Historical timeline for February 26

The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.

A total of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 are kidnapped by bandits in the Zamfara kidnapping in Zamfara State, Nigeria.

Indian Air Force fighter-jets target Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camps in Balakot, Pakistan.

A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.

Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.

The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this was the first such event to take place in North Korea.

The UK's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.

World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces and the 366th CIS Regiment massacre Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.

Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.

The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.

U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.

Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket.

A Kyiv-bound Aeroflot airliner crashes on approach to Snilow Airport in Lviv, killing 32 of the 33 people on board.

A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.

Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

World War II: US troops reclaim the Philippine island of Corregidor from the Japanese.

In the February 26 Incident, young nationalist Japanese military officers assassinate multiple cabinet statesmen and start a rebellion in downtown Tokyo, which is ended 3 days later.