more events on May 26
-
1977
The movie Star Wars debuts.
-
1969
Apollo 10 returns to Earth.
-
1961
A U.S. Air Force bomber flies across the Atlantic in a record of just over three hours.
-
The civil rights activist group, Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee, is established in Atlanta.
-
1958
Union Square, San Francisco, becomes a state historical landmark.
-
1951
Sally Ride, astronaut, the first American woman in space.
-
1946
A patent is filed in the United States for the H-bomb.
-
1940
The evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk begins.
-
1938
The House Committee on Un-American Activities begins its work of searching for subversives in the United States.
-
1923
James Arness, actor (Gunsmoke).
-
1920
Peggy Lee, jazz singer.
-
1919
Jay Silverheels, actor (The Lone Ranger).
-
1907
John Wayne [Marion Michael Morrison], American actor and film icon.
-
1903
Estes Kefauver, Tennessee senator.
-
1896
The last czar of Russia, Nicholas II, is crowned.
-
1895
Dorothea Lange, documentary photographer.
-
1886
Al Jolson, jazz singer and film actor.
-
1883
Mamie Smith, blues singer.
-
1868
President Andrew Johnson is acquitted of all charges of impeachment.
-
1865
The last Confederate army surrenders in Shreveport, Louisiana.
-
1864
The territory of Montana is organized.
-
1835
Edward Porter Alexander, artillery general during the American Civil War.
-
A resolution is passed in the U.S. Congress stating that Congress has no authority over state slavery laws.
-
1831
The Russians defeat the Poles at the Battle of Ostroleka.
-
1736
British and Chickasaw forces defeat the French at the Battle of Ackia.
-
1691
Jacob Leisler, leader of the popular uprising in support of William and Mary’s succession to the throne, is executed for treason.
-
1670
Charles II and Louis XIV sign a secret treaty in Dover, England, ending hostilities between England and France.
-
1667
Abraham De Moivre, mathematician.
-
1647
A new law bans Catholic priests from the colony of Massachusetts. The penalty is banishment or death for a second offense.
-
1328
William of Ockham is forced to flee from Avignon by Pope John XXII.
-
17
Germanicus of Rome celebrates his victory over the Germans.