Today in history...
Feb 26 1815
Napoleon Bonaparte slips past guards and escapes from his exile on the island of Elba, returning to France meeting very little resistance. One Hundred Days of rule follow, culminating in his defeat at Waterloo.
Feb 26 1918
Grandstands at the Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse and burn, killing 604 spectators. It is the worst disaster in sports history.
Feb 26 1966
Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
Feb 26 1974
A U.S. Senate report reveals Ford Motor's involvement in Nazi Germany's war efforts, for which CEO Henry Ford received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle from Adolf Hitler himself. After the war, the car company was paid nearly $1M reparation by the U.S. government to compensate for one of its plants that was bombed within the Reich.
Feb 26 1985
A federal grand jury brings a fifteen count racketeering indictment upon members of "The Commission", a body consisting of all of the major Mafia families in New York City. The indictments were largely made possible by a bug planted in the dashboard of Tony "Ducks" Corallo's black Jaguar.
Feb 26 1991
Iraqi forces fleeing Kuwait on the "Highway of Death" are caught in a turkey shoot of falling explosives and aerial strafing. It is impossible to say how many people in this column of over 1000 vehicles were killed, but in all as many as 450,000 Iraqis were buried in Kuwait after the war.
Feb 26 1993
A bomb explodes on level B2 of the World Trade Center, creating a five story crater and leaving six dead and over 1,042 injured. According to the New York Times, the FBI knew in advance this was going to happen.
Birthdays today...
1361 - Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d. 1419)
1564 - Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist (d. 1593)
1587 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer (d. 1639)
1671 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (d. 1713)
1672 - Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d. 1757)
1714 - James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d. 1758)
1715 - Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
1720 - Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1803)
1746 - Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, duchess of Piacenza (d. 1806)
1749 - Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
1786 - François Arago, French mathematician (d. 1853)
1799 - Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (d. 1864)
1802 - Victor Hugo, French writer (d. 1885)
1808 - Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
1808 - Nathan Kelley,American architect, active mainly in Ohio, (d. 1871)
1814 - Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (d. 1876)
1829 - Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902)
1846 - William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American frontiersman (d. 1917)
1852 - John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943)
1857 - Émile Coué, French psychologist (d. 1926)
1858 - Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist (d. 1917)
1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
1861 - Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary, Lenin's wife (d. 1939)
1866 - Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist (d. 1930)
1879 - Frank Bridge, English composer (d. 1941)
1882 - Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
1885 - Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (d. 1950)
1887 - William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966)
1887 - Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer (d. 1936)
1893 - I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d. 1979)
1896 - Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov, Soviet politician and art ideologist (d. 1948)
1899 - Max Petitpierre, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1994)
1900 - Fritz Wiessner, American mountaineer of German descent (d. 1988)
1902 - Jean Bruller, alias Vercors, French writer and illustrator (d. 1991)
1903 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
1906 - Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
1907 - Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
1908 - Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980)
1908 - Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer (d. 2007)
1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
1909 - King Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
1909 - Fanny Cradock, English food writer and broadcaster (d. 1994)
1911 - Tarō Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist (d. 1996)
1912 - Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)
1913 - George Barker, English poet (d. 1991)
1914 - Robert Alda, American actor (d. 1986)
1916 - Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d. 1987)
1918 - Otis Ray Bowen, American politician (Indiana Governor) and physician
1918 - Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985)
1919 - Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
1919 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d. 2003)
1920 - Danny Gardella, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1920 - Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004)
1920 - Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (d. 2006)
1921 - Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1922 - Margaret Leighton, British actress (d. 1976)
1926 - Miroslava Stern, Mexican actress (d. 1955)
1926 - H.M., Henry Gustav Molaison, the amnesiac patient (d. 2008)
1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host
1928 - Fats Domino, American musician
1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko, Soviet cosmonaut
1928 - Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer and actress
1928 - Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister
1930 - Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d. 2005)
1931 - Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
1932 - Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003)
1934 - Robert Novak, American political columnist
1937 - Hagood Hardy, Canadian musician and composer (d. 1997)
1938 - Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter (d. 1957)
1939 - Josephine Tewson, English actress
1941 - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
1943 - Bill Duke, American actor and director
1943 - Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
1944 - Ronald Lauder, American philanthropist and president of the World Jewish Congress
1945 - Peter Brock, Australian motorsports champion (d. 2006)
1945 - Bob Hite, American singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat) (d. 1981)
1945 - Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach and politician
1945 - Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress
1945 - Mitch Ryder, American musician (The Detroit Wheels)
1946 - Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel laureate
1947 - Sandie Shaw, English singer
1949 - Elizabeth George, American novelist
1949 - Emma Kirkby, British early music singer
1950 - Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand
1950 - Jonathan Cain, American musician (Journey, Bad English, The Babys)
1953 - Michael Bolton, American singer
1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey
1954 - Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, heir to the deposed Kingdom of Hanover and a husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.
1955 - Andreas Maislinger, founder of Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
1956 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer
1957 - David Muldrow Beasley, American politician
1957 - Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player
1958 - Karen Berger, American comic book editor
1958 - Greg Germann, American actor
1958 - Susan J. Helms, NASA astronaut
1958 - Michel Houellebecq, French novelist
1958 - Tim Kaine, American politician, governor of Virginia
1959 - Rolando Blackman, American basketball player
1960 - Jaz Coleman, British musician
1962 - Kelly Gruber, former Major League Baseball player
1964 - Mark Dacascos, American actor and martial artist
1966 - Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
1967 - Currie Graham, Canadian actor
1968 - Tim Commerford, American bass player (Rage Against the Machine)
1968 - Ed Quinn, American Actor
1968 - J. T. Snow, American baseball player
1969 - Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer
1971 - Erykah Badu, American singer
1971 - Max Martin, Swedish composer and producer
1971 - Hélène Ségara, French singer
1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football player
1973 - Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian retired footballer
1973 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
1974 - Sébastien Loeb, French rally driver
1976 - Nikolaos Siranidis, Greek diver
1976 - Chad Urmston, American musician
1977 - Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player
1977 - Greg Rikaart, American actor
1977 - Josh Towers, Major League Baseball player
1977 - Shane Williams, Welsh International Rugby Player
1978 - Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer
1978 - Marc Hynes, British racing driver
1979 - Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer
1979 - Mariano Bainotti, Argentine racing driver
1979 - Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer
1979 - Shalim Ortiz, Puerto Rican singer/actor
1980 - Alex Fong, Hong Kong singer
1980 - Gary Majewski, Major League Baseball player
1980 - Steve Blake, American basketball player
1981 - Kertus Davis, American NASCAR driver
1981 - Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer
1982 - Song Hye Kyo, South Korean model and actress
1983 - Kara Monaco, American model
1984 - Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer
1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer
1985 - Alexandria Hilfiger, American actress, daughter of Tommy Hilfiger
1985 - Miki Fujimoto, Japanese singer
1986 - Crystal Kay, Japanese singer
1986 - Teresa Palmer, Australian model and actress
1986 - Makelele, Brazilian footballer
1987 - Julia Bond, American porn star
1986 - Juliet Simms, Guitarist and vocals for the band Automatic Loveletter
1993 - Taylor Dooley, American actress
Famous deaths...
1154 - King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
1200 - Symeon, former Serbian ruler and saint
1266 - King Manfred of Sicily
1360 - Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)
1552 - Heinrich Faber, German composer
1561 - Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer
1577 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
1608 - John Still, English bishop
1630 - William Brade, English composer (b. 1560)
1638 - Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (b. 1681)
1723 - Thomas d'Urfey, English writer (b. 1653)
1726 - Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
1770 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (b. 1692)
1802 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718)
1813 - Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746)
1815 - Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b. 1737)
1821 - Joseph de Maistre, Savoyard diplomat and writer (b. 1753)
1864 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician (b. 1807)
1883 - Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
1889 - Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (b. 1838)
1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)
1913 - Felix Draeseke, German composer (b. 1835)
1921 - Carl Menger, Austrian economist (b. 1840)
1931 - Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1847)
1933 - Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853)
1943 - Theodor Eicke, Nazi official (b. 1892)
1947 - Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868)
1950 - Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish Music Hall Entertainer, Knighted for WWI War Work (b. 1870)
1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
1966 - Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b. 1883)
1969 - Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
1969 - Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b. 1883)
1971 - Fernandel, French actor (b. 1903)
1981 - Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
1981 - Robert Aickman, English writer and conservationist (b. 1914)
1985 - Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
1989 - Roy Eldridge, American musician (b. 1911)
1990 - Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1938)
1993 - Constance Ford, American actress (b. 1923)
1994 - Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
1995 - Jack Clayton, British film director (b. 1921)
1997 - David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
1998 - James Algar, American film director, screenwriter and producer (b. 1912)
1998 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
2000 - George L. Street III American Navy Submariner and Medal of Honor recipient.(b. 1913)
2001 - Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (b. 1906)
2002 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
2003 - Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver (b. 1928)
2004 - Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920)
2004 - Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
2004 - Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
2005 - Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b. 1943)
2008 - Buddy Miles, American drummer (Band of Gypsies) (b. 1947)
2008 - Dick Fletcher, Meteorologist (b. 1942)
2008 - Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician
2009 - Wendy Richards, English actress (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances...
Bahá'í Faith - February 26, Day 1 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
Nation of Islam - Savior's Day - commemoration of the birthdate of Wallace Fard Muhammad, believed to be Allah in human form, the saviour of the black race.
Liberation Day in Kuwait
Have a great Thursday.
~Brian
