May 26

### Up to 1900

- 17 – Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero following several battle victories over Germanic tribes.
- 946 – King Edmund I of England is murderered by a thief he personally attacks during mass.
- 1135 – Alfonso VII of Spain is crowned.
- 1293 – An earthquake in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, kills 30,000 people.
- 1538 – Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city.
- 1573 – The Battle of Haarlemmermeer takes place, as a naval battle in the Dutch War of Independence.
- 1644 – Portuguese Restoration War: Battle of Montijo – Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory.
- 1647 – Alse Young is hanged in Hartford, Connecticut. This is the first "witchcraft" execution in the British American colonies.
- 1659 – The "Great Fire" destroys more than half of the city of Stade.
- 1770 – The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Ottoman Empire, ends in disaster for the Greeks.
- 1805 – Napoleon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy.
- 1822 – The Grue Church fire in Norway kills 116 people.
- 1828 – Feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered walking around Nuremberg. To this day, his early days remain a mystery.
- 1830 – The Indian Removal Act is passed by the United States Congress, and is signed by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
- 1864 – Montana is organised as a US territory.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Edmund Kirby Smith becomes the last Confederate general to surrender.
- 1868 – End of the impeachment trial of US President Andrew Johnson.
- 1869 – Boston University is chartered by Massachusetts.
- 1879 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak, establishing an Afghan state.
- 1896 – Nicholas II of Russia becomes Tsar.
- 1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first  edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1897 – The novel _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker is published.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1906 – The Vauxhall Bridge in London is opened.
- 1908 – The first commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made at Masjed Soleyman in what is then known as Persia.
- 1917 – Several tornadoes occur in Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101.
- 1918 – Georgia (country) declares independence.
- 1923 – The first 24-hour motor car race at Le Mans, France, takes place.
- 1938 – In the United States, the House of Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
- 1940 – World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Gazala takes place.
- 1966 – Guyana gains independence (separates) from the United Kingdom.
- 1969 – Apollo 10 returns to Earth.
- 1971 – The Pakistan Army massacres over 70 Hindus in Sylhet, present-day Bangladesh.
- 1972 – Willandra National Park in Australia is created.
- 1972 – The United States and Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1977 – George Willig climbs the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 1981 – Prime Minister of Italy Arnaldo Forlani and his cabinet resign.
- 1981 – An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight carrier USS _Nimitz_ (CVN-68), killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45.
- 1983 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes Japan.
- 1986 – The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes President of Georgia.
- 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767 plane, crashes in Bangkok, killing 223 people.
- 1992 – The blockade of Dubrovnik is broken.
- 1998 – The United States Supreme Court rules that Ellis Island is mainly in New Jersey, not New York.

### From 2001

- 2002 – The tugboat _Robert Y. Love_ collides with the support pier of Interstate 40 on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, killing 14 people and injuring 11.
- 2004 – US Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2008 – Severe flooding begins in Eastern and Southern China. The floods go on to kill 148 people and lead to the evacuation of 1.3 million.
- 2011 – Wanted on war crimes charges, Ratko Mladic is captured in Serbia.
- 2012 – Loreen wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 for Sweden in Baku, Azerbaijan.
- 2014 – Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister of India.
- 2017 – Militants carry out a shooting at a bus carrying Coptic Christians in central Egypt, killing 28 people.
- 2018 – Real Madrid C.F. defeat Liverpool F.C. 3–1 in the UEFA Champions League final, winning the competition for the third time in-a-row, and meaning that Madrid–based teams have won both major European club trophies in the season.
- 2019 – The 2019 elections to the European Parliament are completed; Far-right and Green political parties increase their number of seats.

### Up to 1900

- 1264 – Prince Koreyasu, Japanese shogun (d. 1326)
- 1478 – Pope Clement VII (d. 1554)
- 1566 – Mehmed III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1603)
- 1602 – Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (d. 1674)
- 1623 – William Petty, English economist and philosopher (d. 1687)
- 1650 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
- 1667 – Abraham de Moivre, French mathematician (d. 1754)
- 1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
- 1700 – Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer (d. 1760)
- 1764 – Edward Livingston, United States Secretary of State (d. 1836)
- 1810 – Christen Kobke, Danish painter (d. 1848)
- 1822 – Edmond de Goncourt, French author and critic (d. 1896)
- 1826 – Richard Christopher Carrington, English astronomer (d. 1875)
- 1863 – Bob Fitzsimmons, English-New Zealand boxer (d. 1917)
- 1867 – Mary of Teck, Queen Consort to King George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
- 1873 – Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian artist (d. 1958)
- 1873 – Hans Ludendorff, German astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1941)
- 1878 – Thomas H. Moodie, Governor of North Dakota (d. 1948)
- 1880 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (d. 1967)
- 1881 – Adolfo de la Huerta, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Frank C. Emerson, Governor of Wyoming (d. 1931)
- 1883 – Mamie Smith, American singer (d. 1946)
- 1883 – Peter Kürten, German serial killer (d. 1931)
- 1886 – Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Ba U, 2nd President of Burma (d. 1963)
- 1893 – Eugene Aynsley Goossens, English conductor and composer (d. 1962)
- 1895 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (d. 1965)
- 1899 – Antoine Barrette, 18th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1904 – George Formby, British musician (d. 1961)
- 1904 – Vlado Perlemuter, Lithuanian-born French pianist and teacher (d. 2002)
- 1906 – Márcio Melo, Brazilian military officer and politician (d. 1991)
- 1907 – John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1908 – Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Vietnamese politician (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Matt Busby, Scottish football player and manager (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Mexican politician (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Imi Lichtenfeld, Hungarian-Israeli martial artist (d. 1998)
- 1910 – Laurance Rockefeller, American billionaire (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Henry Ephron, American playwright, screenwriter and producer (d. 1992)
- 1912 – János Kádár, Hungarian politician (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Moondog, American musician, composer and poet (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Eva Szorenyi, Hungarian actress and activist (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Ruben Gonzalez, Cuban musician (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Inge Borkh, German soprano (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Walter Laqueur, German-American historian and publicist (d. 2018)
- 1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Roy Dotrice, British actor (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Horst Tappert, German actor (d. 2008)
- 1925 – Alec McCowen, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Miles Davis, American trumpeter, composer and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1928 – Jack Kevorkian, American assisted suicide advocate (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Catherine Sauvage, French singer and actress (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Edward Whittemore, American author (d. 1995)
- 1936 – Beth Whittall, Canadian swimmer (d. 2015)
- 1936 – David Stevens, Baron Stevens of Ludgate, English politician
- 1937 – Paul Patton, former Governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky
- 1938 – Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian writer, writer and playwright
- 1939 – Merab Kostava, Georgian activist (d. 1989)
- 1939 – Herb Trimpe, American comic book artist and writer (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Levon Helm, American musician and actor (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Aldrich Ames, CIA counter-intelligence officer
- 1941 – Jim Dobbin, Scottish politician (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Sam Posey, American racing driver, TV commentator and writer
- 1945 – René Féret, French actor, screenwriter, director and producer (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer
- 1945 – Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian politician, 17th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2012)
- 1946 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist (d. 1993)
- 1946 – Simon Hoggart, English journalist (d. 2014)
- 1948 – Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
- 1949 – Jeremy Corbyn, British politician, leader of the Labour Party
- 1949 – Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer
- 1949 – Pam Grier, American actress
- 1949 – Anne McGuire, Scottish politician
- 1949 – Hank Williams, Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Sally Ride, American astronaut and physicist (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Ramón Calderón, Spanish lawyer and President of Real Madrid
- 1953 – Michael Portillo, British politician
- 1954 – Alan Hollinghurst, British writer
- 1955 – Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef
- 1956 – Lisa Niemi, American actress
- 1956 – Ricky Sbragia, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1957 – Diomedes Díaz, Colombian singer and composer (d. 2013)
- 1958 – Howard Goodall, English composer
- 1959 – Ole Bornedal, Norwegian actor, director and producer
- 1961 – Tarsem Singh, Indian-American director
- 1962 – Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor and comedian
- 1962 – Black, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1963 – Simon Armitage, English author, poet and playwright
- 1963 – Mary Nightingale, English news presenter
- 1964 – Valery Salov, Russian chess player
- 1964 – Lenny Kravitz, American singer
- 1964 – Paul Okalik, Canadian politician, 1st Premier of Nunavut
- 1964 – Caitlin R. Kiernan, Irish-American paleontologist and author
- 1965 – Hazel Irvine, Scottish television presenter
- 1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- 1966 – Zola Budd, South African athlete
- 1966 – Shona Robison, Scottish politician
- 1968 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
- 1968 – Pat Kenney, American baseball player, wrestler and agent
- 1969 – John Baird, Canadian politician
- 1970 – Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese mangaka
- 1971 – Matt Stone, American animator and movie maker
- 1971 – Ivan O. Godfroid, writer
- 1972 – Patsy Palmer, English actress
- 1972 – Alan White, English drummer
- 1975 – Travis Lee, American baseball player
- 1975 – Nicki Lynn Aycox, American actress
- 1975 – Kwasi Kwarteng, British politician

### From 1976

- 1977 – Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Nikos Hatzivrettas, Greek basketball player
- 1977 – Mark Hunter, American musician
- 1978 – Dan Parks, Australian-Scottish rugby player
- 1978 – Jaheim, American singer
- 1979 – Amanda Bauer, American astronomer
- 1979 – Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
- 1979 – Ashley Massaro, American professional wrestler, television host and model (d. 2019)
- 1979 – Mehmet Okur, Turkish basketball player
- 1981 – Eda-Ines Etti, Estonian singer
- 1981 – Jason Manford, English comedian
- 1981 – Irini Merkouri, Greek singer
- 1981 – Razvan Rat, Romanian footballer
- 1981 – Ben Zobrist, American baseball player
- 1983 – Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Spanish-French actress
- 1986 – Matt Oivanen, Finnish volleyball player
- 1987 – Josh Thomas, Australian comedian, actor and writer
- 1988 – Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Colombian footballer
- 1989 – Tomas Pekhart, Czech footballer
- 1989 – Amit Farkash, Canadian-Israeli actress
- 1991 – Amber Bondin, Maltese singer
- 1991 – Julianna Rose Mauriello, American actress and dancer
- 1999 – Kerry Ingram, English actress
- 2001 – Megan Charpentier, Canadian actress

### Up to 1900

- 451 – Saint Vartan Mamikonian, Armenian warrior
- 604 – Augustine of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 735 – Bede, English monk, historian and theologian (b. 672)
- 818 – Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (b. 766)
- 946 – King Edmund I of England (b. 921)
- 1055 – Margrave Adalbert of Austria
- 1421 – Mehmed I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1389)
- 1512 – Bayezid II, Ottoman Sultan
- 1536 – Francesco Berni, Italian poet
- 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian churchman (b. 1515)
- 1647 – Alse Young, American woman executed for witchcraft (b. 1600)
- 1648 – Vincent Voiture, French poet (b. 1597)
- 1653 – Robert Filmer, English writer (b. 1588)
- 1679 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
- 1685 – Karl II, Elector Palatine (b. 1651)
- 1703 – Samuel Pepys, English civil servant and diarist (b. 1633)
- 1742 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1672)
- 1762 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher (b. 1714)
- 1799 – James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
- 1824 – Capel Lofft, English writer (b. 1751)
- 1828 – John Oxley, British officer and explorer (b. 1785)
- 1831 – Ciro Menotti, Italian patriot (b. 1798)
- 1840 – Sidney Smith, British admiral (b. 1764)
- 1845 – Jónas Hallgrímsson, Icelandic poet (b. 1807)
- 1881 – Jakob Bernays, German philologist (b. 1824)
- 1883 – Edward Sabine, Irish astronomer (b. 1788)
- 1883 – Abd al-Qadir, Algerian political and military leader (b. 1808)
- 1888 – Ascanio Sobrero, Italian chemist (b. 1812)
- 1895 – Ahmet Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman statesman (b. 1822)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1902 – Almon Strowger, American inventor (b. 1839)
- 1904 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French neurologist (b. 1857)
- 1907 – Ida Saxton McKinley, First Lady of the United States (b. 1847)
- 1908 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Punjabi founder of the Qadianism (b. 1839)
- 1914 – Jacob August Riis, Danish-American journalist, photographer and reformer (b. 1849)
- 1924 – Victor Herbert, Irish composer (b. 1859)
- 1926 – Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (b. 1879)
- 1933 – Horatio Bottomley, British financier and politician (b. 1860)
- 1933 – Jimmie Rodgers, American singer (b. 1897)
- 1939 – Charles Horace Mayo, American medical practitioner (Mayo Clinic) (b. 1865)
- 1943 – Edsel Ford, American automobile executive (b. 1893)
- 1943 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish composer, organist and educator (b. 1864)
- 1948 – Theodore Morell, Hitler's personal physician (b. 1886)
- 1951 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American scientist and polar explorer (b. 1880)
- 1954 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete (b. 1900)
- 1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1968 – Little Willie John, American R&B singer (b. 1937)
- 1969 – Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 1969 – Allan Haines Loughead, American aviation pioneer and engineer (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (b. 1941)
- 1976 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (b. 1889)
- 1979 – George Brent, British actor (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Don Revie, English footballer and manager (b. 1927)
- 1995 – Friz Freleng, American animator (b. 1905)
- 1999 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (b. 1906)
- 1999 – Waldo Semon, American inventor (b. 1898)

### From 2001

- 2001 – Vittorio Brambilla, Italian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 2001 – Roger Brocksom, English engineer and soldier (b. 1919)
- 2001 – Anne Haney, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Kathleen Winsor, American writer (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Dullah Omar, South African lawyer and politician (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Krzysztof Nowak, Polish footballer (b. 1975)
- 2005 – Sangoulé Lamizana, President of Burkina Faso (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Édouard Michelin, CEO of Michelin (b. 1963)
- 2006 – C. H. Patterson, American psychologist (b. 1912)
- 2008 – Sydney Pollack, American actor (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Jack Vance, American mystery, fantasy and science fiction writer (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Manuel Uribe, Mexican computer repairman, was once the world's heaviest man (b. 1965)
- 2015 – Vicente Aranda, Spanish movie director (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Les Johnson, Australian politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Dayton Waller, American politician (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Rocky Frisco, American pianist (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Bob Hornery, Australian actor (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Robert Craft, American astronomer (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Kazimierz Barburski, Polish fencer (b. 1942)
- 2016 – Loris Francesco Capovilla, Italian cardinal (b. 1915)
- 2016 – Ted Dumitru, Romanian football manager (b. 1939)
- 2016 – Hedy Epstein, German-American Holocaust survivor and activist (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Angela Paton, American actress (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Arturo Pomar, Spanish chess player (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Bob Williams, American football player (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Toni Bertorelli, Italian actor (b. 1948)
- 2017 – Laura Biagiotti, Italian fashion designer (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political scientist and diplomat (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Jim Bunning, American baseball player and politician (b. 1931)
- 2018 – Alan Bean, American astronaut (b. 1932)
- 2018 – Pierre Bellemare, French television presenter, actor and radio personality (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Ted Dabney, American electrical engineer (b. 1937)
- 2018 – Roger Piantoni, French footballer (b. 1931)
- 2018 – Svetlin Rusev, Bulgarian artist (b. 1933)
- 2018 – Antonio Pujía, Italian-Argentine sculptor (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Abdel Latif El Zein, Lebanese politician (b. 1932)
- 2019 – Harry Hood, Scottish footballer (b. 1944)
- 2019 – Ibrahim Lame, Nigerian educator and politician (b. 1953)
- 2019 – Bart Starr, American football player and coach (b. 1934)
- 2019 – Stephen Thorne, British actor (b. 1935)
- 2019 – Prem Tinsulanonda, Prime minister and Regent of Thailand (b. 1920)
- 2019 – Vittorio Zucconi, Italian-American journalist and writer (b. 1944)

## Observances

- Independence Day in Georgia and Guyana
- Crown Prince's Birthday (Denmark)
- Mother's Day (Poland)
- National Sorry Day (Australia)
- National Book Day (Uruguay)