1797 – Bank of England issues first £1 note
1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte and his supporters leave Elba to start a 100 day re-conquest of France
1866 – New York Legislature forms NYC Metropolitan Board of Health
1907 – Royal Oil and Shell merge to form British Petroleum (BP)
1942 – German battle cruiser Gneisenau deactivated by bomb
1943 – German assault moves to Beja, North Tunisia
1967 – Verne Gagne beats Mad Dog Vachon in St Paul, to become NWA champion
1991 – NY-NJ Knights (WLAF) players 1st come together
1995 – London finance house Barings collapses after huge losses in Singapore by rogue trader Nick Leeson
2012 – Train derailment kills 3 and injures 45 in Burlington, Ontario
Author: gil7
Today in History for 26th February 2021
Historical Events
1839 – 1st Grand National steeplechase, Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool: Jem Mason wins aboard 5/1 favourite Lottery
1949 – USAF plane began 1st nonstop around-the-world flight
1965 – Dutch government of Marijnen falls
1981 – French Train Grande Vitesse averages 380 kph on trial run
1987 – Wash blocks 20 Indiana shots tying NBA regulation game record
2019 – More than 4,500 complaints of child sexual abuse against migrant children received by US Health Department, Department of Justice received 1,300 more
Famous Birthdays
1838 – Wendelin Weißheimer, German composer and conductor, born in Osthofen (d. 1910)
1845 – Alexander III, Russian tsar (1881-94), born in the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russian Empire (3/10 NS)
1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (2001-2006), born at Kfar Malal (d. 2014)
1960 – Jaz Coleman, British musician (Killing Joke), born in Cheltenham, United Kingdom
1968 – J. T. Snow, American baseball infielder (NY Yankees, California Angels), born in Long Beach, California
1973 – Marshall Faulk, American NFL running back (Indianapolis Colts), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Famous Deaths
1577 – Erik XIV, King of Sweden (1560-69), dies of arsenic poisoning at 43
1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
1963 – Artturi Leinonen, Finnish journalist and writer (Kati), dies at 74
1973 – Doc Hayes, American basketball coach (Southern Methodist University 1947-67), dies in an auto accident at 67
1994 – Leopold “Hans” Kohr, Austrian social philosopher, dies at 84
1997 – Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer, dies at 82
Famous Deaths for 25th February 2021
779 – Walburgis, Anglo-Saxon abbess/saint (Walpurgis Night), dies
1719 – Giovanni Maria Casini, Italian composer, dies at 66
1852 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and musician, dies at 72
1950 – George Minot, American physician (Nobel 1934 – introduction of a raw-liver diet in the treatment of pernicious anemia), dies at 64
1962 – Wilhelm Pessler, German sociologist, dies at 81
1975 – Elijah Muhammad [Elijah Robert Poole], American religious leader (Nation of Islam), dies of heart failure at 77
1995 – Jack Clayton, British director (Great Gatsby), dies at 73
1998 – B.A. Santamaria, Australian political activist and journalist, dies at 82
2012 – Lynn Compton, American jurist and commissioned officer, dies from heart attack at 90
2016 – Tony Burton, American actor (Rocky films) and boxer, dies at 78
Historical Events for 25th February 2021
1751 – 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1 cent)
1793 – 1st US cabinet meeting, held at George Washington’s home
1907 – US proclaims protectorate over Dominican Republic
1916 – Battle of Verdun: German troops conquer Fort Douaumont without firing a shot, the largest and highest fort defending the city of Verdun during World War I
1924 – Marie Boyd scores 156 points in Maryland HS basketball game (163-3)
1926 – Kwo-Min-Tang (Guomindang) declares war on government and warlords
1938 – Lord Halifax becomes British Foreign Secretary
1980 – Coup ousts PM Henck Arron of Suriname
1995 – Muslim fundamentalists shoot 20 Shiite mosque goers dead
2013 – Cuban President Raúl Castro announces he will not seek another term in 2018
Today in History for 25th February 2021
Historical Events
1358 – Dalmatie flees Venice
1911 – Victor Herbert’s opera “Natoma” premieres at Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1924 – Marie Boyd scores 156 points in Maryland HS basketball game (163-3)
1986 – Thousands of Egyptian military police riot, destroy 2 luxury hotel
1998 – Switzerland’s 1st legal brothel opens in Zurich
2018 – Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen wins gold in women’s 30k at Pyeongchang Winter Olympics; brings her total Games medal haul to 15, most won by any athlete in Winter Games history
Famous Birthdays
1890 – Myra Hess, concert pianist, born in London, England
1901 – Federico Ghisi, composer
1907 – Mary Coyle Chase, playwright (Harvey-Pulitzer Prize)
1918 – Rena Kyriakou, Greek pianist (d. 1994)
1944 – Karen Grassle, American actress (Caroline-Little House on Prairie), born in Berkeley, California
1973 – Julio José Iglesias, Spanish singer
Famous Deaths
1719 – Giovanni Maria Casini, Italian composer, dies at 66
1919 – Josef Christiaens, Belgian racing driver (b. 1879)
1978 – Daniel “Chappie” James Jr, retired Air Force general, dies at 58
1992 – John E Allen Jr, actor (1 2 3), dies
1993 – Jan D Boeke, Dutch organist/conductor, dies
2013 – C Everett Koop, American pediatric surgeon, health administrator and 13th US Surgeon General (1982-89), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 24th February 2021
1686 – Ferdinando Tacca, Italian painter/son of Pietro Tacca, dies at 66
1967 – Franz Waxman [Wachsmann], German-American film score composer (Rebecca; Sunset Boulevard; A Place In The Sun), dies of cancer at 60
1991 – Jean Rogers, actress (Flash Gordon, Hot Cargo), dies at 74
1993 – Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster, dies at 75
1994 – Dinah Shore, American singer (See the USA in a Chevrolet), actress and TV personality (Dinah Shore Show, Nabisco DS Championship), dies of ovarian cancer at 76
1996 – Gene Mitchell, museum director, dies on 70th birthday
2003 – Bernard Loiseau, French chef (b. 1951)
2012 – Benedict Freedman, American novelist and mathematician, dies at 92
2020 – Jan Kowalczyk, Polish equestrian rider (Olympics gold show jumping individual; silver team 1980), dies at 78
2020 – Don Furner, Australian rugby league forward (1 Test) and coach (Australia 15 Tests; Eastern Suburbs, Canberra Raiders), dies at 87
Historical Events for 24th February 2021
1895 – Cuban war for independence begins
1908 – In ‘Muller v Oregon’, the US Supreme Court favors an Oregon law limiting maximum hours a woman may work and denies that it curtails ‘liberty of contract’
1938 – Du Pont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles
1946 – General Juan Perón first elected President of Argentina
1949 – Israel and Egypt sign an armistice agreement
1952 – Norway goes 1-2 in the men’s ski jumping event at the Oslo Winter Olympics with Arnfinn Bergmann winning gold ahead of teammate Torbjørn Falkanger
1989 – US Boeing 747 loses parts of roof over Pacific, 9 die
1997 – Deng Xiaoping the former paramount leader of China is cremated five days after he passed away
1997 – Qatar inaugurates the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporting facility and formally launches Qatar Liquefied Gas Co.
2018 – UN Security Council passes resolution for 30 day ceasefire in Syria
Today in History for 24th February 2021
Historical Events
1597 – Flemish painter Frederick of Valckenborch becomes porter of Frankfurt-on-Main
1917 – German plan to get Mexican help in WW I exposed (Zimmerman telegram)
1924 – Mahatma Gandhi released from jail
1952 – Norway goes 1-2 in the men’s ski jumping event at the Oslo Winter Olympics with Arnfinn Bergmann winning gold ahead of teammate Torbjørn Falkanger
1983 – Dow Jones closes above 1100 mark for 1st time
2018 – Men’s big air snowboarding event makes Olympic debut at Pyeongchang; Canada’s Sébastien Toutant is inaugural gold medallist
Famous Birthdays
1842 – Arrigio Enrico Boito, composer
1885 – Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1939)
1909 – Michael Francis Morris Lindsay, orientalist
1940 – Theo Bosch, Dutch humanist/architect (Nieuwmarkt, Amsterdam)
1954 – Plastic Bertrand [Roger François Jouret], Belgian singer (Ça plane pour moi), born in Brussels, Belgium
1973 – Alexei Kovalev, NHL right wing (NY Rangers), born in Moscow, Russia
Famous Deaths
1924 – Edmond Picard, French-Belgian lawyer and writer (Ambidextre journalist), dies at 87
1929 – André Charles Prosper Messager, French organist, composer and conductor (Les Deux Pigeons, Véronique), dies at 75
1990 – Malcolm Forbes, American publisher of Forbes Magazine, dies of a heart attack at 70
1991 – Marcella Markham, dies of breast cancer at 68
1994 – Jean Sablon, French singer-songwriter, dies at 87
1998 – Henny Youngman, American comedian and violinist (Take my wife … please), dies at 91
Famous Deaths for 23rd February 2021
1100 – Emperor Zhezong of China (b. 1076)
1669 – Lieuwe van Aitzema, Dutch historian (Matters of State and War), dies at 68
1766 – Stanislaw Leszcynski, duke of Lutherans/king of Poland, dies
1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English portrait painter (Simplicity), dies at 68
1974 – Harry Ruby [Harry Rubenstein], American composer and screenwriter, dies at 79
1976 – John Forest “Fuzzy” Knight, American actor (Oklahoma Annie, Cowby and the Lady), dies at 74
1996 – Freddie Stocks, cricket (cent on debut and wkt on 1st ball, Notts), dies
2003 – Howard “Howie” Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), dies from an overdose at 47
2004 – Sikander Bakht, Indian politician, Governor of Kerala, dies at 85
2020 – Stefan Florenski, Polish soccer defender (11 caps; Górnik Zabrze), dies at 86
Historical Events for 23rd February 2021
1540 – Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the 7 cities of Cibola
1847 – Battle of Buena Vista Mexico; Zachary Taylor defeats Mexicans
1886 – Aluminum manufacturing process developed
1944 – Battle of Eniwetok ends as US forces complete the capture of Parry Island from the Japanese 1st Amphibious Brigade
1956 – 13th Golden Globes: “East of Eden”, Ernest Borgnine, and Anna Magnani win
1970 – Guyana becomes a republic (National Day)
1990 – “Hold On” single released by En Vogue (Billboard Song of the Year 1990)
2014 – XXII Winter Olympic Games close in Sochi, Russia
2018 – Dutch speed skater Kjeld Nuis wins his second gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the 1,000m; also 1,500m champion
2019 – Sri Lanka becomes first Asian cricket team to clinch a Test series in South Africa chasing down 197 in the 2nd Test in Port Elizabeth; Kusal Mendis 84no, Oshada Fernando 75no