May 26

What happened that day?

• 2008: Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
• 2004: United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
• 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.
• 1998: The first "National Sorry Day" was held in Australia, and reconciliation events were held nationally, and attended by over a million people.
• 1998: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
• 1991: Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
• 1986: The European Community adopts the European flag.
• 1983: The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.
• 1981: An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others.
• 1981: Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
• 1972: The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
• 1971: [Bangladesh](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh) Liberation War: The Pakistan Army slaughters at least 71 Hindus in Burunga, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
• 1970: The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
• 1969: Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.
• 1966: British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
• 1948: The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 80-557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
• 1942: World War II: The Battle of Gazala takes place.
• 1940: World War II: The Siege of Calais ends with the surrender of the British and French garrison.
• 1940: World War II: Operation Dynamo: In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
• 1938: In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
• 1936: In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation Bill. By the time he sits down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken for ten hours.
• 1923: The first 24 Hours of Le Mans was held and has since been run annually in June.
• 1918: The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
• 1917: Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon, killing 101 people and injuring 689.
• 1908: At Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
• 1900: Thousand Days' War: The Colombian Conservative Party turns the tide of war in their favor with victory against the Colombian Liberal Party in the Battle of Palonegro.
• 1897: The original manuscript of William Bradford's history, "Of Plymouth Plantation" is returned to the Governor of Massachusetts by the Bishop of London after being taken during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1897: Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, is published.
• 1896: Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
• 1896: Nicholas II becomes the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.
• 1879: Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
• 1869: Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• 1868: The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson ends with his acquittal by one vote.
• 1865: American Civil War: The Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last full general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.
• 1864: Montana is organized as a United States territory.
• 1857: Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
• 1830: The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
• 1822: One hundred sixteen people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway's history.
• 1821: Establishment of the Peloponnesian Senate by the Greek rebels.
• 1805: Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in [Milan](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan) Cathedral, the gothic cathedral in Milan.
• 1783: A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut, celebrated the end of fighting in American Revolution.
• 1770: The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Ottoman Empire before the Greek War of Independence, ends in disaster for the Greeks.
• 1736: The Battle of Ackia was fought near the present site of Tupelo, Mississippi. British and Chickasaw soldiers repelled a French and Choctaw attack on the then-Chickasaw village of Ackia.
• 1644: Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory in the Battle of Montijo.
• 1637: [Pequot](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequot) War: A combined English and Mohegan force under John Mason attacks a village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Pequots.
• 1573: The Battle of Haarlemmermeer, a naval engagement in the Dutch War of Independence.
• 1538: Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
• 1328: William of Ockham, the Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.
• 1293: An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.
• 1135: Alfonso VII of León and Castile is crowned in León Cathedral as Imperator totius Hispaniae (Emperor of all of Spain).
• 961: King Otto I elects his 6-year-old son Otto II as heir apparent and co-ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. He is crowned at Aachen, and placed under the tutelage of his grandmother Matilda.
• 946: King Edmund I of England is murdered by a thief whom he personally attacks while celebrating St Augustine's Mass Day.
• 451: Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire takes place. The Sasanids defeat the Armenians militarily but guaranty them freedom to openly practice Christianity.
• AD 17: Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
• 47 BC: Julius Caesar visits Tarsus on his way to Pontus, where he meets enthusiastic support, but where, according to Cicero, Cassius is planning to kill him at this point.