On This Day In ...

• Feb 26 1898: Following several stormy days, the Belgica, under the command of Andrien de Gerlache, encounters open water to the south. Despite the apprehensions of the crew, de Gerlache continues heading south.
• Feb 26 1904: Discovery and Terra Nova continue west along the Antarctic coast although progress is often impeded by heavy pack ice.
• Feb 26 1977: Establishment of the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island in the South Shetlands.

• Feb 26 1949: Birth of Elizabeth George, author of complex crime novels, in Warren, Ohio, USA.
• Feb 26 2002: Publication of The Years of Rice and Salt, an alternate history novel by Kim Stanley Robinson.
• Feb 26 2005: Alan Hunter, writer of crime fiction featuring Inspector Gently, died in Norfolk, England, at the age of 82.

• Feb 26 1879: Frank Bridge, composer, born in Brighton, England.
• Feb 26 1935: World première performance of Bizet's Symphony in C Major, in Basel, Switzerland, sixty years after the composer's death.
• Feb 26 1982: World première performance of Grand Pianola Music, composed by John Adams, in San Francisco, USA.

• Feb 26 1767: Thomas Pennant, naturalist, antiquary and correspondent of Gilbert White, elected a Fellow the Royal Society.
• Feb 26 1818: William Buckland elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, London.
• Feb 26 1833: HMS Beagle leaves Tierra del Fuego and in stormy seas heads east to the Falkland Islands.
• Feb 26 1939: Arthur Philemon Coleman, especially known for studies in Quaternary geology, died at the age of 86.

• Feb 26 1798: David Thompson leaves McDonnell's House to travel down the Assiniboine River valley to its junction with the Red River, surveying as he went.
• Feb 26 1909: Norwood School, at 111th Avenue and 95th Street, Edmonton, opens.
• Feb 26 2016: Don Getty, 11th Premier of Alberta (1985-1992), died in Edmonton, Alberta, at the age of 82.

• Feb 26 2014: Questions & Collections IV: Research at the Museum lecture series, third of six presentations: "A Geological Pattern Mystery: How patterns large and small provide insight into Earth's history" given by Melissa Bowerman.

This presentation has been compiled and is © 1998-2012 by
Alwynne B. Beaudoin (bluebulrush@gmail.com)
Last updated March 12, 2012
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