August 26

August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 127 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

55 BC – Julius Caesar attempts to conquer Britannia.
1071 – Battle of Manzikert: Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert.
1278 – Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Rudolph I of Germany defeat Premysl Ottokar I of Bohemia in the Battle of Marchfield near Durnkrut in then–Moravia.
1346 – Cannons are used for the first time in a European battle, the Battle of Crecy.
1444 – Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs: A vastly outnumbered forces of Swiss Confederates is defeated by Dauphin Louis (future King Louis IX of France) and his army near Basel.
1498 – Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pieta.
1542 – Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana and his expedition reach the Amazon Delta.
1768 – James Cook sets sail from England on the HMS Endeavour.
1789 – The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is approved by the National Assembly at the Palace of Versailles.
1791 – John Fitch is granted a US patent for the steam boat.
1810 – Former viceroy Santiago de Liniers of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata is executed after the defeat of his counter–revolution.
1813 – War of the Sixth Coalition: An impromptu battle takes place when French and Russian–Prussian forces accidentally run into each other near what is now Legnica, Poland.
1814 – Chilean War of Independence: Infighting between rebel forces of José Miguel Carrera and Bernardo O'Higgins erupts in the Battle of Las Tres Acequias.
1821 – The University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is founded.
1865 – A monument to Albert, Prince Consort is unveiled in Coburg, Germany.
1878 – Uyedineniya Island (also known as Lonely Island), one of Russia's remotest islands, located in the Arctic Ocean, is discovered by Norwegian seafarer Edvard Holm Johannesen.
1883 – Krakatoa's 1883 eruption reaches its final stage, ending in a major explosion and tsunamis the following day.
1883 – The Ashes, a cricket prize, is given to English captain, Ivo Bligh.

1901 – 2000

1914 – World War I: French and British forces invade the then–German colony of Togoland, (covering present–day Togo and western Ghana) in West Africa, taking it after five days.
1920 – An amendment to the United States Constitution allows women in the United States the right to vote.
1922 – The Japanese cruiser Niitaka sinks in a storm off the west coast of Kamchatka, eastern Russia, killing all 400 people on board.
1940 – World War II: Under Governor Felix Eboue, Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies.
1942 – Holocaust: In Chortkiav, Eastern Ukraine, German Schutzpolizei starts driving Jews out of their houses, divides them into groups of 120 people and deports them to Belzec Death Camp.
1944 – World War II: Bulgaria declares that it is neutral.
1944 – World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.
1961 – Changing its Constitution, Burma adopts Buddhism as its official state religion.
1966 – The Namibian War of Independence begins.
1970 – The then–New Feminist Movement, led by Betty Friedan, leads a women's national strike, for equality.
1972 – The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich begin, officially opened by German President Gustav Heinemann.
1977 – Benin gets a Marxist–Leninist Constitution.
1977 – The Charter of the French language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec.
1978 – East German cosmonaut Sigmund Jaehn becomes the first German in space.
1978 – Albino Luciani (Pope John Paul I) is elected Pope. He dies just 33 days later, on September 28.
1980 – John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada.
1988 – Aung San Suu Kyi holds a pro–democracy speech at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma as part of the 8888 Revolution.
1997 – Beni–Ali massacre in Algeria: Between 60 and 100 people are killed.
1999 – Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the invasion of Dagestan, by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.

From 2001

2002 – The 2002 Earth Summit meeting in Johannesburg begins.
2005 – The highest court in Fiji declares the ban on Homosexuality unconstitutional.
2008 – Russia unilaterally recognises the Republic of Georgia's break–away territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
2011 – Naoto Kan announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Japan.
2014 – A ceasefire enters into force between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
2018 – Jacksonville Landing shooting: A participant at a gaming competition in Jacksonville, Florida shoots two people dead before turning the gun on himself.
2026 – Flash floods between Nepal and China occur.

Births

Up to 1900

1469 – Ferdinand II of Naples (d. 1496).
1540 – King Magnus of Livonia (d. 1583).
1596 – Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate, German aristocrat (d. 1632).
1676 – Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1745).
1694 – Elisha Williams, American rector of Yale college (d. 1755).
1695 – Marie-Anne-Catherine Quinault, French singer and composer (d. 1791).
1728 – Johann Heinrich Lambert, Swiss scientist (d. 1777).
1740 – Joseph Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1810).
1743 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (d. 1794).
1787 – Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov, Russian general, admiral and statesman (d. 1869).
1789 – Abbas Mirza, Prince of Persia (d. 1833).
1792 – Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan political figure (d. 1857).
1797 – Innocent of Alaska, Russian Orthodox missionary priest (d. 1879).
1802 – Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler, German sculptor (d. 1848).
1819 – Albert, Prince Consort (d. 1861).
1826 – Princess Alexandra of Bavaria (d. 1875).
1828 – Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (d. 1875).
1845 – Mary Ann Nichols, victim of Jack the Ripper (d. 1888).
1850 – Charles Robert Richet, French physiologist, won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1935).
1854 – Arnold Fothergill, English cricketer (d. 1932).
1864 – Anna Ulyanova, older sister of Vladimir Lenin (d. 1935).
1873 – Lee De Forest, American inventor (d. 1961).
1874 – Zona Gale, American novelist (d. 1938).
1875 – John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish novelist and Governor–General of Canada (d. 1940).
1880 – Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet and art critic (d. 1918).
1882 – James Franck, German–born physicist (d. 1964).
1885 – Jules Romains, French novelist, dramatist and poet (d. 1972).
1886 – Jerome Hunsaker, American aeronautical engineer (d. 1984).
1892 – Ruth Roland, American actress and movie producer (d. 1937).
1895 – Earl Long, Governor of Louisiana (d. 1960).
1896 – Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1990).
1896 – Besse Cooper, American supercentenarian (d. 2012).
1897 – Yun Poson, President of South Korea (d. 1990).
1898 – Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (d. 1979).
1900 – Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (d. 1980).
1900 – Mark Sandrich, American movie director (d. 1945).

1901 – 1950

1901 – Chen Yi, Chinese Communist military commander and politician (d. 1972).
1901 – Maxwell D. Taylor, American army officer (d. 1987).
1901 – Eleanor Dark, Australian writer (d. 1985).
1903 – Jimmy Rushing, American singer and pianist (d. 1972).
1904 – Christopher Isherwood, English writer (d. 1986).
1906 – Albert Sabin, Polish–American polio researcher (d. 1993).
1906 – Bunny Austin, British tennis player (d. 2000).
1908 – Jacques-Paul Martin, French cardinal (d. 1992).
1909 – Jim Davis, American actor (d. 1981).
1910 – Mother Theresa, Catholic nun and missionary, Nobel Prize winner (d. 1997).
1913 – Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer.
1914 – Julio Cortazar, Argentine author (d. 1984).
1918 – Katherine Johnson, American physicist, mathematician and space scientist
1920 – Prem Tinsulanonda, 16th Prime Minister of Thailand.
1921 – Benjamin C. Bradlee, American journalist (d. 2014).
1923 – Wolfgang Sawallisch, German conductor and pianist (d. 2013).
1924 – Jacques Villiers, French aerospace engineer (d. 2012).
1925 – Alain Peyrefitte, French politician (d. 1999).
1925 – Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian–Russian director and screenwriter (d. 2013).
1926 – Anahit Tsitsikian, Armenian violinist (d. 2007).
1928 – Santiago Vernazza, Argentine footballer (d. 2017).
1929 – Reuben Kamanga, 1st Vice president of Zambia (d. 1996).
1929 – Yoga Bhajan, Indian yoga teacher (d. 2004).
1932 – Lygia Bojunga Nunes, Brazilian writer.
1933 – Robert Chartoff, American movie producer (d. 2015).
1935 – Karen Sparck Jones, British computer scientist (d. 2007).
1935 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (d. 2011).
1936 – Benedict Anderson, American political scientist (d. 2015).
1936 – Francine York, American actress (d. 2017).
1937 – Nina Companeez, French screenwriter and movie director (d. 2015).
1937 – Gennady Yanayev, Soviet politician (d. 2010).
1938 – Jet Black, English musician (The Stranglers).
1939 – Todor Kolev, Bulgarian actor and singer (d. 2013).
1940 – Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (d. 2008).
1941 – Akiko Wakabayashi, Japanese actress.
1941 – Barbet Schroeder, French director, actor and producer.
1941 – Chris Curtis, British musician.
1942 – Vic Dana, American singer and dancer.
1944 – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, member of the extended British royal family.
1944 – Maurice Tucker, American singer-songwriter and drummer.
1945 – Tom Ridge, American politician.
1946 – Alison Steadman, English actress.
1946 – Valerie Simpson, American singer.
1946 – Zhou Ji, Chinese politician.
1946 – Chantal Renaud, Canadian actress, singer and scriptwriter.
1947 – Nicolae Dobrin, Romanian footballer (d. 2007).
1949 – Leon Redbone, Canadian singer and guitarist.

1951 – 1975

1951 – Edward Witten, American physicist.
1952 – Michael Jeter, American actor (d. 2003).
1954 – Steve Wright, British DJ.
1956 – Brett Cullen, American actor.
1957 – Rick Hansen, Canadian athlete.
1957 – Dr. Alban, Nigerian–born Swedish singer and musician.
1958 – Nichi Vendola, Italian politician.
1959 – Oliver Colvile, English politician.
1960 – Branford Marsalis, American musician.
1962 – Roger Kingdom, American athlete.
1962 – Tariq Ramadan, Swiss academic, philosopher and writer.
1963 – Ludger Beerbaum, German equestrian showjumper.
1963 – Stephen J. Dubner, American journalist.
1964 – Daphne Caruana Galizia, Maltese blogger and journalist (d. 2017).
1964 – Allegra Huston, English–American writer and editor.
1965 – Chris Burke, American actor.
1965 – Marcus du Sautoy, British mathematics professor.
1966 – Shirley Manson, British singer.
1966 – Jacques Brinkman, Dutch field hockey player.
1967 – Michael Gove, British politician.
1968 – Chris Boardman, British racing cyclist.
1969 – Adrian Young, American rock musician.
1970 – Melissa McCarthy, American actress.
1970 – Brett Schultz, South African cricketer.
1971 – Thalia, Mexican singer.
1974 – Kelvin Cato, American basketball player.

From 1976

1976 – Amaia Montero, Spanish singer-songwriter.
1977 – Morris Peterson, American basketball player.
1979 – Cristian Mora, Ecuadorean footballer.
1980 – Macaulay Culkin, American actor.
1980 – Chris Pine, American actor.
1981 – Vangelis Moras, Greek footballer.
1982 – Noah Welch, American ice hockey player.
1983 – Mattia Cassani, Italian footballer.
1983 – Nicol David, Malaysian squash player.
1985 – Brandon McDonald, American football player.
1986 – Cassie, American singer.
1986 – Colin Kazim-Richards, Turkish footballer.
1987 – Greg Halman, Dutch baseball player (d. 2011).
1987 – Riley Steele, American pornographic actress.
1988 – Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este.
1988 – Lars Stindl, German footballer.
1988 – Wayne Simmonds, Canadian ice hockey player.
1989 – James Harden, American basketball player.
1989 – Héloïse Guérin, French model.
1990 – Lil' Chris, English singer (d. 2015).
1991 – Tommy Bastow, English actor and singer.
1991 – Jessica Diggins, American cross–country skier.
1992 – Yang Yilin, Chinese gymnast.
1992 – Hayley Hasselhoff, American actress.
1993 – Keke Palmer, American actress.
1994 – Taylor Bright, American singer and actress.

Deaths

Up to 1900

303 – Alexander of Bergamo, Italian Catholic saint.
526 – Theodoric the Great, Ostrogoth King.
887 – Emperor Koko of Japan (b. 830).
1214 – Patriarch Michael IV of Constantinople
1278 – King Ottokar II of Bohemia
1346 – Killed in the Battle of Crécy:
- Charles II of Alençon (b. 1297)
- Louis I of Flanders (b. 1304)
- John I, Count of Luxemburg (b. 1296)
- Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1320)
1349 – Thomas Bradwardine, Archbishop of Canterbury
1551 – Margareta Leijonhufvud, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1516)
1572 – Petrus Ramus, French philosopher (b. 1515)
1595 – Antonio, Prior of Crato, claimant to the throne of Portugal (b. 1531)
1607 – Giorgio Basta, Habsburg general (b. 1550).
1666 – Frans Hals, Dutch painter
1714 – Edward Fowler, English Bishop of Gloucester (b. 1632)
1723 – Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch scientist (b. 1632)
1785 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, British soldier and politician (b. 1716)
1795 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian alchemist and adventurer (b. 1743)
1810 – Santiago Liniers, Viceroy of Rio de la Plata (b. 1753)
1850 – Louis-Philippe I of France (b. 1773)
1865 – Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer (b. 1791)

1901 – 2000

1902 – George Hoadly, 36th Governor of Ohio (b. 1826).
1910 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1842).
1915 – John Bunny American comedian (b. 1863)
1921 – Matthias Erzberger, German politician (b. 1875).
1921 – Ludwig Thoma, German writer (b. 1867).
1921 – Sandor Wekerle, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1848).
1930 – Lon Chaney, Sr., American actor (b. 1883)
1944 – Adam von Trott zu Solz, German diplomat opposing the Nazi regime (executed) (b. 1909)
1945 – Franz Werfel, Austrian writer (b. 1890)
1946 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1887)
1956 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German–born American activist (b. 1881).
1958 – Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer (b. 1872)
1962 – Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Icelandic–Canadian explorer (b. 1879)
1968 – Kay Francis, American actress (b. 1899)
1972 – Francis Chichester, British sailor and adventurer (b. 1901).
1974 – Charles Lindbergh, American aviator (b. 1902)
1976 – Lotte Lehmann, German soprano (b. 1888)
1977 – H. A. Rey, German–American author and illustrator (b. 1898).
1978 – Charles Boyer, French actor (b. 1899)
1978 – José Manuel Moreno, Argentine footballer (b. 1916)
1979 – Mika Waltari, Finnish writer (b. 1908)
1980 – Rosa Albach-Retty, German actress (b. 1874)
1980 – Tex Avery, American cartoonist (b. 1908)
1981 – Roger Nash Baldwin, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (b. 1884)
1986 – Ted Knight, American actor (b. 1923)
1987 – Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1987 – John Goddard, Barbadian–English cricketer (b. 1919)
1988 – Carlos Paião, Portuguese singer (b. 1957)
1989 – Irving Stone, American writer (b. 1903)
1990 – Minoru Honda, Japanese astronomer (b. 1913)
1992 – Bob de Moor, Belgian comic artist (b. 1925)
1998 – Frederick Reines, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
2000 – Bunny Austin, British tennis player (b. 1906).

From 2001

2001 – Marita Petersen, 8th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b. 1940).
2003 – Jim Wacker, American football coach (b. 1937)
2004 – Laura Branigan, American singer (b. 1952)
2005 – Robert Denning, Interior designer (b. 1927)
2006 – Rainer Barzel, German politician (b. 1924)
2007 – Gaston Thorn, Luxembourg politician (b. 1928)
2010 – Raimon Panikkar, Spanish theologian (b. 1918)
2010 – William B. Lenoir, American astronaut (b. 1939)
2011 – George Band, British mountaineer (b. 1929)
2011 – Aloysius Ambrozic, Slovenian–born Canadian Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto (b. 1930)
2013 – John J. Gilligan, 62nd Governor of Ohio (b. 1921)
2014 – Christian Bourquin, French politician (b. 1954)
2014 – Simon Featherstone, British diplomat (b. 1958)
2014 – Peter Bacon Hales, American historian and photographer (b. 1950)
2014 – Samuel Sadela, Nigerian pastor, claimant to world's oldest man title (b. either in or after 1900)
2014 – Lars Mortimer, Swedish comic artist (b. 1946)
2015 – Peter Kern, Austrian actor and filmmaker (b. 1949)
2015 – Amelia Boynton Robinson, American civil rights activist (b. 1911)
2015 – Alison Parker, American journalist (b. 1991)
2015 – Adam Ward, American cameraman (b. 1988)
2015 – Vester Flanagan, American gunman (b. 1973)
2017 – Tobe Hooper, American film director and novelist (b. 1943)
2017 – Grzegorz Miecugow, Polish television news presenter and columnist (b. 1955)
2017 – Josef Musil, Czech volleyball player (b. 1932)
2017 – Wilson das Neves, Brazilian percussionist and singer (b. 1936)
2017 – Horacio White, Argentine swimmer (b. 1927)
2018 – Rosa Bouglione, French circus performer (b. 1910)
2018 – Kerry Hill, Australian architect (b. 1943)
2018 – Tony Hiller, British songwriter (b. 1927)
2018 – Neil Simon, American playwright (b. 1927)

Observances

Saint Alexander of Bergamo, martyr
Heroes Day (Namibia)
Women's Equality Day (United States)
Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)