February 26th
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the island of Elba.
1870
A 312-ft long pneumatic subway was opened in New York City; funding for a larger version never materialized.
1919
Grand Canyon National Park was established.
1935
RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) was first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt.
1935
The New York Yankees released Babe Ruth. Ruth signed with the Boston Braves for $20,000 and a share in the team's profits.
1993
A bomb exploded at the World Trade Center in New York. The blast killed six people and injured more than 1,000.
Birthdays
81 Fats Domino R&B singer
66 Bill Duke Actor, director
59 Jonathan Cain Rock musician (Journey)
56 Michael Bolton Singer
51 Greg Germann Actor ("Ally McBeal")
41 Tim Commerford Rock musician (Audioslave)
83 Victor Hugo 2/26/1802 - 5/22/1885 French poet, novelist and dramatist
73 Levi Strauss 2/26/1829 - 9/26/1902 German-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans
70 William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) 2/26/1846 - 1/10/1917 American buffalo hunter and Indian scout
91 John Harvey Kellogg 2/26/1852 - 12/14/1943 American physician who developed dry cereal
64 Herbert H. Dow 2/26/1866 - 10/15/1930 American founder of Dow Chemical Co.
91 Rudolph Dirks 2/26/1877 - 4/20/1968 American cartoonist of "Katzenjammer Kids"
63 Grover Cleveland Alexander 2/26/1887 - 11/4/1950 Hall of Fame baseball player
71 Jackie Gleason 2/26/1916 - 6/24/1987 American comedian, actor and musician (The Honeymooners)
84 Tony Randall 2/26/1920 - 5/17/2004 American comic and actor
71 Johnny Cash 2/26/1932 - 9/12/2003 Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter.