Historical Events on Tuesday, 26th August

50 significant events took place on Tuesday, 26th August — stretching from 683 to 2023. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.

On 26 August 2025, DayAtlas provides a comprehensive record of historical events that have marked this date across centuries. The platform documents significant moments ranging from military conflicts to technological achievements, offering users insight into how particular days have shaped history. Among the notable occurrences recorded for this date is the 2021 Kabul airlift suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which resulted in the deaths of 13 US military personnel and at least 169 Afghan civilians during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Another pivotal event occurred in 2014 when the Jay Report into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal was published, bringing significant attention to institutional failures in protecting vulnerable children in the United Kingdom.

The historical record also includes numerous conflicts and turning points throughout earlier centuries. The Battle of Crécy in 1346 saw an English army decisively defeat a French force twice its size during the Hundred Years’ War, marking a significant shift in military tactics and medieval warfare. These events represent just a fraction of the occurrences that DayAtlas catalogues for any given date, spanning from ancient times to the modern era.

DayAtlas serves as a resource for understanding historical patterns and their relevance to contemporary times. The platform displays weather conditions for this day, notable events, and records of famous births and deaths for any date and location that users wish to explore. This comprehensive approach allows individuals to connect specific dates with their historical significance and personal relevance across different parts of the world.

Explore all events today 19th April.

26/08/2023

Exactly 5 years after the 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting, there is another shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, leaving 3 people dead.

The 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting, also known as the Jacksonville shooting, was a mass shooting that occurred at a video game tournament for the video game Madden NFL 19 in Jacksonville Landing, Jacksonville, Florida on August 26, 2018, at about 1:30 pm (EDT). 24-year-old David Katz fatally shot two people and injured ten others before killing himself.


26/08/2021

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

Foreign nationals and some vulnerable Afghan citizens were airlifted from Kabul by the United States and its allies in 2021. The airlift followed the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 and during the final stages of the US and NATO troop withdrawal, marking the end of the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan.


26/08/2018

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

The 2018 Jacksonville Landing shooting, also known as the Jacksonville shooting, was a mass shooting that occurred at a video game tournament for the video game Madden NFL 19 in Jacksonville Landing, Jacksonville, Florida on August 26, 2018, at about 1:30 pm (EDT). 24-year-old David Katz fatally shot two people and injured ten others before killing himself.


26/08/2015

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

On the morning of August 26, 2015, news reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, both employees of CBS affiliate WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, United States, were fatally shot while conducting a live television interview near Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta. They were interviewing Vicki Gardner, executive director of the local chamber of commerce, when all three were attacked by a gunman in a shooting. Parker, age 24, and Ward, age 27, died at the scene, while Gardner survived.


26/08/2014

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

From the late 1980s until 2013, group-based child sexual exploitation affected an estimated 1,400 girls, commonly from care home backgrounds, in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Between 1997 and 2013, girls were abused by grooming gangs of predominantly Pakistani men. Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the "biggest child protection scandal in UK history". In July 2025, investigations were being carried out into allegations that police officers had also raped child victims.


26/08/2011

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

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, which focused largely on efficiency. The program was launched on April 26, 2004, with an order for 50 aircraft from All Nippon Airways (ANA), targeting a 2008 introduction. On July 8, 2007, a prototype 787 without major operating systems was rolled out; subsequently the aircraft experienced multiple delays, until its maiden flight on December 15, 2009. Type certification was received in August 2011, and the first 787-8 was delivered in September 2011 and entered commercial service in October 2011, with ANA.


26/08/2009

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

On June 10, 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard, an eleven-year-old girl, was abducted from a street while walking to a school bus stop in Meyers, California, United States. Searches began immediately after Dugard's disappearance, but no reliable leads were generated, even though several people witnessed the kidnapping. Dugard remained missing for over 18 years until 2009, when a convicted sex offender, Phillip Garrido, visited the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, accompanied by two adolescent girls, who were later discovered to be the biological daughters of Garrido and Dugard, on August 24 and 25 of that year. The unusual behavior of the trio sparked an investigation that led Garrido's parole officer, Edward Santos Jr, to order Garrido to take the two girls to a parole office in Concord, California, on August 26. Garrido was accompanied by a woman who was eventually identified as Dugard.


26/08/2003

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.

The Beechcraft 1900 is an American twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring larger regional jets, then-owner Raytheon ended production in October 2002.


26/08/1999

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

The Second Chechen War took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 to April 2009.


26/08/1998

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.

Delta III was an expendable launch vehicle made by McDonnell Douglas. Development was canceled before the vehicle became operational. The vehicle is the third generation of the Delta rocket family, developed from the highly successful Delta II to help meet the launch demand of larger satellites. While the Delta III never had a successful launch, some of the technologies developed were used in its successor, the Delta IV.


26/08/1997

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

The Beni Ali massacre took place in the mountain hamlet of Beni Ali, 40 miles (64 km) south of Algiers near Chrea, on 26 August 1997. Sixty-four or 100 people were killed in a terrorist attack. Three days later came the larger Rais massacre.


26/08/1993

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

Sakha Avia Flight 301 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kutana to Aldan via Uchur in Russia. On 26 August 1993 the Let L-410 Turbolet operating the flight crashed on approach to Aldan Airport, killing all 24 people on board. It is the deadliest aviation disaster involving the Let L-410 Turbolet.


26/08/1980

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.

The Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing took place on August 26–27, 1980, when several men masquerading as photocopier deliverers planted an elaborately booby trapped bomb containing 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of dynamite at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, United States. During an attempt to disarm the bomb, it exploded, causing extensive damage to the hotel but no injuries or deaths. The total cost of the damage was estimated to be around $18 million. John Birges Sr. was convicted of having made the bomb with a goal of extorting money from the casino after having lost $750,000 there. He died in prison in 1996 at age 74.


26/08/1978

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

A conclave was held on 25 and 26 August 1978 to elect a new pope to succeed Paul VI, who had died on 6 August 1978. Of the 114 eligible cardinal electors, all but three attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Albino Luciani, the patriarch of Venice. After accepting his election, he took the name John Paul I.


26/08/1977

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

The Charter of the French Language, also known as Bill 101, is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is the central piece of legislation that forms Quebec's language policy and one of the three principal statutes upon which the cohesion of Quebec's society is based, along with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Civil Code of Quebec. The charter also protects the Indigenous languages in Quebec.


26/08/1972

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

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad and officially branded as Munich 1972, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin, which had taken place under the Nazi rule. Germany became only the second country at that point after the United States to have two different cities host the Summer Olympics.


26/08/1970

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

The Women's Strike for Equality took place in the United States on August 26, 1970. It celebrated the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment, which effectively gave American women the right to vote. The rally was sponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW). Estimates ranged as high as 50,000 women at the protest in New York City and more protested throughout the country. At this time, the gathering was the largest on behalf of women in the United States. The strike, spearheaded by Betty Friedan, self-stated three primary goals: free abortion on demand, equal opportunity in the workforce, and free childcare. The strike also advocated for other second wave feminist goals more generally, such as political rights for women, and social equality in relationships such as marriage.


26/08/1969

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

The 1969 Vnukovo Airport Il-18 crash was a plane crash at Vnukovo Airport on 26 August 1969. Of the 101 people on board, 16 were killed.


26/08/1966

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

The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia, Zambia, and Angola from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990. It was fought between the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), an armed wing of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). The South African Border War was closely intertwined with the Angolan Civil War.


26/08/1944

World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and Vichy France in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy in France. Following the 1958 Algiers putsch, he came out of retirement at the request of President René Coty, who appointed him Prime Minister. He commissioned a new constitution which was approved by voters in a referendum, establishing the Fifth Republic. He was subsequently elected President of France later that year, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. He is widely regarded as the greatest Frenchman of the 20th century.


26/08/1942

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.

The Holocaust saw the systematic mass murder of Jews in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, the General Government, the Crimean General Government and some areas which were located to the east of Reichskommissariat Ukraine, in the Transnistria Governorate and Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region and Carpathian Ruthenia during World War II. The listed areas are currently parts of Ukraine.


26/08/1940

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.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.


26/08/1936

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

The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic and included socialists, anarchists, communists, and separatists, supported by the Soviet Union. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of fascist Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists, supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and initially led by a military junta, until General Francisco Franco was appointed supreme leader on 1 October 1936 for what he called the Spanish State. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, religious struggle, or struggle between republican democracy and dictatorship, revolution and counterrevolution, or fascism and communism. The Nationalists won the war in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.


26/08/1922

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.

The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a part of the Turkish War of Independence.


26/08/1920

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

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby went into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.


26/08/1914

World 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.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as The Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.


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.

The Battle of Mons, or the First Battle of Mons to differentiate it from another battle later in the war, was the first big engagement of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with the German Army on the French–German frontier. At Mons, the British Army attempted to hold the line of the Mons–Condé Canal against the advancing German 1st Army. Although the British fought well and inflicted disproportionate casualties on the numerically superior Germans, they were forced to retreat due to being outnumbered and the sudden retreat of the French Fifth Army which exposed the British right flank. Though initially planned as a simple tactical withdrawal and executed in good order, the British retreat from Mons lasted for two weeks and took the BEF to the outskirts of Paris, before it counter-attacked in concert with the French, at the First Battle of the Marne.


26/08/1883

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

Between 20 May and 21 October 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa began erupting, lasting more than 5 months. On 27 August, the island had its most significant eruption, which destroyed over seventy-percent of the island and its surrounding archipelago, the island collapsing into a caldera. The 27 August eruption had an estimated volcanic explosivity index of 6, and is one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history; the third explosion of that day, that occurred at 10:02 AM, remains the loudest known sound in history.


26/08/1863

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

The national flag of Finland, also known in Finnish as the siniristilippu, dates from the beginning of the 20th century. The flag was adopted after independence from the Russian Empire, but its design has roots in the 19th century.


26/08/1849

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.

Faustin-Élie Soulouque was a Haitian politician and military officer who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859.


26/08/1833

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

The 1833 Nepal–India earthquake occurred on August 26 at 22:58 local time (NPT). This earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 7.6–7.9 and struck with an epicenter somewhere in or near the Kathmandu Valley. The earthquake caused major destruction in numerous towns and villages in Nepal, northern India, and Tibet. The earthquake was also felt in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Despite the extent of the damage, the number of fatalities resulting from the earthquake was surprisingly low, at approximately 500. This was because the mainshock was preceded by two smaller but intense foreshocks earlier that day, causing many residents to take refuge outside their homes.


26/08/1814

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.

The Chilean War of Independence was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Monarchy, ending the colonial period and initiating the formation of an independent republic.


26/08/1813

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).

In the War of the Sixth Coalition, sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Sardinia, and a number of German States defeated France and drove Napoleon into exile on Elba. After the disastrous French invasion of Russia of 1812 in which they had been forced to support France, Prussia and Austria joined Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Portugal, and the rebels in Spain who were already at war with France. The invasion of Russia cost the French many seasoned soldiers, so Napoleon took action to engage "Marie-Louises", young conscripts who were barely familiar with military affairs; they were called up from October 1813 to 1815. However, the constant warfare weakened the Coalition nations as well. The Russian military was particularly depleted after 1812, and Prussia also suffered a significant downgrade as a result of its losses in 1806–1807; nevertheless, it carried out large-scale reforms to improve the situation in the Prussian Army. Later, having encountered the Prussians in the Battle of Lützen, Napoleon would say: "These animals have learned something."


26/08/1810

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

Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, KOM, OM was a Spanish military officer and a viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Although born Jacques de Liniers in France, he is more widely known by the Spanish form of his name.


26/08/1791

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

John Fitch was an American inventor, clockmaker, entrepreneur, and engineer. He was most famous for operating the first steamboat service in the United States. The first boat, 45 feet long, was tested on the Delaware River by Fitch and his design assistant Steven Pagano.


26/08/1789

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

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Declaration of Human and Civil Rights". Inspired by Enlightenment philosophers, the declaration was a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a significant impact on the development of popular conceptions of individual liberty and democracy in Europe and worldwide.


26/08/1778

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

Triglav, with an elevation of 2,863.65 metres, is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the coat of arms and flag of Slovenia. It is the centrepiece of Triglav National Park, Slovenia's only national park. Triglav was also the highest peak in Yugoslavia before Slovenia's independence in 1991.


26/08/1768

Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.

Captain James Cook was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and led the first recorded visit by Europeans to the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.


26/08/1767

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

The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits, is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church. Headquartered in Rome, it was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The Society of Jesus is the largest Catholic religious male order and has played a significant role in education, charity, humanitarian acts and global policies. Jesuits are engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 countries, including education, research, and cultural pursuits. They also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian works, and promote ecumenical dialogue.


26/08/1748

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

Lutheranism or Evangelical Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. The Lutheran churches adhere to the Bible and the ecumenical creeds, with Lutheran doctrine being explicated in the Book of Concord. Lutherans hold themselves to be in continuity with the apostolic church and affirm the writings of the Church Fathers and the first four ecumenical councils.


26/08/1648

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.

The Fronde was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the noble regional court assemblies, as well as much of the French population, and managed to subdue them all. The dispute started when the government of France issued seven fiscal edicts, six of which were to increase taxation. The parlements resisted, questioned the constitutionality of the king's actions, and sought to check his powers.


26/08/1642

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.

The Dutch–Portuguese War was a global armed conflict involving Dutch forces, in the form of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the Dutch West India Company, and their allies, against the Iberian Union, and after 1640, the Portuguese Empire. Beginning in 1598, the conflict primarily involved the Dutch companies and fleet invading Portuguese colonies in the Americas, Africa, and the East Indies.


26/08/1542

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.

Guayaquil, officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is located on the west bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil.


26/08/1444

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.

The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs was fought between the Old Swiss Confederacy and French mercenaries, on the banks of the river Birs. The battle took place on 26 August 1444 and was part of the Old Zürich War. The site of the battle was near Münchenstein, Switzerland, just over 1 km outside the city walls of Basel, today within Basel's St-Alban district.


26/08/1366

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

The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'.


26/08/1346

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

The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death, and several years of truces.


26/08/1303

Chittorgarh falls to the Delhi Sultanate.

In 1303, the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji captured the Chittor Fort from the Guhila king Ratnasimha, after an eight month long siege. The conflict has been described in several legendary accounts, including the historic epic poem Padmavat, which claims that Alauddin's motive was to obtain Ratnasimha's beautiful wife Padmavati.


26/08/1278

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.

Ladislaus IV, also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hungary. At the age of seven, he married Elisabeth, a daughter of King Charles I of Sicily. Ladislaus was only 9 when a rebellious lord, Joachim Gutkeled, kidnapped and imprisoned him.


26/08/1071

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

The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that culturally became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture.


26/08/0683

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

The Battle of al-Harra was fought between the Umayyad army of the caliph Yazid I led by Muslim ibn Uqba and the defenders of Medina from the Ansar and Muhajirun factions, who had rebelled against the caliph. The battle took place at the lava field of Harrat Waqim in the northeastern outskirts of Medina on 26 August 683 and lasted less than a day.