What happened This day in History on May 26th

For Those With Birthdays 26th May looking for specific year these years are Included on this date 1896, 1897, 1930, 1940, 1948, 1950, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, Born This Day,
1940 France The Dunkirk Evacuation 26th May 1940 : The Dunkirk evacuation begins "Operation Dynamo" was launched for the evacuation of British, French and Belgian soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France, they were rescued by a flotilla of any and every craft that could make the channel crossing which included fishing boats, pleasure craft and The Royal Navy and the new British Spitfire fighters helped provide air cover. The evacuation ended on 4th June.

1896 U.S.A. Dow Jones 26th May 1896 : The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published. The average price of the 12 initial stocks was 40.94
General Electric The only company still in existence and trading under original name.
American Cotton Oil Company, now part of Unilever
American Sugar Company, now Amstar Holdings
American Tobacco Company, Broken Up
Chicago Gas Company, now part of Integrys Energy Group, Inc.
Distilling & Cattle Feeding Company, now part of Lyondell Chemical Company
Laclede Gas Light Company, still in operation as The Laclede Group
National Lead Company, now NL Industries
North American Company, Broken Up
Tennessee Coal part of U.S. Steel
U.S. Leather Company Gone
United States Rubber Company part of Michelin





1896 Russia Nicholas II 26th May 1896 : Following the death of his father Czar Alexander III in 1894, the last Czar of Russia Nicholas II is crowned ruler of Russia, In 1917, the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seize power from Czar Nicholas II and set about establishing the world's first communist state.

1897 England Dracula 26th May 1897 : The vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, goes on sale in London bookshops

1930 U.S.A. Banks Closing 26th May 1930 : The Reynoldsburg State Bank in Columbus Ohio closed its doors as a result of frozen assets . This was just 1 news story that we found for a bank closing it's doors in 1930 but was being repeated throughout the country with thousands of small banks after the stock market collapse the previous year.

1948 South Africa Apartheid 26th May 1948 : The National Party of the Dutch Afrikaners headed by Daniel François Malan who had been campaigning on the policy of implementing full scale apartheid came to power and begin the policy of apartheid.

1948 U.S.A. Public Housing Building Program 26th May 1948 : A major bill is before congress to provide additional Public Housing from federal funding , currently there are major problems and many of the homes built to put a roof over the head of poorer families are being rented to affluent single bachelors . So many of these projects that were designed to help the most needy are now in the hands of some of those who are in the high income bracket of $4,000 to $6,000 per year and a full reform is needed including the administration of these projects.

1950 Germany Berlin Divided 26th May 1950 : In Berlin as both sides prepare for the unity parade by east German youth this weekend tensions are running high as Britain talks to the Russians about allowing free elections, many believe that instead of a united Berlin as part of a United Germany we could well end up with a city divided by political doctrine.

1950 England Petrol Rationing Ends 26th May 1950 : After 11 years petrol rationing finally ends in Great Britain and the British People tear up petrol rationing books which have been in use since the beginning of World War II in 1939.

1969 Canada John Lennon 26th May 1969 : Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono stage a public 'bed in' for world peace - staying in bed for a week in a hotel in Montreal.

1969 U.S.A. Apollo 10 26th May 1969 : Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a mission that served as a dress rehearsal for the first moon landing.

1972 U.S.A. Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty 26th May 1972 : President Nixon signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty on behalf of the United States the treaty puts a limit on the number of antiballistic missile sites in USA and Russia.

1975 U.S.A. Alternative Energy Sources 26th May 1975 : Secretary of State Henry Kissinger today outlined a trillion dollar programme to save oil consuming nations from being held hostage by the worlds oil producing nations including the increased use of Nuclear Power and funding to find alternative forms of energy. This is in response to the oil producing nations saying a sixth increase in oil prices can be expected later this year



1977 U.S.A. George Willig 26th May 1977 : George Willig climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

1981 Italy Cabinet Resigns 26th May 1981 : The Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the P2 (Propaganda Two) Masonic lodge.

1989 China Tiananmen Square 26th May 1989 : Following the communist party stripping power from moderate party chief Zhao Ziyang of power student protesters are leaving Tiananmen Square by the thousands , at one point the number of protesters was estimated at 100,000 in the square but the number is now down to 15,000 , it is now a waiting game by the protesters to see what the new much harder line administration will decide to do to break up the demonstration.

1991 Thailand Plane Crash In Jungle 26th May 1991 : A Boeing 767 crashes into the jungle near Bangkok, Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.

1994 Dominican Republic Michael Jackson 26th May 1994 : Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley in the Dominican Republic.

2000 South Lebanon Israel Leaves 26th May 2000 : Hezbollah announces that its fighters will soon pull out of southern Lebanon, now that the Israelis have withdrawn.

2004 U.S.A. Oklahoma City Bombing 26th May 2004 : Terry Nichols was found guilty of 161 state murder charges for being an accomplice to Timothy McVeigh who carried out the Oklahoma City bombing.

Germany 2006 Germany Largest European Railway Station Opens 26th May, 2006 : The largest railway station in Europe opened in Berlin, Germany. The Hauptbahnhof, as it was called, cost over 700 million euros to build over a period of eight years. The celebration of the opening was interrupted when a man attacked the crowd with a knife, injuring nineteen people.

2008 China Single Child Rule Relaxed For Earthquake Families 26th May 2008 : Following the devastating earthquake in the Chengdu area the "Chengdu Population and Family Planning Committee" will allow couples whose only child was killed or severely injured during the earthquake to have one more child. The single child rule was bought in during the 1970's when population growth in China caused concerns in the Chinese Government over over population.
This Day In History For Tomorrow May 27th Day After May 28th Or You Can Use Our Calendar at the top of the page to find the day or month you are looking for

Georgia 2009 Georgia Thousands Gather in Protest in Georgia 26th May, 2009 : Over 50,000 people gathered to protest against the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili. The opposition supporters demanded the president's resignation in a large protest in Tbsilisi, the capital, on the nation's independence day. The gathering was just one of many daily rallies that opposition party had been staging.

Germany 2012 Germany Nazi War Criminal Dies
26th May, 2012 : Klaas Carel Faber, convicted Nazi war criminal, died at the age of ninety in Germany. Faber served on an SS unit and was sentenced to death in 1947 for the death of twenty-two Jewish people. His term was later commuted to life but he had escaped in 1952 and went to Germany where he was able to live as a free man because the country refused to extradite him.