FEB 26
- 1616 - Roman Inquisition delivered injunction to Galileo Galilei if he abandons his belief in heliocentrism (i.e. Earth and planets revolve around the Sun).
- 1797 - Bank of England issued first £1 note.
- 1863 - USA: Abraham Lincoln signed National Currency Act to establish single national US currency.
- 1932 - Birthday: Johnny Cash, American country singer born in Kingsland, Arkansas.
- 1935 - Adolf Hitler secretly authorized formation of the Luftwaffe with Hermann Goring commander-in-chief.
- 1936 - Adolf Hitler introduced Ferdinand Porsche's "Volkswagen"
- 1991 - Highway of Death - Coalition planes bombed Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait during the Gulf War.
- 1993 - USA: A truck bomb exploded in parking garage of NYC World Trade Center, killed 6 and injuring over 1,000 in what was the deadliest act of terrorism committed on US soil at that time.
- 2001 - Afghanistan: The Taliban destroyed two giant Buddha statues in Bamyan.
- 2013 - Egypt: A hot air balloon crashed in Luxor, killed 19 tourists.
- 2015 - Earl Lloyd, 1st African American basketball player in the NBA died at 86.
- 2018 - Norway: Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, received its 1 millionth seed on its 10 year anniversary.
- 2018 - Papa New Guinea: 7.5 magnitude earthquake in central region killed 100+ people.
- 2020 - Saudi Arabia barred overseas pilgrims from accessing religious sites of Mecca and Medina due to coronavirus fears.