August 26
1817 - The University of Michigan was founded.
1847 - Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic.
1883 - A massive volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa blew up most of the island and resulted in tsunamis that killed more than 36,000 people.
1910 - Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia.
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was declared in effect.
1944 - French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation.
1957 - The Soviet Union announced that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
1968 - The Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago; the four-day event that resulted in the nomination of Hubert H. Humphrey for president was marked by a bloody police crackdown on antiwar protesters in the streets.
1974 - Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh died at age 72.
1978 - Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and took the name John Paul I. (He died one month later.)
1985 - 13-year-old AIDS patient Ryan White began “attending” classes at Western Middle School in Kokomo, Indiana, via a telephone hook-up at his home -- school officials had barred Ryan from attending classes in person.
1986 - In the so-called "preppie murder case," 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was found strangled in New York's Central Park. (Robert Chambers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 15 years in prison.)
2003 - Investigators concluded that NASA's overconfident management and inattention to safety doomed the space shuttle Columbia as much as damage to the craft did.
2004 - The nation’s supply of vaccine for the impending flu season took a big hit when Chiron Corp. announced it had found tainted doses in its factory, and would hold up shipment of about 50 million shots.
2011 - More than 2 million people along the Eastern Seaboard were ordered to move to safer ground as Hurricane Irene approached the coast.
2015 - Alison Parker, a reporter for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, and her cameraman, Adam Ward, were shot to death during a live broadcast by a disgruntled former station employee who fatally shot himself while being pursued by police.
2017 - Hurricane Harvey spun into Texas, unloading extraordinary amounts of rain. (The hurricane killed nearly 70 people, damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage.)
2020 - Seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested in Illinois in the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of another during a third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. (Rittenhouse, who said he was defending himself after the three men attacked him, is awaiting trial on charges including two homicide counts.)
Birthdays
27 - Seven Craft (reality star)
28 - Keke Palmer (actress)
30 - Dylan O'Brien (actor)
32 - James Harden (basketball player)
33 - Danielle Savre (actress)
33 - Evan Ross (actor)
35 - Cassie Ventura (singer)
36 - Brian Kelley (singer)
37 - Johnny Ray Gill (actor)
39 - John Mulaney (actor/comedian)
41 - Chris Pine (actor)
41 - Macaulay Culkin (actor)
45 - Mike Colter (actor)
47 - Meredith Eaton (actress)
51 - Melissa McCarthy (actress)
55 - Shirley Manson (actress/singer)
56 - Chris Burke (actor)
62 - Stan Van Gundy (basketball coach)
65 - Brett Cullen (actor)
70 - Bill Whitaker (broadcast journalist)
72 - Bob Cowsill (singer)
76 - Valerie Simpson (singer)
81 - Vic Dana (singer)
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Today in Sports History - August 26
1912 - Pitcher Walter Johnson's 16-game MLB winning streak ends.
1938 - The Montreal Maroons franchise is dropped by the NHL.
1939 - The first televised major league baseball game was aired, a double-header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds.
1961 - The Hockey Hall of Fame opened in Toronto.
1971 - Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins for $1 million, the first million dollar contract in NHL history.
2004 - The United States defeats Brazil to win the gold medal in women's soccer at the Olympic Games in Athens.
2012 - 15 year-old New Zealand golfer, Lydia Ko, becomes the youngest LPGA Tour event winner and the 1st amateur winner since 1969 by winning the Canadian Women's Open by 3 strokes from Inbee Park
2016 - San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained seated on the team’s bench rather than standing for the national anthem before the Niners played host to the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game, saying he believed the United States was oppressing African Americans and other minorities.
1817 - The University of Michigan was founded.
1847 - Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic.
1883 - A massive volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa blew up most of the island and resulted in tsunamis that killed more than 36,000 people.
1910 - Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia.
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was declared in effect.
1944 - French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation.
1957 - The Soviet Union announced that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
1968 - The Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago; the four-day event that resulted in the nomination of Hubert H. Humphrey for president was marked by a bloody police crackdown on antiwar protesters in the streets.
1974 - Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh died at age 72.
1978 - Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and took the name John Paul I. (He died one month later.)
1985 - 13-year-old AIDS patient Ryan White began “attending” classes at Western Middle School in Kokomo, Indiana, via a telephone hook-up at his home -- school officials had barred Ryan from attending classes in person.
1986 - In the so-called "preppie murder case," 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was found strangled in New York's Central Park. (Robert Chambers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 15 years in prison.)
2003 - Investigators concluded that NASA's overconfident management and inattention to safety doomed the space shuttle Columbia as much as damage to the craft did.
2004 - The nation’s supply of vaccine for the impending flu season took a big hit when Chiron Corp. announced it had found tainted doses in its factory, and would hold up shipment of about 50 million shots.
2011 - More than 2 million people along the Eastern Seaboard were ordered to move to safer ground as Hurricane Irene approached the coast.
2015 - Alison Parker, a reporter for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, and her cameraman, Adam Ward, were shot to death during a live broadcast by a disgruntled former station employee who fatally shot himself while being pursued by police.
2017 - Hurricane Harvey spun into Texas, unloading extraordinary amounts of rain. (The hurricane killed nearly 70 people, damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage.)
2020 - Seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested in Illinois in the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of another during a third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. (Rittenhouse, who said he was defending himself after the three men attacked him, is awaiting trial on charges including two homicide counts.)
Birthdays
27 - Seven Craft (reality star)
28 - Keke Palmer (actress)
30 - Dylan O'Brien (actor)
32 - James Harden (basketball player)
33 - Danielle Savre (actress)
33 - Evan Ross (actor)
35 - Cassie Ventura (singer)
36 - Brian Kelley (singer)
37 - Johnny Ray Gill (actor)
39 - John Mulaney (actor/comedian)
41 - Chris Pine (actor)
41 - Macaulay Culkin (actor)
45 - Mike Colter (actor)
47 - Meredith Eaton (actress)
51 - Melissa McCarthy (actress)
55 - Shirley Manson (actress/singer)
56 - Chris Burke (actor)
62 - Stan Van Gundy (basketball coach)
65 - Brett Cullen (actor)
70 - Bill Whitaker (broadcast journalist)
72 - Bob Cowsill (singer)
76 - Valerie Simpson (singer)
81 - Vic Dana (singer)
=============================================
Today in Sports History - August 26
1912 - Pitcher Walter Johnson's 16-game MLB winning streak ends.
1938 - The Montreal Maroons franchise is dropped by the NHL.
1939 - The first televised major league baseball game was aired, a double-header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds.
1961 - The Hockey Hall of Fame opened in Toronto.
1971 - Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins for $1 million, the first million dollar contract in NHL history.
2004 - The United States defeats Brazil to win the gold medal in women's soccer at the Olympic Games in Athens.
2012 - 15 year-old New Zealand golfer, Lydia Ko, becomes the youngest LPGA Tour event winner and the 1st amateur winner since 1969 by winning the Canadian Women's Open by 3 strokes from Inbee Park
2016 - San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained seated on the team’s bench rather than standing for the national anthem before the Niners played host to the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game, saying he believed the United States was oppressing African Americans and other minorities.
