#TodayInHistory – May 26

3 min read

May 26 – Some important events on this day.

451 👉🏼 The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place. The Armenians are defeated militarily but are guaranteed freedom to openly practice Christianity.
1637 👉🏼 Mystic Massacre: in 1st battle of Pequot War in Connecticut about 500 Pequot Native Americans are killed by Colonial forces
1647 👉🏼 Alse Young becomes the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies, when she is hanged in Hartford, Connecticut
1868 👉🏼 US President Andrew Johnson avoids impeachment by 1 vote
1896 👉🏼 Dow Jones begins an index of 12 industrial stocks (closing is 40.94)

1897 👉🏼 “Dracula” goes on sale in London.
The first copies of the classic vampire novel, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appear in London bookshops on this day. Considered a masterpiece of Victorian-era Gothic literature, it was written in the form of diaries and journals of its main characters, and it is the story of a vampire who makes his way from Transylvania to Yorkshire, England, and preys on innocents there to get the blood he needs to live.

1908 👉🏼 At Masjed Soleyman (مسجد سليمان) in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, rights acquired by the United Kingdom.

1927 👉🏼 Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produce the last (and 15th million) Model T Ford.
On this day, Henry Ford and his son Edsel drive the 15 millionth Model T Ford out of their factory, marking the famous automobile’s official last day of production.
More than any other vehicle, the relatively affordable and efficient Model T was responsible for accelerating the automobile’s introduction into American society during the first quarter of the 20th century. Introduced in October 1908, the Model T—also known as the “Tin Lizzie”—had a 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine.

1948 👉🏼 South Africa elects a nationalist government under D. F. Malan with an apartheid policy.

1991 👉🏼 Plane crashes in Thai jungle.
On this day, a Boeing 767 crashes into the jungle near Bangkok, Thailand, and kills all 223 people on board. The plane, owned and operated by the Austrian company Lauda-Air, was the nation’s largest charter operation and famed race car driver Niki Lauda’s first foray into business after his retirement from racing.
The flight originated in Hong Kong and was ultimately headed to Vienna. After a brief stop in Bangkok, the plane was climbing out of Bangkok Airport when a computer malfunctioned. The thrust reverser on the port engine, which essentially puts the engine in reverse, deployed suddenly. Though pilots fought to override it, they were not able to do so. The plane’s black box was destroyed, making the cause of the crash difficult to determine. Niki Lauda immediately went to the site of the crash, where it was reported that he personally went through the strewn bodies and aircraft parts searching for evidence. Eventually, the mechanical evidence and a voice recorder pointed to a serious problem with the jet’s thrust reverser.