August 26Birthdays & History

On this day: August 26 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 683The Battle of al-Harrah concludes, with Yazid I's army killing 11,000 people of the city of Medina.Middle East
2. 1071The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most of Anatolia.Middle EastEurope
3. 1278Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Rudolf I of Germany defeat Ottokar II of Bohemia in the Battle on the Marchfeld near Dürnkrut in (then) Moravia.Europe
4. 1303Chittorgarh falls to the Delhi Sultanate.Asia
5. 1346Hundred Years' War: At the Battle of Crécy, an English army easily defeats a French one twice its size.Europe
6. 1366The Byzantine Empire retakes Gallipoli with the help of the Savoyard Crusade.Europe
7. 1444Battle 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.Europe
8. 1542A year and a half after leaving Guayaquil on the Pacific coast, Francisco de Orellana finishes his overland journey across South America and reaches the mouth of the Amazon River on the Atlantic coast.Latin AmericaNorth America
9. 1642Dutch–Portuguese War: Second Battle of San Salvador: The Dutch force the Spanish garrison at San Salvador (modern day Keelung, Taiwan) to surrender, ending the short-lived Spanish colony on Formosa and replacing it with a new Dutch administration.EuropeAsia
10. 1648The Fronde: First Fronde: In the wake of the successful Battle of Lens, Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France, suddenly orders the arrest of the leaders of the Parlement of Paris, provoking the rest of Paris to break into insurrection and barricade the streets the next day.Europe
11. 1748The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.North America
12. 1767Jesuits all over Chile are arrested as the Spanish Empire suppresses the Society of Jesus.Latin AmericaEurope
13. 1768Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour, starting his first voyage of discovery.Europe
14. 1778The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia.Europe
15. 1789The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France.Europe
16. 1791John Fitch is granted a United States patent for the steamboat.North America
17. 1810The former viceroy Santiago de Liniers of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata is executed after the defeat of his counter-revolution.Latin America
18. 1813War 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).Europe
19. 1814Chilean War of Independence: Infighting between the rebel forces of José Miguel Carrera and Bernardo O'Higgins erupts in the Battle of Las Tres Acequias.Latin America
20. 1833The great 1833 Kathmandu–Bihar earthquake causes major damage in Nepal, northern India and Tibet, killing a total of 500 people.Asia
21. 1849President Faustin Soulouque of the First Republic of Haiti has the Senate and Chamber of Deputies proclaim him the Emperor of Haiti, abolishing the Republic and inaugurating the Second Empire of Haiti.Latin America
22. 1863The Swedish-language liberal newspaper Helsingfors Dagblad proposes the current blue-and-white cross flag as the flag of Finland.Europe
23. 1883The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa begins its final, paroxysmal, stage.Asia
24. 1914World War I: During the retreat from Mons, the British II Corps commanded by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien fights a vigorous and successful defensive action at Le Cateau.Europe
25. 1914World War I: The German colony of Togoland surrenders to French and British forces after a 20-day campaign. Togoland is the first German colony to fall to Allied hands in World War I.EuropeAfrica
26. 1920The 19th amendment to United States Constitution, giving women the right to vote, is certified.North America
27. 1922Greco-Turkish War (1919–22): Turkish army launched what has come to be known to the Turks as the Great Offensive (Büyük Taarruz). The major Greek defense positions were overrun.Middle EastEurope
28. 1936Spanish Civil War: Santander falls to the Nationalists and the Republican Interprovincial Council is dissolved.Europe
29. 1940World War II: Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.AfricaEurope
30. 1942The Holocaust in Ukraine: At Chortkiv, the Ukrainian police and German Schutzpolizei deport two thousand Jews to Bełżec extermination camp. Five hundred of the sick and children are murdered on the spot. This continued until the next day.Europe
31. 1944World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.Europe
32. 1966The South African Border War starts with the battle at Omugulugwombashe.Africa
33. 1969Aeroflot Flight 1770 crashes while landing at Vnukovo International Airport, killing 16.Europe
34. 1970The fiftieth anniversary of American women being able to vote is marked by a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.North America
35. 1972The Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich, West Germany.Europe
36. 1977The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec.EuropeNorth America
37. 1978Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.Europe
38. 1980After John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, in the United States, the FBI inadvertently detonates the bomb during its disarming.North America
39. 1981Aeropesca Flight 221 crashes in Colombia's Huila Department, killing all 50 people on board.Latin America
40. 1993Sakha Avia Flight 301 crashes on approach to Aldan Airport, killing all 24 aboard.Europe
41. 1997Beni Ali massacre occurs in Algeria, leaving 60 to 100 people dead.Africa
42. 1998The first flight of the Boeing Delta III ends in disaster 75 seconds after liftoff, resulting in the loss of the Galaxy X communications satellite.North America
43. 1999Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.Europe
44. 2003A Beechcraft 1900 operating as Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing both pilots on board.North America
45. 2009Kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard is discovered alive in California after being missing for over 18 years. Her captors, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, are apprehended.North America
46. 2011The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA.North America
47. 2014The Jay Report into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal is published.Europe
48. 2015Two U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while conducting a live report in Moneta, Virginia.North America
49. 2018Three people are killed and eleven wounded during a mass shooting at a Madden NFL '19 video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.North America
50. 2021During the 2021 Kabul airlift, a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport kills 13 US military personnel and at least 169 Afghan civilians.AsiaNorth America
51. 2023Exactly five years after the 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting, there is another shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, leaving three people dead.North America
52. 2026A series of large flash floods and debris flows along the Nepal–Tibet border and the Trishuli River, believed to have been caused by glacier collapse, stuck and destroyed numerous settlements, including the Gyirong checkpoint, and killed over 1,400 people, with over 5,800 reported missing.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "August 26" / CC BY-SA 4.0