26 May History


Month:                           Date:     

  • 17    -    Germanicus of Rome celebrates his victory over the Germans.
  • 1328    -    William of Ockham forced to flee from Avignon by Pope John XXII.
  • 1647    -    A new law bans Catholic priests from the colony of Massachusetts. The penalty is banishment or death for a second offense.
  • 1670    -    Charles II and Louis XIV sign a secret treaty in Dover, England, ending hostilities between England and France.
  • 1691    -    Jacob Leiser, leader of the popular uprising in support of William and Mary's succession to the throne, is executed for treason.
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  • 1736    -    British and Chickasaw forces defeat the French at the Battle of Ackia.
  • 1831    -    The Russians defeat the Poles at the Battle of Ostrolenska.
  • 1835    -    A resolution is passed in the U.S. Congress stating that Congress has no authority over state slavery laws.
  • 1864    -    The territory of Montana is organized.
  • 1865    -    The last Confederate army surrenders in Shreveport, Louisiana.
  • 1868    -    President Andrew Johnson is aquitted of all charges of impeachment.
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  • 1896    -    The last czar of Russia, Nicholas II, is crowned.
  • 1938    -    The House Committee on Un-American Activities begins its work of searching for subversives in the United States.
  • 1940    -    The evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk begins.
  • 1946    -    A patent is filed in the United States for the H-bomb.
  • 1958    -    Union Square, San Francisco, becomes a state historical landmark.
  • 1961    -    The civil rights activist group, Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee, is established in Atlanta.
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  • 1961    -    A U.S. Air Force bomber flies across the Atlantic in a record of just over three hours.
  • 1969    -    Apollo 10 returns to Earth.
  • 1977    -    The movie Star Wars debuts.

  • 26 May Birthdays

  • 1667    -    Abraham De Moivre, mathematician.
  • 1835    -    Edward Porter Alexander, artillery general during the American Civil War.
  • 1883    -    Mamie Smith, blues singer.
  • 1886    -    Al Jolson, jazz singer and film actor.
  • 1895    -    Dorothea Lange, documentary photographer.
  • 1903    -    Estes Kefauver, Tennessee senator.
  • 1907    -    John Wayne [Marion Michael Morrison], American actor and film icon.
  • 1919    -    Jay Silverheels, actor (The Lone Ranger).
  • 1920    -    Peggy Lee, jazz singer.
  • 1923    -    James Arness, actor (Gunsmoke).
  • 1951    -    Sally Ride, astronaut, the first American woman in space.