Summary of the Day ✨ 26 February (26/02)
South Asian tensions escalated as Pakistan declared war on the Taliban in Afghanistan while Indian jets struck terrorist camps in Pakistan, and globally, 279 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped amid transportation disasters that killed dozens in Egypt and Canada.
Historical Events 📜
- 2026: The government of Pakistan declares “open war” against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.
- 2021: A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria.
- 2019: Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan.
- 2013: A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.
- 2012: A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
- 2012: Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.
- 2008: The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea.
- 1995: The UK’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
- 1993: World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
- 1992: First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
- 1987: Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
- 1980: Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1979: The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
- 1971: U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
- 1966: Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.
Famous Births 👶
- 2003: Jamal Musiala, German footballer
- 2002: Gerard Martín, Spanish footballer
- 2002: César Tárrega, Spanish footballer
- 2000: Yeat, American rapper
- 1997: Jessie Bates, American football player
- 1994: Jacob Trouba, American ice hockey player
- 1994: Mahra Al Maktoum, Emirati princess.
- 1993: Morgan Gautrat, American soccer player
- 1992: Mikael Granlund, Finnish hockey player
- 1991: Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer
- 1991: Kevin Plawecki, American baseball player
- 1990: Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
- 1989: Gabriel Obertan, French footballer
- 1986: Mārtiņš Karsums, Latvian ice hockey player
- 1986: Hannah Kearney, American skier
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress (born 1985)
- 2017: Joseph Wapner, American judge and TV personality (born 1919)
- 2016: Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1932)
- 2016: Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (born 1933)
- 2015: Sheppard Frere, English historian and archaeologist (born 1916)
- 2015: Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (born 1917)
- 2015: Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (born 1928)
- 2015: Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (born 1960)
- 2014: Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (born 1933)
- 2014: Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (born 1927)
- 2013: Marie-Claire Alain, French organist and educator (born 1926)
- 2013: Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (born 1917)
- 2013: Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (born 1922)
- 2012: Richard Carpenter, English actor and screenwriter (born 1929)
- 2011: Arnošt Lustig, Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1926)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Alexander of Alexandria - Christian feast day:
Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA)) - Christian feast day:
Isabelle of France - Christian feast day:
Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada) - Christian feast day:
Paula Montal Fornés - Christian feast day:
Porphyry of Gaza - Christian feast day:
February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
- Liberation Day (Kuwait)
- Saviours’ Day (Nation of Islam)