August 26



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.

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)

Days of the year