AUGUST 26
Daily Historical Chronicle UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix

26 August: What Happened On This Day in History

Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 26 August.

Historic Milestones

Major Events on 26 August

Year 1303

Allauddin Khilji captured Chittorgarh. Alauddin Khilji captured Chittorhgarh after defeating Rana Bhim Singh. Before the capture, Padmini, the beautiful queen along with several hundred females, had sacrificed herself in fire (Jouhar Pratha). This whole battle was fought due to Padmini.

Year 1498

Michelanjelo, Italian sculptor Started sculpturing famous ‘Pieta’.

Year 1748

The first Lutheran synod was found in the America.

Year 1768

Captain James Cook stated sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.

Year 1789

The French Assembly adopted the declaration of the Rights of Man.

Year 1852

Bombay Association was established.

Year 1883

Eruption of Krakatoa Volcano, caused around 36,000 deaths.

Year 1920

US legislature ratified the Nineteenth Amendment giving American woman right to vote.

Year 1936

The first high definition television programs seen in Britain were transmitted today from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace, London, to the Radio show at Olympia (Radiolympia).

Year 1952

The Soviets announced the first successful intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests had taken place.

Year 1984

An Indian Airlines Boeing with 68 passengers and a crew of six hijacked to Lahore. The 12 Sikh hijackers then surrendered to the authorities in the U.A.E and released all the passengers.

Year 1988

American swimmer Lynne Cox crossed the 11 mile (17.5 km) wide Lake Baikal in Siberia in 4 hours. 20 minutes. The first long swim in a cold water lake.

Year 1996

Supreme Court asks Harshad Mehta to pay Rs. 217 crore to the Income Tax department.

Year 1997

Employee Provident Fund scheme of 1952 amended to ensure that all PF claims are settled within 30 days from the date of receipt of claims by the PF Commissioner.

Year 1997

Vice President Krishan Kant takes over as Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Year 1997

Commander of Uri sector Brigadier Jasbir Singh Lidder and another senior army officer have a narrow escape as Pakistani troops fire on their cavalcade at Chakori near LOC in J&K.

Year 2000

Vijay Kumar wins the Hindu Open Golf championship at the Cosmopolitan Club in Chennai.

National & Global Icons

Prominent Births & Anniversaries

Born 1740

Josef Michel Montgolfier, French inventor and pioneer of the hot balloon with his brother Jacques Etienne Montgolfier.

Born 1743

Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist. He is widely considered in popular literature as the “father of modern chemistry”

Born 1819

Prince Albert, Bavarian-born consort to Queen Victoria, patron of the arts and organizer of the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Born 1873

Lee De Forest, the American radio and television pioneer, and inventor of the Audion vacuum tube, which made broadcasting possible.

Born 1874

Ishwar Sharan Munshi, politician and philosopher, was born.

Born 1883

Thiruvarur Viruttachala Kalyanasundaram. Tamil scholar, activist, and essayist.

Born 1883

Algernon Lyons, a senior Royal Navy officer who served as First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria.

Born 1891

Acharya Chatursen Shastri, Indian author and playwright (d. 1960)

Born 1909

Dr.Moti Chandra, great historian, was born.

Born 1910

Mother Teresa, Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun, and missionary. Noble Prize laureate and honoured with India’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna.

Born 1914

Bengali revolutionaries looted 46,000 bullet ammunition and pistols from Calcutta Port for their revolutionary activities.

Born 1918

Katherine Johnson, American physicist, and mathematician.  Calculations of Orbital Mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.

Born 1927

Second Radio Centre was started in Calcutta.

Born 1928

Om Prakash Munjal, Indian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Hero Cycles (d. 2015)

Born 1947

Nawab of Bhopal announced accession of the Bhopal state to the Indian Dominion.

Born 1949

Social Democratic Party led by K. T. Shah formed.

Born 1956

Menaka Gandhi, Indian Politician.

Legacy & Remembrance

Death Anniversaries & Tributes

Died 1723

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microscopist and biologist. Commonly known as ‘Father of microbiology’.

Died 1910

William James, American philosopher. The first educator to introduce the psychology course in the U.S.

Died 1967

Dilawar Hussain, cricketer (Indian wicket-keeper in the 1930's), passed away.

Died 1969

S. S. Vasan, an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director, and business tycoon.

Died 1972

Sir Francis Chichester, English yachtsman who was the first old age pensioner to sail around the world singlehanded.

Died 1974

Charles Lindbergh. American pilot and explorer.  He is famous for winning the Orteig Prize for making a nonstop flight from New York City to Paris.

Died 1975

Dr. Narayan Subbarao Hardikar, freedom fighter, journalist and Padmabhushan awardee, died.

Died 1997

Josef Burr Tyrreff, Canadian Geologist. He discovered the bones of the Albertosaurus dinosaur.

Died 1980

Tex Avery, American cartoonist, and director. Known for producing and directing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. He created the classic cartoon characters, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig.

Died 1993

Roy Raymond, American Businessman. He founded Victoria’s Secret lingerie retail store in California in 1977.

Died 2012

A. K. Hangal, Indian film actor and freedom fighter.