August 26 in History

The Battle of al-Harra (Arabic: يوم الحرة, romanized: Yawm al-Ḥarra, lit. 'Day of al-Harra') was fought between the Umayyad army of the caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) 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. The elite factions of Medina disapproved of the hereditary succession of Yazid (unprecedented in Islamic history until that point), resented the caliph's impious lifestyle, and chafed under Umayyad economic acts and policies. After declaring their rebellion, they besieged the Umayyad clan resident in Medina and dug a defensive trench around the city. The expeditionary force sent by Yazid and local Umayyads, who had since been released from the siege, encamped at Harrat Waqim, where the rebels confronted them. Despite an initial advantage, the Medinans were routed due to the defection of one of their factions, the Banu Haritha, which enabled Umayyad horse riders led by Marwan ibn al-Hakam to attack them from the rear. Afterward, the army pillaged Medina for three days, though accounts of the plunder vary considerably. The Syrian army proceeded to besiege the rebel leader Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca, though Ibn Uqba died en route. In contrast to Ibn al-Zubayr's call for a shura to decide the caliphate and his success in resisting the Umayyads, the rebels in Medina lacked a political program and military experience. The traditional Islamic sources list the Battle of al-Harra and its aftermath as one of the Umayyads' 'major crimes' and malign Ibn Uqba for his role in the plunder of Medina.

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.

Ladislaus IV of Hungary, 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.

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 king Ratnasimha's beautiful wife Padmavati.

The Hundred Years' War (French: Guerre de Cent Ans; 1337–1453) was a series of conflicts 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 different 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. The Hundred Years' War was a significant conflict in the Middle Ages. During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, then the wealthiest and most populous kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare. Chivalry reached its height during the conflict and subsequently declined. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers. The term "Hundred Years' War" was adopted by later historians and included dynastically related conflicts in Spain and Belgium, resulting in the longest military conflict in European history. The war is commonly divided into three phases, separated by truces: the Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however, the French forces under the House of Valois ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies thereafter remained separate, despite the monarchs of England and Great Britain styling themselves as sovereigns of France until 1802.

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 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'.

The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs was fought between the Old Swiss Confederacy and French (mostly Armagnac) 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.

Guayaquil (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaʝaˈkil] ), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. It is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is located on the west bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil. With a population of more than 3,000,000, it is the most populous city in the country, the fifth largest in the Andean Community. However, its urban fabric extends beyond its official urban parishes, encompassing nearby cities and parishes, making it the most populous urban agglomeration in the nation, and fifth in the Andean Community. As the largest city, it is one of the two main development poles of the country—alongside Quito, the national capital—hosting Ecuador's main business, financial, cultural, and sports institutions. After several failed founding attempts, it was definitively established in July 25, 1535 under the name "Santiago de Guayaquil" as a shipyard and port for trade in service of the Spanish Empire. From that moment, it became a key hub in the economy of the Spanish colony and later of the nation. Guayaquil has been the site of major revolutions and uprisings throughout its history, being the first Ecuadorian city to definitively achieve its independence from Spain in October 9, 1820. It later served as the capital of the Free Province of Guayaquil, which was subsequently annexed to Gran Colombia. Since 1830, it has been part of the Republic of Ecuador, playing a significant economic and political role. Guayaquil stands out among Ecuadorian cities for its high use of mass transit, total population density, and diversity. The city's port is one of the most important on the eastern Pacific coast. About 70% of the country's private exports leave through its facilities, and 83% of imports enter through them.

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 (GWC), 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.

The Fronde was a civil war fought in France between 1648 and 1653. The term comes from the French noun for slingshot, and was originally a derogatory term for the rebels. The conflict derived from opposition to the centralising policies pursued by the government of Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin. These in turn were a response to the financial crisis caused by French involvement in the Thirty Years' War, which ended in 1648, and the ongoing Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659). It can be divided into two parts, the first from 1648 to 1649, generally known as La Fronde des Parlements, followed by La Fronde des Princes from 1650 to 1653. Both resulted in victory for the ruling regime.

Lutheranism or Evangelical Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that arose 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 helped launch 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.

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 it 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.

Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) 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. Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager before enlisting in the Royal Navy in 1755. He first saw combat during the Seven Years' War, when he fought in the Siege of Louisbourg. Later in the war he surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the St. Lawrence River during the Siege of Quebec. In the 1760s he mapped the coastline of Newfoundland and made important astronomical observations which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and the Royal Society. This acclaim came at a pivotal moment in British overseas exploration, and it led to his commission in 1768 as commander of HMS Endeavour for the first of his three voyages. During these voyages, Cook sailed tens of thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas, mapping coastlines, islands, and features across the globe in greater detail than previously charted – including Easter Island, Alaska and South Georgia Island. He made contact with numerous indigenous peoples and claimed several territories for the Kingdom of Great Britain. Renowned for exceptional seamanship and courage in times of danger, he was patient, persistent, sober, and competent, but sometimes hot-tempered. His contributions to the prevention of scurvy, a disease common among sailors, led the Royal Society to award him the Copley Gold Medal. In 1779, during his second visit to Hawaii, Cook was killed when a dispute with Native Hawaiians turned violent. His voyages left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge that influenced his successors well into the 20th century. Numerous memorials have been dedicated to him worldwide.

Triglav (pronounced [ˈtɾíːɡlaw]; German: Terglau; Italian: Tricorno), with an elevation of 2,863.65 metres (9,395 ft 2+1⁄8 in), 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. Other than a symbol of the nation, Triglav is a popular hiking spot, for both locals and visitors. It is said that every true Slovenian person should have stood on the peak at least once in their life .

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen de 1789), 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. The declaration was initially drafted by Marquis de Lafayette with assistance from Thomas Jefferson, but the majority of the final draft came from Abbé Sieyès. Influenced by the doctrine of natural right, human rights are held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law. It is included at the beginning of the constitutions of both the French Fourth Republic (1946) and French Fifth Republic (1958) and is considered valid as constitutional law.

John Fitch (January 21, 1743 – July 2, 1798) 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.

Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, KOM, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) 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. He was popularly regarded as the hero of the reconquest of Buenos Aires after the first British invasion of the River Plate. As a result of his success, he was appointed as viceroy, replacing Rafael de Sobremonte. It was unprecedented for a viceroy to be replaced without the King's direct intervention. But he was confirmed in office by Charles IV of Spain. He defended the settlement against a second British invasion and a mutiny that sought to replace him. He was replaced in 1809 by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, appointed as viceroy by the Junta of Seville, and retired from public activity. But when the May Revolution took place, Liniers decided to come out of his retirement and organized a monarchist uprising in Córdoba. Liniers was forced to flee, but was eventually captured and executed without trial.

The War of the Sixth Coalition (French: Guerre de la Sixième Coalition; December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (German: Befreiungskriege) saw a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Sardinia, and a number of German states defeat the First French Empire and force Napoleon into exile on Elba. Following the disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812 in which they had been forced to support France, Prussia and Austria joined Russia, Britain, Sweden, Portugal and Spain against 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." The war saw battles at Lützen, Bautzen, and Dresden. The even larger Battle of Leipzig was the largest battle fought in Europe until World War II. Despite experiencing a collapse in the army following the invasion of Russia, Napoleon managed to reorganise and stall the coalition, driving them out of Germany and compelling them to accept a truce. With their armies reorganized, the allies drove Napoleon out of Germany in 1813 and invaded France in 1814. Though it had experienced a second collapse after the battle of Leipzig, the French army managed to regroup and Napoleon struck the allies at the Battle of Brienne and the Battle of Saint-Dizier before his defeat at the Battle of La Rothiere, which motivated the coalition to march on Paris as they sensed Napoleon growing weaker. Napoleon then inflicted a series of successive defeats on the allies interrupted only by the (Battle of Laon), beginning with the Six Days' Campaign. After that, Napoleon launched an offensive against the army of Bohemia, driving them past Troyes. Following Marshal Marmont's pushing back of a second attempt by Prussia to march on Paris, Napoleon followed it up with the Battle of Craonne and the Battle of Reims, then driving back the Army of Bohemia until he lost momentum during the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube where he was severely outnumbered. The Allies eventually overcame the French armies, occupied Paris after a stiff battle and forced Napoleon's first abdication in April 1814. Napoleon was exiled and the French monarchy was restored by the allies in the Bourbon Restoration. The Hundred Days began in 1815 when Napoleon escaped from his captivity on Elba and returned to power in France. He was defeated again for the final time at Waterloo, ending the Napoleonic Wars.

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.

The national flag of Finland, also known in Finnish as the siniristilippu ('Blue Cross Flag'), 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. Symbolically, blue is said to represent the country's thousands of lakes and the sky, and white the snow that covers the land in winter. The colour combination has also been used historically in various Finnish provincial, military and town flags. The Nordic cross pattern connects to the shared tradition with other Nordic countries. While the cross itself is a Christian symbol and holds this meaning for some Finns, for many, the flag's primary association is with the nation's identity. The flag has two main variations: the civil flag and the state flag. The state flag has the Finnish coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. Other variations are the swallow-tailed state flag used by the military, and the presidential standard, which is identical to the swallow-tailed state flag but also has in its upper-left corner the Cross of Liberty.

Between 19 May and 21 October 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa (located in the Sunda Strait, then part of the Dutch East Indies—modern-day Indonesia) began erupting, lasting more than five months. On 27 August, the island had its most significant eruption, which destroyed over 70% of the island and its surrounding archipelago, the island collapsing into a caldera. The eruption of 27 August 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 a.m., remains the loudest-known sound in history. The explosion was heard 3,110 kilometres (1,930 mi) away in Perth, Western Australia, and Rodrigues near Mauritius, 4,800 kilometres (3,000 mi) away. The acoustic pressure wave circled the globe more than three times. At least 36,417 deaths are attributed to the eruption and the tsunamis it created. Significant additional effects were felt worldwide in the days and weeks after the volcano's eruption. Additional seismic activity was reported until February 1884, but any reports after October 1883 were dismissed by Rogier Verbeek's subsequent investigation into the eruption.

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. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including those in war crimes and genocides. The war also helped spread the Spanish flu pandemic. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including the first large-scale use of machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks.

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 (General Charles Lanrezac) 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.

The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) 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. Before 1776, women had a vote in several of the colonies in what would become the United States, but by 1807 every state constitution had denied women even limited suffrage. Organizations supporting women's rights became more active in the mid-19th century and, in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention adopted the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for equality between the sexes and included a resolution urging women to secure the vote. Pro-suffrage organizations used a variety of tactics including legal arguments that relied on existing amendments. After those arguments were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, suffrage organizations, with activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, called for a new constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the same right to vote possessed by men. By the late 19th century, new states and territories, particularly in the West, began to grant women the right to vote. In 1878, a suffrage proposal that would eventually become the Nineteenth Amendment was introduced to Congress, but was rejected in 1887. In the 1890s, suffrage organizations focused on a national amendment while still working at state and local levels. Lucy Burns and Alice Paul emerged as important leaders whose different strategies helped move the Nineteenth Amendment forward. Entry of the United States into World War I helped to shift public perception of women's suffrage. The National American Woman Suffrage Association, led by Carrie Chapman Catt, supported the war effort, making the case that women should be rewarded with enfranchisement for their patriotic wartime service. The National Woman's Party staged marches, demonstrations, and hunger strikes while pointing out the contradictions of fighting abroad for democracy while limiting it at home by denying women the right to vote. The work of both organizations swayed public opinion, prompting President Woodrow Wilson to announce his support of the suffrage amendment in 1918. It passed in 1919 and was adopted in 1920, withstanding two legal challenges, Leser v. Garnett and Fairchild v. Hughes. The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised 26 million American women in time for the 1920 U.S. presidential election, but the powerful women's voting bloc that many politicians feared failed to fully materialize until decades later. Additionally, the Nineteenth Amendment failed to fully enfranchise African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American women (see § Limitations). Shortly after the amendment's adoption, Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party began work on the Equal Rights Amendment, which they believed was a necessary additional step towards equality.

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. The causes and aims of the war have been debated and interpreted differently in the historiography. One major stated justification for the Greek military campaign was the protection of Greek populations amid continuing violence against Ottoman Greeks. By contrast, the Turkish National Movement presented the conflict as a defensive struggle to preserve Turkish homelands against foreign occupation. The armed conflict started when the Greek forces landed in Smyrna (now İzmir), on 15 May 1919. In the Greek Summer Offensive of 1920, they advanced inland and took control of the western and northwestern part of Anatolia, including the cities of Manisa, Balıkesir, Aydın, Bursa and Uşak, among others. In 1921, after another Greek victory in the Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir, the Greek forces almost reached Ankara, but their advance was finally checked by Turkish forces at the Battle of the Sakarya. The Greek front eventually collapsed with the Turkish counter-attack in August 1922, and the war effectively ended with the recapture of Smyrna by Turkish forces and the great fire of Smyrna. As a result, the Greek government accepted the demands of the Turkish National Movement and returned to its pre-war borders, thus leaving Eastern Thrace and Western Anatolia to Turkey. The Allies abandoned the Treaty of Sèvres to negotiate a new treaty at Lausanne with the Turkish National Movement. The Treaty of Lausanne recognized the independence of the Republic of Turkey and its sovereignty over Anatolia, Istanbul, and Eastern Thrace. The Greek and Turkish governments agreed to engage in a population exchange.

The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: guerra civil española) was fought in Spain from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic included socialists, anarchists, communists, and separatists, supported by the Soviet Union. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists, who established the military-led Spanish State and were directly aided by an intervention from Fascist Italy and participation of Nazi Germany. 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 communism and fascism. The Nationalists won the war in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975. The war began after the partial failure of the coup d'état of July 1936 against the Popular Front government by a group of generals of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces. They were supported by right-wing groups including the Christian traditionalist party CEDA; monarchists, including both the opposing Alfonsists and the religious conservative Carlists; and the Falange Española de las JONS, a fascist political party. However, rebelling units in almost all important cities did not gain control, leaving Spain militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists were initially led by a military junta, until General Francisco Franco was appointed supreme leader on 1 October 1936 of what he called the Spanish State. The rebellion was countered by the arming of left-wing social movements and parties, and the formation of militias. This led to rapid socioeconomic and political transformation in the Republican zone, referred to as the Spanish Revolution. The Nationalist forces received munitions, soldiers, and air support from Fascist Italy which conducted a large-scale intervention and Nazi Germany which sent its Condor Legion, while the Republican government received support from the Soviet Union and Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, continued to recognise the Republican government, but followed official policies of non-intervention. Despite this, tens of thousands of citizens from non-interventionist countries directly participated in the conflict, mostly in the pro-Republican International Brigades. Franco gradually emerged as the primary leader of the Nationalists, becoming the dictator of the Spanish State by 1937 and co-opting Falangism, gaining recognition as a fascist leader. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west, capturing most of Spain's northern coastline in 1937 and besieging Madrid. After much of Catalonia was captured in 1938 and 1939 and Madrid was cut off from Barcelona, the Republican military position became hopeless. On 5 March 1939, in response to allegedly increasing communist dominance of the Republican government and the deteriorating military situation, Colonel Segismundo Casado led a military coup against the Republican government, intending to seek peace with the Nationalists. These peace overtures, however, were rejected by Franco. Following internal conflict between Republican factions in Madrid in the same month, Franco entered the capital and declared victory on 1 April 1939. Hundreds of thousands of those associated with the Republicans fled Spain, mostly to refugee camps in southern France; many of those who stayed were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired worldwide, and for the many atrocities that occurred. Organised purges occurred in territory captured by Franco's forces to consolidate power. Mass executions took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, with the participation of local authorities varying by location.

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, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. 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.

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 (all of those areas were under the military control of Nazi Germany), in the Transnistria Governorate and Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region (all of those areas were then part of Romania, with the latter three areas being re-annexed) and Carpathian Ruthenia (then part of Hungary) during World War II. The listed areas are currently parts of Ukraine (except modern-day Transnistria). Between 1941 and 1945, between 850,000 and 1,600,000 Jews were killed in Ukraine, which included assistance of local collaborators. Another estimate of this figure from Yitzhak Arad is 1,452,000 to 1,518,000 total murdered Ukrainian Jews in the Holocaust. If one looks only at the territories that were a part of the Ukrainian SSR in 1938 (so, excluding Eastern Galicia, Volhynia, northern Bukovina, the Bujak, and Subcarpathian Ruthenia), then between 667,000 and 693,000 Ukrainian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, also according to Yizhak Arad's data. According to University of Toronto historian Timothy D. Snyder, "the Holocaust is integrally and organically connected to the Vernichtungskrieg, the war in 1941, and it is organically and integrally connected to the attempt to conquer Ukraine … Had Hitler not had the colonial idea to fight a war in Eastern Europe to control Ukraine, had there not been that idea, there could not have been a Holocaust." According to Wendy Lower, the genocide of the Ukrainian Jews was closely linked to German plans to exploit and colonize Ukraine.

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and its puppet state of Vichy France in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy back 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 1958 French constitution which was approved by voters in a swift majority, during a referendum, establishing the French Fifth Republic. He was subsequently elected the President of France later that year, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. Born in Lille, he was a decorated officer of World War I, wounded several times and was taken prisoner of war by the German Empire. During the 1918–1939 interwar period, he advocated mobile armoured divisions. During the German invasion of May 1940, he led an armoured division that counterattacked the Nazi German invaders; he was then appointed Undersecretary for War. Refusing to accept his government's armistice with Germany, de Gaulle fled to Britain and exhorted the French to continue the fight in his Appeal of 18 June. He led the Free French Forces and later headed the French National Liberation Committee and emerged as the undisputed leader of Free France. He became head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic in June 1944, the interim government of France following its liberation. As early as 1944, de Gaulle introduced a dirigiste economic policy, which included substantial state-directed control over a capitalist economy, which was followed by 30 years of unprecedented growth, known as the Trente Glorieuses. He resigned in 1946, but continued to be politically active as founder of the Rally of the French People. He retired in the early 1950s and wrote his War Memoirs, which became a staple of modern French literature. When the Algerian War threatened to bring the unstable French Fourth Republic to collapse, the National Assembly brought him back to power during the May 1958 crisis. He founded the French Fifth Republic with a strong presidency; he was elected with 78% of the vote to continue in that role. He managed to keep France together while taking steps to end the war, much to the anger of the Pieds-Noirs (ethnic French and other Europeans born and raised in Algeria) and the French armed forces. He granted Independence to Algeria and also acted highly progressively towards the other French colonies. In the context of the Cold War, de Gaulle initiated his "politics of grandeur", asserting that France as a major power should not rely on other countries, such as the United States, for its national security and prosperity. To this end, he pursued a policy of "national independence" which led him to withdraw from NATO's integrated military command and to launch an independent nuclear strike force which made France the world's fourth nuclear power. He restored the France–Germany relations with Konrad Adenauer to create a European counterweight between the Anglo-American and Soviet Union spheres of influence through the signing of the Élysée Treaty on 22 January 1963. De Gaulle opposed any development of a supranational Europe, favouring Europe as a continent of sovereign nations. He also openly criticised the US intervention in Vietnam and the exorbitant privilege of the US dollar. In his later years, his use of the slogan "Vive le Québec libre" at a speech in Montreal and his two vetoes done over Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community generated considerable controversy in both the Americas and Europe. Although reelected to the presidency in 1965, he faced widespread protests by students and workers in May 68 but had the French Army's support and called them and won the 1968 early elections with an increased majority in the National Assembly. De Gaulle resigned in late April 1969 after losing a referendum in which he proposed more decentralization. He died a year and a half later at the age of 79, leaving his presidential memoirs unfinished. French political parties and leaders claim a Gaullist legacy; streets and monuments in France and other parts of the world were dedicated to in honour of him after his death like Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France

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.

On August 26, 1969, an Il-18 of Aeroflot landed without its landing gear and burst into flames during landing at Vnukovo Airport. The flight was a scheduled domestic flight from Sochi to Moscow and Norilsk, carrying 94 passengers and 7 crew members. 16 of the 101 occupants died - 85 survived.

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.

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.

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.

On August 26–27, 1980, 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.

Aeropesca Flight 221 was an internal scheduled passenger flight from Florencia Airport to Neiva Airport in Colombia. On 26 August 1981 it was being operated by a Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner registered in Colombia as HK-1320 when it collided with Mount Santa Elana, an Andean mountain peak, destroying the aircraft and killing all 50 on board.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, often shortened to Boeing 787, 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.

From the late 1980s until 2013, group-based child sexual exploitation affected an estimated 1,400 girls, generally from care home backgrounds, in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Between 1997 and 2013, girls were abused by grooming gangs predominantly consisting of men of Pakistani heritage. 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.

On August 26, 2018, a mass shooting occurred during a Madden NFL 19 qualifying tournament at the GLHF Game Bar in the Jacksonville Landing marketplace in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The attack was carried out by 24-year-old professional gamer David Katz of Baltimore, Maryland, after he was eliminated from the competition. Katz returned to the venue with a handgun and opened fire on tournament participants and spectators, killing two people and wounding eleven others before fatally shooting himself.

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.

On August 26, 2018, a mass shooting occurred during a Madden NFL 19 qualifying tournament at the GLHF Game Bar in the Jacksonville Landing marketplace in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The attack was carried out by 24-year-old professional gamer David Katz of Baltimore, Maryland, after he was eliminated from the competition. Katz returned to the venue with a handgun and opened fire on tournament participants and spectators, killing two people and wounding eleven others before fatally shooting himself.

On the morning of 267 August 2026, a series of flash floods and debris flows destroyed the Gyirong Port on the China–Nepal border and struck dozens of settlements along a 72 km (45 mi) stretch of the Trishuli River in Nepal. These events are also known as the 2026 Nepal-China floods, Bhotekoshi flood, or Rasuwa flood.