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 [Sally Ride serving as mission specialist on the flight deck of the space shuttle orbiter Challenger.]( FEATURED BIOGRAPHY 1951 Sally Ride [READ MORE]( [Luther, Martin]( FEATURED EVENT 1521 Martin Luther declared a heretic by the Edict of Worms [READ MORE]( Advertisement Advertisement [Earth's To-Do List]( MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY [Pollack, Sydney] 2008: American director, producer, and actor [Sydney Pollack]( helmed a number of popular films, including The Way We Were (1973), Tootsie (1982), and Out of Africa (1985)—died in Pacific Palisades, California. [Animated characters from South Park (front, from left to right): Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny.] 1971: American screenwriter, actor, and producer [Matt Stone]( was best known as the cocreator, with [Trey Parker]( of the subversive animated television series [South Park]( born. [Miles Davis, 1969.] 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. [Migrant Mother, photograph by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration, 1936.] 1895: American photographer [Dorothea Lange]( whose portraits of displaced farmers during the [Great Depression]( greatly influenced later documentary and journalistic photography, was born. [Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927).] 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). [Guyana] 1966: Formerly a colony of the Dutch and later the British, [Guyana]( gained its independence. [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: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, [click here](. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2019 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. [Privacy Policy]( • [Help](