On This Day for May 26 - Martin Luther declared a heretic by the Edict of Worms, Sally Ride is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. May 26 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Sally Ride READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1521 Martin Luther declared a heretic by the Edict of Worms READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2008: American director, producer, and actor Sydney Pollack—who helmed a number of popular films, including The Way We Were (1973), Tootsie (1982), and Out of Africa (1985)—died in Pacific Palisades, California. [Sort fact from fiction in our film school quiz.] 1971: American screenwriter, actor, and producer Matt Stone—who was best known as the cocreator, with Trey Parker , of the subversive animated television series South Park—was born. 1926: Jazz musician Miles Davis, a trumpeter who was one of the major influences on jazz from the late 1940s, was born in Alton, Illinois. [Take our music quiz.] 1897: Irish writer Bram Stoker published the Gothic horror classic Dracula, which became the basis for an entire genre of literature and films about vampires. [ Was Dracula a real person?] 1895: American photographer Dorothea Lange , whose portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression greatly influenced later documentary and journalistic photography, was born. [How many famous photographers can you name?] 1886: Al Jolson , a popular American singer and blackface comedian of the musical stage and motion pictures, was born Asa Yoelson in Srednike, Russia (now Seredžius, Lithuania). SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1907 John Wayne American actor 1926 Miles Davis American musician 1949 Jeremy Corbyn British politician 1975 Lauryn Hill American singer 1867 Mary of Teck queen of Great Britain 1971 Matt Stone American screenwriter, actor, and producer SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help