History of 26 May
1908 – In Persia, the first oil strike was made in the Middle East.
1913 – Actors’ Equity Association was organized in New York City.
1926 – In Morocco, rebel leader Abd el Krim surrendered.
1938 – The House Committee on Un-American Activities began its work of searching for subversives in the United States.
1940 – The evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.
1946 – A patent was filed in the United States for an H-bomb.
1946 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed a military pact with Russian leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin promised a “close collaboration after the war.”
1948 – The U.S. Congress passed Public Law 557 which permanently established the Civil Air Patrol as the Auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force.
1956 – The first trailer bank opened for business in Locust Grove, Long Island, NY. The 46-foot-long trailer took in $100,000 in deposits its first day.
1958 – Union Square, San Francisco became a state historical landmark.
1959 – The word “Frisbee” became a registered trademark of Wham-O.
1961 – Civil rights activist group Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee was established in Atlanta, GA.
1961 – A U.S. Air Force bomber flew across the Atlantic in a record time of just over three hours.
1969 – The Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.
1972 – The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) was signed by the U.S. and USSR. The short-term agreement put a freeze on the testing and deployment of intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles for a 5-year period.
1973 – Kathy Schmidt set an American women’s javelin record with a throw of 207 feet, 10 inches.
1975 – American stuntman Evel Knievel suffered severe spinal injuries in Britain when he crashed while attempting to jump 13 buses in his car.
1977 – George H. Willig was arrested after he scaled the South Tower of New York’s World Trade Center. It took him 3 1/2 hours.
1978 – The first legal casino in the Eastern U.S. opened in Atlantic City, NJ.
1987 – Sri Lanka launched Operation Liberation. It was an offensive against the Tamil rebellion in Jaffra.
1988 – The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth NHL Stanley Cup in five seasons. They swept the series 4 games to 0 against the Boston Bruins.
1994 – U.S. President Clinton renewed trade privileges for China, and announced that his administration would no longer link China’s trade status with its human rights record.
1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island was mainly in New Jersey, not New York.
1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled those police officers in high-speed chases are liable for bystander injuries only if their “actions shock the conscience.”
1998 – The Grand Princess cruise ship made its inaugural cruise. The ship measured 109,000 tons and cost approximately $450 million, making it the largest and most expensive cruise ship ever built.
1998 – The United States Senate approved legislation that allowed the U.S. Mint flexibility on how the mandatory inscriptions on the Washington quarter could be placed. H.R. 3301 allowed the mandatory inscriptions to be moved to the front of the quarter for the 50 States Circulating Commemorative Coin Program.
1999 – Manchester United complete an unprecedented Treble as they beat Bayern Munich 2-1 to add their second European Cup triumph to their Premier League and FA Cup success, becoming the first and only English club to achieve the feat.
2002 – The tugboat Robert Y. Love collides with a support pier of Interstate 40 on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, resulting in 14 deaths and 11 others injured.
2004 – United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
2008 – Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Robert Copeland, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Jason Manford, English actor, screenwriter, and television host
- 1981 – Isaac Slade, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1981 – Ben Zobrist, American baseball player
- 1982 – Sten Lassmann, Estonian pianist
- 1982 – Hasan Kabze, Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer
- 1983 – Henry Holland, English fashion designer
- 1983 – Nathan Merritt, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Monika Christodoulou, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Ashley Vincent, English footballer
- 1986 – Michel Tornéus, Swedish long jumper
- 1987 – Olcay Şahan, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Josh Thomas, Australian comedian, and actor
- 1988 – Andrea Castellani, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Will Chambers, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 – Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Colombian footballer
- 1988 – Dani Samuels, Australian discus thrower
- 1988 – Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Damian Williams, American football player
- 1989 – Paula Findlay, Canadian triathlete
- 1991 – Ah Young, South Korean singer, and actress
- 1992 – Curtis Rona, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993 – Jason Adesanya, Belgian footballer
- 1993 – Dan Sarginson, Australian-English rugby league player
- 1993 – Katerine Savard, Canadian swimmer
- 1993 – Jimmy Vesey, American ice hockey player
- 1996 – Lara Goodall, South African cricketer
- 2007 – Kieran Halfpenny, a soon to be an actor.