May 26

Events
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.
Births
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 Kurten, 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 - Marcio 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 - Janos Kadar, 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 - Rene Feret, 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 - Ramon Calderon, 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 Diaz, 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
Deaths
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 - Jonas Hallgrimsson, 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 Tegner, 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 - 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 - Sangoule Lamizana, President of Burkina Faso (b. 1916)
2006 - Edouard 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 Pujia, 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)
Days of the year