Portal:United States/On this day/February 26
On this day for the United States
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Events
- 1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Banking Act into law.
- 1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway opens.
- 1897 - Sigma Pi Fraternity, International was founded at Vincennes University.
- 1917 - The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
- 1919 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park).
- 1929 - The Grand Teton National Park is created.
- 1966 - Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
- 1970 - National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation.
- 1972 - Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.
- 1984 - US troops withdraw from Beirut. President Ronald Reagan had sent the troops as a peacekeeping force in August 1982.
- 1987 - Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
- 1990 - The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections.
- 1993 - World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center goes off, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.
- 2004 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
Births
- 1808 - Nathan Kelley, American architect, active mainly in Ohio, (d.1871)
- 1846 - William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American pioneer, officer, and hunter (d. 1917)
- 1852 - John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943 )
- 1882 - Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
- 1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (d. 1950)
- 1887 - William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966)
- 1907 - Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1908 - Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980)
- 1912 - Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998)
- 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)
- 1920 - Danny Gardella, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1921 - Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
- 1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host
- 1928 - Fats Domino, American musician
- 1932 - Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Robert Novak, American political columnist
- 1943 - Bill Duke, American actor and director
- 1945 - Bob Hite, American singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat) (d. 1981)
- 1945 - Mitch Ryder, American musician (The Detroit Wheels)
- 1951 - Lee Atwater, American political operative (d. 1991)
- 1953 - Michael Bolton, American singer
- 1957 - David Muldrow Beasley, American politician
- 1957 - Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player
- 1958 - Greg Germann, American actor
- 1959 - Rolando Blackman, American basketball player
- 1962 - Kelly Gruber, former Major League Baseball player
- 1968 - Ed Quinn, American Actor
- 1968 - J.T. Snow, American baseball player
- 1971 - Erykah Badu, American singer
- 1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football player
- 1973 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
- 1977 - Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player
- 1977 - Josh Towers, Major League Baseball player
- 1978 - John Tartaglia, Broadway performer and "Muppeteer"
- 1981 - Kertus Davis, American NASCAR driver
- 1981 - Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer
- 1983 - Kara Monaco, American model
- 1985 - Alexandria Hilfiger, American actress, daughter of Tommy Hilfiger
- 1993 - Taylor Dooley, American actress
Deaths
- 1802 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718)
- 1813 - Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746)
- 1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)
- 1981 - Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
- 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)
- 1997 - David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1998 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
- 2000 - George L. Street III American Navy Submariner (b. 1913)
- 2002 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
- 2005 - Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b. 1943)