August 26

Historic Events

2026

A 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. ›

2023

Exactly five years after the 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting, there is another shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, leaving three people dead. ›

2021

During the 2021 Kabul airlift, a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport kills 13 US military personnel and at least 169 Afghan civilians. ›

2018

Three people are killed and eleven wounded during a mass shooting at a Madden NFL '19 video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. ›

2015

Two U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while conducting a live report in Moneta, Virginia. ›

2014

The Jay Report into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal is published. ›

2011

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA. ›

2009

Kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard is discovered alive in California after being missing for over 18 years. Her captors, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, are apprehended. ›

2003

A Beechcraft 1900 operating as Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing both pilots on board. ›

1999

Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade. ›

1998

The first flight of the Boeing Delta III ends in disaster 75 seconds after liftoff, resulting in the loss of the Galaxy X communications satellite. ›

1997

Beni Ali massacre occurs in Algeria, leaving 60 to 100 people dead. ›

1993

Sakha Avia Flight 301 crashes on approach to Aldan Airport, killing all 24 aboard. ›

1981

Aeropesca Flight 221 crashes in Colombia's Huila Department, killing all 50 people on board. ›

1980

After 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. ›

1978

Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I. ›

1977

The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec. ›

1972

The Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich, West Germany. ›

1970

The fiftieth anniversary of American women being able to vote is marked by a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality. ›

1969

Aeroflot Flight 1770 crashes while landing at Vnukovo International Airport, killing 16. ›

1966

The South African Border War starts with the battle at Omugulugwombashe. ›

1944

World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris. ›

1942

The 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. ›

1940

World War II: Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor. ›

1936

Spanish Civil War: Santander falls to the Nationalists and the Republican Interprovincial Council is dissolved. ›

1922

Greco-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. ›

1920

The 19th amendment to United States Constitution, giving women the right to vote, is certified. ›

1914

World 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. ›

1883

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa begins its final, paroxysmal, stage. ›

1863

The Swedish-language liberal newspaper Helsingfors Dagblad proposes the current blue-and-white cross flag as the flag of Finland. ›

1849

President 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. ›

1833

The great 1833 Kathmandu–Bihar earthquake causes major damage in Nepal, northern India and Tibet, killing a total of 500 people. ›

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. ›

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). ›

1810

The former viceroy Santiago de Liniers of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata is executed after the defeat of his counter-revolution. ›

1791

John Fitch is granted a United States patent for the steamboat. ›

1789

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France. ›

1778

The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia. ›

1768

Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour, starting his first voyage of discovery. ›

1767

Jesuits all over Chile are arrested as the Spanish Empire suppresses the Society of Jesus. ›

1748

The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia. ›

1648

The 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. ›

1642

Dutch–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. ›

1542

A 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. ›

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. ›

1366

The Byzantine Empire retakes Gallipoli with the help of the Savoyard Crusade. ›

1346

Hundred Years' War: At the Battle of Crécy, an English army easily defeats a French one twice its size. ›

1303

Chittorgarh falls to the Delhi Sultanate. ›

1278

Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Rudolf I of Germany defeat Ottokar II of Bohemia in the Battle on the Marchfeld near Dürnkrut in (then) Moravia. ›

1071

The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most of Anatolia. ›

683

The Battle of al-Harrah concludes, with Yazid I's army killing 11,000 people of the city of Medina. ›