26 May History
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.