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 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.
1942 - "How Green Was My Valley" won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1941, beating out nine other films, including "The Maltese Falcon" and "Citizen Kane".
1945 - Authorities ordered a midnight curfew at nightclubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.
1952 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that his nation had developed its own atomic bomb.
1970 - National Public Radio was incorporated.
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 bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of 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 terrorists had hoped; both structures would be destroyed eight years later in the 9/11 attack.)
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.
2005 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his country’s constitution changed to allow presidential challengers in an upcoming fall election.
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. (Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder.)
2021 - A newly declassified U.S. intelligence report concluded that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince likely approved the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Birthdays
29 - Taylor Dooley (actress)
36 - Teresa Palmer (actress)
36 - Juliet Simms (singer)
40 - Li Na (tennis player)
45 - Greg Rikaart (actor)
49 - Jenny Thompson (swimmer)
56 - Jennifer Grant (actress)
64 - Greg Germann (actor)
69 - Michael Bolton (singer)
72 - Jonathan Cain (musician)
77 - Marta Kristen (actress)
77 - Mitch Ryder (singer)
79 - 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 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scores 58 points in a game to establish a franchise record.
1991 - Bill Veeck and Tony Lazzeri are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2017 - Kurt Busch won the Daytona 500, surviving a crash-filled season opener to win the race for the first time in 16 tries.
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 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.
1942 - "How Green Was My Valley" won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1941, beating out nine other films, including "The Maltese Falcon" and "Citizen Kane".
1945 - Authorities ordered a midnight curfew at nightclubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.
1952 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that his nation had developed its own atomic bomb.
1970 - National Public Radio was incorporated.
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 bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of 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 terrorists had hoped; both structures would be destroyed eight years later in the 9/11 attack.)
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.
2005 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his country’s constitution changed to allow presidential challengers in an upcoming fall election.
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. (Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder.)
2021 - A newly declassified U.S. intelligence report concluded that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince likely approved the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Birthdays
29 - Taylor Dooley (actress)
36 - Teresa Palmer (actress)
36 - Juliet Simms (singer)
40 - Li Na (tennis player)
45 - Greg Rikaart (actor)
49 - Jenny Thompson (swimmer)
56 - Jennifer Grant (actress)
64 - Greg Germann (actor)
69 - Michael Bolton (singer)
72 - Jonathan Cain (musician)
77 - Marta Kristen (actress)
77 - Mitch Ryder (singer)
79 - 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 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scores 58 points in a game to establish a franchise record.
1991 - Bill Veeck and Tony Lazzeri are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2017 - Kurt Busch won the Daytona 500, surviving a crash-filled season opener to win the race for the first time in 16 tries.
