February 26
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Featured Event
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.15
Napoleon escapes exile
On this day in 1815, Napoleon, who had been banished to the island of Elba by a coalition of European powers the previous year, escaped exile and attempted to make a comeback. He sailed to France and headed to Paris; French troops sent to stop him joined his forces. However, they were no match for the might of the troops commanded by the duke of Wellington (consisting of British, Dutch, Belgian, and German units). Thus ensued the military campaign known as the Hundred Days, during which Napoleon attempted to rule France and command its army once more. He was, however, no match for the duke of Ellington’s troops, and his leadership ended with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and banishment to the island of St. Helena. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Darryl Pitt/Retna Ltd.
Born this day in 1932, singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, known to his fans as the “Man in Black” and a member of the Country Music and Rock and Roll halls of fame, broadened the scope of American country and western music.
Famous Birthdays
More on February 26
UPI/Alamy
2012
Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by a neighborhood-watch volunteer who claimed that he had acted in self-defense. His acquittal in July 2013 was widely perceived as a miscarriage of justice and led to nationwide protests that led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement. [Read about the controversial laws referenced during the trial.]
Richard Drew/AP Images
1993
A truck bomb exploded in the garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000. Six men were eventually convicted of what was, at that time, the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
© 1953 Columbia Pictures
1951
American novelist James Jones published From Here to Eternity, about the U.S. Army in Hawaii before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor; it was later adapted into an Academy Award–winning movie. [Explore a list of all the movies that have won an Academy Award for best picture.]
© Digital Vision/Getty Images
1929
Grand Teton National Park was established in Wyoming; in 1950 it was expanded to include most of Jackson Hole National Monument. [Take our quiz about national parks and landmarks.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1928
Fats Domino, a rhythm-and-blues standout who became one of the first rock-and-roll stars, was born in New Orleans. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. [Take our quiz about notable musicians.]
© Gary Ladd
1919
U.S. Congress established Grand Canyon National Park in northwestern Arizona. [Watch a video about the geologic history of the Grand Canyon.]
State Library of Victoria, Australia, gift of Mr. Allan C. Green (accession no. H91.325/996)
1914
The Britannic was launched at a shipyard in Belfast less than two years after the sinking of its sister ship, the Titanic. Like the Titanic, the Britannic sank, but with significantly fewer casualties. [How much do you know about the Britannic’s sister ship?]
Chronicle /Alamy
1885
The Berlin Conference concluded, in which major European countries staked and justified their colonial claims to Central Africa. Afterward, European claims to African territory increased in pace—part of the Scramble for Africa, which was already underway. [Watch: The Scramble for Africa explained.]
Archives Photographiques, Paris
1802
Victor Hugo, a poet, novelist, and dramatist who was one of the most important of the French Romantic writers, was born in Besançon. [Discover how well you know famous novels.]