May 26 is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years). There are 219 days remaining.
- 1876 — Thomas W. Piper died.
- 1883 — Peter Kürten is born.
- 1888 — Willie Whiteling is murdered by Sarah Whiteling.
- 1895 — Israel Dunham is murdered by Jane Toppan.
- 1930 — Charles E. Terry is born.
- 1939 — Harold Bell is born.
- 1954 — Danny Rolling is born.
- 1962 — Anthony Joyner is born.
- 1970 — Andrei Yurkin is born.
- 1971 — Juan Corona is apprehended.
- 1971 — Susan Ibrahim is born.
- 1979 — Laura Sue Benjamin is murdered by Thor Nis Christiansen.
- 1980 — Stephen Wayne Anderson is apprehended.
- 1982 — Sue Luna is murdered by Robert Hansen.
- 1984 — Gary Ridgway's victim, Colleen Renee Brockman, is found.
- 1984 — Mauricio Silva is apprehended.
- 1986 — Verna Patricia Williams is murdered by Michael Hughes.
- 1987 — Robert Dean Weeks is apprehended.
- 1988 — Bai Jie is murdered by Gao Chengyong.