August 26

1071 – The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at Manzikert in modern day Turkey.

1748 – The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.

1768 – Captain James Cook sets sail from England on board HMS Endeavour for his first expedition to the South Pacific Ocean area.

1791 – John Fitch is granted a U.S. patent for the steamboat.

1883 – The volcano on the island of Krakatoa begins to erupt

1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution takes effect, giving women the right to vote.

1942 – At Chortkiv, in Ukraine, the state police and German Schutzpolizei deport 2000 Jews to Bełżec extermination camp, murdering over 500 children and the sick beforehand.

1972 – The Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich.

1974 – Charles Lindbergh dies on the island of Maui at age 72

1980 – While trying to disarm a bomb planted by John Birges at the Harvey’s Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, the FBI accidentally detonates it, without any deaths or injuries.

2003 – Colgan Air Flight 9446, a Beechcraft 1900 crashes after take off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing both pilots, the only people on board.

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.

2015 – 2 U.S. journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former coworker while broadcasting a live report in Moneta, Virginia with the murderer committing suicide after a vehicle pursuit by police.

2018 – 3 people are killed and 10 wounded by a losing player at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida with the murderer then committing suicide.

2021 – During the precipitous evacuation of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, an attack on the Kabul airport kills 13 U.S. military personnel and at least 169 Afghan civilians.