26 May 665

A Friday in history

Weekday

Friday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

7th century

Records

351

  1. 2025

    A car rammed into a crowd on Water Street, Liverpool, injuring 65 people.

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  2. 2020

    Protests following the murder of George Floyd erupted in Minneapolis–Saint Paul before spreading across the United States and internationally.

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  3. 2002

    Barges being towed destroyed part of a bridge (aftermath pictured) near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, causing vehicles to fall into the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River.

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  4. 1999

    Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League final to become the first English football club to win three major championships in the same season.

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  5. 1989

    Tropical Storm Cecil dissipated over Laos after devastating Quảng Nam province, Vietnam, and causing the deaths of 751 people.

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  6. 1967

    The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of the first progressive rock albums, was released.

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  7. 1940

    Second World War: The Allies began a mass evacuation of British, French and Belgian troops cut off by the German army during the Battle of Dunkirk.

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  8. 1938

    The House Un-American Activities Committee was established to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities by people or organizations in the U.S. suspected of having communist or fascist ties.

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  9. 1933

    American singer Jimmie Rodgers died at the Taft Hotel in New York City.

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  10. 1932

    Donoghue v Stevenson is decided, ultimately establishing the foundation for negligence in common law jurisdictions worldwide.

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  11. 1906

    Vauxhall Bridge in London opened, crossing the River Thames between Vauxhall and Westminster.

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  12. 1897

    The Church of England returned the original manuscript of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, an account of the Pilgrims and the early years of the Plymouth Colony, to the state of Massachusetts.

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  13. 1894

    Germany's Emanuel Lasker defeated Wilhelm Steinitz to become the world chess champion, beginning a record 27-year reign.

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  14. 1888

    The comic novel The Diary of a Nobody by brothers George and Weedon Grossmith first appeared in serial form in Punch.

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  15. 1868

    The impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson adjourned after the second and third articles of impeachment did not obtain enough votes from the U.S. Senate to convict.

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  16. 1865

    American Civil War: General Edmund Kirby Smith negotiated the surrender of his army, the only significant Confederate Army force remaining in the war.

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  17. 1822

    The deadliest fire in Norwegian history occurred at a church in Grue, killing at least 113 people.

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  18. 1644

    Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claimed victory at the Battle of Montijo.

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  19. 1328

    English friar William of Ockham, who popularised the methodological principle known as Occam's razor, secretly left Avignon under threat from Pope John XXII.

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  20. 946

    King Edmund I (pictured) of England was murdered at Pucklechurch on the feast day of St Augustine.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.

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