On This Day In ...
...Antarctic Exploration and Discovery
- 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.
...Western Canadian History
- 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.
...Royal Alberta Museum History
- 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.