On this day in History - Aug. 26

• 0055 BC- Julius Caesar invades Britain.
• 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert
• 1278 - Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Rudolph I of Germany defeat Premysl Ottokar II of Bohemia in the Battle of Marchfield near Dürnkrut in Moravia.
• 1278 - Premysl Ottokar II dies. King of Bohemia.
• 1303 - Ala ud din Khilji won Chittor.
• 1346 - Hundred Years' War: The military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights is established at the Battle of Crécy.
• 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 dies. Archbishop of Canterbury.
• 1429 - Joan of Arc enters Paris.
• 1466 - A conspiracy against Piero di Cosimo de' Medici in Florence, led by Luca Pitti, is discovered.
• 1469 - Ferdinand II of Naples was born (d. 1496).
• 1492 - Alexander VI is crowned Pope in Basilica of St. Peter. 215th Pope.
• 1498 - Michelangelo commissioned to carve the Pietà.
• 1540 - King Magnus of Livonia was born (d. 1583).
• 1550 - Fundação do Convento de Santo Domingo (Colômbia).
• 1551 - Margareta Leijonhufvud dies (b. 1516). Queen of Gustav I of Sweden.
• 1572 - Petrus Ramus dies (b. 1515). French philosopher.
• 1595 - Antonio, Prior of Crato dies (b. 1531). Claimant to the throne of Portugal / Morre, em França, D. António, O Prior do Crato (n. 1531). Rei de Portugal (19 Jun 1580 - 25 Ago 1581 data da derrota de Alcântara).
• 1666 - Frans Hals dies (b. c. 1580). Dutch painter.
• 1676 - Robert Walpole was born (d. 1745). Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1694 - Elisha Williams was born (d. 1755). American rector of Yale College.
• 1714 - Edward Fowler dies (b. 1632). English Bishop of Gloucester.
• 1723 - Anton van Leeuwenhoek dies (b. 1632). Dutch scientist.
• 1728 - Johann Heinrich Lambert was born (d. 1777). German scientist.
• 1736 - Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle was born (d. 1790). French chemist.
• 1740 - Joseph Montgolfier was born (d. 1810). French inventor.
• 1743 - Antoine Lavoisier was born (d. 1794). French chemist.
• 1748 - The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1768 – The HM Bark Endeavour expedition under Captain James Cook sets sail from England.
• 1775 - William Joseph Behr was born (d. 1851). German writer.
• 1778 - The first ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain of Slovenia.
• 1785 - George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville dies (b. 1716). British soldier and politician.
• 1789 - Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen approved by Constituent Assembly at Palace of Versailles.
• 1789 - Abbas Mirza was born (d. 1833). Prince of Persia.
• 1792 - Manuel Oribe was born (d. 1857). Uruguayan politician.
• 1818 - The first Illinois Constitution was signed in Kaskaskia.
• 1819 - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born (d. 1861). Prince Consort of the United Kingdom.
• 1826 - Princess Alexandra of Bavaria was born (d. 1875).
• 1839 - The ship Amistad is captured off Long Island.
• 1845 - Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols was born (d. 1888). Widely believed to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper.
• 1847 - Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic.
• 1850 - Charles Robert Richet was born (d. 1935). French physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1850 - Louis-Philippe of France dies (b. 1773).
• 1854 - Arnold Fothergill was born (d. 1932). England cricketer.
• 1858 - First news dispatch by telegraph.
• 1862 - American Civil War: The Second Battle of Bull Run begins.
• 1862 - Herbert Booth was born (d. 1926). The third son of William and Catherine Booth.
• 1864 - Anna Ulyanova was born (d. 1935). Older sister of Vladimir Lenin.
• 1865 - Arthur James Arnot was born (d. 1946). Scottish inventor.
• 1865 - Johann Franz Encke dies (b. 1791). German astronomer.
• 1870 - Manuel Jesús Ortiz was born. Chilean educator and writer.
• 1873 - Lee DeForest was born (d. 1961). American inventor.
• 1874 - Zona Gale was borm (d. 1938). American novelist.
• 1875 - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was born (d. 1940). Scottish novelist, Governor General of Canada.
• 1880 - Guillaume Apollinaire was born (d. 1918). French poet and art critic.
• 1882 - James Franck was born in Hamburg (d. 1964). German-born physicist, Nobel Prize
• 1883 - Eruption of Mount Krakatoa.
• 1885 - Jules Romain (Louis Farigoule) was born in Saint Julien Chapteuil, Cevenas (d. 14 Aug 1972). French novelist, dramatist and poet.
• 1894 - Sparky Adams was born (d. 1989). Baseball player.
• 1896 - "Cry of Balntawak" (" Grito de Balintawak"): Rebenta a insurreição armada nas Filipinas contra o domínio espanhol.
• 1896 - Ivan Mihailov was born (d. 1990). Bulgarian revolutionary.
• 1897 - Yoon Boseon was born (d. 1990). President of South Korea.
• 1898 - Peggy Guggenheim was born (d. 1979). American art collector.
• 1899 - Rufino Tamayo was born (d. 1991). Mexican painter.
• 1900 - Hellmuth Walter was born (d. 1980). German engineer and inventor.
• 1901 - Maxwell Taylor was born (d. 1987). American general.
• 1901 - Chen Yi was born (d. 1972). Chinese communist military commander and politician.
• 1904 - Christopher Isherwood was born (d. 1986). Anglo-American writer.
• 1906 - Albert Sabin was born in Byalistok, Polonia (d. 3 Mar 1993). American microbiologist; developed oral polio vaccine.
• 1908 - Aubrey Schenck was born (d. 1999). Film producer.
• 1908 - Simão Mathias was born. Brazilian chemist.
• 1908 - Tony Pastor dies (b. 1837). American vaudeville performer.
• 1909 - Jim Davis was born (d. 1981). American actor.
• 1909 - Gene Moore was born (d. 1978). Baseball player.
• 1910 - Mother Teresa was born (d. 1997). Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work.
• 1910 - William James dies (b. 1842). American psychologist and philosopher.
• 1914 - Julio Cortázar was born (d. 1984). Argentine writer (“Rayuela") .
• 1914 - Societá Sportiva Palestra Itália, later Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, is founded in São Paulo, Brazil.
• 1914 - World War I: Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg, a decisive engagement which resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian 2nd Army.
• 1914 - World War I: The British Expeditionary Force briefly checks the German advance at Le Cateau.
• 1914 - World War I: The German colony of Togoland is invaded by French and British forces, who take it after 5 days.
• 1915 - John Bunny dies (b. 1863). American comedian.
• 1920 - 19th amendment to U.S. Constitution gives women the right to vote.
• 1920 - Brant Parker was born (d. 2007). American cartoonist.
• 1921 - Benjamin Bradlee was born. American journalist.
• 1922 - Irving R. Levine was born. American journalist.
• 1923 - Wolfgang Sawallisch was born. German conductor and pianist.
• 1924 – (August 13 Old Style) The Catastrophe of Smyrna, known as the Asia Minor Catastrophe to Greeks, occurs. The Ottoman army expels Greeks and other non-Turks from Asia Minor.
• 1924 - Alex Kellner was born (d. 1996). Baseball player.
• 1925 - Jack Hirshleifer was born (d. 2005). American economist.
• 1925 - Alain Peyrefitte was born (d. 1999). French politician and writer.
• 1928 - May Donoghue drinks a bottle of ginger beer at a cafe in Paisley, Scotland and finds the remains of a snail in the bottle. She launches a civil action against the drink manufacturer which becomes one of the famous cases in English Common Law; that of Donoghue v. Stevenson.
• 1928 - Peter Appleyard was born. Canadian jazz vibraphonist.
• 1928 - Naïm Kattan was born. Canadian novelist and essayist.
• 1930 - Lon Chaney, Sr. dies (b. 1883). American actor.
• 1931 - Portugal: "Reviralhismo" .Tentativa de golpe de estado contra a ditadura : Um grupo de oficiais procura sublevar o Quartel de Metralhadoras 1 em Lisboa, sem sucesso.
• 1934 - Tom Heinsohn was born. American basketball player and commentator.
• 1935 - Geraldine Ferraro was born. U.S. Vice Presidential candidate.
• 1936 - First world TV transmission, produced by The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
• 1936 - Yvette Vickers was born. American actress.
• 1939 - The first Major League Baseball game is telecast, a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, in Brooklyn, New York.
• 1939 - Robert Waseige was born. Belgian football coach.
• 1940 - Chad is the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.
• 1940 - Don LaFontaine was born. American voice actor.
• 1941 - Barbet Schroeder was born. Swiss film director.
• 1941 - Akiko Wakabayashi was born. Japanese actress.
• 1941 - Chris Curtis was born (d. 2005). English singer and drummer (The searchers).
• 1941 - Barbet Schroeder was born. Swiss film director.
• 1942 - Holocaust in Chortkiv, western Ukraine: At 2.30 am in the morning the GermanSchutzpolizei starts driving Jews out of houses, splits in groups of 120, packs them in freight cars and deports 2000 Jews to Belzec death camp. 500 of sick and children murdered on the spot.
• 1942 - Dennis Turner was born. British politician.
• 1942 - Vic Dana was born. American singer.
• 1943 - Dori Caymmi was born. Brazilian musician.
• 1944 - World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.
• 1944 - Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester was born.
• 1944 - Maureen Tucker was born. American musician (The Velvet Underground).
• 1944 - Adam von Trott zu Solz dies executed (b. 1909). German anti-Nazi diplomat.
• 1945 - Tom Ridge was born. First United States Secretary of Homeland Security.
• 1945 - Franz Werfel dies (b. 1890). Austrian writer.
• 1946 - Chantal Renaud was born. Quebec singer and actress.
• 1946 - Mark Snow was born. American composer.
• 1946 - Valerie Simpson was born. American singer.
• 1946 - Zhou Ji was born. Education Minister of the People's Republic of China.
• 1946 - Jeanie MacPherson dies (b. 1887). American actress and screenwriter.
• 1947 - Emiliano Díez was born. Cuban actor.
• 1950 - Benjamin Hendrickson was born (d. 2006). American actor.
• 1950 - Jerome "Pop" Pentsky was born. Co-founder and president of Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits.
• 1952 - Bryon Baltimore was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1952 - Michael Jeter was born (d. 2003). American actor.
• 1952 - Will Shortz was born. New York Times crossword editor.
• 1953 - Pat Sharkey was born. Irish footballer.
• 1954 - Efren Reyes was born. World Pool Player.
• 1956 - Mark Mangino was born. American football coach.
• 1956 – Alfred Wagenknecht dies (b. 1881). German-born American activist.
• 1957 - The USSR announces the successful test of an ICBM - a "super long distance intercontinental multistage ballistic rocket ... a few days ago," according to the Soviet news agency, TASS.
• 1957 - É proclamada a independencia da Namíbia.
• 1957 - Dr. Alban was born. Nigerian-Swedish singer.
• 1957 - Rick Hansen was born. Canadian paraplegic athlete.
• 1957 - Cláudia Telles was born. Brazilian singer.
• 1958 - Ralph Vaughan Williams dies (b. 1872). English composer.
• 1959 - Stan Van Gundy was born. American basketball coach.
• 1960 - Branford Marsalis was born. American saxophonist and bandleader.
• 1960 - Nancy Martinez was born. Canadian-born singer.
• 1960 – Wanda De Jesus was born. American actress.
• 1961 - Daniel Lévi was born. French singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.
• 1961 - Jeff Parrett was born. American baseball player.
• 1962 - Bob Mionske was born. American cyclist and attorney.
• 1963 - David Byas was born. England cricketer.
• 1965 - Bobby Duncum, Jr. was born (d. 2000). Wrestler.
• 1965 - Chris Burke was born. American actor.
• 1965 – Jon Hensley was born. American actor.
• 1966 - Avner Ben-Gal was born. Israeli artist and painter.
• 1966 - Jacques Brinkman was born. Dutch field hockey player.
• 1966 - Shirley Manson was born. Scottish singer.
• 1967 - Kelly Madison was born. Porn star.
• 1968 - The Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1968 - The Beatles' "Hey Jude" is released (in a shortened version) as a single in the United States under the Apple Records label, to spend nine weeks as number one, a record for any Beatles single.
• 1968 - Byron Lawson was born. Canadian actor.
• 1968 - Christopher Boardman was born. English cyclist.
• 1968 - Kay Francis dies (b. 1899). American actress.
• 1969 - Canada decrimilized sodomy by the Prime Minister, by saying and quoting: "the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation".
• 1970 - The third annual Isle of Wight rock festival, which would feature the last UK performance from Jimi Hendrix, opens in Great Britain.
• 1970 – The the new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, leads a nation-wide Women's Strike for Equality.
• 1970 – Brett Schultz was born. South African cricketer.
• 1970 - Melissa McCarthy was born. Actress (''Gilmore Girls'').
• 1970 - Olimpiada Ivanova was born. Russian athlete.
• 1971 – The United States Congress declares August 26th as an annual Women's Equality Day.
• 1971 - Thalía was born. Mexican singer.
• 1972 - Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich, Germany.
• 1974 - Eric D. Snider was born. American humor columnist / movie reviewer.
• 1974 - Charles Lindbergh dies (b. 1902). American aviator, the first man to fly solo, nonstop across the Atlantic.
• 1975 - Morgan Ensberg was born. American baseball player.
• 1976 - Raymond Barre becomes Prime Minister of France.
• 1976 - Amaia Montero was born. Spanish singer (La Oreja de Van Gogh).
• 1976 - Zemfira was born. Russian singer.
• 1976 - Lotte Lehmann dies (b. 1888). German soprano.
• 1977 - The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec.
• 1977 – Liam Botham was born. Hampshire cricketer and rugby league player.
• 1977 - Morris Peterson was born. American basketball player.
• 1977 - Saeko Chiba was born. Japanese seiyuu.
• 1978 - Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I.
• 1978 - Sigmund Jähn becomes first German cosmonaut on board of the Soyuz 31 spacecraft.
• 1978 – Raja Kashif was born. Pakistani singer.
• 1978 - Charles Boyer dies: suicide (b. 28 Aug 1899). French actor.
• 1978 - José Manuel Moreno dies (b. 1916). Argentine footballer.
• 1979 - Cristian Mora was born. Ecuadorian footballer.
• 1979 – Jamal Lewis was born. American football player.
• 1979 – Rubén Pazos was born. Spanish footballer.
• 1979 – Yağmur Sarıgül was born. Turkish Musician (maNga).
• 1979 - Mika Waltari dies (b. 1908). Finnish author.
• 1980 - John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada.
• 1980 - Brendan Harris was born. American baseball player.
• 1980 – Chris Pine was born. American actor.
• 1980 – Macaulay Culkin was born. American actor (Home Alone, My Girl).
• 1980 - Rosa Albach-Retty dies (b. 1874). German actress.
• 1980 – Tex Avery dies (b. 1908). American cartoonist (b. 1908)
• 1981 – Demetria McKinney was born. American actress.
• 1981 - Jesse Martin was born. Australian yachtsman.
• 1981 – Petey Williams was born. Canadian professional wrestler.
• 1981 – Tino Best was born. West Indian cricketer.
• 1981 - Lee Elhardt Hays dies (b. 1914). American folksinger.
• 1981 – Roger Nash Baldwin dies (b. 1884). Founder of the American Civil Liberties Union.
• 1982 – David Long was born. New Zealand musician.
• 1982 – Noah Welch was born. American ice hockey player.
• 1982 - Petey Williams was born. Canadian professional wrestler.
• 1983 - Flooding destroys most of the old town of Bilbao, Spain.
• 1983 - Félix Porteiro was born. Spanish racing driver.
• 1986 - Cassie Ventura was born. American singer.
• 1986 - Toxic gas kills 1700 in Cameroon.
• 1986 - Em Estugarda, a atleta portuguesa Rosa Mota ganha a medalha de ouro na maratona dos Campeonatos Europeus de Atletismo.
• 1986 - Cassandra Ventura (Cassie) was born. American singer and model.
• 1986 - Ted Knight dies (b. 1923). American actor.
• 1987 - President Ronald Wilson Reagan proclaims September 11, 1987 as 9-1-1 Emergency Number Day.
• 1987 - Georg Wittig dies (b. 1897). German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1987 – John Goddard dies (b. 1919). West Indian cricketer.
• 1988 - Merhan Karimi Nasseri arrives at Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
• 1988 - Danielle Savre was born. American actress.
• 1988 - Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este was born.
• 1988 - Carlos Paião dies (b. 1957). Portuguese singer.
• 1989 - Irving Stone dies (b. 1903). American author.
• 1990 – Lil' Chris was born. British singer.
• 1990 - Mário Pinto de Andrade dies. Angolan writer.
• 1990 - Minoru Honda dies (b. 1913). Japanese astronomer.
• 1991 – Tommy Bastow was born. English actor.
• 1992 – Yang Yilin was born. Chinese gymnast.
• 1992 - Arthur Leigh Allen dies (b. 1933). Suspected Zodiac serial killer.
• 1992 - Bob de Moor dies (b. 1925). Belgian comics artist.
• 1993 - Keke Palmer was born. American actress.
• 1994 - Portugal: No Casino do Estoril, Jackpot nas slot machines dá 155 700 contos a um jogador de 91 anos.
• 1994 - Jesus Otero Oreña dies (b. 1908). Spanish sculptor.
• 1995 - The International Rugby Board lifts all restrictions on payments relating to the game of Rugby Union, thus bringing the game's amateur age to an end.
• 1995 - Ronald White dies (b. 1939). American singer and songwriter (The Miracles).
• 1996 – Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law, representing major shift in US welfare policy.
• 1997 - Beni-Ali massacre in Algeria; 60-100 people killed.
• 1998 - Frederick Reines dies (b. 1918). American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1999 - Michael Johnson breaks the 400 metres world record with a time of 43.18 seconds.
• 1999 – Second Chechen War begins.
• 2000 - Akbar Adibi dies (b. 1939). Iranian scientist, father of electronics in Iran.
• 2001 - Louis Muhlstock dies (b. 1904). Canadian painter.
• 2002 - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Éric Gagné converts his first of a record 84 consecutive successful save opportunities.
• 2002 - Earth Summit 2002 begins in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• 2002 - Chile ratifica o Protocolo de Kyoto.
• 2003 - A Venezuela anuncia adesão ao Mercosul.
• 2003 -The Columbia Accident Investigation Board releases its final reports on Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
• 2003 - Jim Wacker dies (b. 1937). American football coach.
• 2004 - Os jogadores do FC Porto arrebatam a maioria dos prémios da Uefa para a época 2003/2004. Vítor Baía é considerado o melhor guarda-redes, Ricardo Carvalho o melhor defesa e Deco o jogador mais valioso (MVP): José Mourinho é eleito o melhor treinador.
• 2004 - Laura Branigan dies (b. 1957). American singer.
• 2005 - Denis D'Amour dies (b. 1960). Canadian guitarist (Voivod).
• 2005 – Ed White, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1949)
• 2005 - Robert Denning dies (b. 1927). American interior designer.
• 2006 – Clyde Walcott dies (b. 1926). Barbadian West Indies cricketer (b. 1926)
• 2006 - Rainer Barzel dies (b. 1924). President of the German Bundestag.
• 2006 - Clyde Walcott dies (b. 1926). Barbadian West Indies cricketer.
• 2007 - Alberto de Lacerda (b. 20 Sep 1928). Portuguese poet.
• 2007 – Gaston Thorn dies (b. 1928). Luxembourger politician.
• 2007 – Ramon Zamora dies (b. 1935). Filipino martial arts actor.
• 2008 – Russia unilaterally recognizes the independence of the former Georgian breakaway republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
• St Zephyrinus Day.
• Namibia - Namibia Day or Heroes' Day.
• Philippines - National Heroes' Day.
• United States - Women's Equality Day.
• Transverberation of Saint Teresa of Ávila.