Events
of the day
55BC
– Roman forces under Julius Caesar invade Great
Britain.
1071 – Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat
the Byzantine Army 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 (then)
Moravia.
1303 – Ala ud din Khilji captures Chittorgarh.
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.
1429 – Joan of Arc makes a triumphant entry into
Paris.
1444 – Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs: A vastly
outnumbered force of Swiss Confederates is defeated
by the Dauphin Louis (future Louis XI of France)
and his army of 'Armagnacs' near Basel.
1466 – A conspiracy against Piero di Cosimo de'
Medici in Florence, led by Luca Pitti, is discovered.
1498 – Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the
Pietà .
1748 – The first Lutheran denomination in North
America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1768 – Captain James Cook sets sail from England
on board HMS Endeavour.
1778 – The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the
highest mountain in Slovenia.
1789 – The Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen is approved by the National Constituent
Assembly of France.
1791 – John Fitch is granted a United States patent
for the steamboat.
1810 – The former viceroy Santiago de Liniers
is executed after the defeat of his counter-revolution.
1813 – War of the Sixth Coalition: An impromptu
battle takes place when French and Prussian-Russian
forces accidentally run into each other near Liegnitz,
Prussia (now Legnica, Poland).
1814 – Chilean War of Independence: Infighting
between the rebel forces of José Miguel Carrera
and Bernardo O'Higgins erupts in the Battle of
Las Tres Acequias.
1818 – Illinois becomes the 21st state in the
union of the United States.
1821 – The University of Buenos Aires, Argentina,
is officially opened.
1883 – The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa begins its
final, paroxysmal, stage.
1914 – World War I: the British Expeditionary
Force fights a rear-guard action at the Battle
of Le Cateau that briefly checks the German advance.
1914 – World War I: the German colony of Togoland
is invaded by French and British forces, who take
it after 5 days.
1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution
takes effect, giving women the right to vote.
1940 – Chad becomes the first French colony to
join the Allies under the administration of Félix
Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.
1942 – Holocaust in Chortkiav, western Ukraine:
At 2.30 am the German Schutzpolizei starts driving
Jews out of their houses, divides them into groups
of 120, packs them in freight cars and deports
2000 to Belzec death camp. 500 of the sick and
children are murdered on the spot.
1944 – World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters
Paris.
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, ITAR-TASS.
1966 – The Namibian War of Independence starts
with the battle at Omugulugwombashe.
1970 – The then new feminist movement, led by
Betty Friedan, leads a nation-wide Women's Strike
for Equality.
1977 – The Charter of the French Language is adopted
by the National Assembly of Quebec
1978 – Papal conclave, 1978 (August): Pope John
Paul I is elected to the Papacy.
1978 – Sigmund Jähn becomes first German cosmonaut,
on board Soyuz 31.
1980 – John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort
Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, US.
1997 – Beni-Ali massacre in Algeria; 60-100 people
killed.
1999 – Russia begins the Second Chechen War in
response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic
International Peacekeeping Brigade.
2002 – Earth Summit 2002 begins in Johannesburg,
South Africa
2011 – The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new
composite airliner, receives certification from
the EASA and the FAA
Holidays
and observances
Christian
Feast Day:
Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia (Greek Church)
Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church)
David Lewis
Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier de Ages
Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus
Zephyrinus
August 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Heroes' Day (Namibia)
Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)
Women's Equality Day (United States)
For details, contact Datacentre
