August 26

Events

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