August 26

August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 127 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1071 – Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at Manzikert.
• 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.
• 1303 – Alauddin 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.
• 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.
• 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 of the Viceroyalty of the Río 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 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.
• 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 German colony of Togoland surrenders to French and British forces after a 20 day campaign.
• 1914 – In Brazil, Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras is founded.
• 1914 – World War I: During the retreat from Mons, the British II Corps commanded by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien fought a vigorous and successful defensive action at Le Cateau.
• 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 – The 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 Bełżec extermination camp. Five hundred of the sick and children are murdered on the spot.
• 1944 – World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.
• 1966 – The Namibian War of Independence starts with the battle at Omugulugwombashe.
• 1970 – The then-new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, leads a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.
• 1977 – The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec
• 1978 – Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.
• 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 where 60 to 100 people were 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
• 2013 – Nationwide protests are held across the Philippines over the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.
• 2015 – Two U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while conducting a live report in Moneta, Virginia.

Births

• 1469 – Ferdinand II of Naples (d. 1496)
• 1676 – Robert Walpole, English scholar and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1745)
• 1694 – Elisha Williams, American minister, academic, and politician (d. 1755)
• 1695 – Marie-Anne-Catherine Quinault, French singer-songwriter (d. 1791)
• 1728 – Johann Heinrich Lambert, Swiss mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1777)
• 1736 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French mineralogist and geologist (d. 1790)
• 1740 – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, French inventor, invented the hot air balloon (d. 1810)
• 1743 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (d. 1794)
• 1775 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (d. 1851)
• 1789 – Abbas Mirza, Persian prince (d. 1833)
• 1792 – Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan soldier and politician, 4th President of Uruguay (d. 1857)
• 1819 – Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom (d. 1861)
• 1826 – Princess Alexandra of Bavaria (d. 1875)
• 1845 – Mary Ann Nichols, English victim of Jack the Ripper (d. 1888)
• 1854 – Arnold Fothergill, English cricketer (d. 1932)
• 1856 – Clara Schønfeld, Danish actress (d. 1939)
• 1862 – Herbert Booth, Canadian songwriter and bandleader (d. 1926)
• 1865 – Arthur James Arnot, Scottish-Australian engineer, designed the Spencer Street Power Station (d. 1946)
• 1873 – Lee de Forest, American engineer and academic, invented the Audion tube (d. 1961)
• 1874 – Zona Gale, American author and playwright (d. 1938)
• 1875 – John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish-Canadian historian and politician, 15th Governor General of Canada (d. 1940)
• 1880 – Guillaume Apollinaire, Italian-French author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1918)
• 1882 – James Franck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
• 1885 – Jules Romains, French author and poet (d. 1972)
• 1891 – Acharya Chatursen Shastri, Indian author and playwright (d. 1960)
• 1894 – Sparky Adams, American baseball player and farmer (d. 1989)
• 1896 – Besse Cooper, American super-centenarian (d. 2012)
• 1896 – Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian soldier and politician (d. 1990)
• 1897 – Yun Posun, South Korean activist and politician, 2nd President of South Korea (d. 1990)
• 1898 – Peggy Guggenheim, American-Italian art collector and philanthropist (d. 1979)
• 1900 – Hellmuth Walter, German-American engineer and businessman (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Eleanor Dark, Australian author and poet (d. 1985)
• 1901 – Hans Kammler, German SS officer and engineer (d. 1945)
• 1901 – Jimmy Rushing, American singer and bandleader (Oklahoma City Blue Devils) (d. 1972)
• 1901 – Maxwell D. Taylor, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Vietnam (d. 1987)
• 1901 – Chen Yi, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (d. 1972)
• 1903 – Caroline Pafford Miller, American author (d. 1992)
• 1904 – Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (d. 1986)
• 1904 – Joe Hulme, English footballer and cricketer (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist, developed the polio vaccine (d. 1993)
• 1907 – Lester Lanin, American bandleader (d. 2004)
• 1908 – Walter Bruno Henning, Prussian-American linguist and scholar (d. 1967)
• 1908 – Aubrey Schenck, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1999)
• 1908 – Gilly Flower, English actress (d. 2001)
• 1909 – Eric Davies, South African cricketer and educator (d. 1976)
• 1909 – Jim Davis, American actor (d. 1981)
• 1909 – Gene Moore, American baseball player (d. 1978)
• 1910 – Mother Teresa, Macedonian-Indian nun and missionary, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Otto Binder, American author and screenwriter (d. 1974)
• 1914 – Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and translator (d. 1984)
• 1914 – Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Turkish soldier and poet (d. 2008)
• 1915 – Humphrey Searle, English composer and conductor (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician
• 1919 – Gerard Campbell, American priest and academic (d. 2012)
• 1920 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Prem Tinsulanonda, Thai general and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Thailand
• 1921 – Shimshon Amitsur, Israeli mathematician and scholar (d. 1994)
• 1921 – Benjamin C. Bradlee, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Wolfgang Sawallisch, German pianist and conductor (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Alex Kellner, American baseball player (d. 1996)
• 1925 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Alain Peyrefitte, French scholar and politician, Minister of Justice for France (d. 1999)
• 1925 – Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Anahit Tsitsikian, Armenian violinist and educator (d. 1999)
• 1926 – Robert Vickrey, American painter and author (d. 2011)
• 1927 – B. V. Doshi, Indian architect and academic, designed the Amdavad ni Gufa
• 1928 – Peter Appleyard, English-Canadian vibraphone player and composer (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Naïm Kattan, Iraqi-Canadian author and critic
• 1928 – Om Prakash Munjal, Indian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Hero Cycles (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Yvette Vickers, American model, actress, and singer (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Reuben Kamanga, Zambian soldier and politician, 1st Vice President of Zambia (d. 1996)
• 1930 – Joe Solomon, Guyanese cricketer and coach
• 1931 – Kálmán Markovits, Hungarian water polo player (d. 2009)
• 1932 – Luis Salvadores Salvi, Chilean basketball player (d. 2014)
• 1934 – Tom Heinsohn, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1934 – Kevin Ryan, Australian rugby player, coach, lawyer and politician
• 1935 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
• 1935 – Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Benedict Anderson, American political scientist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1937 – Don Bowman, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Kenji Utsumi, Japanese voice actor (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Jet Black, English drummer (The Stranglers)
• 1939 – Pinchas Goldstein, Israeli businessman and politician (d. 2007)
• 1939 – Todor Kolev, Bulgarian actor and singer (d. 2013)
• 1939 – Jorge Paulo Lemann, Brazilian banker and financier
• 1940 – Michael Cockerell, English journalist
• 1940 – Don LaFontaine, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1940 – Nik Turner, English singer-songwriter and saxophonist (Hawkwind, Inner City Unit, and Space Ritual)
• 1941 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (The Searchers) (d. 2005)
• 1941 – Jane Merrow, English actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1941 – Barbet Schroeder, French-Swiss director and producer
• 1941 – Akiko Wakabayashi, Japanese actress
• 1942 – Vic Dana, American singer and dancer
• 1942 – Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston, English lawyer and politician
• 1943 – Dori Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Stephen Greif, English actor
• 1944 – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
• 1944 – Alan Parker, English guitarist and songwriter (Blue Mink)
• 1944 – Judith Rees, English geographer and academic
• 1944 – Maureen Tucker, American singer-songwriter and drummer (The Velvet Underground and Half Japanese)
• 1945 – Jo Freeman, American lawyer and scholar
• 1945 – Tom Ridge, American sergeant and politician, 1st Secretary of Homeland Security
• 1946 – Zhou Ji, Chinese engineer and politician, 14th Chinese Minister of Education
• 1946 – Priit Pärn, Estonian animator and director
• 1946 – Chantal Renaud, Canadian singer, actress, and screenwriter
• 1946 – Valerie Simpson, American singer-songwriter (Ashford & Simpson)
• 1946 – Mark Snow, American drummer and composer (New York Rock & Roll Ensemble)
• 1946 – Alison Steadman, English actress and singer
• 1947 – Emiliano Díez, Cuban-American actor and singer
• 1947 – Nicolae Dobrin, Romanian footballer and manager (d. 2007)
• 1949 – Allahshukur Pashazadeh, Azerbaijani cleric
• 1949 – Leon Redbone, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1950 – Benjamin Hendrickson, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1950 – Jüri Okas, Estonian painter and architect
• 1950 – Ahmet Özhan, Turkish singer, conductor, and actor
• 1951 – Gerd Bonk, German weightlifter (d. 2014)
• 1951 – Edward Witten, American physicist and academic
• 1952 – Bryon Baltimore, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1952 – Michael Jeter, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
• 1952 – Will Shortz, American journalist and puzzle creator
• 1953 – Pat Sharkey, Irish footballer
• 1954 – Howard Clark, English golfer and sportscaster
• 1954 – Tracy Krohn, American race car driver and businessman
• 1954 – Hugh Pelham, Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the University of Cambridge
• 1954 – Efren Reyes, Filipino pool player
• 1954 – Steve Wright, English radio host
• 1955 – Ian Dejardin, English historian and curator
• 1956 – Sally Beamish, English viola player and composer
• 1956 – Brett Cullen, American actor and producer
• 1956 – Mark Mangino, American football player and coach
• 1957 – Dr. Alban, Nigerian-Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1957 – Nikky Finney, American poet and academic
• 1957 – Rick Hansen, Canadian wheelchair and philanthropist
• 1958 – Jan Nevens, Belgian cyclist
• 1959 – Stan Van Gundy, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Oliver Colvile, English lawyer and politician
• 1960 – Wanda De Jesus, American actress
• 1960 – Branford Marsalis, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (Buckshot LeFonque)
• 1960 – Nancy Martinez, Canadian singer
• 1960 – Ola Ray, American model and actress
• 1961 – Daniel Lévi, Algerian-French singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1961 – Jeff Parrett, American baseball player
• 1962 – Bob Mionske, American cyclist and lawyer
• 1963 – David Byas, English cricketer and umpire
• 1963 – Stephen J. Dubner, American journalist and author
• 1963 – Patrice Oppliger, American author, critic, and academic
• 1964 – Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijani wife of Ilham Aliyev
• 1964 – Peter Bromby, Bermudian sailor
• 1964 – Kevin Burns, American lawyer and politician
• 1964 – Allegra Huston, English-American author and screenwriter
• 1964 – Bobby Jurasin, American-Canadian football player and coach
• 1964 – Chad Kreuter, American baseball player and manager
• 1964 – Zadok Malka, Israeli footballer and manager
• 1964 – Torsten Schmitz, German boxer
• 1964 – Carsten Wolf, German cyclist
• 1965 – Carolina Arregui, Chilean actress
• 1965 – Chris Burke, American actor and singer
• 1965 – Bobby Duncum, Jr., American wrestler (d. 2000)
• 1965 – Marcus du Sautoy, English mathematician and academic
• 1965 – Jon Hensley, American actor and singer
• 1966 – Jacques Brinkman, Dutch field hockey player and coach
• 1966 – Shirley Manson, Scottish singer-songwriter, and actress (Garbage, Angelfish, and Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie)
• 1967 – Michael Gove, Scottish journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Education
• 1968 – Chris Boardman, English cyclist
• 1968 – Byron Lawson, Canadian actor
• 1969 – Christopher Douglas American actor
• 1969 – Elaine Irwin, American model
• 1970 – Olimpiada Ivanova, Russian race walker
• 1970 – Melissa McCarthy, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Brett Schultz, South African cricketer
• 1970 – Brannen Temple, American drummer and composer
• 1971 – Thalía, Mexican-American singer-songwriter and actress (Timbiriche)
• 1973 – Richard Evatt, English boxer (d. 2012)
• 1974 – Kelvin Cato, American basketball player and coach
• 1974 – Meredith Eaton, American actress
• 1975 – Morgan Ensberg, American baseball player and coach
• 1976 – Zemfira, Russian singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Amaia Montero, Spanish singer-songwriter (La Oreja de Van Gogh)
• 1977 – Therese Alshammar, Swedish swimmer
• 1977 – Liam Botham, English rugby player and cricketer
• 1977 – Saeko Chiba, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1977 – Trần Thu Hà, Vietnamese singer, producer, and dancer
• 1977 – Simone Motta, Italian footballer
• 1977 – Morris Peterson, American basketball player and coach
• 1977 – Dominic Treadwell-Collins, English television producer
• 1978 – Raja Kaasheff, English-Indian singer
• 1979 – Jamal Lewis, American football player
• 1979 – Cristian Mora, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1979 – Rubén Arriaza Pazos, Spanish footballer
• 1979 – Allison Robertson, American guitarist (The Donnas)
• 1979 – Yağmur Sarıgül, Turkish guitarist and songwriter (maNga)
• 1980 – Macaulay Culkin, American actor
• 1980 – Brendan Harris, American baseball player
• 1980 – Manolis Papamakarios, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Chris Pine, American actor
• 1981 – Tino Best, Barbadian cricketer
• 1981 – Sebastian Bönig, German footballer
• 1981 – Andreas Glyniadakis, Greek basketball player
• 1981 – Jesse Martin, German-Australian sailor
• 1981 – Vangelis Moras, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Petey Williams, Canadian wrestler
• 1982 – Angelo Iorio, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Tuğçe Kazaz, Turkish model and actress, Miss Turkey 2001
• 1982 – Akiko Kikuchi, Japanese model and actress
• 1982 – John Mulaney, American comedian and actor
• 1982 – Jayson Nix, American baseball player
• 1982 – Gamze Özçelik, Turkish actress
• 1982 – Noah Welch, American ice hockey player
• 1983 – Mattia Cassani, Italian footballer
• 1983 – Nicol David, Malaysian squash player
• 1983 – Toshiaki Imae, Japanese baseball player
• 1983 – Félix Porteiro, Spanish race car driver
• 1985 – Oleksiy Kasyanov, Ukrainian decathlete
• 1985 – Brian Kelley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Florida Georgia Line)
• 1985 – Brandon McDonald, American football player
• 1985 – David Price, American baseball player
• 1986 – Vladislav Gussev, Estonian footballer
• 1986 – Colin Kazim-Richards, English-Turkish footballer
• 1986 – Big K.R.I.T., American rapper and producer
• 1986 – Cassie Ventura, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
• 1987 – Juan Joseph, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1987 – Riley Steele, American porn actress
• 1988 – Elvis Andrus, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1988 – Tori Black, American porn actress
• 1988 – Niña Jose, Filipino actress
• 1988 – Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este
• 1988 – Evan Ross, American actor and singer
• 1988 – Danielle Savre, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1988 – Wayne Simmonds, Canadians ice hockey player
• 1988 – Lars Stindl, German football player
• 1989 – Héloïse Guérin, French model
• 1989 – James Harden, American basketball player
• 1989 – Lil' Chris, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
• 1991 – Tommy Bastow, English actor and singer (FranKo)
• 1991 – Jessica Diggins, American skier
• 1991 – Dylan O'Brien, American actor
• 1992 – Hayley Hasselhoff, American actress
• 1992 – Yang Yilin, Chinese gymnast
• 1993 – Marko Livaja, Croatian footballer
• 1993 – Keke Palmer, American actress and singer
• 1995 – Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, American son of Anwar al-Awlaki (d. 2011)
• 1996 – Bishop Nehru, American rapper and producer

Deaths

• 1214 – Michael IV of Constantinople
• 1278 – Ottokar II of Bohemia (b. 1233)
• 1346 – Killed in the Battle of Crécy:
  • Charles II, Count of Alençon (b. 1297)
  • Louis I, Count of Flanders (b. 1304)
  • Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1320)
  • John of Bohemia (b. 1296)
• 1349 – Thomas Bradwardine, English archbishop, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1290)
• 1462 – Catherine Zaccaria, Byzantine daughter of Centurione II Zaccaria
• 1551 – Margaret Leijonhufvud, Swedish wife of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1516)
• 1572 – Petrus Ramus, French philosopher and logician (b. 1515)
• 1595 – António, Prior of Crato (b. 1531)
• 1666 – Frans Hals, Dutch painter and educator (b. 1580)
• 1714 – Constantin Brâncoveanu, Ruler of Wallachia (b. 1654)
  • Edward Fowler, English bishop and author (b. 1632)
• 1723 – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microscopist and biologist (b. 1632)
• 1785 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, English soldier and politician, 3rd Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1716)
• 1810 – Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, French-Spanish sailor and politician, 10th Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (b. 1753)
• 1813 – Theodor Körner, German soldier and author (b. 1791)
• 1850 – Louis Philippe I of France (b. 1773)
• 1865 – Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer and academic (b. 1791)
• 1908 – Tony Pastor, American actor, singer, and manager (b. 1837)
• 1910 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1842)
• 1921 – Sándor Wekerle, Hungarian jurist and politician, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1848)
• 1930 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1883)
• 1943 – Bîmen Şen, Turkish composer and songwriter (b. 1873)
• 1944 – Adam von Trott zu Solz, German lawyer and diplomat (b. 1909)
• 1945 – Franz Werfel, Austrian author and playwright (b. 1890)
• 1946 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1887)
• 1956 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-American activist (b. 1881)
• 1958 – Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer and educator (b. 1872)
• 1968 – Kay Francis, American actress, singer, and producer (b. 1899)
• 1968 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish painter and educator (b. 1899)
• 1972 – Francis Chichester, English pilot and sailor (b. 1901)
• 1974 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (b. 1902)
• 1975 – Olaf Holtedahl, Norwegian geologist and academic (b. 1885)
• 1976 – Lotte Lehmann, German-American soprano (b. 1888)
• 1977 – H. A. Rey, German-American author and illustrator, created Curious George (b. 1898)
• 1978 – Charles Boyer, French-American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1899)
• 1978 – José Manuel Moreno, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1916)
• 1979 – Mika Waltari, Finnish author, translator, and academic (b. 1908)
• 1980 – Rosa Albach-Retty, German-Austrian actress (b. 1874)
• 1980 – Tex Avery, American animator, director, and voice actor (b. 1908)
• 1981 – Roger Nash Baldwin, American union leader, co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (b. 1884)
• 1981 – Lee Hays, American singer-songwriter (The Weavers) (b. 1914)
• 1986 – Ted Knight, American actor (b. 1923)
• 1987 – John Goddard, Barbadian-English cricketer and manager (b. 1919)
• 1987 – Georg Wittig, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
• 1988 – Carlos Paião, Portuguese singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
• 1989 – Irving Stone, American author (b. 1903)
• 1992 – Bob de Moor, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1925)
• 1993 – Reima Pietilä, Finnish architect, co-designed the Kaleva Church (b. 1923)
• 1995 – John Brunner, English-Scottish author and poet (b. 1934)
• 1998 – Jaanus Kuum, Estonian-Norwegian cyclist (b. 1964)
• 1998 – Frederick Reines, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• 2000 – Akbar Adibi, Iranian engineer and academic (b. 1939)
• 2001 – Louis Muhlstock, Polish-Canadian painter and educator (b. 1904)
• 2001 – Marita Petersen, Faroese educator and politician, 8th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b. 1940)
• 2003 – Jim Wacker, American football player and coach (b. 1937)
• 2004 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1952)
• 2005 – Denis D'Amour, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (Voivod) (b. 1960)
• 2005 – Robert Denning, American art collector and interior designer (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Rainer Barzel, Polish-German lawyer and politician, Minister of Intra-German Relations (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Clyde Walcott, Barbadian cricketer and coach (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Gaston Thorn, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1928)
• 2007 – Ramon Zamora, Filipino actor and director (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Sadie Corré, English actress and dancer (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Dominick Dunne, American journalist and novelist (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Raimon Panikkar, Catalan priest and scholar (b. 1918)
• 2011 – George Band, Taiwanese-English mountaineer and author (b. 1929)
• 2011 – Patrick C. Fischer, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
• 2011 – John McAleese, Scottish sergeant (b. 1949)
• 2012 – Russ Alben, American composer and businessman (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Reginald Bartholomew, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Jacques Bensimon, Canadian director and producer (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Alix de Lannoy, Belgian mother of Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1941)
• 2012 – A. K. Hangal, Indian actor (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Krzysztof Wilmanski, Polish-German physicist and academic (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Hélie de Saint Marc, French soldier (b. 1922)
• 2013 – John J. Gilligan, American soldier and politician, 62nd Governor of Ohio (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Gerard Murphy, Irish-English actor (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Bill Schmitz, American football player and coach (b. 1954)
• 2013 – Jack Sinagra, American lawyer and politician (b. 1950)
• 2013 – Clyde A. Wheeler, American soldier and politician (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Christian Bourquin, French lawyer and politician (b. 1954)
• 2014 – Peter Bacon Hales, American historian, photographer, and author (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Caroline Kellett, English journalist (b. 1960)
• 2014 – Chūsei Sone, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
• 2014 – David E. Sorensen, American religious leader (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Amelia Boynton Robinson, American activist (b. 1911)
• 2015 – Donald Eric Capps, American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1939)
• 2015 – P. J. Kavanagh, English poet and author (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Peter Kern, Austrian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Francisco San Diego, Filipino bishop (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia (Greek Church)
  • Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá
  • David Lewis
  • Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages
  • Mariam Baouardy (Melkite Greek Catholic Church)
  • Melchizedek
  • Our Lady of Częstochowa
  • Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus
  • Zephyrinus
  • August 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Herero Day
• Heroes' Day (Namibia)
• Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)
• Women's Equality Day (United States)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada