26 August in history

5 events that happened on 26 August, from 1346 to 1978.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    1346 CE 680 years ago

    Edward III's longbowmen defeat the French at Crécy

    English archers and dismounted men-at-arms cut down repeated French cavalry charges at Crécy. The victory, with heavy losses among the French nobility, opened the way to the siege of Calais.

  2. 1789 CE 237 years ago

    France adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

    The National Assembly proclaimed that men are born free and equal in rights, and that sovereignty rests with the nation. The declaration became a founding text of modern human rights.

  3. 1883 CE 143 years ago

    Krakatoa begins its cataclysmic eruption

    The volcano of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait began its climactic eruption, culminating in explosions the next day heard thousands of kilometres away. Tsunamis killed more than 36,000 people.

    Sunda Strait

  4. 1920 CE 106 years ago

    The 19th Amendment is certified, giving US women the vote

    Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the 19th Amendment, barring denial of the vote on account of sex. It crowned a campaign launched at Seneca Falls in 1848.

  5. 1978 CE 48 years ago

    Albino Luciani is elected Pope John Paul I

    The Patriarch of Venice became the first pope to take a double name, honouring his two predecessors. Known as the 'smiling pope', he died after just 33 days.

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