July 26

Cecily Neville (1424–1450), daughter of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, became Duchess of Warwick through her marriage to Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick. As duchess, she oversaw the administration of extensive lands and fostered connections at the royal court. Following her husband's death in 1446, she secured the transition of the Warwick title to her young daughter, ensuring the Neville family's grip on power. Known for her piety and patronage of religious institutions, Cecily maintained influential alliances during the early tensions of the Wars of the Roses. Her death at age 26 curtailed a rising political role but left a mark on English nobility.

Mary Frith, also known as Moll Cutpurse, was born around 1584 in London. She gained notoriety in early 17th-century England for her skills as a pickpocket, fence, and confidence woman. Frith often dressed in male attire and challenged social norms by smoking tobacco publicly and gambling. Her life inspired pamphlets and the play "The Roaring Girl" by Thomas Dekker. She was imprisoned several times but continued her activities upon release. Frith became a symbol of social rebellion and gender nonconformity in Restoration England. She died on July 26, 1659, celebrated by many for her audacity and wit.

Robert Taschereau was born in 1896 in Quebec City and studied law at Université Laval. Admitted to the bar in 1920, he built a distinguished legal practice before his appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1940. He became Chief Justice in 1963, leading the court through a period of significant constitutional interpretation and societal change. Taschereau's judgments helped shape Canada's legal landscape, particularly in areas of bilingual rights and individual freedoms. Known for his thoughtful reasoning and commitment to justice, he served as Chief Justice until his retirement in 1967. He died on July 26, 1970, leaving a profound impact on Canadian jurisprudence.

Edward Gein was born in 1906 in Wisconsin and lived a reclusive life on his family farm. Following the deaths of his mother and brother, Gein became obsessed with gathering body parts from local graves and committing brutal murders in the late 1950s. His crimes, including exhumation of corpses and murder of at least two women, horrified the nation after his arrest in 1957. Gein's macabre acts inspired characters such as Norman Bates in Psycho, Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. Declared mentally incompetent, he spent his remaining years in psychiatric institutions. He died on July 26, 1984, leaving a dark legacy in American criminal history.

Miriam Ben-Porat (1918–2012) was a pioneering Russian-born Israeli lawyer and judge. After immigrating to Mandatory Palestine, she earned her law degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1977, she became the first woman appointed to the Israeli Supreme Court, breaking gender barriers in the judiciary. Ben-Porat later served as State Comptroller, overseeing government accountability and transparency. Renowned for her integrity and legal acumen, she played a key role in shaping Israel's legal institutions. Her career inspired future generations of female lawyers and public servants.

Ronald Phillips was convicted of murdering his girlfriend’s two young children in Erie County, New York, in 1993.\nHe was sentenced to death in 1995 and spent over two decades on New York’s death row.\nDuring his execution on July 26, 2017, the first lethal injection failed after 20 minutes, allowing him to regain consciousness.\nAfter a brief delay, a second injection was administered, and he was declared dead, making his case notorious in capital punishment discussions.\nPhillips’s execution raised serious questions about the humanity and reliability of lethal injection as a method of execution.\nHis case continues to be cited in legal and ethical debates surrounding the death penalty.