Date·Lore

On This Day · The 238th day of the year

August 26

August 26 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1346 and 2015. Hundred Years' War: At the Battle of Crécy, an English army easily defeats a French one twice its size.

♍ZodiacVirgo ◈BirthstonePeridot ❀Birth flowerGladiolus

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on August 26?

August 26 is the 238th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1346 and 2015. Famous people born on August 26 include Katherine Johnson, Karen Spärck Jones and Chris Pine.

The shape of the day

From 1346 to 2015, August 26 gathers 669 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

Virgo is the sign for August 26 — read more on the Virgo page, or see August's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on August 26

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening

2024

  • Game Halls of Torment

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1346

    Hundred Years' War

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

  2. 1748

    Lutheranism

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

  3. 1778

    Triglav

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

  4. 1883

    1883 eruption of Krakatoa

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

  5. 1914

    World War I

    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.

  6. 1940

    World War II

    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.

  7. 1944

    Charles de Gaulle

    World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris.

  8. 1980

    Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing

    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.

  9. 2011

    Boeing 787 Dreamliner

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

  10. 2015

    Murders of Alison Parker and Adam Ward

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

Famous birthday twins

Born on August 26

Katherine Johnson

b. 1918

American physicist and mathematician

Karen Spärck Jones

b. 1935

English computer scientist and academic

Chris Pine

b. 1980

American actor

Mother Teresa

b. 1910

Albanian-Indian nun, missionary, Catholic saint, and Nobel Prize laureate

Antoine Lavoisier

b. 1743

French chemist and biologist

James Franck

b. 1882

German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Frederick V of the Palatinate

b. 1596

Elector Palatine, Bohemian king

Wolfgang Sawallisch

b. 1923

German pianist and conductor

Deaths

  • 1974Charles Lindbergh
  • 1921Matthias Erzberger
  • 1865Johann Franz Encke
  • 1850Louis Philippe I
  • 1723Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá
  • —Christian feast day: Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed John Paul I
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Lavrentia Herasymiv
  • —Christian feast day: Mariam Baouardy (Melkite Greek Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Melchizedek
  • —Christian feast day: Our Lady of Częstochowa

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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