19-- Jonathan Schmock, La Jolla Calif, actor (Billy-Double Trouble) 19-- Kevin Best, NYC, actor (Harrison-General Hospital) 1902 Menno ter Brak, writer/essayist (Carnaval of the Citizens) 1902 Rudolf Moralt, German conductor 1902 Vercors, [Jean Bruller], French writer (Le silence de la mer) 1906 Madeleine Carroll, English actress (39 Steps, Secret Agent) 1913 Jon Hall, Fresno Calif, actor (Ramor of the Jungle) 1914 Robert Alda, NYC, actor (Dan Lewis-Supertrain, By Popular Demand) 1915 Elisabeth Eybers, South Afr/Dutch poetess (That woman & other Verses) 1917 Robert Taft Jr, (Sen-R-Oh) 1918 Edwin Charles "Preacher" Roe, baseball pitcher (Bkln Dodgers) 1918 Otis R Bowen, US Sec of Health & Human Services (1985-89) 1918 Theodore [Hamilton] Sturgeon, US, sci-fi author (Hugo, It, Caviar) 1919 Hendrika Mastenbroek, Netherlands, swimmer (Olympic-3 gold-1936) 1919 Mason Adams, NYC, actor (Charlie Hume-Lou Grant, Deadliest Season) 1920 A W [Rie] Kuiper-Mastenbroek, swimmer (Olympics-3 gold-1936) 1920 Tony Randall, [Leonard Rosenberg], Tulsa Ok, actor (Felix-Odd Couple) 1921 Betty Hutton, Battle Creek Mich, actress (Greatest Show on Earth) 1922 Margaret Leighton, Birmingham England, actress (Astonished Heart) 1924 Mark Bucci, NYC, composer (1959 Arts & Letters Award) 1924 Noboru Takeshita, Japanese PM (1987-89) 1925 James Moody, US, jazz saxophonist/orchestra leader 1926 Cynthia Stone, Peoria Ill, actress (That Wonderful Guy, Ad Libbers) 1926 Konstantin P Feoktistov, Voronezh, cosmonaut (Voskhod 1) 1927 Donald Gramm, Milwaukee Wisconsin, bass-baritone 1927 Tom Kennedy, Louisville KY, quiz host (You Don't Say, Name That Tune) 1928 Anatoli V Filipchenko, cosmonaut (Soyuz 7, 16) 1928 Antione "Fats" Domino, rhythm & blues pianist (Blueberry Hill) 1930 Lazar Berman, Leningrad Russia, pianist (Budapest 3rd place-1956) 1931 Robert Novak, Joliet Ill, news reporter (CNN-Evans & Novak) 1932 Johnny Cash, Kingsland Ark, country singer (I Hear the Train Coming) 1933 Godfrey Cambridge, actor (Cotton comes to Harlem) 1933 James Goldsmith, Paris France, fiancier/corporate raider 1938 Jack Knight, Somerville Miss, actor (Mr Shamley-James at 15) 1942 Joop van den Ende, director (Alsmeer Studio) 1943 Bob "Bear" Hite, singer (Canned Heat-Going Up the Country) 1943 Bob van Reeth, Flemish architect 1945 Mitch Ryder, rocker (& Detroit Wheels-Devil With the Blue Dress) 1946 Bobby "Bingo" Smith, NBA star (Cleveland Cavaliers) 1946 Phyllis Eisenstein, US, sci-fi author (Sorcerer's Son, Born to Exile) 1947 Sandi Shaw, [Sandra Goodrich], Essex, rocker (Girl Don't Come) 1948 Priscilla Lopez, Bronx NY, actress (In the Beginning, Kay O'Brien) 1950 Jonathan Cain, keyboardist (Journey-Don't Stop Believing) 1953 Michael Bolton, rock vocalist (That's What Love Is All About) 1957 Connie Carpenter-Phinney, Madison Wisc, 79k cyclist (Oly-gold-1984) 1957 Keena Rothhammer, US, 800 m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-gold-1972) 1958 Jeff Fithian, actor (Trevor Nash-Please Don't Eat the Daisies) 1958 Joe Fithian, actor (Tracey Nash-Please Don't Eat the Daisies) 1958 Susan J Helms, Charlotte NC, Mjr USAF/Astronaut (STS 54) 1965 Brittany York, London England, playmate (Oct, 1990) 1970 Katie O'Neill, LA Calif, actress (Together We Stand) 1970 Meeno Peluce, Amsterdam Netherlands, actor (Bad News Bears) Back to GREGSITE Passings for February 261076 Godfried III, with the Hump, duke of Neth-Lutherians, murdered 1154 Rogier II, King of Sicily, dies 1266 Manfred, bastard son of Emperor Frederik II/king of Sicily, dies 1324 Dino Compagni, Italian silk seller/poet/chronicler, dies 1577 Erik XIV Wasa, King of Sweden (1560-69), dies at 43 1726 Maximilian II M Emanuel, ruler of Bayern, dies 1770 Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer/violinist, dies 1813 Robert R Livingston, US diplomat (Decl of Independence), dies at 66 1823 John P Kemble, English actor/director (Covent Garden), dies 1870 Wyatt Outlaw, black leader of Union League in NC, lynched 1871 Charles Niellon, Belgian brigade general, dies at 76 1921 Carl Menger, Austrian economist, dies at 81 1930 Raffaele Merry del Val, Spanish Cardinal, dies 1931 Otto Wallach, German chemist (Nobel 1910), dies 1933 Antonio Nicolau, Spanish composer/conductor, dies at 74 1939 E Fern ndez Arb¢s, Spanish violinist/conductor/composer, dies at 75 1953 Martinus Nijhoff, poet/interpreter/linguistic (spelling), dies 1960 Aleksandar Belic, Swedish linguist, dies at 83 1961 Mohammed V, ibn Joesoef, sultan/King of Morocco, dies 1963 Artturi A Leinonen, Finnish journalist/politician (Prophet), dies 1965 Jimmie Lee Jackson, civil rights activist, dies of injuries 1966 Minerva Urecal, actress (Peter Gunn, Adv of Tugboat Annie), dies at 71 1967 Harry McNaughton, comedian (It Pays to be Ignorant), dies at 70 1969 Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist/philosopher, dies at 86 1969 Levi Esjkol, [Sjkolnik], premier (Israel), dies 1971 Fernandel, [Fernand JD Contandin], French actor, dies 1972 Tom Manders, cabaret artist (Dorus), dies at 51 1973 Mary Finney, actress (Honestly Celeste), dies at 68 1981 Howard Hanson, US composer/conductor (Nordic), dies at 84 1982 Gabor Szabo, Hungarian jazz pianist (Perfect Circle), dies at 45 1992 Gerrit Schulte, [Le fou pedalant], 6 days bicyclist, dies 1992 Jean R Yawkey, owner (Boston Red Sox), dies at 83 of a stroke 1992 S I Hayakawa, (Sen-R-Calif), dies at 85 of a stroke 1993 Constance Ford, US actress (Another World, Burden Hunt), dies at 64 1993 Mark Kolthoff, painter/photographer, dies at 92 Back to GREGSITE Holidays for February 26Back to GREGSITE Interest events for February 26[Christian] Feast of St Nestor 616 [Christ] Commem of St Ethelbert, king of Kent; baptized by Augustine 1994 [Ang, RC] Ember Day 1995 [Christian] Shrove (Quinquagesima) Sunday 1999 [Ang, RC] Ember Day 1999 [Cyprus, Greece] Green (or Clean) Monday (1st Mon of Lent-moveable) 2002 [Jewish] Purim-Feast of Lot (Adar 14, 5762 AM) Back to GREGSITE Special events for February 26[Ancient Rome] a d iv Kal Mar (common years) 1998 Total eclipse visible over Central & South America & Caribbean 747 -BC- Origin of Era of Nabonassar 1266 Battle of Benevento 1531 Earthquake in Lisbon Portugal, kills 20,000 1564 Christopher Marlowe, dramatist (Dr Faustus), baptized 1616 Inquisition delivers injunction to Galileo 1732 1st mass celebrated in 1st American Catholic church, Philadelphia 1773 Construction authorized for Walnut St jail (Phila) (1st solitary) 1815 Napoleon & 1,200 leave Elba to start 100-day re-conquest of France 1832 Russian czar declares realm of Poland-Russia 1834 1st US interstate crime compact (NY-NJ) ratified 1848 Marx & Engels publish "Communist Manifesto" 1852 British troop ship Birkenhead sinks off South Africa-458 die 1859 Paul Morphy's chess match vs Augustus Mongredien begins; Morphy wins 1862 Battle of Woodburn, KY 1863 Lincoln signs National Currency Act 1866 New York Legislature establishes NYC Metropolitan Board of Health 1869 15th Amendment guaranteeing right to vote sent to states 1870 1st NYC subway line opens (pneumatic powered) 1877 Geheim compromise Dem-Rep over pres election result 1881 SS Ceylon begins 1st round-the-world cruise from Liverpool 1885 Conference of Berlin, gives Congo to Belgium & Nigeria to England 1891 1st buffalo purchased for Golden Gate Park 1893 2 Clydesdale horses set record by pulling 48 tons on a sledge, Mich 1895 Michael Owens of Toledo, Ohio patents a glass-blowing machine 1907 Royal Oil & Shell merge to form British Petroleum (BP) 1912 Coal miners strike in England (settle on 03/01) 1913 J Rheden discovers asteroid #744 Aguntina 1914 New York Museum of Science & Industry incorporated 1915 Malancourt, Argonnen (1st (German) fire attack) 1917 1st Annual fair at Utrecht Harbor (Netherlands) 1918 Stands at Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse & burn, killing 604 1919 Acadia National Park established (as Lafayette N P), Maine 1919 Congress established Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona 1919 US Congress opens Grand Canyon National Park 1923 Italian nationalist & fascists merge 1924 Trial against Hitler in Munich begins 1925 Jihad-Saint war against Turkish govt 1926 Dark Street in the Bronx renamed Lustre Street 1928 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #1091 Spiraea 1930 "Green Pastures" opens at Mansfield Theater 1933 Golden Gate Bridge ground-breaking ceremony held at Crissy Field 1935 Germany began Luftwaffe operation, under Reichsmarshall H Goering 1935 NY Yankees release Babe Ruth 1936 Military coup in Japan 1938 1st passenger ship equipped with radar 1938 G Kulin discovers asteroid #1452 Hunnia 1938 Rie Van Peat swims world record 200 m freestyle (2:24.6) 1940 US Air Defense Command established at Mitchel Field, LI, NY 1941 2 fighters unable to continued slugfest, referee declears double KO 1941 Cowboys' Amateur Association of America organized (Calif) 1941 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #1632 Siebohme 1942 German battle cruiser Gneisenau deactivated by bomb 1942 Radio Orange calls for March 1 holiday in Dutch Indies 1942 WW II Navy flier Don Mason sends message "Sighted sub sank same" 1942 Werner Heisenberger informs nazis about uranium project "Wunderwaffen" 1943 L Oterma discovers asteroid #2841 Puijo 1944 1st female US navy captain, Sue Dauser of nurse corps, appointed 1944 Sue Dauser becomes 1st woman captain of US marine 1945 Very heavy bombing on Berlin 1946 2 killed & 10 wounded in race riot in Columbia Tenn 1949 USAF plane began 1st nonstop around-the-world flight 1951 22nd admendment to Constitution is ratified 1951 Bread rationing in Czechoslovakia 1952 PM Winston Churchill announced that Britain had its own atomic bomb 1954 1st typesetting machine (photo engraving) used, Quincy Mass 1955 1st aviator to bail out at supersonic speed-GF Smith 1956 Writers Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes meet at a party in Cambridge 1960 Soviet premier Khrushchev voices support for Indonesia 1960 USA's David Jenkins wins Olympic Gold for men's figure skating 1962 US Supreme court disallows race separation on public transportation 1962 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Phila Warriors scores 67 points vs NY 1966 KBIM TV channel 10 in Roswell, NM (CBS) begins broadcasting 1968 Clandestine Radio Voice of Iraqi People (Communist) final transmission 1970 Beatles release "Beatles Again" aka "Hey Jude" album 1972 Dam break in WV kills 107 1972 Slag heap dam collapses above Buffalo Creek WV, kills 125 1973 Triple Crown horse Secretariat bought for a record $5.7m 1974 Gold hits record $188 an ounce in Paris 1975 1st televised kidney transplant (Today Show) 1979 Last total eclipse of Sun in 20th century for continental US 1980 Egypt & Israel exchange ambassadors for 1st time 1981 84 penalties (406 mins) assessed for a brawl between NHL Minn & Bost 1981 Boston & Minnesota play most penalty-filled NHL game-406 min total 1981 French Train … Grande Vitesse averages 380 kph on trial run 1981 H Debehogne discovers asteroid #3268 De Sanctis 1983 Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 37 weeks 1983 Shortwave pirate Radio USA (Wellsville, NY) begins transmission 1984 N Chernykh discovers asteroids #3575 & #3576 1984 Rev Jesse Jackson acknowledges that he called NYC, "Hymietown" 1984 Robert Penn Warren, Pulitzer Prize winner, named 1st US poet laureate 1986 Former Philippines President Ferdinand E Marcos fled in defeat 1987 1st release of Beatles compact discs 1987 NASA launches GEOS-H 1987 NBA's Michael Jordan's 58 points is a Chicago Bull record 1987 Wash blocks 20 Indiana shots tying NBA regulation game record 1989 Lowest rated pressure in Netherlands (955 hpa) 1989 NY Yankees announce that Tom Seaver is their new TV sportscaster 1990 Moscow begins pulling 73,000 troops out of Czechoslovakia 1991 Kuwaiti resistance leaders declare they have control of their capital 1991 NY-NJ Knights (WLAF) players 1st come together 1992 Irish Supreme Court rules 14 year old rape victim may get an abortion 1993 2nd tallest building in world, NYC World Trade Center bombed, 7 die 1998 Total solar eclipse in Venezuela-Pacific Ocean (4m09) Back to GREGSITE Facts for February 2657th day of the year with 308 days left (Numerology = 1) 1890 65øF highest temperature for this date in NYC 1990 7øF lowest temperature for this date in NYC Back to GREGSITE Songs released on February 2602/26/55 --- Ballad Of Davy Crockett --- Hayes, Bill 02/26/66 --- Listen People --- Herman's Hermits 02/26/66 --- Homeward Bound --- Simon & Garfunkel 02/26/72 --- I Gotcha --- Tex, Joe 02/26/77 --- So Into You --- Atlanta Rhythm Section 02/26/77 --- I've Got Love On My Mind --- Cole, Natalie 02/26/77 --- Right Time Of The Night --- Warnes, Jennifer 02/26/83 --- Come On Eileen --- Dexys Midnight Runners |